Final Report
Commissioned by Economic Development Council Okaloosa County Florida
Conducted by The Haas Center for Business Research and Economic Development at the University of West Florida Pensacola Florida
Contact Rick Harper 850-474-2657 rharper@uwf.edu
submitted Final Report April 2007
Okaloosa county is home to three military installations, Eglin Air Force Base , Hurlburt Field, and Duke Field. Eglin Air Force Base is the worlds largest Air Force Base covering 724 square miles as well as 97,683 square miles of water test ranges. Eglin belongs to the Air Force Materiel Command, and the Air Armament Center is the host unit. The Air Armament Center is responsible for development, acquisition , testing, deployment, and sustainment of all air delivered weapons. Eglin has been a major employer in the area from the 1930' s to the present day. Hurlburt Field occupies 6000 acres in Okaloosa County and is the headquarters of the Air Force Special ops command. Its mission is to support the training and execution of special operations that are conducted worldwide. The 919th Special operations wing uses Duke Field, located within the Eglin reservation. The 919th Special operations wing is the only special operations unit in the Air Force Reserve. The missions each of these installations give them a leadership role in the current transformation of the military into a force prepared to meet the threats that defense analysts anticipate. Approximately 27 percent of federal military and civilian personnel stationed in Florida live in Okaloosa County.
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