Edwards Air Force Base, California
Nearest communities: Rosamond (17 mi.), California City (17 mi.), Boron (19 mi.), Lancaster (31 mi.)
Major Command: Air Force Materiel Command
Edwards is located on the western edge of the Mojave Desert approximately 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles, 90 miles northwest of San Bernadino and 80 miles southeast of Bakersfield. For information regarding cities surrounding the base, populations and distance from Edwards see Category LOCAL COMMUNITY, Subject Area, Community Overview.
Mission:
Edwards AFB, home of the Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC), is the place where the Air Force has tested, developed and evaluated nearly every aircraft in its inventory during the past four decades. AFFTC carries out flight testing, and conducts, supports and participates in test and evaluation programs for other Air Force units, the Department of Defense, National Aeronautical Space Administration (NASA), and other government agencies.
History:
As early as 1882, the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad ran rails across the hard surface of Rogers Dry Lake, locating a water tank for thirsty steam locomotives on the western edge of the lakebed. In 1910, Clifford and Effie Corum settled less than a mile from the intersection of the tracks and the lakebed, farming, and even opening a general store. The Corums' application for a post office bearing their name was turned down because California already had a Corum on the map, so the Corums reversed their requested name; thus were born the post office, and town, of Muroc, on the future site of Edwards Air Force Base.
In 1929, John K. Northrop used the dry lakebed as a remote testing ground for his Avion flying-wing concept plane. By September 1933, then - Lt. Col. H. "Hap" Arnold established a gunnery and bombing range on the east side of Rogers Dry Lake for use by the Air Corps. The attack on Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941, prompted use of Muroc immediately as a home for patrol bombers searching the Pacific for possible Japanese fleets. Soon, a flourishing training base on the edge of Rogers Dry Lake honed the skills of P-38, B-17, and later, B-24, B-25, and B-29 crews before they went overseas.
On October 2, 1942, the official premier flight of America's first jet, the Bell XP-59 Airacomet, took place over Muroc. The jet testers kept to themselves at the secretive North Base for the duration of the war. With peace, the mission at Muroc changed exclusively to flight testing and other experimental work. On October 14, 1947, Capt. Charles E. Yeager became the first to fly faster than the speed of sound when he nudged the bullet-shaped Bell X-1 past Mach 1 high over Muroc. New airplanes, pilots, and records became the accelerating norm at Muroc.
The base was renamed Edwards Air Force Base in ceremonies January 27, 1950, honoring Capt. Glen Edwards who was killed in the crash of an experimental XB-49 Flying Wing just to the north. Since that time, Edwards Air Force Base has been synonymous with flight test, and the development of milestone aircraft and aeronautical concepts that have made a modern Air Force possible, and have fostered space exploration with the Space Shuttle, which made its first return from space here April 14, 1981. Air Force Flight Test Center continues its role as developmental tester for the Air Force, with the recent C-17 program, the B-2 Spirit, and the upcoming F-22 fighter.
Population assigned-served:
Active Duty Officer: 760 Active Duty Enlisted: 4140 Family Members: 8,000 Retirees: 30,000 estimated Civilian Employees: 10,850 Reserve Component Officers: 105 Reserve Component Enlisted: 126
Telephone Access Commercial Access - To call long distance to Edwards AFB, dial 661 area code for on and most off base phone numbers. The current area code (805) expires in late 1999 and will revert to 661 in all numbers noted in this booklet.
DSN Access - To call Edwards AFB using Autovon (DSN) enter 527-XXXX (last four digits of the number).
Edwards AFB: Installation
Installation Overview
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Name : Public Affairs
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POC : Vacant
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Address : Bldg. 2600
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City : Edwards AFB
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State : CA
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Zip : 93524
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Phone : 661-277-3510
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Fax : 661-277-4392
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