Offutt Air Force Base Offutt Air Force Base is a U . S . Air Force installation near Omaha , and lies adjacent to Bellevue in Sarpy County , Nebraska . It is the headquarters of the U . S . Strategic Command ( USSTRATCOM ) , the Air Force Weather Agency , and the 55th Wing ( 55 WG ) of the Air Combat Command ( ACC ) , the latter serving as the host unit . Aviation use at Offutt began in September 1918 during World War I as an Army Air Service balloon field . It was renamed in honor of World War I pilot and Omaha native 1st Lt . Jarvis Offutt in 1924 . Offutt AFB ' s legacy includes the construction of the first two bombers to drop atomic bombs and over 40 years as the headquarters for the former Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) and home for its associated ground and aerial command centers for the U . S . in case of nuclear war during the Cold War . The population was 8 , 901 at the 2000 census . Overview . Offutt Air Force Base is the host station for the 55th Wing ( 55 WG ) , the largest wing of the United States Air Force ' s Air Combat Command . Additionally , the base is home to many significant associate units , including US Strategic Command Headquarters , the Air Force Weather Agency , the Omaha operating location of the Defense Finance and Accounting Service , and many others . Units . 55th Wing . The 55 WG mission is to provide dominant intelligence , surveillance , reconnaissance ; electronic attack ; command and control ; and precision awareness to national leadership and warfighters across the spectrum of conflict any time , any place . One of the wing ' s units , the 55th Operations Group , operates 46 aircraft , including 13 models of seven different types . The 55th Wing is composed of five groups at Offutt AFB and at various locations worldwide : United States Strategic Command . Offutt AFB is the headquarters of United States Strategic Command ( USSTRATCOM ) which is one of the nine Unified Combatant Commands of the United States Department of Defense ( DoD ) . USSTRATCOM was established in 1992 as a successor to Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) . It is charged with space operations ( such as military satellites ) , information operations ( such as information warfare ) , missile defense , global command and control , intelligence , surveillance , and reconnaissance ( C4ISR ) , global strike and strategic deterrence ( the United States nuclear arsenal ) , and combating weapons of mass destruction . Air Force Weather Agency . The Air Force Weather Agency ( AFWA ) is headquartered at Offutt AFB . It is the lead weather center of the United States Air Force . AFWA enhances the combat capability of the United States by delivering timely , accurate , and reliable environmental situational awareness worldwide to the Air Force , the Army , joint warfighters , Unified Combatant Command s , the national intelligence community , and the Secretary of Defense . History . For over a century , Offutt AFB has played a key role in American military history . From its beginnings as Fort Crook in the late 19th century , Offutt has adapted to the defense needs of the United States . The historical significance of Offutt is a source of pride for military and community members alike . Offutt AFB is named in honor of First Lieutenant Jarvis Jennes Offutt ( 26 October 1894 – 13 August 1918 ) . The first native of Omaha to become a casualty in World War I , Lieutenant Offutt died of injuries sustained when his SE - 5 fighter crashed during a training flight near . The airfield portion of Fort Crook was designated Offutt Field on 10 May 1924 . Fort Crook . Offutt ' s great heritage began with the commissioning by the War Department in 1890 of Fort Crook . Located some 10 miles south of Omaha and two miles west of the Missouri River , the fort was constructed between 1894 and 1896 . The fort ' s namesake was Major General George Crook , a Civil War veteran and Indian fighter . It was first used as a dispatch point for Indian conflicts on the Great Plains . Troops from Fort Crook fought during the Spanish - American War when the 22nd Regiment under Charles A . Wikoff was dispatched to Cuba . The regiment suffered heavy casualties in the Battle of El Caney . Only 165 of the 513 regiment members survived with most succumbing to tropical diseases after the battle . The oldest surviving portion of Fort Crook is the parade grounds and surrounding red brick buildings that were constructed between 1894 – 96 . These structures are still in active use today as squadron headquarters , living quarters for high - ranking generals ( Generals Row ) , and Nebraska ’ s oldest operational jail . Offutt Field . In 1918 , the 61st Balloon Company of the Army Air Corps was assigned to Fort Crook at the close of World War I , which performed combat reconnaissance training . In the spring of 1921 , the plowing , leveling , and seeding of 260 acres of land at Fort Crook created an airfield suitable for frequent takeoffs and landings and as a refueling stop for mail and transcontinental flights . The first permanent aircraft hangars were completed in 1921 . Other known organizations assigned to the field were the 74th Balloon Company in November 1918 ; 60th Balloon Company in December 1918 . On 6 May 1924 , the airfield was officially named " Offutt Field " . The field accommodated interim reserve flying training and regular Post Office Department airmail flights during the 1920s and 1930s ; a small detachment of enlisted men ( detached service ) from Marshall Field and Fort Riley , Kansas , constituted the only military presence on the field between 1935 – 1940 . Glenn L . Martin Bomber Plant . In 1940 as American involvement in World War II loomed , the Army Air Corps chose Offutt Field as the site for a new bomber plant that was to be operated by the Glenn L . Martin Company . The plant ' s construction included a two - mile ( 3 km ) - long concrete runway , six large hangars , and a aircraft - assembly building . The Glenn L . Martin Company began producing bombers in January 1942 , with the plant reaching full - scale production 8 June 1942 . Initially producing B - 26 Marauder medium bombers , 1 , 585 B - 26 Marauders were built at the Martin - Nebraska bomber plant . The Army Air Force designated the military personnel assigned to the plant as the 83d Army Air Force Technical Training Detachment , later re - designated as Sq L , Government - Owned Assembly Plant No . 1 , WD - 101 , Army Air Forces Material Command . President Franklin D . Roosevelt toured the plant on 26 April 1943 with Nebraska Governor Dwight Griswold and plant owner Glenn L . Martin . Production switched to B - 29 Superfortress very heavy bombers in 1944 , and 531 Superfortresses were produced before the end of World War II . Among these were the " Enola Gay " and " Bockscar " , the B - 29 ' s that dropped the first atomic weapons to be used in a military action ( against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki , Japan ) . Both planes were built and modified at the base . Paul Tibbets personally selected the Enola Gay from the assembly line . Production ended on 18 September 1945 , when the last B - 29 rolled out of the assembly building . With the manufacturing plant ' s closure , custody of the airfield and ground facilities were assumed by the 4131st Army Air Force Base Unit , Air Materiel Command . Postwar use . In the initial months after the end of World War II , Offutt was used by the 2474th Separation Processing squadron to demobilize service members out of the armed forces after their return from overseas duty . In June 1946 , the Army Air Force re - designated Fort Crook and the Martin - Nebraska facilities as Offutt Field . It became the headquarters for the Air Defense Command Second Air Force on 6 June . In 1947 , the airfield opened for operational use , with the 381st Bombardment Group being assigned to the field with one squadron of B - 29 Superfortresses , although the facility remained primarily a separation center . The newly established United States Air Force took control of the facility in September 1947 , and on 13 January 1948 it was renamed Offutt Air Force Base . Later that same year , on 26 September , the 3902nd Air Base Group ( later Wing ) became the host unit at Offutt . Strategic Air Command . At one minute past midnight , on 9 November 1948 , Offutt gained international prominence when it became the host base for Headquarters Strategic Air Command , which was moved from Andrews AFB , Maryland . Secretary of the Air Force Stuart Symington chose to locate the Air Force ' s crucial long - range atomic strike force at Offutt primarily because the base was centrally located on the North American continent , placing it well beyond the existing range of long - range , nuclear - armed bombers to ( then ) stay safely out of range of hostile missiles or bomber aircraft . Offutt ' s population and facilities grew dramatically to keep pace with the increased operational demands during the Cold War . Several new dormitories and more than 2 , 000 family housing units – built in the late 1950s and 1960s under incremental Wherry and Capehart projects – quickly replaced the old quarters of Fort Crook . Headquarters SAC moved from the Martin - Nebraska complex to Building 500 in 1957 , and new base facilities in the 1960s and 1970s included a hospital , main exchange , commissary , and library . During the late 1950s Offutt housed a Royal Air Force facility for servicing Avro Vulcan s , which visited the air base frequently while on exercise with SAC . Operational use of Offutt Air Force Base included the basing of alert tankers in the late 1950s and 1960s , support for intercontinental ballistic missile sites in Nebraska and Iowa in the 1960s , and worldwide reconnaissance from the mid - 1960s to the present . To provide air defense of the base , the United States Army established the Offutt AFB Defense Area and Nike - Hercules Surface - to - air missile sites were constructed during 1959 . Sites were located near Cedar Creek , Nebraska ( OF - 60 ) , and Council Bluffs , Iowa ( OF - 10 ) . They were operational between November 1960 and March 1966 . During the Cold War , a general and various support personnel from the base were airborne 24 - hours a day on an EC - 135 from 3 February 1961 to 24 July 1990 in Operation Looking Glass , creating an airborne command post in case of war . Operation Looking Glass carried out its mission without any mishaps or incidents during its 29 years of existence . The 3902d Air Base Wing was inactivated on 1 March 1986 , and the 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing assumed host - unit responsibilities for Offutt . Increased defense spending during the 1980s brought additional operational improvements to Offutt , including the Bennie Davis Aircraft Maintenance Hangar , and a new command center for Headquarters SAC . U . S . Strategic Command . Offutt again faced monumental changes in 1992 when the easing of world tensions allowed the United States to reorganize its Air Force . The Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) was inactivated on 1 June , succeeded by the U . S . Strategic Command ( USSTRATCOM ) , a Unified Combatant Command of the Department of Defense . The 55th Strategic Wing then became the 55th Wing , under the newly created Air Combat Command . In 1998 , the Strategic Air and Space Museum moved 30 miles ( 48 km ) southwest to Ashland , just off Interstate 80 , midway between Omaha and Lincoln . In 2005 , Offutt began several major renovations . The on - base Wherry housing area was demolished for replacement with new housing . A new fire house , AAFES mini - mall , and U . S . Post Office were completed in 2006 . Additionally , the Air Force Weather Agency broke ground on a new facility which was completed in 2008 . President Bush Offutt Conference on 11 September . On 11 September 2001 , President George W . Bush conducted one of the first major strategy sessions for the response to the September 11 attacks from a bunker at the base . Bush , who was in Florida at the Emma Booker Elementary School in Sarasota at the time of the attacks , first flew from Sarasota - Bradenton International Airport to Barksdale AFB in Louisiana and then to Offutt en route back to Washington , DC . Bush arrived at 2 : 50 pm ( Eastern ) , conducted a video conference in an underground command bunker and left for Washington , DC at 4 : 30 pm . Air Force One left Barksdale AFB for Offutt AFB around 1 : 30 pm The Air Force One entourage was pared down to a few essential staffers such as Ari Fleischer , Andrew Card , Karl Rove , Dan Bartlett , and Gordon Johndroe , plus about five reporters . During the flight , Bush remained in “ continuous contact ” with the White House Situation Room and Vice - President Dick Cheney . Air Force One landed at Offutt shortly before 3 : 00 pm At 3 : 06 , Bush passed through security to the US Strategic Command Underground Command Center ( ) and was taken into an underground bunker designed to withstand a nuclear blast . There , he held a teleconference call with Vice - President Cheney , National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice , Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld , Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage , CIA Director Tenet , Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta , and others . The meeting lasted about an hour . Rice recalled that during the meeting , Tenet told Bush , " Sir , I believe it ’ s al - Qaeda . We ’ re doing the assessment but it looks like , it feels like , it smells like al - Qaeda . " The White House staff was preparing for Bush to address the nation from the Offutt bunker , but Bush decided instead to return to Washington . Air Force One left Offutt around 4 : 30 pm Intercontinental ballistic missile facilities . The 549th Strategic Missile Squadron operated three SM - 65D Atlas ICBM sites ( 1 October 1960 – 15 December 1964 ) . Each site was composed of three missile silos ( 9 total ) . Beginning in 1958 , the Army Corps of Engineers began planning for the sites , and construction began in 1959 . The construction project project was completed on 28 July 1960 . In April and May 1961 , the three complexes became the last Atlas D missiles to go on alert . The missiles were manned by the 549th Strategic Missile Squadron which was activated on 1 October 1960 . The squadron began to phase down with the inactivation of the Atlas - D on 1 October 1964 , and was inactivated 14 December 1964 . Confusingly , the squadron was originally the 566th but on 1 July 1961 SAC swapped designators with the 549th at F . E . Warren AFB . The 549th SMS was under the 385th Strategic Aerospace Wing . Today , site " A " is owned by Nebraska University , and being leased to a company for ranching and storage . It is also used by the Nebraska National Guard as a training site for many years , mostly for military police K - 9 training . Site " B " is remarkably intact and in use for agricultural storage . Site " C " has been demolished , with only the access roads remaining . Whistleblower suit . In May 2011 , base civilian employee George Sarris successfully settled with the government over claims that he was subjected to retaliation for talking to the media in 2008 about poor maintenance of RC - 135 aircraft at the base . After Sarris ' allegations appeared in the " Kansas City Star " , base officials revoked his security clearance and reassigned him to menial duties . Later investigations by the government substantiated many of Sarris ' claims . As part of the settlement , the USAF agreed to pay Sarris his full salary until he retires in 2014 and paid $ 21 , 000 of his attorney ' s fees . General ' s Row . Most of the high - ranking officials at Offutt live on General ' s Row , a row of 4 - story duplexes that were built in 1895 . Offutt in popular culture . Offutt was brought to popular attention during its SAC period when the command was depicted in the 1955 film " Strategic Air Command " starring Jimmy Stewart , the 1963 film " A Gathering of Eagles " starring Rock Hudson , and 1964 ' s " Fail - Safe " starring Henry Fonda ( which not only claimed to show portions of the base but also a nearby Omaha neighborhood ) and " " starring Peter Sellers ( which depicts a nuclear first strike from a mad general at the fictional Burpelson Air Force Base ) . Offutt also appeared in the " " episode " Tomorrow Is Yesterday " ( identified as ' the Omaha installation ' ) , when a fighter pilot stationed there detects the approaching USS " Enterprise " and is transported aboard . The Dale Brown novel " Plan of Attack " saw nuclear missiles launched by Russian bombers attacking multiple bomber bases all over the U . S , including Offutt , which is destroyed by four Kh - 15 ( AS - 17 Kickback ) missiles . Only one E - 4B NEACP escapes in time , and the officials of the Eighth Air Force and STRATCOM are eliminated in the process . Pat Frank ' s iconic Cold War novel " Alas , Babylon " ( 1959 ) has Air Force Colonel Mark Bragg , the brother of the protagonist Randy Bragg , stationed at Offutt . Geography . Offutt Air Force Base is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau , the base has a total area of 4 . 3 square miles ( 11 . 3 km² ) , of which , 4 . 2 square miles ( 10 . 9 km² ) of it is land and 0 . 1 square miles ( 0 . 4 km² ) of it ( 3 . 22 % ) is water . Demographics . As of the census of 2000 , there were 8 , 901 people , 2 , 304 households , and 2 , 255 families residing on the base . The population density was 2 , 113 . 1 people per square mile ( 816 . 3 / km² ) . There were 2 , 429 housing units at an average density of 576 . 6 / sq mi ( 222 . 8 / km² ) . The racial makeup of the base was 78 . 0 % White , 10 . 4 % Black or African American , 0 . 7 % Native American , 2 . 7 % Asian , 0 . 3 % Pacific Islander , 3 . 6 % from other races , and 4 . 3 % from two or more races . Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7 . 4 % of the population . There were 2 , 304 households out of which 79 . 1 % had children under the age of 18 living with them , 90 . 5 % were married couples living together , 5 . 3 % had a female householder with no husband present , and 2 . 1 % were non - families . 1 . 9 % of all households were made up of individuals and none had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older . The average household size was 3 . 61 and the average family size was 3 . 64 . On the base the population was spread out with 41 . 9 % under the age of 18 , 16 . 8 % from 18 to 24 , 39 . 7 % from 25 to 44 , 1 . 4 % from 45 to 64 , and 0 . 1 % who were 65 years of age or older . The median age was 22 years . For every 100 females there were 105 . 4 males . For every 100 females age 18 and over , there were 109 . 7 males . The median income for a household on the base was $ 36 , 742 , and the median income for a family was $ 36 , 619 . Males had a median income of $ 25 , 391 versus $ 21 , 593 for females . The per capita income for the base was $ 11 , 580 . About 4 . 4 % of families and 5 . 6 % of the population were below the poverty line , including 7 . 1 % of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over . Other sources . < li >