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Air Force base in Washington, D.C., United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bolling Air Force Base or Bolling AFB is a United States Air Force base in Washington, D.C. In 2010, it was merged with Naval Support Facility Anacostia to form Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling. From its beginning, the installation has hosted elements of the Army Air Corps (predecessor to today's Air Force) and Navy aviation and support elements.
| Bolling Air Force Base | |
|---|---|
| Southeast, Washington, D.C. in the United States | |
Bolling AFB main gate during 2008 | |
  Bolling AFB  Bolling AFB | |
| Coordinates | 38°50′34″N 077°00′58″W |
| Type | US Air Force base |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Department of Defense |
| Operator | US Air Force |
| Website | Official website (archived) |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1917 (as The Flying Field at Anacostia) |
| In use | 1917 – 1 October 2010 |
| Fate | Merged in 2010 to become an element of Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling |
Before European colonization, the area where Bolling Air Force Base is located was inhabited by the Nacotchtank, an Algonquian people. The largest village of the Nacotchtank was located just north of the air force base, south of Anacostia Park.[1] Another Nacotchtank village is believed to have existed on the base grounds, where two ossuaries (burial mounds) were discovered in 1936.[2] Other Nacotchtank archaeological sites have been found at Giesboro Point on the Potomac River.[3]
The Department of Defense (DOD) has owned the Bolling grounds since 1917, when the tract of land was scouted by William C. Ocker at the direction of General Billy Mitchell. Founded on 2 October 1917 as The Flying Field at Anacostia, it was the first military airfield near the United States Capitol. It was renamed Anacostia Experimental Flying Field in June 1918.[4]
Soon, the single installation evolved into two separate, adjoining bases; one Army (later Air Force) and one Navy. Bolling Field was opened 1 July 1918 and was named for Colonel Raynal C. Bolling, the first high-ranking air service officer killed in World War I. Colonel Bolling was the Assistant Chief of the Air Service, and was killed in action near Amiens, France, on 26 March 1918 while defending himself and his driver, Private Paul L. Holder, from German soldiers.[4] Flying activities began on 4 July 1918 with mailplanes landing there, with all equipment removed from the former location at the Polo Grounds, Washington, D.C.[5]
In the late 1940s, Bolling Field's property became Naval Air Station Anacostia and a new Air Force base, named Bolling Air Force Base, was constructed just to the south on 24 June 1948.[4]
Bolling AFB has served as a research and testing ground for new aviation equipment and its first mission provided aerial defense of the capital. It moved to its present location, along the Potomac in the city's southwest quadrant, in the 1930s.[4]
Over the years, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and National Guard units, as well as DOD and federal agencies also found the installation to be an ideal place from which to operate.[4]
Although fixed-wing aircraft operations ceased, the installations continued to serve the Military Airlift Command (MAC); the headquarters for the Air Force District of Washington; the Air Force 11th Wing; Commander, Naval Installations Command, Naval Media Center (now, Defense Media Activity-Navy) and many other military commands and federal agencies.[4]
The Air Force District of Washington (AFDW) was created and activated at Bolling on 1 October 1985 with the mission of providing administrative support to Air Force members. On 15 July 1994, AFDW was inactivated, but was reactivated 5 January 2005 to "provide a single voice for Air Force requirements in the National Capital Region" according to the base's website.[4]
Between 19 and 23 December 2000, representatives from the Israeli government and Palestinian Authority convened at Bolling to negotiate a final-status agreement to end the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The failure of these negotiations led to the unveiling on 23 December of the Clinton Parameters.[6]
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