Mountain Home Air Force Base

History

Crews started building the base in November 1942 and the new field officially opened on 7 August 1943. Shortly thereafter, airmen at the field began training U.S. Army Air Forces crews for World War II. The 396th Bombardment Group (Heavy) was the first unit assigned and its planned mission was to train crews for the B-17 Flying Fortress. However, before the first B-17s arrived, plans for the field changed and the 396th was transferred to Moses Lake AAF, Washington (state).

Mountain Home airmen then transitioned to training crews for the B-24 Liberator. The first group to do so was the 470th Bombardment Group (Heavy), which trained at Mountain Home from May 1943 until January 1944, when the unit moved to Tonopah AAF Nevada. The 490th Bombardment Group (Heavy) replaced the 470th and trained B-24 crews until it deployed to RAF Eye England in April 1944. The 494th Bombardment Group then replaced the 490th, once more training Liberator crews.

The base was placed in inactive status in October 1945.

Postwar era

The base remained inactive for over three years until December 1948, when the newly independent U.S. Air Force (USAF) reopened the base. The 4205th Air Base Group was activated on 12 December to prepare the newly re-designated Mountain Home Air Force Base for operational use.

Three wings of the Air Resupply and Communications Service used the base in the early 1950s.

In 1953, the base was transferred to Strategic Air Command (SAC), which assigned its 9th Bombardment Wing to Mountain Home. The 9th relocated to Mountain Home AFB in May 1953 and began flying B-29 bombers and KB-29H refueling aircraft. The 9th began converting to the new B-47 Stratojet bomber and the KC-97 tanker in September 1954, keeping alert bombers ready for war at a moment's notice and continuing its mission as a deterrent force throughout the Cold War years of the 1950s and early 1960s.

In 1959, construction of three SM-68 Titan missile sites began in the local area, and missiles arrived in April 1962. The 569th Strategic Missile Squadron controlled these sites and was assigned to the 9th Bombardment Wing in August 1962. To prepare for the addition of missiles to its bomber forces, it was redesignated the 9th Strategic Aerospace Wing in April 1962.

A few years later, SAC's mission at Mountain Home began to wind down, and in November 1964, the USAF announced that the missile sites would close by mid-1965, part of a major round of base closures announced by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. Other closures in the region were also USAF facilities: the Cottonwood radar station in north central Idaho and SAC's Larson AFB, a B-52E Stratofortress (and KC-135A Stratotanker) installation in Eastern Washington at Moses Lake.

In late 1965, the USAF also began phasing out the aging B-47 and announced plans to bring the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing to Mountain Home, transferring the base from SAC to the Tactical Air Command (TAC) in early 1966.

The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) has been training at Mountain Home since 1998. As such, the 428th Fighter Squadron consists of a joint squadron of air forces of both countries. Prior to this, the RSAF has also been training at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona since the 1980s.

366th Fighter Wing

The 366th Fighter Wing (in various designations) has been the host unit at Mountain Home for over 50 years, following its return from the Vietnam War in late 1972.

Before the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing's arrival at Mountain Home, the 389th, 390th, and 391st Tactical Fighter Squadrons had returned from South Vietnam, joined the 347th, and began converting to F-111A Aardvark aircraft. For the first time since it left for Vietnam, the wing once again had its three original flying units.

During 1969, a tenant unit began operating at the south end of the base, using part of the original SAC alert area, and about half of the Mole Hole alert facility, sharing the other half with an NCO leadership school from the main base. Det. 1, 320 BW carried out an alert mission with two B-52 bombers and two KC-135 tankers. The unit disbanded in the spring of 1975 and returned to Mather AFB.

Operations continued unchanged for several years. The wing tested its readiness in August 1976 when a border incident in Korea prompted the U.S. to augment its military contingent in South Korea as a show of force. The 366th deployed a squadron of 20 F-111 fighters, which reached South Korea only 31 hours after receiving launch notification. Tensions eased shortly afterward and the detachment returned home.

In early 1991, the USAF announced that the 366th would become the Air Force's premier "air intervention" composite wing. The wing would grow with the addition of a squadron of EF-111A Raven electronic warfare aircraft and a squadron of B-1B Lancer bombers to become a dynamic, five squadron wing with the ability to deploy rapidly and deliver integrated combat airpower.

The air intervention composite wing's rapid transition from concept to reality began in October 1991 when the USAF redesignated the wing as the 366th Wing. The wing's newly reactivated "fighter squadrons" became part of the composite wing in March 1992. The 389th Fighter Squadron began flying the dual-role F-16C Fighting Falcon, while the 391st Fighter Squadron was equipped with the new F-15E Strike Eagle. These two squadrons provide the Gunfighters round-the-clock precision strike capability.

Previous names

Army Air Base, Mountain Home, Nov 1942

Mountain Home Army Air Field, 2 December 1943.

Mountain Home Air Force Base, 13 January 1948 – present

Major commands to which assigned

Second Air Force, 29 August 1942

Fourth Air Force, 15 February 1945

Continental Air Forces, 16 April 1945

Temporary inactive status, 5 October 1945.

Subbase of Gowen Army Airfield (Boise), Idaho, 9 October 1945

Subbase of Walla Walla Army Airfield, Washington, 31 December 1945 – 30 September 1946

Strategic Air Command, 21 March 1946

Activated on 1 December 1948

Inactivated on 25 April 1950

Subbase of Fairfield-Suisun (later, Travis) AFB, California, c. 1 April 1950 – 24 January 1951

Military Air Transport Service, 24 January 1951

Activated on 1 February 1951

Strategic Air Command, 1 May 1953

Tactical Air Command, 1 January 1966

Air Combat Command, 1 June 1992 – present

Intercontinental ballistic missile facilities

The 569th Strategic Missile Squadron Operated three HGM-25A Titan I ICBM sites: (1 Jun 1961 – 25 June 1965). The first missiles arrived in April 1962.

Role and operations

Mountain Home AFB is the home of the 366th Fighter Wing (366 FW), which reports to Air Combat Command (ACC). The mission of the 366 FW is to prepare Airmen and their families, professionally and personally, for expeditionary operations and foster an environment that promotes integration of all facets of wing operations.

The wing comprises three operational fighter squadrons:

366th Operations Group (Tail code: "MO")

389th Fighter Squadron (F-15E Strike Eagle)

391st Fighter Squadron (F-15E Strike Eagle)

428th Fighter Squadron (F-15SG) Republic of Singapore Air Force

In addition, the 726th Air Control Squadron gives an air picture to the aircraft as they train. An active Idaho Air National Guard unit, the 266th Range Squadron, controls and maintains emitter sites within the 7,412 sq mi (19,200 km2) operational training range in southwestern Idaho.

Based units

The following flying and notable non-flying units have been based at Mountain Home.

Units marked GSU are Geographically Separate Units, which although based at Mountain Home, are subordinate to a parent unit based at another location.

Geography

Mountain Home AFB is located at (43.049511, −115.866452), at an elevation of 2,996 ft (913 m) above sea level. It is in the western portion of the Snake River Plain, about 3 miles (5 km) north of C. J. Strike Reservoir, an impoundment of the Snake River (and Bruneau River).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 9.9 mi2 (26 km2), and 0.10% is water.

It is connected to the city of Mountain Home by State Highway 67.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 8,894 people, 1,476 households, and 1,452 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 896 inhabitants per square mile (346/km2). There were 1,590 housing units at an average density of 160 per square mile (62/km2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 83.2% White, 6.9% Black or African American, 0.8% Native American, 2.5% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 2.7% from other races, and 3.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.5% of the population.

There were 1,476 households, of which 76.4% had children under the age of 18, 91.9% were married couples, 4.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 1.6% were non-families. 1.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and none had anyone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.40 and the average family size was 3.43.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 24.0% under the age of 18, 24.4% from 18 to 24, 49.7% from 25 to 44, 1.8% from 45 to 64, and 0.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females, there were 180.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 219.5 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $31,634, and the median income for a family was $31,377. Males had a median income of $24,865 versus $20,664 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $17,671. About 6.5% of families and 7.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.1% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Education

Mountain Home School District 193 operates Stephenson Elementary School (grades Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 4) on-post. The onward upper elementary and secondary schools are Hacker Middle School (grades 5–6), Mountain Home Junior High School (grades 7–8), and Mountain Home High School (grades 9–12).

The elementary school, in 2014, was renamed after Mark L. Stephensen, a USAF colonel based at MHAFB who, in April 1967, went missing while on his military duties. The school's previous name was Mountain Home Air Force Base Primary School. In 2026 Mike Simpson, a member of Congress, lobbied to have $6,409,000 in federal funding for a new building.

There are no Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools on-post.