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Naval Air Station Lemoore

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Naval Air Station Lemoore or NAS Lemoore (IATA: NLC, ICAO: KNLC, FAA LID: NLC) is a United States Navy base, located in Kings County and Fresno County, California, United States. Lemoore Station, a census-designated place, is located inside the base's borders.[2]

Naval Air Station Lemoore
Reeves Field
Near Lemoore, California in the United States
Two US Navy F-35C Lightning II from VFA-101 fly in formation over NAS Lemoore with F/A-18E/F Super Hornets of VFA-122 during 2015.
NAS Lemoore is located in the United States
NAS Lemoore
NAS Lemoore
Location in the United States
Coordinates36°19′59″N 119°57′07″W / 36.33306°N 119.95194°W / 36.33306; -119.95194
TypeNaval Air Station (Master jet base)
Site information
OwnerDepartment of Defense
OperatorUS Navy
Controlled byNavy Region Southwest
ConditionOperational
WebsiteOfficial website
Site history
Built1961 (1961)
In use1961 – present
Garrison information
Current
commander		Captain Douglas M. Peterson
GarrisonStrike Fighter Wing Pacific
Airfield information
IdentifiersIATA: NLC, ICAO: KNLC, FAA LID: NLC, WMO: 747020
Elevation65.2 meters (214 ft) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
14L/32R 4,115.4 meters (13,502 ft) Concrete
14R/32L 4,115.1 meters (13,501 ft) Concrete
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]

NAS Lemoore is the Navy's newest and largest master jet base. Strike Fighter Wing Pacific, along with its associated squadrons, is home ported there.

NAS Lemoore also hosts four carrier air wings: Carrier Air Wing Two (CVW-2), Carrier Air Wing Nine (CVW-9), Carrier Air Wing Eleven (CVW-11), and Carrier Air Wing Seventeen (CVW-17).[3]

History

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Aerial view of NAS Lemoore in the early 1960s

Commissioned in 1961, NAS Lemoore, as seen from an aircraft flying above, looks significant and stands out from the farmlands of Central California, due to its large construction. It is the newest and largest master jet base of the U.S. Navy. It has two offset parallel runways 4,600 feet (1,400 m) apart. Aircraft parking and maintenance hangars are aligned between the 13,500-foot (4,100 m) runways. Separated from the hangars by underpasses beneath taxiways A and C, the remainder of the air operations area is located directly to the southeast.

In July 1998, NAS Lemoore was selected as the West Coast site for the Navy's newest strike-fighter aircraft, the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. This decision brought approximately 92 additional aircraft, 1,850 additional active duty personnel and 3,000 family members to NAS Lemoore, and several associated facility additions or improvements.

The Navy also brought four new fleet squadrons to NAS Lemoore from 2001 to 2004. Additional military staffing was required at the Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department, Strike Fighter Weapons School Pacific, and Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training Unit Lemoore (CNATTU Lemoore) to support this effort. Originally, the officer in charge of construction for building the base was Commander Dennis K. Culp CEC/USN, the first Naval officer in Lemoore.[4][5]

On 31 March 2016, two civilians were killed when the Jeep Grand Cherokee they were driving in collided with a parked F/A-18 jet.[6] They were being pursued by the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and managed to enter the base without hindrance by base security. A CHP helicopter was monitoring the chase from above and captured the event in a FLIR video; the base tower staff can be heard asking if the vehicle was already in the base. A CHP dispatcher can be heard confirming so and that CHP were unable to contact base security for assistance.[7]

Current operations

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With the transfer of NAS Miramar to the United States Marine Corps, NAS Lemoore now hosts the Navy's entire west coast fighter/attack capability. NAS Lemoore was built "from the ground up" as a Master Jet Base, and has several operational advantages, and relatively few constraints, as a result.

Strike Fighter Wing Pacific with its supporting facilities is home ported here. The primary aircraft based at NAS Lemoore is the F/A-18 Super Hornet strike fighter. In November, 1999, NAS Lemoore received its first F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, which replaced the F-14 Tomcat in fleet service as an air-superiority fighter and has assumed, in a different configuration, the role of older F/A-18 Hornet fighters. Currently, there are a total of 175 Hornets and Super Hornets home-based at NAS Lemoore operating from one Fleet Replacement Squadron and sixteen Fleet [operational] Squadrons. In 2017, the F-35C Lightning II was received onboard NAS Lemoore, establishing the first F-35 Pacific training squadron.

Lemoore is home to aircraft assigned to the following Carrier Air Wings.

Based flying units

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Flying units based at NAS Lemoore.[8]

United States Navy

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Commander, Naval Air Forces, Pacific

Tenant squadrons

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Insignia Squadron Code Callsign/Nickname Assigned Aircraft Operational Assignment Administrative Assignment
 
 Strike Fighter Squadron 2 VFA-2 Bounty Hunters F/A-18F Super Hornet Carrier Air Wing Two Commander, Strike Fighter Wing Pacific (COMSTRKFIGHTWINGPAC)
 
 Strike Fighter Squadron 14 VFA-14 Tophatters F/A-18E Super Hornet Carrier Air Wing Nine Commander, Strike Fighter Wing Pacific (COMSTRKFIGHTWINGPAC)
 
 Strike Fighter Squadron 22 VFA-22 Fighting Redcocks F/A-18F Super Hornet Carrier Air Wing Seventeen Commander, Strike Fighter Wing Pacific (COMSTRKFIGHTWINGPAC)
 
 Strike Fighter Squadron 25 VFA-25 Fist of the Fleet F/A-18E Super Hornet Carrier Air Wing Eleven Commander, Strike Fighter Wing Pacific (COMSTRKFIGHTWINGPAC)
 
 Strike Fighter Squadron 41 VFA-41 Black Aces F/A-18F Super Hornet Carrier Air Wing Nine Commander, Strike Fighter Wing Pacific (COMSTRKFIGHTWINGPAC)
 
 Strike Fighter Squadron 86 VFA-86 Sidewinders F-35C Lightning II Commander, Joint Strike Fighter Wing (COMJSFWING) Commander, Joint Strike Fighter Wing (COMJSFWING)
 
 Strike Fighter Squadron 94 VFA-94 Mighty Shrikes F/A-18E Super Hornet Carrier Air Wing Seventeen Commander, Strike Fighter Wing Pacific (COMSTRKFIGHTWINGPAC)
 
 Strike Fighter Squadron 97 VFA-97 Warhawks F-35C Lightning II Carrier Air Wing Two Commander, Joint Strike Fighter Wing (COMJSFWING)
 
 Strike Fighter Squadron 113 VFA-113 Stingers F/A-18E Super Hornet Carrier Air Wing Two Commander, Strike Fighter Wing Pacific (COMSTRKFIGHTWINGPAC)
 
 Strike Fighter Squadron 122 VFA-122 Flying Eagles F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) Commander, Strike Fighter Wing Pacific (COMSTRKFIGHTWINGPAC)
 
 Strike Fighter Squadron 125 VFA-125 Rough Raiders F-35C Lightning II Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) Commander, Joint Strike Fighter Wing (COMJSFWING)
 
 Strike Fighter Squadron 136 VFA-136 Knighthawks F/A-18E Super Hornet Carrier Air Wing One Commander, Strike Fighter Wing Pacific (COMSTRKFIGHTWINGPAC)
 
 Strike Fighter Squadron 137 VFA-137 Kestrels F/A-18E Super Hornet Carrier Air Wing Seventeen Commander, Strike Fighter Wing Pacific (COMSTRKFIGHTWINGPAC)
 
 Strike Fighter Squadron 146 VFA-146 Blue Diamonds F/A-18E Super Hornet Carrier Air Wing Seventeen Commander, Strike Fighter Wing Pacific (COMSTRKFIGHTWINGPAC)
 
 Strike Fighter Squadron 147 VFA-147 Argonauts F-35C Lightning II Commander, Joint Strike Fighter Wing (COMJSFWING) Commander, Joint Strike Fighter Wing (COMJSFWING)
 
 Strike Fighter Squadron 151 VFA-151 Vigilantes F/A-18E Super Hornet Carrier Air Wing Nine Commander, Strike Fighter Wing Pacific (COMSTRKFIGHTWINGPAC)
 
 Strike Fighter Squadron 154 VFA-154 Black Knights F/A-18F Super Hornet Carrier Air Wing Eleven Commander, Strike Fighter Wing Pacific (COMSTRKFIGHTWINGPAC)
 
 Strike Fighter Squadron 192 VFA-192 World Famous Golden Dragons F/A-18E Super Hornet Carrier Air Wing Two Commander, Strike Fighter Wing Pacific (COMSTRKFIGHTWINGPAC)
 
 Naval Air Station Lemoore Search and Rescue NASL SAR MH-60S Seahawk "Knighthawk" Naval Air Station Lemoore (NASL)
 
 Strike Fighter Weapons School Pacific SFWSPAC F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Commander, Strike Fighter Wing Pacific (COMSTRKFIGHTWINGPAC) Commander, Strike Fighter Wing Pacific (COMSTRKFIGHTWINGPAC)
 
 Fleet Readiness Center West FRCW Naval Air Station Lemoore (NASL) Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers (COMFRC)

Other tenant activities

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FAA airport diagram
  • Fleet Logistics Center San Diego, Det Lemoore
  • Fleet Aviation Specialized Operational Training Group, Pacific Fleet
  • Naval Air Technical Services Facility Detachment
  • Naval Aviation Engineering Service Unit
  • Naval Air Maintenance Training Group
  • Naval Hospital
  • Naval Branch Dental Clinic
  • Naval Training Systems Center
  • Trainer Systems Support Activity
  • Navy Operational Support Center (formerly Naval Air Reserve Center)
  • Naval Criminal Investigative Service NCISRA
  • Naval Legal Service Office, Southwest Branch Office
  • Aviation Survival Training Center
  • NATEC, Naval Air Technical Data and Engineering Service Command
  • NAFC, Naval Aviation Forecast Component
  • NAMCE, Naval Aviation Maintenance Center for Excellence
  • MWSS 473 Detachment Alpha, Marine Corps Reserve Motor transportation company

Educational institutes

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  • Akers Elementary School (Preschool–8th)
  • Neutra Elementary School (K–5)
  • Columbia College
  • West Hills College

See also

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References

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  1. ^ FAA Airport Form 5010 for NLC PDF
  2. ^ "Naval Air Station Lemoore". www.cnic.navy.mil.
  3. ^ "Home". www.csfwp.navy.mil.
  4. ^ "History". www.csfwp.navy.mil.
  5. ^ "NAS Lemoore". www.militarybases.us.
  6. ^ Peres, Jessica (2016-03-31). "CHP chase ends in fatal crash into a F/A-18 at NAS Lemoore". ABC30 Fresno. Retrieved 2018-10-08.
  7. ^ Real World Police (2018-10-04), Pursuit onto NAS Lemoore Ends When Jeep Crashes into F-18 Super Hornet, archived from the original on 2021-12-12, retrieved 2018-10-08
  8. ^ Kaminski, Tom (2020). "Air Power Review". US Navy and Marine Corps Air Power Review Yearbook 2020. Key Publishing. pp. 66–81.

Sources

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