Homestead Air Reserve Base (formerly known as Homestead Air Force Base) is located in the southern portion of Florida’s Miami-Dade County. It is no longer an active-duty Air Force base, but it hosts several Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard units.

Base Units

The 482nd Fighter Wing is the primary resident of Homestead ARB. This Air Force Reserve Command wing is the base host unit and flies the F-16C/D aircraft.

Tenant units at Homestead ARB include:

• Florida Air National Guard
• Florida Army National Guard
• U.S. Customs
• U.S. Coast Guard
• Special Operations Command South
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Missions

The 482nd Fighter Wing serves as part of the 10th Air Force, supporting the overall Air Force Reserve mission. Homestead ARB also hosts units participating in drug interdiction, customs enforcement, and the NORAD air defense system. The base is also a staging point for hurricane tracking aircraft during tropical storm season.

History and Impact of Hurricane Andrew

The Air Force presence in South Florida is older than the USAF itself. The Army Air Force opened Homestead Airfield in 1942. The base played a vital role in the Cold War as part of Strategic Air Command and also took on an air defense mission beginning with the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Despite playing a significant role in the history of the U.S. military and armed conflict, Homestead Air Force Base was doomed to history when Hurricane Andrew struck in 1992. This devastating hurricane completely destroyed Homestead AFB with extremely unfortunate timing — the Base Realignment and Closure commission was in the process of evaluating bases to close as part of a military downsizing. The BRAC’s decision was made easy when Andrew destroyed one of the bases under consideration. After the storm, BRAC moved the active duty units to Aviano AB, Italy and transferred Homestead to the Air Force Reserve.

Posted in Military Bases |