Military

Fresno Air National Guard Base

The Fresno Air National Guard Base in California is home to the 144th Fighter Wing. The 144th Fighter Wing (FW) of the California Air National Guard occupies two separate parcels of land (the main base area and the Munitions Storage Area) totaling 110.726 acres of leased land on the Fresno Yosemite International Airport (formerly named Fresno Air Terminal), located approximately 4 miles east of downtown Fresno, California. The mission of the 144th FW is to provide air defense protection for California from the Mexican border to Ukiah utilizing the F-16 Fighting Falcon jet fighter aircraft. The 144th FW occupies 6 administrative, 16 industrial and 2 services buildings totaling approximately 341,251 square feet with 325 full-time personnel. A unit training drill is conducted once a month and results in a surge of up to a total of 990 personnel. There is currently an ongoing construction project (Composite Support Facility), which when completed by the end of FY 2001, will add an additional 6,236 square feet of building area.

The California Army National Guard [CAARNG] aviation units are based at the Mather Army Aviation Support Facility (AASF) located at the former Mather Air Force Base (AFB) in Sacramento, the California Aviation Classification Repair Depot (AVCRAD) in Fresno, the AASF in Stockton, and the Armed Forces Reserve Center (AFRC) in Los Alamitos. All sites include hangar facilities, aircraft parking aprons, and armories. The 1106th AVCRAD's mission is to provide aircraft support to the National Guard's aviation units of thirteen western states. It performs the highest level of maintenance possible on Army aircraft.

Hammer Field, Fresno County, Fresno, California, also known as Fresno Air Base and previously known as Fresno Air Field and Municipal Airport at Fresno, was located 5 miles northeast of Fresno. The Army Air Force acquired this area for the Airways Detachment to set up a sub-base of Camp Pinedale for an extension of ordnance storage facilities and additional land for housing construction, a hospital, laundry, drainage facilities, cold storage, fire station, school building, rifle ranges, high tower shot gun range, motor pool areas, chemical warfare storage area, a concrete underground igloo magazine arms storage,

The site is approximately 1616.95 acres and was acquired by the U.S. Government for use as an Army Air Base sub-base for Camp Pinedale. The US Government acquired the site from several sources between 1941 to 1945; the sources included the City of Fresno (804.59 acres by lease), 21 individual land owners (781.96 acres by fee and 27.24 acres by lease), easement right-of-ways (1.42 acres) and permit (1.64 acres). In 1943 the lease on 9.24 acres was terminated. In 1945 and 1946, the leases for 18 acres and 5 acres were terminated, respectively. Effective January 15, 1947, 23.06 acres were reassigned for the Hammer Field National Guard training area. In 1948, 319 acres were quitclaimed and the lease on 799.69 acres were transferred to the City of Fresno. In 1948 and 1949, 441.5 acres were quitclaimed to the State of California.

The former Hammer Field area, now the site of the Fresno Air Terminal, has various sources of contamination that are being investigated by the California Air National Guard, the California Army National Guard, and the State of California Department of Health Services. This investigation is part of the active IRP program and as such is not related to the formerly used area that the enclosed INPR covers. However, groundwater contamination sources have not been exactly pinpointed yet. If, upon further investigation, this alleged landfill holds chemical contamination similar to what is being discovered, the possibility exists for active participation in the remediation program.

Planning is underway for the Air Cargo Park at Fresno Yosemite International Airport located on approximately 87 acres of land on the north side of the airport. The air cargo park will feature two aircraft ramps together with over 500,000 square feet of air cargo building space. The first phase was completed in late fall of 2001.

BRAC 2005

Secretary of Defense Recommendations: In its 2005 BRAC Recommendations, DoD recommended to realign Fort Smith Municipal Airport (MAP) Air Guard Station (AGS), AR. DoD would distribute the 188th Fighter Wing's (ANG) F-16s to the 144th Fighter Wing (ANG) Fresno Air Terminal AGS, CA (seven aircraft) and retire the remainder (eight aircraft). DoD also recommended to retire The 144th Fighter Wing's F-16s (15 aircraft). The wing’s expeditionary combat support (ECS) elements would remain in place. Fire fighter positions would realign to Tulsa, OK, and the Home Station Training Site would move to Savannah, GA. DoD recommended to distribute The 944th Fighter Wing's F-16s to the 144th Fighter Wing at Fresno (11 aircraft) as part of another recommendation to realign Luke AFB, AZ. DoD claimed that military value, coupled with homeland defense, was the predominant reason for these recommendations. The Air Force recommendation would realign 15 aircraft from Fort Smith (110) to Fresno (87), which would support the homeland defense Air Sovereignty Alert mission.

DoD also recommended to realign Nellis Air Force Base. The 57th Wing, Nellis Air Force Base, NV would distribute its F-16 Block 32 aircraft (six aircraft) to the 144th Fighter Wing Fresno Air Terminal AGS, CA, and to retirement (one aircraft).

In another recommendation, DoD recommended to realign Reno-Tahoe IAP AGS, NV. It would move the 152nd Airlift Wing's flying related Expeditionary Combat Support (ECS) to Fresno AGS (fire fighters).

Secretary of Defense Justification: This first recommendation would help align the eight different F-16 models across the Air Force. Finally, this recommendation would make experienced Airmen available to support the new ANG flying training unit created at Little Rock Air Force Base, AR.