Homestead Air Reserve Base (Homestead ARB), previously known as Homestead Air Force Base (Homestead AFB), is a United States Air Force Reserve base located in Miami–Dade County, Florida, northeast of the city of Homestead. Established as Homestead Army Air Field on September 16, 1942, it served the United States Army Air Forces during World War II as an Air Transport Command ferry airfield and pilot training base. The base was heavily damaged by a hurricane in September 1945 and inactivated in December of that year. It was reactivated for the Cold War as a Strategic Air Command (SAC) installation, renamed Homestead Air Force Base in February 1955. Various units, including the 379th Bombardment Wing and 19th Bombardment Wing, operated B-47 and KC-97 aircraft. During the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, the base played a role in fighter deployments and Army personnel staging. Control of the base transferred from SAC to Tactical Air Command (TAC) in 1968. Homestead AFB was severely damaged by Hurricane Andrew in August 1992, leading to extensive rebuilding efforts. After the hurricane, the base was realigned as an Air Force Reserve installation, transferring from Air Combat Command (ACC) to Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) control in April 1994 and renamed Homestead Air Reserve Station. It was redesignated Homestead Air Reserve Base in December 2003. The base currently hosts the 482nd Fighter Wing, operating F-16C/D Fighting Falcons. Other units include the 93rd Fighter Squadron, the 367th Fighter Squadron (an ACC Active Associate F-16 unit), and the 125th Fighter Wing Detachment 1, which maintains F-15C Eagle fighter aircraft for air sovereignty missions. Additionally, the base is home to the headquarters of Special Operations Command South, elements of the Florida Army National Guard, the United States Coast Guard, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.