The 482d Fighter Wing, Air Force Reserve Command, maintains and operates Homestead Air Reserve Base, located near the southern end of the Florida peninsula, about 25 miles south of Miami. It is a fully combat-ready unit capable of providing F-16C multi-purpose fighter aircraft, along with mission ready pilots and support personnel, for short-notice worldwide deployment. The wing has more than 2,500 members, including more than 1,700 traditional reservists, of which more than 240 are full-time reservists, in addition to more than 250 full-time civilians.
The 482d FW is also home to the 367th Fighter Squadron, an active duty unit integrating with the 482d Fighter Wing (Reserves) under the Total Force Integration concept. The unit has more than 170 active duty members assigned.
The 93rd Fighter Squadron "Makos" fly and maintain the F-16C Fighting Falcon aircraft. The F-16s can be identified by the letters "FM" ("Florida Makos") and the Mako shark displayed proudly on the tail.
In addition, the 482d FW supports and trains civil engineering, communications, medical, logistics, aircraft maintenance, mission support, aerial transportation specialists and a security forces squadron that can be deployed interchangeably with active-duty units to meet U.S. Air Force commitments around the world.
The 482d FW regularly hosts combat units from all over the world with its unique geographic location. Visiting units come to South Florida to take advantage of the superb flying weather and the abundant training airspace in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.
Today's Air Force is more than 30 percent smaller than it was during Operation Desert Storm. This has resulted in an unprecedented reliance on the continuous use of the modern Air Force Reserve in day-to-day, world-wide operations. In fact, the Air Force Reserve Command provides the U.S. Air Force about 20 percent of their capability with only about four percent of the total Air Force budget.
The 482d FW has a high operations tempo, engaging in year-round training to ensure personnel and equipment remain deployable and combat-ready.
Since 9/11, the wing has supported numerous deployments to include:
Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom, Operation Noble Eagle, Operation New Horizons, Operation Viper Javelin, Operation Unified Response, Operations Northern and Southern Watch, and Operation New Dawn.
The 482d FW supports several tenant units at Homestead ARB.
A Florida Air National Guard Detachment from the 125th Fighter Wing, Jacksonville, Fla., operates the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) alert facility providing F-15 aircraft capable of intercepting, identifying, and if necessary, destroying unknown aircraft that penetrate U.S. airspace. The 482d FW also supports the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Branch air interdiction mission; the U.S. Coast Guard's Maritime Safety and Security Team Miami (91114); U.S. Special Operations Command South, a subordinate command of U.S. Southern Command located in the City of Doral, Fla.; and several other government satellite offices are located on base.
During the Atlantic hurricane season, the 482nd FW routinely supports forward deployment of the Air Force Reserve's "Hurricane Hunters" weather reconnaissance mission, and joint relief operations with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In October of 2005, Homestead Air Reserve Base teamed up with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to bring over 1 million tons of relief supplies to South Floridians recovering from Hurricane Wilma.
Current as of May 2015