Muñiz Air National Guard Base Muñiz Air National Guard Base is the home base for the Puerto Rico Air National Guard . This installation located within the grounds of Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Carolina , Puerto Rico . Overview . The 156th Airlift Wing mission is to provide airlift missions for the U . S . Southern Command and airlift for joint military exercises while displaying military capabilities and bolster United States ties with our Latin American neighbors during Operation Coronet Oak . The 198th Airlift Squadron a subordinated unit of the 156th Airlift Wing also located at Muñiz Air National Base provides airlift support . The 156th Airlift Wing is under the Air National Guard / Air Mobility Command . Muñiz Air National Guard Base also known as " Base Muñiz " provides support in local emergencies and mobilization of military troops from Puerto Rico for deployments worldwide . History . The Puerto Rico Air National Guard consolidated its operations and moved from the Isla Grande Airport in May 1956 to a new facility at the Isla Verde Airport located in Carolina , Puerto Rico now known as Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport just 14KM ( 9 milles ) east of San Juan , Puerto Rico . On 10 April 1958 , the 156th Tactical Fighter reorganized into a Fighter Group . On 1 January 1976 , the 156th Tactical Fighter Group converted from F - 104 Starfighter to A - 7D Corsair . The first A - 7s arrived in November and the last in March 1976 . Jose Antonio Muñiz . In 1963 the Air National Guard Base was renamed " Muñiz Air National Guard Base " while commemorating the 20th anniversary of its federal recognition in honor after Co - founder of the Puerto Rico Air National Guard , Lieutenant Colonel José Antonio Muñiz a former United States Air Force officer who during World War II served in the United States Army Air Forces . Major General Orlando Llenza , then a fellow aviator in the unit , later described the loss in the following translation : " We were short one pilot and Joe offered to stand in . I was formation lead . Right after departing the runway , his afterburner nozzles failed open , indicating a loss of power . The ejection seats in use at the time could not safely extract a pilot at low altitude and Joe went in little after takeoff . No one in the flight mentioned the event ; we executed the flyover and were notified of the loss upon our return to base . Shortly after that , we received the F - 86H which did not use afterburning and could fly non - stop from homestead AFB ( in Florida ) to San Juan unlike the previous D and E models , which had to stop for fuel at Guantanamo , Cuba . " Terrorist attack . January 12 , 1981 . 10 A7s and a Starfighter F - 104 were damage and destroyed . It is believed that this was a terrorist act was made by Boricua Popular Army Machetero commandos that infiltrated into the base . This loss was calculated at $ 45 million . The base Security detail increased from 11 to 22 Air Force Security Police personnel and 46 civilian contract guards . Papal visit and presidential visit . On October 12 , 1984 , Pope John Paul II made the first papal visit to Puerto Rico and was welcomed to Puerto Rico by governor Carlos Romero Barcelo and U . S . State Secretary George P . Shultz at Muñiz ANGB . Pope Johh Paul II left Puerto Rico on the evening that same day . On June 14 , 2011 , United States president Barack Obama made an official visit to Puerto Rico for four hours . He arrived on the 747 Air Force One with Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi at Muñiz Air National Guard Base in Carolina , Puerto Rico and he was greeted by Governor Luis Fortuño . Later , after campaigning , President Obama gave a speech from a hangar at Muñiz Air National Guard Base . Air mobility role . On November 22 , 1997 . Muñiz ANGB received its first C - 130 s while celebrating the 50th anniversary of its federal recognition . The Air Force announced conversion of the 156th Fighter Wing from F - 16A / B aircraft to C - 130 aircraft , changing the task from air combat missions to airlift missions . Today . Since 1997 the mission for Muñiz Air National Guard base and the 156th Fighter Wing is to provide air mobility support for the U . S . Southern Command and operation Coronet Oak . This air base also provided mobilization to assist with humanitarian support in natural disasters like the 2010 Haiti earthquake . Muñiz ANGB played a mayor role in the mobilization for the Puerto Rico Air National Guard troops as well Army National Guard and U . S . Army Reserve soldiers from Puerto Rico for deployments to Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom . In addition some of the facilities at Muñiz ANGB include a Hangar , Maintenance Shops , Command Offices , an Air National Guard Recruiting Office , Community Center , Family Readiness Center and a NGX Base Exchange . STARBASE Youth Program . The STARBASE Youth Program at Muñiz Air National Guard Base is a nonresidential educational program for students ( grades K - 12 ) that provides them with real - world applications of math and science . Hundreds of students from schools all over Puerto Rico come to Muñiz ANGB to participate in the STARBASE Youth Program . Operation Coronet Oak . Coronet Oak is the name for the continuing operation in which Air Force Reserve Command ( AFRC ) and Air National Guard C - 130 aircraft , aircrews and related support personnel deploy from the United States to Muñiz Air National Guard Base , Puerto Rico , to provide theater airlift support for the U . S . Southern Command . The Guard and Reserve support the Coronet Oak mission year round since June 1999 from Muñiz Air National Guard Base when this mission moved from Howard Air Force Base , Panama as result of the U . S . military withdrawal from Panama in 1999 . Units rotate in and out of Muñiz ANGB every two weeks . Forces assigned to CORONET OAK provide United States Southern Command with logistic and contingency support throughout Central and South America .