Historic Carswell Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth, Texas

Most Fort Worth natives, including myself, have a fond affection for the Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base located about a mile from my home in West Fort Worth.

The base was first constucted back in 1941 and was dubbed the Tarrant Field Airdrome and was militarized the following year after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  It was named Carswell Air Force Base in 1948 in honor of Fort Worth Native, Major Horace S. Carswell, who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for bombing mission in 1944 where he refused to bailout of his bomber and leave another man behind.  Carswell AFB became the first Strategic Air Command bases in the U.S.

On the Strategic-AirCommand.com Web site the importance of the mission carried out by Carswell is described in detail.  Carswell's mission to protect the U.S. against nuclear attack went form 1946 to 1992, encompassing the Korean, Veitnam, and first Iraq wars.  Our fighting men and women were deployed to all of these wars.

As the cold war ended in the early 1990's, SAC was officially disestablished on June 1, 1992.  As downsizing of the military began Carswell found itself in peril of being chopped and was targeted for closure in 1991.  Then Mayor Kay Granger and former Congressman Pete Geren were instrumental in keeping the base open. 

At the time the Naval Air Station in Dallas was in sad condition compared to the up-to-date Carswell.  Instead of having two bases serving both branches Air Force and Navy, the idea was to consolidate the resources ofr both into the same facility.  So in Oct of 1994 Carswell made history as the first Joint Reserve Base in the U.S.  This model has been successfully duplicated at two other locations one in New Orleans and Willow grove Pa.  Not only was Carswell saved but the transformation has proved to be a historical success. 

Today not only does the two military branches share the base but it is the home to Lockheed Martin, building the F-22 and the new F-35.

Happy Trails,

DK