Founded as the
Spokane Army Air Depot in 1942, the
base was transferred to the Strategic
air Command (SAC) in 1947 and housed the 15th Air
Force as well as the 92d and 98th Bomb Groups. The
Base became
Fairchild Air Force Base in 1951, named for General
Muir S.
fairchild Over the years, Fairchild has been
home to the B-29, B-36, B-52 Stratofortress, KC-135 Stratotanker, and
the Atlas Intercontinental Ballistic missile. For
decades, at least
six B-52H
bombers — loaded with 20 ALCM nuclear cruise missiles, B61 nuclear
gravity bombs and SRAM short-range nuclear missiles — were on 24 hour alert as part of the nations nuclear deterrent under the strategy of
Mutual Assured Destruction (
MAD). On
Jan. 23, 1987, following the inactivation of the 47th Air Division at Fairchild, the 92nd Bombardment
Wing was reassigned to the 57th Air Division at
Minot Air Force Base, N.D. December 7, 1993 marked
the beginning of a significant
change in the
mission of Fairchild when the wings B-52H's were transferred. The
first step in Fairchild’s
transition to an air refueling
wing. The departure of B-52s continued throughout the
spring of 1994, with the last bomber leaving
May 25, 1994. With that
flight, the bomber mission of the 92d ended after 52 years of faithful duty. Today, Fairchild’s aircraft and personnel make up the backbone of the Air Force’s tanker
fleet on the
west coast. The primary USAF
SERE training location is located here at Fairchild AFB..
http://public.fairchild.amc.af.mil 
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