Fairchild Air Force Base

Fairchild Air Force Base
Near Spokane, Washington in the United States
A Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker of the 92nd Air Refueling Wing departs Fairchild AFB during 2014.
92nd Air Refueling Wing's KC-135 Stratotanker
departs Fairchild AFB in 2014
Fairchild AFB is located in North America
Fairchild AFB
Fairchild
AFB
Fairchild AFB is located in the United States
Fairchild AFB
Fairchild
AFB
Fairchild AFB is located in Washington (state)
Fairchild AFB
Fairchild
AFB
Coordinates47°36′54″N 117°39′20″W / 47.61500°N 117.65556°W / 47.61500; -117.65556
TypeU.S. Air Force Base
Site information
OwnerDepartment of Defense
OperatorUnited States Air Force
Controlled byAir Mobility Command (AMC)
ConditionOperational
Websitewww.fairchild.af.mil
Site history
Built1942; 82 years ago (1942)
In use1942–present
Garrison information
Current
commander		Colonel Chesley L. Dycus
Garrison92nd Air Refueling Wing
Airfield information
IdentifiersIATA: SKA, ICAO: KSKA, FAA LID: SKA, WMO: 727855
Elevation2,462 feet (750.4 m) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
05/23 13,899 feet (4,236.4 m) Concrete
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]

Fairchild Air Force Base (AFB) (IATA: SKA, ICAO: KSKA, FAA LID: SKA) is a United States Air Force base, located in the northwest United States in eastern Washington, approximately twelve miles (20 km) southwest of Spokane.

The host unit at Fairchild is the 92nd Air Refueling Wing (92 ARW) assigned to the Air Mobility Command's Eighteenth Air Force. The 92 ARW is responsible for providing air refueling, as well as passenger and cargo airlift and aero-medical evacuation missions supporting U.S. and coalition conventional operations as well as U.S. Strategic Command strategic deterrence missions.

Fairchild AFB was established 82 years ago in 1942 as the Spokane Army Air Depot.[2][3][4][5] and is named in honor of General Muir S. Fairchild (1894–1950); a World War I aviator from the state, he was the Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force at the time of his death.

During the Cold War, Fairchild was a Strategic Air Command (SAC) base for 45 years (1947–1992), with bombers and tankers, as well as missiles for a brief period (1960–1965).

As of 2018, the 92d Air Refueling Wing was commanded by Colonel Derek Salmi.[6] Its Command Chief Master Sergeant was Chief Master Sergeant Lee Mills.[7]

  1. ^ "Airport Diagram – Fairchild AFB (KSKA)" (PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  2. ^ "Begin air depot within ten days". Spokane Daily Chronicle. 28 February 1942. p. 5.
  3. ^ "'Spokane Air Depot' is name selected". Spokane Daily Chronicle. 12 March 1942. p. 1.
  4. ^ "Spokane Army Air Depot rising at Galena will be completed within the year". Spokane Daily Chronicle. 6 February 1943. p. 5.
  5. ^ "Air view shows sprawling Spokane Army Air Depot..." Spokane Daily Chronicle. (photo). 22 October 1945. p. 5.
  6. ^ "COLONEL DEREK M. SALMI". Archived from the original on 27 March 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  7. ^ "CHIEF MASTER SERGEANT JASON L. HODGES". Retrieved 27 March 2020.