Offutthistorybook

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OFFutt air force base � A History

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A supplement of Suburban Newspapers Inc., August 28, 2013 1

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What’s Inside 1887-1923: The Fort Crook Era......................................7 1924-1945: WWII and the Martin Bomber Plant...........12 1946-1991: Strategic Air Command..............................19 1992-2013: USSTRATCOM.....................................24

17th Infantry Band in

the early 1930s

Offutt Air Force Base Pictorial History Magazine is published by Suburban Newspapers, Inc.

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On the cover: Clockwise starting at the top: General George Crook; Lt. Jarvis Offutt and friends; P-51 post war; Beginning groundwork on the Martin Bomber Plant.

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1887-1923

ok Aerial View of Fort Cro

Did you know?

First used in 1889, the jail, now known as confinement, is still used for its original purpose.

In front of the sta bles

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Balloon Company on Parade

6

Officer’s Row, Quarters 21 and 22

1887-1923

eg i n B nings t a e r g The Fort Crook Era

rge General Geo

Crook

By Ben Justman

The year is 1887. In Paris, construction of the Eiffel Tower had begun. Gottlieb Daimler unveiled his horseless carriage; you may know it as the “automobile.” While stateside, in Nebraska, the population of Omaha had reached 30,000 people. However, the story of Ft. Crook, the present day Offutt Air Force Base doesn’t begin in Nebraska. Instead one of the last of the frontier forts began inconspicuously as a bill on Capitol Hill, introduced by Senator Charles F. Manderson and signed into law by President Grover Cleveland the following year on July 23, 1888.

What we now know as Offutt Air Force Base was built in the early 1890s as Fort Crook, an Army Post. The main purpose of Fort Crook was to replace Fort Omaha, now diminutive in size and encapsulated by Omaha. Authorization to build the fort was limited to “not more than 1,000 acres in Sarpy, Washington, or Douglas County” – ultimately a site near the little village of Bellevue was chosen. The first land was purchased in 1889, a tract of land consisting of 502.59 acres bought for $61,400 or $122 per acre. A further 43.08 acres of land were purchased that same year, bringing the total to 545.67 acres.

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1887-1923

Five years may seem like a long time to build a smattering of buildings, but the Quartermaster Corps had to take into account freshwater wells, sewer systems, roads, and building materials, all of which had to be thought out in great detail prior to the arrival of the first garrison troops, an advance party of 10 enlisted men led by a second lieutenant on a warm summer day in late June 1896. The remainder of the garrison troops from the 22nd Infantry Regiment would arrive shortly thereafter.

The Fort Crook design followed the typical layout of a 19th century US Army post. The center was a formal parade ground used for formation training and formal parades. The officers’ quarters, including the Commander’s residence, identified as Quarters 16, were located along one side of the parade field.

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1887-1923

The enlisted barracks were located directly across the parade field from Officers’ Row, now commonly known as Generals’ Row. The jail and hospital were located at respective opposite ends of the parade field.

Named in honor of the late General George Crook, construction of the fort took over five years and was ready for occupancy in 1896. Its namesake, General Crook, was an accomplished veteran of both the American Civil War and later the Indian Wars. Friend and foe equally respected Crook. The Apache dubbed him “Grey Wolf,” while Presi-

Fort Crook’s First Arrivals, 1896

dent Rutherford B. Hayes named his own son George Crook Hayes. Despite his actions on the battlefield where he fought Crazy Horse and Geronimo among others, Crook spent his later years speaking out against the ill treatment of Native Americans. In 1879, he testified on behalf of the Ponca Tribe during the trial of Standing Bear, where a federal judge determined that an Indian was due the rights and privileges of white man. While still in uniform, Crook passed away suddenly a few years prior to the completion of the fort in 1890, at the age of 61.

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1887-1923

Fort Crook’s first test occurred when the 22nd United States Infantry Regiment was ordered to Cuba in 1898 to participate in the Spanish American War. Only 41 enlisted men and two officers remained behind to garrison Fort Crook. The 22nd would battle the Spanish at San Juan Hill, along side Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders and regiments of Buffalo Soldiers.

During the battle at San Juan Hill, Colonel Charles A. Wikoff, commander of the 22nd was mortally wounded. Prior to departing for Cuba, Wikoff had resided in Quarters 16 of Officers’ Row. The regiment suffered many casualties in addition to Colonel Wikoff, with only 165 men and officers from the original cadre of 513 returning to Fort Crook in September 1898. Most of the losses were the result of

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tropical diseases such as malaria. Some of the troops who returned to Nebraska, continued to fight illnesses and those who died were buried in the post cemetery.

Veterans of Cuba would join many additional new recruits, as the 22nd Infantry Regiment rebuilt its strength at Fort Crook, prior to its deployment in the Philippine Insurrection the following year. They would return to Fort Crook in 1902, only to return for a second deployment to that conflict in 1903.

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1887-1923

During the First World War, Fort Crook served as a training center for servicemen involved in the newly evolving form of technology used by civilian and military alike, mechanized transport. In September 1918, the fort’s role continued to expand, serving as a training ground for the balloon observation units. Upon completion of their training on November 10, 1918, they were transferred and would have begun their overseas training had the war not ended the following day.

Demobilization after the Armistice was rapid and Fort Crook once again returned to its peacetime status.

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1924-1945

o m m g e n i n d tum l i u b and WWII

Completion of the Martin Bomber Pl

ant

Modification Hangar under construction

By 1924, the fort had grown in size and scope. A primitive landing field had been erected at Fort Crook and was named Offutt Field, to honor Lt. Jarvis Offutt, an Omaha military aviator killed during World War I. The field at Fort Crook served as a vital link in the nation wide web of airfields supporting United States Postal Service Air Mail. In the coming years, the presence and influence of airpower at Fort Crook would continue to expand.

Fort Crook, constructed as the nation closed the Western Frontier, would find itself tasked with the crucial mission of supplying the Allied War effort during the Second World War. By late 1940, it appeared that the United States would eventually get involved. In January of 1941, the Martin Company of Baltimore leased a large portion of Fort Crook from the U.S. Government. The location was selected due to its logistical benefits of being located in the middle of the country and to the availability of labor.

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1924-1945

for a Workers gather

meeting First Lieutenant Jarvis Offutt

Did you know?

Known as the Fort Crook Historical District, much of the remaining original aspects adjacent to the parade ground were placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the Department of Interior on December 12, 1976.

Groundwork begins on the Martin Bomber Plant

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1924-1945

The hospital, six units of officers’ quarters, the Non-Commissioned Officers’ (NCO) Club, Post Headquarters, Band Quarters, the C.C.C. Camp, and golf course all disappeared as giant bulldozers moved over 5,000,000 cubic yards of dirt to level the land to build the Glenn L. Martin – Nebraska Plant and a new runway. Storehouses and extra tents were filled with supplies for the new construction.

The construction of the plant was quite a feat. By the numbers, it was staggering: 250 miles of electrical wiring installed; 47,000 cubic yards of concrete poured; 10,000,000 square feet of paint applied; 5 acres of glass installed; and 10 miles of fluorescent lighting installed. With a total floor space of 1,200,000, twenty-five football fields could have been fit into the floor space of the facility.

With the enormous size and scope of the project, construction operations took place around the clock. Less than one month following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the bomber plant became operational, on January 1, 1942.

under construction Building A with B

Did you know?

In 1908, a tornado tore through the fort, ripping off the roof of the post hospital. Luckily both personnel and patients had taken shelter in the basement.

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1924-1945

Martin Bomber Facility, Building D

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Louis Rotella, Sr in Germany, 1945

1924-1945

The main facility of the bomber plant is known as “Building D.” Thousands of B-26 Marauder and B-29 Superfortress Bombers, including the Enola Gay and Bockscar, the planes that would drop the atomic bombs on Japan, were built at Fort Crook.

RB-29

Japanese surrender and war’s end would come not long after. Operations wound down rather quickly following Japan’s surrender, although production continued until the final B-29 rolled off the assembly line on September 18, 1945.

The Martin Bomber Plant at Fort Crook has a special distinction. Of all the aircraft production facilities in the United States, the Martin Bomber Plant in Nebraska was one of the best. With 33 consecutive months of on schedule production, no other facilities even came close to meeting their efficiency expectations.

World War II soldier firing artillery

n gun Soldiers on big Germa

during World War II

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A-Bomb pilot aboard the Enol a Gay

1924-1945 Did you know?

Even Queen Elizabeth II of England has been to Offutt. During her brief visit, she had tea with General Bennie Davis and was given a tour of Strategic Air Command Headquarters.

That record can be credited to the hard work and dedication of the workers at the plant. Calls were featured in newspapers such as the Omaha World Herald for workers and they came. Many were young local men and women, excited by the opportunity to join the ranks of the large production facility. Others were from throughout the Midwest, brought to Nebraska by the prospect of steady employment after years of living through

Martin Bomber Facility, Building D

the Great Depression. By the final year of the war, the Martin Bomber Company of Nebraska employed 13,217 individuals. The majority of those, 11,019, worked in the main facility. Another 2,198 workers were employed in the modification center, overhauling existing planes to increase their effectiveness. Over forty percent, 5,306, were women. 765 were African-Americans. All contributed to the war effort.

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1946-1991 Did you know?

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1946-1991

e s s c n a o i late s n e t Air Command enters the Cold War Strategic

SAC Headquarters in Buidling A

Even as the tickertape parades and victory celebrations were taking place, it was clear a new threat was emerging. The old frontier post stepped up again to face a new set of challenges during the Cold War with the Soviet Union.

As American air power entered a new chapter, so too did Fort Crook when the recently minted United States Air Force and new occupants of the old army fort christened it “Offutt Air Force Base” on January 13, 1948. That same year, Offutt would serve as host base to Strategic Air Command (SAC), the overseers of the United States’ strategic nuclear arsenal.

SAC would remain at Offutt for the next forty-four years, until 1992.

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In July of 1957, LeMay was appointed the Vice Chief of the Air Force, relinquishing his command of SAC to his very capable protégé, General Thomas S. Power. Power oversaw SAC during some very tense years during the Cold

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War, including thirteen days in October 1962 when the risk of the United States and the Soviet Union entering full scale nuclear warfare over missions in Cuba were at its apex.

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1946-1991

General

Curtis LeMay

SAC Headquarters in 1957 prior to missile placement

Did you know?

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Korean War Boundary, 38th Parallel

1948-1991

Peace, not war was the profession of SAC. SAC did not just consist of bombers, but in-flight refueling tankers, strategic reconnaissance, and even missiles. Offutt served as the command and control center for SAC, its nerve

2 ns Status Center, 196 Hq SAC Communicatio

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For 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year for 29 years, the Looking Glass at Offutt remained constantly airborne; from 1961 until 1990, an EC-135 was airborne, serving as command center in the event of a full scale nuclear war against the Soviet Union. In a gloomy post-attack scenario where command and control was obliterated on the ground,

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c o d m e i mand f i n u A USSTRATCOM is established

Room dedication honoring Maj. Gen. Joseph D. Brown IV, former USSTRATCOM Nuclear Operations deputy director

In the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union, a new command, the United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), succeeded SAC in a rapidly changing world.

USSTRATCOM was established on June 1, 1992 with the purpose of streamlining the command and control of the United States’ strategic nuclear arsenal. Both leaders of the United States and Russia came to understandings on strategic nuclear armaments. Around the time these treaties known as Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) I and START II were taking place, General George Butler was assigned to command the newly minted USSTRATCOM at Offutt.

This new unified command oversaw Air Force bombers, intercontinental ballistic missiles, and intercontinental nuclear-armed missiles launched from navy submarines. The joint effort between the Air Force and Navy was made up of nearly 2,900 personnel at its onset, of which one-third were Navy. Yet, similar to the era of SAC, the ultimate goal remained nuclear deterrence. If that failed however, it was the job of USSTRATCOM to employ this nation’s nuclear weaponry.

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1992-2013 Did you know?

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1992-2013

Cooperation between the United States and Russia, the holders of the two largest nuclear stockpiles in the world became a paramount characteristic of USSTRATCOM. In the years following General Butler’s change of command, Admiral Chiles, General Habiger, and Admiral Mies continued the efforts of threat reduction to national and global security through cooperation. However new threats were emerging on the cusp of the twenty-first century, threats stemming from rogue nations or even stateless terrorists.

Those threats would become a reality on a dark day in September 2001. As the events of September 11, 2001 transpired, President George W. Bush was taken to Offutt, and into the secure command center for USSTRATCOM. He would remain there not very long, a little over an hour but it was long enough for the fog of war to begin to recede. Present Bush’s decision to come to Offutt that day reconfirmed Offutt’s key role in National Security.

In 2002, USSTRATCOM was reorganized when U.S. Space Command and the first U.S. Strategic Command were both stood down and essentially merged. Comparison between the old and the new USSSTRATCOM offer both change and continuity. They share a name and have some overlap, but are two very different entities. USSSTRATCOM serves as the steward and advocate of America’s strategic capabilities and is tasked with detecting and deterring strategic attacks against the United States and her allies.

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1992-2013 Did you know?

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1992-2013

Unveiling the new USSTRATCOM shield inlaid at the command build ing’s entrance

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1992-2013

Unlike the first incarnation of USSTRATCOM, which theoretically did share an interservice command between the Air Force and Navy, the USSTRATCOM of today is truly a unified joint force command. Personnel from Army, Air Force, Marines, and Navy share the operations of USSTRATCOM. Leadership has also stemmed from collaborative effort by the four branches. Navy Admirals and Generals from both the Air Force and Marines Corps have served as the commander of USSTRATCOM. The current commander is General C. Robert Kehler of the Air Force.

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1992-2013

Today, USSTRATCOM is one of nine unified commands within the Department of Defense. A new milestone for USSTRATCOM is currently taking place. A new headquarters for the command is underway, the cold war era SAC Headquarters. Ground was broken at Offutt for the new site on October 12, 2012 and is slated for completion in 2016. At nearly one million square feet, the facility

55th Comm Grou p

will allow USSTRATCOM the space to

equipment opera tor, 1960s

handle the complexities of today’s world.

The Host Wing at Offutt AFB is the 55th Wing. The 55th Wing provides intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, command and control, and additional support to U.S. leaders and military commanders. The Fightin’ Fifty-Fifth can trace their origins back to days of the Second World War and have been station at Offutt since August 1966. They have dutifully fulfilled the role as host unit at Offutt since 1986.

Together, with USSTRATCOM and the 55th Wing, the Air Force Weather Agency, a third major command at Offutt provides crucial accurate meteorological information in a timely fashion. Everything from military maneuvers to humanitarian aid assistance can be linked to the weather forecast. A successful operation may rise and fall on the course of the weather. It is up to the Air Force Weather Agency to get it right, anytime and every time. A challenge they have met since their arrival at Offutt in 1997.

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What began as one of last American frontier outposts for the 22nd United States Infantry now encompasses a global mission, with over 10,000 military and federal employees accommodated by host units of the 55th Wing. Offutt is not only a major driving force in this nation’s security but a significant economic engine for Bellevue, Sarpy County, and

Did you know?

In 1927, a Citizens’ Military Training Camp (C.M.T.C.) was established at Fort Crook. The camp provided military training for teenaged civilians, somewhat similar to the modern R.OT.C. Program.

Nebraska. The estimated annual economic impact of Offutt in recent years to the region was listed at 2.6 billion dollars. In a testament to its remarkable history,

SAC Museum 1/2

an assortment of buildings exists today from each chapter of the installation’s history: frontier fort, wartime bomber plant, Cold War threats, Twenty-First Century hazards, and beyond.

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