Fairchild Air Force Base
| Airfield information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: SKA – ICAO: KSKA – FAA LID: SKA | |||
| Summary | |||
| Elevation AMSL | 2,461 ft / 750 m | ||
| Coordinates | 47°36′54″N 117°39′20″W / 47.615°N 117.65556°W / 47.615; -117.65556Coordinates: 47°36′54″N 117°39′20″W / 47.615°N 117.65556°W / 47.615; -117.65556 | ||
| Website | fairchild.amc.af.mil | ||
| Map | |||
| KSKA | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 5/23 | 13,899 | 4,236 | Concrete |
Fairchild Air Force Base (AFB) (IATA: SKA, ICAO: KSKA, FAA LID: SKA) is a United States Air Force base located approximately 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Spokane, Washington.
The host unit at Fairchild is the 92d Air Refueling Wing (92 ARW) assigned to the Air Mobility Command's Eighteenth Air Force. The 92 ARW is responsible for providing air refueling, as well as passenger and cargo airlift and aero-medical evacuation missions supporting U.S. and coalition conventional operations as well as U.S. Strategic Command strategic deterrence missions.
Fairchild AFB was established in 1942 as the Spokane Air Depot. It is named in honor of General Muir S. Fairchild (1894–1950). General Fairchild was a World War I aviator and died on 17 March 1950 while serving as Vice Chief of Staff, USAF. The 92d Air Refueling Wing is commanded by Colonel Brian M. Newberry. Its Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sergeant Rudy Lopez.
Read more about Fairchild Air Force Base: Overview, History, Weaponry, Geography, Demographics, Public Schools
Famous quotes containing the words air, force and/or base:
“We’re talking scum here. Air should be illegal if they breathe it.”
—Washington, DC, Policeman. quoted by P.J. O’Rourke in Rolling Stone (New York, 30 Nov. 1989)
“...here he is, fully alive, and it is hard to picture him fully dead. Death is thirty-three hours away and here we are talking about the brain size of birds and bloodhounds and hunting in the woods. You can only attend to death for so long before the life force sucks you right in again.”
—Helen Prejean (b. 1940)
“I have always heard, Sancho, that doing good to base fellows is like throwing water into the sea.”
—Miguel De Cervantes (1547–1616)