Naval Air Station Fallon

Naval Air Station Fallon, often called NAS Fallon, is a very important training base for the United States Navy. It is found southeast of the city of Fallon and east of Reno in the state of Nevada. Since 1996, NAS Fallon has been the main place where Navy pilots practice fighting in the air and hitting targets on the ground. It used to be at NAS Miramar in California, but moved to this bigger area.

The base has a huge space of 240,000 acres for practice bombing and electronic training. It is also where the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center is located. This center includes several important training schools such as TOPGUN, the Carrier Airborne Early Warning Weapons School, and the Navy Rotary Wing Weapons School. In addition, special training for Navy SEAL teams and Combat Search and Rescue happens here too.

The airfield is named Van Voorhis Field to honor Commander Bruce Van Voorhis, who received the Medal of Honor after his brave actions during World War II.

History

The airfield at NAS Fallon was built in 1942 to help protect the west coast from possible attacks. The Navy took over the airfield for training and has used it ever since, except for a short time from 1946 to 1951 when it was used for other purposes. Before 1972, it was known as a smaller training base and was very busy during the Vietnam War. In 1972, the Navy made it a major training station.

In 1996, the Navy moved its advanced fighter training program, called TOPGUN, from NAS Miramar to NAS Fallon. This brought more training activities to the base and led to new buildings for planes and classrooms. The area around NAS Fallon includes large spaces for practice bombing and simulating defenses, making it an important training location for the Navy.

Museum

The Navy has a museum called the Naval Air Station Fallon Air Park on the base. It shows visitors how the Navy uses airplanes and other aircraft.

Search and rescue team

Since 1972, the base has had its own search and rescue team. Originally named Desert Angels and later renamed Longhorns, the team's job was to help people in need for visiting Carrier Air Wings and other commands at NAS Fallon. The Longhorns flew different helicopters from 1972 to 2022. After that, the responsibility for search and rescue moved to another team. The Longhorns also helped local agencies with search, rescue, and medical help for people in need.