Creech Air Force Base
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| Creech Air Force Base
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| IATA: INS – ICAO: KINS – FAA: INS | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Military: Air Force Base | ||
| Owner | U.S. Air Force | ||
| Location | Indian Springs, Nevada | ||
| Built | 1942 | ||
| In use | 1942 - present | ||
| Occupants | • 432d Wing • 98th Southern Ranges Support Squadron • 11th Reconnaissance Squadron • 757th Maintenance Squadron • 99th Ground Combat Training Squadron • UAV Battlelab • Joint UAV Center of Excellence |
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| Elevation AMSL | 3,133 ft / 955 m | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 8/26 | 9,002 | 2,744 | Asphalt |
| 13/31 | 5,468 | 1,667 | Asphalt |
| Sources: USAF[1] and FAA[2] | |||
Creech Air Force Base (IATA: INS, ICAO: KINS, FAA LID: INS), formerly known as Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Field, is a United States Air Force base located one mile (2 km) north of the central business district of Indian Springs, in Clark County, Nevada, United States.[2] It is about 35 miles northwest of Las Vegas and 45 miles northwest of Nellis Air Force Base.
The host unit is the 432d Wing, which has six operational squadrons, one maintenance squadron, and MQ-9 Reapers and MQ-1 Predators.
Along with being the aerial demonstration training site for the Thunderbirds, the base plays a major role in the ongoing war on terrorism. The base is home to the MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle which flies daily in Afghanistan and Iraq. The base is also home to the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Battlelab whose mission is to work with the war fighter and identify problems that can be solved using innovative UAV solutions.
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[edit] Units assigned
- 432d Wing - Reactivated on May 1, 2007
- 11th Reconnaissance Squadron - Reactivated on July 29, 1995, at Nellis under command of the 57th Operations Group, 57th Wing as a training unit.
- 15th Reconnaissance Squadron - Reactivated on August 1, 1997, at Indian Springs under command of the 57th Operations Group. This unit conducts real time surveillance.
- 17th Reconnaissance Squadron - Reactivated on March 8, 2002, at Indian Springs under command of the 57th Operations Group. This unit conducts intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.
- 30th Reconnaissance Squadron - Activated in August, 2005 and based at Tonopah Test Range Airport under command of the 57th Operations Group. The unit is a test operation.
- Joint Unmanned Aerial Systems Center of Excellence
- 19th Attack Squadron - established in 2006.
- 42d Attack Squadron - Reactivated on November 8, 2006. The 42d Attack Squadron will oversee the training of pilots and sensor operators assigned to the MQ-9.
- 3d Special Operations Squadron - Activated on October 28, 2005 at Indian Springs. This unit is under the command of the Air Force Special Operations Command.
- 98th Southern Range Support Squadron
- 99th Ground Combat Training Squadron - The 99 GCTS operates as a detachment of the 99th Security Forces Group located Nellis AFB. The 99 GCTS operates a number of training schools for members of the U.S. Air Force's Security Forces (AFSC 3P0X1). Primarily the USAF's CONUS (Continental United States) desert ground warfare school, Silver Flag Alpha, is conducted here.
- 432d Maintenance Squadron
- 556th Test and Evaluation Squadron - Reactivated on March 5, 2008, at Indian Springs. 'This is the Air Force's first operational test squadron for unmanned aerial systems'.[3]
- No. 39 Squadron RAF flying MQ-9 Reapers.
[edit] History
The airfield that now bears General Creech’s name was originally built by the Army in the early 1940s to support the war effort during World War II. A month after the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, the Army began building the training camp. By the end of 1942, the service had contracted for regular facilities and by the end of February 1943 the base was being used as a divert field and a base for air-to-air gunnery training.
The little post was in service supporting B-17s and T-6s until March 1945 when the Army put the base in stand-by status maintained by a small housekeeping staff. When the Las Vegas Army Air Field inactivated in January 1947, Indian Springs also closed down.
The base re-opened in January 1948 and two years later received its first permanently assigned Air Force unit. In August 1951 the base became an auxiliary field and in July 1952 transferred from Air Training Command to the Air Research and Development Command, reporting to the Air Force Special Weapons Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
In 1961 the base transferred to the Tactical Air Command. It officially became Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Field during the 1980s. Following the inactivation of Tactical Air Command In 1992, the base became a component of Air Combat Command.
On June 20, 2005, Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Field officially changed its name to Creech Air Force Base in honor of General Wilbur L. “Bill” Creech. He was known as the “father of the Thunderbirds,” the Air Force’s premiere air demonstration squadron.[4]
In October 2005, the 3d Special Operations Squadron was activated at Creech joining the 11th, 15th and 17th Reconnaissance Squadrons, becoming the first MQ-1 squadron in the Air Force Special Operations Command. The Joint Unmanned Aerial Systems Center of Excellence was also established at the same time.
The 42d Attack Squadron was formed at Creech on November 8, 2006 as the first Reaper squadron.
On May 1, 2007 operational control of the base was moved from Nellis to the 432d Wing which was reactivated and assumed control of the base.[5]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
This article incorporates text from Creech Air Force Base, a public domain work of the United States Government.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Creech Air Force Base at Nellis AFB web site
- ^ a b FAA Airport Master Record for INS (Form 5010 PDF), effective 2007-12-20
- ^ Martin, Jessica, Capt. (2008-03-05). Test unit takes on bigger role in Global War on Terror. Nellis AFB Public Affairs. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
- ^ "Indian Springs renamed Creech Air Force Base", Air Force Link, 2005-6-20.
- ^ Rodgers, Keith. "Reactivation creates wing for remotely controlled planes", Las Vegas Review-Journal, p. 4B. Retrieved on 2007-05-02.
[edit] External links
- Creech Air Force Base at GlobalSecurity.org
- Resources for this U.S. military airport:
- AirNav airport information for KINS
- ASN accident history for INS
- NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KINS
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