Originally developed as a Strategic Air Command Base, Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, was inactive after the end of World War II until it was returned to Headquarters, Military Air Transport Service, Washington, D.C. The 1706th Air Base Group and its subordinate squadrons, established for the purpose of operating the base and training personnel to man tactical ARCS Wings, was assigned to the jurisdiction of the Continental Division, MATS, Kelly Air Force Base, Texas.
By General Order number 3, Headquarters, Continental Division, MATS, the base was reassigned to the jurisdiction of the 1701st Air Transport Wing at Great Falls, Montana, until 1 April 1951. On 1 November 1951 the 1706th Air Base Group was redesignated as the 1300th Air Base Wing, under the Air Resupply and Communications Service, MATS.
Colonel Herbert S. Beeks arrived on 16 February 1951 with a cadre of thirteen officers and twenty-four airmen. Their eyes were greeted by a forlorn and discouraging prospect. Buildings were roofless and floors were covered with piles of dirty snow. Litter was strewn from one end of the field to the other. Weeds grew everywhere. There were no mess facilities and meals had to be eaten in Mountain Home. There were no fire fighting equipment. Water pumps were operating, but leaky. Only one runway was usable. All personnel lived in permanent type officers quarters, which were in a fair state of repair, until four barracks and a small mess hall could be patched up. Bennett Housing Project in Mountain Home was rehabilitated so that some airmen could have their families with them.
Amazingly, a Post Exchange Service was set up on 25 February 1951 in conjunction with Hill Air Force Base Exchange, Ogden, Utah. Later in the year the connection with Hill AFB was severed and the local exchange was on its own.
Engineering problems were great, but the paramount original problem was supply. The normal difficulties for a new station were multiplied by the fact that former supply accounts complicated routine operations, especially as supply personnel were largely inexperienced. Even when supplies began to flow in around the first of April, there where insufficient personnel to handle the influx and insufficient warehousing space to store the material.
Before the permanent party could make the base livable or establish operating procedures, trainees for the first ARC Wing began trickling in. These personnel were assigned to the 580th ARC Wing, which was activated on 19 April 1951. The Non-Commissioned Officers' Club was open on 11 May. As yet the Officers' Club had not been built, and the O' Club was lodged in a small wing of the Base Hospital. The Sales Commissary was opened in May, but the Clothing Sales Store did not open until July.
During May and June barracks were built or cleaned up. Equipment was installed in the Mess Halls. Litter was removed, weeds uprooted, grass seed planted. On 16 May the first Airman's Information Program was given in the Base Theater which, because the projector had been left in the booth, had been in operation since the reactivation of the base. On 18 June, Colonel Beeks held the first Retreat Parade on the Base to recorded music over loudspeakers, and on the 24th the first religious service was conducted by Chaplain (Major) Everett D. Penrod.
By June, personnel for the 580th ARC Wing were arriving in ever increasing numbers, although facilities for housing and training them were not yet fully available. Supplies were still short when personnel arriving for the newly activated 581st ARC Wing further added to the confusion.
By the end of December, almost all personnel of the 581st ARC Wing had been processed into the organization. Since that time, all other developments have been routine and normal, with only the usual number of obstacles and hurdles to overcome. By August 1952, all of the units which were stationed at Gowan Field were recalled to Mountain Home and have been put into operation here. The 581st ARC Wing deployed in July and the 580th completed its deployment during the month of September.
The purpose of the 1300th Air Base Wing is two-fold: (1) To operate Mountain Home Air Force Base and (2) To train the personnel of the tactical ARC Wings. Support and logistics are provided by the Air Base Group, the Maintenance and Supply Group and the Medical Group. The mission of training the tactical ARC Wings is delegated to the 1300th Training Squadron. Toward this aim, the 1300th Training Squadron had undergone extensive reorganization and expansion. With the removal of the schools from Gowan Field to Mountain Home, all training facilities were now in one organization and on one base, and all personnel of future ARC Wings proceeded through a consolidated training program as developed and operated by the 1300th Training Squadron.
Reprint from ARCSY at Mountain Home, published by the 1300th Reproduction School
Revised: 9 Apr 03