Patrick Space Force Base

Authorized by the Naval Expansion Act of 1938, Naval Air Station Banana River was commissioned on 1 October 1940 as a subordinate base of the Naval Air Operational Training Command at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida. The Navy bought 1,900 acres (770 ha) of scrub land south of Cocoa Beach.[8]

PBM-3Cs of Patrol Squadron 201 (VP-201) at NAS Banana River, late 1942

With the advent of war with Japan and Germany in December 1941, the Navy began anti-submarine patrols along the Florida coast using PBY Catalina and PBM Mariner seaplanes based at this facility. PBMs returned to training duty in March 1942 when replaced on patrol by OS2U Kingfisher seaplanes. Landing strips were constructed in 1943, thereby allowing for concurrent operation of shore based aircraft. Officers of the Free French Naval Air Service also trained in PBMs at NAS Banana River at this time.[9] Various military related activities took place at NAS Banana River, including maritime patrol aviation operations against German U-Boats, air search and rescue operations, patrol bomber bombardier training, seaplane pilot training, and communications research. Other activities included a blimp squadron detachment, an Aviation Navigation Training School, and an experimental training unit termed Project Baker, a confidential program that developed and tested instrument landing equipment.[10] NAS Banana River hosted a major aircraft repair and maintenance facility. Later in the war, a small detachment of German POWs from Camp Blanding worked at NAS Banana River on cleanup details. At its peak, the base complement included 278 aircraft, 587 civilian employees, and over 2800 officers and enlisted personnel.[9]

Transition Training Squadron Emblem while at Naval Air Station Banana River

VS-1D7 Squadron Emblem while at Naval Air Station Banana River

• Transition Training Squadron Atlantic (detachment)
• VS-1D7

Three months after the end of World War II, on 5 December 1945, NAS Banana River had an ancillary role in the disappearance of Flight 19, a formation of five TBM Avenger torpedo bombers, which had departed Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale, Florida on a routine over-water training mission. When the flight failed to return to home station, a search and rescue operation was undertaken by multiple air and naval units. After sunset on 5 December, two PBM Mariner seaplanes from NAS Banana River, originally scheduled for their own training flights were diverted to perform square pattern searches in the area west of 29°N 79°W/29, -79. One of these aircraft, a PBM-5, Bureau Number (BuNo) 59225, took off at 19:27 Eastern Time from NAS Banana River, called in a routine radio message at 19:30 Eastern Time, and was never heard from again.[11]

At 19:50 Eastern Time, the tanker SS Gaines Mills reported seeing a mid-air explosion, then flames leaping 100 feet (30 m) high and burning on the sea for 10 minutes. The position was 28°35′N 80°15′W / 28.59, −80.25. Captain Shonna Stanley of the SS Gaines Mills reported searching for survivors through a pool of oil, but found none. The escort carrier USS Solomons reported losing radar contact with an aircraft at the same position and time. No wreckage of PBM-5 BuNo 59225 was ever found.[12]

NAS Banana River patch

During investigation by a board of inquiry regarding the entire Flight 19 incident, attention was given to the loss of the NAS Banana River-based PBM. Several witnesses from both NAS Banana River and other PBM Mariner operating locations were questioned concerning occurrences of aviation gasoline (AvGas) fumes collecting in the bilges of PBM series aircraft and associated no smoking regulations, which were reportedly well posted and rigidly enforced aboard all PBMs. Although the board's report is not a verbatim record and no accusations were made, there seems to be enough inference present to cause one to suspect that the board was aware of the PBM's nickname as "the flying gas tank." As such, it is possible that the PBM-5 was destroyed by an explosion resulting from either (a) an aircrewman violating the no smoking regulations in the aircraft or (b) a stray electrical spark in the lower aircraft hull that may have ignited AvGas fumes in the bilges.[11]

The Navy buried its solid wastes southeast of the base, on private land, from 1942 to 1947. The dump was estimated at up to 52 acres (21 ha), of which 25 acres (10 ha) may be eligible for a federal government funding cleanup. Discarded material probably included munitions and practice bombs.[13]

Contractors bought the land, naming it "South Patrick Shores". The constructed housing on it from 1956 to 1961. Homeowners had no mandatory solid waste removal until 1982.[13]

Residents reported health complaints starting about 1990s, and again in 2018. Responding to these complaints, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers investigated the site to determine whether a cleanup was necessary.[13]

Aerial view of NAS Banana River in the mid-1940s

NAS Banana River closed in September 1947 after a gradual deactivation and was placed in a caretaker status.[14] In September 1948 the facility was transferred to the U.S. Air Force.[15] Several of NAS Banana River's original structures, including runway segments, certain hangars, support buildings, seaplane parking areas and seaplane ramps into the Banana River remain part of modern-day Patrick Space Force Base.

NAS Banana River was transferred to the United States Air Force on 1 September 1948 and renamed the Joint Long Range Proving Ground on 10 June 1949.[16] The installation was renamed Patrick Air Force Base in August 1950.[17]

From 1966 to 1975, the Space Coast was the second most visited spot by VIPs, after Washington, DC, a result of the Space Program. A protocol officer was assigned to Patrick to coordinate these visits, about 3 weekly consisting of 10 to 150 people.[18]

In 1971, the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI) was established at Patrick AFB.

Five of the victims of the Khobar Towers bombing in 1996 were home stationed at Patrick AFB as part of the 71st Rescue Squadron (71 RQS). The 71 RQS subsequently relocated to Moody AFB, Georgia in 1997.[19]

The 9/11 attacks prompted the Air Force to close the heavily used 4-lane State Road A1A, which ran immediately in front of the AFTAC Headquarters building. A1A was later reopened to two-lane traffic with car inspections, followed by two-lane traffic without inspections until a barrier was constructed in front of the building and the building reinforced with steel and concrete with the windows sealed.[20]

In February 2005, the Patrick AFB Officers Club was destroyed by an accidental fire.[21]

In 2010, the Air Force announced its intention to replace the existing AFTAC building front State Road A1A with a new facility that would cost in the range from $100 to $200 million. At the time of this announcement, this constituted the largest single military construction (MILCON) project in the United States for the Air Force. Completed in 2014, the new facility is a 276,000 square feet (25,600 m²) multistory command and control building with a 38,000 square feet (3,500 m²) radiochemistry laboratory, 18,000 square feet (1,700 m²) central utility plant and a 600 space 180,000 square feet (17,000 m²) parking garage located approximately a .25 miles (0.40 km) west of the original AFTAC headquarters building.[20]

US Navy Boeing E-6 Mercury aircraft, part of Operation Looking Glass, were sometimes seen at Patrick AFB during the 2010–11 time frame and were often mistaken by onlookers for the previously retired VC-137 Presidential aircraft (i.e., Air Force One), which looks similar.[22]

In 1961, Patrick AFB began hosting a joint Federal Aviation Administration/Air Defense Command (later Aerospace Defense Command) joint-use radar site featuring an AN/FPS-66 general surveillance radar set for air defense of the Patrick AFB/Cape Canaveral area. Designated site "Z-211" (FAA J-05), the 645th Radar Squadron was reactivated on 28 June 1962[26] to operate the radar, feeding data to Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) Data Center DC-09 at Gunter AFB, Alabama.

Aerospace Defense Command (ADC) operated the radar until 25 April 1976 when it was replaced by a detachment of the 20th Air Defense Squadron (OLA-A). The USAF radar was removed around 1988. After its closure by the Air Force, the facility was turned over to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The former ADC site was replaced by a new site near Melbourne, Florida, as part of the Joint Surveillance System (JSS), designated by NORAD as Southeast Air Defense Sector (SEADS) Ground Equipment Facility "J-5", with a new ARSR-4 radar.[27]

The 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing (9 SRW) of the Strategic Air Command established Operating Location OLYMPIC FLAME (OL-OF), a new Lockheed U-2 aircraft operating location at Patrick AFB, Florida, on 29 January 1982. OL-OF was subsequently redesignated as 9 SRW, Detachment 5 on 1 January 1983 and concentrated on reconnaissance operations (to include MIDAS and HICAT) over Central America and the Caribbean basin, replacing an operational capability that had previously been resident at nearby McCoy AFB until that installation's closure in 1975.[28] Detachment 5 was inactivated at Patrick AFB in 1992.

• Air Proving Ground Command, 1 October 1949
• Air Research and Development Command, 14 May 1951

Redesignated: Air Force Systems Command, 1 April 1961

• Air Force Space Command, 1 October 1991–present

An HH-60G of the 920 RQW's 301 RQS prepares to aerial refuel from an HC-130P of the 920 RQW's 39 RQS

• 2770th Standby Squadron, 20 November 1948 – 1 October 1949
• Joint Long Range Proving Ground, 11 May 1949

Redesignated: Florida Missile Test Range, 30 June 1951

Redesignated: Atlantic Missile Range, 1 July 1958

Redesignated: Air Force Eastern Test Range, 1 July 1964

Redesignated: Eastern Range, 12 November 1991–present

• Advance HQ, Joint Long Range Proving Ground, 1 October 1949 – 15 August 1950

Redesignated, 4820th Air Base Squadron, 15 August 1950 – 4 September 1951

• Air Force Eastern Test Range, 1 October 1949 – 1 February 1977

Det. 1 Space and Missile Test Center (SAMTEC), 1 February 1977 – 1 October 1979

Eastern Space & Missile Center (ESMC), 1 October 1979 – 1 November 1991

• 4800th Guided Missiles Wing, 3 December 1950

Redesignated: 6555th Guided Missile Wing, 14 May 1951

Redesignated: 6555th Guided Missile Group, 1 March 1953 – 7 September 1954

• 2d Mobile Communications Group, 1 October 1975

Redesignated: 2nd Combat Communications Group, 24 March 1976 – 30 June 1990

• 4802d (later 6555th) Guided Missile Squadron, 10 April 1951 – 15 August 1959

Inactivated and reactivated as: 6555th Guided Missile Group, 15 August 1959

Redesignated: 6555th Test Wing, 21 December 1959

Redesignated: 6555th Aerospace Test Wing, 25 October 1961

Redesignated: 6555th Aerospace Test Group, 1 April 1970 – 1 October 1990

• 4800th Guided Missiles Wing, 3 December 1950

Redesignated: 6555th Guided Missile Wing, 14 May 1951

Redesignated: 6555th Guided Missile Group, 1 March 1953 – 7 September 1954

• 550th Guided Missiles Wing, 11–29 December 1950
• 4802d (later 6555th) Guided Missile Squadron, 10 April 1951 – 15 August 1959

Inactivated and reactivated as: 6555th Guided Missile Group, 15 August 1959

Redesignated: 6555th Test Wing, 21 December 1959

Redesignated: 6555th Aerospace Test Wing, 25 October 1961

Redesignated: 6555th Aerospace Test Group, 1 April 1970 – 1 October 1990

• 6550th Air Base Wing, 4 September 1951 – 1 March 1953

Redesignated: 6550th Air Base Group, 1 March 1953 – 1 October 1990

Redesignated: 1040th Space Support Group, 1 October 1990 – 12 November 1991

Redesignated: 45th Support Group, 12 November 1991 – present

• Air Force Eastern Test Range, 1 October 1949 – 1 February 1977

Det. 1 Space and Missile Test Center (SAMTEC), 1 February 1977 – 1 October 1979

Eastern Space & Missile Center (ESMC), 1 October 1979 – 1 November 1991

• 6541st Missile Test Wing, 4 September 1951 – 7 September 1954
• 45th Space Wing on 12 November 1991–present

45th Support Group became subordinate of Wing

Eastern Space & Missile Center became subordinate of Wing

• 920th Rescue Wing, 15 April 1997–present

Established as 920th Rescue Group, 15 April 1997

Redesignated 920th Rescue Wing, 1 April 2003

• 114th Space Control Squadron (Florida Air National Guard), 20 May 1989 – present

Reference for history summation, major commands assigned and major units assigned[25][29][30]

The host wing for Patrick SFB is the 45th Space Wing (45 SW), whose Airmen manage all launches of uncrewed rockets at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) 12 miles to the north. These rockets include satellites for the US military, to include the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and the National Security Agency (NSA), as well as scientific payload launches in support of NASA, weather satellite launches in support of NOAA, payloads in support of international customers such as the European Space Agency, and commercial payloads for various corporate communications entities. Units and individuals from the 45 SW have deployed abroad during wartime, most notably during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom[31]

The Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTAC) is a tenant command headquartered at Patrick SFB. Previously an activity of the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency (AFISRA), AFTAC became a subordinate unit of Twenty-Fifth Air Force (25 AF) and now the Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber), both of Air Combat Command (ACC). AFTAC is the sole Department of Defense agency operating and maintaining a global network of nuclear event detection sensors.

The 920th Rescue Wing (920 RQW), part of Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC), is another tenant command headquartered at Patrick SFB and is the installation's only military flying unit.[32] An Air Combat Command (ACC)-gained combat search and rescue (CSAR) organization, the 920 RQW is the only rescue wing in the Air Force Reserve, operating the HC-130P/N "King" variant of the C-130 Hercules and HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter, ready for worldwide deployment. In addition to its CSAR mission, the wing also participates in civilian rescue operations, ranging from rescue support for NASA crewed spaceflight operations, to augmentative support to U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue (SAR) operations, to Defense Support to Civil Authorities (DSCA) in the wake of major disasters.[33] Most notable is the 920th's role in crewed spaceflight support to NASA, providing Eastern Range monitoring and having provided search and rescue support for space shuttle launches originating from Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Additional operations have included searching the Caribbean for downed aircraft, as well as retrieving critically ill sailors and passengers from ships hundreds of miles out in the Atlantic, often at night and/or in bad weather. Because the USAF HH-60 can refuel in flight from the USAF HC-130, MC-130, or USMC KC-130, it possesses a much greater range and mission radius versus similar military helicopters lacking such capability.[34] The 920 RQW is a full participant in the Air Force's Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force (AEF) operating concept. Under this concept, the bulk of the wing deployed to Iraq in 2003 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Subsequent AEF deployments have included Djibouti and Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.[35]

The U.S. State Department's Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Air Wing helps foreign countries combat drugs and narcotics criminals. The Bureau operates a fleet of aircraft, primarily former USAF and USMC OV-10 and former USAF C-27 aircraft at Patrick SFB to help detect and interdict the drug trade in Bolivia, Colombia, Peru and Afghanistan.

The base has the Space Coast Inn for visiting personnel, dormitories for permanent party single enlisted personnel, quarters for families in three separate housing areas, recreational housing on the beach, beach access, combined officers and enlisted clubs, Commissary, a large AAFES base exchange (BX), library and numerous Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) facilities.

Facilities are used by 4,000 military men and women, 11,500 civilian workers, contractors and dependents, 43,000 military retirees, and 82,000 members of retirees families.[39]

There are several chapels including Chapel One, Chapel Two, South Chapel at the South Housing area, and Seaside Chapel (Building 440). There is a "45th Space Wing Chapel" which travels with the Wing when it is deployed. The Catholic Group is called "St. George Parish" and meets in Chapel One or Two. While the buildings are owned by the Space Force, the Catholic Parish is under the spiritual direction of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA.

In 2009, base housing was privatized and in addition to active duty personnel and their families, also became available for lease by members of the Reserve and Guard, military retirees, Department of Defense civil service employees and DOD contractors.[40]

In 2010–2012, the 74,000 square feet (6,900 m²) medical clinic underwent a major remodel project. It was estimated to cost $18.5 million.[20]

In 2020, the Satellite Pharmacy and Dental Clinic were remodeled to bring current with today's standard of care under DHA (Defense Health Administration), the construction of a new 74,000 square feet (6,900 m²) medical clinic was started. It is expected to cost $18.5 million.[20]

Patrick Space Force Base lies on a barrier island, and is primarily accessed from the mainland by the Pineda Causeway (State Road 404) in Satellite Beach, or State Road A1A which runs the entire length of Patrick SFB.

The base obtains potable water from the city of Cocoa. A single potable water line from Cocoa runs under the Sykes Creek Bridge at Sea Ray Drive.[41][42]