Robins Air Force Base
Robins Air Force Base (IATA: WRB, ICAO: KWRB) is a major United States Air Force installation located in Houston County, Georgia, United States. The base is located just east of the city of Warner Robins, 18 mi (29 km) south-southeast of Macon and approximately 100 mi (160 km) south-southeast of Atlanta, Georgia. The base is named in honor of Brig Gen Augustine Warner Robins, the Air Force's "father of logistics".[2]
| Robins Air Force Base | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warner Robins, Georgia in the United States of America | |||||||
A C-5 Galaxy undergoing modifications during 2011 at Warner Robins Air Logistics Center. | |||||||
Robins AFB Robins AFB | |||||||
| Coordinates | 32°38′24″N 083°35′30″W / 32.64000°N 83.59167°WCoordinates: 32°38′24″N 083°35′30″W / 32.64000°N 83.59167°W | ||||||
| Type | US Air Force Base | ||||||
| Site information | |||||||
| Owner | Department of Defense | ||||||
| Operator | US Air Force | ||||||
| Controlled by | Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) | ||||||
| Condition | Operational | ||||||
| Website | www.robins.af.mil | ||||||
| Site history | |||||||
| Built | 1941 – 1942 | ||||||
| In use | 1942 – present | ||||||
| Garrison information | |||||||
| Current commander | Colonel Lindsay Droz | ||||||
| Garrison | 78th Air Base Wing (Host) | ||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||
| Identifiers | IATA: WRB, ICAO: KWRB, FAA LID: WRB, WMO: 722175 | ||||||
| Elevation | 89.6 metres (294 ft) AMSL | ||||||
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| Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1] | |||||||
Robins AFB is the home of the Air Force Materiel Command's Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex (WR-ALC) (FLZ) which is the worldwide manager for a wide range of aircraft, engines, missiles, software and avionics and accessories components. The commander of WR-ALC is Brigadier General Jennifer Hammerstedt.[3] It is one of three Air Force Air Logistic Complexes, the others being Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex (OC-ALC) at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, and Ogden Air Logistics Complex (OO-ALC) at Hill Air Force Base, Utah.
The host unit at Robins AFB is the 78th Air Base Wing (78 ABW) which provides services and support for the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex and its tenant organizations.
History
The War Department, in search of a site for an Army Air Corps Depot, selected the sleepy whistle-stop town known as Wellston, Georgia, 18 miles south of Macon. Army Colonel Charles Thomas, originally from Atlanta, landed at the Herbert Smart Airport near Camp Wheeler near Macon in October 1941 to oversee the building of the location which would later become the home to Wellston Air Depot at Robins Field (later to become Robins AFB).[4]
It was Col. Thomas who chose the name Robins for his mentor Brig. Gen. Augustine Warner Robins. Brig. Gen. Robins is considered the "father of logistics" in the United States Air Force for his system of cataloging supplies and materials. He had a lengthy military career prior to becoming the chief of the Air Corps Materiel Division. Robins traveled in China disguised as a millionaire tourist, collecting intelligence for the Army. He also went to Mexico where he served under Gen. John J. Pershing in the Army's campaign against Pancho Villa. He trained during World War I to become a pilot earning his wings in June 1918. He didn't get to see combat because the war was ending. Robins suffered a near-fatal plane crash in 1921 in which his jaw and arm were severely broken. Brig. Gen. Robins died of a heart attack on Father's Day, 16 June 1940 at Randolph Field, Texas, while he was Commandant of the Air Corps Training Center.[4]
After World War II, the number of military and civilian employees dropped until in March 1946 it reached a total of only 3,900. The workforce grew again as the base supported the Berlin Airlift, until by 1949 the workforce had grown again to 11,000.[5] When the Air Force closed down its maintenance depots at the former Brookley AFB in Mobile, Alabama and the former Olmsted AFB in Middleton Township, Pennsylvania, Robins AFB assumed the workload of these depots.
On 28 October 1949, Robins AFB became the headquarters of the 14th Air Force, the numbered air force responsible for administering the Air Force Reserve and the Air National Guard.[6]
Some Robins AFB SAC units went to Guam or Vietnam during the Vietnam War and took part in many of the bombing missions. Maintenance teams from Robins frequently traveled to Southeast Asia to repair severely damaged aircraft. Robins AFB eventually managed the Lockheed C-141, C-7, and the F-15 Eagle as well as modifying the C-130s to the gunship configuration.
Robins played a key role in the Vietnam War (1964–73), supplying troops and materiel through the Southeast Asian Pipeline and modifying AC-119G/K and AC-130 gunships. Also playing a role were the C-141, the C-130, the C-123, and the C-124 cargo aircraft—all maintained at Robins. In 1973 these same C-141s supported the resupply of Israel in the Yom Kippur War. In October 1983, C-130s from Robins supported U.S. forces in the invasion of Grenada.
Between 1977 and 1981, Robins was the air base used by former President Jimmy Carter during his tenure on visits to his hometown of Plains. SAC's B-52s left Robins in 1983 leaving the 19th Wing as the sole SAC unit on the base with its KC-135s.
Modern era
In 1990–91, during the Persian Gulf War, Robins provided record numbers of parts, repairs, and personnel to coalition forces in the Persian Gulf. Robins-maintained F-15 Eagles and the E-8 Joint STARS played key roles in defeating the Iraqi military powers. In March–June 1999, during Operation Allied Force, the same employees and weapon systems played a decisive role in defeating the forces of the Yugoslavian president Slobodan Milosevic.
In 1996, the Georgia Air National Guard's 116th Fighter Wing at Dobbins AFB relinquished their F-15 aircraft and moved to Robins, transitioning to B-1 Lancer bombers and being redesignated as the 116th Bomb Wing. That same year, the former 93rd Bomb Wing at Robins was reactivated as the 93rd Air Control Wing with the E-8 Joint STARS aircraft. In 2001, the B-1 bombers left Robins AFB and the Georgia Air National Guard entered into a merged Active-Guard "associate" wing arrangement in the Joint STARS mission with the active Air Force, with the Air National Guard holding lead responsibility as the 116th Air Control Wing.
The Warner Robins Air Logistic Complex and Robins AFB form the largest single industrial complex in the State of Georgia. The 23,000 civilian employees have an annual payroll over $1 billion. The Logistic Complex manages and overhauls the F-15, C-5 Galaxy, C-130 Hercules, and the AC-130 gunships—and all of the Air Force's helicopters. In addition, the Complex also supports the C-17 Globemaster III and U-2 aircraft.
Until June 2008, Robins was also the home of the KC-135s of the 19th Air Refueling Group, when the unit was inactivated, then reactivated a month later as the 19th Airlift Wing at Little Rock AFB, Arkansas. The E-8s of the 116th Air Control Wing continues to operate at Robins as a combined Regular Air Force and Georgia Air National Guard air control wing, and the headquarters of the Air Force Reserve Command is also located on the base. The metropolis of Warner Robins, Georgia, has grown in proportion to become the sixth largest city in Georgia.
For a brief period, Robins AFB was the home of the C-27J Schoolhouse. The schoolhouse officially began classes at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia on 9 September 2009. L-3 Link (a subsidiary of the former L3 Technologies) operated the official C-27J schoolhouse at the Georgia Department of Defense's Fixed Wing Flight Facility at Robins AFB. This flight facility included training classrooms, computer learning center, a 100-person auditorium, flight planning, and fight operations areas. The facility also housed the resident Government Flight Representative and Aviation Program Team assigned to the C-27J contract. Fixed Wing Flight Facility Robins AFB is also home of Hotel Company, 171st Aviation Regiment, Georgia Army National Guard, flying the cargo delivery Short C-23 Sherpa. The schoolhouse was deactivated when the Air Force divested its C-27J fleet as part of the 2014 National Defence Authorization Act.[7][8]
On 1 April 2016, an EF-1 tornado ripped through the northeast corner of Centerville and continued over Robins Air Force Base, ripping off hangar roofs.
Robins was one of several filming locations used in the 2020 disaster film Greenland, with the protagonist and his family being sent to the base to be evacuated in advance of a catastrophic comet impact.
Major commands
- Air Service Command, 22 July 1942
- Redesignated: Army Air Forces Materiel and Services Command, 17 July 1944
- Redesignated: Army Air Forces Technical Service Command, 31 August 1944
- Redesignated: Air Technical Service Command, 1 July 1945
- Redesignated: Air Materiel Command, 9 March 1946
- Redesignated: Air Force Logistics Command, 1 April 1961 – 1 July 1992
- Air Force Materiel Command, 1 June 1992 – present
- Air Force Reserve Command, 17 February 1997–present
Major units assigned
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Role and operations
Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex
Has worldwide management and engineering responsibility for the repair, modification and overhaul of the F-15 Eagle, C-130 Hercules, C-17 Globemaster III, and C-5 Galaxy, C-5M Super Galaxy, Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle, RQ-4A Global Hawk, Sikorsky HH-60G Pave Hawk aircraft. In addition to these weapon systems, the ALC has worldwide management responsibility for the U-2S Dragon Lady, all Air Force helicopters, all special operations aircraft and their peculiar avionics systems. The center also provides logistic support for all the C-17 Globemaster III, Air Force missiles, vehicles, general purpose computers, and many avionics and electronic warfare systems used on most Air Force aircraft.
Through about 7,000 employees, the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex (WR-ALC) provides depot maintenance, engineering support and software development to major weapon systems [F-15, C-5, C-130, C-17 and Special Operations Forces (SOF) aircraft]. The Complex achieves command objectives providing a capability/capacity to support peacetime maintenance requirements, wartime emergency demands, aircraft battle damage repair and a ready source of maintenance of critical items.
Reorganized on 17 July 2012 from an Air Logistics Center to an Air Logistics Complex, it currently consists of five Groups --- see below.
78th Air Base Wing
The wing provides support for Robins AFB and its 39 associate units. Responsible for logistics readiness, medical, civil engineer, security, comptroller activities, contracting, morale and welfare, mission support, public affairs, legal civilian personnel, environmental management, fire emergency services, and emergency management for the installation.
- 78th Mission Support Group
- 78th Medical Group
- 78th Civil Engineer Group
- 78th Security Forces Squadron
- 78th Operations Support Squadron
- 78th Comptroller Squadron
- 78th Communications Directorate
402d Aircraft Maintenance Group (402 AMXG)
Provides Programmed Depot Maintenance (PDM) and unscheduled repair activities on F-15, C-130, C-5 and C-17 aircraft. Responsible for the repair, modification, reclamation and rework of over 200 aircraft worldwide. Prepares and deploys combat Aircraft Battle Damage Repair (ABDR), crash recovery and supply and transportation teams worldwide.
402d Commodities Maintenance Group (402 CMXG)
Provides depot maintenance support to major weapons systems, primarily F-15, C-5, C-130 and Special Operation Forces (SOF) aircraft, through major structural repair, manufacturing, modification, component and special process repair. Applies industrial engineering and production control programs and procedures.
402d Electronics Maintenance Group (402 EMXG)
Provides combat-ready avionics parts and services to our warfighting forces. Production encompasses 75 percent of the Air Force organic workload, consisting of 275 key systems incorporating 6,100 discrete items. Transformed capability into effects through outstanding depot-level test, maintenance, manufacturing, repair, and engineering capabilities for all Department of Defense Services and Foreign Military Sales.
402d Maintenance Support Group (402 MXSG)
Provides logistics support for depot maintenance repair facilities and provides plant facilities, equipment engineering, calibration, and installation support to the wing's infrastructure. The unit is organized into two squadrons: the Industrial Services Squadron, which manages capital investment-related programs; and the Maintenance Materiel Support Squadron, which is responsible for determining, establishing, maintaining, forecasting, and transporting inventory of consumable and exchangeable materiel required for depot maintenance.
402d Software Engineering Group (402 SWEG)
Serves as the single organic source of Mission Critical Computer Resources and Automatic Test Equipment software for all assigned prime systems and equipment and for all echelons of maintenance requiring computer programming skills and assembly level computer programming languages. Designs, develops, and provides new, altered, updated, or modified software and updates/corrects existing avionics items/system software. Provides on-site engineering assistance to identify and correct software deficiencies and provides criteria and documentation for automated equipment. Conducts feasibility studies for the application of automation to the depot maintenance process, and serve as the Automatic Test Systems focal point for the wing.
Tenant Units
- Air Force Reserve Command Headquarters
- 492nd Special Operations Wing (Detachment 1)
- 461st Air Control Wing [ USAF ]
- 116th Air Control Wing [ Georgia ANG ]
- 689th Combat Communications Wing
- Army Aviation Support Facility Robins AFB
- Hotel Company, 171st Aviation Regiment (C-23 TAC)
- C-27J Aircraft Qualification Schoolhouse
- 94th Aerial Port Squadron
- 367th Recruiting Group
- Robins NCO Academy
- Air Force Metrology and Calibration Program Office (AFMETCAL)
Based units
Flying and notable non-flying units based at Robins Air Force Base.[9][10][11]
Units marked GSU are Geographically Separate Units, which although based at Robins, are subordinate to a parent unit based at another location.
United States Air Force
| Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC)
| Air Combat Command (ACC)
Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC)
Air National Guard (ANG)
United States Army
Army National Guard (ARNG)
Defence Logistics Agency
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Museum of Aviation
Near the base is the Museum of Aviation,[12] begun in 1981, has four major structures on its 51 acres and more than 85 historic aircraft. The museum is also home to the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame which honors outstanding Georgians prominent in aviation.
The approximate 85 aircraft and missiles on display include a B-1, a B-52, an F-15, an F-16, an SR-71, a Marietta, Georgia-built B-29, and a C-123 modified as a sprayer aircraft that was used by the U.S. military as part of its Agent Orange herbicidal warfare program (Operation Ranch Hand) during the Vietnam War.
It has become a major regional educational and historical resource that hosts more than 500,000 visitors annually.
Geography
The base is located in northeastern Houston County, bordered to the west by the city of Warner Robins. The Ocmulgee River is to the east. It is 17 miles (27 km) south of Macon.
Demographics
The base is the single largest industrial complex in Georgia, employing a workforce of over 25,584 civilian, contractor, and military members.[13] The portion of the base occupied by housing is counted as a census-designated place for statistical purposes with a residential population at the 2020 census of 1,061.[14]
Tornadoes
As with the adjacent city of Warner Robins, tornadoes have continually plagued the base since its inception with the 1950s seeing at least two catastrophic tornadoes strike the area. The first one occurred on 30 April 1953, when an F4 tornado with winds of over 200 mph hit the base, killing 18 people near the base and injuring 300 more.[15][16] Just ten months later on March 13, 1954, a long-tracked F1 tornado struck the base, killing one and injuring five.[17] To date, at least seven tornadoes have hit the base and the surrounding area.[18]
See also
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
This article incorporates public domain material from Robins Air Force Base. United States Air Force.
- ^ "Airport Diagram – Robins AFB (KWRB)" (PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
- ^ Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (PDF). Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 190. ISBN 0-915430-00-2.
- ^ "Jennifer Hammerstedt".
- ^ a b The Father of AF Logistics: The Life and Times of Brig. Gen. Augustine Warner Robins (RCS HAF-CHO(AR) 7101); William Head, PhD; Office of History, WR-ALC, Air Force Logistics Command, Robins AFB, GA, 1991
- ^ AFD-140718-056 - R O B I N S A F B a n d 7 8 A B W H e r i t a g e P a m p h l e t (PDF). United States Air Force. 29 June 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- ^ Keith Barr. . Air Force Reserve Command. AFRC History Office. Archived from the original on 27 July 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- ^ "New Air Force Cargo Plane flies straight into mothballs". Fox News. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- ^ "H.R. 1960 (113th): National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014". Govtrack. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- ^ "Units". Robins AFB. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
- ^ . US Army Intelligence and Security Command. US Army. 19 June 2019. Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
- ^ Moriarty, Kristin (7 May 2019). "Defense Logistics Agency at Robins Air Force Base: Director of Distribution shares insight". Defense Logistics Agency. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
- ^ Museum of Aviation Official site at Robins AFB
- ^ "Robins AFB". www.militarybases.us. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "Robins AFB CDP, Georgia". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
- ^ Mackie, Matt. "Midstate residents remember EF4 tornado in Warner Robins 65 years ago". WGXA. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
- ^ National Weather Service (February 2020). Georgia Event Report: F4 Tornado (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
- ^ . Tornado History Projects. Storm Prediction Center. Archived from the original on 12 July 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
- ^ . Tornado History Projects. Storm Prediction Center. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
- Ravenstein, Charles A. Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977. Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Office of Air Force History 1984. ISBN 0-912799-12-9.
- 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
- Shettle, M. L. (2005), Georgia's Army Airfields of World War II. ISBN 0-9643388-3-1
- Ryan Winkle. 4\25 BSTB Fort Richardson Alaska: STP-21-1-SMCT: Department of the Army- ATSE-DOT-DD: Directorate of Tranining:320 Engineer Loop-Suite 336-Fort-Leonard-Wood-MIssouri-65473-8929:Joint-Engineer-Operations:Field-Manual:5-34
External links
- Resources for this U.S. military airport:
- FAA airport information for WRB
- AirNav airport information for KWRB
- ASN accident history for WRB
- NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KWRB