Grand Forks Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in northeastern North Dakota, located north of Emerado and west of Grand Forks.

The host unit is the 319th Reconnaissance Wing (319 RW) assigned to the Air Combat Command (ACC) operating E/RQ-4B Global Hawk remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), in the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) role. During the Cold War, GFAFB was a major installation of the Strategic Air Command (SAC), with B-52 bombers, KC-135 tankers, and Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles.

History

Grand Forks Air Force Base was established on 1 December 1955, with construction beginning in the fall of that year. It was occupied for use on 28 January 1957, and was named after the neighboring city of Grand Forks.

Air Defense Command

Due to the continuance of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, GFAFB was originally an Air Defense Command (ADC) fighter-interceptor air base. The site was chosen in 1954 and the land was paid for by the citizens of Grand Forks, the site was located west of the city. The beginning of the air base started in 1956 with the construction of a runway.

On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group (Defense) was activated at Grand Forks. The 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was moved from Wurtsmith AFB, Michigan on 1 May 1960, and flew the F-101B Voodoo until 15 April 1971, when it was inactivated and the Voodoos were retired. It was replaced by the 460th FIS, moved from Kingsley Field at Klamath Falls, Oregon. The 460th FIS flew F-106 Delta Darts until it also was inactivated on 15 July 1974.

thumb|left|Main gate at Grand Forks AFB

In addition to the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) Data Center (DC-11) was established at Grand Forks in 1958. The SAGE system was a network linking Air Force (and later FAA) General Surveillance Radar stations into a centralized center for Air Defense, intended to provide early warning and response for a Soviet nuclear attack. DC-11 was operated by the Grand Forks Air Defense Sector (GFADS), activated on 8 December 1957 under the 31st Air Division at Snelling AFS, Minnesota. On 1 January 1959, GFADS was transferred to the operational control of the 29th Air Division at Malmstrom AFB at Great Falls, Montana.

SAGE operations were extremely expansive and GFADS was inactivated on 1 December 1963, when it was merged with the Minot Air Defense Sector at Minot AFB to the west. With the inactivation of DC-11, Grand Forks AFB was reassigned from the Air Defense mission to Strategic Air Command (SAC).

In 1971, the 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was inactivated and the 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron replaced the unit. Although the 460th FIS won first place at the William Tell air-to-air competition at Tyndall AFB, Florida, it was inactivated in 1974 due to the restructuring of the air defense system, and ended the activities of ADCOM at Grand Forks.

The DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing. Following the end of Minuteman III missile operations in 1998, the large SAGE blockhouse was torn down five years later, in June 2003.

Safeguard Anti-Ballistic Missile

On 3 November 1967, the Department of Defense revealed that GFAFB was one of 10 initial locations to host a Sentinel Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) site. With president Richard Nixon's announcement of 14 March 1969, constructing a "Safeguard" installation at Grand Forks became a top priority. Construction was stalled throughout mid-1969, as Congress debated the merits of BMD. After the Senate defeated amendments to kill Safeguard deployment, the U.S. Army proceeded under the assumption that appropriations would be forthcoming.

Survey teams selected sites in flat wheatlands close to the Canada-Minnesota border, north-northwest of Grand Forks. separated the Perimeter Acquisition Radar (PAR) and the Missile Site Radar (MSR) sites. Four remote launch sites of each were to be situated in a circle with a radius surrounding the MSR. Groundbreaking occurred at the PAR and MSR sites on 6 April 1970. Excavation proceeded rapidly, and the foundation holes for the PAR and MSR were in place by mid-May.

On 26 May 1972, President Nixon and Soviet general secretary Leonid Brezhnev signed the ABM Treaty, which limited each nation to one site to protect strategic forces and one site to protect the "National Command Authority." With work about 85% complete at Grand Forks, the US chose to finish construction at the North Dakota site. On 21 August 1972, the Army Corps of Engineers turned over the PAR to the Safeguard Systems Command (SAFSCOM) Site Activation Team. The transfer of the MSR occurred on 3 January 1973. Work on the four remote launch sites fell behind schedule, with the last completed on 5 November 1972. Testing of the PAR commenced during the summer of 1973.

On 3 September 1974, the SAFSCOM Site Activation Team was relieved by the U.S. Army Safeguard Command. Named the "Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex" ( northwest of the base), the North Dakota ABM site received its complement of nuclear-tipped LIM-49 Spartan and Sprint Missiles during the following spring. The site was declared operational on 1 April 1975. Due to Congressional action, the Army operated the site for less than a year. With the exception of the PAR, the complex was abandoned in February 1976.

In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it as part of its early warning system. It was designated as Cavalier AFS ( north-northwest of the base), and remains active. It is operated by the Air Force Space Command 10th Space Warning Squadron (10th SWS).

Strategic Air Command

thumb|130px|[[LGM-30 Minuteman#Minuteman-III .28LGM-30G.29: the current model|Minuteman III missile at GFAFB entrance]]

On 1 September 1958, the Strategic Air Command (SAC) established the 4133d Strategic Wing at Grand Forks as part of its plan to disperse its B-52 heavy bombers over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for the Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike. Many of these bases were near the U.S. border with Canada; those close to GFAFB in the north central U.S. were Minot and Glasgow to the west, and three in Michigan to the east (Sawyer, Kinchloe, and Wurtsmith).

The 4133d SW was redesignated as the 319th Bombardment Wing (319th BW) on 1 February 1963 in a name-only redesignation and was assigned to SAC's Second Air Force, 810th Strategic Aerospace Division. Upon redesignation, the wing placed aircraft on peacetime quick reaction alert duty, and conducted global bombardment training for Emergency War Order operations and air refueling operations to meet SAC commitments. The aircraft in the 1960s at GFAFB were the latest models: B-52H bombers and KC-135A tankers. In December 1986, the last B-52G permanently departed GFAFB, replaced by the B-1B Lancer in 1987. The tanker aircraft were also changed, from KC-135A to KC-135R. A change in the host unit occurred again in 1988, when the 42d Air Division was assigned for base support in place of the 321st SMW. crashed near Griffiss AFB in central New York, killing six of the eight aboard. It had engine difficulties and was attempting an emergency landing.

  • On 15 September 1980, a B-52H <!--(60-0059 ?)-->on alert status experienced a wing fire that burned for three hours, fanned by evening winds of . The wind direction was parallel to the fuselage, which likely had SRAMs in the main bay. Eight years later, a weapons expert testified to a closed U.S. Senate hearing that a change of wind direction could have led to a conventional explosion and a widespread scattering of radioactive plutonium.
  • Mid-morning on 27 January 1983, a B-52G (57-6507) exploded on the maintenance ramp, killing five maintenance personnel and injuring eight. A faulty fuel pump in a wing tank was being attended to prior to the accident.

Media

In the 1983 film WarGames, Grand Forks Air Force Base was mentioned as one of the first three targets to be destroyed in the (simulated) full scale Soviet nuclear strike in the climax of the film.

The 1990s

With the restructuring of the Air Force and the disestablishment of SAC in 1992, the wing transferred to Air Combat Command (ACC), then came under Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) in 1993.

On 1 February 1993, ACC dropped the 319th Bomb Wing's primary nuclear mission and gave the wing the primary mission of B-1B conventional bombardment operations. The 319th BW began planning and training to support such a mission to counter worldwide regional threats.

Following the departure of the last B-1B aircraft in 1994, the base transferred to the new Air Mobility Command (AMC) and the 319th Bomb Wing was redesignated as the 319th Air Refueling Wing (319 ARW). The KC-135R aircraft assets were transferred to AMC, and the strategic ICBM assets went to Air Force Space Command (AFSPC).

In March 1995, the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) selected the 321st Strategic Missile Wing for inactivation; it was first downgraded to group status, then inactivated on 30 September 1998. GFAFB's Minuteman ICBM silos were imploded in accordance with the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START II), commencing in 1999 and completed in 2001. The Minuteman III missiles were transferred to Malmstrom AFB in at Great Falls, Montana, to replace retired Minuteman II models. Minuteman III ICBMs remain at three USAF bases: Malmstrom, Minot, and F.E. Warren at Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Twenty-first century

In May 2005, DoD's 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended that Grand Forks be realigned. The base's KC-135 tanker mission was lost, with a significant reduction of personnel, but it was not closed.

The unmanned RQ-4 Global Hawk was assigned to Grand Forks, and on 1 March 2011, the wing was redesignated as the 319th Air Base Wing (319 ABW). The first RQ-4 arrived in May 2011 and were assigned to the 69th Reconnaissance Group, Air Combat Command. Starting in 2012, the base received several new Block 40 Global Hawks. On 13 June 2017, the 319 ABW transferred from the Air Mobility Command to the Air Combat Command.

On 11 May 2019 Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson announced that the 319th Air Base Wing would be re-designated the 319th Reconnaissance Wing in a ceremony on 28 June 2019.

On 28 June 2019 the 319th Air Base Wing was re-designated the 319th Reconnaissance Wing and the 69th Reconnaissance Group inactivated transferring the RQ-4 mission.

Major commands to which assigned

  • Air Defense Command, 25 July 1956
  • Strategic Air Command, 1 July 1963
  • Air Combat Command, 1 June 1992
  • Air Mobility Command, 1 October 1993
  • Air Combat Command, 13 June 2017 – present

Major units assigned

69th Reconnaissance Group – September 2011 – Current (RQ-4)

  • 4133d Strategic Wing, 1 September 1958 – 1 February 1963
  • 905th Air Refueling Squadron, 1 February 1960 – 1 December 2010
  • 319th Bombardment Wing (Heavy), 1 February 1963

: Redesignated 319th Air Refueling Wing, 1 October 1993

: Redesignated 319th Air Base Wing, 1 March 2011 – 28 June 2019

: Redesignated 319th Reconnaissance Wing, 28 June 2019 - Present

  • 4th Air Division, 1 September 1964 – 30 June 1971
  • 321st Strategic Missile Wing (later Missile Wing, Missile Group), 1 November 1964 – 30 September 1998
  • 804th Combat Support Group, 18 August 1964 – 31 July 1972
  • Grand Forks Air Defense Sector, 8 December 1957 – 1 December 1963
  • 478th Air Base Squadron, 8 February 1957 – 1 February 1961
  • 478th Air Base Group, 1 February 1961 – 1 July 1963
  • 478th Fighter Group, 8 February 1957 – 1 February 1961

: 478th Fighter Wing (Air Defense), 1 February 1961 – 1 July 1963

  • 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 1 May 1960 – 15 April 1971 (F-101B)
  • 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 16 April 1971 – 15 July 1974 (F-106)

<small>References for history introduction, major commands and major units</small>

Based units

Flying and notable non-flying units based at Grand Forks Air Force Base:

United States Air Force

Air Combat Command (ACC)

  • Sixteenth Air Force
  • 319th Reconnaissance Wing (Host wing)
  • 319th Comptroller Squadron
  • 319th Operations Group
  • 319th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
  • 319th Operations Support Squadron
  • 348th Reconnaissance Squadron – E/RQ-4B Global Hawk
  • 319th Medical Group
  • 319th Health Care Operations Squadron
  • 319th Medical Support Squadron
  • 319th Operational Medical Readiness Squadron
  • 319th Mission Support Group
  • 319th Civil Engineer Squadron
  • 319th Communications Squadron
  • 319th Contracting Flight
  • 319th Logistics Readiness Squadron
  • 319th Force Support Squadron
  • 319th Security Forces Squadron

Air Education and Training Command (AETC)

  • Second Air Force
  • 82nd Training Wing
  • 982nd Training Group
  • 372nd Training Squadron
  • Detachment 27

Civil Air Patrol (CAP)

  • North Central Region
  • North Dakota Wing
  • Grand Forks Composite Squadron (ND-005)

United States Customs and Border Protection

Air and Marine Operations

  • National Air Security Operations Center-Grand Forks – MQ-9 Reaper and various fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft

Demographics

Grand Forks is also a United States Census Bureau designated place.

Education

It is within the Grand Forks AFB Public School District 140. That school district has its own board of trustees and contracts education to the Grand Forks School District. The district, along with the Grand Forks School District, is administered as part of Grand Forks Public Schools. The Grand Forks AFB School District was created in 1990.

See also

  • List of United States Air Force installations
  • United States general surveillance radar stations

References

Other sources

  • Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office 1961 (republished 1983, Office of Air Force History, ).
  • Ravenstein, Charles A. Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977. Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Office of Air Force History 1984. .
  • Mueller, Robert, Air Force Bases Volume I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982, Office of Air Force History, 1989
  • A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946–1980, by Lloyd H. Cornett and Mildred W. Johnson, Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado
  • Winkler, David F. (1997), Searching the skies: the legacy of the United States Cold War defense radar program. Prepared for United States Air Force Headquarters Air Combat Command.
  • Grand Forks AFB, ND
  • Historic American Engineering Record documentation filed under Cooperstown, Griggs County, ND:
  • Historic American Engineering Record documentation filed under Grand Forks, Grand Forks County, ND: