Columbus Air Force Base

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Columbus AFB is a United States Air Force base located in Lowndes County, Mississippi, treated for statistical purposes by the United States Census Bureau as a census-designated place. As of the 2000 census, the base had a total population of 2,060. It is home to the 14th Flying Training Wing of Air Education and Training Command's Nineteenth Air Force.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Education
5 External links

[edit] History

Construction began on Columbus Air Force Base in 1941, and pilot training began in 1942. More than 8,000 students came to Columbus for pilot training during World War II to become flying officers in the Army Air Corps. By war’s end the air base, now known as Columbus Army Air Field, had become one of the largest in the Southeast, with four runways and seven auxiliary fields.

The base was closed in 1945 and remained inactive until the Korean War began, reopening in 1951. It was relinquished to the Strategic Air Command in April 1955. Columbus became home to a B-52 bomber squadron and a KC-135 tanker squadron in 1958.

After 14 years under Strategic Air Command, Columbus Air Force Base rejoined Air Training Command July 1, 1969, and resumed training pilots.

[edit] Geography

Columbus AFB is located at 33°37'48" North, 88°26'47" West (33.630060, -88.446271)^GR1. It is located near the confluence of the Buttahatchee and Tombigbee Rivers.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the base has a total area of 18.2 km² (7.0 mi²). 18.2 km² (7.0 mi²) of it is land and none of it is covered by water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there are 2,060 people, 570 households, and 532 families residing on the base. The population density is 113.0/km² (292.8/mi²). There are 642 housing units at an average density of 35.2/km² (91.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the base is 75.63% White, 16.36% Black or African American, 0.73% Native American, 2.52% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.70% from other races, and 3.01% from two or more races. 4.85% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 570 households out of which 64.0% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 85.8% are married couples living together, 5.1% have a female householder with no husband present, and 6.5% are non-families. 5.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 0.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.18 and the average family size is 3.27.

The age distribution of the base is: 33.4% under the age of 18, 21.8% from 18 to 24, 41.4% from 25 to 44, 2.7% from 45 to 64, and 0.7% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 24 years. For every 100 females there are 126.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 126.2 males. All these statistics are broadly typical for military bases.

The median income for a household on the base is $39,596, and the median income for a family is $40,602. Males have a median income of $26,111 versus $20,481 for females. The per capita income for the base is $15,626. 7.6% of the population and 7.2% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 6.5% of those under the age of 18 and 0.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.