| Offutt Air Force Base | |||||||
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| Omaha,Nebraska in the United States | |||||||
 An aerial view of Offutt AFB in 2007. | |||||||
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| Site information | |||||||
| Type | U.S. Air Force Base | ||||||
| Owner | Department of Defense | ||||||
| Operator | United States Air Force | ||||||
| Controlled by | Air Combat Command (ACC) | ||||||
| Condition | Operational | ||||||
| Website | www.offutt.af.mil | ||||||
| Location | |||||||
  Offutt AFB  Offutt AFB  Offutt AFB | |||||||
| Coordinates | 41°07′10″N095°54′31″W / 41.11944°N 95.90861°W /41.11944; -95.90861 | ||||||
| Site history | |||||||
| Built | 1921 (1921) (as part of Fort Crook) | ||||||
| In use | 1921 – present | ||||||
| Garrison information | |||||||
| Current commander | Colonel Mark Howard | ||||||
| Garrison | 55th Wing (Host Wing) | ||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||
| Identifiers | IATA: OFF,ICAO: KOFF,FAA LID: OFF,WMO: 725540 | ||||||
| Elevation | 319.7 metres (1,049 ft)AMSL | ||||||
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| Source:Federal Aviation Administration[1] | |||||||
Offutt Air Force Base/ˈɒfʌt/ (IATA:OFF,ICAO:KOFF,FAALID:OFF) is aU.S. Air Forcebase south ofOmaha, adjacent toBellevue inSarpy County, Nebraska. It is the headquarters of theU.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), the557th Weather Wing, and the55th Wing (55 WG) of theAir Combat Command (ACC), the latter serving as the host unit.
Aviation use at Offutt began in September 1918 duringWorld War I as anArmy Air Service balloon field.[2] Originally namedFort Crook, it was renamed in honor ofWorld War I pilot and Omaha native 1st Lt.Jarvis Offutt in 1924.
Offutt AFB's legacy includes the construction of theEnola Gay andBockscar, the planes that droppedLittle Boy andFat Man overHiroshima and Nagasaki inWorld War II. Offutt served over 40 years as the headquarters for the formerStrategic Air Command (SAC) and home for its associated ground and aerial command centers for the United States in the case of nuclear war during theCold War. The population was 8,901 at the2000 census.
Offutt AFB is named in honor ofFirst Lieutenant Jarvis Jenness Offutt (26 October 1894 – 13 August 1918). The first native of Omaha to become a casualty inWorld War I, Lieutenant Offutt died of injuries sustained when hisSE-5 fighter crashed during a training flight nearValheureux, France. The airfield portion of Fort Crook was designated Offutt Field on 6 May 1924.[3]
Offutt's history began with the commissioning by theWar Department in 1890 of Fort Crook. Located some 10 miles south of Omaha and two miles west of theMissouri River, the fort was constructed between 1894 and 1896. The fort's namesake wasMajor GeneralGeorge Crook,[4] a veteran of theCivil War andIndian Wars.
It was first used as a dispatch point forIndian conflicts on theGreat Plains. Troops from Fort Crook fought during theSpanish–American War when the 22nd Regiment underCharles A. Wikoff was dispatched to Cuba. The regiment suffered heavy casualties in theBattle of El Caney. Only 165 of the 513 regiment members survived with most succumbing totropical diseases after the battle.[5]
The oldest surviving portion of Fort Crook is theparade grounds and surrounding red brick buildings that were constructed between 1894 and 1896. These structures are still in active use today as squadron headquarters, living quarters for high-ranking generals (Generals’ Row), and Nebraska's oldest operational jail.
In 1918, the 61st Balloon Company of theArmy Air Corps, which performed combat reconnaissance training, was assigned to Fort Crook at the close ofWorld War I. In the spring of 1921, the plowing, leveling, and seeding of 260 acres of land at Fort Crook created a grass airfield suitable for frequent takeoffs and landings and as a refueling stop forPost Office Department airmail flights and transcontinental flights. The first permanent aircraft hangars were also completed in 1921. Other known organizations assigned to the field were the 74th Balloon Company in November 1918; 60th Balloon Company in December 1918.
A small detachment of enlisted men (detached service) from Marshall Field and Fort Riley, Kansas, constituted the only regular military presence on the field between 1935 and 1940. On 6 May 1924, the airfield was officially named "Offutt Field". During the 1920s and 1930s, the field was used for inactive training period meetings by personnel of the 314th Observation Squadron,89th Division, one of the fewOrganized Reserve flying squadrons that actually possessed facilities, equipment, and aircraft; the pilots conducted annual training at eitherMarshall Field,Fort Riley,Kansas, orRichards Field,Kansas City,Missouri. The squadron was inactivated on 2 October 1939 by relief of personnel, and disbanded on 31 May 1942.
In 1940 as American involvement in World War II loomed, the Army Air Corps chose Offutt Field as the site for a new bomber plant that was to be operated by theGlenn L. Martin Company. The plant's construction included a two-mile (3.2 km)-long concrete runway, six large hangars, and a 1,700,000-square-foot (160,000 m2) aircraft-assembly building.
Production switched toB-29 Superfortress very heavy bombers in 1944, and 531 Superfortresses were produced before the end ofWorld War II. Among these were theEnola Gay andBockscar, the B-29s that dropped thefirst atomic weapons to be used in a military action (against the cities ofHiroshima andNagasaki, Japan).
Production ended on 18 September 1945, when the last B-29 rolled out of the assembly building. With the manufacturing plant's closure, custody of the airfield and ground facilities were assumed by the 4131st Army Air Force Base Unit, Air Materiel Command.
In the initial months after the end of World War II, Offutt was used by the 2474th Separation Processing squadron to demobilize service members out of the armed forces after their return from overseas duty. In June 1946, the Army Air Force re-designated Fort Crook and the Martin-Nebraska facilities as Offutt Field. It became the headquarters for theAir Defense CommandSecond Air Force on 6 June. In 1947, the airfield opened for operational use, with the381st Bombardment Group being assigned to the field with one squadron of B-29 Superfortresses, although the facility remained primarily a separation center.
The newly established United States Air Force took control of the facility in September 1947, and on 13 January 1948, it was renamed Offutt Air Force Base. Later that same year, on 26 September, the 3902nd Air Base Group (later Wing) became the host unit at Offutt underA. J. Beck.[6]
On 9 November 1948, Offutt became the host base for HeadquartersStrategic Air Command, which was moved fromAndrews AFB, Maryland.Secretary of the Air ForceStuart Symington chose to locate the Air Force's long-range atomic strike force at Offutt primarily because the base was centrally located on the North American continent, placing it well beyond the existing range of long-range, nuclear-armed bombers to (then) stay safely out of range of hostile missiles or bomber aircraft.
Offutt's population and facilities grew dramatically to keep pace with the increased operational demands during theCold War. Several new dormitories and more than 2,000 family housing units – built in the late 1950s and 1960s under incremental Wherry and Capehart projects – quickly replaced the old quarters of Fort Crook. Headquarters SAC moved from the Martin-Nebraska complex to Building 500 in 1957, and new base facilities in the 1960s and 1970s included a hospital, main exchange, commissary, and library.
During the late 1950s, Offutt housed aRoyal Air Force facility for servicingAvro Vulcans, which visited the air base frequently while on exercise with SAC.[7]
Operational use of Offutt Air Force Base included the basing of alert tankers in the late 1950s and 1960s, support for intercontinental ballistic missile sites in Nebraska and Iowa in the 1960s, and worldwide reconnaissance from the mid-1960s to the present.
To provide air defense of the base, the United States Army established theOffutt AFB Defense Area, andNike-Hercules surface-to-air missile sites were constructed during 1959. Sites were located near Cedar Creek, Nebraska (OF-60)40°59′00″N096°05′28″W / 40.98333°N 96.09111°W /40.98333; -96.09111, and Council Bluffs, Iowa (OF-10)41°13′47″N095°41′58″W / 41.22972°N 95.69944°W /41.22972; -95.69944. They were operational between November 1960 and March 1966. The missiles were operated by the 6th Battalion,43rd Artillery.[8]
During the Cold War, ageneral and various support personnel from the base were airborne 24 hours a day on anEC-135 from 3 February 1961 to 24 July 1990 inOperation Looking Glass, creating an airborne command post in case of war.
The 3902d Air Base Wing was inactivated on 1 March 1986, and the55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing assumed host-unit responsibilities for Offutt. Increased defense spending during the 1980s brought additional operational improvements to Offutt, including theBennie Davis Aircraft Maintenance Hangar, and a new command center for Headquarters SAC.
Offutt again faced changes in 1992 when the easing of world tensions allowed the United States to reorganize the Air Force. TheStrategic Air Command was inactivated on 1 June, succeeded by theU.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), aUnified Combatant Command of theDepartment of Defense. The 55th Strategic Wing then became the55th Wing, under the newly createdAir Combat Command.
In 1998, theStrategic Air and Space Museum moved 30 miles (48 km) southwest toAshland, just offInterstate 80, midway between Omaha andLincoln.
In 2005, Offutt began several major renovations. The on-baseWherry housing area was demolished for replacement with new housing. A new fire house,AAFES mini-mall, and U.S. Post Office were completed in 2006. Additionally, the Air Force Weather Agency broke ground on a new facility which was completed in 2008.
The new headquarters for STRATCOM, the Command and Control Facility (C2F), is expected to be operational in September 2018.[9]
The base sustained significant damage in the spring of 2019 as a result of theMissouri River flooding; at one point, almost half of the base's runway was underwater. Flight operations and some support staff were temporarily relocated to nearbyLincoln Air National Guard Base while repairs (as well as some pre-planned construction projects) were undertaken.[10][11]
On September 11, 2001, PresidentGeorge W. Bush conducted one of the first major strategy sessions for the response to theSeptember 11 attacks from a bunker at the base.
Bush, who was in Florida at theEmma Booker Elementary School inSarasota[12] at the time of the attacks, first flew fromSarasota-Bradenton International Airport toBarksdale AFB inLouisiana and then to Offutt en route back to Washington, DC. Bush arrived at 2:50pm, conducted a video conference in an underground command bunker and left for Washington, DC at 4:30pm.[12]
Air Force One left Barksdale AFB for Offutt AFB around 1:30 p.m.[13] The Air Force One entourage was pared down to a few essential staffers such asAri Fleischer,Andrew Card,Karl Rove,Dan Bartlett, Brian Montgomery, andGordon Johndroe, plus about five reporters.[14] During the flight, Bush remained in "continuous contact" with both theWhite House Situation Room and Vice PresidentDick Cheney in thePresidential Emergency Operations Center.[15]
Air Force One landed at Offutt shortly before 3:00 p.m.[12] At 3:06 p.m, Bush passed through security to the US Strategic Command Underground Command Center (41°06′50″N095°55′04″W / 41.11389°N 95.91778°W /41.11389; -95.91778)[12] and was taken into an underground bunker designed to withstand a nuclear blast.[15] There, he held a teleconference call with Vice President Cheney, National Security AdvisorCondoleezza Rice, Defense SecretaryDonald Rumsfeld, Deputy Secretary of StateRichard Armitage, CIA DirectorGeorge Tenet, Transportation SecretaryNorman Mineta, and others.[15] The meeting lasted about an hour. Rice recalled that during the meeting, Tenet told Bush, "Sir, I believe it'sal-Qaeda. We're doing the assessment but it looks like, it feels like, it smells like al-Qaeda."[16] The White House staff was preparing for Bush to address the nation from the Offutt bunker, but Bush decided instead to return to Washington.[15] Air Force One left Offutt around 4:30 p.m.[12]
In May 2011, base civilian employee George Sarris successfully settled with the government over claims that he was subjected to retaliation for talking to the media in 2008 about poor maintenance of RC-135 aircraft at the base. After Sarris' allegations appeared in theKansas City Star, base officials revoked his security clearance and reassigned him to menial duties. Later investigations by the government substantiated many of Sarris' claims. As part of the settlement, the USAF agreed to pay Sarris his full salary until he retired in 2014 and paid $21,000 of his attorney's fees.[17] After retiring, Sarris published a book titled,Cowardice in Leadership – A Lesson in Harassment, Intimidation, and Reprisals.[18] Ten years after Sarris blew the whistle, theOmaha World Herald published a three-part series titled "In-flight emergency", which confirmed his earlier claims.[19]
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The549th Strategic Missile Squadron operated threeSM-65D Atlas ICBM sites (1 October 1960 – 15 December 1964). Each site was composed of three missile silos (9 total).
Beginning in 1958, theArmy Corps of Engineers began planning for the sites, and construction began in 1959. The construction project was completed on 28 July 1960. In April and May 1961, the three complexes became the last Atlas D missiles to go on alert.
The missiles were manned by the 549th Strategic Missile Squadron which was activated on 1 October 1960. The squadron began to phase down with the inactivation of theAtlas-D on 1 October 1964, and was inactivated 14 December 1964. Confusingly, the squadron was originally the 566th but on 1 July 1961 SAC swapped designators with the 549th at F.E. Warren AFB. The 549th SMS was under the 385th Strategic Aerospace Wing.
Site "A" was abandoned for many years, until the late 1970s when the Nebraska National Guard took over ownership of the site to establish a training area called the Mead Training Site. The site is managed by theCamp Ashland Training Site Command. The training area has been used by the National Guard, United States Air Force, local law enforcement, and other entities as a training site for many years. 3/209th RTI out ofCamp Ashland began using Mead Training Site in 2008 as the primary training facility for their 88M military occupational specialty reclassification school and continues to use the site year round. AMOUT site (Military Operations in Urban Terrain) was constructed at the site in 2009. Two Nebraska National Guard armories were built directly alongside the training area in 2012. Many other National Guard units use the site for drill weekends and annual trainings. Airmen out of Offutt Air Force Base practiceSurvival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) Training at the site several weekends a year.
Site "B" is in use for agricultural storage. Site "C" has been demolished, with only the access roads remaining.
Serial killerJohn Joubert murdered two boys while stationed at the base in 1983.
In September 2019, a shooting took place in Offutt's private housing community, in which Sgt. Zachary Firlik and his wife Kari Firlik were killed.[20][21] The case was identified as a murder-suicide. The shooter, Zachary Firlik, was an active off-duty airman who killed his wife and then himself. Their five year-old daughter was downstairs at the time, and fled the house after hearing gunshots.[22]
Offutt Air Force Base is the host station for the55th Wing (55 WG), the largest wing of the United States Air Force'sAir Combat Command. Additionally, the base is home to many significant associate units, including US Strategic Command Headquarters, the 557th Weather Wing, the Omaha operating location of the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, and many others.
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The 55th Wing is composed of five groups at Offutt AFB and at various locations worldwide:
_United_States_Of_America_(7517136476).jpg)
The595th Command and Control Group (C2G) was activated in a ceremony held on 6 October 2016.[25]
The mission of the 595th C2G is to consolidate the Air Force's portion of the nuclear triad, including Air Force nuclear command and control communications, under the auspices ofAir Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). Previously, portions of the Air Force's command and control of nuclear operations had been divided among AFGSC,Air Combat Command, and theTwentieth Air Force.
The 595th Command and Control Group is composed of four squadrons:
The557th Weather Wing, formerly the Air Force Weather Agency, is headquartered at Offutt AFB. It is the lead weather center of theUnited States Air Force.
Offutt AFB is the headquarters ofUnited States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), which is one of the tenUnified Combatant Commands of theUnited States Department of Defense (DoD).USSTRATCOM was established in 1992 as a successor toStrategic Air Command (SAC).
It is charged with space operations (such as military satellites), information operations (such asinformation warfare), missile defense, global command and control, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR), global strike and strategic deterrence (the United States nuclear arsenal), and combating weapons of mass destruction.
Flying and notable non-flying units based at Offutt Air Force Base.[26][27][28][29][30][31][32]
Units marked GSU are Geographically Separate Units, which although based at Offutt, are subordinate to a parent unit based at another location.
Air Combat Command (ACC)
| Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC)
Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC)
Air National Guard (ANG)
Department of Defense[edit]United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM)
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)
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Most of the high-ranking officials at Offutt live on General's Row, a row of 4-story duplexes that were built in 1895.[citation needed]
Because of its central position in the US, radio traffic to and from Offutt is often heard byshortwave listeners on 11175 kHz, USB.[34]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 5,363 | — | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[35] | |||
Offutt AFB, Nebraska | |
|---|---|
 Location of Offutt AFB, Nebraska | |
 U.S. Census map | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Nebraska |
| County | Sarpy |
| Area | |
• Total | 4.17 sq mi (10.80 km2) |
| • Land | 3.97 sq mi (10.27 km2) |
| • Water | 0.20 sq mi (0.53 km2) |
| Elevation | 988 ft (301 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 5,363 |
| • Density | 1,352.9/sq mi (522.35/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| FIPS code | 31-35945[37] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0837659[38] |
| Website | www |
As of the census[37] of 2000, there were 8,901 people, 2,304 households, and 2,255 families residing on the base. The population density was 2,113.1 people per square mile (816.3/km2). There were 2,429 housing units at an average density of 576.6/sq mi (222.8/km2). The racial makeup of the base was 78.0%White, 10.4%Black orAfrican American, 0.7%Native American, 2.7%Asian, 0.3%Pacific Islander, 3.6% fromother races, and 4.3% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 7.4% of the population.
There were 2,304 households, out of which 79.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 90.5% were married couples living together, 5.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 2.1% were non-families. 1.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and none had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.61 and the average family size was 3.64.
On the base the population was spread out, with 41.9% under the age of 18, 16.8% from 18 to 24, 39.7% from 25 to 44, 1.4% from 45 to 64, and 0.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.7 males.
The median income for a household on the base was $36,742, and the median income for a family was $36,619. Males had a median income of $25,391 versus $21,593 for females. The per capita income for the base was $11,580. About 4.4% of families and 5.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.1% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.
Offutt Air Force Base is located at41°06′49″N95°55′42″W / 41.11361°N 95.92833°W /41.11361; -95.92833.[39]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the base has a total area of 4.3 square miles (11.3 km2), of which, 4.2 square miles (10.9 km2) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.4 km2) of it (3.22%) is water.
Most of the base is in theBellevue Public Schoolsschool district. A portion is in thePapillion-La Vista School District.[40]
Offutt was brought to popular attention during its SAC period when the command was depicted in the 1955 filmStrategic Air Command starringJimmy Stewart, the 1963 filmA Gathering of Eagles starringRock Hudson, and 1964'sFail-Safe starringHenry Fonda (which not only claimed to show portions of the base but also a nearby Omaha neighborhood) andDr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb starringPeter Sellers (which depicts a nuclear first strike from a mad general at the fictional Burpelson Air Force Base).
Offutt appeared in theStar Trek episode "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" (identified as 'the Omaha installation'), when a fighter pilot stationed there detects the approaching USSEnterprise and is transported aboard.
TheDale Brown novelPlan of Attack saw nuclear missiles launched by Russian bombers attacking multiple bomber bases all over the U.S, including Offutt, which is destroyed by fourKh-15 (AS-17 Kickback) missiles. Only oneBoeing E-4 NEACP escapes in time, and the officials of the Eighth Air Force and STRATCOM are eliminated in the process.Pat Frank's iconicCold War novelAlas, Babylon (1959) has Air Force Colonel Mark Bragg, the brother of the protagonist Randy Bragg, stationed at Offutt.
In the 1983 post apocalyptic feature film for television, "The Day After", Offutt is represented as a SAC Aircraft departs the field as the cameras then change focus to the countryside as the credits roll.
Offutt is also mentioned in Strike Three, a post-apocalyptic novel, by Joy V. Smith.
An aerial view of Offutt is used as a photographic reference on an SCPF Secure Facility Dossier for Site-19.[41]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency This article incorporatespublic domain material fromOffutt Air Force Base.United States Air Force.
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