Andrews Air Force Base

Andrews AFB Maryland is a United States facility run by the Air Force and situated in Prince George’s County. The base is named after Frank M. Andrews, one of the most important commanders during World War II. He mostly served in Europe throughout the war. The Maryland base is mostly popular for directly serving the United States of America president with two Boeing VC 25A. At October, 1-st, 2009, the base was merged with the Naval Air Facility Washington, which was operated by the US Navy. These days, the two bases are known together as Joint Base Andrews. The merge is the result of a new legislation requesting that close and quite complementary bases to be merged in order to create less, but more complete and powerful bases.

History

The history of this base dates since the Civil War times, around 1860. At those times, the Union troops took control over a local church and used it as a sleeping place for the troops. These days, the church is still there and part of the current base. It is known as Chapel Two. The real history begins in 1941, when the US president of those times Franklin D. Roosevelt picked the area for a solid and well placed base. It was first named Camp Springs. The place became fully operational in 1943. At that time, the first P 47 Thunderbolt was brought there. Multiple command centers were headquartered here throughout World War II.

The base had an even more important role during the Korean War by training and preparing pilots for the well known B 25 Mitchell bombers. Over the years, the training courses have significantly changed. Multiple planes were brought here, then taken away and so on.

One of the most tragic points in the history of Andrews AFB Maryland was bringing the body of John F. Kennedy at the base, in 1963. The terminal was invaded by plenty of people, especially press reporters. This moment was a decisive moment in the history of the base. Since then, more fallen leaders have been brought at the base. However, none of them managed to raise such a huge interest.

Units

The main inhabitant of the base is the 11-th Wing. The 11-th Wing supports not just the interests of the United States of America, but also of the allied countries. The unit performs operations throughout the world and deals with most of the local organization and assets. Andrews AFB Maryland also hosts the Air Force District of Washington, which includes three wings and a group too. Among the other units at the base, you can count the 459th Air Refueling Unit, the 79-th Medical Wing and the 89-th Airlift Wing.

Housing

All the newcomers have options when getting at the base. The ones who are dispatched for short term, may opt for hotels or inns. Those who are there in a mission – although such cases are rare – will be hosted in one of the camps. The longterm superiors must apply for a home. Their application will be processed within weeks or months.