Scott Air Force Base ( IATA : BLV , ICAO : KBLV , FAA LID : BLV ) is a United States Air Force base in St. Clair County, Illinois , near Belleville and O'Fallon , 17 miles (27 km) east-southeast of downtown St. Louis . Scott Field was one of 32 Air Service training camps established after the United States entered World War I in April 1917. It is headquarters of Air Mobility Command (AMC) and its showcase wing, and it is also the headquarters of the U.S. Transportation Command , a Unified Combatant Command that coordinates transportation across all the services.
55-579: The Cyberspace Capabilities Center ( CCC ), located at Scott Air Force Base , Illinois , is the primary organization that develops cyber domain requirements in the United States Air Force . The center's goals are to attain a unity of effort of functions and tasks across cyber organizations, to improve scalability of resources, to prioritize demand via multiple requirements processes, and delineate enterprise information technology roles from cyber operation missions' services. “Simply put,
110-468: A 1991 joint use agreement resulted in the 1998 opening of the new MidAmerica Airport. Similarly, the 1992 realignment of refueling units to AMC, plus the planned MidAmerica construction, led to a 1995 Base Realignment and Closure committee recommendation to relocate the 126th Air Refueling Wing to Scott AFB. AMC's 15th and 21st Air Forces became Expeditionary Mobility Task Forces in 2003. They, along with all AMC wings and independent groups realigned to
165-466: A Flying School Detachment, and the field itself was designated as a storage site for demobilized equipment. Welcome news came early in 1919, with the War Department's announcement of its decision to purchase Scott Field, a decision influenced by Scott's central location and exceptional purchase price of $ 119,285.84. This gave Scott a promise of a future; however, it still lacked a mission. Scott
220-553: A ceremony. The CCC falls under Air Combat Command, which accepted cyber responsibilities in the summer of 2018. ACC has been making strides to foster innovation and integrate cyber functions to better support combatant commander requests for forces. The secretary of the Air Force and Air Force chief of staff directed the realignment to ACC to help the service support the National Defense Strategy’s goal of preparing for
275-437: A diverse mix of assigned and non-assigned aircraft to support aeromedical airlift, operational support airlift and air refueling missions. The 375th Airlift Wing officially became the 375th Air Mobility Wing on 30 September 2009. The Total Force Integration effort called for the creation of an associate unit consisting of active duty KC-135 pilots, boom operators, and maintainers who worked side by side with their counterparts in
330-431: A field meet and flight exhibition—Scott's first air show. Flying was discontinued at Scott Field after the war and the base population dropped. The War Department purchased Scott Field in 1919 for $ 119, 285.84 Scott Field's future became uncertain after the 11 November 1918 armistice with Germany and the end of World War I. Large scale demobilization closed many U.S. airfields. Scott's remaining units were organized into
385-807: A field operating agency of USAF to a subordinate unit of the Air Force Communications and Information Center on 1 April 1997. Its status changed again, from a subordinate unit of the Air Force Communications and Information Center to a USAF Field Operating Agency on 1 October 2000. It was subordinated to Air Force Space Command on 4 May 2009. In 2012 it was announced that AFNIC would be restructured, transferring some of its cyber mission to Air Force Space Command . Current organize, train and equip staff functions within AFNIC, such as records, forms, publications, cyber training programs, cyber requirements support, plans, and maintenance policy, transferred to
440-478: A fleet of C-9A Nightingales in 1968 further expanded the 375th's aeromedical mission. In 1973, Scott's Patient Airlift Center coordinated 61 aeromedical missions to bring 357 former Vietnam War Prisoners of War back to the United States. In June 1973, the 1400th Air Base Wing inactivated, the 375th Air Base Group (today the 375th Mission Support Group) reactivated, and host wing responsibilities reverted to
495-423: A future high-end fight. Air Force Organizational Excellence Award : 1 July 1984 - 30 June 1986, 1 July 1986 - 30 June 1988, 1 July 1988 - 30 June 1990, 1 July 1990 - 30 June 1992, 1 July 1992 - 30 June 1994, 1 July 1994 - 30 June 1996, 1 April 1997 - 30 Sept 1998, 1 Oct 1998 - 30 Sept 2000, 20 Apr 2002 - 30 Sept 2003 Scott Air Force Base The base is operated by the 375th Air Mobility Wing (375 AMW) and
550-401: A glimpse of airplane activity, but many from the local community also gave morale support to their "Sammies" (Uncle Sam's boys). They hosted dances and receptions, established a library branch on the field, and invited soldiers into their homes for Thanksgiving dinners. Likewise, Scott Field hosted sporting events with their community neighbors. On 17 August 1918, they invited the public to attend
605-520: A newly activated 18th Air Force . The new ready mobility operations capability would speed AMC's support for contingencies and humanitarian missions. In 2003, age, noise, maintenance and lack of demand led to the retirement of the C-9A Nightingale. In the years that followed, the C-21A fleet was reorganized and reduced. These events caused a flying mission restructuring that today has Scott using
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#1732801266784660-519: A parent unit based at another location. Air Mobility Command (AMC) Air Combat Command (ACC) Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) Air Force District of Washington Air Force Field Operating Agencies Air National Guard (ANG) Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) Civil Air Patrol (CAP) Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC) United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) The residential part of
715-581: A separate service on 18 September 1947, and on 13 January 1948, Scott Field was re-designated as Scott Air Force Base and the 3310th Technical Training Wing assumed host responsibility from the 3505th Army Air Forces Base Unit. In 1948, Scott's Radio School was re-organized, with the radio operator and control tower courses relocated to Keesler AFB , Mississippi. In addition, the fixed wire courses at Scott went to Francis E. Warren AFB , Wyoming, so that Scott had room to expand its radio mechanic school. In early 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson initiated
770-580: A series of economic measures throughout the armed forces. His purpose was to effect greater utilization of the assets assigned to all services. As a result of these actions, a number of bases transferred between major commands, schools moved, and other bases closed. Because of these DOD-directed initiatives, Headquarters USAF decided to move Air Training Command (ATC) headquarters from Barksdale AFB , Louisiana to Scott AFB, effective 17 October 1949. The new ATC headquarters established in Building P-3, which
825-666: Is also home to the Air Force Reserve Command 's 932d Airlift Wing (932 AW) and the Illinois Air National Guard 's 126th Air Refueling Wing (126 ARW), the latter two units being operationally gained by AMC. The base currently employs 13,000 people, 5,100 civilians with 5,500 active-duty Air Force, and an additional 2,400 Air National Guard and Reserve personnel. It was announced in June 2014 that two new cybersecurity squadrons will be added to
880-934: Is listed as the Scott Field Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places . With the outbreak of World War II, the GHQAF move to Scott was cancelled. Instead, Scott Field reverted to its former role as a training installation. On 1 June 1939, one of Scott's Balloon Groups was redesignated as a headquarters unit of the Scott Field Branch of the Army Air Corps Technical Schools. Subsequently, various technical schools moved to Scott. Its communications training era began in September 1940 with
935-493: The General Headquarters Air Force (GHQAF), which managed the combat arm of the U.S. Army. Scott Field grew from 628 acres in 1938 to 1,882 acres in 1939. Most of the frame World War I and lighter-than-air constructions were torn down—only a few, such as the 9th Airstrip Squadron headquarters/barracks building, a brick theater and nine sets of brick non-commissioned officers' quarters at the south end of
990-781: The Mississippi River wanted the Midwest to be chosen as a site for one of the new "flying fields." Aerial expert Albert Bond Lambert joined the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce and directors of the Greater Belleville Board of Trade to negotiate a lease agreement for nearly 624 acres of land. After inspecting several sites, the U.S. War Department agreed to the lease June 14, 1917. Congress appropriated $ 10 million for its construction, and 2,000 laborers and carpenters were immediately put to work. The layout of Scott Field
1045-532: The 126th Air Refueling Wing. The 375th Operation Group staff had administrative responsibilities for 135 aircrew members and maintainers under the 906th Air Refueling Squadron , a unit that moved from Grand Forks AFB , North Dakota. The 126th Air Refueling Wing maintained the operational direction and control of the mission execution responsibility of these Airmen. Scott AFB served as one of six locations in Air Mobility Command and one of 10 throughout
1100-412: The 375th Aeromedical Airlift Wing. By 1975, the 375th gained responsibility for the worldwide aeromedical evacuation system. The 375th gained another mission in 1978; Operational Support Airlift. Scott received its first T-39A Sabreliner in 1962. After 1978, the 375th was managing a dispersed continental fleet of 104 Sabreliners flying a combined 92,000 hours a year. The CT-39As were phased out in 1984,
1155-580: The 74-mph speed record for dirigibles, set by Scott Field's TC-1 in 1923, and the American free balloon altitude record of 28,510 feet (8,690 m), set in 1927, by Captain Hawthorne C. Gray . Captain Gray would have set a 42,470-foot (12,940 m) world record later that same year had he survived that flight. In the late 1920s, emphasis shifted from airships to balloons. In 1929, the 12th Airship Company
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#17328012667841210-681: The AFSPC Cyberspace Support Squadron (CYSS), which stood up at Scott AFB. In November 2019, AFNIC was designated the Cyberspace Capabilities Center under Air Combat Command . The center, or CCC, absorbed the Air Force Network Integration Center, Air Combat Command's Cyberspace Support Squadron and the 38th Cyberspace Readiness Squadron, which were all located at Scott Air Force Base and inactivated during
1265-524: The Air Force major commands in the field. Each host base gained command responsibility for the local communications unit formerly commanded by AFCC. Total personnel assigned to AFCC fell to slightly under 8,000. AFCC retained the responsibility for engineering, installing, removing, and relocating Air Force communications, computer, and air traffic control systems. AFCC kept the Computer Systems Division at Gunter Air Force Base , AL., and
1320-437: The Air Force where TFI efforts unfolded. On June 25, 2014, the base was awarded two new cybersecurity squadrons that will add over 300 personnel, and an additional $ 16 million infrastructure improvements. The base presently has three cyber units. Flying and notable non-flying units based at Scott Air Force Base. Units marked GSU are Geographically Separate Units, which although based at Scott, are subordinate to
1375-464: The Army Air Forces." By the end of World War II, Scott's Radio School—becoming something of a "Communications University of the Army Air Forces", where it expanded during the war to fill about 46 large school buildings on base. It was from this course that many specialized radio and communications courses evolved, and had graduated 77,370 radio operator/mechanics. While all had been important to
1430-1023: The Army Airways Communications System was established within the Directorate of Communications of the Office of the Chief of the Air Corps , as a staff branch. The organization first became a unit, as opposed to a staff branch, with the creation of the Army Airways Communications System Wing and its assignment to the Flight Control Command when it was activated with the effective date of 26 April 1943. The organization became the: In October 1990 much of AFCC's personnel, organizations, and responsibilities were transferred to
1485-502: The CCC will provide future opportunities to enhance how the Air Force provides Enterprise Information Technology capabilities and will better support and develop Airmen working in this mission set,” said Brig. Gen. Chad Raduege, Director of Cyberspace and Information Dominance, during the designation ceremony in 2019. The Center traces its history to the establishment of the Army Airways Communications System Wing in 1943. On 15 November 1938
1540-704: The Engineering Installation Division at Tinker Air Force Base , OK. It also organized a new Technology Integration Center at Scott Air Force Base, co-located with AFCC headquarters. On 28 May 1993 Air Force Communications Command became the Air Force Command, Control, Communications, and Computer Agency. Just over three years later, on 13 June 1996, a further change occurred, to the Air Force Communications Agency (AFCA). The AFCA's status changed from
1595-515: The United States. In October 1973, it served as an aeromedical evacuation center established under wing control at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, assumed the functions previously handled by smaller centers at Scott, McGuire Air Force Base , New Jersey , and Travis Air Force Base , California . In April 1975, when the aeromedical evacuation support units in Germany and the Far East came under
1650-797: The United States. In 1940, a $ 1 million project began to construct four mile-long concrete runways. Though not fully completed until November 1942, the portions that were complete provided a capability to give advanced flying school graduates instruction in instrument and night flying, navigation, photography, and administrative flights. By late 1943, the Radio School students were in the air as well, practicing code transmission under actual flight conditions. Unfortunately, airfield operations had to be sharply curtailed in May 1944, after an accidental tool-spark set fire to Hangar 1—Scott's only hangar. Repairs were not completed until May 1945. The U.S. Air Force became
1705-439: The United States. It provides operational support airlift for government officials. It offers direct security for U.S. community and nation. And it provides support for U.S. host units—making possible the command and control of the United States' entire military transportation effort. 375th Operations Group (375 OG) 375th Mission Support Group (375 MSG) 375th Medical Group (375 MDG) The 375 Troop Carrier Wing, Medium
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1760-617: The base is a census-designated place ; the population was 3,612 at the 2010 census . According to the United States Census Bureau , the base has a total area of 9.7 km (3.7 sq mi), all land. 375th Air Mobility Wing The 375th Air Mobility Wing (375 AMW) is a unit of the United States Air Force stationed at Scott Air Force Base , Illinois and assigned to Eighteenth Air Force under Air Mobility Command (AMC). The wing has four primary missions. It supports aeromedical evacuation within
1815-862: The continental United States, Alaska , and off-shore areas of the North Atlantic and the Caribbean from January 1966 for the Air Force, other Department of Defense (DoD) agencies, the U.S. Public Health Service , and the Veterans Administration (VA), augmented by aircraft of the Air National Guard and other Military Airlift Command units. Between January 1966 and April 1975 the wing maintained and scheduled support aircraft at Scott Air Force Base , Illinois , generally using aircrews provided by other Scott-based units to provide scheduled air shuttle and courier service to
1870-459: The east and west coasts. From January 1966 to September 1968 and since June 1973, the wing operated and maintained Scott AFB. It airlifted more than 700 VA hospital patients from Biloxi and Gulfport , Mississippi , to safety during Hurricane Camille in August 1969; during Project Homecoming in early 1973 the wing flew 119 sorties to airlift some 350 U.S. prisoners of war to 26 hospitals in
1925-399: The end of 1950, Douglas C-54 Skymasters were bringing 200 patients a week to Scott. In 1957, Military Air Transport Service (MATS) moved to Scott AFB to help facilitate management of its east and west coast units, and between July and October 1957, ATC transferred its headquarters to Randolph AFB , Texas. During the changeover some technical training continued, however, by February 1959,
1980-412: The few remaining technical courses left Scott for other bases. As part of the air mobility transition, ATC's 3310th Technical Training Wing was re-designated on 1 October 1957, as the 1405th Air Base Wing, a MATS organization. With the transition complete, Scott's new primary mission became air mobility. With the re-alignment to MATS, Aeromedical evacuation continued to grow and in 1964, Scott's host wing
2035-410: The field were saved. New housing, industrial and administrative buildings were completed by May 1939. The expansion program continued into 1940 with the construction of 21 more buildings, including a 200-man barracks, a 300,000-gallon elevated water tank, a 43-bed hospital, Hangar No. 1 and a General Headquarters Air Force office. Scott Field, as it existed at the end of the 1940 expansion program,
2090-449: The first enlisted service member killed in an aviation crash. Scott had died after an unexpected engine failure had brought down the aircraft that Lieutenant Lewis Rockwell had been giving him an orientation flight in at College Park, Maryland, on September 28, 1912. Scott Field began as an aviation-training field for World War I pilots in August 1917 when the 11th and 21st Aero Squadrons from Kelly Field , Texas, arrived. Construction
2145-477: The first flight from Scott Field in a Standard J-1 two-seater biplane. At least seven J-1s were already on Scott; by the time the first Curtiss JN-4 D "Jenny" arrived. Operable from the front or rear seat, the 8-cylinder, 90- horsepower, Jenny would become the primary trainer used on Scott Field. Everything moved fast in a wartime environment, including the dangerous act of learning to fly airplanes. A judgment error or weather shift could produce severe accidents in
2200-481: The fragile aircraft of the day, so it soon became apparent that Scott Field needed a medical air evacuation capability. Determined to improve the recovery of Scott's downed pilots, Captains Charles Bayless (post surgeon), Early Hoag (officer-in-charge of flying) and A.J. Etheridge (post engineer), along with Second Lieutenant Seth Thomas, designed two air ambulances, or hospital planes—using a configuration likely modeled after one in use at Gerstner Field , Louisiana. By
2255-437: The nation's victory, two of the schools better known graduates were Medal of Honor recipient Technical Sergeant Forrest Lee Vosler , and the future first Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force , Paul Airey . Though the Radio School was the primary World War II-era mission, it was not intended to be Scott's only mission. The Air Corps had also planned for Scott to become a major air terminal due to its centralized location in
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2310-457: The opening of the Radio School. After September 1940, the primary wartime mission of Scott was to train skilled radio operator/maintainers; to produce, as the Radio School's slogan proclaimed, "the best damned radio operators in the world!" Scott's graduates flew in aircraft and operated command and control communications in every Theater of the War, and were often referred to as the "Eyes and Ears of
2365-605: The same year the first Gates C-21A Learjets arrived at Scott. As the 375th reorganized, it transitioned to a Military Airlift Wing in 1990 and an Airlift Wing in 1991. In 1992, Military Airlift Command inactivated and its personnel and assets were combined with others to form Air Mobility Command (AMC). Later in the 1990s, two new partners joined Scott's team, MidAmerica Airport and the Illinois Air National Guard 126th Air Refueling Wing . A 1987 Federal Aviation Administration authorization, followed by
2420-400: The summer of 1918, Scott Field's engineering department had completed the rear cockpit modifications needed to convert two Jennies. Not long thereafter, on 24 August 1918, as aviator with a broken leg became Scott's first air evacuated patient. Also reassuring was the support Scott Field enjoyed from the local community. Plenty of curious sightseers came just to watch the construction or catch
2475-467: The three currently on base. Its airfield is also used by civilian aircraft, with civilian operations at the base referring to the facility as MidAmerica St. Louis Airport . MidAmerica has operated as a Joint Use Airport since beginning operations in November 1997. During World War I, Secretary of War Newton Baker advocated an expanded role for aviation. Business and political leaders on both sides of
2530-466: The transformation of the facility, Major John A. Paegelow was selected as commanding officer of the facility in 1923, succeeding Colonel C. G. Hall who left the facility "to pursue a course of instruction in rigid airships with the Navy." Paegelow had been during World War I the commander of all Allied lighter-than-air activities on the warfront. A couple of highlights of Scott's LTA era (1921–1937) include
2585-524: The wing's control, it became the single-point manager for worldwide DoD aeromedical evacuation services. It evacuated wounded during the invasion of Grenada , 24 October – 9 November 1983. It transported 350 wounded Afghan citizens to hospitals in the United States, May–December 1987. It controlled the 1467th Facility Checking Squadron from October 1987 – September 1991, which inspected DoD navigation aids and radar facilities worldwide. The wing operated and maintained an aeromedical evacuation system on
2640-604: Was activated at Greater Pittsburgh Airport, Pennsylvania and trained in the Reserve from May 1949 until it was called to active duty in October 1950. After a period of intensive training, now as a wing, it participated in troop carrier and airlift operations, paratroop drops, and other exercises , October 1950 – July 1952. The wing was again allotted to the Reserve for training from July 1952 – November 1957. It conducted domestic aeromedical airlift and evacuation operations in
2695-457: Was completed in August, and the first flight from Scott Field occurred 2 September 1917. Flying instruction began 11 September 1917. Later the 85th and 86th Aero Squadrons arrived, and more than 300 pilots and many ground units were trained for service by the war's end in 1918. Training units assigned to Scott Field were: By 2 September, William Couch, a civilian flying instructor, and Scott Field Commander, Major George E. A. Reinburg, made
2750-485: Was inactivated and replaced the next day by the 1st Balloon Company. Airplanes began to dominate activities at Scott Field by the mid-1930s. A series of airship mishaps led the Chief of the Army Air Corps to recommend an end to LTA activities in May 1937, and the following month Scott's LTA era came to an abrupt end. Scott Field's central location was advantageous when it was considered for the relocation site of
2805-515: Was originally designed to be Headquarters, General Headquarters Air Force (GHQ Air Force). Air Training Command moved its headquarters into the building on 17 October 1949. At Scott, ATC absorbed the functions of its previous three subordinate headquarters—Flying, Technical, and Indoctrination Divisions. Throughout the USAF transition, Scott's primary mission remained technical training; however, Scott's aeromedical evacuation mission continued to grow. By
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#17328012667842860-544: Was re-designated as the 1405th Aeromedical Transport Wing. Increasing importance placed on airlift and the decision by the Navy to set up its own transport command led to the Military Air Transport Service being re-designated as Military Airlift Command (MAC) in 1966. Associated with this reorganization, the 1405th was discontinued and its mission and resources were absorbed by the newly activated AFCON 375th Aeromedical Airlift Wing . The addition of
2915-492: Was three blocks long, nearly one block wide and 15 stories high. One report commented that 100,000 men—nearly the entire U.S. Army in 1923—could have stood in formation inside it. Scott's hangar was second in size only to the naval station hangar in Lakehurst , New Jersey, the largest one in the world at the time. The base also had hydrogen production facilities, which were enhanced significantly around 1923. Consistent with
2970-464: Was transformed into a lighter-than-air (LTA) station in 1921, with the transfer of the Army Balloon and Airship School from Brooks Field , Texas. Lighter-than-air ships were used at Scott Field to research the capabilities of aerial photography, meteorology and conduct altitude experiments. The most notable addition was the new airship hangar. Constructed between September 1921 and January 1923, it
3025-500: Was typical of aviation fields built during World War I. Construction began in June 1917. The government gave the Unit Construction Company 60 days to erect approximately 60 buildings, lay a mile-long railroad spur, and to level off an airfield with a 1,600 foot landing circle. Construction was underway when the government announced, on July 20, 1917, that it would name the new field after Corporal Frank S. Scott ,
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