Eglin Air Force Base Eglin Air Force Base ( AFB ) is a United States Air Force base located approximately 3 miles ( 5 kilometers ) southwest of Valparaiso , Florida in Okaloosa County . The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing ( formerly the 96th Air Base Wing ) . The 96 TW is the test and evaluation center for Air Force air - delivered weapons , navigation and guidance systems , Command and Control systems , and Air Force Special Operations Command systems . Eglin AFB was established in 1935 as the Valparaiso Bombing and Gunnery Base . It is named in honor of Lieutenant Colonel Frederick I . Eglin ( 1891 – 1937 ) , who was killed in a crash of his Northrop A - 17 pursuit aircraft on a flight from Langley to Maxwell Field , Alabama . Overview . Eglin is a Air Force Materiel Command ( AFMC ) base serving as the focal point for all Air Force armaments . Eglin is responsible for the development , acquisition , testing , deployment and sustainment of all air - delivered non - nuclear weapons . The base plans , directs and conducts test and evaluation of U . S . and allied air armament , navigation and guidance systems , and command and control systems . Severe weather testing of aircraft and other equipment is carried out here at the McKinley Climatic Laboratory . The residential portion of the base is a census - designated place ; its population was 8 , 082 at the 2000 census . Eglin Air Force Base has 2 , 359 military family housing units . Unmarried junior enlisted members generally live in one of Eglin ’ s seven dormitories located near the dining hall , chapel , base gym , Enlisted Club and bus lines on base . Each individual unit generally handles dormitory assignments . Bachelor Officer Quarters are not available . Several units and one dormitory are currently being renovated in 2011 . The base covers 463 , 128 acres ( 1 , 874 . 2 km² ) . Eglin is also one of the few military air bases in the U . S . to have scheduled passenger airline service as the Northwest Florida Regional Airport ( VPS ) is co - located on the base property . History . Creation and World War II . Eglin Air Force Base evolved from the 1933 creation of the Valparaiso Airport , when an arrowhead - shaped parcel of was cleared for use as an airdrome . In 1931 , personnel of the Air Corps Tactical School , newly relocated to Maxwell Field , Alabama , sought a location for a bombing and gunnery range . They saw the potential of the sparsely populated forested areas surrounding Valparaiso and the vast expanse of the adjacent Gulf of Mexico . With the outbreak of war in Europe , a proving ground for aircraft armament was established at Eglin . The U . S . Forestry ceded to the War Department the Choctawhatchee National Forest on 18 October 1940 . At its peak during World War II , the base employed more than 1 , 000 officers , 10 , 000 enlisted personnel and 4 , 000 civilians . Postwar . After the war , Eglin became a pioneer in developing the techniques for missile launching and handling ; and the development of drone or pilotless aircraft beginning with the Republic - Ford JB - 2 Loon , an American copy of the V - 1 . The 1st Experimental Guided Missiles Group was activated at Eglin Field , Florida , on 6 February 1946 , operating out of Auxiliary Field 3 . By March 1950 , the 550th Guided Missiles Wing , comprising the 1st and 2nd Guided Missile Squadrons , had replaced the 1st Experimental Guided Missiles Group . The 2nd Guided Missile Squadron , SSM , had 62 pilots manning 14 B - 17s , three B - 29s , and four F - 80 Shooting Stars , yellow - tailed drone aircraft used in the role of testing guided missiles . In December 1955 , the Air Munitions Development Laboratory was reassigned from the Wright Air Development Center at Wright - Patterson AFB , Ohio , to the Air Force Armament Center at Eglin by Headquarters Air Research and Development Command . The responsibility for development of guns , bombs , rockets , fuses , guided missile warheads and other related equipment in the armament field was transferred from the Dayton , Ohio facility at this time . Work on nuclear weapons was not included in this mission . 1960s . The USAF Special Air Warfare Center was activated 27 April 1962 , with the 1st Combat Applications Group ( CAG ) organized as a combat systems development and test agency under the SAWC . The 1st CAG concentrated on testing and evaluation of primarily short - term projects which might improve Air Force counter - insurgency ( COIN ) operations . The Special Air Warfare Center , located at Hurlburt Field , undertook to develop tactical air doctrine while training crews for special air warfare in places like Southeast Asia . By mid - 1963 , SAW groups were in Vietnam and Panama . The USAF Tactical Air Warfare Center was activated on 1 November 1963 . It would be re - designated as the USAF Air Warfare Center on 1 October 1991 . With the increasing U . S . involvement in Southeast Asia in the 1960s , the need for increased emphasis on conventional weapons development made Eglin ' s mission even more important . On 1 August 1968 , the Air Proving Ground Center was redesignated the Armament Development and Test Center to centralize responsibility for research , development , test and evaluation , and initial acquisition of non - nuclear munitions for the Air Force . On 1 October 1979 , the Center was given division status . The Armament Division , redesignated Munitions Systems Division on 15 March 1989 , placed into production the precision - guided munitions for the laser , television , and infrared guided bombs ; two anti - armor weapon systems ; and an improved hard target weapon , the GBU - 28 , used in Operation Desert Storm during the Persian Gulf War . The Division was also responsible for developing the Advanced Medium Range Air - to - Air Missile ( AMRAAM ) , an Air Force - led joint project with the U . S . Navy . Late Cold War era . The Air Force Armament Museum was founded on base in 1975 . In 1981 the original building housing the museum was condemned and the facility closed until 1984 . Selected on 27 April 1975 , the installation served as one of four main U . S . Vietnamese Refugee Processing Centers operated by the Interagency Task Force for Indochina Refugees , where base personnel housed and processed more than 10 , 000 Southeast Asian refugees , the first 374 of which arrived on board a Northwest Orient Boeing 747 on 4 May 1975 . In 1978 , the USAF Tactical Air Warfare Center assumed responsibility for the USAF Air Ground Operations School . In the same year , the Electronic Warfare Evaluation Program became another one of the USAFTAWC ' s weapons system evaluation programs , and resulted in the activation of the 4487th Electronic Warfare Aggressor Squadron in 1990 . Construction began in 1984 on the Bob Hope Village , the only retirement facility that caters to enlisted military , opening in February 1985 . Residents pay below market value for the 256 independent apartments . Col . Bob Gates , Bob Hope ' s USO pilot , was key in getting the comedian ' s support for the undertaking , as well as lending his name and prestige to the project . He was named an honorary board member of the foundation in 1978 and held benefit concerts for nearly two decades . Post Cold War . During a 1992 reorganization , the Air Force disestablished Eglin ' s parent major command , Air Force Systems Command ( AFSC ) and merged its functions with the former Air Force Logistics Command ( AFLC ) . The newly created major command from this merger , Air Force Material Command ( AFMC ) , remains Eglin ' s parent command to this day . The Development Test Center , Eglin ' s host unit , became part of AFMC on 30 June 1992 . The 46th Test Wing replaced the 3246th Test Wing in October 1992 . On 10 August 1994 construction began on the All Conflicts ' Veterans War Memorial on the site of the old POW / MIA memorial on the western end of Eglin Boulevard . The memorial was dedicated on 15 August 1995 . As part of the military drawdown in the 1990s , the Air Force inactivated the 33d Fighter Wing ' s 59th Fighter Squadron on 15 April 1999 . The wing lost six aircraft and consolidated the remaining aircraft into the 58th and 60th Fighter Squadron s . Originally selected for inactivation in 1997 , Air Force officials delayed the decision in recognition of the Nomads ' connection with Khobar Towers . The 59th reactivated as the 59th Test and Evaluation Squadron on 3 December 2004 , at Nellis Air Force Base , Nevada . The 59th falls under the 53rd Test Management Group at Eglin . In July 2012 the Air Armament Center ( AAC ) was inactivated . The center had planned , directed and conducted test and evaluation of U . S . and allied air armament , navigation and guidance systems , and commanded and controlled systems . It operated two Air Force installations , providing host support not only to Eglin , but also Kirtland AFB , New Mexico . It had included the Armament Product Directorate ( Eglin AFB , FL ) , the 46th Test Wing ( Eglin AFB , FL ) , the 96th Air Base Wing ( Eglin AFB , FL ) , and the 377th Air Base Wing ( Kirtland AFB , NM ) . Base Railroad . Initial construction of a railroad line into the region had been discussed as early as 1927 as part of the Choctawhatchee and Northern Railroad , though military - use proposals didn ' t come forward until 1941 . German POW s were used in clearing and grading the alignment during World War II . There was one commercial customer served by the line , a lumber pulp yard at Niceville which is now community athletic fields . The line was later abandoned in the late 1970s and the southern end , west of State Road 285 , lifted by the mid - 1980s . Eglin Auxiliary fields . A number of auxiliary fields were constructed on the Eglin reservation during World War II , many of which are still in service in various roles , either in support of flight operations or special test activities . Demographics . Eglin employs more than 8 , 500 military and approximately 4 , 500 civilians , with an additional 2 , 200 jobs due to move to Eglin under the 2005 BRAC . As of the census of 2000 , there were 8 , 082 people , 2 , 302 households , and 2 , 262 families residing on the base . The population density was 2 , 640 . 1 people per square mile ( 1 , 019 . 8 / km² ) . There were 2 , 320 housing units at an average density of 757 . 9 / sq mi ( 292 . 7 / km² ) . The racial makeup of the base was 71 . 8 % White , 14 . 8 % Black or African American , 0 . 5 % Native American , 3 . 0 % Asian , 0 . 4 % Pacific Islander , 4 . 2 % from other races , and 5 . 3 % from two or more races . Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11 . 2 % of the population . There were 2 , 302 households out of which 79 . 8 % had children under the age of 18 living with them , 89 . 8 % were married couples living together , 5 . 2 % had a female householder with no husband present , and 1 . 7 % were non - families . 1 . 6 % of all households were made up of individuals and 0 . 0 % had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older . The average household size was 3 . 50 and the average family size was 3 . 51 . On the base the population was spread out with 43 . 5 % under the age of 18 , 15 . 2 % from 18 to 24 , 39 . 6 % from 25 to 44 , 1 . 6 % from 45 to 64 , and 0 . 1 % who are 65 years of age or older . The median age was 22 years . For every 100 females there were 100 . 6 males . The median income for a household on the base was $ 31 , 951 , and the median income for a family was $ 31 , 859 . Males had a median income of $ 25 , 409 versus $ 19 , 176 for females . The per capita income for the base was $ 10 , 670 . About 4 . 5 % of families and 4 . 5 % of the population were below the poverty line , including 4 . 5 % of those under the age of 18 and none of those 65 and older . National historic status . There are two U . S . National Historic Landmark Districts with connections to the base : Camp Pinchot and Eglin Field . On October 6 , 1997 , the McKinley Climatic Laboratory was added to the U . S . National Register of Historic Places . Climate . Warm , subtropical weather lasts longer than the average summer . The annual precipitation ranges from to . Year - round , the average temperatures run : January – March : 60 – 69 High and 42 – 51 Low April – June : 76 – 88 High and 58 – 72 Low July – September : 86 – 89 High and 70 – 77 Low October – December : 63 – 79 High and 44 – 69 Low The area gets only 50 to 60 days of annual precipitation or more rainfall . There are few days without sunshine , which allows year - round outdoor activities . Environment . The forests and shores of Eglin Air Force Base are at the center of one of the most biodiverse locations in North America . Over 50 species threatened in Florida are found on the base , including sea turtles that nest on its white - sand beaches and red - cockaded woodpecker s that thrive in its longleaf pine forests . The base has a natural resources management team that constantly monitors important species within the base with the goal of balancing their national defense mission with environmental stewardship . Longleaf pine forest , a forest type reduced to 5 % of its former range in the last few centuries , covers of the base . Part of this forest , , is old growth , making the base home to one of the most extensive old - growth longleaf pine forests in the world . In order to deal with the high noise levels of the Lockheed Martin F - 35 Lightning II , officials from Santa Rosa , Okaloosa and Walton counties are studying which homes , businesses and public buildings will require additional noise protection . Civil rocketry . Eglin Air Force Base was also a launch site for civil rockets of NASA . There are three launch pads : one at 29 . 6700 N , 85 . 3700 W at Cape San Blas ; and two on Santa Rosa Island at 30 . 3800 N , 86 . 7400 W and 30 . 3800 N , 86 . 8170 W . Rockets launched here have included Arcas , Nike Cajun , Nike Apaches , and Nike Iroquois . This site was formerly operated by the 4751st ADMS with CIM - 10 Bomarc s , which inactivated in 1979 . In the 1940s , captured V - 1 flying bomb s and American copies , Republic - Ford JB - 2 LOONs , were launched out over the Gulf of Mexico from these sites . Two concrete launch ramps were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996 . A rusting Loon launch ramp still exists at Auxiliary Field 1 , Wagner Field . Eglin is known to have been used for 441 launches from 1959 to 1980 , reaching up to 686 kilometers altitude .