Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base Explained

Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base
Nearest Town:Columbus, Ohio
Country:the United States
Type:Air National Guard Base
Pushpin Map:USA
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in the United States
Pushpin Label:Rickenbacker ANGB
Ownership:Department of Defense
Operator:US Air Force (USAF)
Controlledby:Ohio Air National Guard (ANG)
Built: 1940s (as Lockbourne Army Airfield)
Used: 1940s – present
Condition:Operational
Current Commander:Colonel David B. Johnson
Garrison:121st Air Refueling Wing
Iata:LCK
Icao:KLCK
Faa:LCK
Wmo:724285
Elevation:226.7m (743.8feet)
R1-Number:5R/23L
R1-Length:3688.6m (12,101.7feet)
R1-Surface:Asphalt/concrete
R2-Number:5L/23R
R2-Length:3627.7m (11,901.9feet)
R2-Surface:Asphalt
Footnotes:Airfield shared with Rickenbacker International Airport.
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]

Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base is an Ohio Air National Guard installation at Rickenbacker International Airport near Lockbourne in southern Franklin County. The base was named for the famous early aviator and Columbus native Eddie Rickenbacker. It is the home of the 121st Air Refueling Wing (121 ARW), an Air National Guard (ANG) unit that serves as the host wing and operates in federal service under the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command (AMC).

Rickenbacker ANGB operates at the airport as a tenant of the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, sharing the facility with commercial airlines and other civilian aircraft operators. The air base is a joint military facility whose own tenant activities include the Ohio Army National Guard's Army Aviation Support Facility #2, Navy Reserve and Marine Corps Reserve units, and associated facilities.

During World War II, the installation was a U.S. Army Air Forces training base known as Lockbourne Army Airfield, becoming an Air Force base in 1948 a few months following the establishment of the United States Air Force as an independent branch of the U.S. armed forces. The base was named Lockbourne AFB from 1948 to 1974 and later Rickenbacker AFB from 1974 to 1980. The facility was transferred from Strategic Air Command and the active duty Air Force on 1 April 1980 and turned over to the Air National Guard.

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Notes and References

  1. Web site: Airport Diagram – Rickenbacker Intl (LCK) . 16 July 2020. Federal Aviation Administration. 22 July 2020.