The U. S. Army Air Corps established Homestead Army Air Field (AAF) in 1942 and it served our country during World War II. After the war the air field was deactivated like many air bases throughout the country. The Army Air Corps evolved into the U. S. Air Force, the fifth branch of the U. S. Armed Forces, in 1947. The newly created Air Force reactivated the old Army Air Field in 1954. The Army Air Field was redesignated as Homestead Air Force Base in 1955. The base was a Strategic Air Command (SAC) base in the late 1950's and I remember when it was closed to aircraft for about six months so they could rebuild runway 6/24 with thick concrete so it could handle the newer and heavier B-52 Stratofortresses that were replacing the existing wing of B-47 bombers.

(More information coming in the future - under construction)

The base was devastated by Hurricane Andrew on August 24, 1992. Due to the massive destruction the Air Force removed the base from active status with the Regular Air Force and the south portion of the base was rebuilt, reopening as an Air Force Reserve facility in 1994 on a fraction of the land that the former longtime base occupied. The northern portion of the former base (the base hospital, the golf course and base housing) was given to Dade County for use as a park and low income housing and another area is occupied by a job training center. The Air Force gave control of the airfield to Dade County and a trailer was installed on the ramp to handle general aviation aircraft. It didn't take long for shifty politically-connected developers to form an organization named HABDI (Homestead Air Base Development Inc.) that won county commissioners' approval to develop the air base as a cargo airport in a controversial no-bid contest. The arrangement was so smelly that there was a public outcry and fortunately the federal government took back the airfield portion of the base rather than let a corrupt sweetheart deal go through that would convert the base into a civilian cargo airport.

The base commissary and exchange, now outside and north of the new reserve base, combined into an experimental BX Mart that was only one of three in country at the time. At first it was pretty good for shopping, carrying a large variety of items but at prices higher than the former commissary but it went downhill over the years. The store management wiped out a significant amount of shelf space and merchandise by dividing the numerous aisles with a cross aisle in the middle and we stopped shopping there because it was no longer worth the 40-minute drive from northwestern Dade County. Most of the military retirees living in the Homestead area moved out of Homestead after the hurricane to points further north in Florida so the BX Mart lost most of their clientele. I noticed in November 2016 that the BX Mart was closed on my first visit back to the base since 2012.

The 482d Fighter Wing is the host command of the air base. The wing's operational component is the 93rd Fighter Squadron (93 FS) which is known as the "Fighting Makos" and the tail emblem of "FM" is emblazoned on the squadron's General Dynamics Block 30 F-16C/D Fighting Falcons.

MORE INFO COMING - UNDER CONSTRUCTION