Air Force Metrology and Calibration Program Office AFMETCAL ( Air Force METrology and CALibration Program Office ) , located in Heath , Ohio is the primary manager of metrology services for the U . S . Air Force . It retains engineering authority for all calibrations performed in the PMEL labs throughout the Air Force , and oversees the contractor managed and operated Air Force Primary Standards Lab ( AFPSL ) . It currently operates as a direct reporting unit of the 542d Combat Sustainment Wing for Warner Robins AFB . Mission . To develop and sustain precision measurement capabilities ensuring accurate , reliable , and safe air and space systems performance through effective management of the Air Force Metrology Program . History . The United States Air Force calibration program was initiated in January 1952 to comply with AF Regulation 74 - 2 , which outlined policies and assigned responsibilities for managing the Air Force Metrology and Calibration ( AFMETCAL ) Program . The Dayton Air Force Depot , located at Gentile Air Force Station , Dayton , Ohio , developed and implemented a plan to ensure traceability to national standards that would apply to all measurements made on any weapon system in the Air Force . The Dayton Air Force Depot was given the authority to establish a centralized calibration program . Under their plan , the Air Materiel Area Depots were given a set of measurement standards , which were periodically calibrated by the Dayton Air Force Depot using standards traceable to the National Bureau of Standards . The operational success of a " Test Shop " program set up at March AFB , California , on 15 September 1957 , led to the establishment of the base - level Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratories providing the Air Force with a complete calibration system that could handle the increasingly stringent measurement needs of the new missile and aircraft systems . The Dayton Air Force Depot facilities were becoming inadequate to support the increasing accuracy requirements of the Air Force so the search for a suitable replacement facility was begun in 1958 . Air Force Industrial Plant No . 48 at Heath , Ohio , contained most of the features desired , such as the underground facilities and a stable seismic environment . On 1 February 1959 , it was redesignated the Heath Maintenance Annex of the Dayton Air Force Depot . Authorization to begin construction was given by public law on 9 June 1960 . The Dayton Air Force Deport personnel associated with the Air Force calibration program began their moves to the Heath Maintenance Annex in April 1962 , and by June , most had been relocated to Heath , Ohio . In June , the name was also changed to the 2802nd Inertial Guidance and Calibration Group under HQ Air Force Logisitics Command . By July 1962 , the Metrology function was fully staffed . By the end of 1962 , the primary calibration labs and the Air Force Measurement Standards Laboratories were completed , consisting of four levels underground containing 20 , 000 square feet ( 1900 m² ) of laboratory area . In November 1962 , the facility was named Newark Air Force Station . In 1965 , the Air Force assigned management of the worldwide Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratories certification program to the Calibration and Metrology Division . In 1968 , the 2802nd Inertial Guidance and Calibration Group was deactivated and replaced by the Aerospace Guidance and Metrology Center ( AGMC ) . The Calibration and Metrology Division was changed to the Directorate of Metrology on 8 November 1968 . Newark Air Force Station was renamed Newark Air Force Base in June 1987 . During the 1990s privatization took place at Newark AFB . This has resulted in the functions of the Air Force Primary Standards Laboratories , and Technical Order preparation , being performed by a private contractor . The Air Force created the Air Force Metrology and Calibration Program Office ( AFMETCAL ) at Heath , Ohio , to manage metrology services for the Air Force , retain engineering authority for all calibrations performed in the PMEL labs throughout the Air Force , and manage the contractor operated Air Force Primary Standards Lab . This is the present configuration of the Air Force Metrology program .