On 12 November 1940, the War Department formally designated what had been popularly referred to as Elmendorf Field as Fort Richardson.

After World War II, the Army moved its operations to the new Fort Richardson and following the separation from the Army in 1947, the newly-formed United States Air Force (USAF) assumed control of the original Fort Richardson and renamed it Elmendorf Air Force Base.

The uncertain world situation in late 1940s and early 1950s caused a major buildup of air defense forces in Alaska.

The Air Force built an extensive aircraft control and warning radar system with sites located throughout Alaska's interior and coastal regions.

The late 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s brought about a gradual, but significant decline in air defense forces in Alaska due to mission changes and the demands of the Vietnam War.

Despite a diminished number of personnel and aircraft, a turning point in Elmendorf's history occurred in 1970 with the arrival of the 43d Tactical Fighter Squadron in June 1970 from MacDill AFB, Florida flying the F-4E Phantom II.

The strategic importance of Elmendorf AFB was graphically realized during the spring of 1980 when the 18th Tactical Fighter Squadron deployed eight of its F-4Es to South Korea to participate in exercise Team Spirit.

The Elmendorf AFB was a site of one of the now decommissioned FLR-9 Wullenweber-class antennas, a node of the now obsolete High Frequency SIGINT direction finding system.

Alaska's military importance in the Pacific region was further recognized when the F-15E Strike Eagle-equipped 90th Tactical Fighter Squadron was reassigned to Elmendorf AFB from Clark Air Base in the Philippines in May 1991.

The Pacific Regional Medical Center moved from Clark to Elmendorf and construction of a new, greatly expanded hospital began in 1993.

This was in keeping with the USAF's policies of retaining the oldest and most illustrious units during a period of major force reductions.

[7] On December 26, 1968, a commercial Pan American Boeing 707 landed at Elmendorf AFB instead of Anchorage International Airport because of weather conditions.

[8] On 22 September 1995, a Boeing E-3 Sentry Airborne early warning and control aircraft with 22 USAF personnel and two RCAF air crew members crashed after ingesting a flock of Canada geese, killing all on board.

[9][10] The aircraft, serial number 77-0354, and using call sign Yukla 27, lost power in two of the four engines, subsequently crashing into a wooded area less than a mile from the end of the runway.

The low altitude of the turn made it impossible for the crew to recover from the stall in time to avoid impacting the ground.

USAF rescue teams were reported to be concentrating their search for the missing plane and pilot in Denali National Park.