Harrisburg Air National Guard Base Harrisburg Air National Guard Base is a United States Air Force base , located at Harrisburg International Airport , Pennsylvania . It is located west - southwest of Middletown , Pennsylvania . The Pennsylvania Air National Guard facility is sited on the location of the former Olmsted Air Force Base , which was closed in 1969 . The 193d Special Operations Wing operates EC - 130J Hercules aircraft , designated as " Commando Solo " for special operations missions . The airfield is shared with MDT , the civilian airport being moved from Airport ( Pennsylvania ) | Capital City Airport ] ] , near Harrisburg in 1970 after Olmsted AFB ' s closure . Units . The PA ANG 193d Special Operations Wing consists of : Other components of the Wing are located at State College and at Muir Army Airfield at Fort Indiantown Gap . History . Robert Stanford Olmsted . The facility is named in honor of 1st Lieutenant Robert Stanford Olmsted , U . S . Army Air Service , on 11 March 1948 , killed in a ballooning accident over the village Loosbroek , Netherlands on 23 September 1923 , while competing in the Gordon Bennett Cup . Despite threatening weather which causes some competitors to drop out . Lightning struck the S - 6 over Nistelrode , the Netherlands , killing Olmsted . Middletown Air Depot . The facility saw its first military use by the United States Army Signal Corps in 1898 . The first known use of the field by military aircraft was when Middletown Airfield opened in 1917 as a supply depot and maintenance center for Signal Corps aircraft . The first airplanes landed in 1918 at Middletown Air Depot , when it was under the administration of the Signal Corps of the United States Army . In 1939 , it was still known by this name . Middletown had an abundance of engine and airframe shops and a supply distribution system that made it a significant facility , but a poor runway that , it was felt , would be too expensive to improve . It would involve claiming marsh land and portions of the Susquehanna River ( both of which have since been accomplished ) and the Air Force leadership at that time determined that more land for supply and maintenance buildings was needed . After World War I , and the reconstitution of the United States Army Air Service in 1922 , the facility became a logistics and maintenance support of Air Service aircraft and equipment through its host unit , the Middletown Air Depot ( later Middletown Air Materiel Area ) . During World War II , numerous transport and reconnaissance units were organized and formed at Olmsted Army Airfield . Once equipped , they were reassigned to training bases . The Middletown Air Depot was a major support installation to the Air Force for decades . Beginning on 11 August 1948 , the Military Air Transport Service ( MATS ) 147th Flight Service Squadron began operations of the Olmsted Flight Service Center . During the 1948 - 1949 Berlin Airlift , the U . S . Supply Depot at Olmsted provided emergency support supplies for the airlift operations . In 1958 , Olmsted was designated as prime support depot for T - 38 and L - 27 aircraft . Olmsted AFB and the Middletown Air Depot ' s last assignment was with Air Force Logistics Command ( AFLC ) , and the base and depot were inactivated on 30 June 1969 . Closure . Initially turned over to Pennsylvania Air National Guard after active - duty closure , the flight line area was redeveloped into the Harrisburg International Airport , under the ownership of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania . In 1998 , the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania transferred ownership of the airport to the Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority ( SARAA ) . In addition , in 1966 , much of the former Air Force property was converted into The Pennsylvania State University — The Capital College , otherwise known as the Harrisburg Campus . This campus was originally chartered as a graduate and upper division school . Known units assigned . Known base operating units were : Known operational units assigned were :