Kirtland-Tj 2016 4 9

alBuquerque Journal
saturday, april 9, 2016
Kirtland air Force Base
Saluting 75 yearS
1941
2016
KIRTLAND
AIR FORCE BASE
we salute you!
Kirtland Air Force Base is celebrating
its 75th anniversary throughout 2016;
the base will be hosting events to remind
people of Kirtlands proud heritage. 2016
also marks the 50th anniversary of the
377th Air Base Wing, the 25th anniversary
of the 58th Special Operations Wing and
the 10th anniversary of the Nuclear
Weapons Center. Congratulations to all!
Founded in 1958 by ten Airmen from
Kirtland Air Force Base, Kirtland Federal
Credit Union is proud to be the Title Partner
of Kirtland AFBs 75th Anniversary events!
While weve greatly expanded our field of
membership since our initial charter date,
our dedication to the men and women who
serve on Kirtland AFB remains true.
22
kirtland air
air force
force base
base
kirtland
UNM is honored to partner with Kirtland Air Force Base, propelling our
state and nation forward through innovation, collaboration and discovery.
75th anniversary
anniversary
75th
KAFB Ad.indd 1
33
3/17/16 9:17 AM
Happy 75th Anniversary!

The history of Kirtland Air Force Base cannot be separated from
the history of Albuquerque, New Mexico, or the United States. It is a
story of aeronautic innovation, economic impact, national security and
technological achievement unseen in human history. Countless men
and women changed the course of American history and national life
and they did it right here in Albuquerque. It is no accident that we have
more scientists in our community per capita than anywhere in the
world.
Kirtland is also the story of successful public-private partnership
before that term was popular. Beginning in 1928 with a private venture
formed at the dawn of aviation, two railroad employees took a chance
and worked with the Town of Albuquerque to establish Albuquerque
Airport. From these humble entrepreneurial beginnings came the
sprawling complex we now know as Kirtland Air Force Base an
economic phenomenon that provides 21,000 jobs and pumps 7.6 billion
dollars into our regional and state economies.
Albuquerque has always been a crossroads location utilized by Native
Americans and the Spanish when we were the northernmost outpost
of Spain. With the invention of the airplane, forward looking towns
and cities recognized the commercial possibilities of air transport and
travel. The Albuquerque Journal on September 22, 1928, encouraged
cross-country pilots to land at the new airport and Charles Lindbergh
heeded the call. The national and international exposure that
Lindbergh brought helped to place Albuquerque as one of our nations
initial domestic air travel routes.
Always on the cutting edge the first mail and cargo ventures
positioned us as an important transcontinental airfield. The Army Air
Corps leased 2,000 acres adjacent to the private airfield to prepare for
the national defense. With the outbreak of World War II, Albuquerque
Army Air Base was built in the summer of 1941 with 500 base support
personnel and the 19th Bombardment Group arriving. 2,195 pilots,
bombardiers and navigator trainees for the new B-17 Flying Fortress
arrived. Since then we have not looked back and I am proud to be
the Mayor of the City of Albuquerque where this world-class facility
resides.
The incredible human achievement that has occurred here continues
to amaze and impress me. As citizens of Albuquerque we have
benefitted greatly from Kirtland Air Force Base. But most importantly,
I am proud of the patriotic men and women who work so tirelessly on
our national defense and keep us safe as Americans.
Best regards,
Dear New Mexicans,

New Mexico has a strong legacy of answering the call to defend our
nation. This bond continues to be particularly strong with the United
States Air Force.
Our ongoing partnership with Kirtland Air Force Base is a proud
testament to this tradition. New Mexico is proud to be the home of
men and women who work so hard, and sacrifice so much, to keep our
country safe and free. The talented individuals that serve at Kirtland
are also invaluable assets to our schools, churches, charities, and
neighborhoods.
We also know how important Kirtland Air Force Base is to our
economy and the surrounding community. In Fiscal Year 2014, Kirtland
Air Force Bases economic impact was more than $7.6 billion, with more
than $1 billion in local job creation, including more than 16,000 local
employees and 4,000 military personnel.
Kirtland Air Force Base represents an impressive array of military
capabilities, with an enormous impact on the local community, and
ultimately our entire state. Our potential to grow as a high-tech jobs
leader is due in large part to our national laboratories and military
bases particularly Kirtland.
Please join me in congratulating Kirtland Air Force Base on its
75th anniversary. Let us celebrate a storied past as we look forward
to a continuing proud and bright future together. We will continue to
support the men and women who keep our country safe, while building
a better future, and creating more opportunities for future generations
of New Mexicans.
God Bless New Mexico and the United States Air Force!
Sincerely,
Susana Martinez
Governor
Richard J. Berry
Mayor
kirtland air force base
Happy Anniversary,
Kirtland Air Force Base.
Weve been proud to call
you neighbors for 75 years.
Some things only get better with age something we know well, caring for New Mexico for more than 100 years.
Congratulations on your first 75 years. Thank you for keeping our skies safe and our nation free.
phs.org
75th anniversary
DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE

377TH AIR BASE WING (AFGSC)
April 9, 2016
Residents of New Mexico

Friends and neighbors,
It is my distinct pleasure to celebrate with you Kirtland Air Force Bases 75th anniversary. It can be truly said that modern
Albuquerque, greater New Mexico, and Kirtland have grown up together! It is only fitting that we celebrate this milestone
together.
Kirtland traces its rich history and heritage back to 1941 and the beginning of World War II. Kirtland AFB began its mission
training bomber aircrews who helped to win the war and in the aftermath transitioned into a key role supporting our nations
defense during the Cold War. What once were three distinct bases Sandia, Manzano and Kirtland merged into a single
installation which has become a hub for research and development; test and evaluation; and special operations and rescue
training all making key contributions to our nations defense.
As the base has evolved over 75 years, so has the Duke City and New Mexico. Through it all, we have been your defenders,
your partners, and your neighbors. We are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with the men and women who make up our
workforce and our community and provide essential support for our mission. While we honor our heritage, we will continue to
depend on the outstanding relationship we have built with you, the residents of New Mexico! As we forge our future, we will do
so together.
Please enjoy this supplement, showcasing our proud history and celebrating our 75 years as an integral part of our Air Force
and this community.
Sincerely,
Colonel Eric H. Froehlich

Commander
377th Air Base Wing
Kirtland AFB New Mexico
Special Operations and Rescue Training
Installation Support
Research and Development

kirtland
kirtland air
air force
force base
base
archive name: Kirtland AFB locater 2016.ai

date of proof: March 7, 2016
taBle OF
COntents
Rio 550
Rancho
25
The Wyoming Gate to Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque.
25
KirtlanD air FOrCe Base
75th anniversary
KaFBs FOOtPrint
economic impact: $7.6 billion
size: 51,558 square acres
number employed on base: 20,826
number of mission partners: 100+
will be a June 4-5 Air Show and
Open House, featuring the Air Force
Thunderbirds aerial demonstration
team. The event, free and open to the
public, will include static displays of
military aircraft and vehicles, food
and drink vendors and entertainment.
The Thunderbirds, flying precision
maneuvers in their F-16 Fighting
Falcons, will perform on both days.
The team last performed at Kirtland in
October 2011.
Kirtlands impact on national
security and the local economy
can hardly be overstated.
In October, during a change-ofcommand ceremony for Kirtlands
Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center,
Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski, the four-star
commander of Air Force Materiel
Command, described Kirtland as
the heart and soul of our nuclear
deterrent capability. She noted that
Kirtland is home to both the Nuclear
Weapons Center and Sandia National
Laboratories.
Kirtlands economic impact is
equally impressive. Base officials say
Kirtland contributed $7.6 billion to the
Albuquerque-area economy in fiscal
Air Force
Safety Center
18
58th Special
Operations Wing
22
Air Force
Research Lab
24
Mission partners
26
N.M. Air
National Guard
28
Distributed Mission
Operations Center
Gibson
Wyoming
Louisiana
Yale
31
University
irtland Air Force Base, which

pegs its official birthday as Jan.
7, 1941 the day construction
began on Albuquerque Army
Air Base is celebrating its 75th
birthday this year.
This yearlong anniversary
celebration will be a strong tribute
to our Kirtland military and civilian
professionals who served here
before us, said Col. Eric Froehlich,
commander of the bases host unit, the
377th Air Base Wing. Its important
that we recognize the significance of
the work they accomplished and their
roles in making Kirtland the great
base it is today.
The anniversarys theme, Honoring
our Heritage, Forging Our Future,
isnt just a slogan, Froehlich said.
Honoring those who paved the
way is something we are genuinely
concerned about doing in a thoughtful,
meaningful way.
The celebration officially started
Jan. 29, when base officials inducted
honorary commanders during
ceremonies at the Mountain View Club.
The honorary commanders program
pairs local civic leaders with Kirtland
commanders and directors in an effort
to foster understanding between the
military and civilian communities.
The base will also host a reunion for
all former Kirtland personnel on the
weekend of April 15-17. Events include
a golf tournament and an invitationonly banquet April 16.
A major highlight of the anniversary
16
Kirtland
Partnership
Committee
Lomas
defending the U.s. for 75 years

Journal Staff Writer
377th Air
Base Wing
30
KAFB
25
By Charles Brunt
14
29
40
GreG Sorber/Journal
ournal
KAFB history
Eubank
Albuquerque
Juan Tabo
COLOR
WWII cartoonist
Operational Test &
Evaluation Center/
Inspection Agency
Central
FOUR
32
HILLS
Well-known
alumni
34
The Trestle
35
Nuclear Weapons
Center
year 2014. Of that, $3.8 billion is local,
AFB
which includes total job expenditures, KIRTLAND
36 Sandia Science &
local job creation and annual payroll
Technology Park
from the Defense Department and
N
37 Kirtland
Department of Energy.
Underground
2 miles
More than 20,800 people worked
Munitions &
on base in 2014, with half of them at
Maintenance
Sandia. The Defense Department
Storage Complex
payroll was more than $1.14 billion in
38 Roy Kirtland bio
fiscal 2014, and Sandias was more than
$1 billion.
staFF
Kirtland had 3,125 active-duty
RUSS BALL / JOURNAL
military personnel in 2014 and
section editors:
about 1,068 National Guardsmen or
Charles Brunt,
reservists. And the base awarded $167.1
Helen Taylor
million in small-business contracts in
Designer: Tim Bahr
2014, excluding DOE and non-Air Force
organizations.
On the COVer
Unlike most Air Force bases,
Kirtland serves as landlord to more
tOP: Officials from
than 75 federal and 350 private
Santa Ana Pueblo
sector tenants, including Sandia,
visit Kirtland in 1946.
the DoDs National Nuclear Security
BOttOM: Members of
the All Pueblo Council of
Administration and the Defense
Governors visit the 58th
Threat Reduction Agency.
Special Operations Wing
There have been controversies like
at Kirtland in 2015.
the accidental dropping of an unarmed
nuclear bomb on the east mesa in 1957
Photos courtesy of
by a B-36 bomber from Biggs Air Force
Kirtland Air Force Base
Base and, more recently, discovery
Published by the
of a decades-old fuel leak that has
Albuquerque Journal
contaminated groundwater and is
in cooperation with
costing taxpayers millions to mitigate.
Kirtland Partnership
But Kirtland remains a key player in
Committee and the
keeping the nation safe and boosting
KAFB 75th Anniversary
the local economy. To mark its 75 years
Committee.
of service, this special section tells
those stories and more, highlighting
Kirtlands history, missions and
partners.
COurteSy Of air fOrCe nuClear WeapOnS Center hiStOrian
Albuquerque residents line up to view an 8th Air Force Convair B-36 Peacemaker bomber on display at a Kirtland Air Force Base open house in 1949.
rising
on the
By Charles D. Brunt
JOurnal Staff Writer
Kirtland special_09apr_Timeline.ai
xxx folder
original on ball pc_artist: Russ Ball
mesa
archive name: Kirtland timeline 2016.ai

date of proof: February 24, 2016
Over the years, Kirtland has evolved from

fuel stop to leader in nations nuclear mission
Construction
completed on
privately owned
Albuquerque Airport
MAY 1, 1928
Later renamed
Oxnard Field
Albuquerque Airport
moves four miles
west of Oxnard Field
JUNE 1, 1938
SEPT. 7, 1939
U.S. Army leases
2,000 acres adjacent
to Oxnard Field
Col. Frank D.
Hackett assumes
Construction begins command of
on Albuquerque
Albuquerque Army
Army Air Base ...
Air Base
JAN. 7, 1941
MARCH 21, 1941
to house and train
the 19th Bombardment Group
anta Fe railroaders Frank G. Speakman and

William L. Franklin would be amazed that the
two runways they bulldozed through the brush
of Albuquerques east mesa in 1928 have evolved
into todays Kirtland Air Force Base, a 51,558-acre
installation with hundreds of tenant organizations that
employ nearly 21,000 people.
And Kirtlands first commander, Army Air
Corps Col. Frank Hackett, probably never dreamed
that the 2,200-acre air field where his unit started
training bomber crews in 1941 is now on the
cutting edge of nuclear weapons research, military
satellite development and dozens of other futuristic
technologies.
Kirtland the sixth-largest Air Force base in
the United States by acreage functions more
as a national security installation than a typical
base, hosting more than 75 federal and 300-plus
associated private-sector agencies. Also setting the
base apart from other bases is its sharing of runways
Army Air Corps

Advanced Flying
School formally
activated
DEC. 24, 1941
Dec. 18, 1941
marking the official opening of
First bombardier cadets
Albuquerque Army Air Base
arrive at Albuquerque
Army Air Base for training
A lone B-18 Bolo medium
bomber, lands on the northsouth runway ...
APRIL 1, 1941
Albuquerque Army
Air Base renamed
Kirtland Army Air
Field in honor of ...
FEB. 25, 1942
Col. Roy C.
Kirtland, a
pioneer in
military aviation
KAFB 75th Anniversary Committee Salutes Our Partners

Kirtland Federal Credit Union
Lockheed Martin
PNM
The Boeing Company
Intel
Sandia National Laboratories
AEgis Technologies
City of Albuquerque
FRENCH Family of Companies
Orbital ATK
Route 66 Casino Hotel
Sandia Science & Technology Park Development Corporation
University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center
Applied Technology Associates
Peacock Myers
Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau
NOVA Corp
Prime Flight Aviation Services
Kirtland Partnership Committee

Clear Channel Outdoor
Albuquerque Publishing Co/Albuquerque Journal
Albuquerque Sunport
770 KKOB News Radio
99.5 Magic FM
National Museum of Nuclear Science & History
Professional Aerospace Contractors Association
New Mexico Military History Museum
No Federal Endorsement of Donors Intended
75th anniversary
Kirtland special_09apr_Timeline.ai
xxx folder
Courtesy of kirtland air forCe base
Troops wait at the Albuquerque train station for transport to Albuquerque Army Air Base for bombardier training in December 1941.
Frank
D.
Army and Navy pilotsCol.
were
using
and infrastructure with the
Construction
Hackett assumes
Albuquerque
International
Oxnard
Field
as
a
stopover
for
Albuquerque Airport
Construction begins command offuel
completed on
moves four miles
on Albuquerque By 1939,
privately owned
Albuquerque
Sunport.
and maintenance.
the Army
Army Air Base ...
Albuquerque Airport
Air Base
Albuquerque airport had
moved
MAY
1,
1928
JUNE
1,
1938
JAN.
7,
1941
MARCH
21, 1941
30s stopover
four miles
west
of Oxnard Field to
SEPT. 7, 1939
to house
and train
Later renamed
the 19thlocation.
BombardShortly
after Speakman U.S.
andArmy leasesits current
Oxnard
Field
2,000 acres adjacent ment Group
On
April
1,
1941, a lone B-18 Bolo
Franklin opened the citystofirst
Oxnard Field
medium bomber, piloted by Lt. Sid
airport, James Oxnard, who had
Young, landed on the north-south
connections in the air transport
runway. With the assignment of
business in New York, bought
five pilots to the aircraft, the day
Franklins interest in the venture,
marked the official opening of
and renamed the airport Oxnard
Albuquerque Army Air Base.
Field.
The bases mission was to train
By the late 1930s, cross-country
Bombardier, a movie
filmed at Kirtland Air Field,
is released by RKO Radio
Pictures ...
MAY 14, 1943
starring Pat OBrien and
Randolph Scott. It is
nominated for an Academy
Award for special effects
10
Land is set aside for testing

the proximity fuse,
considered the 2nd most
important scientific project
of WWII ...
JUNE 1, 1943
the A Bomb being the wars
top scientific project.
of bombardiers began with the

air crews, especially bombardiers,
Albuquerque Army
Army Air Corps
establishment of the
first
for
the
B-17
Flying
Fortress,
B-24
AirArmys
Base renamed
Advanced Flying
Kirtland Army
Air
bomber,
lands
on
the
northSchool
formally
wartime advanced flying
school.
Liberator and B-29 Superfortress
south runway ...
activated
Business on the new airfield
heavy bombers.
FEB. 25, 1942
APRIL 1, 1941
DEC. 24, 1941
really began to boom with
theC.
Hundreds of troops began
Dec. 18, 1941
Col. Roy
Kirtland, a
arrival of 2,195 pilots, bombardiers
arriving
byArmy
train
the summer
Albuquerque
Air in
Base
in
at Albuquerque
and navigator trainees pioneer
for theaviation
new
of 1941, as did the B-17s ofarrive
theAir
19th
military
Army
Base for training
B-17 Flying Fortress. The 19th
Bombardment Group, commanded
Bombardment Group moved out
by Lt. Col. Eugene Eubank the
shortly thereafter for duty in the
namesake of Eubank Boulevard.
Philippines and South Pacific.
Construction of the air base was
During World War II, Kirtland
completed in August 1941.
continued training entire flight
Just a week after the attack
crews for the B-17 and B-24
on Pearl Harbor, the first class
Training on the B-29

Superfortress begins at
Kirtland
FEB. 1, 1945
The Z Division, the

development,
engineering and
assembly division ...
SEPT. 1, 1945
Kirtland comes
under the Air
Materiel
Command and ...
DEC. 1, 1946
of Los Alamos Laboratory, begins moving to the

area that will become
Sandia Base.
begins flight test

activities.
The 188th Fighter

Bomber Squadron of the
N.M. Air National guard
is activated
JULY 7, 1947
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Congratulations
Weve both been around a long time.
We honor your heritage on your
75th Anniversary.
Your friends at PNM.
75th anniversary
11
Kirtland, which became known as

Liberator bombers and the bases
Sandia Base.
three schools advanced flying,
As World War II wound down,
bombardier training and the
Sandia became a convalescent
multi-engine school operated
center for wounded airmen.
at full capacity. In February 1945,
Immediately after the war ended,
Kirtland Field also engaged in
thousands of surplus aircraft
training combat crews for the B-29
were parked in the area, chopped
Superfortress.
up, and melted down to reclaim
In February 1942, the base was
millions of pounds of aluminum.
renamed
Kirtland
Army Air Field
Kirtland
special_09apr_Timeline.ai
in honor of Army aviation pioneer
Post-war role
Col. Roy Kirtland, a colleague and
Special
Section_ja_Kirtland
xxxof folder
friend
famed
World War II AFB
Gen.
After the war, research and
archive
x_special
section_charts_
Henry
H. Hap
Arnold.
development
of special weapons
original
on
ball
pc_artist:
Russ
Ball
artist:same
cathryn
cunningham
That
year,
the Army Air
intensified. When Los Alamos
size:
5
col
x
37p4
Forces took over Oxnard Field and
Laboratory which developed
proof:
jan a
15,
2016 Kirtland
archive
name:
established
training
depot for timeline
and2016.ai
built the atomic bombs that
support
east of 24, 2016
helped end World War II found
dateand
of logistics
proof: just
February
itself in need of space and test

ranges, Sandia Base became the
solution.
The labs Z Division moved to
Sandia Base, and Kirtland Army
Air Field was placed under the
Air Materiel Command, with the
mission of modifying aircraft
to carry the new bombs and to
determine ballistic characteristics
for nuclear weapons. Weapons
proving and storage were mostly
conducted in the foothills of the
Manzano Mountains, and the area
became Manzano Base.
When Congress made the Air
Force a separate military branch
in 1947, Kirtland Field became

In December 1949, Kirtland
AFB was named headquarters
for the newly created Air Force
Special Weapons Command, with
responsibility for nuclear weapons
testing. Further reorganization
in 1952 made Kirtland AFB the
Air Force Special Weapons Center
under the Air Research and
Development Command, which
became the Air Force Systems
Command in 1961.
The late 1940s and 1950s were
expansion years for Kirtland AFB,
Sandia Base and Manzano Base.
Kirtland and Sandia personnel
participated in atmospheric atomic
Air Force
Secretary &
Chief of
Staff
DOE
Natl. Nuclear
Security
Admin.
NNSA
Sandia
Field
Office
Construction
Air Force
Global
Strike
Command
Air
Combat
Command
Air Force
Space
Command
U.S.
Strategic
Command
Air Force
Materiel
Command
Col. Frank D.
Hackett assumes
Albuquerque Airport
moves four miles
on Albuquerque
Albuquerque Army
Army Air Base ...
Air Base
JAN. 7, 1941
JUNE 1, 1938
MARCH 21, 1941
SEPT. 7, 1939
to house and train
U.S. Army leases
the 19th Bombard2,000 acres adjacent ment Group
Operationally
Air Force
377th
Air Field Distributed
to Oxnard
completed on
privately owned
Albuquerque Airport
MAY 1, 1928
Later renamed
Oxnard Field
Sandia
National
Laboratories
Base Wing
(Installation
Commander)
Mission
Operations
Center
Kirtland
Underground
Munitions
Maintenance
& Storage
Bombardier,
a movie
filmed at Kirtland
Air Field,
Complex
Pictures ...
MAY 14, 1943
Responsive
Space
Advanced
Systems &
Development
Directorate
Land is set aside for testing

the proximity fuse,
considered the 2nd most
of WWII ...
JUNE 1, 1943
the A Bomb being the wars
starring Pat OBrien and
top scientific project.
Award for special effects Support to all units provided
Air
Education &
Training
Command
Air Force
Special
Operations
Command
Army Air Corps
Office
Secretary of
Defense
Albuquerque Army
Air Base renamed
Kirtland Army Air
FEB. 25, 1942
Col. Roy C.
Kirtland, a
pioneer in
Defense
military aviation

APRIL 1, 1941
Advanced Flying
School formally
activated
DEC. 24, 1941
Dec. 18, 1941
AirBase
Force
58th
Army Air
for training
Joint
Operational
Threat
Navigation
Test &
Reduction
Warfare
Evaluation
Agency
Center
Center
AFRL:
Air
Force
Directed
Inspection
Energy
Agency
Directorate
Para
& Space
The 188th Fighter
The Z Division, theAir ForceKirtland comes
Rescue development,
Vehicles
Training on the B-29
under the Air
Safety Materiel
Superfortress begins
at
engineering and
School
Directorate
is activated
Kirtland
assembly division ...Center Command and ...
Nuclear
Weapons
Center
Special Ops Provides

Wing/150th Funding
Special Ops
Wing of the
New Mexico
National
Guard
FEB. 1, 1945
by 377th Air Base Wing
SEPT. 1, 1945
JULY 7, 1947
DEC. 1, 1946
begins flight test

of Los Alamos Laboratory, begins moving to the activities.
area that will become
Sandia Base.
(infastructure
and security).

SOURCE: S. McCorkle
The National
Security Act is
signed by
President Truman...
JULY 26, 1947
making the U.S. Air Force a
separate branch of the
armed forces
12
Kirtland Army Air

Field is renamed
Kirtland Air Force
Base
JAN. 13, 1948
DEC. 1, 1949
Air Force Special
Weapons Command is
activated at Kirtland
JOURNAL
Site Able, which

became known as
Manzano Base,
becomes functional ...
APRIL 4, 1950
as a secure weapons
storage facility
OO PS!
A B-36, ferrying a nuclear bomb from
Biggs AFB at El Paso, accidentally drops
the weapon on approach to Kirtland
MAY 22, 1957
Though the nuclear part of the
bomb was not activated, its
conventional explosive detonates, leaving a 12-foot crater and
destroying the bomb. Only minimal radioactivity detected
Air Force
Weapons
Laboratory
established at
Kirtland
MAY 1, 1963
Air Force Materiel

Sandia Base and Command assumes
Manzano Base
control of Kirtland. The
merged under
377th Air Base Wing is
Kirtland AFB
activated as host unit.
JUNE 1, 1993
JULY 1, 1971
JULY 1, 1977
Military Airlift Command takes
control of Kirtland from the Air
Force Systems Command
xxx folder
Construction
completed on
privately owned
Albuquerque Airport
MAY 1, 1928
Albuquerque Airport
moves four miles
JUNE 1, 1938
SEPT. 7, 1939
U.S. Army leases
2,000 acres adjacent
to Oxnard Field
Later renamed
Oxnard Field
Col. Frank D.
Hackett assumes
on Albuquerque
Albuquerque Army
Army Air Base ...
Air Base
JAN. 7, 1941
MARCH 21, 1941
to house and train
the 19th Bombardment Group
Albuquerque Army
Air Base renamed
Kirtland Army Air
FEB. 25, 1942
Col. Roy C.
Kirtland, a
pioneer in
military aviation
Army Air Corps

Advanced Flying
School formally
activated
DEC. 24, 1941
Dec. 18, 1941
Army Air Base for training
APRIL 1, 1941
Courtesy of kirtland air forCe base
A bombardier training flight crew watches asLand

theisground
loads an AT-11 bomber with practice bombs at Kirtland Army Air Field during World War II.
set aside crew
for testing
Bombardier, a movie
the proximity fuse,
The Z Division, the
Kirtland comes
The 188th Fighter
considered
the 2nd
most
Training
on the
B-29 appearing
filmed
at Kirtland Air Field, at the
development,
under the Air
that
began
in media
testing in the Pacific,
furthering
bases bulk
fuel
facility.
Superfortress begins at
engineering and
Materiel
Estimates
of
the
amount
of
fuel
the bases reputation
as
a
leader
reports
in
2003,
then-Air
Force
of WWII ...
is activated
Kirtland
Pictures ...
assembly division ...
Command and ...
leaked
range
in developing and testing
special
Secretary
Michael
Donley
JULY 7, 1947
JUNE
1, 1943 from 6 million to 24
SEPT.
1, 1945 ordered DEC. 1, 1946
FEB.
1, 1945
MAY 14, 1943
Studies
weapons systems. starring Pat OBrien and million
a refocusing on of
the
Forces
the Agallons.
Bomb being
the warsshowed a
begins flight test
LosAir
Alamos
Laboratopof
scientific
project.
begins
moving
to the activities.
plume
contaminates
6,500 feet
nuclear mission.tory,
Asthat
part
of those
will become
Consolidation and
long
and
1,500
feet
wide had seeped ongoing efforts,area
Award for special effects
Sandia
Base. Air Base
the 377th
off-base to residential areas west of
expansion
Wing in October 2015 was moved
the bases Gibson Gate.
On July 1, 1971, Manzano
under Air Force Global Strike
In efforts to prevent the
and Sandia were merged with
Command the newest of the Air
contaminants from reaching city
Kirtland.
Forces 10 major commands. Six of
water wells, Kirtland officials,
In subsequent years, numerous
those commands have units based
under the watchful eye of the
tenant units moved onto Kirtland
Environmental Protection Agency, at Kirtland.
AFB, building on its importance as began installing monitoring wells
Today, the base is home to the
a research and development center. and extraction wells in the affected 58th Special Operations Wing,
On July 1, 1977, Military Airlift
Air Force Materiel
Force
O PS! is piped
areas.
The extracted O
water
the New Mexico Air National Air
Sandia Base and Command assumes
The National later named
Kirtland
Site Able, which
Weapons
Command,
Air Army Air
A B-36,
ferrying
bomb from
to an
on-base
filtration
facility
fora nuclear
Manzano Base
Security Act is
Field is renamed
became
known
as
Guards
150th Special Operations
control of Kirtland. The
Laboratory
Biggs AFB at El Paso, accidentally drops
Mobility
over
signed by Command, took
Kirtland
Air Force
Manzano Base,
377th Air Base Wing is
established at merged under
reclamation.
Wing,
Space and Missile Systems
the weapon on approach
to Kirtland
Kirtland
AFB
President
Truman...
Base
becomes
functional
...
activated as host unit.
Kirtland
operation of Kirtland AFB from
Taxpayers have spent $100
Centers
Advanced
Systems
and
JUNE 1, 1993
APRIL 4, 1950
MAY 22, 1957
26, 1947
JAN. 13, 1948On
MAY 1, 1963
JULY 1, 1971
AirJULY
Force
Systems Command.
million
so
far
on
the
fuel
spill
DEC. 1, 1949
JULY 1, 1977
Directorate, the
as a secure weapons Though the nuclear partDevelopment
of the
making
the
U.S.Air
Air Force
a Materiel
Jan.
1,
1993,
Force
cleanup,
and
its
estimated
another
Military Airlift Command takes
storage facility
bomb was not activated, its
separate branch of the
Air Force Special
Air Force Inspection Agency,
control of Kirtland from the Air
conventional
Command
armed forces took over Kirtland,
Weapons Command$125
is
million will be needed
to explosive detonates, leaving a 12-foot crater and
Force Systems Command
destroying the bomb. Only
minimal
radioactivity
detected
two
directorates
of
the
Air
Force
activated
at
Kirtland
with the 377th Air Base Wing
finish the job.
Research
Laboratories,
the
Air
originally activated at Tan San
To centralize control of the
Actor Randolph Scott, left, talks
Force Operational Test and
Nhut air base during the Vietnam
Air Forces nuclear weapons
with Col. John Ryan, commander of
Evaluation Center, the Air Force
war being reactivated as its host
management, the Nuclear
Kirtland Army Air Fields Bombardier
Safety Center, the Air Force
unit.
Weapons Center was created at
School, during a break from filming
Nuclear Weapons Center, and
In 1999, base personnel
Kirtland on March 31, 2006.
the 1943 movie Bombardier, made
other units.
Following a series of missteps
on location at Kirtland.
discovered a decades-old leak
A decades-old leak at the bases bulk

fuel facility is discovered. Estimates
put the spill at between 6,000 and
24,000 gallons, migrating to
residential areas
NOV. 1999
MARCH 31, 2006
The Air Force Nuclear
Weapons Center is
activated at Kirtland
75th
anniversary

75th
anniversary
The Operationally Responsive Space

Kirtlands 498th Nuclear Systems Wing
Air Force says close to $100 million has
Office, the Department of Defense
been spent on the bases fuel spill cleanup.
and 898th Munitions Squadron fail a
agency responsible for rapidly designing nuclear surety inspection and are
First extraction well was completed in
and deploying satellites that aid war
decertified. Both units are recertified in
June, and 1 million gallons of spill-tainted
fighters, offically opens at Kirtland
June 2010. The 898th later inactivated
water had been removed in first month.
JULY 2015
MAY 21, 2007
NOV. 2009
OCT. 2008
DEC. 2014
The Pentagon says the 377th Air Base Wing will move from Air Force
Air Force Secretary Michael Donley orders a refocusing on the
services nuclear enterprise and stands up Air Force Global Strike Materiel Command oversight to Air Force Global Strike Command as
part of efforts to streamline the services nuclear mission
Command, the newest of the Air Forces 10 major commands
JANUARY 2016
Kirtland begins a
yearlong celebration
of the bases
75
th
ANNIVERSARY
1313
orGanizaTion
The 377th Air Base Wing includes
four units:
377th Maintenance Group
Two squadrons make up this
group. The first is responsible
for munitions maintenance. The
other handles more generic
maintenance, predominately
airfield work such as refueling and
parking aircraft. Most of the airfield
workers are contract employees.
377th Mission Support Group
courtesy oF kirtland air Force base/todd berenger
Col. Eric H. Froehlich, commander of the 377th Air Base Wing, is known as the Mayor of Kirtland Air Force Base. The
377th is the host unit for Kirtland.
running the city
host unit 377th air base Wing keeps kirtland operating smoothly
By Tania SouSSan
For the Journal
n some ways, Kirtland Air

Force Base is like a small city.
Thousands of people live, work
and play there. They go to the
doctor, visit the library, take their
kids swimming and buy groceries.
Keeping that small city running
smoothly is the job of the 377th
Air Base Wing, host unit for
Kirtland. And, indeed, Col. Eric
H. Froehlich, commander of 377th,
is known locally as the Mayor of
As the host organization for
Kirtland Air Force Base, the 377th
Air Base Wing is responsible for
ensuring the people living and
working on Kirtland AFB have
the necessary support to conduct
their jobs and carry out a variety
of crucial national security
missions, Froehlich said.
But its not all run-of-the-mill
municipal operations. The mission
of the 377th Air Base Wing is to
execute nuclear, readiness and
support operations for American
air power, and the 377th also
ensures readiness and training
of airmen for worldwide duty,
operates the airfield, prepares
personnel to deploy worldwide on
a moments notice and keeps the
base secure.
The nuclear capabilities of the
U.S. military form the foundation
of U.S. national security, and the
377th Air Base Wing is proud to
14
14
provide well-trained forces and

logistics support to the Air Force
nuclear enterprise, Froehlich
added.
The 377th is made up of about
1,200 active-duty military
personnel, 591 federal civilians
and 720 contractors assigned to the
Medical Group, Mission Support
Group, Security Forces Group,
Maintenance Group and 13 wing
staff agencies.
The 377th Air Base Wing is one
of the newest organizations at
Kirtland, where it has been active
since 1993. But the groups history
goes back much further, to its
original activation 50 years ago,
at Tan Son Nhut Air Base in 1966
in Vietnam, said base historian Al
Moyers.
The 377th is an important
organization in the history of the
Air Force, Moyers said, adding
that the group made a significant
combat contribution and has an
important lineage.
Although the people who make
up the 377th have changed over
the years, the name has remained
as the wing has been activated
several times.
In Vietnam, the group provided
financial, personnel, housing,
dining, transportation and
security services and supported
flying operations. The groups
security forces also fought off
many attacks on the base during
the war, and some members were
killed or wounded. The 377th

was awarded four Air Force
Outstanding Unit Awards with
Valor as well as the Republic of
Vietnam Gallantry Cross with
Palm before being inactivated in
1973.
The 377ths next assignment
came on June 14, 1985, when it was
reactivated at Ramstein Air Base
in Germany. There, the wing was
responsible for base operations and
maintenance as well as support
for nearly 65,000 Americans
in the Kaiserslautern Military
Community. In addition, the wing
managed the largest Air Force
civil engineering group in Europe
and one of the largest services
and mission support squadrons
in the Air Force. Wing personnel
supported transportation and
airlifts for Operations Desert
Shield and Desert Storm. Before
being inactivated in 1991, the 377th
was honored with its fifth and
sixth Outstanding Unit Awards.
As part of a major reorganization
of the Air Force in 1992, the
newly-formed Air Force Materiel
Command took over management
of Kirtland Air Force Base. On
Jan. 1, 1993, the new base manager
activated the 377th Air Base Wing
to serve as the base host. While
at Kirtland, the personnel of the
Air Base Wing have won two
Outstanding Unit Awards.
From child care to professional

aviation courses to a veterinary
clinic and a bowling alley, the
Mission Support Group offers
a wide range of programs and
facilities for the people who live
and work at Kirtland Air Force
Base.
The groups Logistics Readiness
Squadron handles transportation,
supply and logistics planning.
377th Medical Group
The award-winning medical group
provides health care to the 377th
Air Base Wing and more than 100
associate organizations as well
as primary and specialty health
care to other personnel and their
families in cooperation with the
New Mexico Veteran Affairs Health
Care System. The services include
dental care, a pharmacy and a
flight medicine team.
The medical groups history
stretches back to 1951 when it was
attached to the 2nd Air Force at
MacDill Air Force Base in Florida.
The Medical Group also was
activated in Morocco from 19511958 and in Vietnam from 19661973. It was activated at Kirtland
on Jan. 1, 1973, and has been
decorated multiple times, including
receiving the Air Force Outstanding
Unit Award while at Kirtland.
377th Security Forces Group
Members of the Security
Forces Group protect those
who work on the base and also
deploy worldwide and execute
the mission of nuclear and
non-nuclear weapons system
security, physical and information
security, integrated base defense,
combat arms, law enforcement,
antiterrorism, resource protection,
military working dogs and
corrections.
The group was active from 19851991 at Ramstein Air Base in
Germany where it received the Air
Force Outstanding Unit Award.
kirtland
kirtlandair
airforce
forcebase
base
Kirtland Air Force Base, on 75 years!

Thank you for all of your contributions to
Albuquerque and New Mexico.
You have made us a better and
stronger community, state, and country.
Nusenda Credit Union congratulates

Kirtland AFB on their 75th anniversary.
Visit us on base.
H Street and Pennsylvania, Bldg 20392
889-7755 | 800-347-2838
nusenda.org
Follow us on:
Federally insured by NCUA
MONDAY, APRIL 25
7:00 PM
KIVA AUDITORIUM
IN ALBUQUERQUE
75th anniversary
FREE TICKETS AVAILABLE

FROM KIVA GUEST SERVICES
AND KIRTLAND FCU LOCATIONS:
6440 GIBSON BLVD.
10200 CORRALES RD.
WWW.USAFACADEMYBAND.AF.MIL
15
CourteSy of u.S. air forCe
Students of the first all-Reserve class of the Aircraft Mishap Investigation Course look over F-16 mishap indicators
at the Air Force Safety Centers Crash Lab at Kirtland Air Force Base on Sept. 29, 2015. From left are: Capt. Michael
Terrell, Dobbins AFB, Ga.; Capt. Jeromy Harris, Barksdale AFB, La.; Senior Master Sgt. Del Deatherage, Scott AFB,
Ill; Maj. Chris Robinson, Barksdale AFB, La.; Maj. Dennis Mishler, Air Reserve Station, Minn.; Chris Herrmann, AMIC
instructor, AFSEC; and Maj. Brett Manger, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
Preventing mishaps
anything to do with air force safety ... we do right here

By Charles D. Brunt
lot can go wrong when

youre dealing with
nuclear weapons, satellites,
directed energy, cyber
tech and the most advanced
aircraft in the world not to
mention more mundane dangers
like occupational hazards,
conventional weapons and
maintenance of all of the above.
Eliminating or minimizing
accidents in those diverse realms
is the responsibility of the Air
Force Safety Center, celebrating
its 20th anniversary this year at
Anything to do with Air
Force safety, from soup to nuts
for flight, occupational, space,
weapons, cyberspace, nuclear
16
safety we do all that right here,

said James T. Rubeor, executive
director of the safety center and
deputy chief of Air Force safety.
Ever since
the Air Force
became a separate
military branch
on Sept. 18, 1947,
there has been an
agency charged
with focusing
on safety. The
overall mission
RUBEOR:
of those agencies,
Manages daily
Rubeor said, hasnt operations at
changed prevent Safety Center
mishaps and
preserve the Air
Forces combat capability.
The Air Force Safety Center
develops, implements, evaluates
and executes safety policies

for the Air Force. It oversees
mishap investigations, evaluates
corrective actions and ensures
the implementation of its safety
programs. It also conducts
safety research, educates safety
personnel, and maintains the Air
Force Safety Automated System
a vast, searchable database
that can be used for analysis, for
identifying trends and developing
reports.
The database, upgraded
constantly with new data gleaned
from mishap investigations,
enables Air Force safety personnel
to identify potential issues and
address them pro-actively.
Pro-active safety is exactly
that, Rubeor said. We try to
anticipate the next accident and
determine what we can do to

prevent it.
The safety center, activated at
Kirtland Air Force Base on Jan.
1, 1996, traces its origins to 1947
when the Office of the Inspector
General was given oversight of all
Air Force safety and inspection
functions which, at the time, was
carried out by the 1002nd Inspector
General Group at Norton Air Force
Base, Calif.
At the end of 1971, the 1002nd
was replaced by the Air Force
Inspection and Safety Center
which, in 1991, was divided into the
Air Force Inspection Agency and
the Air Force Safety Agency. The
following year, the Air Force Chief
of Safety position was created. The
safety chief, a one-star general,
was also commander of the Air
Force Safety Agency and reported
to the Air Force Chief of Staff in
Washington, D.C.
With the impending closure of
Norton Air Force Base, the Air
Force Safety Agency moved to
Kirtland in July 1993. Three years
later, the new Air Force Safety
Center was activated at Kirtland,
again consolidating all Air Force
safety functions.
In October 2003, Rubeors
position was created to provide
oversight of the daily functions of
the center. The Chief of Safety, now
a two-star post held by Maj. Gen.
Andrew M. Mueller, moved back to
the Pentagon in April 2004.
Its important to remember
our heritage who we are and
why were here while using
lessons learned to safeguard
airmen, protect resources and
preserve combat readiness today
and into the future, Mueller said
of the centers 20th anniversary.
Our history and heritage are the
foundation of what we do and who
we are; they enable us to maintain
a lasting legacy of excellence. The
Air Force commitment to sustain
a center of safety professionals
reinforces the importance of safety
to mission accomplishment.
The safety center employs
about 190 people 85 civilians,
25 contractors, 65 active-duty
military, and 15 National Guard
and Reserve members. It has 10
divisions: aviation safety, analysis
and integration, occupational
safety, space safety, weapons
safety, training and force
development, human factors,
personnel and resource, office of
staff judge advocate, and public
affairs. Its fiscal year 2016 budget
is $18 million, according to Darlene
Cowsert, spokeswoman for the
safety center.
Thank You

For 75 Years of Service to
New Mexico and The USA
75
th
Happy
Anniversary
Kirtland Air Force Base!

Thank you for having such a great
impact on the city of Albuquerque
Your Local Lender
NMLS# 315521
Making Another Dream Come True
505.821.5690
Integrity first,
service before self,
and excellence in all we do.
CONGRATULATIONS
We are proud to congratulate Kirtland AFB and
recognize your 75 years of protecting our nation
and serving our community.
Preferred usage of Sandia and Lockheed logo
FREEDOM STANDS
THANKS TO ALL
WHO SERVE.
Horizontal arrangement
CMYK color
Black
White
Thank you for the important work that you do. Boeing is proud to
support the Kirtland Air Force Base and the continued well-being
of military personnel, civilians and their families.
Secondary usage of Sandia and Lockheed logo

in smaller advertisements or print collateral where
the preferred version is not feasible.
Vertical arrangement
CMYK color
www.sandia.gov
Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed
Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energys National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.
75th anniversary
Black
17
greg Sorber/Journal
Tech Sgt. Tyson Reams, left, and his wife, Staff Sgt. Veronica Reams, worked together during Operation Tomodachi after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Now instructors in the 58th Special Operations Wing, they stand in front of a HH60 Pave Hawk helicopter.
Wheels up
58th Special operations Wing trains crews

for search and rescue around the world
By Olivier UytteBrOUck
.S. Air Force Tech Sgt.

Tyson Reams took off
from Kadena Air Base
in Okinawa, Japan, with
his search-and-rescue squadron
just hours after a magnitude 9.0
earthquake unleashed a massive
tsunami that slammed into the
Japanese mainland in 2011.
Within hours we were
mobilized, wheels up, in route to
the mainland, said Reams, who
trained in 2007 as a flight engineer
with the 58th Special Operations
Wing based at Kirtland Air Force
Base. We were doing search-andrescue missions about 24 hours
after the event.
18 18
Over the next 30 days, Reams

and his wife, Air Force Staff Sgt.
Veronica Reams, flew rescue
and relief missions to devastated
communities along Japans
northeast coast, delivering
food and supplies, and seeking
survivors among the rubble.
Veronica Reams is an operations
intelligence analyst assigned to
her husbands squadron. Both now
are instructors for the 58th Special
Operations Wing.
It was otherworldly, said
Veronica Reams, a native speaker
of Japanese who served as a
translator. We saw houses that
were on fire, but floating on the
ocean.
Dubbed Operation Tomodachi
courteSy of the u.S. air force
Staff Sgt. Veronica Reams carries supplies during rescue operations in a

coastal Japanese city in 2011.
(the Japanese word for friend),
the mission involved some 24,000
U.S. service members and 189
aircraft who provided disaster
relief in the weeks after the 2011
Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.
Growing need
Operation Tomodachi defines
the type of mission for which the
58th SOW trains flight crews, wing
members said.
The unit, which this year marks
kirtlandair
airforce
forcebase
base
kirtland
We Thank You
for Your Service
We are Honored to Serve

the Men and Women of
COURAGE
STRENGTH
Photo: Dave Groth
DEDICATION
its 40th anniversary at Kirtland

Air Force Base, trains about 2,000
airmen a year at Kirtland for
special operations and combat
search-and-rescue missions.
When these missions happen,
they are unexpected and have
to have strategic impact, said
Col. Dagvin Dag Anderson,
commander of the 58th Special
Operations Wing. You cant make
a mistake.
The need for highly trained
special operations flight crews has
grown in response to the evolving
nature of warfare in recent
decades, Anderson said.
There is a huge demand for
what we train here, Anderson
said. It directly contributes to the
security of our nation.
The 9-11 attack crystallized
where the world was heading, he
said, with many non-state actors
and regional powers in the Middle
East and Africa. The most recent
example is the rise of ISIS, the
self-proclaimed Islamic state, in
remote areas of Iraq and Syria.
Warfare today calls for small,
agile operations in some of the
planets most remote places, he
said.
The demand for special
operations and search and rescue
has not gone down since 9-11,
Anderson said. The draw-down
in Afghanistan and Iraq have not
resulted in a lull in demand for
special operations and search and
rescue.
Graduates of the 58th Special Operations Wing participated in rescue operation after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
58TH SpeCIal OperaTIOnS WIng aIrCrafT
Think and react

During Operation Tomodachi,
rescuers often improvised their
missions based on conditions they
observed on the ground, Tyson and
Veronica Reams said. Survivors
often scrawled SOS messages
visible from the air. Helicopters
sometimes had no place to land
in the rubble-strewn valleys,
requiring Veronica Reams to hoist
down to speak with survivors.
We had a guy who had just
moved to Okinawa, straight from
graduating from here, Tyson
Reams said. He unpacked his
bags, got on the helicopter and flew
to the mainland within days of
arriving at the island. Its essential
for us to learn our skills right
here.
The wing employs more than
1,800 personnel and trains about
2,000 students a year who are
enrolled in 113 training courses
for 32 different crew positions. The
wing is one of the largest units at
Kirtland.
Training air crews to fly
airplanes, thats what I would
say is the easy part, said Chief
75th anniversary
anniversary
75th
Twelve HH-60G
Seven tiltrotor
Pave Hawk
CV-22 Ospreys,
helicopters
helicopter-airplane
hybrid
Four HC-130/N
Combat King
Six UH-1N
Iroquois
helicopters
Three MC-130H
Three HC-130J
Combat Talon II Combat King II
Four MC-130J
Commando II
Designations: C - transport; H - search and rescue; M - special operations.
Master Sgt. Joseph Montgomery,

an instructor at the 58th SOW.
The big challenge is teaching
students how to think and react
like combat airmen. Our missionsets are very dynamic. They have
to problem-solve, and they have to
do it very quickly to the changing
situations on the battlefield.
Students spend at least half their
training hours in simulators,
which allow commanders to

control the environment in ways
they cant in a real aircraft, such
as simulating engine failure,
terrain and weather.
Ideal terrain
For training in real aircraft,
New Mexico offers the ideal
environment, with its high-altitude
and rugged terrain that resembles
remote areas of the world where

graduates will perform missions.
We train them to fly at night
in the weather through the Rocky
Mountains, Anderson said. We
would be hard pressed to replicate
this anywhere else in the country.
The 58th SOW trains flight
crews for two kinds of helicopters
and four variations of the C-130,
a four-engine turboprop military
transport plane.
It also trains crews for one of the
nations newer military aircraft,
the tiltrotor CV-22 Osprey, a
helicopter-airplane hybrid, that
Anderson said has extended
the range and capabilities of
operational missions.
A subordinate unit of the wing,
the 71st Special Operations
Squadron, trains CV-22 Osprey
crews. The squadron this year is
celebrating its 25th anniversary at
Kirtland.
The tiltrotor has changed how
we conduct operations, Anderson
said. It has the speed and range
that helicopters dont have, and it
can reach remote locations that
fixed-wing aircraft cant.
1919
CourtesY oF Air ForCe reseArCH LABorAtorY
A researcher with the Air Force Research Laboratory Directed Energy Directorate performs a laser experiment. The objective is to better understand the physics of laser interactions with various materials and systems. The results help create requirements for laser weapon systems for mission partners such as Air
Combat Command.
By Donna olmsteaD
AssistAnt FeAtures editor
Game-chanGinG
technology
research Laboratorys two directorates
home to cutting-edge science
he latest better than science fiction

technology is researched and developed
in Albuquerques backyard, at the Air
Force Research Laboratory at Kirtland
Air Force Base.
Rocket scientists, physicists and other
researchers have two focuses, or directorates:
Directed Energy, which harnesses lasers
and microwaves, and Space Vehicles, which
manage and surveil an increasingly cluttered
atmosphere.
Called game-changing technology, the
scientists work to expand the Air Forces
capabilities to keep the country safe.
Some of those projects include technology
that allows space imaging from the ground and
weapons that use laser and microwave energy
that can zero in on a target without collateral
damage.
Directed energy
The Directed Energy Directorate leads the
development of game-changing high-energy
22
COURTESY Of AIR fORCE RESEARCH LABORATORY
Researchers set up a spacecraft for system level testing in one of the Air Force Research Laboratorys Space Vehicles Directorates thermal vacuum chambers. This test evaluates the performance of the spacecraft in orbit conditions. The temperatures of the chamber walls are controlled to simulate on-orbit conditions while lamps are used to mimic solar heating.
laser and high-power microwave
technologies to protect aircraft
and the homeland from missile
threats, says Jorge Beraun, a
project leader, adding that the
directorate contributes to the
Air Force space superiority by
advancing optics and photonics
(light) science to enable groundbased imaging of earth-orbiting
satellites, using telescopes in New
Mexico and Hawaii.
Recently the directorate
provided high resolution images to
NASA to locate an external coolant
leak on the International Space
Station, allowing astronauts to
fix the problem, according to the
website, kirtland.af.mil/afrl.
Another successful project,
CHAMP, or the CounterElectronics High Power Microwave
Advanced Missile Project, has
been passed to warfighters, he
says.
According to the website,
CHAMP is an unmanned system
capable of flying into a contested
area and disabling an adversarys
electronic systems. It employs
75th
75th anniversary
anniversary
a high-power radio frequency

technology. Its proven capability
allows the Air Force to defeat and
disable the enemys electronic
systems without bullets or
explosives, completely avoiding
damage to buildings or danger to
life.
Another project that should
soon be tested against targets,
the demonstrator laser weapon
system, works to develop lasers
that can destroy smaller aerial
targets, such as mortars and
missiles, Beraun added.
Space Vehicles
At the other Air Force Research
Laboratory, the Space Vehicles
Directorate, Chief Scientist Greg
Spanjers says the cutting-edge
research there opens up new
space capabilities for the U.S.
Department of Defense. In that
regard they have transferred
technology into every Department
of Defense spacecraft and most
commercial aircraft, he says. To
test these new capabilities, AFRL
has integrated and flown 15 major
research spacecraft from Kirtland

Air Force Base over the last 20
years.
For example, the successful
ANGELS, or Automated
Navigation and Guidance
Experience for Local Space,
which fields small, maneuverable
satellites that can observe other
satellites in space, has become part
of the Air Force Space Command,
he says.
Another example of the
directorates success is the RollOut Solar Array, or ROSA, a new
architecture that reduces the
volume of stored solar cells. The
smaller units improve satellite
survivability in space and reduce
launch costs, according to the
website.
The heritage of the Space
Vehicles Directorate includes
balloon technology in the 1940s,
space weather prediction in the
1950s and microsatellites and solar
power technologies in the 1990s.
Local impact
The two directorates are part
of the larger Air Force Research

Laboratory Organization, with
directorates that include human
performance, aerospace systems,
information, munitions, sensors
and other research at worldwide
sites.
Spanjers says that more than
1,800 people civilians, military
and on-site contractors make
up the team at both of the KAFB
directorates. According to a report
from the University of New Mexico,
the two research laboratories have
an economic impact of $536 million
and indirectly support 3,700 jobs in
the area, he says.
The two directorates have
worked and won awards for
reaching out to New Mexico
students in science, technology,
engineering and math, or STEM.
More than 77,000 New Mexico
students from kindergarteners
to seniors have participated. At
the undergraduate university
level about 350 students work on
research each year.
23
n International, Homeland &

Nuclear Security: Focusing on the
protection of nuclear assets and
nuclear materials, and addressing
nuclear emergency response and
nonproliferation worldwide.
Sandias employees work at
the laboratories headquarters
on Kirtland Air Force Base in
Albuquerque; at a second lab in
Livermore, Calif; and at other
sites including Carlsbad, N.M.;
Las Vegas, Nev.; Tonopah, Nev.;
Amarillo, Texas; and Kauai,
Hawaii.
As of February 2015, Sandia
National Laboratories has about
10,500 employees. Its annual
operating costs are $2.78 billion.
The lab spent about $983 million
on goods and services in fiscal
year 2015, which ended on Sept.
30. About $381 million of that
went to New Mexico businesses,
accounting for about 39 percent
of the total, according to its most
recent economic impact report.
national nuclear
security administration/
albuquerque Complex
courteSy of Sandia national labS/randy montoya
Sandia National Laboratories Z machine, located on Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, is part of the labs
Pulsed Power Program, which started at Sandia National Laboratories in the 1960s. Pulsed power is a technology
that concentrates electrical energy and turns it into short pulses of enormous power, which are then used to generate
X-rays and gamma rays.
Mission Partners
Profiles of three major agencies that call Kirtland home
By Charles D. Brunt
irtland Air Force Base has

more than 100 mission
partners on its 51,588
acres, including Sandia
National Laboratories which
employs nearly half of the bases
nearly 21,000 employees the
National Nuclear Security
Administration, which oversees
Sandia, and the Defense Threat
Reduction Agency, charged with
countering weapons of mass
destruction.
Here are brief overviews of those
three agencies.
sandia national
laboratories
A multi-program national
security laboratory, Sandia
24
evolved from the Manhattan

Project that developed the
worlds first atomic bombs.
Sandia has major research and
development responsibilities in
national security, energy and
environmental technologies and
economic competitiveness.
Since 1993, Sandia has been
operated by Sandia Corp., the
Lockheed Martin subsidiary
that operates the lab for the U.S.
Department of Energys National
Nuclear Security Administration.
Sandia has participated
in a major nuclear weapons
modernization program
representing one of the labs
biggest endeavors since the end of
the Cold War.
Today, keeping the U.S. nuclear
stockpile safe, secure and effective
is a major part of Sandias work.
Sandia is responsible for a life

extension program on the B6112 nuclear bomb; alterations on
the W88 nuclear warhead; and
is involved in the Mk 21 fuzereplacement program for the W87
nuclear warhead.
But Sandia also addresses other
complex threats facing the nation
by carrying out research and
development in:
n Nuclear Weapons: Supporting
U.S. deterrence policy by helping
sustain, modernize and secure the
nuclear arsenal.
n Defense Systems &
Assessments: Supplying new
capabilities to U.S. defense and
national security communities.
n Energy & Climate: Ensuring
the stable supply of energy and
resources, and protection of
infrastructure.
Since 1958, federal agencies with

oversight of the nations nuclear
assets have had a presence at
Today, that agency is the
National Nuclear Security
Administration, established
by Congress in 2000 as a semiautonomous agency within the U.S.
Department of Energy.
The NNSA is responsible for the
safety, security and effectiveness
of the U.S. nuclear weapons
stockpile a mission that has
to be fulfilled without nuclear
explosive testing. It also works
to reduce the global danger from
weapons of mass destruction;
provides the U.S. Navy with safe
and effective nuclear propulsion;
and responds to nuclear and
radiological emergencies in the
U.S. and abroad.
In New Mexico, the NNSA has
oversight over Sandia National
Laboratories and Los Alamos
National Laboratory.
The roughly 1,200 employees
and contractors housed at NNSAs
Albuquerque Complex at Kirtland
provide programmatic, business,
technical, financial, legal and
management services, according
to Al Stotts, a public affairs
specialist with the NNSA here.
But that expertise is struggling
in an aging cluster of 25 buildings
some built in the 1950s that
is in dire need of replacement,
retired Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz,
undersecretary for nuclear
Courtesy of sandia national labs
President John F. Kennedy visited Sandia National Labs in December 1962.

Here he inspects the VELA satellite package designed to detect atmospheric
nuclear testing. At right is then-Sandia president Sigmund Schwartz.
security and administrator for the
NNSA, said here earlier this year.
Theyre just not the quality
work spaces we need for the
quality of workforce we have,
Klotz said.
Plans call for a new
324,000-square-foot, multimilliondollar building to be built
near Kirtlands Eubank Gate.
Construction could begin as early
as 2018. Congress has provided
$8 million this fiscal year to
begin designing the building, and
President Obama has requested
$12.9 billion for the NNSA for
fiscal year 2017 $15 million-plus
of which, Klotz said, will go toward
completing a final design, Klotz
said.
NNSA will request about $50
million to begin construction in
the fiscal year 2018 budget. An
NNSA fact sheet on the project
estimates the final cost at $204.5
million.
Speaking at an annual meeting
of the Kirtland Partnership
Committee here in January 2015,
Klotz said the importance of
Sandia National Laboratories,
the NNSA Albuquerque Complex
and their home Kirtland Air
Force Base to the nations
nuclear capabilities can hardly be
overstated.
Ever since Gen. (Leslie) Groves
established the Z Division here
in September 1945, Albuquerque
and Kirtland have been at the
very heart and soul of Americas
nuclear weapon and nuclear
security program and remains
75th anniversary
anniversary
75th
so today, Klotz said.

Groves was the Army Corps of
Engineers officer who directed
the Manhattan Project, which
produced the worlds first nuclear
bomb.
The NNSA traces its roots from
the Atomic Energy Commissions
former Albuquerque Operations
Office, which moved into surplus
Air Force barracks on Kirtland in
early 1958. The AEC became the
Energy Research and Development
Administration in 1975, which in
turn became the Department of
Energy in 1977.
Defense Threat
Reduction Agency
Using the unique national
test facilities at Kirtland Air
Force Base (and White Sands
Missile Range), the Defense
Threat Reduction Agency the
Department of Defense agency
charged with countering weapons
of mass destruction tests
methods and equipment designed
to defeat chemical and biological
weapons, tests sensors designed
to detect nuclear and radioactive
materials, and conducts realistic
training for select military
personnel.
The agencys main functions
are threat reduction including
chemical, biological, radiological,
nuclear and high explosives
threat control, combat support
and technology development,
according to its public affairs
office in Fort Belvoir, Va.
The Defense Threat Reduction Agency performs an anti-terrorism high-explosion test on Kirtland Air Force Base in 2001. The test assisted in the development of design methods and guidelines for upgrading buildings.
Kirtland is also home to the
Defense Threat Reduction
Information Analysis Center,
storing information on nuclear
weapons and radiological effects
to provide an accessible library
for the DOD and other federal
agencies. The center holds nearly
230,000 documents, 10 million
linear feet of film and 2 million
photos.
DTRA traces its legacy to the
establishment of the Armed
Forces Special Weapons Project at
Kirtland on Jan. 1, 1947. AFSWP
was replaced by the Defense
Atomic Support Agency in 1951,
and DASA was replaced by the
Defense Nuclear Agency in 1971. In
1996, the DNA was replaced by the
Defense Special Weapons Agency
and, two years later, was followed
by and remains part of the
Defense Threat Reduction Agency.
DTRA has satellite offices

throughout the world, but outside
of its headquarters at Fort Belvoir,
the largest of those is at Kirtland.
The local office employs about
210 people 120 civilians and 90
military. At any given time, it can
house an additional 30 Reservists
who come to Kirtland to attend the
Defense Nuclear Weapons School,
which provides war-fighters with
training related to nuclear and
radiological weapons, accident and
incident response, and chemical,
biological, radiological and nuclear
modeling.
In Fiscal Year 2014, DTRAs
contracts in New Mexico totaled
about $41.7 million. Of that,
about $31.9 million went to 10
New Mexico-based companies.
The annual civilian-only payroll
for DTRAs Kirtland facility is
approximately $18 million.
25
25
decorations before being released

from federal active duty in June
1969. Capt. Michael Adams, Maj.
Bobby Neeld and 1st Lt. Mitchell
Lane died in combat.
In the mid-1970s, the Tacos
transitioned to A-7D Corsair III
fighters. By the early 1990s, they
were flying the F-16 Fighting
Falcon.
Desert storm and 9/11
richard pipeS/Journal
An F-16 Fighting Falcon with the former N.M. Air National Guards 150th Fighter Wing takes on fuel from a tanker during a 2010 training flight. After losing its F-16s, the 150th become a special operations wing based at Kirtland.
six decades of service

n.M. air national Guard flew missions around the world
By Charles D. Brunt
hrough six decades, the New

Mexico Air National Guard
saw its mission change
numerous times in order to
serve key roles both at home and
around the globe.
But it always seemed to take
a piece of home with it. Initially
nicknamed the Enchilada Air
Force during its days in Korea,
the wing adopted the unmistakable
call sign Tacos during Vietnam
and subsequent deployments.
The New Mexico Air National
Guard has remained relevant by
adapting to the ever-changing
needs of the state and the military.
Having closed its 63-year legacy
as a fighter wing in 2010, the Air
Guard today has evolved as the
150th Special Operations Wing.
The New Mexico Air National
Guard traces its roots to July
7, 1947, when the 188th Fighter
Bomber Squadron was federally
recognized. At that time, the
unit included a utility flight of
Douglas A/B-26 Invader light
bombers, a fighter squadron
with 25 P-51 Mustangs and three
26
16
T-6 Texan trainers and a small

weather detachment. A year later,
the 188ths mission was changed
from fighter bomber to fighterinterceptor.
In December 1950, the 188th was
activated for the Korean War, and
most of its members were assigned
to Air Force units and dispatched
to Japan and Korea.
F-51 Mustang pilots Capt.
Francis Williams and 1st Lt.
Robert Sands were each credited
with downing three MiG-15s. First
Lts. Robert Lucas and Joseph
Murray were killed while flying
close air support missions in
Korea.
The 188th, nicknamed The
Enchilada Air Force for the
impromptu Mexican food dinners
it would prepare for fellow airmen,
was released from federal active
duty in November 1952. In 1953, the
unit received its first jet fighters,
F-80 Shooting Stars.
In July 1957, the 188th FighterInterceptor Squadron expanded
to a group level, and the 150th
Fighter-Interceptor Group was
established.
In January 1958, the 188th traded
its F-80s for F-100 Super Sabre

jet aircraft. It was the first Air
National Guard unit to receive the
new jets.
New Mexico lost 200 service
members during the Korean war,
according to the Department of
Defense.
Vietnam
In January 1968, the 188th
Tactical Fighter Squadron was
activated as the war in Vietnam
heated up. In June 1968, about
250 maintenance and support
personnel were deployed to
coastal Tuy Hoa Air Base, 285
miles northeast of Saigon. Other
personnel were assigned to various
bases in South Korea.
The squadron consisting of 22
F-100C/Ds, two two-seater F-100Fs
and 25 pilots arrived in Vietnam
on June 7, 1968, and was assigned
to the 31st Tactical Fighter Wing.
Squadron officials chose the call
sign Taco for their Southeast
Asia operations.
In Vietnam, the 188th flew more
than 6,000 combat sorties and
amassed upward of 630 medals and
In December 1990, 44 members

of the units Security Police Flight
and other members were deployed
to Saudi Arabia in support of
Operation Desert Storm. The last
group returned home by May 1991.
In October 1995, the 150th
Fighter Group was renamed the
150th Fighter Wing.
Within hours of the terrorist
attacks of 9/11, F-16s from the
150th Fighter Wing were flying
air patrols over key resources in
the western United States, and
continued to do so for several
months. In October 2001, the unit
deployed to Atlantic City, N.J., to
assume 24-hour patrols in the sky
over New York City.
Farewell fighters
The future of the wing came
into question in April 2009 with
the Pentagons decision to cap
purchases of the new F-22 Raptor
and to speed up purchases of the
less costly but equally stealthy
F-35 Lightning II joint strike
fighter.
That plan accelerated the
retirement of 249 fourthgeneration fighters during Fiscal
Year 2010. All 21 of the Tacos
F-16s were included in the early
retirement plan, and the last pair
of those fighters left the 150ths
home at Kirtland Air Force Base
on in 2010, with much fanfare.
Besides the legacy of a 63-yearold fighter wing, about 1,000 jobs
one-third of which are held by
full-time National Guardsmen
were affected by the loss of the
Tacos F-16s.
The 150th Fighter Wings new
mission would involve a merger
with the Air Forces 58th Special
Operations Wing, which also is
based at Kirtland.
The 58th Special Operations
Wing trains about 1,400 military
personnel a year at Kirtland in
special operations and combat
search-and-rescue missions.
On Dec. 1, 2013, the N.M. Air
National Guard announced that
the 150th Fighter Wing had been
redesignated as the non-flying
150th Special Operations Wing.
kirtland air
air force
force base
base
kirtland
Lewis University
Salutes Kirtland AFB
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Kirtland Education Center
1900 Wyoming Blvd SE
(505) 26-LEWIS (265-3947)
Albuquerque Campus
2440 Louisiana Blvd NE
(505) 25-LEWIS (255-3947)
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www.lewisu.edu/albuquerque
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in the United States and other countries. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
You Make Us Stronger Ad_4.75x5.indd 1
27
27
3/16/16 1:30 PM
Courtesy oF distributed mission operations Center
Members of a coalition Air Support Operations Center participate in an exercise at the Distributed Mission Operations Center at Kirtland Air Force Base.
virtual
war
training exercises bring pilots, crew

together in simulated battles
By Glen Rosales
For the Journal
ilitary airmen from

coalition forces across
the world train together
on the same virtual
air battlefield through the
magic of technology coordinated
at Kirtland Air Force Base
through the Distributed Mission
Operations Center.
Operated by the 705th Air
Combat Training Squadron, the
center unites pilots and specialized
support crew from Canada, Great
Britain and Australia with units
from the United States in quarterly
flag exercises, said Lt. Col. Rick
28
Martino, squadron commander.

What we try to provide the
war fighter is an opportunity to
make time critical decisions when
they have to interoperate across a
joint force when you have limited
resources and you have to work
together, he said. Then we can
go into a debrief and talk about the
decisions that were made.
As many as 300 pilots from the
various stations participate in the
exercises, Martino said.
The idea is not so much missionplan rehearsal as it is training
the various squadrons to work
as comprehensive units under
various scenarios, he said.
Its to train for joint forces

warfare to prepare for combat,
Martino said. We script out a
synthetic battle space and connect
the simulators around the world
and put them into combat. Its
something units from around the
world rarely get the opportunity
to do.
It also brings together disparate
forces from each country, meaning
the Air Force, Navy, Army and
Marine air units are learning to
work in cooperation with each
other.
We talk about what they did
well, Martino said. A lot of units
dont get to operate with other
units. They train in small training
environments. This brings airmen
from the Air Corps, Army, Navy
and Marine Corps. They can
mission plan, execute, debrief,
go over procedures so the next
time they are in theater, they are
already very familiar with each
other and they all operate.
Usually the tableau is set using
the western U.S., Martino said, but
the capability exists to choose any
part of the world.
All the simulators are combined
in that battle space so if they
were to look down they would see
portions of the United States, based
on the data, he said. What we
do well is put them in a common
situation and allow them to train
together and learn from it.

The center was first established
at Kirtland in 1979 and had a
different mission then.
Were doing research and
development on behalf of the Air
Force, combining simulators
and how they would operate
together and as that got better
and connectivity got better the
mission evolved, Martino said.
This was the perfect place to do
this because we still do research
and development. And theres a
lot of technology that happens
in Albuquerque. This was one
of those great places to be, even
decades ago when the squadron
was first formed.
The center reports to the 505th
Test and Evaluation Group at
Nellis Air Force Base in southern
Nevada under the 505th Command
and Control Wing headquartered
at Hurlburt Field, Fla., and the U.S.
Air Force Warfare Center at Nellis.
The squadron began in 1979 as an
office of the Secretary of Defense
effort to address air defense issues
in Central Europe. The 1990s
focused on Joint Theater Missile
Defense leading up to todays
establishment of full spectrum
Distributed Mission Operations
capability. It was renamed the
705th Combat Training Squadron
in 2006, according to base
background material.
courteSy of kirtland air force baSe
The Kirtland Partnership Committee is involved in efforts to clean up the decades-old fuel spill that originated at a bulk
fuels storage facility, shown here, at Kirtland Air Force Base.
local
advocates
Partnership committee taps business community
to support, preserve and grow kirtland
By Charles D. Brunt
hen Kirtland Air

Force Base was in
need of infrastructure
improvements back
in 1988, a small group of local
business leaders formed the ad hoc
Support Kirtland Committee and
successfully lobbied Congress for
the needed funding.
Ever since then, that committees
successor the Kirtland
Partnership Committee has
worked to ensure that the
sprawling base, where nearly
21,000 people work, not only
survives, but grows.
The base had a local economic
impact of $7.6 billion in fiscal year
2014, according to base officials.
Since its inception in 1996, the
Kirtland Partnership Committee
has been an important advocate
for the missions at Kirtland
Air Force Base, said Col. Eric
Froelich, commander of Kirtlands
host unit, the 377th Air Base Wing.
We value the KPC for their many
substantive contributions to the
75th
75th anniversary
missions at Kirtland, to include

acting as a liaison with state,
county and city government.
targeted by BraC
The original ad hoc committees
work grew even more important
with the passage of the Defense
Base Closure and Realignment
Act of 1990, which established
a process that allows the
Department of Defense to
realign or close military bases to
increase efficiencies and improve
operational readiness.
BRAC, as the process has
become known, sets up a
presidentially appointed
commission to review the Defense
Departments recommendations.
The commission then sends
its recommendation to the
president for review and approval.
Its then up to Congress to
determine which, if any, of the
BRAC recommendations are
implemented.
BRACs have been conducted in
1991, 1993, 1995 and 2005 only
one of which directly targeted
Kirtland for cuts. The 1993 BRAC

led to the closure of Fort Wingate,
a former conventional weapons
storage facility near Gallup. The
2005 BRAC targeted Cannon Air
Force Base near Clovis for closure,
but the base acquired a new
mission and has since expanded.
In 1995, the Defense Department
recommended Kirtland for
realignment a move estimated
to cost Kirtland 6,850 jobs.
Another ad hoc group, the
Kirtland Retention Task Force,
headed by retired Air Force Lt.
Gen. Leo Marquez, successfully
fended off any changes at
Kirtland by showing the Defense
Departments estimated cost
savings were greatly inflated.
The task force, which raised
about $250,000 to fight the
proposal, used the slogan Keep
Albuquerques Fantastic Base
(KAFB).
The (1995) BRAC Commission
held a hearing here because this
task force had the smarts to know
it needed to be in Albuquerque,
said Stuart Purviance, the KPCs
executive director. That meant
the people from Colorado, Arizona
and Utah had to come here for
the hearing. New Mexicos entire
congressional delegation was
there, which gave the state an
edge in staving off any proposed
cuts.
When the dust settled, Kirtland
emerged virtually unscathed, and
actually expanded after that BRAC
round.
Fuel leak cleanup

The task force incorporated as
a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in February
1996 and adopted its current
name the Kirtland Partnership

Committee.
Sherman McCorkle, vice
chairman of the organizations
board of directors, said there is
likely to be another BRAC round
under the next presidential term,
and that it will likely focus on
closure of non-critical military
bases rather than realignment.
Our mission hasnt changed
much over the years, McCorkle
said. Its to support, preserve and
grow Kirtland.
Today, the KPC comprised
of key business and civic leaders
works to promote the base and
protect it from downsizing or
closure. About two-thirds of the
partnerships $100,000-plus annual
budget comes from corporate
donations, according to McCorkle.
Currently, the KPC is involved
in efforts to ensure the cleanup
of a decades-old fuel spill that
originated at a bulk fuels storage
facility at Kirtland. Base officials
didnt discover the fuel leak
estimated at between 6 million
and 24 million gallons until
1999. Because the underground
fuel plume had migrated off base
and toward some city drinking
water wells, efforts to remove the
contaminants have been ongoing.
To date, none of the citys wells
have been affected.
We have been at every public
meeting on the fuel leak except
one, Purviance said. Weve
been deeply involved with
the base, the contractor, the
Albuquerque Bernalillo Water
Utility Authority and the state
Environment Department in
addressing the problem.
McCorkle said the KPC
was instrumental in the Air
Forces hiring of environmental
consultant Kathryn Lynnes as
the primary manager of the fuel
spill cleanup. The Air Force also
brought in Albuquerque native
Adria Bodour as its lead scientist.
So far, the clean-up effort has cost
more than $100 million, and could
cost another $125 million before
the work is complete, officials have
said.
McCorkle said the greatest
need facing the KPC is for young
business leaders to get involved
and support its efforts.
The average age of our board
of directors is getting up there,
he said. We really need more
young business leaders men
and women willing to volunteer
their time for an extended period
to continue KPCs mission.
For more information on the
KPC, visit its website at
www.kpc.nm.org.
2929
Pilot/cartoonist captured quirks of military life

By Rosalie RayBuRn
ilitary cartoon
characters like Sad Sack
and Beetle Bailey have
been popular for decades
and for a brief time, Albuquerque
had its own cartoonist who poked
fun at the ironies of war and army
life.
Bruce B. Byers, a 21-year-old
from Grand Rapids, Mich., arrived
in Albuquerque in late 1942 as part
of a program to train people to fly
glider planes during World War II.
Though his drawings were never
published, the young flier earned
a reputation among his comrades
as a cartoonist and humorist,
according to his son Kurt Byers,
who is writing a book about his
father based on his journals and
other writings.
Bruce Byers began drawing
cartoons as a hobby while still a
teen and drew military-inspired
cartoons before and after he joined
the U.S. Army Air Corps Reserve
in June 1942. He earned a private
pilots license in his home state
and was called to active duty in
New Mexico at the Roswell Army
Airfield before being sent for
training in Albuquerque.
During its roughly one-year
life span at the Albuquerque
Army Air Base, later renamed
Kirtland Field and now known
as Kirtland Air Force Base, the
Glider Replacement Center was the
largest organization at the base.
German forces had used gliders
in Poland, the Netherlands and
Crete to carry troups and supplies.
The unpowered aircraft flew
silently, providing the advantage of
stealth, and in 1941 Air Corps chief
courteSy of kurt byerS
A cartoon drawn by Bruce B. Byers pokes fun at the quirks of military life.
Byers gained a reputation among his military buddies as a cartoonist and
humorist, according to his son, Kurt Byers, who is writing a book about his
fathers military experience.
Maj. Gen. Henry Hap Arnold
decided the U.S. should develop its
own glider program.
Early training sites were in
the northeast but later glider
schools were opened in the south
and west to take advantage of
better winter weather, according
to a declassified report on the
program. Albuquerque served
as a temporary training area for
glider students awaiting vacancies
at other glider schools. Courses
covered instrument flying,
radio operations and navigation,
according to information provided
by Kirtland historian James
Moyers.
Training also included rigorous
infantry training in the use of
small arms, hand-to-hand combat
and bivouacking in the desert so
pilots were prepared to fight after
they landed.
However, it emerged that there
may be too many glider pilots and
the program was changed. Byers
left Albuquerque in February
1943 and went on to fly powered
planes. During the war he flew
P-47 Thunderbolt fighter planes
in dozens of missions over
Europe and was awarded the
Distinguished Flying Cross.
Glider pilot student Bruce B. Byers

sits in his tent at the Albuquerque
Army Air Base, later called Kirtland
Field, in 1943. Byers spent a short
time in Albuquerque while training in
a glider pilot program.
Byers continued his hobby
after the war, adding humorous
cartoons in letters he wrote to his
brother-in-law who fought in the
Korean War.
DiD you KnoW?

Movies have been filmed at Kirtland for more
than 70 years: Bombardier 1943; Independence
Day 1996; Lone Survivor 2013; Whiskey Tango
Foxtrot 2015.
When the 19th Bombardment Group departed

Albuquerque Army Air Base in the fall of 1941,
Maj. Gen. Henry H. Hap Arnold moved the
militarys bombardier school from Louisiana to
Albuquerque for two reasons excellent weather
and the availability of vacant land to accommodate
bombing ranges.
Sandia National Laboratories has two major

rocket sled test tracks at Kirtland a 2,000-foot
track built in 1951, and a 10,000-foot track, built
in 1966 as a 5,000-foot track and later expanded.
Both tracks are capable of propelling payloads at
supersonic speeds.
n
Retired Navy Admiral George S. Morrison, father

of the late rock star Jim Morrison, was stationed at
Kirtland twice once in the late 1940s, and again
as executive officer of the Naval Special Weapons
Facility from 1955-57. During the latter period, Jim
n
30
On the night of Nov. 4, 1957, two air traffic

controllers in the Kirtland tower watched an eggshaped UFO fly around the airfield for about 20
minutes. The UFO, confirmed by radar, hovered for
up to a minute before trailing a plane for 14 miles
before disappearing into the overcast. An Air Force
investigation concluded the controllers had actually
seen a private plane that mistook the base runway
for a commercial runway and left before landing.
n
Tina Fey in Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

Morrison was 12 to 14 years old, and attended
Monroe and Wilson middle schools. Jims sister,
Anne Robin Morrison, was born here in 1947.
Vietnam War when cost overruns

and reliability problems led
then President Richard Nixon
to study how improvements
could be made. Reports from the
Government Accountability Office
said the testing approach lacked
objectivity, which created rather
than reduced risk, according to
AFOTEC information.
Congress enacted requirements
in 1971 that each service branch
should establish an independent
operational test agency, essentially
establishing a fly before buy
approach. The Air Force opened
the test and evaluation center at
Kirtland in 1974 and in 1983 it took
on its current name.
It is an independent agency,
and the Kirtland headquarters
supports activities at Edwards Air
Force Base, Calif.; Eglin AFB, Fla.;
Peterson AFB, Colo.; and Nellis
AFB, Nev., where much of the
actual testing is conducted.
AFOTEC tests a diverse range
of systems in realistic situations,
often using prototypes, to identify
critical deficiencies before major
production decisions are made,
according to the agency.
inspection agency
CourteSy of afoteC
The Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center tests new systems, often using simulation devices like this,
which give pilots the experience of being in a plane.
safety first
two agencies test, evaluate air forces equipment and systems to keep crews safe
By Rosalie RayBuRn
irtland Air Force Base has

for many years been home
to two agencies dedicated
to ensuring the equipment
men and women in the Air Force
use is fit for the task at hand,
whether in training mode or under
combat conditions.
Kirtland is the headquarters for
the Air Force Operational Test and
Evaluation Center or AFOTEC,
an independent agency that plays
a critical role in the Air Force
acquisition process by studying
the effectiveness and mission
capability of aircraft, weapons
and electronic systems to enable
decision makers to determine
75th anniversary
anniversary
75th
whether they should proceed.

AFOTEC reports directly to the
Air Force Chief of Staff.
The Air Force Inspection
Agency, also headquartered at
Kirtland, reports to the Secretary
of the Air Force Inspector
General. Its team of experts
provides independent inspection,
evaluation, oversight, training and
analysis to a broad range of Air
Force activities, including those
related to nuclear weapons and
medical operations.
AFOTEC can trace its origins
back to Gen. John Pershings
expedition into Mexico in 1916 after
Pancho Villa raided the border
town of Columbus, N.M. Problems
with the airplanes that supported
the mission prompted calls for

equipment to be objectively tested
before employing it under real-life
operating conditions.
aFoTeC
However, under the exigencies
of World War I the fledgling Air
Corps adopted a buy-fly-fix
approach whereby new systems
were put into the field before
being fully tested, which then
necessitated extensive fixes to
maintain them, according to
information provided by the
AFOTEC history office.
That approach lasted for
several decades despite efforts to
change the acquisition process.
Flaws became clear during the
The Air Force Inspection Agency

is celebrating its 45th anniversary
this year. However, the agency
can trace its roots back to 1927
when the Chief of the Air Corps
established an inspection division
to perform technical inspections
to ensure flight safety. The
specific responsibilities and title
of the entity that performed these
functions changed during World
War II and ensuing decades. In
1947 the U.S. Air Force became a
separate branch of the military
and the Air Force Chief of Staff
designated the Office of the
Inspector General to oversee
inspection and safety functions.
In 1971, the Air Force Inspection
and Safety Center was started
up at Norton Air Force Base in
California.
Congress approved the closure
of the Norton base in 1990 and the
following year the responsibilities
were separated into two separate
organizations, the Air Force
Inspection Agency and the
Air Force Safety Agency. Both
organizations settled at Kirtland
AFB in 1993. As of November,
the Air Force Inspection Agency
employed 101 people, 20 civilians
and 81 military personnel.
31
31
Before they were
famous
A few of the well-known people who have passed through Kirtland
By ElainE D. BrisEo
JournAl StAff Writer
rom celebrities to military luminaries, Kirtland Air Force Base has been home
to many noteworthy people through the years. Albuquerques world-renowned
balloonist Ben Abruzzo selected the Duke City as his home after being stationed
at Kirtland. Famous musician Jim Morrison spent part of his childhood there.
And numerous officers served important roles at Kirtland, only to move on to even bigger
stages within the Air Force. Stuart Purviance, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel who is
now executive director of the Kirtland Partnership Committee, helped identify a few.
Balloonist
breaking records
Ben Abruzzo, balloonist,
real-estate developer
Abruzzo was known for making
the first trans-Atlantic balloon flight
in 1978 with Maxie Anderson and
Larry Newman. He participated in
Albuquerques first Balloon Fiesta
in 1972 that saw the launch of only 13
balloons.
Abruzzo was a first lieutenant at
Kirtland in the early 1950s. Born in
Rockford, Ill., he graduated from the
University of Illinois in 1952 and then
entered the U.S. Air Force. He was
stationed at Kirtland Air Force Base
short thereafter.
Abruzzo adopted New Mexico as
his home, staying even after leaving
the military in 1954. He lived in
Albuquerque until his 1985 death when
a small plane he was flying crashed.
32
32
Chief of staff
Gen. lew Allen, 10th chief of
staff of the u.S. Air force
Allen is a four-star general who
served at Kirtland from June 1957 to
December 1961 as a science adviser to
the Physics Division of the Air Force
Special Weapons Center.
Allen specialized in the effects of
high-altitude nuclear explosions. He
was the science director of a major
high-altitude rocket experiment. The
Air Force wanted to measure the
characteristics of electrons at high
altitudes after an explosion.
He would go on to become director
of the National Security Agency and
finally chief of staff before retiring from
the military in 1982. He became director
of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory after
retirement and worked there until 1990.
He died in 2010 in Potomac Falls, Va.
Combat pilot to
commander
Gen. Charles Holland,
commander
Holland was at Kirtland in the early
1990s, where he commanded the 1550th
Combat Crew Training Wing (now
called 58th Special Operations Wing).
He served in both the Vietnam and
Gulf wars. His final assignment was
serving as the commander of the
U.S. Special Operations Command
Headquarters before retiring in 2003.
Holland graduated from the U.S.
Air Force Academy in 1968 and
subsequently flew 100 combat missions.
kirtland air
air force
force base
base
A famous dependent
Ground-breaking woman
George Morrison, Navy admiral,

father of Jim Morrison
Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski,

third woman to become a four-star general
Morrison commanded a Navy unit at Kirtland

AFB from 1955 to 1957. With him came his family,
including a young Jim Morrison. The younger
Morrison would go on to become an iconic rock
star and the lead singer for The Doors in the 60s.
George Morrison graduated from the Naval
Academy in 1941 and was assigned to Pearl
Jim Morrison
Harbor where he witnessed the Japanese attack on
Dec. 7, 1941. George Morrison also commanded the U.S.
ships in the Gulf of Tonkin during an incident that would escalate
the Vietnam War.
Jim Morrison died in 1971 several decades before his father. The
elder Morrison donated several of Jims childhood items to the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland before his own death in
November 2008 in Coronado, Calif., at the age of 89.
Pawlikowski is currently the commander of the Air Force Materiel

Command at Wright Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio.
She was assigned to the post last year, earning the rank of general.
The command has 80,000 employees and a $60 billion annual
budget. The Materiel Command offers logistics support for the entire
Air Force. Pawlikowski must make sure the Air Force has the tools
it needs to fight around the world. Previously she was commander of
the Space and Missile Systems Center.
She was stationed at Kirtland from 2000 to 2005 as a colonel who
directed the Airborne Laser Program. She is well positioned to
become the first female chief of staff.
Computer pioneer
Star in the making
Henry Edward Roberts, engineer
Jimmy Stewart, actor
Roberts was a computer engineer and captain at the Air Force

Weapons Laboratory at Kirtland in the 1970s.
Many may not recognize his name immediately but he was
responsible for inventing the first commercially successful personal
computer. He co-founded Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry
Systems in Albuquerque, which sold electronics kits to model
rocketry hobbyists. He hired two unknown men Bill Gates and
Paul Allen to work at his company. Gates and Allen of course
would go on to start Microsoft.
In his later years, Roberts retired in Georgia where he became
a rural doctor. Its said that Gates visited Roberts in the hospital
shortly before his death in 2010.
Stewart was an American actor born in 1908 who starred in numerous

films, many of which became classics, including Its a Wonderful Life,
Rear Window and Vertigo.
He was stationed at Kirtland for five months in 1942. He had just been
promoted to lieutenant in July and became a pilot of an AT-11 Kansan,
which were used to train bombardiers. He was then sent to Hobbs for
three months. He eventually became a World War II bomber pilot and
earned more than a dozen medals during his military career.
After the war, he continued to serve in the Air Force Reserve,
becoming a two-star general and also continued his acting career. Its a
Wonderful Life was the first movie he filmed after returning to acting.
He died in July 1997.
Sources: Albuquerque Journal, New York Times and the Air Force website, AirForce Times
75th anniversary
33
CourteSy of kirtland air forCe baSe
A long view shows a B-52 bomber atop the all-wood trestle built at Kirtland Air Force Base in the 1970s for the purpose of testing the effect of electromagnetic
pulses on aircraft.
Cold War fossil

trestle used in 80s to test eMP hazards for planes
By OLLIE REED JR.
t doesnt stand on Kirtland Air

Force Base, it looms like a
wooden skeleton, a fossil from
another era, a soaring reminder
of another time.
Made up of 6.4 million board feet
of glue-laminated wooden pieces,
it measures an impressive 590 feet
long, 200 feet wide and 124 feet
high.
Its a dinosaur now, unused since
1988. But in its day this immense
structure played a vital role in the
United States efforts to prepare
this country for nuclear war.
It was part of the Air Force
Weapons Laboratory (AFWL)
Transmission Line Aircraft
Simulator, or ATLAS, but most
people referred to it simply as the
Trestle.
Constructed between 1973 and
1980, the Trestle was designed
as a nonconductive platform to
34
test the resistance of aircraft

communications system to
electromagnetic pulses produced
by high-altitude nuclear
detonations. Nuclear testing after
World War II had revealed that
gamma radiation released by
such detonations could burn out
electronics. It was estimated, for
example, that such a detonation
200 miles above southern Canada
could produce electromagnetic
pulses, or EMP, that would
adversely affect the entire United
States.
We had to not only solve this
problem but convince the former
Soviet Union that we had, so we
were not vulnerable to such an
attack, Carl Baum, the AFWL
scientist who conceived ATLAS,
said in TRESTLE: Landmark of
the Cold War, a 2004 Air Force
documentary film about the
project.
Several facilities at Kirtland
tested EMP effects on equipment

on the ground. What was needed
was a way to test the effects on
equipment in flight, a way to
simulate a plane in flight.
The basic problem was to get a
large, heavy aircraft away from
the ground, Baum said in the 2004
documentary. He said he got the
idea of the Trestle from old movies
about railroads building train
trestles across canyons.
I reasoned if you could drive
a train across a canyon, you can
drive a plane across a canyon,
Baum said in the documentary.
Metal parts would interfere
with the testing, so the Trestle
had to be made up entirely of
wood, including bolts, some of
which were 70 inches long and
the diameter of a broom handle.
Trestle beams weighed 20 tons. It
was constructed in a base arroyo,
which was graded to create a bowl.
The project was initially
estimated to cost $25.4 million

but ended up costing almost $60
million.
Pulsers emitted EMP through
about 400 miles of grounded wire
mesh surrounding the Trestle
and a test aircraft on the Trestle
platform.
The function (of the Trestle)
is to be a test stand to hold the
aircraft up, Baum said in the
documentary. (The Trestles)
function is to be invisible to the
electromagnetic waves.
In 1980, a B-52 bomber was the
first plane tested on the Trestle.
The last major test was on a B-1
bomber in 1988. In between, other
aircraft, including helicopters
and fighter aircraft such as F-14s,
F-16s and F-18s were tested on the
Trestle. But testing ended with
the collapse of the Soviet Union in
1989.
In the 2004 documentary, John
Goetz, the Trestle project officer,
said the hard work and ingenuity
of a lot of people went into the
Trestle.
The structure as it stands out
there is just a tangible testament to
our collective gifts and abilities,
Goetz said.
CourteSy of Kirtland air forCe baSe
Nuclear Weapons Center building at Kirtland Air Force Base.
never doubted,
always feared
nuclear Weapons Center ensures nations
safe, reliable, nuclear deterrent capability
By OLLIE REED JR.
ts a handsome enough
structure in an unassuming,
sand-hued sort of way. Its
elegantly long but squat even
by Southwestern
standards only
two stories high.
Just looking
at this building
on Kirtland Air
Force Base, south
and west of the
Wyoming Gate,
you would never
guess it houses a
JANSSON:
unit whose vision
AFNWC comis ensuring our
mander since
nations most
October
powerful weapon
systems are never
doubted, always feared.
The building is the heart of
the Air Force Nuclear Weapons
Center, established 10 years ago to
provide expertise to the Air Force
for all nuclear weapon systems
activities.
We deliver nuclear deterrents
intercontinental ballistic missiles,
75th anniversary
gravity bombs and air-launched

cruise missiles wherever they
are needed, said Maj. Gen. Scott
W. Jansson, NWC commander
since October. Its important to
make sure we have a safe, reliable,
nuclear deterrent capability.
AFNWC employs 1,050 people
military and civilian spread
across 14 Air Force facilities. But
the centers pulse is at its Kirtland
headquarters, which has 345
people 274 civilians, 14 enlisted
personnel and 57 officers.
Acquisition to disposal
The AFNWC is responsible for
ICBM (intercontinental ballistic
systems) and air-delivered systems
(bombs and missiles from aircraft).
That responsibility endures
through the entire cycle of a
weapons system acquisition,
sustainment, modernization and,
finally, disposal.
Think of your car, said
Thomas Berardinelli, AFNWC
director of staff. Sustainment
is how you keep it running.
Acquisition is like buying the right
car for the future.

In the world of nuclear weapons,
the right car for the future is
an effective bomb or warhead,
weapons that can deter enemies
and assure friends.
We have to make sure we
have what we need to take others
(potential adversaries) on,
Jansson said of the deterrent
portion of AFNWCs mission.
Joseph M. Oder, AFNWC
executive director, said the
assurance element is intended for
allies, nations without nuclear
capabilities that are protected
under Americas nuclear umbrella.
We want them to know they
dont have to develop their own
nuclear weapons, Oder said.
A couple of things on AFNWCs
slate now are the refinement of
the system that would be used
to communicate a presidents
decision to use nuclear weapons
and the acquisition of a weapon to
succeed the venerable Minuteman
III ICBM.
Development of the Minuteman
missile systems started in the
1950s. The first version of the
missile came into use in 1962.
Minuteman II came on line in
1965 and Minuteman III in 1970.
But there had been no new ICBMs
since then.
Maintenance, repair and
upgrades are absolutely critical
roles, Jansson said. When
they get too old, they need to be
replaced.
Even though the AFNWC is
just 10 years old, its roots go back
to 1946 and the establishment at
Kirtland of an organization to
coordinate military activities and
civilian research.
Assure capability
Initially part of the Continental
Air Command and Air Materiel
Command, the center was
established as the Air Force
Special Weapons Command in
December 1949 and redesignated
the Air Force Special Weapons
Center, assigned to Air Force
Research and Development
Command, in April 1952.
As the Special Weapons Center,
its mission was to assure the
atomic capability of aircraft and
missiles. During the 1950s, SWC
personnel and aircraft took part
in atmospheric nuclear testing in
Nevada and the Pacific Ocean, and
later, when atmospheric testing
ended as a result of the signing of
the 1963 Test Ban Treaty, the SWC
turned to simulated programs for
their research.
In 1976, the SWC was inactivated
as the Defense Department shifted
resources from support to combat
functions.
What was being done (by SWC)
was parceled out to different
elements of the Air Force,
Berardinelli said.
Over the next three decades,
the nuclear workload became so
spread out, so fragmented, that
the Air Force leadership decided
a center that focused on nuclear
weapons was needed.
On March 31, 2006, the Air Force
reactivated the unit as the Air
Force Nuclear Weapons Center.
Today, that two-storied, sandcolored building south and west of
Kirtlands Wyoming Gate houses
the nucleus of Americas deterrent.
35
An aerial view of Sandia Science & Technology Park shows the 340-acre park, which was built on empty space near the eastern edge of Kirtland Air Force Base.
high-tech
doorway
Sandia Science & technology Park unites

the base and labs with local community
By Kevin RoBinson-AvilA
efore 1998, little more than

dirt and tumbleweeds
greeted visitors to the open
expanse that hugs the
eastern side of Kirtland Air Force
Base.
But over the past 18 years, local,
state and federal officials have
partnered with private developers
and businesspeople to convert that
vast empty space into the Sandia
36

36
Science & Technology Park. Today,

thanks to their joint vision and
collaborative efforts, the 340-acre
park now houses 40 high-tech
industrial businesses, engineering
firms and other entities that
together employ about 2,300 people.
It took real vision to do this,
because when we began, most of
this area was just a dump, said
park Chairman of the Board
Sherman McCorkle. About half
of it was a landfill, or brown field,
with nothing but a dirt overlay.

It really got started almost from
scratch.
Large open fields still hug much
of the park perimeter, leaving a lot
of room for continued development.
But today, the park has become a
bustling center of operations for
a range of companies that supply
products and services to Kirtland
and the two labs housed at the base
Sandia National Laboratories
and the Air Force Research
Laboratory.
It provides a critical interface
between everything that goes
on behind the fence and all
the commercial, industrial and
community-based activities
connected to the base and labs.
And it provides a doorway where
high-tech companies have set up
shop to pull new, cutting-edge
technologies out of the labs and
into the marketplace, said Gary
Oppedahl, Albuquerques director
of economic development.
Growing companies
Its all about communicating,
connecting and collaborating,
which is the whole purpose of
the park, Oppedahl said. There

are billions of dollars in research
and development coming into the
state through the base and the
labs, and the park helps match up
that R&D with developers outside
the fence. Thats a win-win that
offers huge economic impact as
businesses strive to take things
that go into defense systems and
commercialize them for other
uses.
Homegrown companies like
the engineering firm Applied
Technology Associates have
grown from small operations into
major industry players thanks
to contracts with the labs and
the logistics that the Science &
Technology Park offers to facilitate
their work.
ATA, which provides
engineering, design and
manufacturing services for the
Air Force Research Lab, has
leveraged its local R&D to branch
into supply services for NASA and
other agencies and entities, such
as White Sands Missile Range. The
company now employs 220 people
with $47 million in revenue as of
2014.
kirtland
kirtland air
air force
force base
base
The park has brought us much

more visibility and leverage for
marketing what we do, said ATA
President Dan Gillings. The
location itself right outside the
base where our principal customer
is housed is critically important
for our business.
The strategic location and
access offered by the park has also
attracted huge global corporations,
such as Raytheon and MOOG Inc.,
both of which set up shop there to
facilitate their work with the labs.
More companies large and small
continue to arrive each year.
Three new firms and the charter
school Technology Leadership
High School set up operations in
the park in 2014, said Jackie Kerby
Moore, Sandia Labs manager
of technology and economic
development and lead for the
Sandia Science & Technology Park
program.
Economic boost
All that activity provides a huge
economic boost to Albuquerque
and the state.
From 1998 to 2014 when
the Mid-Region Council of
Governments released its last
biennial report on economic
impact the park had generated
an accumulated total of $2.3
billion in economic activity. That
included:
n $368 million in public and
private investments at the park
n $89 million in tax revenue for
the state and $13 million for the
city
n 6,593 direct and indirect jobs in
the city and elsewhere, with a total
of $3.77 billion in wages since 1998
n An average salary of $83,300 for

the 2,300 people directly working
at the park, or nearly twice the
average salary in Albuquerque.
About $279 million, or 75 percent
of all investment in the park, had
come from private sources as of
2014, with another $89 million
coming from federal, state and
local governments and agencies.
That includes grants from the
U.S. Economic Development
Administration for fiber-optic
communications and security
infrastructure, U.S. Department of
Energy assistance for the master
plan, and park management
services by Sandia Labs. The city
also invested about $6 million to
upgrade roads and sewer systems.
And the county assisted with land
studies and other improvements at
the 340-acre site.
That joint public-private
cooperation has brought major
benefits for all the government
entities and private businesses
involved, said Robert Peterkin,
chief scientist at the Air Force
Research Laboratorys Directed
Energy Directorate.
The Science and Technology
Park has been a vital resource
for our contract companies, by
providing a place for burgeoning
companies to locate in close
proximity to the base, Peterkin
said. We believe that over the
years the park has also played a
significant role in growing small
technology companies here in
New Mexico that we at Air Force
Research Laboratory need in order
to further our technology in the
defense of the nation.
richard pipe/Journal
Jackie Kerby Moore is manager of technology and economic development for

Sandia Labs and lead for the Sandia Science & Technology Park program.
KafB home to massive nuclear storage complex

By OLLIE REED JR.
fficially, the Kirtland

Underground Munitions
and Maintenance Storage
Complex (KUMMSC) is
not an interview topic.
Thats the response you get if
you ask Kirtland Air Force Base
officials about it.
Unofficially, its the largest
storage center for nuclear weapons
in the world, providing storage,
shipping and maintenance for the
Air Force and the Navy. Some of
the weapons there are scheduled
for dismantling.
The storage complexs existence
is not in question. It is operated
by the 898th Munitions Squadron,
75th
75th anniversary
anniversary
which reports to Air Force Global

Strike Command.
Activated in the early 1990s,
KUMMSC replaced the Manzano
Base Weapons Storage Area, a site
in the Manzano Mountain foothills
that had been used to store nuclear
weapons since 1949, according to
various unofficial sources.
During a February visit with
Journal editors and reporters,
Rose Gottemoeller, U.S.
Undersecretary of State for arms
control and international security,
said she visited KUMMSC early in
the Obama administration, five or
six years ago.
I visited the storage center
and was very impressed with the
caliber of the technology in place
for physical protection at the

storage site, Gottemoeller said.
I was very impressed with the
professionalism of the Air Force
personnel there.
Gottemoeller would not say how
many nuclear weapons are stored
in the complex. That, of course, is
classified.
However, Hans M. Kristensen,
who has a good track record for
keeping tabs on the numbers and
whereabouts of nuclear weapons,
estimates there are some 2,000
stored at KUMMSC.
Kristensen is director of the
Nuclear Information Project
at the Federation of American
Scientists, an organization
dedicated to reducing nuclear and
other catastrophic threats. He

specializes in using the Freedom of
Information Act in his research.
Weapons stored at KUMMSC,
Kristensen believes, include
nuclear warheads such at the
W76, used on submarine-launched
Trident missiles; W78s and
W87s, used on Minuteman III
intercontinental ballistic missiles;
and W80-1s, designed for use on
guided missiles.
Kristensen believes nuclear
bombs stored at KUMMSC include
the B83, the most powerful nuclear
free-fall weapon in the U.S.
arsenal, and several versions of
the B61 B61-3, B61-4, B61-7, B6110 and B61-11.
But, of course, thats unofficial.
37
roy Kirtland
part of armys first flying unit
aviator likely never

visited site of base
By Charles D. Brunt
CourteSy of 377th air BaSe Wing hiStory offiCe
Col. Roy C. Kirtland, a pioneer military aviator for whom Kirtland Air
Force Base was named, stands beside an early Wright brothers airplane at the Signal Corps Aviation School at North Island, Calif., circa
1914-15.
38
lthough Kirtland Air Force

Base is named after Col. Roy
C. Kirtland, its doubtful the
military aviation pioneer ever
stepped foot on his namesake base.
Steve Watson, archivist at the
Air Force Operational Test and
Evaluation Center on Kirtland who
is writing a biography on the colonel,
said, It is altogether fitting for a
base whose many functions include
training, safety, testing, inspection
and aeronautical development to be
named for someone whose career
reflected those activities.
Col. Kirtland was among a handful
of early fliers who were instrumental
in planting the seeds of todays U.S.
Air Force.
Roy Carrington Kirtland was born
in May 1874 at Fort Benton, Mont., the
son of an Army major.
After working for the U.S.
Geological Survey, Kirtland enlisted
in the Army infantry during the
Spanish-American War. He rose
through the ranks to sergeant-major
before the Army commissioned him
as an infantry officer in 1901. Aside
from his Army duties, he became
skilled at kayaking and motorcycling,
and dabbled at art.
In the spring of 1911, the Army
recruited Kirtland to become part
of its first flying unit. He completed
the Signal Corps Aviation School at
North Island, near San Diego, Calif.,
in August 1911.
That small cadre of Army pilots
set altitude and distance records,
and conducted the first military
experiments in reconnaissance,
aerial photography, aerial
cartography, radio communication
and night flying. They also helped
develop aerial bombing and machine
gunning.
While learning to fly one of the
early Wright airplanes, Kirtland was
asked to recommend other young
officers for flight training. He quickly

recommended his friend, then-Lt.
Henry H. Hap Arnold, who later
became Chief of the Army Air Corps.
Early military aviation was fraught
with problems and dangers.
During those early years, aircraft
crashes killed one in four pilots, and
injured numerous others. A year
after becoming a pilot, Kirtland was a
ringleader in staging a pilots revolt to
improve their conditions.
For his attempt to challenge the
Armys leadership, Kirtland was
briefly transferred back to the
infantry. But aviators were in
demand as World War I approached,
and the Army returned him to
aviation. Now in his 40s, Kirtland was
assigned to command training units.
He also served as an inspector of
aviation facilities in England.
After the war, Kirtland directed
aviation depots and was an instructor
at various Army schools, including
the War College. He was appointed as
the Air Corps personnel specialist
on the Army General Staff, and later
commanded Langley Field, Va. He
finished out his career as an inspector
of Army air facilities and, although he
was apparently under consideration
for promotion to general, Kirtland
retired as a colonel in 1938, moving
his family to Coronado, Calif.
Although he was already in his mid60s, Kirtland was reactivated in early
1941 during the ramp-up of World War
II.
It was a brief reactivation: After
serving less than three weeks as an
aviation facility inspector, Kirtland
died of a heart attack at Moffett Field,
Calif., on May 2, 1941, at age 66.
Less than a year later, on Feb. 25,
1942 at the urging of Kirtlands
old friend, Gen. Hap Arnold
Albuquerque Army Air Base was
renamed Kirtland Army Air Field.
Today, Kirtland is the sixth-largest
U.S. Air Force base, covering 51,558
acres with more than 100 tenant
organizations that employ nearly
21,000 people.
afoteC archivist Steve Watson contributed to
this report.
75th anniversary
39
TOMORROW STARTS HERE.

FOR 75 YEARS, THE SkY HAS NEvER BEEN THE LiMiT.
For three quarters of a centuryfrom training B-24 crews in World War II to

developing Special Weapons to putting every new aircraft and system through
its pacestomorrows Air Force has started at Kirtland Air Force Base. Today,
the next generation of Air Force personnel recovery and Special Operators
train on the HC-130J Combat King II and MC-130J Commando II tankers in the
skies around Albuquerque. Were proud to support Team Kirtland and look
forward to whats coming in the next 75 years.
Learn more at lockheedmartin.com
2016 LOCkHEED MARTiN CORPORATiON vC931014
40

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alBuquerque Journal

saturday, april 9, 2016

Kirtland air Force Base

Happy 75th Anniversary!

Dear New Mexicans,

kirtland air force base

DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE

Residents of New Mexico

Colonel Eric H. Froehlich

Special Operations and Rescue Training

Research and Development

archive name: Kirtland AFB locater 2016.ai

The Wyoming Gate to Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque.

KirtlanD air FOrCe Base

irtland Air Force Base, which

defending the U.s. for 75 years

COurteSy Of air fOrCe nuClear WeapOnS Center hiStOrian

archive name: Kirtland timeline 2016.ai

Over the years, Kirtland has evolved from

anta Fe railroaders Frank G. Speakman and

Army Air Corps

kirtland air force base

KAFB 75th Anniversary Committee Salutes Our Partners

Kirtland Partnership Committee

Courtesy of kirtland air forCe base

Land is set aside for testing

of bombardiers began with the

Training on the B-29

The Z Division, the

of Los Alamos Laboratory, begins moving to the

begins flight test

The 188th Fighter

kirtland air force base

If you or a family member is struggling with hearing difficulties,

Medically-based audiology practice emphasizing thorough diagnostics

Locally and independently owned

NOW OPEN IN LOS LUNAS

Kirtland, which became known as

itself in need of space and test

Kirtland Air Force Base.

Land is set aside for testing

A lone B-18 Bolo medium

Special Ops Provides

by 377th Air Base Wing

begins flight test

Kirtland Air Force Base

Kirtland Army Air

Site Able, which

Air Force Materiel

kirtland air force base

Army Air Corps

Courtesy of kirtland air forCe base

A bombardier training flight crew watches asLand

the proximity fuse,

The Z Division, the

The 188th Fighter

A decades-old leak at the bases bulk

The Operationally Responsive Space

courtesy oF kirtland air Force base/todd berenger

running the city

n some ways, Kirtland Air

provide well-trained forces and

killed or wounded. The 377th