Dyess_Air_Force_Base

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Dyess Air Force Base

Dyess Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located five miles (8 km) southwest of the central business district of Abilene, a city in Taylor County, Texas, United States.

The base employs more than 5,000 people, making it the single largest employer in the area. Dyess AFB has nearly 200 facilities on base, plus 1076 units of family housing, and encompasses of land. The base has a total economic impact of over $446 million annually on the local community.

It is also an emergency landing site for the NASA Space Shuttle orbiter.

Units

The host unit at Dyess is the 7th Bomb Wing (7 BW) of the Air Combat Command (ACC), which was activated on 1 October 1993. The 7 BW performs combat training with the North American B-1B Lancer bomber and is the Air Force's premier operational B-1B unit with 36 aircraft.

The 7 BW consists of the following groups:

7th Operations Group (Tail Code: "DY")

28th Bomb Squadron (B-1B) (Blue/White Chex tail stripe)
9th Bomb Squadron (B-1B. T-38A) (Black tail stripe)
7th Operations Support Squadron
436th Training Squadron

7th Mission Support Group
7th Maintenance Group
7th Medical Group

The 317th Airlift Group (317 AG), an Air Mobility Command (AMC) tenant unit, performs Lockheed C-130 Hercules airlift operations with 33 C-130s assigned to the group.

The 317th AG consists of the following squadrons:

39th Airlift Squadron "Trail Blazers" (C-130H) ("Dyess" Red tail stripe)
40th Airlift Squadron "Screaming Eagles" (C-130H) ("Dyess" Blue tail stripe)
317th Maintenance Squadron
317th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
317th Maintenance Operations Squadron
317th Operations Support Squadron

Dyess AFB is also home to several tenant units, including Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) Detachment 222.

History

The base is named after Lt Col William Edwin Dyess, a native of Albany, Texas who was captured by the Japanese on Bataan in April 1942. Dyess escaped in April 1943 and fought with guerilla forces on Mindanao until evacuated by submarine in July 1943. During retraining in the United States, his P-38 caught fire in flight on 23 Dec 1943 near Burbank, CA. He refused to bail out over a populated area and died in the crash of his P-38 in a vacant lot.

World War II

In 1942, the United States Army Air Forces built Tye Army Air Field, as it was popularly known, on the site of what is now known as Dyess AFB. On 18 December 1942, the field was opened and was initailly named Abilene Army Air Base. The name was changed on 8 Apr 1943 to Abilene Army Airfield. The first host unit as Abilene AAB was the 474th Base HQ and Airbase Squadron, established on 18 December 1942. The airfield was initially assigned to Second Air Force and it's mission was to be a flying training center for cadets.

Known groups which trained at the base during the war were:

77th Reconnaissance Group (6 Apr 1943 - 12 Sep 1943)
69th Tactical Reconnaissance Group (10 Sep 1943 - 12 Nov 1943)
408th Fighter-Bomber Group (10 Nov 1943 - Jan 1944)

The 77th and 69th groups were units that trained reconnaissance personnel who later served overseas. The 408th was a new group which received A-24, A-26, P-40, and P-47 aircraft in Oct 1943 and began training. It was disbanded shortly after leaving Abilene on 1 Apr 1944.

On 25 March 1944, Republic P-47 Thunderbolt training for flight cadets was taken over by the 261st Army Air Force Base Unit. Training continued until 1 Apr 1946.

With the end of the war, the base was declared inactive on 31 January 1946. Although assigned to Continental Air Command, Abilene AAF was classified as an inactive sub-base of Fort Worth Army Airfield and was sold to the city of Abilene for $1. It was used as a training facility for the Texas Army National Guard for several years.

Cold War

Shortly after the Korean War broke out, the city of Abilene called for the need of a military installation. They believed the 1,500 acres (6 km²) of the former Tye AAF were the perfect site for a new base. The city's leaders went to The Pentagon with their request. The city showed their determination for a new base by raising almost $1 million dollars to purchase an additional 3,500 acres (14 km²) adjacent to the site. They were able to attract U.S. Senator Lyndon B. Johnson's (D-TX) attention, who had the power to persuade military officials to reactivate the base in Abilene. Finally, in July 1952, Congress approved the $32 million needed to construct an Air Force Base on the Tye AAF site. It was to be called Abilene Air Force Base and a little over three years after first starting construction, the base was opened on April 15, 1956.

Dyess' first active combat unit was the 341st Bombardment Wing, which activated on September 1, 1955. The 341st was part of the Strategic Air Command (SAC), flying the B-47 Stratojet, which it continued to operate until its deactivation on 25 June 1961. On 1 December 1956, the name of the base was changed to Dyess Air Force Base in honor of the late Lt Col William E. Dyess, USAAF.

The 96th Bomb Wing moved to Dyess on 8 September 1957 and for a few years worked alongside the 341st. It included not just B-47 and B-52 nuclear bombers, but also the KC-97 and later on the KC-135 refueling aircraft. During the Cold War, the base was constantly on alert in case of nuclear attack. There were even signs in the base's movie theater that would instantly alert pilots in the scenario that the USSR would initiate a nuclear attack during a movie. These can still be seen today at the theater.

Since 1961, various models of C-130 Hercules aircraft have been stationed at Dyess AFB. The C-130s were originally assigned to the 64th Troop Carrier Wing (TCW) and from 1963 to 1972, the 516th Troop Carrier Wing was the host C-130 wing. In 1972, the 516 TCW was replaced with the 463d Tactical Airlift Wing (463 TAW). During the Vietnam conflict, TAC C-130 crews routinely rotated to forward based C-130 wings in the Pacific theater to support operations in Vietnam. In 1974, the 463 TAW was reassigned from Tactical Air Command TAC to Military Airlift Command (MAC) as part of a USAF-wide initiative to place both strategic and tactical airlift assets under MAC control.

From 1962 to 1965 Dyess Air Force Base had 13 SM-65 Atlas Missile sites Stationed around it. The Dyess sites were operated by the 578th Strategic Missile Squadron. After being decommissioned in 1965, the Atlas missiles were removed and all sites demilitarized.

In June 1985, the 96th received its first B-1B Lancer. It was intended to replace the base's B-52 Stratofortresses and in October 1986, officially took over the nuclear alert duties. Shortly after, the Soviet Union fell and left many wondering the fate of the base. In 1991 the 463d Tactical Airlift Wing was simply designated the 463d Airlift Wing (463 AW). In October 1992, the parent commands of both wings changed. The 96 BW being reassigned to the newly established Air Combat Command (ACC), and the 463 AW being assigned to the new Air Mobility Command (AMC).

Post Cold War

On October 1, 1993, the 96 BW and 463 AW were both deactivated and replaced by the 7th Wing, a former B-52 and KC-135 wing that had been located at the former Carswell AFB which was being realigned as NAS Fort Worth JRB/Carswell ARS as a result of BRAC action . The 7th Wing incorporated Dyess' B-1Bs and C-130s, the latter which transferred from Air Mobility Command to Air Combat Command.

Within its first year, the 7th Wing's diverse mission made it one of the most active units in the United States Air Force. The C-130s were deployed around the globe performing several airlift missions to Europe and the Persian Gulf. The crews and support people of the B-1s focused on enhancing the purpose of the Lancer in a post-Soviet 21st century.

In the 1997, Dyess' C-130s were transferred back to Air Mobility Command, and the 317th Airlift Group was created as the parent unit for Dyess' C-130 squadrons. At the same time, the 7th Wing was redesignated the 7th Bomb Wing. Despite this separation as units, both the 7th Bomb Wing and the 317th Airlift Group remained at Dyess.

Dyess in the 21st century

The 7th Bomb Wing and 317th Airlift Group were called to duty once again shortly after September 11, 2001. Both played and continue to play vital roles in both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Many of the 7th BW's B-1s and support personnel deploy to Southwest Asia. From there the 7 BW provides close air support to troops in the field and precision strike missions with the B-1B Lancer. The 317th Airlift Group has been deployed continuously to Southwest Asia since December 2003 where the group provides airlift support to OIF, OEF and Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa operations.

A look at Dyess today

One of the many unique features of Dyess is its extensive collection of static military aircraft on display. Collectively known as the "Linear Air Park," it contains 30 aircraft from World War II to the present, many of them formerly based at Dyess, and is located along the base's main road, Arnold Blvd. All but one plane has been flown before. Its most recent addition is the first operational B-1B Lancer, known as "The Star of Abilene," which made its final flight in 2003. It can be seen at the front gate to Dyess along with a recently retired C-130 Hercules located on the other side of the road.

Another unique feature of Dyess is its main source of energy. In January 2003, Dyess became the first Department of Defense installation in the United States to be powered exclusively from renewable wind energy. Today, most of the energy Dyess receives is from other sources of renewable energy, such as biomass, and is considered one of the "greenest" bases in the U.S. Air Force.

The remnants of Tye AAF can still be seen today. Parts of the old runway still exist as well as part of its parking area on the west side of Dyess.

References

Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0892010924.
Mueller, Robert (1989). Volume 1: Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982. USAF Reference Series, Office of Air Force History, United States Air Force, Washington, D.C. ISBN 0912799536; 0160022614