Fairchild Air Force Base
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Image:Fairchild AFB in Spokane County.png
Fairchild AFB is a U.S. Air Force installation located in Spokane County, Washington. As of the 2000 census, the base had a total population of 4,357.
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History
Founded as the Spokane Army Air Depot in 1942, the base was transferred to the Strategic Air Command (SAC) in 1947 and housed the Fifteenth Air Force as well as the 92d and 98th Bomb Groups. The base became Fairchild Air Force Base in 1951, named for General Muir S. Fairchild
Over the years, Fairchild has been home to the B-29, B-36, B-52 Stratofortress, KC-135 Stratotanker, and the Atlas Intercontinental Ballistic missile. For decades, at least six B-52H bombers — loaded with 20 ALCM nuclear cruise missiles, B61 nuclear gravity bombs and SRAM short-range nuclear missiles — were on 24 hour alert as part of the nations nuclear deterrent under the strategy of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD).
The primary USAF SERE training location is located here at Fairchild AFB.
Geography
Fairchild AFB is located at 47°36'47" North, 117°38'41" West (47.612955, -117.644796)Template:GR.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 16.8 km² (6.5 mi²). 16.8 km² (6.5 mi²) of it is land and none of the area is covered with water.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 4,357 people, 1,071 households, and 1,048 families residing in the town. The population density was 258.8/km² (670.2/mi²). There were 1,114 housing units at an average density of 66.2/km² (171.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 78.20% White, 7.90% African American, 0.53% Native American, 3.56% Asian, 0.37% Pacific Islander, 3.79% from other races, and 5.67% from two or more races. 8.52% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 1,071 households out of which 72.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 90.8% were married couples living together, 4.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 2.1% were non-families. 1.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 0.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.36 and the average family size was 3.39.
In the town the population was spread out with 34.1% under the age of 18, 24.9% from 18 to 24, 38.3% from 25 to 44, 2.1% from 45 to 64, and 0.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23 years. For every 100 females there were 127.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 135.7 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $33,512, and the median income for a family was $33,398. Males had a median income of $22,299 versus $15,815 for females. The per capita income for the town was $11,961. 5.0% of the population and 4.8% of families were below the poverty line. 6.4% of those under the age of 18 and 0.0% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Weaponry
Washington State has the distinction of having more warheads than four of the six known nuclear nations. These warheads are concentrated in two places: at Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane and at the Bangor Submarine Base across Puget Sound, on the Hood Canal. At Fairchild, 85 nuclear gravity bombs (25 B61-7 gravity bombs and 60 B83 gravity bombs) are stored in a "reserve" nuclear depot. Bangor's 8 submarines have 24 Trident I missiles per boat with 8 warheads per missile, for a total of 1,536. [1]