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Patrick Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation located between Satellite Beach and Cocoa Beach, in Brevard County, Florida, in the United States. It was named in honor of Major General Mason Patrick, USAAC. An Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) base, it is home to the 45th Space Wing (45 SW). In addition to its "host wing" responsibilities at Patrick AFB, the 45 SW controls and operates Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) and the Eastern Range. It was originally opened and operated from 1940 and 1947 as Naval Air Station Banana River, a U.S. Navy airfield. It was then deactivated as a naval installation in 1947 and placed in a caretaker status, until it was transferred to the Air Force in late 1948 and turned into Patrick AFB. Additional tenant activities at Patrick AFB include the 920th Rescue Wing, the Air Force Technical Applications Center and the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI). Total employment is 10,400. There are 13,099 military, dependents, civilian employees and contractors on base. The base is a census-designated place (CDP) and had a resident population of 1,222 at the 2010 census.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1): Patrick AFB CDP, Florida )〕 ==Current operations== The host wing for Patrick AFB is the 45th Space Wing (45 SW), whose officers and airmen manage all launches of unmanned rockets at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) 12 miles to the north. These rockets include satellites for the US military, the National Reconnaissance Office, and the National Security Agency, 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 The Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTAC) is a tenant command headquartered at Patrick AFB. Previously an activity of the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency (AFISRA), AFTAC is now a subordinate unit of 25th Air Force (25 AF) and the 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 AFB and is the installation's only military flying unit.〔http://www.patrick.af.mil〕 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 manned spaceflight operations, to augmentative support to U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue (SAR) operations to Defense Support to Civil Authorities in the wake of major disasters.〔(Factsheets : 920th Rescue Wing ). 920rqw.afrc.af.mil. Retrieved on 2013-09-18.〕 Most notable is the 920th's role in manned 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.〔(retrieved May 9, 2007 )〕 The 920 RQW is a full participant in the Air Force's Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force (AETF) operating concept. Under this concept, the bulk of the wing deployed to Iraq in 2003 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Subsequent AETF deployments have included Djibouti and Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Adjacent to the 920 RQW's facilities is the NASA Flight Operations Facility, which provides support for NASA's permanently based UH-1H helicopters supporting KSC and transient NASA fixed-wing aircraft such as the T-38 Talon. 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 AFB to help detect and interdict the drug trade in Bolivia, Colombia, Peru and Afghanistan. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Patrick Air Force Base」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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