March Air Reserve Base

March Air Reserve Base (March ARB), previously known as March Air Force Base (March AFB), is a United States Air Force Reserve base located in Riverside County, California, between the cities of Riverside, Moreno Valley, and Perris. It is the home to the Air Force Reserve Command's Fourth Air Force (4 AF) Headquarters and the host of the 452nd Air Mobility Wing (452 AMW), the largest air mobility wing of the Fourth Air Force. In addition to multiple units of the Air Force Reserve Command supporting Air Mobility Command, Air Combat Command, and Pacific Air Forces, March ARB is also home to units from the Army Reserve, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, California Air National Guard, and the California Army National Guard. For almost 50 years, March AFB was a Strategic Air Command base during the Cold War. The facility covers of land., effective June 13, 2024.

Units

On 1 January 1994, the 722nd Air Refueling Wing was activated at then-March AFB to replace the 22nd Air Refueling Wing, which was moving to McConnell AFB, KS, w/o/p/e. The wing was inactivated on 1 April 1996 and base responsibilities transferred to Air Force Reserve 452nd Air Mobility Wing (452 AMW).

Today the host unit at March remains the 452 AMW, which in addition to its operational flying mission, also provides host base support for numerous tenant units. March ARB is also the home to Headquarters, Fourth Air Force (4 AF) of the Air Force Reserve Command and multiple units of the California Air National Guard. 452nd Air Mobility Wing 452nd Operations Group 336th Air Refueling Squadron 729th Airlift Squadron 452nd Operations Support Squadron 912nd Air Refueling Squadron (Active Duty "Associate" Squadron) 452nd Maintenance Group 452nd Mission Support Group 452nd Medical Group 1st Combat Camera Squadron Operating Location Charlie (established late 2017)

Tenant units Fourth Air Force 163rd Attack Wing, California Air National Guard 144th Fighter Wing Detachment 1, California Air National Guard 701st Combat Operations Squadron, 610th Air Operations Group, Tenth Air Force 362nd Air Force Recruiting Squadron, 372nd Recruiting Group, Air Force Recruiting Service AFN Broadcast Center/Defense Media Center Defense Visual Information Center, Defense Media Activity 653rd Area Support Group, 304th Sustainment Brigade 358th Civil Affairs Brigade, 351st Civil Affairs Command, United States Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command Naval and Marine Corps Reserve Center Air and Marine Operations Center, CBP Air and Marine OperationsArmy Reserve

Civil Air Patrol, California Wing, Inland Empire Group III, 45th Composite Squadron Defense Commissary Agency Army & Air Force Exchange Service March Joint Powers Authority

Since 1995, March ARB has hosted alert site operations of the California Air National Guard's 144th Fighter Wing (144 FW), which is also operationally gained by Air Combat Command. Before 2013, the 144 FW stationed F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft, initially consisting of F-16C/D Block 25, then F-16C/D Block 32, on alert at March. Following the wing's transition to the F-15 Eagle, the 144 FW now stations contracted South Dakota ANG (114th FW) F-16C Block 30s at this operating location in support of USNORTHCOM and NORAD.

Civilian agency flight activities include a permanently based U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air Unit, as well as a California Department of Forestry air unit that uses the base on an intermittent basis.

Dragon Flight is a civilian formation flight demonstration team, based at March, sponsored by the March Field Aero Club. The team uses the T-34 Mentor, making numerous appearances throughout the southwest United States each year.

March Field Airfest The March Field Airfest, also known as Thunder Over the Empire, is a biennial air show held at March ARB. It is among the largest events in the Inland Empire and Riverside County. The show has featured such performers as the United States Air Force Thunderbirds, the F-22 Raptor, and many other military and civilian demonstrations. The year 2010 saw the Patriots Jet Team as the highlight demonstration team of the show. Attendance for the 2010 show was estimated at over 150,000. The most recent event, renamed the Southern California Air Show, was held April 12–13, 2025.

History March is one of the oldest airfields operated by the United States military, being established as Alessandro Flying Training Field in February 1918. It was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I in April 1917.William R. Evinger: Directory of Military Bases in the U.S., Oryx Press, Phoenix, Ariz., 1991, p. 147. The airfield was renamed March Field the following month in honor of 2nd Lieutenant Peyton C. March, Jr., the recently deceased son of then-Army Chief of Staff Peyton C. March, who was killed in an air crash in Texas just fifteen days after being commissioned.Armed Services Press, Welcome to March Air Force Base – 1971 Unofficial Guide and Directory, Riverside, California, 1971, page 3.Location of U.S. Aviation Fields, The New York Times, 21 July 1918

World War I The establishment of March Air Force Base began in the early 20th century at a time when the United States was rushing to build up its military forces in anticipation of an entry into World War I. In 1917, in response to news from the front lines, Congressional appropriations attempted to back the plans of General George O. Squier, the Army's chief signal officer, to "put the Yankee punch into the war by building an army in the air".

At the same time, the War Department announced its intentions to build several new military installations. Efforts by Frank Miller, then-owner of the Mission Inn in Riverside, California, Hiram Johnson and others, succeeded in gaining War Department approval to construct an airfield at Alessandro Field located near Riverside, an airstrip used by aviators from Rockwell Field on cross country flights from San Diego.

The Army quickly set about establishing the new air field. Sergeant Charles E. Garlick, who had landed at Alessandro Field in a Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" in November 1917, was selected to lead the advance contingent of four men to the new base from Rockwell Field. On 26 February 1918, Garlick and his crew and a group of muleskinners from nearby Colton, known to be experts in clearing land as well as for their colorful syntax, began the task of excavating the building foundations, and on 1 March 1918, Alessandro Flying Training Field was opened.

On 20 March 1918, Alessandro Flying Training Field became March Field, named in honor of Second Lieutenant Peyton C. March, Jr., son of the Army Chief of Staff, who had been killed when his Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" crashed in Fort Worth, Texas the previous month. His crash occurred two weeks after he had been commissioned in the regular United States Army Air Service.

By late April 1918, enough progress had been made in the construction of the new field to allow the arrival of the first troops. The commander of the 818th Aero Squadron detachment, Captain William Carruthers, took over as the field's first commander and for a time operated out of an office in the Mission Inn. Within a record 60 days, the grain stubble-covered plain of Moreno Valley had been partially transformed to include twelve hangars, six barracks equipped for 150 men each, mess halls, a machine shop, post exchange, hospital, a supply depot, an aero repair building, bachelor officer's quarters, and a residence for the commanding officer. Eventually March Field saw the construction of some 50 buildings. It covered over 700 acres and could accommodate up to 1,000 personnel. Dozens of wooden buildings served as headquarters, maintenance, and officers' quarters. Enlisted men had to bivouac in tents.

The first flying squadron was the 215th Aero Squadron, which was transferred from Rockwell Field, North Island, California. Later the 68th and the 289th were also transferred up from Rockwell. Only a few U.S. Army Air Service aircraft arrived with squadrons, most of the Curtiss JN-4 Jennys to be used for flight training were shipped in wooden crates by railcar.

March Field served as a base for primary flight training with an eight-week course. It could accommodate a maximum of 300 students. In 1918, flight training occurred in two phases: primary and advanced. Primary training consisted of pilots learning basic flight skills under dual and solo instruction. After completion of their primary training at Mather, flight cadets were then transferred to another base for advanced training. Training units assigned to March were:Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the First World War, Volume 3, Part 3, Center of Military History, United States Army, 1949 (1988 Reprint) Post Headquarters, March Field, March 1918 – April 1923 68th Aero Squadron (II), June 1918 (transferred from Rockwell Field, California) Re-designated as Squadron "A", July–November 1918 215th Aero Squadron, March 1918 (transferred from Rockwell Field, California) Re-designated as Squadron "B", July–November 1918 289th Aero Squadron, August 1918 (transferred from Rockwell Field, California) Re-designated as Squadron "C", July–November 1918 293d Aero Squadron, June 1918 Re-designated as Squadron "D", July–November 1918 311th Aero Squadron, June 1918 Re-designated as Squadron "E", July–November 1918 Flying School Detachment (Consolidation of Squadrons A-E), November 1918 – November 1919

First accident On 2 August 1918, Standard J-1, AS-1918, crashed and was written off at March Field. "By Associated Press to The Sun Riverside, Aug. 2. – William L. Ash, flying cadet at March field [sic], fell 1,000 feet in a tail spin today and was seriously injured. He suffered a fractured leg and arm and puncture of the side. It is expected he will recover. Ash lived in Pittsburg, Kansas. It was the first serious accident at March field. Ash was making his second solo flight when he fell."Associated Press, "First Accident March Field; Flyer Killed at San Diego; Other Mishaps of Single Day", The San Bernardino Daily Sun, San Bernardino, California, Saturday 3 August 1918, Volume XLVIII, Number 134, p. 2.

Post-Armistice With the sudden end of World War I on 11 November 1918, the future operational status of March Field was uncertain. Many local officials speculated that the U.S. government would keep the field open because of the outstanding combat record established by March-trained pilots in Europe. Locals also pointed to the optimal weather conditions in the Riverside area for flight training. Cadets in flight training on 11 November 1918 were allowed to complete their training; however, no new cadets were assigned to the base. Furthermore, the separate training squadrons were consolidated into a single Flying School detachment, as many of the personnel assigned were being demobilized.

Inter-war years

The signing of the armistice in November 1918 did not halt training at March Field. Initially March was used by several Air Service squadrons that returned from France: 9th Aero Squadron: 22 July – 2 August, 15 November – 11 December 1919 19th Aero Squadron: 1 October – 29 June 1921 23rd Aero Squadron: 1 October 1921 – 21 March 1922

On 13 December 1919, the United States House of Representatives passed an appropriations bill for $9.6 million for the purchase of additional land at military camps "which are to be made part of the permanent military establishment." March Field was allocated $64,000 of this amount.United Press, “House Passes Bill To Buy March Field,” Riverside Daily Press, Riverside, California, Saturday evening, 13 December 1919, Volume XXXIV, Number 269, p. 8.