The 377th Air Base Wing is the host organization at Kirtland Air Force Base, located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The wing reports to Air Force Global Strike Command. The base and its various mission partners employs about 20,000 active duty, civilians, Guard and Reserve personnel, including nearly 1,902 active duty military and civilians that belong to Air Force Global Strike Command. Kirtland occupies 50,132 acres.
Mission and Major Organizations
The missions of Kirtland AFB fall into four major categories: research, development and testing; readiness and training; munitions maintenance; and support to base operations for more than 100 Associate Units.
The mission of the 377th Air Base Wing is to execute nuclear, readiness, and support operations for American air power. Kirtland AFB is a center for research, development and testing of non-conventional weapons, space and missile technology, laser warfare and much more. Some of the organizations involved in this area include the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, the Department of Energy, Sandia National Laboratories, the Air Force Research Laboratory, the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center, the Space and Missile Systems Center, the Air Force Inspection Agency and the Air Force Safety Center.
In addition, the 377th ensures readiness and training of Airmen for world-wide duty. We operate the airfield for present and future Air Force operations, prepare our personnel to deploy worldwide on a moment's notice and keep the base secure. Some of the players in this mission include the 58th Special Operations Wing, the 150th Special Operations Wing (New Mexico Air National Guard) and the U.S. Air Force Pararescue School.
Personnel
The 377 ABW is made up of approximately 1,290 active-duty military, 760 federal civilians and 251 contractors assigned to the Medical Group, Mission Support Group, Security Forces Group, Maintenance Group, and 13 wing staff agencies.
As the host organization, the 377th Air Base Wing is also responsible for providing support to base operations. It ensures the people living and working on Kirtland AFB have the necessary support to conduct their jobs and carry out missions. This includes such things as facility maintenance, personnel support, security, utilities and medical care. The base also supports nearly 24,000 military retirees who live in central and northern New Mexico.
Economic Impact
The annual local economic impact of Kirtland AFB on Albuquerque averages more than $7.4 billion. This includes an annual payroll of $2.2 billion and local impact of $4.5 billion.
History
History
Present day Kirtland Air Force Base (AFB) was originally three separate U.S. military bases that were formed during World War II (1939-1945): Albuquerque Army Air Base (AAB), later Kirtland Army Air Field, Sandia Base (1942), and Manzano Base (1946). Late in 1939, the U.S. Army leased land east of Albuquerque's newly completed municipal airport for transient military aircraft support and with WWII on the horizon, construction of Albuquerque AAB began in January 1941 with its first occupants arriving in the spring and summer of that year.
The base was renamed Kirtland Army Air Field (AAF) on 25 February 1942, in honor of Air Corps aviation pioneer Colonel Roy C. Kirtland. Col. Kirtland was instrumental in forming the Army's aviation service and had been a longtime friend and mentor of General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold. Following Kirtland’s death in May 1941, Gen. Arnold recommended the base be renamed in his honor.
During WWII, Kirtland Field facilitated the training of thousands of aircrew for the B-17 Flying Fortress, B-24 Liberator, and B-29 Superfortress. For most of the War, the base's major training schools included bombardier, multi-engine transition, and combat crew training. After the War ended and the need for combat crews lessened, the Army Air Forces assigned the base to Air Materiel Command.
The base's new mission set centered on flight test and support activities related to weapons development. In 1947, following the establishment of the U.S. Air Force (USAF), Kirtland's mission continued to evolve as a major support component for the nation’s nuclear enterprise. On 13 January 1948, Kirtland AAF was officially designated Kirtland Air Force Base (AFB). In December 1949, Kirtland AFB became the headquarters for the Air Force’s newly formed Special Weapons Command (SWC). However, the SWC’s status as major command was short-lived, as the Air Force continued to re-organize itself amid the evolving needs of the Cold War (1945-1991).
On 1 April 1952, the SWC became the Air Force Special Weapons Center (AFSWC), assigned to the Air Research and Development Command, later renamed Air Force Systems Command in 1961. Following this change in status, the AFSWC continued its weapons development and test role for the USAF. In 1963, the research and development directorate of the AFSWC became the core of the Air Force Weapons Laboratory at Kirtland, the predecessor of the Air Force Research Laboratory directorate.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Kirtland AFB also served as the headquarters for regional air defense operations which covered the southwestern United States. From a control center on Kirtland, Air Defense Command personnel were able to launch fighters stationed at Kirtland and other regional air bases facilitating fighter command and control via a network of Aircraft Warning and Control facilities.
To reduce the management costs of having multiple bases (Kirtland, Sandia and Manzano), the Department of Defense (DoD) merged the adjacent Sandia and Manzano Bases with Kirtland on 1 July 1971—thus establishing modern day Kirtland AFB. Consequently, the AFSWC took charge of the vastly expanded installation and oversaw the base until the Center's inactivation on 1 April 1976. The Air Force Contract Management Division of Air Force Systems Command, which had moved from Los Angeles, CA, in 1972, then became Kirtland’s host for a short period of time. Following the DoD's consolidation of contract management into a single organization, the Air Force Contract Management Division was inactivated in June 1990.
The Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center was activated at Kirtland AFB effective 1 January 1974, in order to fulfill Congressional intent for independent evaluation of new military weapon systems. This new center fell directly under the Chief of Staff of the Air Force in order to ensure independent review of newly acquired systems from developmental and operational commands.
On 1 July 1977, to fill the void left at the base following the inactivation of the AFSWC, the 1606th Air Base Wing (ABW) activated as the base host, and Military Airlift Command (MAC) took responsibility for operating Kirtland. Subsequent to this move, MAC moved the 1550th Combat Crew Training Wing to Kirtland from Hill Air Force Base, UT, to be the training center for the command's search and rescue personnel. This mission has been continued to the present day under the purview of the 58th Special Operations Wing.
The Air Force Space Technology Center was activated at Kirtland on 1 October 1982, as a focal point for space technology planning and development. On 13 December 1990, the center was combined with other Air Force laboratories and redesignated as the Phillips Laboratory, which later became part of the present-day Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) in 1997. In cooperation with AFRL, and other entities within the DoD, the Space and Missile Systems Center at Kirtland rapidly transitions cutting edge space capabilities to the warfighter.
On 1 October 1991, the 1606 ABW and 1550 CCTW were combined to form the 542d Crew Training Wing (CTW), a “super-wing” that consolidated installation and nuclear surety support, special operations, personnel recovery aircrew qualification, and pararescue/combat rescue officer training under a single organization. However, following a major reorganization of the USAF, the newly formed Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) took over management of Kirtland on 1 January 1993, and activated the 377th Air Base Wing (ABW), to serve as the base host. That summer, the Air Force Inspection Agency and the Air Force Safety Agency both moved their operations to a new complex on Kirtland as their long-time home station, Norton Air Force Base, CA, was scheduled to close consequent to the determination made by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission.
Prior to being activated as the host unit for Kirtland in 1993, the 377 ABW had a rich legacy of air base support. The Wing was originally activated as the 377th Combat Support Group at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Republic of Vietnam in 1966, where it facilitated flying operations support, base defense, and acted as an air liaison with the South Vietnamese Air Force. It’s Air Police Squadron (later Security Police) famously defended the base against numerous incursions by Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army insurgents and helped lay the foundations for Security Force’s modern base defense doctrine.
On 31 March 2006, desirous to prevent a fragmentation of the nation’s nuclear enterprise, the Air Force activated the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center (AFNWC) and the 498th Nuclear Systems Wing (NSW) to oversee its nuclear acquisition and sustainment mission. Although the 377 ABW remained Kirtland’s host unit, this change also administratively realigned the Wing as a subordinate unit of the AFNWC.
Following a successful reinvigoration of several key components of the AF’s nuclear enterprise and the maturation of Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC), the 498 NSW relinquished much of its mission to the new command and was inactivated on 27 January 2012. The remaining units of the Wing were reorganized within the AFNWC as the Nuclear Capabilities Directorate. Combined with numerous geographically separated entities, the AFNWC remains the nucleus of America's deterrence, providing nuclear weapons acquisition and sustainment.
In October 2015, the 377 ABW was realigned under AFGSC to improve effectiveness and support for the Air Force's nuclear enterprise. Kirtland hosts units from a myriad of organizations including AFGSC, Air Force Materiel Command, Air Education and Training Command, Air Combat Command, Space Force, the Air National Guard, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the Department of Energy, and others.
The 576th Flight Test Squadron (FLTS), stationed at Vandenberg Space Force Base (SFB), CA, has been responsible for the operational testing of U.S. Air Force Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) since 1991. In 2009, the Squadron was realigned under AFGSC and subsequently reported directly to Headquarters Twentieth Air Force (20 AF) as it continued to execute the ICBM test mission. On 8 October 2021, the 576 FLTS was realigned within 20 AF and became a direct reporting unit of the 377 ABW.
Due to the development of the LGM-35 Sentinel ICBM, the 576 FLTS required organizational expansion. On 1 November 2022, the 377th Test Group was established at Vandenberg SFB, in order to effectively continue LGM-30 Minuteman III testing while also supporting Sentinel development. The standup of the Group left the 576 FLTS intact as the primary testing squadron but enhanced mission capability by providing an added maintenance component, the 377th Flight Test Missile Maintenance Squadron (FTMMXS), as well as an additional support squadron, the 377th Test Support Squadron (TSS). The 377 TSS was based at Kirtland AFB with the parent Wing and took on the role of Airfield Operations, Weather, Transient Alert and an ICBM and Weapons Tactics shop.
Presently, the 377 ABW provides critical support for the nation’s nuclear enterprise, as well as installation and medical support to over 100 mission partners and tenant units both on and off base. The 377 ABW currently employs approximately 1,250 active duty and civilian personnel. Since it’s establishment during World War II, the base remained one of the most important contributors to the city’s economic landscape. The 377 ABW and the other organizations that make up “Team Kirtland” constitute 13% of Albuquerque’s workforce, with an economic impact of over $7 billion to the local area.
377 ABW History Office
(Current as of August 2024)
377 ABW Public Office at 505- 846-5991 or DSN 246-5991; Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico 87117-5606.
Fact Sheet (.pdf)