Ellsworth Air Force Base

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Ellsworth Air Force Base
Near Rapid City, South Dakota in United States of America
A Rockwell B-1B Lancer taking off from Ellsworth AFB
Ellsworth AFB Location Show map of North America Ellsworth AFB Ellsworth AFB (the United States) Show map of the United States Ellsworth AFB Ellsworth AFB (South Dakota) Show map of South Dakota
Coordinates	44°08′47″N 103°04′29″W / 44.14639°N 103.07472°W / 44.14639; -103.07472 (Ellsworth AFB)
Type	US Air Force base
Site information
Owner	Department of Defense
Operator	US Air Force
Controlled by	Air Force Global Strike Command
Condition	Operational
Website	www.ellsworth.af.mil
Site history
Built	1941 (1941) (as Rapid City Army Air Base)
In use	1941 – present
Garrison information
Garrison	28th Bomb Wing
Airfield information
Identifiers	IATA: RCA, ICAO: KRCA, FAA LID: RCA, WMO: 726625
Elevation	998.5 metres (3,276 ft) AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 13/31 4,113.8 metres (13,497 ft) concrete
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]

Ellsworth Air Force Base (AFB) (IATA: RCA, ICAO: KRCA, FAA LID: RCA) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located about 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota, just north of the town of Box Elder.

The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing (28 BW). Assigned to the Global Strike Command's Eighth Air Force, the 28 BW is one of the USAF's two B-1B Lancer wings, along with the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess AFB, Texas. In 2023, the 28th Bomb Wing is commanded by Colonel Derek Oakley;^[2] its command chief master sergeant was Chief Master Sergeant Adam Vizi.^[3]

Ellsworth has a population of about 8,000 military members, family members and civilian employees. Rapid City itself has a population of 78,824. There are about 3,800 military retirees in western South Dakota.^{[citation needed]}

For decades, Ellsworth's main entrance included a symbolic B-52 Stratofortress, a gift from the citizens of Rapid City.^{[citation needed]} This entrance has recently been replaced.

An expansion of a bomber training area encompassing the Northern Plains known as the Powder River Training Complex began in 2008.^{[citation needed]}