Military

Travis AFB

Travis Air Force Base is an Air Mobility Command (AMC) installation located in Fairfield, CA. The primary mission is to provide rapid, responsive, reliable airlift of forces to any point on earth in support of our national objectives and to fulfill the global logistics needs of the Department of Defense in sustaining its world wide activities.

Travis Air Force Base is located midway between Sacramento and San Francisco in northern California. Travis is located off Interstate 80 approximately 50 miles northeast of San Francisco and seven miles southeast of Fairfield. I-80 runs between San Francisco and Sacramento and goes through Fairfield and Vacaville. The interstate brings traffic from the east through Reno, Nev. to Sacramento and 40 miles further to Fairfield.

Travis AFB is named in honor of Brigadier General Robert F. Travis, who was killed in a B-29 crash at the installation on 5 August 1950. At the time of his death, the general was commander of the 9th Heavy Bombardment Wing and was the base's commanding general. Formal dedication ceremonies were held on 21 April 1951.

On 01 May 1949, the Strategic Air Command became the parent major command for the base, turning it into a major long-range reconnaissance and intercontinental bombing installation. For the next nine years, airlift operations became secondary while the base served as home for SAC bombers such as the B-29, B-36, and eventually, the B-52. During this period, new hangers appeared, runways were added and widened, and permanent barracks and family living quarters were built. The base grew to its present size which encompasses 6,258 acres. Military Air Transport Service resumed command of Travis AFB on 1 July 1958, after SAC's new dispersal policy led to the transfer of the 14th Air Division to Beale AFB, California.

Known as the "Gateway to the Pacific," Travis handles more cargo and passenger traffic through its aerial port than any other military air terminal in the United States. Additionally, the base has had a long and proud history of supporting humanitarian airlift at home and around the world. Today, the Travis Team includes approximately 7,260 active military, 3,770 civilians, and 4,250 reservists.

The 60th Air Mobility Wing is the largest organization in AMC and flies the Lockheed C-5 "Galaxy" and the KC-10 "Extender" tanker on a daily operational basis. As host unit for Travis Air Force Base, the 60 AMW controls more than two billion dollars worth of Air Force resources, including aircraft and support facilities, on more than 6,000 acres of land.