Active 1948-1981 Role Air base support | Part of Alaskan Air Command | |
 | ||
Branch | ||
With the departure of the 97th Bombardment Wing, the Eielson Air Force Base Wing (Base Complement) was formed on 1 April 1948. On 20 April 1948, it was designated the 5010th Air Base Wing, and would be the host unit at the base until 1964.
Contents
The wing provided support to reconnaissance squadrons of Air Weather Service from 1949 through 1958. The wing also hosted Strategic Air Command units on temporary deployment to Eielson, playing host to Boeing B-29 Superfortresses, Convair B-36 Peacemakers and finally B-47s. In fact, the largest hangar on Eielson today, now used for Exercise Cope Thunder, was originally built to house two B-36 bombers, the largest bomber ever in Air Force inventory.
Construction boomed at Eielson AFB during the wing's tenure in the 1950s. Many of the facilities still in use today were built at that time - Amber Hall, the Thunderdome, Base Exchange, Commissary, Gymnasium, Theater, Base Chapel, some of the schools and many of the dormitories, just to name a few.
On 1 October 1981, the 343rd Wing, as the 343d Composite Wing, replaced the 5010th Combat Support Group absorbing its personnel and equipment, as Eielson's host unit.