About Dyess Air Force Base

Abilene, Texas is home to Dyess Air Force Base, established in 1942. Dyess AFB consists of the 7th Bomb Wing and 317th Airlift Group.  One of only two B-1B bases, the 7th BW is assigned to the Air Combat Command Twelfth Air Force.  The Commander is Col. Michael Bob Starr.  The 7th BW consists of the 9th and the 28th Squadrons.  Dyess houses the school for the B-1.  The 317th Airlift Group currently is the largest C-130J unit and consists of 39th and 40th Airlift Squadron and with 317th Maintenance and Operations Squadrons.
Dyess AFB is on 6,409 acres just Southwest of Abilene and employs more than 13,000 military and civilian service workers and military members.  Dyess is the largest employer in the area, with a total economic impact of nearly $310 million yearly on the Abilene community.  With a population around 117,000 Abilene is a conservative community and the relationship between the community and the base are unsurpassed.  The bond between the Abilene community and the Base is so strong that the Air Mobility Command Community Support Award, an annual prize honoring the most supportive community has been named the 'Abilene Trophy' and is sponsored by the Abilene Chamber of Commerce.Abilene is also an educational hub with three main Universities, Abilene Christian University, Hardin-Simmons University and McMurry University as well as Cisco College, Texas State Technical College, and the Pharmacy and Nursing Schools of Texas Tech University.  
But additionally, Abilene has many cultural activities, many of which are held at The Grace Museum, the Center for Contemporary Arts, the Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra, and the National Center for Children's Illustrated Literature.   Tourists are attracted to the Abilene Zoo; The Paramount Theatre, which is a restored early-1900s movie house located in downtown Abilene; and Frontier Texas, an interactive museum featuring state-of-the-art holographic technology.