Fairchild Air Force Base (AFB) (IATA: SKA, ICAO: KSKA, FAA LID: SKA) is a United States Air Force base, located in the northwest United States in eastern Washington, approximately twelve miles (20 km) southwest of Spokane.

[2][3][4][5] and is named in honor of General Muir S. Fairchild (1894–1950); a World War I aviator from the state, he was the Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force at the time of his death.

During the Cold War, Fairchild was a Strategic Air Command (SAC) base for 45 years (1947–1992), with bombers and tankers, as well as missiles for a brief period (1960–1965).

Today, Fairchild's aircraft and personnel make up the backbone of the Air Force's tanker fleet on the west coast.

Fairchild's location, twelve miles (20 km) west of Spokane, resulted from a competition with the cities of Seattle and Everett in western Washington.

The War Department chose Spokane for several reasons: better weather conditions for flying, the location 300 miles (480 km) from the coast, and the Cascade Range providing a natural barrier against possible Japanese attack.

As an added incentive to the War Department, many Spokane businesses and public-minded citizens donated money to purchase land for the base.

That year, the government designated $14 million to purchase more land and begin construction of a new Spokane Army Air Depot.

In November 1950, the base took its current name in memory of Air Force Vice Chief of Staff, General Muir S. Fairchild, a native of Bellingham.

[10][11] In 1956, the wing began a conversion that brought the first of 45 B-52 Stratofortress bombers on 26 March 1957 to Fairchild, followed by first of twenty KC-135 Stratotanker on 21 February 1958.

On 16 October 1984, an unarmed B-52G (57-6479)[20] from Fairchild crashed in northeast Arizona during a nighttime low-level training flight, with five survivors and two fatalities: the gunner and a colonel in the observer jump seat.

Fairchild tanker crews became actively involved in Operation YOUNG TIGER, refueling combat aircraft in Southeast Asia.

The wing's B-52s were not far behind, deploying to Andersen AFB on Guam for Operation Arc Light and the bombing campaign against enemy strongholds in Vietnam.

Returning from Hickam AFB in Hawaii on 19 January 1967, a Fairchild-based KC-135A crashed southeast of Mount Spokane shortly after sunset; all nine on board were killed.

7 December 1993 marked the beginning of a significant change in the mission of Fairchild when the B-52s were transferred to another ACC base while the KC-135s, now assigned to the newly established Air Mobility Command (AMC) would remain.

Dubbed as the new "tanker hub of the Northwest," the wing was capable of maintaining an air bridge across the nation and the world in support of US and allied forces.

92 ARW KC-135s have routinely supported special airlift missions in response to world events or international treaty compliance requirements.

In 1995 aircraft from Fairchild flew to Travis AFB, California in support of its first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) mission, transporting Russian inspectors to sites in the Western U.S.

The wing also began a series of extended Operation Enduring Freedom deployments for aircrews and maintainers as well as combat support and medical personnel.

On 14 July 1958, the Army Corps of Engineers Northern Pacific Division directed its Seattle District to begin survey and mapping operations for the first Atlas-E site to be located in the vicinity of Spokane.

On 28 September 1961, Headquarters SAC declared the squadron operational and during the following month, the 567th placed the first Atlas E missile on alert status.

[50] On 20 June 1994, 20-year-old Dean Mellberg, an ex-Air Force member, entered the base hospital and shot and killed four people and wounded 22 others.

Airman Mellberg then was reassigned to Cannon Air Force Base where similar events led to him being returned to psychologists for evaluation.

[54][55] Mellberg traveled to Spokane, Washington, near Fairchild AFB, where he purchased a rifle and planned his attack on the base.

Mellberg took a cab to the base with a large duffle bag and foam gun case, four weeks to the day following his discharge.

After Mellberg refused, Brown fired four shots from his 9mm pistol, with two rounds hitting the perpetrator in the head and shoulder, killing him.

[60] On 24 June 1994, just four days after the base hospital shooting, one of the few remaining B-52H bombers at Fairchild crashed during a practice flight for an upcoming air show, killing all four crew members.

[63] Other units here include the Air Force Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape school, medical detachments, a weapons squadron and the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency.

Fairchild's annual economic impact on the Spokane community is approximately $427 million, constituting 13 percent of the local economy.

These warheads were concentrated in two places: at Fairchild AFB and at the Kitsap submarine base across Puget Sound, on the Hood Canal.