Shepherd Field Air National Guard Base


 * See: Eastern WV Regional Airport for civil airport information

Shepherd Field Air National Guard Base is the home base of the West Virginia Air National Guard 167th Airlift Wing.

Overview
Shepherd Field Air National Guard Base is located at the Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport, 4 miles south of Martinsburg, WV. The installation consists of approximately 205 acres and 34 buildings totaling 347,441 square feet. During peak surges, the installation population is approximately military 1500 personnel, consisting of both full-time Air Reserve Technicians (ART) and Active Guard and Reserve (AGR) and part-time Traditional Guardsmen (TG).

Following World War II, the Air National Guard designated the State of West Virginia as the resident state for the 167th Fighter Squadron. On 24 May 1946, Charleston's Kanawha Airport became the home base for the renamed 167th Fighter Squadron. Early aircraft included the T-6 Texan, P-47 Thunderbolt (redesignated F-47 in late 1947) and the P-51 Mustang (redesignated F-51 in late 1947). The name, mission, size and even the site changed over the next 40 years, but the unit number "167th" has remained constant with the West Virginia Air National Guard.

In early 1995, while flying the C-130E version of the C-130 Hercules aircraft, the by now renamed 167th Airlift Group (167 AG) began conversion training for the C-130H-3 variant in the first quarter, transferring most of their "E" models to the Illinois Air National Guard's 182d Airlift Wing in Peoria, Illinois. The 167 AG's Civil Engineers deployed to Panama and the Medical Squadron deployed to Honduras that year, while most of the sections took part in a deployment to Alpena, Michigan in September where chemical exercises and other special training took place. The unit celebrated its 40th anniversary on 10 June 1995.

The 167th Airlift Group was redesignated the 167th Airlift Wing (167 AW) on 1 October 1995 and as it became operationally capable in the C-130H-3 aircraft to perform its airlift mission. BRAC 2005 converted the wing's aircraft from the C-130 Hercules to the C-5 Galaxy.