Overview
Beale AFB is home of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing, and is also considered by many to be one of the show places of the United States Air Force. A base steeped in history, it is in the forefront of the Air Force’s future in high technology. Beale is located outside of Linda, about 10 miles (16 km) east of the towns of Marysville and Yuba City and about 40 miles (64 km) north of Sacramento, the state capital. Beale is a large base in terms of land and has five gates providing access on all sides of the base. Visitors enter the base through a main gate that local merchants, individuals and the Beale Military Liaison Committee donated $100,000 to construct. The base is home for approximately 4,000 military personnel.
Beale Air Force Base covers nearly 23,000 acres (93 km2) of rolling hills in northern California. The base's natural resources are as rich as its significant cultural and historical heritage. Native Americans lived on this land; the mortar bowls they carved into the bedrock lie embedded in a shallow stream. German prisoners of war were held captive on the base during World War II; a block of barred prison cells still stands at the base, and the drawings of the POWs remain vivid on the walls of the prison cells. To preserve these and other historic areas, the base proudly maintains 38 Native American sites, 45 homestead sites, and 41 World War II sites
Read more about this topic: Beale Air Force Base