Mountain Home Air Force Base (Mountain Home AFB) is a base of the United States Air Force located near Mountain Home, Idaho in Elmore County, about 60 miles (100 km) southeast of Boise. The 366th Fighter Wing is stationed there. The base is also treated by the U.S. Census as a census-designated place for statistical purposes.

General information

Originally named Mountain Home Army Air Field, construction of the field began in October 1942, and it officially opened 7 August 1943. During World War II, B-24 Liberator crews trained here, then the field was shut down, in October 1945. From 1948 to 1950, the base reopened to host the 5th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, then after a short closure, several resupply wings trained for covert operations. In 1953, the base was transferred to the Strategic Air Command, and hosted the 9th Bombardment Wing. This lasted until 1966, when the base came under the Tactical Air Command and received the 47th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, then the 347th Tactical Fighter Wing for a brief period in 1971 before the 366th relocated from Vietnam.

Geography

Mountain Home AFB is located at 43°2'58" North, 115°51'59" West (43.049511, -115.866452)¹.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 25.7 km² (9.9 mi²). 25.7 km² (9.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.10% is water.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there are 8,894 people, 1,476 households, and 1,452 families residing in the town. The population density is 346.2/km² (896.1/mi²). There are 1,590 housing units at an average density of 61.9/km² (160.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the town is 83.21% White, 6.90% Black or African American, 0.76% Native American, 2.52% Asian, 0.20% Pacific Islander, 2.70% from other races, and 3.70% from two or more races. 6.47% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 1,476 households out of which 76.4% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 91.9% are married couples living together, 4.4% have a female householder with no husband present, and 1.6% are non-families. 1.4% 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 3.40 and the average family size is 3.43.

In the town the population is spread out with 24.0% under the age of 18, 24.4% from 18 to 24, 49.7% from 25 to 44, 1.8% from 45 to 64, and 0.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 25 years. For every 100 females there are 180.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 219.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town is $31,634, and the median income for a family is $31,377. Males have a median income of $24,865 versus $20,664 for females. The per capita income for the town is $17,671. 7.4% of the population and 6.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 9.1% of those under the age of 18 and 0.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

External links

• Mountain Home AFB homepage (http://www.mountainhome.af.mil/)
• Maps and aerial photos
  • Street map from Mapquest (http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?latlongtype=decimal&latitude=43.049511&longitude=-115.866452&zoom=6)
  • Topographic map from Topozone (http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=43.049511&lon=-115.866452&s=200&size=m&layer=DRG100)
  • Aerial photograph from Microsoft Terraserver (http://terraserver.microsoft.com/map.aspx?t=1&s=14&lon=-115.866452&lat=43.049511&w=750&h=500)