| Joint Base Andrews | |
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| Part of Air Force District of Washington (AFDC) United States Navy Reserve |
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| Located near: Camp Springs, Maryland | |
VC-25, widely known as Air Force One, of the 89th Airlift Wing US Navy EA-6B Prowler of VAQ-209 |
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| Built | 1945 |
| In use | 1945-Present |
| Controlled by | United States Air Force |
| Garrison | 11th Wing (USAF) |
| Airfield information | |||
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| IATA: ADW – ICAO: KADW – FAA LID: ADW | |||
| Summary | |||
| Elevation AMSL | 280 ft / 85 m | ||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 01L/19R | 9,300 | 2,835 | Concrete |
| 01R/19L | 9,755 | 2,973 | Asphalt/Concrete |
| Sources: official site[1] and FAA[2] | |||
Joint Base Andrews is a United States military facility located in Prince George's County, Maryland. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force 11th Wing, Air Force District of Washington (AFDW).[3]
The base is named for Lieutenant General Frank M. Andrews (1884–1943), former Commanding General of United States Forces in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. Andrews is widely known for serving as the home base of two Boeing VC-25A aircraft that serve the President of the United States.[4]
For statistical purposes the base is delineated as a census-designated place by the U.S. Census Bureau. As of the 2010 census, the resident population was 2,973.[5]
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The facility is an amalgamation of the United States Air Force Andrews Air Force Base and the United States Navy Naval Air Facility Washington which were merged on 1 October 2009.
Joint Base Andrews was established in accordance with congressional legislation implementing the recommendations of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission. The legislation ordered the consolidation of the facilities which were adjoining, but separate military installations, into a single joint base – one of 12 joint bases formed in the United States as a result of the law.
The host unit at Andrews is the 11th Wing (11 WG), assigned to the Air Force District of Washington. A non-flying wing, the 11 WG is responsible for maintaining emergency reaction rotary-wing airlift and other National Capital Region contingency response capabilities critical to national security, and for organizing, training, equipping and deploying combat-ready forces for Air and Space Expeditionary Forces (AEFs). The 11th WG commander is Colonel Kenneth R. Rizer.[6] The Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sergeant Anthony Brinkley.[7]
The following units are based at Andrews:
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Opened on 2 May 1943, the base was originally known as Camp Springs Army Air Base. It was renamed to Andrews Field on 7 February 1945 in honor of Lt. General Frank Maxwell Andrews (1884–1943). General Andrews organized and commanded the General Headquarters, Air Force (1935–1939), and at the time of his death on 3 May 1943 in the crash of a B-24 Liberator in Iceland, he was Commanding General, United States Forces, European Theater of Operations.[8]
The military history of Andrews AFB began in the 1860s during the Civil War when Union troops occupied a small country church near Camp Springs, Maryland, as sleeping quarters. At present, the same church is used on the base and is known as Chapel Two.[9]
Established first as Camp Springs Army Air Field, Andrews' history began 25 August 1941, the day President Franklin D. Roosevelt wrote a letter to the secretary of war directing the use of the land on which the base now stands. Located 10 miles southeast of Washington, D.C., in Prince George's County, Md., the base was under construction during the remainder of 1942 and became operational 2 May 1943, with the arrival of the first Republic P-47 Thunderbolt.
Four 5,500 feet (1,700 m) runways constructed by 1943; field then served mainly as Army Air Forces Headquarters base with secondary missions for fighter and bomber training. Developed as a B-25 Mitchell medium bomber training base during the Korean War. HQ Air Research and Development Command (later, Air Force Systems Command) moved to Andrews from Baltimore, 24 June 1958. With the construction of new facilities beginning in 1959, Andrews had become by early 1962 the primary USAF flight installation serving the Washington, DC, area with the closing of the runway at Bolling AFB.
With the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate military service on 18 September 1947, the name was modified to Andrews AFB. Serving largely as a headquarters base in a curtailed operational capacity during the post-World War II years, the Continental Air Command, Strategic Air Command and the Military Air Transport Service have been headquartered here. Headquarters Command held command reins at Andrews from 1947 through 1952 and again after 1957. Headquarters Military Air Transport Service controlled the base during the interim period.
The year 1947 marked the arrival of the first permanently assigned jet-powered aircraft, the F-80 Shooting Star, at Andrews. The long-lived and versatile training version of the F-80, the T-33, still played an important role in proficiency flying programs at Andrews more than 30 years later.
With the onset of the Korean War in June 1950, Andrews rapidly became involved in combat readiness training for B-25 Mitchell medium bomber crews. Combat readiness training and proficiency flying for military pilots assigned non-flying duties in the Washington area have remained two key elements in the local mission since the establishment of the base.
Andrews' air defense role was strengthened in the 1950s with the latest in fighter-interceptor hardware appearing on the flight line. F-94 Starfires, F-102 Delta Daggers and finally, F-106 Delta Darts formed the backbone of the three fighter interceptor squadrons which operated from the base until 1963.
In the late 1950s Andrews began an annual open house and air show on base. This event later evolved into the Department of Defense Joint Services Open House, an annual event that now brings more than 700,000 visitors to the base every year. The open house is held every year over Armed Forces Day weekend.
In the years since 1959, Andrews' flight operations and importance have increased greatly. In 1961, the last of the Military Air Transport Service's flying units at Washington National Airport transferred to Andrews. This was followed a year later by the transfer to Andrews of all fixed-wing flying activities from Bolling Air Force Base. Andrews has become firmly established as the main port of entry for foreign military and government officials en route to Washington and the United States. In July 1961, the official presidential aircraft was stationed here, known as "Air Force One" when the president is on board. Before 1961, the presidential airplane had been kept at Washington National Airport and Bolling AFB.
In 1963, the Naval Air Facility (NAF), originally established at the former NAS Anacostia in 1919, moved to Andrews. The NAF handles Naval VIP flight operations. The Marine Corps detachment that flies the FA-18 Hornet is located here. Coast Guard Air Station Washington DC occupies space at Andrews AFB. Andrews AFB has evolved to become one of the most modern bases in the Air Force.
A tragic time for Andrews AFB occurred on 22 November 1963, when the 35th president of the United States was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. The body of John F. Kennedy arrived at Andrews at 6:08 p.m. the same evening, accompanied by his widow Jacqueline B. Kennedy, newly sworn in President Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife Ladybird. The air terminal was jammed with thousands of people, including the largest gathering of news media representatives ever assembled at any time on Andrews AFB. Since that time, Andrews has seen the arrival of other fallen leaders, but no other death has caused such national attention.
In a major reorganization, Headquarters Command, U.S. Air Force, was disbanded 1 July 1976, restructured under the Military Airlift Command as the 76th Airlift Division and transferred its headquarters from Bolling AFB to Andrews. The 76th remained the parent unit of the Andrews host command, redesignated as the 1st Air Base Wing.
In October 1977, the 76th Airlift Division became the 76th Military Airlift Wing. The 1st Air Base Wing was redesignated the 76th Air Base Group, and the 89th Military Airlift Wing became the 89th Military Airlift Group. The 76th MAW remained the parent unit at Andrews. On 15 December 1980, the 76th Airlift Division was reestablished, the 76th Air Base Group became the 1776th Air Base Wing and the 89th Military Airlift Group became the 89th Military Airlift Wing. On 1 October 1985, the 76th Airlift Division was inactivated as the result of activation of the Headquarters Air Force District of Washington at Bolling AFB. The 1776th Air Base Wing was designated the "host wing" for Andrews AFB and assumed base support responsibilities.
During Operation Desert Storm, Andrews handled 16,540 patients in makeshift hospital facilities located in the base tennis center.
On 12 July 1991, the 89th Military Airlift Wing was redesignated as the 89th Airlift Wing and assumed duties as the host wing at Andrews AFB. Support functions previously performed by the 1776th Air Base Wing now fall under the 89th and the 1776th was inactivated. With the consolidation of the two wings, the newly formed 89th Airlift Wing is one of the largest wings in Air Mobility Command with a work force approaching 9,000 people.
Known as "The President's Wing," the 89th Airlift Wing continues to contribute to Andrews' rich history as the elite Air Mobility Command wing for transporting VIPs around the world. Not only does Andrews provide service for America's senior officials, but also kings, queens, presidents, prime ministers, popes, and local and foreign military leaders make Andrews AFB their first stop in the United States.
On 5 January 2005 the Air Force reactivated the Air Force District of Washington (AFDW) as the single Air Force voice for planning and implementing Air Force and joint solutions within the National Capital Region (NCR). This event brought with it significant changes at Andrews. On 12 May 2006, the 89th Medical Group at Andrews and the 11th Medical Group, Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C. combined into the 79th Medical Wing where it established its headquarters at Andrews. In June 2006, the 316th Wing stood up under the command of AFDW as the new host unit for Andrews Air Force Base and its nearly 50 tenant units to include organizations from the U.S. Army, the Air Force Reserve Command, Air National Guard, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve and the Civil Air Patrol. The activation of the 316th prompted the transfer of the 1st Helicopter Squadron from the 89th Airlift Wing to the 316th Operations Group. Finally, in May 2007 the AFDW, as well as the 844th Communications Group, transferred from Bolling AFB to Andrews AFB.
On 1 October 2010, following the recommendations of Base Realignment and Closure, 2005, the Air Force completed the merge of the 11th Wing and the 316th at Joint Base Andrews. The 11th Wing became the host base organization for Joint Base Andrews.[9][10][11]
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Andrews Air Force Base is located at (38.803490, -76.871508),[12] a few miles southeast of Washington, D.C. near the town of Morningside. It is delineated as a census-designated place by the United States Census Bureau. The CDP has a total area of 6.9 square miles (18.0 km2), of which 6.9 square miles (17.9 km2) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km2), or 0.51%, is water.[13]
There are two runways on the base; the western runway is 11,300 feet (3,400 m) in length, and the eastern runway is 11,700 feet (3,600 m) in length. The minor third runway between them at the top of the picture (above the cross-base roadway) is now closed, and the small T-shaped runway at the bottom right of the opening picture was closed and demolished by 2008. [1]
| Historical populations | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1970 | 6,418 |
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| 1980 | 10,064 | 56.8% | |
| 1990 | 10,228 | 1.6% | |
| 2000 | 7,925 | −22.5% | |
| 2010 | 2,973 | −62.5% | |
| source:[14][5] | |||
As of the census[15] of 2000, there were 7,925 people, 1,932 households, and 1,864 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,158.9 people per square mile (447.3/km²). There were 2,133 housing units at an average density of 311.9 sq mi (120.4/km²). The racial makeup of the base was 65.3% White, 22.8% African American, 0.6% Native American, 3.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.7% from other races, and 4.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.7% of the population.
There were 1,932 households out of which 75.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 86.1% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 3.5% were non-families. 3.2% of all households were made up of individuals, none of whom was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.39 and the average family size was 3.44.
In the CDP the population is spread out with 35.0% under the age of 18, 16.3% from 18 to 24, 44.9% from 25 to 44, 3.6% from 45 to 64, and 0.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 24 years. For every 100 females there were 119.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 126.0 males.
The median income for a household in the base was $44,310, and the median income for a family was $42,866. Males had a median income of $27,070 versus $27,308 for females. The per capita income for the base was $16,520. About 2.6% of families and 2.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including of the total population, 2.8% of those under the age of 18 and none of those 65 and older.
Base Realignment and Closure 2005 Department of Defense Joint Basing Program:
