Eielson Air Force Base Eielson Air Force Base ( AFB ) is a United States Air Force base located approximately 26 miles ( 42 km ) southeast of Fairbanks , Alaska and just southeast of Moose Creek , Alaska . The host unit at Eielson is the 354th Fighter Wing ( 354 FW ) assigned to the Pacific Air Forces Eleventh Air Force . The 354 FW primary mission is to support Red Flag – Alaska , a series of Pacific Air Forces commander – directed field training exercises for U . S . Forces , provides joint offensive counter - air , interdiction , close - air support , and large force employment training in a simulated combat environment . Eielson AFB was established in 1943 as Mile 26 Satellite Field . It is named in honor of polar pilot Carl Ben Eielson . The 354 FW is currently commanded by Brigadier General Mark D . Kelly . Overview . Until 2007 , Eielson was a front line base , deploying fighter and bomber units around the world as well as providing for the defense of Alaska . Taken off deployment status in 2007 as a result of BRAC 2005 , today the primary mission of the base is to support Red Flag - Alaska , a series of Pacific Air Forces commander - directed field training exercises for U . S . Forces , provides joint offensive counter - air , interdiction , close - air support , and large force employment training in a simulated combat environment . These exercises are conducted on the Joint Pacific Alaskan Range complex with air operations flown out of the two bases . Alaska ' s size enables the military to have the largest air - ground training complex in America . Units . Eielson is home to the 354th Fighter Wing which is part of the Eleventh Air Force ( 11 AF ) of Pacific Air Forces ( PACAF ) . The 354th Fighter Wing mission is " To train , deliver , maintain and support combat power across the globe while taking care of our people , their families and our infrastructure . " To accomplish that mission , the wing implements flying operations , mission support , maintenance and medical care functions and is host to 10 tenant units . History . World War II . On 7 June 1943 , the Western Defense Command ordered construction of a new airfield near present - day Fort Wainwright , then an Army airfield named after Major Arthur Ladd . Because of its hazard - free approaches and relatively flat terrain , surveyor reports indicated a site a little more than twenty five miles southeast of Ladd Army Airfield to be the best in the vicinity for military aviation . The field became known as " Mile 26 " because of its proximity to a US Army Signal Corps telegraph station and a Richardson Highway milepost marker using the same designation . A month later , contractors and civilian crews from Ladd Field started laying out the new airfield . Actual construction began on 25 August 1943 . Crews built two parallel runways , across and long . Other facilities included an operations building , housing for 108 officer and 330 enlisted personnel , and a ten - bed dispensary . The garrison and airfield totaled about . Completed on 17 October 1944 , the 14 - month project cost about eight million dollars . Operational uses of Mile 26 were few . Ladd Field served as the debarkation point for the Alaska - Siberia Ferry Route of the lend - lease program and was the hub of activity . Lend - lease aircraft would occasionally land at Mile 26 , but there are no records to indicate any lend - lease aircraft ever used the airfield to take off for Russia . Mile 26 closed when the war ended . Cold War . The base reopened in September 1946 , once again as a satellite of Ladd Field . The first USAAF operational unit assigned to Eielson was the 57th Fighter Group , equipped successively with P - 38 Lightning s , P / F - 51 Mustangs , F - 80 Shooting Stars , and F - 94 Starfire aircraft . The 57th FG was inactivated on 13 April 1953 . On 1 December 1947 Strategic Air Command B - 29 Superfortress bombers arrived at 26 - Mile Airfield with the deployment of the 97th Bombardment Wing , Very Heavy , from Smoky Hill AFB , Kansas . The wing reported to Fifteenth Air Force , Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) , although the Yukon Sector of the Alaskan Air Command controlled its operations . At the end of the Alaskan deployment the wing returned to Kansas on 12 March 1948 . A year later , however , Eielson moved from under the shadow of Ladd Field when the Alaskan Air Command assumed organizational control . Also in the fall of 1947 , Colonel Jerome B . McCauley assumed duties as commander . The primary missions of Mile 26 were to support Arctic training for USAF tactical and strategic units , as well as defend the base itself . Headquarters USAF General Order 2 , dated 13 January 1948 , redesignated Mile 26 as Eielson AFB . It was named for Carl Ben Eielson , an Alaska aviation pioneer who was killed , along with his mechanic Earl Borland , in the crash of their Hamilton aircraft in 1929 . Eielson and Borland were attempting a rescue flight to an icebound ship in the Bering Sea when they were killed . On 1 April 1948 , the Eielson AFB Wing ( Base Complement ) was formed . The host - unit subsequently would be dubbed the Eielson AFB Bomb Wing , and finally , in January 1949 , the 5010th Wing . Colonel John L . Nedwed , the third commander of the base since it fell under Alaskan Air Command fifteen months before , became the first to head the 5010th . For the next 34 years , the 5010th ( alternately known as the Wing , Composite Wing , Air Base Wing , and lastly , Combat Support Group ) served as host - unit at Eielson . Construction boomed at Eielson AFB during the 1950s . Many of the facilities still in use today were built at that time , including Amber Hall , the Thunderdome , Base Exchange , Gymnasium , Theater , some of the schools , and many of the dormitories . The 720th Fighter - Bomber Squadron , equipped with F - 86 Sabre s , was deployed to Eielson during 1954 – 55 . The 720th was a part of the 450th Fighter - Bomber Wing stationed at Foster AFB , Texas . The 720th was replaced by the 455th Fighter - Bomber Squadron ( 323d FBW ) , stationed at Bunker Hill AFB , Indiana . The Air Defense Command deployed interceptors to Eielson during the 1960s . Det . 3 , 317th Fighter - Interceptor Squadron from Elmendorf AFB Alaska deployed F - 102 Delta Dagger s and F - 106 Delta Dart s to the base between 1960 – 69 . The Cold War seen the use of Eielson ' s expansive reservation as a maneuver area for the U . S . Army . The 1960s 171st Infantry Brigade ( separate ) and 172nd Infantry Brigade ( separate ) both trained here , both on a regular and extensive basis , not to mention units of the Alaska National Guard . Later in the 70s mid 80s the 172nd Infantry Brigade ( the 171st Infantry Brigade was inactivated on 13 November 1972 ) , followed by the 6th Infantry Division when the 172nd Infantry Brigade itself was deactivated on 15 April 1986 ( it was reactivated again in Alaska on 17 April 1998 , only to yet again inactivated in Iraq on 14 December 2006 ) Today the 1st Brigade 25th Infantry Division and the 4th Brigade 25th Infantry Division can be found training there . Also several important large scale winter field problems have been conducted here over the years as well , seeing large numbers of not only U . S . Army ground combat units from the lower 48 states , but also U . S . Marine Corps units as well , and even Canadian troops . 375th / 58th Strategic Weather Squadron . The 375th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron , from the 308th Bombardment Group at Tinker AFB Oklahoma , arrived at Eielson on 5 March 1949 . The 308th flew WB - 29 Superfortresses . The unit was redesignated the 58th Strategic Weather Squadron on 21 February 1951 as part of the 303d Bombardment Wing at Davis - Monthan AFB Arizona . The 58th Weather Squadron remained at Eielson until 8 August 1958 . 6th Strategic Wing . In July 1960 , the Strategic Air Command stationed the 4157th Combat Support Group ( later Strategic Wing ) at Eielson . The 6th Strategic Wing ( 6 SW ) replaced the 4157 SW on 25 March 1967 , relocating from Walker Air Force Base , New Mexico after its closure . The 6th SW flew RC – 135 strategic reconnaissance missions with an assigned squadron , and , with KC – 135s deployed to Eielson from SAC , AFRES , and the ANG , conducted Alaska Tanker Task Force ( ATTF ) missions to support reconnaissance and numerous exercises for the Air Force and Navy . The 6th SW remained at Eielson AFB until 1992 . 343d Composite Wing . A new chapter for the base began 1 October 1981 when the 343d Composite Wing replaced the 5010th as Eielson ' s host unit . Flying squadrons assigned to the new wing included the 25th Tactical Air Support Squadron ( TASS ) and the 18th Fighter Squadron ( 18 FS ) . The 25 TASS , at Eielson since 1971 , flew O - 2 Skymaster and OV - 10 Bronco aircraft until its inactivation in 1989 ; the newly assigned 18 FS operated A - 10 Thunderbolt II s until it converted to F - 16 Fighting Falcon s in 1991 . In 1984 , the 343d Composite Wing was redesignated a Tactical Fighter Wing . Seven years later , in 1991 , it was redesignated as the 343d Wing . Also that year , the 343d gained a second flying unit , the 11th Tactical Air Support Squadron ( 11 TASS ) , which flew OA - 10s . 354th Fighter Wing . On 20 August 1993 , the 354 FW replaced the 343d Wing . No personnel or equipment were affected by the change . Prior to its shutdown , the 343d was the oldest surviving air combat unit in Alaska , with a lineage dating back to the Aleutian Campaign . The 18 FS , whose history also dated back to World War II , remained active , but the 355 FS replaced the 11th TASS . Another change involved the 3rd Fighter Training Squadron , which was replaced by the 353rd Fighter Squadron ( later redesignated as a Combat Training Squadron ) . Within the first year of its arrival the 354 FW hosted an Arctic combat search and rescue exercise between the United States , Canada , and Russia . Ironically , these were the same countries that took part in the search and recovery efforts that followed the fatal crash of Carl Ben Eielson and his mechanic , Earl Borland , in 1930 as they were attempting to fly relief supplies to the Nanuk . Note : The 343d FW 3d Fighter Training Squadron was replaced by the 353d Fighter Training Squadron from the 354th FW . The 3d Fighter Training Squadron had its origins with the 3d Tactical Fighter Squadron at Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base , Thailand , being formed in March 1973 . The 3d TFS received its A - 7D aircraft from the then deployed 353d Tactical Fighter Squadron of the 354th Tactical Fighter Wing , deployed to Korat from Myrtle Beach AFB , South Carolina . Aircraft . U - 2 Spy plane ( 1962 – 1964 ) Superfund designation . Eielson Air Force Base was proposed to be a Superfund designated site on 14 July 1989 , and was officially designated as a Superfund site on 21 November 1989 . The groundwater contains lead and volatile organic compounds ( VOCs ) like benzene , xylene , and toluene . Several areas of subsurface petroleum - contaminated soil and floating petroleum product are the sources of continuing groundwater contamination . Ingesting or coming into direct contact with contaminated groundwater or soil may pose a potential health threat . Polychlorinated biphenyl ( PCB ) - contaminated fish were also found in the area . Demographics . As of the census of 2000 , there are 5 , 400 people , 1 , 448 households , and 1 , 414 families residing on the base . The population density is 40 . 1 / km² ( 103 . 8 / mi² ) . There are 1 , 531 housing units at an average density of 11 . 4 / km² ( 29 . 4 / mi² ) . The racial makeup of the base is 81 . 7 % White , 9 . 4 % Black or African American , 0 . 6 % Native American , 2 . 1 % Asian , 0 . 2 % Pacific Islander , 2 . 2 % from other races , and 3 . 9 % from two or more races . 5 . 8 % of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race . There are 1 , 448 households out of which 77 . 8 % have children under the age of 18 living with them , 92 . 4 % are married couples living together , 2 . 7 % have a female householder with no husband present , and 2 . 3 % are non - families . 2 . 1 % of all households are made up of individuals and 0 . 0 % have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older . The average household size is 3 . 52 and the average family size is 3 . 55 . In the base the population is spread out with 40 . 8 % under the age of 18 , 16 . 6 % from 18 to 24 , 41 . 2 % from 25 to 44 , 1 . 2 % from 45 to 64 , and 0 . 2 % who are 65 years of age or older . The median age is 22 years . For every 100 females there are 110 . 3 males . For every 100 females age 18 and over , there are 114 . 7 males . The median income for a household in the base is $ 35 , 938 , and the median income for a family is $ 35 , 688 . Males have a median income of $ 24 , 961 versus $ 21 , 432 for females . The per capita income for the base is $ 11 , 512 . 6 . 0 % of the population and 5 . 1 % of families are below the poverty line . Out of the total population , 7 . 5 % of those under the age of 18 and 0 . 0 % of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line . Base Realignment and Closure , 2005 . On 13 May 2005 , The Department of Defense proposed a major realignment of the base as part of the Base Realignment and Closure program .