[5] The one factor which most likely influenced the establishment and final location of the airport was the growing mining industry in the local area.

The population of the area continued to grow, and by 1940, Sawyer realized the new Negaunee airport could not handle the ever-increasing demands.

The government entered into negotiations with the county for Sawyer's lease, and offered to build a $12 million jet base which could be jointly used by the USAF and Marquette-area citizens.

Many at this meeting voted to adopt a resolution urging the Marquette City Commission to accept the government's offer.

Senator Homer S. Ferguson was printed in The Mining Journal and reported more than 900 military personnel were to be stationed at K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base with an annual income in excess of $3 million.

Additionally, the region's wide open airspace offers ease of operations for an extremely safe and delay free air traffic setting.

The 473d Fighter Group was activated as the host unit, under the ADC 4706th Air Defense Wing at O'Hare International Airport, Illinois.

The initial mission of the base was to act as a fighter-interceptor defense against an enemy bomber attack, the 484th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was activated on 8 June 1956, and authorized F-89D Scorpion interceptors, however the 484th FIS was never equipped or manned as much construction was necessary to bring the airport up to USAF standards for a military airfield.

On 8 November 1958 the Sault Sainte Marie Air Defense Sector (SsmADS) was established at K. I. Sawyer AFB.

The ADC command and control organization's mission was to operate the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) Data Center (DC-14), which opened in 1959.

The SAGE system was a network linking USAF (and later FAA) General Surveillance Radar stations into a centralized center for air defense, intended to provide early warning and response for a Soviet nuclear attack.

Responsibilities for the SAGE system were switched to the Duluth ADS, (DC-10) or the Detroit Air Defense Sector (DC-06).

The 87th maintained four Lockheed T-33 aircraft to provide target support for the squadron interceptors, simulating Soviet bomber tactics.

On 4 September 1985, the last three F-106 Delta Darts from the 87th FIS departed K. I. Sawyer for AMARC at Davis-Monthan AFB at Tucson, Arizona.

Before receiving the KC-135A tanker and heavy B-52H bomber aircraft of SAC, an all-weather, heavy-duty concrete runway was built, measuring 24 inches (61 cm) thick and 150 feet (46 m) wide.

The refueling squadron's first KC-135A aircraft arrived 4 August 1960, and the unit was declared fully combat ready in November of that year.

On 1 January 1964, SAC assumed jurisdiction of Sawyer AFB, with the 410th Bomb Wing becoming the host unit under the 4th Strategic Aerospace Division.

K. I. Sawyer was one of three SAC bases in Michigan that operated the B-52: the others were Kincheloe AFB to the east, near Kinross, south of Sault Ste.

The wing did not deploy bomber aircraft to Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, as the B-52H was dedicated to strategic deterrence.

However, the tanker aircraft and aircrews participated in the "Young Tiger" TDY effort, and the bomber aircrews went through RTU (Replacement Training Unit) training to fly B-52Ds out of Andersen AFB, Guam and U-Tapao RTAFB, Thailand and were active participants in many of the notable campaigns that took place in Southeast Asia, such as Operation Arc Light.

SAC FB-111 bombers assigned to the 509th Bombardment Wing (Medium) from Pease AFB in New Hampshire, on satellite alert at Sawyer in 1974 and 1975.

In 1980, two B-52H crews assigned to the 644th Bomb Squadron (S-21 and S-31) were awarded the Mackay Trophy for "executing a nonstop, around-the-world mission with the immediate objective of locating and photographing elements of the Soviet Navy operating in the Persian Gulf."

The Wing Commander at this time was Col G. Alan Dugard, a great leader and author of the 2011 book about the Operation Linebacker II missions of 1972, titled "When the Wolf Rises.

With 12,000 people, the base and the area around it functioned as the Upper Peninsula's second-largest city,[13] and the U.S. Air Force's annual spending in the region totaled $157 million.

[15] As of 2016[update], the town around the base had a reputation as a troubled area with a slew of abandoned and boarded-up buildings.

The aircraft are part of the K. I. Sawyer Heritage Air Museum, which also has exhibits in the base's former Silver Wings Recreation Center.