Offutt Air Force Base
Offutt Air Force Base /ˈɒfʌt/ (IATA: OFF, ICAO: KOFF, FAA LID: OFF) is a U.S. Air Force base south of Omaha, adjacent to Bellevue in Sarpy County, Nebraska. It is the headquarters of the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), the 557th Weather Wing, and the 55th Wing (55 WG) of the Air Combat Command (ACC), the latter serving as the host unit.
"Offutt Field" redirects here. For the Pennsylvania athletic field, see Offutt Field (Greensburg).Offutt Air Force Base
U.S. Air Force Base
Air Combat Command (ACC)
Operational
1921 (as part of Fort Crook)
1921 – present
Colonel Mark Howard
55th Wing (Host Wing)
319.7 metres (1,049 ft) AMSL
Aviation use at Offutt began in September 1918 during World War I as an Army Air Service balloon field.[2] Originally named Fort Crook, it was renamed in honor of World War I pilot and Omaha native 1st Lt. Jarvis Offutt in 1924.
Offutt AFB's legacy includes the construction of the Enola Gay and Bockscar, the planes that dropped Little Boy and Fat Man over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II. Offutt served over 40 years as the headquarters for the former Strategic Air Command (SAC) and home for its associated ground and aerial command centers for the United States in the case of nuclear war during the Cold War. The population was 8,901 at the 2000 census.
General's Row[edit]
Most of the high-ranking officials at Offutt live on General's Row, a row of 4-story duplexes that was built in 1895.
Geography[edit]
Offutt Air Force Base is located at 41°06′49″N 95°55′42″W / 41.11361°N 95.92833°W.[39]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the base has a total area of 4.3 square miles (11.3 km2), of which, 4.2 square miles (10.9 km2) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.4 km2) of it (3.22%) is water.
Education[edit]
Most of the base is in the Bellevue Public Schools school district. A portion is in the Papillion-La Vista School District.[40]
Offutt in popular culture[edit]
Offutt was brought to popular attention during its SAC period when the command was depicted in the 1955 film Strategic Air Command starring Jimmy Stewart, the 1963 film A Gathering of Eagles starring Rock Hudson, and 1964's Fail-Safe starring Henry Fonda (which not only claimed to show portions of the base but also a nearby Omaha neighborhood) and Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb starring Peter Sellers (which depicts a nuclear first strike from a mad general at the fictional Burpelson Air Force Base).
Offutt appeared in the Star Trek episode "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" (identified as 'the Omaha installation'), when a fighter pilot stationed there detects the approaching USS Enterprise and is transported aboard.
The Dale Brown novel Plan of Attack saw nuclear missiles launched by Russian bombers attacking multiple bomber bases all over the U.S, including Offutt, which is destroyed by four Kh-15 (AS-17 Kickback) missiles. Only one Boeing E-4 NEACP escapes in time, and the officials of the Eighth Air Force and STRATCOM are eliminated in the process. Pat Frank's iconic Cold War novel Alas, Babylon (1959) has Air Force Colonel Mark Bragg, the brother of the protagonist Randy Bragg, stationed at Offutt.
In the 1983 post apocalyptic feature film for television, "The Day After", Offutt is represented as a SAC Aircraft departs the field as the cameras then change focus to the countryside as the credits roll.
Offutt is also mentioned in Strike Three, a post-apocalyptic novel, by Joy V. Smith.
An aerial view of Offutt is used as a photographic reference on an SCPF Secure Facility Dossier for Site-19.[41]