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Air force base6/15/2023 ![]() Lewis in 1947 following the creation of the Air Force under provisions of the National Security Act of 1947 and was subsequently named McChord AFB. Over the subsequent two decades McChord Field grew to roughly 3,000 acres (12 km 2), encompassing the northern tip of the 70,000 acres (280 km 2) Ft. Tacoma Field was renamed McChord Field, 17 December 1937. At the time of his death, he was Chief of the Training and Operations Division in HQ Army Air Corps. McChord, (1881–1937), rated as a junior military aviator in 1918, died while trying to force-land his Northrop A-17 near Maidens, Virginia. Three years after the transfer, on 3 July 1940, the airfield was renamed McChord Field, in honor of Colonel William Caldwell McChord, who had been killed in an accident near Richmond, Virginia on 18 August 1937. On 28 February 1938 the airfield was officially transferred to the federal government. The airfield, named Tacoma Field, officially opened 14 March 1930. Ten years later, in 1927, another bond measure was passed to establish an airfield just north of the military reservation. This land became Camp Lewis (and later Fort Lewis). In 1917, the citizens of Pierce County, Washington approved a bond measure for $2,000,000 (equivalent to $45,683,117 in 2022) to buy 70,000 acres (283.28 km 2) of land to be donated to the Federal Government for use as a military reservation. Program for the opening of McChord Field, 3 July 1940 The McChord Air Museum, operated by the McChord Air Museum Foundation, exhibits 17 aircraft as well as artifacts related to the history of the airbase. Other major units stationed at McChord Field are: Other wing components are the 62d Maintenance Group, 62d Operations Group, 62d Comptroller Squadron, and 62d Medical Squadron. It consists of three airlift squadrons and an Operations Support Squadron. The 62d Operations Group flies the C-17 Globemaster III transport from McChord Field. Aircraft of the 62d fly around the globe, conducting airdrop training it also carries out the Antarctic resupply missions. It is tasked with supporting worldwide combat and humanitarian airlift contingencies. It is assigned to the Eighteenth Air Force and is composed of more than 7,200 active duty military and civilian personnel. The 62nd Airlift Wing (62 AW) is the host unit at McChord AFB. This initiative was driven by the Base Realignment and Closure Round in 2005 and is designed to combine current infrastructure into one maximizing war fighting capability and efficiency, while saving taxpayer dollars. Army's Fort Lewis on 1 February 2010 to become part of the Joint Base Lewis-McChord complex. The McChord AFB facility was consolidated with the U.S. ![]() South of Tacoma, McChord AFB is the home of the 62d Airlift Wing, Air Mobility Command, the airbase’s primary mission being worldwide strategic airlift. McChord Field (still referred to as McChord AFB by some as of 2023) is a United States Air Force base in the northwest United States, in Pierce County, Washington. Main hangar and control tower in July 2005
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