page_title: Barksdale Air Force Base
section_title: Post-Cold War
hierarchical_section_title: Barksdale Air Force Base / History / Post-Cold War
caption_attribution_description: Русский: Два стратегических бомбардировщика Ту-95МС и грузовой самолёт Ан-124 «Руслан» рядом с американским стратегическим бомбардировщиком B-52H «Stratofortress» в рамках дружественного визита в США. 1 мая 1992 г., авиабаза «Barksdale», США, шт. Луизиана English: Two Tu-95 Bear-H bomber aircraft, center, and an AN-124 Condor transport aircraft of the Russian military, background, are parked on the flight line beside a B-52H Stratofortress aircraft of the 62nd Bombardment Squadron. The Russian planes are on base as part of an exchange program proposed by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Merrill A. McPeak. Location: BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, LOUISIANA (LA) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (USA)
context_page_description: Barksdale Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in northwest Louisiana, United States, in Bossier Parish. It is contiguous to Bossier City, Louisiana along the base's western and northwestern edge. Barksdale Air Force Base occupies more than 22,000 acres east of Bossier City and along the southern edge of Interstate 20. More than 15,000 active-duty and Air Force Reserve members serve at Barksdale.
  The host unit at Barksdale is the 2d Bomb Wing, the oldest bomb wing in the Air Force. It is assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command's Eighth Air Force. Equipped with about 44 B-52H Stratofortress bombers, 2 BW provides flexible, responsive global combat capability and trains all Air Force Global Strike Command and Air Force Reserve Command Boeing B-52 Stratofortress crews.
  The base was established in 1932 as Barksdale Field, named for World War I aviator and test pilot Lieutenant Eugene Hoy Barksdale.
context_section_description: Upon its return from the Middle East, the 2d Bombardment Wing, Heavy was redesignated the 2d Wing with its implementation of the objective wing organization on 1 September 1991.
  The base turned its attention from combat to more peaceful pursuits when two B-52s, a KC-10 and their crews visited Dyagilevo Air Base, Russia, in March 1992. In May 1992, Barksdale hosted a return visit by two Russian Tupolev Tu-95 "Bear" bombers, an Antonov An-124 "Condor" transport and 58 Russian airmen. The Russians stayed for six days, seeing a slice of America and participating in Strategic Air Command's final Bombing and Navigation Competition awards symposium. The Russians visited again in August 1994, bringing a Tu-95 "Bear" and an Ilyushin Il-78 aerial tanker. Barksdale began a friendship with Ukrainian Air Force airmen later in 1994, when a B-52 and KC-10 visited Poltava Air Base, Ukraine.
  In April 1992, 265 buildings on Barksdale's main base were placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The area from the Shreveport Gate to the flightline and from the Bossier Gate to Hoban Hall make up the Barksdale Field Historic District, along with much of family housing. On 1 June 1992, Barksdale was transferred from the inactivating Strategic Air Command to the newly activated Air Combat Command (ACC). All active-duty aircraft assigned to Barksdale were assigned ACC tail codes of "LA".
  An equipment change began also in 1992 when the 596th Bomb Squadron retired its B-52Gs and replaced them with B-52Hs from inactivating squadrons at other former SAC bases. The 596th itself was inactivated when it was replaced by the 96th Bomb Squadron on 1 October 1993. The 20th Bomb Squadron was reassigned to the 2d Wing on 17 December 1992 when it and its B-52Hs were reassigned to Barksdale from the 7th Wing, the latter which was relocating from the closing Carswell AFB, Texas and transferring to Dyess AFB, Texas in order to transition to the Rockwell B-1 Lancer.
  In October 1993, the 2d Wing was redesignated as the 2d Bomb Wing when the 71st Air Refueling Squadron and its KC-135A/Qs were reassigned to the Air Mobility Command.
  A third B-52H squadron was assigned to the wing on 1 July 1994 when the 11th Bomb Squadron was activated at Barksdale. The mission of the 11th BS is that of a Formal Training Unit (FTU) for the B-52H.
caption: B-52s and Tu-95s together on the tarmac at Barksdale during the May 1992 Russian visit
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