Shaw Air Force Base

Shaw Air Force Base (Shaw AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located west-northwest of downtown Sumter, South Carolina. Activated on August 30, 1941, as Shaw Field, the base was initially a basic flying school under the U.S. Army Air Corps Southeast Air Corps Training Center. During World War II, it trained over 8,600 pilots and briefly served as a prisoner-of-war camp for German POWs. After the war, it became a permanent USAAF installation and was renamed Shaw Air Force Base on January 13, 1948, following the establishment of the USAF.

From 1951 to 1993, the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing was stationed at Shaw, serving as a primary reconnaissance unit and introducing several new aircraft types to the USAF. In 1981, its mission shifted to tactical fighter operations, becoming the 363d Tactical Fighter Wing, equipped with F-16s. This wing participated in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm, achieving the first U.S. F-16 air-to-air kill with an AIM-120 AMRAAM missile. In 1994, the 20th Fighter Wing, a unit with historical ties to Shaw, reactivated at the base, assuming the personnel and equipment of the inactivated 363d FW.

Today, Shaw AFB is under the jurisdiction of Air Combat Command (ACC), with the 20th Fighter Wing as the host unit. The 20th Fighter Wing operates F-16CJ fighter aircraft for missions including suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD), strategic attack, and air interdiction. Major tenant units include Headquarters Ninth Air Force (9 AF), United States Air Forces Central (USAFCENT), and United States Army Central (USARCENT), which relocated to Shaw in 2011. The base also supports various contracting activities for information technology, aircrew training, and infrastructure engineering.