Grissom Air Reserve Base

Grissom Air Reserve Base is located 12 miles north of Kokomo in Cass and Miami counties, Indiana. Established in 1942 as Naval Reserve Air Base Peru, the facility originally served as a training installation for U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard pilots. It was renamed Naval Air Station Bunker Hill in 1943. Following a period of inactivity after World War II, the site was transferred to the U.S. Air Force in 1954 and reopened as Bunker Hill Air Force Base under Tactical Air Command. Strategic Air Command assumed operational control in 1957. The installation was renamed Grissom Air Force Base in 1968 in honor of Lieutenant Colonel Virgil I. Grissom. Pursuant to 1991 Base Realignment and Closure legislation, the base was realigned under the Air Force Reserve Command and renamed Grissom Air Reserve Base in 1994.

The 434th Air Refueling Wing serves as the host unit and is operationally gained by Air Mobility Command. The wing operates squadrons of Boeing KC-135R Stratotankers to support global aerial refueling requirements and trains reservists for worldwide duty. The base also hosts the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Center Grissom and several U.S. Army Reserve units, including the 316th Psychological Operations Company, the 1st Battalion of the 330th Regiment, and the 855th Quartermaster Company.

The military installation occupies approximately 1,700 acres and operates as a joint-use facility alongside the civilian Grissom Aeroplex. Infrastructure includes flight operations buildings, maintenance hangars, and an assembly and repair shop equipped with a five-ton overhead crane. A specialized water survival training pool features platforms that simulate the height of an aircraft carrier for abandon-ship maneuvers. The base maintains a radar approach control facility and was designated as an emergency landing site for the Space Shuttle program.