Kirtland Air Force Base

Kirtland Air Force Base was named for Colonel Roy C. Kirtland (1874–1941) in February 1942. Colonel Kirtland learned to fly in 1911 in one of the first Wright airplanes at Dayton, Ohio. During World War I, he organized and commanded a regiment of mechanics and served as an inspector of aviation facilities. Recalled from retirement in 1941 at age 65, he was oldest military pilot in the Air Corps. Colonel Kirtland died of a heart attack on 2 May 1941 at Moffett Field, California. Kirtland Air Force Base originated as a U.S. Army airfield in 1941. Built as a wartime training and testing facility, it grew from 2,000 acres to a 51,800-plus-acre installation and became a USAF center for research and development. Origins Kirtland Air Force Base's beginnings stem from three private airfields of 1928 to 1939 and are similar to that of other installations choosing to adapt existing runways and hangars for military use. In 1928, two Santa Fe Railroad employees working with the town of Albuquerque, graded two runways on East Mesa with one approximately 5,300 feet long and the other just under 4,000 feet. Albuquerque Airport was wholly a private venture, irrespective of the town's involvement. Immediately following construction of the airport, other individuals and promoters became interested in Albuquerque as a crossroads location for southwestern air traffic. James G. Oxnard, a New York entrepreneur, bought Franklin's interest in Albuquerque Airport, expanding the facility toward the end of 1928. Total number of deliverable nuclear warheads stored there is over 3,000. The majority of the munitions include the B83 and B61 gravity bombs, and W80, W78, and W87 warheads for the Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM), Minuteman III and Peacekeeper ICBMs. On 1 January 1993, the base again changed hands as the newly formed Air Force Materiel Command acquired Kirtland AFB from Air Mobility Command. The 377th Air Base Wing was reactivated to become the base's host organization. On 1 April 1994 the 1550th Combat Crew Training Wing was re-designated as the 58th Special Operations Wing under Air Education and Training Command (AETC). In addition to the helicopter training, it also trained crews in special operations aircraft, including helicopters and modified C-130 Hercules aircraft. It performed pararescue training and search and rescue missions as well. The wing also trained for missile site support and airlift for distinguished visitors. At the same time the wing continued to deploy personnel worldwide for contingency and combat operations. The wing airlifted a federal task force to Pennsylvania to investigate the crash site of the fourth airliner following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks. Since that time the 58th has deployed personnel and equipment to support Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Today, the 58th SOW trains aircrews in the MC-130J Commando II, MC-130H Combat Talon II, and the CV-22 Osprey for the Air Force Special Operations Command; the HC-130P Combat King, HC-130J Combat King II, and the HH-60G Pavehawk for the Air Combat Command and Pacific Air Forces; the UH-1 Huey for Air Force Space Command; and those aircrew operationally gained to those commands from the Air Force Reserve Command and the Air National Guard. On 31 March 2006, the Nuclear Weapons Center was created and became the parent organization at Kirtland AFB. The 498th Armament Systems Wing (later the 498th Nuclear Systems Wing) was also created to be the maintenance arm of the NWC, while the 377th ABW remained the host support unit on base. On 1 October 2015, Kirtland AFB was repositioned under Air Force Global Strike Command. In November 2009 the 377th Air Base Wing, commanded by Colonel Michael S. Duvall, and 498th Nuclear Systems Wing, commanded by Colonel Richard M. Stuckey, failed their nuclear security inspections. The inspections were conducted by Air Force Materiel Command and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. On 27 January 2010 the 898th Munitions Squadron was decertified. The action meant that the squadron could no longer perform its mission of safeguarding the weapons at the Kirtland Underground Munitions Maintenance and Storage Complex until it passed a nuclear surety inspection. The squadron was recertified on 11 June 2010. The 498th Nuclear Systems Wing was inactivated on 27 January 2012 as the Air Force transferred oversight of the nuclear munitions to the Air Force Global Strike Command. Two years later, in December 2014, the Air Force declared its intentions to "realign the 377th Air Base Wing under Air Force Global Strike Command and to restructure the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center to improve the effectiveness of and support for the Air Force's Nuclear Enterprise." • AF Combat Command, c. 8 March 1941 – 6 December 1941 • West Coast Air Corps Training Command, 6 December 1941 – 23 January 1942 • Air Corps Flying Training Command, 23 January 1942 – March 1942 • AAF Flying Training Command, March 1942 – 31 July 1943 • Army Air Forces Training Command, 31 July 1943 – 1 March 1945 • Second Air Force, 1 March 1945 – 21 January 1946 • Fourth Air Force, 31 January 1946 – 14 April 1946 • Continental Air Forces, 16 April 1946 – 21 March 1946 • Strategic Air Command, 21 March 1946 – 1 December 1946 • Air Materiel Command, 1 December 1946 – 1 December 1949 • Air Force Special Weapons Command, 1 December 1949 – 1 April 1952 • Air Research and Development Comd, 1 April 1952 – 1 April 1961 • Air Force Systems Command, 1 April 1961 – 1 July 1977 • Military Airlift Command, 1 July 1977 – 1 July 1992 • Air Force Materiel Command, 1 July 1992 – 1 October 2015 • Air Force Global Strike Command, 1 October 2015 – present Major units assigned • 3d Air Base Squadron *, 10 April 1941 – 30 April 1944 • Air Corps Advanced Flying School : Re-designated: Army Air Forces Advanced Flying School : Re-designated: Army Air Forces Bombardier School, 22 December 1941 – 28 February 1945 • 301st Bombardment Group, 27 May-17 June 1942 • 303d Bombardment Group, 12 June-7 August 1942 • Army Air Forces Glider Replacement Center, 22 July 1942 – 22 May 1943 • 37th Flying Training Wing, 10 September 1943 – 31 January 1945 • 392d Bombardment Group, 18 March-18 July 1943 • 400th Bombardment Group, 19 September-11 December 1943 • 449th Bombardment Group, 5 July 1943 – 25 January 1944 • 460th Bombardment Group, 1 July-10 September 1943 • 466th Bombardment Group, 1 August 1943 – 2 February 1944 • 487th Bombardment Group, 15 December 1943 – 10 March 1944 • 492d Bombardment Group, 1 October 1943 – 1 January 1944 • Army Air Forces Pilot School (Specialized Four-Engine), 2 August 1943 – 28 February 1945 • 418th Bombardment Group, 11 March-1 April 1944 • 3004th Army Air Forces Base Unit, 1 May 1944 – 26 February 1945 • 3007th Army Air Forces Base Unit *, 1 May 1944 – 28 February 1945 • 4029th Army Air Forces Base Unit, 1 May-24 August 1944 • 237th Army Air Forces Base Unit *, 1 March 1945 – 31 January 1946 • 467th Bombardment Group, 24 August-8 September 1945 • 492d Bombardment Group, 17 August-17 October 1945 • 4160th Army Air Forces Base Unit, 15 January-1 November 1945 • 428th Army Air Forces Base Unit * : Re-designated: 428th Air Force Base Unit : Re-designated: 2758th Experimental Wing : Re-designated: 4901st Special Weapons Wing : Re-designated: Air Force Special Weapons Command : Re-designated: Air Force Special Weapons Center, 1 February 1946 – 1 April 1976 : Re-designated: Nuclear Weapons Center, 14 February 2006 : Re-designated: Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, 28 February 2008 – present • 636th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, 15 September 1948 – 8 December 1949 • 1140th Special Reporting Wing : Re-designated: 1100th USAF Special Reporting Group : Re-designated: 1090th USAF Special Reporting Group, 18 August 1948 – 31 December 1971 : (Handled base operations, including maintenance and security) • 3170th Special Weapons Group : Re-designated: 4925th Special Weapons Group : Re-designated: 4925th Test Group, 28 August 1948 – 1 April 1961 • 3078th Air Base Group * : Re-designated: 4910th Air Base Group *, 5 July 1949 – 1 May 1955 • 81st Fighter Wing : Re-designated: 81st Fighter-Interceptor Wing, 5 January 1949 – 1 May 1950 • 91st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 17 June 1949 – 1 May 1950 • 92d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 17 June 1949 – 1 May 1950 • 93d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 17 June 1949 – 8 July 1960 • 690th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, 8 December 1949 – 6 February 1952 • 725th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, 27 April 1950 – 8 June 1951 • Albuquerque Air Defense Sector, 1 May 1950 – 5 January 1951 • 34th Air Division (Defense), 5 January 1951-January 1960 • 4901st Support Wing (Atomic) : Re-designated: 4901st Air Base Wing : Re-designated: 4901st Air Base Group : Re-designated: 4900th Air Base Wing *, 1 February 1951 – 1 July 1977 : Replaced by: 1606th Air Base Wing *, 1 July 1977 – 1 June 1993 • 682d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, 1 December 1953 – 1 August 1954 • 684th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, 1 December 1953 – 19 April 1954 • 685th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, 1 December 1953 – 17 January 1955 • 687th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, 1 October 1953 – 20 June 1956 • 904th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, 18 June 1953 – 14 June 1955 • 4926th Test Squadron : Re-designated: 1211th Test Squadron, 1 April 1953 – 8 June 1963 : Assets assigned to: 58th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, 1 February 1964 – 1 July 1974 • 697th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, 8 December 1956 – 21 February 1957 • 4950th Test Group, 1 September 1956 – 16 August 1961 • 612th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, 8 March 1957 – 12 February 1958 • 57th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron 16 February 1962 – 13 September 1963 • Air Force Weapons Laboratory : Re-designated: Air Force Research Laboratory, 1 May 1963 – present • 4900th Test Group (Flight Test) : Re-designated: 4900th Flight Test Group, 1 August 1970 – 1 April 1976 • Air Force Test and Evaluation Center : Re-designated: Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center, 11 December 1973 – present • 1550th Aircrew Training and Test Wing : Re-designated: 1550th Combat Crew Training Wing, 15 March 1976 – 1 October 1991 : Replaced by: 542d Crew Training Wing, 1 October 1991 – 1 April 1994 • 542d Operations Group, 1 October 1991 – 1 April 1994 • 1550th Flying Training Squadron : Re-designated: 550th Flying Training Squadron : Re-designated: 550th Special Operations Squadron, 15 March 1976 – present • 1551st Flying Training Squadron : Re-designated: 1551st Flying Training Squadron : Re-designated: 551st Special Operations Squadron, 15 March 1976- 2007 1606 Security Police/Law Enforcement 1608 Security Police/Manzano : Inactivated 2007, Reactivated at Cannon AFB NM 2009 – present • Air Force Space Technology Center, 1 October 1982 – 13 December 1990 : Combined into: Phillips Laboratory, 13 December 1990 – 30 September 1997 : Split into: Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicle and Directed Energy Directorates, 1 October 1997 – present • 377th Air Base Wing *, 1 June 1993 – present • 58th Special Operations Wing, 1 April 1994 – present • 512th Special Operations Squadron, 1 Apr 1994 – present : Re-designated: 512th Rescue Squadron (RQS) 6 Oct 2000 • 71st Special Operations Squadron, 2005 – present • 898th Munitions Squadron 1 July 1994 – present • 498th Armament Systems Wing : Re-designated: 498th Nuclear Systems Wing, 31 Mar 2006 – present • Base Operating Unit Previous names • Albuquerque Army Air Base, 8 March 1941 • Kirtland Army Air Field, 24 February 1942 • Kirtland Air Force Base, since 13 January 1948 ==Role and operations==

Kirtland AFB's missions include munitions maintenance, readiness and training, research and development, and base operating support for federal and private tenants. Major units (PHaSR), a rifle-sized laser dazzler -capable C-130 sits on a ramp at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. The MAFFS unit is deployed to Kirtland to lend air support to wildfires in West Texas. • Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center : The NWC manages nuclear weapons acquisition, modernization, and sustainment. • 377th Air Base Wing : The wing provides munitions maintenance, readiness and training, and base operating support to approximately 76 Federal government and 384 private sector tenants and associate units. Tenants include the Defense Threat Reduction Agency's Defense Nuclear Weapons School. : • Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland AFB :Directed Energy Directorate :: The directorate conducts research in high-power microwaves, lasers, adaptive optics, and directed-energy effects. : Phillips Research Site :: Organized to support Air Force Research Laboratory's Directed Energy (RD) and the Space Vehicles (RV) Directorates site functions overarch both directorates. Those site specific support functions include Business Opportunities, Employment and the AFRL-PRS Reserves. :Space Vehicle Directorate :: The directorate develops and tests space technologies. :Airborne Laser System Program Office :: Department of Defense's Center of Expertise for laser development of all types • Operationally Responsive Space : The Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) Office was established on 21 May 2007 to develop rapid-response space capabilities. • 58th Special Operations Wing : The 58th Special Operations Wing, under Air Education and Training Command, trains special operations, combat search and rescue, and airlift aircrews. Associate units • 150th Special Operations Wing (New Mexico Air National Guard) (1947–present) : The wing provides search and rescue capabilities for the region. • Air Force Inspection Agency (AFIA) : A field-operating agency that reports to the Inspector General of the Department of the Air Force. AFIA’s 120 military and civilian personnel provide Air Force senior leaders with timely, independent assessments to improve the Air Force. • Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Albuquerque : DTRA’s mission is to safeguard America and its allies from weapons of mass destruction (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high yield explosives) by providing capabilities to reduce, eliminate and counter the threat and mitigate its effects. • Kirtland AFB NCO Academy (closed) • 505th Distributed Warfare Group • 705th Combat Training Squadron • Air Force Safety Center • Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center • 351st Special Warfare Training Squadron (Pararescue and Combat Rescue Officer Training School) • Space Development Test Directorate, Space & Missile System Center • Air Force Nuclear Weapons and Counterproliferation Agency • Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service Non-military organizations • Sandia National Laboratories : Sandia National Laboratories is a government-owned, contractor-operated national security laboratory. Sandia has two primary facilities: a large laboratory and headquarters in Albuquerque, N.M., and a smaller laboratory in Livermore, Calif. • Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration : Detachment 1, Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center : Detachment 3, Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center • New Mexico Veterans Affairs Health Care System • Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, a non-profit biomedical research organization == Based units ==

Flying and notable non-flying units based at Kirtland Air Force Base. Units marked GSU are Geographically Separate Units, which although based at Kirtland, are subordinate to a parent unit based at another location. United States Air Force Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) • Twentieth Air Force • 377th Air Base Wing (Host Wing) • 377th Maintenance Group • 377th Medical Group • 377th Mission Support Group • 377th Security Forces Group Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) • Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center • Headquarters Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center • Air Delivered Capabilities Directorate • Nuclear Command, Control and Communications Integration Directorate • Nuclear Technology and Integration Directorate • Air Force Research Laboratory • Phillips Research Site • Directed Energy Directorate • Space Vehicles Directorate Air Education and Training Command (AETC) • Nineteenth Air Force • 58th Special Operations Wing • 58th Operations Group • 58th Operations Support Squadron • 58th Training Squadron • 71st Special Operations Squadron – CV-22B Osprey • 415th Special Operations Squadron – HC-130J Combat King II and MC-130J Commando II • 512th Rescue Squadron – HH-60G Pave Hawk and UH-1N Iroquois • 58th Maintenance Group • 58th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron • 58th Maintenance Squadron • 58th Maintenance Operations Squadron • Pararescue and Combat Rescue Officer Training School • 351st Special Warfare Training Squadron Air Combat Command (ACC) • US Air Force Warfare Center • 505th Command and Control Wing • 705th Combat Training Squadron (GSU) • USAF Distributed Mission Operations Center Air National Guard (ANG) • New Mexico Air National Guard • 150th Special Operations Wing • 150th Operations Group • 188th Rescue Squadron – CV-22B Osprey, HC-130J Combat King II, HH-60G Pave HawkMC-130J Commando II and UH-1N Iroquois • 150th Maintenance Group • 150th Medical Group • 150th Mission Support Group • 210th RED HORSE Squadron • 250th Intelligence Squadron Direct Reporting Units (DRU) • Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center • Headquarters Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center United States Army US Army Forces Command • 20th CBRNE Command • 71st Ordnance Group (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) • 242nd Ordnance Battalion (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) • 21st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company (GSU) United States Space Force Space Systems Command • Advanced Systems and Development Directorate Department of Defense United States Space Command • Combined Force Space Component Command • Joint Navigation Warfare Center Department of the Air Force Field Operating Agencies • Air Force Inspection Agency (AFIA) • Headquarters Air Force Inspection Agency • Air Force Safety Center (AFSC) • Headquarters Air Force Safety Center • Analysis and Cyberspace Operations Division • Aviation Safety Division • Human Factors Division • Occupational Safety Division • Office of the Staff Judge Advocate • Personnel and Resource Division • Public Affairs Division • Space Safety Division • Training and Force Development Division • Weapons Safety Division Missile Defense Agency • Sensor & Laser Technology Program Office Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) • DTRA Albuquerque • Defense Nuclear Weapons School • Defense Threat Reduction Information Analysis Center ==Environmental contamination due to jet fuel spill==

A jet fuel leak was discovered at Kirtland Air Force Base in 1999. Suspected to have been leaking undetected for decades, an estimated 6 to 24 million gallons of fuel saturated the soil, posing a serious hazard to wells in the south valley connected to the municipal water supply. Air Force Manual 85-16 required annual and five-year inspections of the Bulk Fuels Facility. The inspections were not performed for three decades. In 1985, a waiver was issued to not perform pipeline pressure testing. In 1992, leaking was discovered at the fuels facility pump house Bldg. 1033. In 1994, two waivers were issued: one for the annual pipeline testing and another for pressure testing. In 1999, another jet fuel leak was discovered from a broken 16-inch pipe. It was later learned that the pipe had been leaking fuel undetected since 1953. The Air Force initially estimated that pipe leaked roughly between of jet fuel in that 46-year span. However, state environmental officials believe the number may be as high as , which could make the spill more than twice the size of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska. In 2007, 18 inches of fuel floated over the water table when a well was dug. In June 2014, the board of directors of Albuquerque's municipal water utility approved a resolution that "any amount of ethylene dibromide, no matter how small, would be cause to shut down the affected well". It also called for the Air Force "to move more quickly in cleaning up the spill", as the slow progress has frustrated members of the community. The contaminated water plume could reach the nearest drinking water well in between five and 40 years, according to 2014 estimates. However, as of January 2020, there had been no incidents of drinking water contamination, and no threats of future contamination. Remediation Several interim measures have already been completed including the removal of approximately 5000 tons of contaminated soil near the source of the leak and the removal of the equivalent of approximately 775,000 gallons of fuel through a combination of soil vapor extraction and bioslurping. In addition, the Air Force replaced the decades-old bulk fueling facility with a modern fueling facility. To mitigate any potential threats to the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority Ridgecrest drinking water supply wells the Air Force implemented a groundwater pump and treat interim measure to collapse and treat the dissolved-phase ethylene dibromide (EDB) plume in the Target Capture Zone north of Ridgecrest Drive. This interim measure consists of four extraction wells and a groundwater treatment plant, which uses granular activated carbon to remove the EDB. As of January 2020, approximately 800 million gallons of groundwater have been successfully treated and approximately 91% of the EDB mass (approximately 122 grams) in the Target Capture Zone has been removed. ==Education==

Kirtland AFB is zoned to Albuquerque Public Schools. Sandia Elementary School (Building # 21000) and Wherry Elementary School (Building #25000) are in the Kirtland AFB boundary while Kirtland Elementary School and Van Buren Middle School are outside of the Kirtland AFB boundary. ==Demographics==

Kirtland Air Force Base is a census-designated place (CDP) covering the residential population of the Kirtland Air Force Base in Bernalillo County, New Mexico. It first appeared as a CDP in the 2020 Census with a population of 3,838. ==Kirtland in popular culture==

• Kirtland served as Bagram Air Base in the film Lone Survivor (2013). • The RKO Radio Pictures film Bombardier (1943) was primarily filmed at the base. • On the science-fiction television series The X-Files, part of the episode "Space" takes place on the base. • This was mentioned in the film Contact (1997) as being the place where AWACS planes originated from. • The character Jane Margolis on the AMC television series Breaking Bad says in the episode "Phoenix" of season 2 that she draws tattoos for "college kids and airmen from Kirtland". • Kirtland AFB becomes the temporary United States capital after a nuclear blast destroys Washington, D.C., and four other cities in Lee Boyland's "Clash of Civilizations" trilogy. • Kirtland AFB features in Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's 2023 novel Dead Mountain. • The 2009 movie Terminator Salvation was also partially filmed at Kirtland AFB. • In "We Is Us," the first episode of the 2025 science-fiction television series Pluribus, planes are dispatched from Kirtland AFB to spray the alien pathogen over Albuquerque. ==See also==