Originally named
Fairfield–Suisun Army Air Base, construction began on Travis in 1942. Originally, medium attack bombers were supposed to be stationed at the base. The
United States Navy had aircraft at the base for training, but this proved temporary. In October 1942, the
War Department assigned the base to the
Air Transport Command. The base's primary mission during
World War II was ferrying aircraft and supplies to the
Pacific Theater. Following the end of World War II and the establishment of the U.S. Air Force as a separate service in 1947, the installation was renamed Fairfield–Suisun Air Force Base. On 1 May 1949, the
Strategic Air Command (SAC) became the parent major command for Travis AFB, turning it into a major long-range reconnaissance and intercontinental bombing installation for the
9th Bomb Group/
9th Bomb Wing. For the next nine years, airlift operations became secondary while Travis served as home for SAC bombers such as the
B-29 Superfortress,
B-36 Peacemaker, and eventually, the
B-52 Stratofortress. During this period, new hangars appeared, runways were added and widened, and permanent barracks and family living quarters were built. The base was renamed Travis Air Force Base in 1951 for Brigadier General
Robert F. Travis, who was killed when a B-29 Superfortress
crashed shortly after takeoff on 5 August 1950. The ensuing fire caused the 10,000 pounds of
high explosives in the plane's cargo — a
Mark 4 nuclear weapon (minus its nuclear core) — to detonate, killing
General Travis and 18 others. The
Military Air Transport Service (MATS) resumed command of Travis AFB on 1 July 1958, after SAC's new dispersal policy led to the transfer of the 14th Air Division to
Beale AFB, California and the 1501st Air Transport Wing (Heavy) became the host unit. On 1 January 1966, MATS was redesignated as the
Military Airlift Command (MAC) and on 6 January 1966, the 60th Military Airlift Wing (60 MAW) replaced the 1501st ATW as the host unit. As Travis was an important SAC base, it received anti-aircraft defenses in the 1950s. The 436th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion was active by 1955. The 436th AAAB was redesignated as an antiaircraft artillery missile battalion on 5 January 1957 and subsequently occupied four Nike Ajax sites, which went to 1st Missile Battalion, 61st Artillery on 1 September 1958. Controlling the SAMs was the 29th Artillery Group (Air Defense). Over the next three decades, Travis would become known as the "Gateway to the Pacific" in its role as the principal military airlift hub in the western United States. Initially equipped with legacy
C-124 Globemaster and
C-133 Cargomaster aircraft from the 1501st, the year 1966 would also see the 60 MAW introduce the Air Force's new all-jet heavy airlifter, the
C-141 Starlifter. In 1969, the 349th Military Airlift Wing (349 MAW) of the
Air Force Reserve (AFRES) was also established as an "Associate" wing to the 60 MAW, with both units sharing the same aircraft and eventually seamlessly mixing flight crews, maintenance crews and other support personnel. In 1970, the 60 MAW and 349 MAW (Assoc) would begin concurrently operating the Air Force's largest airlift aircraft, the
C-5 Galaxy. In 1991, the 60 MAW was redesignated as the 60th Airlift Wing (60 AW) and the 349 MAW was redesignated as the 349th Airlift Wing (349 AW) the following year. In 1992, with the reorganization of the Air Force following the end of the
Cold War,
Military Airlift Command (MAC) was inactivated and Travis came under the control of the newly established
Air Mobility Command (AMC). With the concurrent inactivation of
Strategic Air Command (SAC) and the transfer of most of SAC's air refueling aircraft to AMC, the 60 AW gained
KC-10 Extender aircraft that had been previously assigned to
March AFB, California. With the inclusion of an aerial refueling mission into its long-time strategic airlift mission, the 60 AW and the 349 AW were redesignated as the
60th Air Mobility Wing (60 AMW) and the
349th Air Mobility Wing (349 AMW), the designations they continue to hold. In 1997, the 349 AMW (Assoc) also became part of the newly established
Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) while remaining operationally "gained" by AMC. , the "Spirit of Solano", in 2006. In 1997, the 60 AMW also shed its C-141 aircraft, which were transferred to other Air Force, AFRC and
Air National Guard (ANG) wings, while retaining its
C-5 and
KC-10 aircraft. In 2006, the 60 AMW and 349 AMW (Assoc) again acquired a third aircraft type in their inventory with the arrival of the
C-17 Globemaster III. In January 2017, the Air Force announced that Travis Air Force Base had been selected as a future
Boeing KC-46 Pegasus base and will receive a complement of 24 of the new aerial refueling aircraft. In March 2018, a vehicle filled with propane tanks rammed through the base's main gate and drove into a ditch. Then, the driver ignited a fire inside, causing the vehicle to explode and kill himself. This resulted in the main gate being closed for twelve hours. The driver was later identified as Hafiz Kazi, a 51-year-old Indian-born
San Francisco Bay Area resident who had been a legal permanent resident of the U.S. since 1993. The
FBI's Sacramento Field Office and the
United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations investigated the incident as an act of terrorism, but they said they did not find any evidence of religious affiliations. In 2023, the base hosted the annual California preparedness exercise (
Operation Golden Phoenix) On 28 July 2023, Travis AFB received its first KC-46A Pegasus; which will equip all its former KC-10 squadrons. Travis' final KC-10 left the base on 26 Sept. 2024 for storage at
Davis–Monthan Air Force Base.
Flannery Associates LLC Between 2018 and 2023, Flannery Associates LLC purchased over 50,000 acres of land near the air base, prompting investigations into the company's
beneficial ownership and widespread media attention. In August 2023, it was revealed that Flannery Associates was a subsidiary of
California Forever, which planned to build a city on the land.
Role and operations TACAMO assigned to
VQ-3, which maintains a detachment at Travis AFB The base's host unit, the
60th Air Mobility Wing, is the largest wing in the Air Force's
Air Mobility Command, with a versatile fleet of 26
C-5 Galaxies,
KC-46 Pegasus, and 13
C-17 Globemaster III aircraft. In addition, the base's former
Strategic Air Command Alert Facility is now a
U.S. Navy complex that typically supports two transient Navy
E-6B Mercury TACAMO aircraft assigned to
Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron THREE (VQ-3) Detachment and normally home-based at
Tinker AFB, Oklahoma. The base is also host to
David Grant USAF Medical Center, a 265-bed, $200 million Air Force teaching hospital, which serves both in-service and retired military personnel. On 14 March 2024, 5 activists associated with CodePink were arrested for blocking the North Gate to Travis AFB. Simultaneously protest group
Occupy Beale blockaded the Schneider and Wheatland gates of Beale AFB. On 24 March 2024, 11 activists were arrested for blocking the main gate into Travis AFB. Furniture and nails were also found on the road leading to the South Gate of Travis AFB on the morning of 24 March. Activist group
NorCal Antiwar Action claims that police used unnecessary brutality against protesters on 24 March, and that two people were hospitalized as a result of the police response to the protest. The group also claims that protesters were complying with police dispersal orders when arrests were made. == Based units ==