This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2016) |
Stewart Air National Guard Base | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Near Newburgh, New York in the United States | |||||||||
Coordinates | 41°30′10″N 74°04′59″W / 41.5027°N 74.0830°W | ||||||||
Type | Air National Guard Base | ||||||||
Site information | |||||||||
Owner | Department of Defense | ||||||||
Operator | US Air Force (USAF) | ||||||||
Controlled by | New York Air National Guard (ANG) | ||||||||
Condition | Operational | ||||||||
Website | www | ||||||||
Site history | |||||||||
Built | 1934 | ||||||||
In use | 1934–1970 1980–present | ||||||||
Garrison information | |||||||||
Garrison | 105th Airlift Wing (host) | ||||||||
Airfield information | |||||||||
Identifiers | IATA: SWF, ICAO: KSWF, FAA LID: SWF, WMO: 725038 | ||||||||
Elevation | 149.6 metres (491 ft) AMSL | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Airfield shared with New York Stewart International Airport. Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1] |
Stewart Air National Guard Base, located in Orange County, New York, is the base of the 105th Airlift Wing (105 AW), an Air Mobility Command unit of the New York Air National Guard and "host" wing for the installation. The airport also hosts extensive civilian facilities, known alternately as Newburgh-Stewart, Stewart International Airport or New York Stewart International.
Stewart Airfield opened in 1934 at the direction of Douglas MacArthur as a training facility for the nearby United States Military Academy (West Point). The base is named in honor of a 19th-century Scottish-born sea captain, Lachlan Stewart, and his son, who donated the land it now occupies.[2] It was built out significantly during World War II.
In 1948 it transitioned to the newly formed United States Air Force to become the Stewart Air Force Base while also continuing its training mission with West Point. In 1958 it added a SAGE direction center, DC-02, controlling the Boston Air Defense Sector. Most operations at Stewart wound down in the 1960s. The base was deactivated in 1970 and taken over by New York State as a civilian airport.
The current base opened in 1980 by agreement between the state and the ANG. The next year, it was the arrival airport for the freed American hostages from Iran.