[3] What is now called Misawa Air Base has been used by the military since the Meiji period, when it was used as a cavalry training center for the Imperial Army.

Clyde Pangborn and Hugh Herndon took off from a gravel runway on Sabishiro Beach near Misawa in the aircraft known as Miss Veedol, landing 41 hours later in Wenatchee, Washington, thereby successfully crossing the Pacific Ocean.

The runway is commemorated by a large sign in the coastal forest and is a popular beach and recreation area for Misawa AB personnel.

Before the outbreak of World War II, Lake Ogawara at Misawa was used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service to practice for the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The Japanese military fashioned hills near the shore of the lake to resemble the shapes of Battleships and Cruisers that were anchored in Pearl Harbor.

The pilots conducted low level bombing runs, dropping torpedoes into the shallow depths of Lake Ogawara.

During World War II, the Misawa area was heavily damaged (base 90 percent destroyed) by U.S. fighters and bombers.

With the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, the 49th Fighter-Bomber Group was split off from the wing and was one of the first USAF units dispatched to Korea from Japan, its tactical squadrons began operations with F-51D Mustangs as the F-51D performed the ground support role better than the Shooting Stars.

The squadron remained detached at Misawa until March 15, 1971, when the flight line was transferred to the United States Navy and all U.S. Air Force fighter sorties ended.

In 1983, Misawa was a major deployment site for rescue and recovery operations, following the downing of Korean Air Flight 007.

[5] On September 25, 2003, a magnitude 8.3 earthquake occurred off the east coast of Hokkaidō which was strongly felt in Misawa and all of Aomori Prefecture.

On July 17, 2007, a US F-16 from Misawa, while deployed to the 13th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, Balad AB, Iraq crashed after delinquent tire pressure testing and pilot misinterpretation.

[8] In April 2015, two US F-16s based at Misawa made an emergency landing at a local airport after oil started leaking from one of the fighters.

2 Squadron RAF supported by a Voyager aerial tanker and a C-17 deployed to Misawa for the first bilateral exercises in Japan for the JASDF to host conducted with non-U.S.

[10][11][12] On February 20, 2018, a US F-16 based at Misawa dumped two external fuel tanks into the nearby Lake Ogawara after experiencing an engine fire.

The JASDF proceeded to ground their F-35 fleet until safety inspections and additional training for pilots on spatial disorientation could be completed.

[19] On February 2, 2020, the 35th Fighter Wing Commander temporarily tightened the base's curfew and prohibited the consumption of alcohol off-post until March 2, 2020.

[20] In May 2021, the US Navy forward deployed Unmanned Patrol Squadron 19, operating two MQ-4C Tritons, from Andersen AFB to Naval Air Facility Misawa under CTF-72.

[22] On December 1, 2021, a US F-16 based at Misawa dropped its external fuel tank in the town of Fukaura, Aomori, during an in-flight emergency.

The Misawa Security Operations Center (MSOC), located in the northwestern part of the Air Base, is believed to be one of the largest ECHELON ground stations.

Like most of the Tōhoku region, the local area around Misawa AB has a humid temperate climate with warm summers, and cold, though not extreme, winters.

The area has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa), with monthly averages ranging from −2 °C (28 °F) in January to 22 °C (72 °F) in August.The Department of Defense operates two schools that serve the children of the American military and civilian personnel stationed at the base.

[36] Higher educational opportunities for those in the military and working for the Department of Defense, as well as for family members at Misawa are available through several contracted academic institutions.