Southern Arizona Military Installations
Southern Arizona is the home to some of our nation’s finest military installations:
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (DM) in Tucson is considered one of the most important combat air bases in the Department of Defense. Home to 10,220 direct employees and 3,106 indirect jobs and 3,354 induced, the base covers 10,600 acres and supports a variety of active aircraft, flying tens of thousands of sorties a year. The host unit at DM is the 355th Fighter Wing (355 FW) assigned to Twelfth Air Force. 12th Air Force – Air Forces Southern is headquartered at DM and is part of Air Combat Command (ACC). The 355 FW provides A-10 Thunderbolt II close air support. DM is also widely recognized for its role as the location of the Air Force Materiel Command’s 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG), better known as the “boneyard” for all excess military and government aircraft.
162nd Fighter Wing, Arizona National Guard, Tucson
The 162nd Fighter Wing (162 FW) is a unit of the Arizona Air National Guard, stationed at Tucson Air National Guard Base adjacent to the Tucson International Airport. The 162nd provides 1,378 direct, 650 indirect and 467 induced jobs and $383.6 million into the economy. The primary mission of the 162nd Fighter Wing is education and flight training of International F-16 Fighting Falcon pilots. In addition, the wing performs air defense and homeland protection of the United States. In support of Operation Noble Eagle, America’s homeland defense mission, Arizona Air National Guard Airmen and F-16s perform an Aerospace Control Alert mission 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, to respond to any airborne threat in the Southwest United States.
Fort Huachuca, U.S. Army, Sierra Vista
Fort Huachuca is a United States Army installation located in Sierra Vista in southeast Arizona, about 15 miles north of the border with Mexico. It provides 21,327 jobs and $2.86 billion in economic impact. Its missions include the U.S. Army Intelligence Center, 9th Army Signal Command, and the training site for the Grey Eagle UAV. Fort Huachuca can have more than 18,000 people on post during peak hours, making it one of the busiest installations. Fort Huachuca is also the headquarters of the Army Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS). Other tenant agencies include the Joint Interoperability Test Command, Information Systems Engineering Command (ISEC) and the Electronic Proving Ground (EPG).
Yuma Marine Corps Air Station
Marine Corps Air Station Yuma is responsible for 7,819 jobs and generates $877.6 million into the economy. It is home to multiple squadrons of AV-8B Harrier IIs of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1 (MAWTS-1) and Marine Fighter Training Squadron 401 (VMFT-401). A joint civilian-military airport, MCAS Yuma shares facilities with Yuma International Airport and occupies approximately 3,000 acres, most of which is flat desert. It has been chosen by the US Marine Corps as the facility that will host the first F35B aircraft.
Yuma Proving Ground, U.S. Army
Yuma Proving Ground is a United States Army facility and one of the largest military installations in the world, occupying 1,307.8 square miles in southwestern Arizona and controlling 2,000 miles of restricted airspace. Yuma Proving Ground incorporates the longest overland artillery range in the nation, the newest mine test facility in the western world and the most highly instrumented aircraft armament test range in the United States. This facility provides 8,089 jobs and sends more than $1.12 billion into the economy each year. Proving ground personnel test nearly every item in the ground military arsenal, from armored vehicles to artillery, and manage extreme cold weather test facilities in Alaska and tropic test operations conducted overseas in a number of tropic locations. Yuma Proving Ground is Yuma County’s primary high-tech workplace and has established working relationships with many outside organizations, from government agencies to academia.
Arizona National Guard Silverbell Army Heliport, Marana
The WAATS is a training site for UH-72 Lakota and UH-60 Black Hawk aircrews and maintainers. The 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 285th Aviation Regiment is an operational AH-64 Apache unit. The Singapore Air Force also trains with U.S. pilots at Silverbell’s Peace Vanguard Detachment. Flying units at Silverbell support joint training requirements with units at Davis-Monthan, Fort Huachuca, MCAS Yuma, and Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.
Southern Arizona
Military Installations
162nd Fighter Wing, Arizona National Guard, Tucson
Yuma Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson
Fort Huachuca Army Base, Sierra Vista
Yuma Proving Ground Army Base, Yuma
Western Army National Guard Aviation Training Site – Silverbell