Eglin Air Force Base is a base of the United States Air Force that belongs to the Air Force Materiel Command; the Air Armament Center is the host unit. More than 45 associate units call Eglin home. Eglin is one of the largest Air Force bases in the world, covering 724 square miles (1,875 km²) of reservation and 97,963 square miles (253,723 km²) of water ranges in the Gulf of Mexico. Eglin employs more than 8,500 military and approximately 4,500 civilians.

Geography

Eglin AFB is located at 30°27'26" North, 86°33'3" West (30.457156, -86.550815)¹.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the base has a total area of 8.3 km² (3.2 mi²). 7.9 km² (3.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.4 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 4.38% water.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there are 8,082 people, 2,302 households, and 2,262 families residing on the base. The population density is 1,019.8/km² (2,640.1/mi²). There are 2,320 housing units at an average density of 292.7/km² (757.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the base is 71.79% White, 14.82% Black or African American, 0.48% Native American, 2.96% Asian, 0.38% Pacific Islander, 4.23% from other races, and 5.33% from two or more races. 11.19% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 2,302 households out of which 79.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 89.8% are married couples living together, 5.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 1.7% are non-families. 1.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 0.0% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.50 and the average family size is 3.51.

On the base the population is spread out with 43.5% under the age of 18, 15.2% from 18 to 24, 39.6% from 25 to 44, 1.6% from 45 to 64, and 0.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 22 years. For every 100 females there are 100.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 100.3 males.

The median income for a household on the base is $31,951, and the median income for a family is $31,859. Males have a median income of $25,409 versus $19,176 for females. The per capita income for the base is $10,670. 4.5% of the population and 4.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 4.5% of those under the age of 18 and 0.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Climate

Warm, subtropical weather lasts almost nine months out of the year. The annual precipitation ranges from 25 to 60 inches. Year-round, the average temperatures run:

 Jan - Mar: 60-69 High and 42-51 Low
 Apr - Jun: 76-88 High and 58-72 Low
 Jul - Sep: 86-89 High and 70-77 Low
 Oct - Dec: 63-79 High and 44-69 Low
 

The area gets only 50 to 60 days of annual precipitation or more rainfall. There are few days without sunshine which allows year-round outdoor activities.

Civil rocketry

Eglin Air Force Base is also a launch site for civil rockets of NASA. Therefore there are three pads (1 at 29.6700 N and 85.3700 W at Cape San Blas, 2 on Santa Rosa Island at 30.3800 N and 86.7400 W respectively 30.3800 N and 86.8170 W). Launched rockets were Arcas, Nike Cajun, Nike Apaches, Nike Iroquois, etc. [1] (http://www.astronautix.com/sites/eglin.htm)

External links

• Maps and aerial photos
  • Street map from Mapquest (http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?latlongtype=decimal&latitude=30.457156&longitude=-86.550815&zoom=6)
  • Topographic map from Topozone (http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=30.457156&lon=-86.550815&s=200&size=m&layer=DRG100)
  • Aerial photograph from Microsoft Terraserver (http://terraserver.microsoft.com/map.aspx?t=1&s=14&lon=-86.550815&lat=30.457156&w=750&h=500)