Barksdale Air Force Base

Barksdale Air Force Base (Barksdale AFB) (IATA: BAD, ICAO: KBAD, FAA LID: BAD) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, in northwest Louisiana. Much of the base is within the city limits of Bossier City, Louisiana, along the base's western and northwestern edge. Barksdale AFB occupies more than 22,000 acres (89 km2) east of Bossier City and along the southern edge of Interstate 20. More than 15,000 active-duty and Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) members serve at Barksdale.

Barksdale Air Force Base
Bossier City, Louisiana, in the United States of America
Three Boeing B-52H Stratofortress bombers sit on the flight-line at Barksdale Air Force Base during 2012.
Barksdale AFB
Shown in United States
Coordinates32°30′07″N 093°39′46″W
TypeUS Air Force base
Site information
OwnerDepartment of Defense
OperatorUS Air Force
Controlled byAir Force Global Strike Command
ConditionOperational
Websitehttp://www.barksdale.af.mil
Site history
Built1931 (1931)–1933
In use1933–present
Garrison information
Current
commander
Colonel Mark C. Dmytryszyn
Garrison
Occupants See Based units section for full list.
Airfield information
IdentifiersIATA: BAD, ICAO: KBAD, FAA LID: BAD, WMO: 722485
Elevation50.2 metres (165 ft) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
15/33 3,583.8 metres (11,758 ft) PEM
Source: Federal Aviation Administration

The host unit at Barksdale is the 2nd Bomb Wing (2 BW), the oldest bomb wing in the U.S. Air Force. It is assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command's (AFGSC) Eighth Air Force (8 AF). Equipped with about 44 B-52H Stratofortress bombers, 2 BW provides flexible, responsive global combat capability and trains all AFGSC and AFRC Boeing B-52 Stratofortress crews.

The base was established in 1932 as Barksdale Field, named for World War I aviator and test pilot Lieutenant Eugene Hoy Barksdale (1896–1926).

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