McConnell Air Force Base (IATA: IAB, ICAO: KIAB, FAA LID: IAB) is a United States Air Force base located four miles (6 km) southeast of the central business district of Wichita, a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States.

[2] The airbase was named in honor of the brothers Fred and Thomas McConnell of Wichita, who had both been Air Force pilots and veterans of World War II.

McConnell's primary mission is to provide global reach by conducting air refueling and airlift where and when needed.

Although the field was designed originally to serve only municipal civil airport needs, it had an Air Force connection almost from the beginning.

McConnell's history began in October 1924, when the city of Wichita hosted more than 100,000 people for the National Air Congress.

In August 1941, the Kansas National Guard 127th Observation Squadron was activated as the first military unit assigned to the Wichita airport.

1, in Wichita.Air Materiel Command's mission at the airport was to accept, service and coordinate the transfer of newly produced Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers to other installations.

Consequently, the remainder of October was spent in closing down operations and transferring property to Tinker Army Airfield, Oklahoma.

By the summer of 1950, Boeing was ready to turn out the first production models of the B-47, and the United States Air Force sought to make Wichita Airport a permanent military installation.

In addition, the production of the B-47 Stratojet bomber at Boeing made the airport a desirable location for the Air Force to conduct B-47 combat crew training.

In spite of the difficulty of building an installation and initiating an entirely new program simultaneously, the base developed into a highly specialized training center.

A subsequent fluctuation of emphasis from one of those functions to the other reflected the varying demands of the Strategic Air Command.

These air lines were located in the terminal building at the time of government occupation, and they were permitted to operate on a temporary basis pending completion of the new municipal airport for Wichita.

Fred was killed in a private plane crash in 1945, while Thomas died in a bombing raid on Bougainville Island in the South Pacific.

This mission of deterrence dominated base activity for the next twenty-four years until 1986 when the 381st Strategic Missile Wing was inactivated.

The 4519th Combat Crew Training Squadron was activated on 1 August 1967 with F-105B/D/F/G aircraft, then was inactivated on 16 October 1969, being replaced by the 419th TFS.

In February 1965, when the 23 TFW deployed three squadrons to Southeast Asia for combat, these units were initially under the control of the 2d Air Division.

This AD was inactivated 30 June 1971, leaving the 23d TFW as the main air unit at McConnell until its departure a year later.

McConnell received a new mission in April 1971 with the arrival of the 91st Air Refueling Squadron (ARS) and their Boeing KC-135A Stratotankers from Robins AFB, Georgia.

On 2 October 1981, President Ronald Reagan announced a Strategic Modernization Program (SMP), a key feature of which would be the procurement of 100 North American-Rockwell B-1B bombers.

Formal activation ceremonies for the 161st occurred on 12 September 1987, with the unit flying 10 F-16s and conducting its first student training class.

In August 1990, Iraq invaded neighboring Kuwait and McConnell personnel and aircraft were deployed throughout the Middle East, performing refueling missions of Coalition aircraft in support of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm to help eject the invaders from the small kingdom of Kuwait.

Moving in a northeast direction, the tornado crossed the southern end of the runways, missing a line of B-1B bombers, two of which were carrying nuclear ordnance, and maintenance hangars.

The 384th ARS was relieved from assignment to McConnell, and was reassigned to the 19th OG (19th Air Refueling Wing) at Robins AFB, Georgia.

Its B-1 aircraft were transferred across the runway to the Kansas Air National Guard 127th Bomb Squadron and the 384th BG was inactivated on 30 September 1994.

The Air Force Reserve associate unit provides aircrews while the 22d furnishes the maintenance crews and aircraft.

During the 1990s, the 22d ARW deployed crews and aircraft to support no-fly missions over northern and southern Iraq and over Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Before the end of the year, McConnell tankers were sent to Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Southwest Asia and other locations to support Operation Enduring Freedom.

[4][5] McConnell AFB was chosen because it had low construction costs and it is in a location with a high demand for air refueling.

Altus AFB was also chosen for its limited construction needs and for other training programs for the C-17 Globemaster and KC-135 already at the base.