Creech Air Force Base

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Creech Air Force Base

IATA: INS - ICAO: KINS
Summary
Airport type		Military
Operator		U.S. Air Force
Serves		Indian Springs, Nevada
Elevation AMSL		3,133 ft (954.9 m)
Coordinates		36°35′14″N, 115°40′24″W
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
04/22	6,500	1,981	Asphalt
08/26	9,002	2,744	Asphalt
13/31	5,202	1,586	Asphalt

Creech Air Force Base (IATA: INS, ICAO: KINS) is an American air base located in Indian Springs, Nevada, USA, about 35 miles north of Las Vegas. It is named after General Wilbur L. "Bill" Creech, who is considered the Father of the Thunderbirds for his early support of the program.

It was previously known as Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Air Field while it was a part of Nellis Air Force Base.

While an Air Force Base, it does not have its own base commander. Instead, the base is under the command of the Nellis Air Force Base commander.

1 Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Air Field history
2 Creech Air Force Base history
3 Units Assigned
- 3.1 Current
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Air Field history

The field was activated in 1942 by the US Army as a gunnery school, becoming an Air Training Command field in 1948. For most of the 1950s, the field served as a special weapons center.

Since the early days of the Thunderbirds, Indian Springs has been their practice field. In 1982 the USAF Thunderbirds squadron suffered a crash at the base. The "Diamond Crash" caused the deaths of four pilots.

At the end of the Cold War many of the testing materials for joint verification tests were flown to the Soviet Union from the base.

Taking advantage of the remote location, ranges between Indian Springs and Las Vegas are used for firepower demonstrations several times a year. The firepower demonstrations are used to show military and political VIPs the impact of various munitions and the capabilities of the aircraft that deliver them. On several occasions the quantify of munitions delivered was so large that the impact was felt in the Las Vegas suburbs.

Indian Springs became the Predator base. It was home to the 11th, 15th and 17th Reconnaissance Squadrons which operate the Predator RQ-1, MQ-1 and MQ-9 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). In February 2001, a Predator successfully test fired its first Hellfire missile on the Nellis Air Force Range becoming an offensive weapon rather than just a reconnaissance tool.

Pilots located at Indian Springs have been flying predator combat missions in support of anti-terrorist actives around the world, including support for the capture of Saddam Hussein.

[edit] Creech Air Force Base history

Creech was named an Air Force base on June 20, 2005 in honor of Air Force General Wilbur L. (Bill) Creech who died on August 26, 2003. General Creech was Commander of the Tactical Air Command between 1978 - 1984 and is considered one of the most influential Air Force Generals in recent history. General Creech is also known as the "Father of the Thunderbirds" and was a Thunderbird pilot in the 1950s.

In October 2005, the 3d Special Operations Squadron was activated at Creech joining the 11th, 15th and 17th Reconnaissance Squadrons, becoming the first MQ-1 squadron in the Air Force Special Operations Command. The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Center for Excellence was also established at the same time.

The 42d Attack Squadron was formed at Creech on November 8, 2006 as the first Reaper squadron.

[edit] Units Assigned

Detachment 2 of the 98th Range Wing Operations Group is stationed at the base and is responsible for management and oversight of the base as well as the 1.1 million acres (4,500 km²) of the Nevada Test and Training Range’s southern ranges.

[edit] Current

11th Reconnaissance Squadron - traces its history back to February 5, 1942. Reactivated on July 29, 1995, at Nellis under command of the 57th Operations Group, 57th Wing. This is a training unit.
15th Reconnaissance Squadron - traces its history back to May 9, 1917. Reactivated on August 1, 1997, at Indian Springs under command of the 57th Operations Group. This unit conducts real time surveillance.
17th Reconnaissance Squadron - Constituted 17th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron on July 14, 1942. It was reactivated on March 8, 2002, at Indian Springs under command of the 57th Operations Group. This unit conducts intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.
30th Reconnaissance Squadron - Activated in August, 2005 and based at Tonopah Test Range Airport under command of the 57th Operations Group. The unit is a test operation.
3rd Special Operations Squadron - Activated on October 28, 2005. Based at Indian Springs, this unit is under the command of the Air Force Special Operations Command.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Center for Excellence
19th Attack Squadron - to be established in 2006.
42nd Attack Squadron - Traces its history back to 1917 when it operated in Texas as a biplane training unit. The squadron saw action in WW II as bomber unit. Reactivated on November 8, 2006. The 42nd Attack Squadron will oversee the training of pilots and sensor operators assigned to the new MQ-9.
99th Ground Combat Training Squadron - The 99th GCTS operates as a detachment of the 99th Security Forces Group located Nellis AFB. The 99th GCTS operates a number of training schools for members of the U.S. Air Force's Security Forces (AFSC 3P0X1). Primarily the USAF's CONUS (Continental United States) desert ground warfare school, Silver Flag Alpha, is conducted here.