Creech Air Force Base

Creech Air Force Base
Indian Springs, Nevada in the US
A MQ-9 Reaper Unmanned Aerial Vehicle taxis at Creech Air Force Base during 2007.
A MQ-9 Reaper Unmanned Aerial Vehicle taxis at Creech Air Force Base during 2007.
Creech is located in Nevada
Creech
Creech
Creech is located in the United States
Creech
Creech
Coordinates36°35′32″N 115°40′00″W / 36.59222°N 115.66667°W / 36.59222; -115.66667
TypeUS Air Force base
Area2,300 acres (3.6 sq mi)[1]
Site information
OwnerDepartment of Defense
OperatorUS Air Force
Controlled byAir Combat Command (ACC)
ConditionOperational
Websitewww.creech.af.mil
Site history
Built1941 (1941) (as Indian Springs Airport)
In use1942–1945 and 1949–present
Garrison information
Current
commander
Colonel Stephen R. Jones
Garrison432nd Wing
Airfield information
IdentifiersIATA: INS, ICAO: KINS, FAA LID: INS, WMO: 746140
Elevation955 metres (3,133 ft) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
8/26 2,744 metres (9,003 ft) Asphalt
13/31 1,525 metres (5,003 ft) Asphalt

Creech Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) command and control facility in Clark County, Nevada used "to engage in daily Overseas Contingency Operations[2] …of remotely piloted aircraft systems which fly missions across the globe."[3] In addition to an airport, the military installation has the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Battlelab,[4] associated aerial warfare ground equipment, and unmanned aerial vehicles of the type used in Afghanistan and Iraq. Creech is the aerial training site for the USAF Thunderbirds and "is one of two emergency divert airfields" for the Nevada Test and Training Range.[3]

In addition to the airfield, the base includes the "UAV-Logistic and Training Facility",[5] the Joint Unmanned Aerial Systems Center of Excellence, Silver Flag Alpha Regional Training Center, and other military units/facilities. The base is named in honor of retired US Air Force General Wilbur L. Creech, the former commanding officer of Tactical Air Command (TAC), the predecessor command of the current Air Combat Command (ACC).

  1. ^ "Creech Air Force Base". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  2. ^ "Overseas Contingency Operations" (PDF). Office of Management and Budget. 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2016 – via National Archives.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Nellis was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Shaw was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Section VI: Location Factors" (PDF). Historical Air Force Construction (cost handbook). Directorate of Engineering Support, AFCE Support Agency. February 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 September 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2013.