Gray Army Airfield Gray Army Airfield , also known as Gray AAF , is a military airfield located within Joint Base Lewis - McChord ( formerly Fort Lewis ) near Tacoma , in Pierce County , Washington , United States . It should not confused with Robert Gray Army Airfield at Fort Hood in Texas . Overview . Used to support Fort Lewis , Army helicopters assisted with medical evacuations at Mount Rainier National Park on numerous occasions in the 1970s . Army helicopters were also used to insert search - and - rescue [ SAR ] teams into inaccessible areas on the east , north , and west sides of the mountain , lowering rangers to the ground by a cable device known as a " jungle penetrator . " Helicopters began assisting with high altitude ( above 10 , 000 feet ) SAR operations in the 1980s . Helicopters were also used for " short haul " rescue operations , in which a ranger and litter were carried in a sling below the helicopter to the scene of the accident . Units . Company A , 5th Battalion , 159th Aviation Regiment , conducts high - altitude search - and - rescue operations . Based at Fort Lewis ’ s Gray Army Airfield , the Army Reserve aviation unit transports National Park Service emergency search - and - rescue teams to and from the mountain . The company inherited the SAR mission in July 1998 , when the active - Army unit tasked with the responsibility was inactivated . During regular training sessions before and during the climbing season , the unit ’ s CH - 47 Chinook helicopters fly to Kautz Creek near the base of the mountain to pick up the SAR teams . Then the combined group performs insertion and extraction drills at locations from roughly 10 , 000 feet to the summit at 14 , 410 feet above sea level . SAR missions are varied . Company A participated in a search for a missing snowboarder on the southeast side of the mountain . Hampered by foul weather and heavy cloud cover , the mission extended into several days as Chinook pilots and crew - members transported SAR teams and flew search patterns , working routes , crevasses and tree lines where the snow - boarder might be . The victim never was found . Another mission involved two climbers who lost vital equipment during a climb on the Liberty Ridge ice face , at 13 , 000 feet . They requested help by cell phone , but the first Chinook sortie was turned away by an intense squall line , requiring additional flights to drop off and later pick up rescue teams . The Washington National Guard 66th Aviation Brigade trains at Grey AAF and provides transportation support for fighting wildfires . History . The field is named in honor of Captain Lawrence C . Gray , who lost his life during a free balloon flight at the field on November 4 , 1927 . Captain Gray ( 1889 – 1927 ) served as a private in World War I and after the war attended balloon and flying schools , receiving a commission . He then joined the Army Air Service and the Airship School where he made test flights . Captain Gray became a pioneer in stratospheric flight , setting a U . S . altitude record of 29 , 000 feet on his first flight . He reached higher heights , including 42 , 000 feet on the fatal November flight on which he died of oxygen deprivation . Origins . In October 1921 Curtiss JN - 4 “ Jenny ” biplanes flew from the Naval Station at Sand Point ( Seattle ) to a grass airfield at what was then called " Camp Lewis " , located at a site just west of today ’ s Gray AAF . In 1922 the primitive field moved forward with the erection of a steel hangar , Hangar Number 1 . The Camp Lewis field found itself in competition with Navy aviation at Sand Point , as both sought to be the region ’ s primary military airfield . Camp Lewis advocates pushed for it to be a major dirigible and fixed - wing field . Progress in that direction occurred in 1923 with the erection of a Mooring Mast . This mast , located in the northern portion of the camp , would serve to dock arriving dirigibles . The USS Shenandoah tied - up here on May 17 , 1924 , as a crowd of 15 , 000 watched . Shenandoah made a second visit on October 18 , 1924 , tying up during the evening , following delays waiting for the fog to lift . At noon the next day the navy dirigible departed for San Diego , where it arrived 40 hours later . The USS Shenandoah was the only dirigible to visit Camp Lewis . Weather conditions , with fog and cloud cover issues , favored other landing sites . In 1926 , the War Department observing aviation expansion overseas requested additional aviation funding . Congress provided monies for a five - year plan to bring the army air services to 2 , 200 fighters and to increase the number of aircrews . Camp Lewis received funding in 1927 to build a second hangar . Also , on September 13 that year the famous aviator Charles Lindbergh made a low level pass over the maneuver and training field ( today Watkins Parade Ground ) simulating an attack . This demonstration of air power encouraged the use of airplanes in infantry support . The new airfield construction was part of the larger permanent construction that gave the camp permanence and a new designation of Fort Lewis . The Fort Lewis airfield housed observation planes . A communications building and photography building were completed in 1933 . In October 1933 the 86th Observation Squadron arrived with three planes . The 91st Observation Squadron replaced the 86th in June 1936 as a seven - plane squadron . A photography section was also added at this time . The major expansion came in April 1938 with a Public Works Administration project to construct new runways and buildings . The 1938 construction included two paved runways ( a main runway at 6 , 175 feet in length and East - West at 2 , 300 feet in length ) , a boiler plant , headquarters building , metal balloon hangar , six - plane hangar , corrugated - iron hangar , storehouse , flight - surgeon office , and film - storage building . The metal balloon hangar had served at Fort Casey , Washington , since May 1921 . Workers disassembled the hangar , placed it on a truck , and drove to Fort Lewis where the same workers reassembled the structure . World War II . The 91st Observation Squadron and aircraft of the 3rd Balloon Squadron operated out of the Fort Lewis airfield . They trained in observing enemy positions and supporting the division . The Fort Lewis field was renamed Grey Army Airfield on April 12 , 1938 . During 1940 , the 91st Observation Squadron departed and the 116th Observation Squadron flying 0 - 47 observation aircraft moved in . The 116th was a Washington National Guard unit activated in 1940 . With World War II , Gray Army Airfield received 1 . 7 million dollars for new hangars and improved facilities . As the war approached Gray AAF units trained with ground forces . The GAAF 116th Observation and 116th Photo Squadrons had six observation planes , O - 47 and O - 49 s . The 116th flew anti - submarine patrols . Joining in the antisubmarine patrols was the 123d Observation Squadron activated from the Oregon National Guard . It was equipped with BC - 1 and O - 46 observation aircraft . World War II cantonment construction involved the demolition of some of the pre - 1941 buildings . A number of the GAAF shop and support buildings were demolished to make room for temporary wood - frame barracks on what had been the field ’ s southwest corner . Two of the early hangars and support buildings along the main runway remained in use . One new hangar , today Building 3063 , was completed in 1942 . This is the only surviving building from World War II and the oldest structure at the airfield . A new concrete apron was added around the World War II hangar . During World War II , the control tower sat on the west side of the field ; today an improved tower stands on the east side . The Air Transport Command . 4131st Army Air Force Base Unit used GAAF as the CONUS hub for the Alsskan West Coast Wing , ferrying supplies , equipment and aircraft to Eleventh Air Force at Elmendorf Field , near Fairbanks . Also used by Air Technical Service Command as an aircraft maintenance and supply depot ; primarily to service aircraft being sent to Alaska Postwar era . The Army Air Force closed its facilities in 1947 . Jurisdiction transferred to Department of the Army for observation and Liaison aircraft at Fort Lewis . Following the war Gray Army Airfield housed the 2d Infantry Division aviation assets , observation planes , and support aircraft . The 2d Infantry Division served at Fort Lewis until the Korean War . During the interwar years GAAF activities were limited . The GAAF planes participated in maneuvers and training . Cold War . During the Korean War , GAAF continued in the role as a training and division support field . On the field could be seen L - 19 Bird Dog and other observation planes . The L - 19 proved to be easy to fly and reliable , with more than 3 , 000 produced . Pilots trained in L - 19s for Forward Air Controller ( FAC ) roles — directing artillery fire and infantry movement . The 2d Infantry Division began testing helicopters in early 1949 and had nine here . On November 22 , 1950 , the 2d Aviation Company introduced helicopters , H - 13 Sioux ’ s , into the Korean War . Attached to the 8055th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital ( MASH ) , the helicopters transported wounded . After the Korean War , the 2d Aviation Company , of the 2d Infantry Division , which had been the first helicopter unit in Korea , returned to Fort Lewis with observation / spotter aircraft L - 19 Bird Dogs , and L - 20 Beavers , as well as H - 23 Raven helicopters . Again GAAF served division aviation assets . The 4th Infantry Division came to Fort Lewis in 1956 with its aviation unit . During the Vietnam War , GAAF not only trained helicopter units , but fixed - wing aircraft units as well . One fixed - wing unit , the 244th Aviation Company ( aerial surveillance ) activated here on September 15 , 1966 . The 244th flew OV - 1 Mohawk aircraft with the mission of “ finding the enemy . ” Reactivated following service in Vietnam , the 9th Infantry Division aviation units occupied GAAF in 1972 . The division itself held a day - long reactivation ceremony at the field on May 26 , 1972 . Army Chief of Staff , General William Westmoreland ( 1914 – 2005 ) attended the ceremony . The event included fly by ’ s , tactical air strike exhibits , helicopters demonstrating air assault , and soldiers rappelling from helicopters . The 9th Cavalry Brigade ( Air Assault ) in the 1980s developed air - assault strategies with their AH - 1 Cobra helicopters based upon experiences learned in Vietnam . They were equipped with rockets , guns , and grenade launchers for close fire support . A post - Vietnam air - supported infantry dominated GAAF operations . This required new supporting facilities , including maintenance hangars and other facilities . In February 1981 a new operations center opened . Three hangars were constructed between 1985 and 1988 . August 1984 saw GAAF become one of few test centers for the UH - 60 Blackhawk helicopters . Interestingly the Blackhawks were ferried across the United States from their Connecticut factory . The initial group of 14 made the cross - country trek , which took one week , with 28 hours of flying time . Modern era . During the 1990s , three aviation units served at GAAF : C Company 214th Aviation Regiment ( 15 CH - 47s ) , 54th Medical Detachment ( seven HU - 1VHs ) , and the Fort Lewis Flight Detachment ( two C - 12s , four Uh - 1Hs ) . These units flew a total of 5 , 000 to 7 , 000 hours per year . The 54th Medical Detachment flew real medical evacuation flights as well as training . The combat units also assisted in fire fighting , local disaster relief , and other assistance missions . Another innovative aircraft came to GAAF in the fall of 2000 . D - Troop , the 14th Cavalry Battalion , introduced UAV ( Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ) flights . The cavalry soldiers learned how to fly the UAV and learned its reconnaissance and attack potential . In the War on Terrorism the UAV has become a critical and effective tool . GAAF units have served in Iraq with Company A , 5th Battalion , 159th Aviation Regiment , returning from a 15 month deployment on April 17 , 2004 . Serving in Balad , Iraq , the company with their CH - 47 Chinooks performed transportation and supply missions . The 4th Squadron , 6th Cavalry , with UH - 60 Blackhawks , recently supported infantry units in Iraq . Chief Warrant Officer Scott Oswell of the 4th was killed in a crash of his OH - 58 Kiowa observation helicopter in Iraq on July 4 , 2007 . The next month one of the unit ’ s UH - 60 Blackhawk crashed , killing its crew . The 4th Squadron has returned to GAAF and has resumed training for future actions . Since 2005 the field has been experiencing another major expansion . This includes the activation of a Special Operations Aviation Battalion on July 16 , 2006 . The battalion is equipped with MH - 47 Chinook ’ s and MH - 60 Black Hawk helicopters . A new complex has been constructed for the Special Operations forces . Facilities . Gray Army Airfield resides at elevation of 300 feet ( 91 m ) above mean sea level . It has one runway designated 15 / 33 with an asphalt surface measuring 6 , 125 by 150 feet ( 1 , 867 x 46 m ) .