MCGUIRE AFB

The 305th AMW mission is: "To provide responsive, combat-ready mobility and expeditionary capability for America!"

McGuire Air Force Base, the only Air Force base in New Jersey, is located 18 miles south of Trenton, the state capital, in Burlington County and is the home of the 305th Air Mobility Wing.

McGuire AFB is located in beautiful south central New Jersey, approximately 15 miles from Trenton, 45 minutes from Philadelphia and Atlantic City and 90 minutes from New York City. McGuire AFB is located in New Hanover Township in Burlington County, New Jersey. Burlington County is the largest county in the state of New Jersey, having a size of 530,000 acres. Land uses on McGuire AFB include administrative, aircraft operations and maintenance, airfield, community, housing (family), housing (unaccompanied), industrial, medical, open space, outdoor recreation and water. The majority of the 3,596 acre base is airfield, supporting the two active and one inactive runways.

Today, McGuire AFB employs more than 11,500 people, including approximately 1,500 civilians. The composition of the remaining employees includes over 5,700 military personnel; 3,000 Air Force Reserve members; and nearly 1,500 Air National Guard personnel. Additionally, approximately 12,000 retirees live within a 40-mile radius of the base and utilize McGuire AFB facilities and services.

The 305th Air Mobility Wing and several tenant organizations including the 21st Air Force and the Air Mobility Warfare Center are based at McGuire. Using C-17 Globemaster III's and KC-10 Extenders, McGuire AFB missions support the transportation of troops, passengers, equipment, cargo, mail and provides aerial refueling throughout the world. McGuire personnel and aircraft participate in worldwide relief efforts frequently.

Known as Rudd Field and established as a part of the Army in 1937, the base transferred to the Air Force in 1949. The base is named in honor of Major Thomas B. McGuire, Jr., the second leading American Air Ace of World War II and posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor.

The McGuire AFB site is an active facility that occupies more than 3,500 acres in a rural area of Burlington County. The base is bordered to the north by the community of Wrightstown and to the east, south and west by the U.S. Army's Fort Dix military installation. McGuire AFB is located within the boundaries of the Pinelands National Reserve. The Pinelands are classified as Federal Land designated for the Protection of Natural Ecosystems. The primary source for both community and private drinking water supplies in the vicinity of the site is groundwater obtained from the various aquifers comprising the Atlantic Coastal Plain. There are two major drainage divides on site and several streams to where surface runoff is directed. An extensive system of wetlands is found along both major surface water drainage pathways.