Muñiz Air National Guard Base is the home base for the

Puerto Rico Air National Guard The Puerto Rico Air National Guard (PR ANG) — es, Guardia Nacional Aérea de Puerto Rico— is the aerial militia of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States of America. It is, along with the Puerto Ri ...

. This installation is located within the grounds of

Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport ( es, link=no, Aeropuerto Internacional Luis Muñoz Marín) is a joint civil-military international airport located in suburban Carolina, Puerto Rico, southeast of San Juan. It is named for Luis Muñoz ...

Carolina, Puerto Rico Carolina (; ) is a city and municipality located on the northeast coast of Puerto Rico. It lies immediately east of the capital San Juan and Trujillo Alto; north of Gurabo and Juncos; and west of Canóvanas and Loíza. Carolina is spread over ...

14 km (9 miles) east of

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the juri ...

Overview

The 156th Airlift Wing mission is to provide airlift support for missions of the

U.S. Southern Command The United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), located in Doral, Florida in Greater Miami, is one of the eleven unified combatant commands in the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for providing contingency planning, o ...

(USSOUTHCOM) and airlift for joint military exercises while displaying military capabilities and bolster United States ties with our Latin American neighbors. The

198th Airlift Squadron The 198th Airlift Squadron (198 AS) was the last flying squadron of the Puerto Rico Air National Guard (PRANG) 156th Airlift Wing located at Muñiz Air National Guard Base, in Carolina, Puerto Rico. The 198th last assigned aircraft was the W ...

, a subordinate unit of the 156th Airlift Wing, also located at Muñiz Air National Base provides airlift support. The 156th Airlift Wing is under the Air National Guard/ Air Mobility Command. Muñiz Air National Guard Base also commonly known in Spanish as "Base Muñiz" provides support in local emergencies and mobilization of U.S. military troops from Puerto Rico for deployments worldwide.

History

The Puerto Rico Air National Guard consolidated its operations and moved from the Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport in May 1956 to a new facility at the Isla Verde Airport located in Carolina, Puerto Rico now known as

just 14 km (9 miles) east of

. On 10 April 1958, the 156th Tactical Fighter reorganized into a Fighter Group. On 1 January 1976, the 156th Tactical Fighter Group converted from F-104 Starfighter to A-7D Corsair. The first A-7s arrived in November and the last in March 1976.

Jose Antonio Muñiz

In 1963 the Air National Guard Base was renamed "Muñiz Air National Guard Base" while commemorating the 20th anniversary of its federal recognition in honor of Puerto Rico Air National Guard Co-founder, Lieutenant Colonel José Antonio Muñiz a former

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

officer who during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

served in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

. In 1960, Muñiz was killed when his F-86D flamed out on take-off and crashed. The Lieutenant Colonel José Antonio Muñiz Memorial is located at this base.

Attack by Macheteros

On January 12, 1981, 10

LTV A-7 Corsair II The LTV A-7 Corsair II is an American carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV). The A-7 was developed during the early 1960s as replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Its design was ...

s and a

Lockheed F-104 Starfighter The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic air superiority fighter which was extensively deployed as a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the "Century Series" of fi ...

were damaged and destroyed. It is believed that this was a terrorist act made by

Boricua Popular Army The ''Ejército Popular Boricua'' (" Boricua Popular/People's Army"), also known as ''Los Macheteros'' ("The Machete Wielders"), is a clandestine militant and insurgent organization based in Puerto Rico, with cells in the states and other nat ...

Machetero commandos that infiltrated into the base. The

United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations The Department of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI) is a U.S. federal law enforcement agency that reports directly to the Secretary of the Air Force. OSI is also a U.S. Air Force field operating agency under the administrative ...

became in charge of the investigation. The loss was calculated at $45 million. The base Security detail increased from 11 to 22 Air Force Security Police personnel and 46 civilian contract guards.

Papal visit and presidential visit

On October 12, 1984,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

made the first papal visit to Puerto Rico and was welcomed to Puerto Rico by governor

Carlos Romero Barcelo Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewhe ...

and U.S. State Secretary

George P. Shultz George Pratt Shultz (; December 13, 1920February 6, 2021) was an American economist, businessman, diplomat and statesman. He served in various positions under two different Republican presidents and is one of the only two persons to have held fou ...

at Muñiz ANGB. Pope John Paul II left Puerto Rico on the evening that same day. On June 14, 2011, United States president

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

made an official visit to Puerto Rico for four hours. He arrived on the 747 Air Force One with

Resident Commissioner Resident commissioner was or is an official title of several different types of commissioners, who were or are representatives of any level of government. Historically, they were appointed by the British Crown in overseas protectorates (such ...

Pedro Pierluisi Pedro Rafael Pierluisi Urrutia (born April 26, 1959) is a Puerto Rican politician and lawyer currently serving as governor of Puerto Rico. He has previously served as Secretary of Justice, Resident Commissioner, acting Secretary of State, i ...

at Muñiz Air National Guard Base and he was greeted by

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Luis Fortuño Luis Guillermo Fortuño Burset (born 31 October 1960) is a Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States, from 2009 to 2013. Fortuño served as the first secretary of econom ...

. Later, after campaigning, President Obama gave a speech from a hangar at Muñiz Air National Guard Base.

Air mobility role

On November 22, 1997. Muñiz ANGB received its first

Lockheed C-130 The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally design ...

s while celebrating the 50th anniversary of its federal recognition. The Air Force announced conversion of the 156th Fighter Wing from F-16A/B aircraft to C-130 aircraft, changing the task from combat to transport.

Operation Coronet Oak

Coronet Oak was the name for the continuing operation in which Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) and Air National Guard (ANG) C-130 aircraft, aircrews and related support personnel deploy from the United States to Muñiz Air National Guard Base, Puerto Rico, to provide theater airlift support for the U.S. Southern Command. The Guard and Reserve support the Coronet Oak mission year round since April 19, 1999 from Muñiz Air National Guard Base when this mission moved from

Howard Air Force Base Howard Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base located in Panama. It discontinued military operations on 1 November 1999 as a result of the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, which specified that US military facilities in the former ...

, Panama as result of the U.S. military withdrawal from Panama. Units rotate in and out of Muñiz ANGB every two weeks. Forces assigned to CORONET OAK provide United States Southern Command with logistic and contingency support throughout Central and South America.

Today

Since 1997 the mission for Muñiz Air National Guard base and the 156th Fighter Wing is to provide air mobility support for the U.S. Southern Command. This air base also provides mobilization to assist with humanitarian support in natural disasters such as the

2010 Haiti earthquake A catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest department, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's c ...

. Muñiz ANGB plays a mayor role in the mobilization for the Puerto Rico Air National Guard troops as well Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve soldiers from Puerto Rico for deployments to Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Muñiz Air National Guard Base host the STARBASE Youth Program. STARBASE is a nonresidential educational program for students (grades K-12) that provides them with real-world applications of math and science. Hundreds of students from schools all over Puerto Rico come to Muñiz ANGB to participate in the STARBASE Youth Program. Some Active Guard Reserve personnel from the Puerto Rico Air National Guard work permanent at Muñiz ANGB. In addition some of the facilities at Muñiz ANGB include a Hangar, Maintenance Shops, Command Offices, Family Readiness Center, Lt. Col. Rafael A. Mattei Sports Complex, NGX

Base Exchange An exchange is a type of retail store found on United States military installations worldwide. Originally akin to trading posts, they now resemble contemporary department stores or strip malls. Exact terminology varies by armed service; some examp ...

and The Puerto Rico National Guard institutional trust (FIGNA) office.

Based units

Flying and notable non-flying units based at Muñiz Air National Guard Base.

United States Air Force

Air National Guard *

** 156th Wing *** 156th Operations Group **** 156th Operations Support Squadron ****

– WC-130E Hercules (deactivated) *** 156th Maintenance Group **** 156th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron **** 156th Maintenance Operations Flight **** 156th Maintenance Squadron *** 156th Medical Group *** 156th Mission Support Group **** 156th Force Support Squadron **** 156th Logistics Readiness Squadron **** 156th Civil Engineer Squadron **** 156th Communications Flight **** 156th Security Forces Squadron

References

External links

Muñiz Air National Guard Base: Globalsecurity.org

156th Airlift Wing: Puerto Rico Air National Guard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muniz Air National Guard Base Carolina, Puerto Rico Installations of the United States Air National Guard Military installations established in 1956 Military facilities in Puerto Rico 1956 establishments in Puerto Rico