Edwards AFB

 


For all these years in Bakersfield I had been hearing about the annual air shows at the Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert but never could time a visit to see this show. Every time we traveled to Las Vegas we saw signs for the EAFB on freeway 58. The desire to see the base remained lurking in my mind. As I started my project to write about Kern County I couldn’t possibly omit the EAFB from the script. I had to get serious about the visit. I reached out to the Public Affairs phone number I found on their website, left a message, then again a few weeks later. Tried another number and a man answered the phone and asked me to send an email to the concerned person. A few weeks later I called again and this time I was told that I need to write to the Air Force authorities in New York seeking permission. This place was rather prompt in their response. I had to provide information about the purpose of my visit, the theme of my book, and provide some information about myself. After their review I got an email confirming that I could get access to the base and was advised to contact the person at public affairs at the EAFB . From here on all communication was rapid. I had to complete another form with some personal details and a couple of weeks later I received a call that I was approved to visit the place in the month of June. The most suitable day for me to visit was June 2nd as I would be traveling for rest of the month. Fortunately they were able to accommodate me on that day. So finally after several months of trying I had secured an appointment for this visit! 


I had already taken the day off for some other appointments. I informed Abhay that we have to go on this trip and prepared him for it. The appointment was at 8 am. It was a 90 minute minimum drive from home ( about 90 miles). I was up by 3:45 am so I could get ready and allow Abhay to get ready after that. To my great frustration and disappointment Abhay did not wake up promptly and after waking took his own sweet time to go about everything. If I waited more I would miss the appointment. If I left without him I would essentially be without a photographer. I despaired, walked back and forth in turmoil and finally hit the road all alone. With a brief stop for gas fill up I headed into the Tehachapi hills.

 It was time for sunrise and I hoped I could catch a glimpse of the first rays before I entered inside the hills. It was my lucky day. Less than two miles before I would be driving between mountains on each side the sun peeked from the far way mountains to my left. I greeted HIM with joy, enchantment, reverence and gratitude and drove away happily up the grade into the Tehachapi hills, passing by familiar towns and the railroad. I had some time to spare for a quick stop at the bakery in Tehachapi. Grabbed some pastries and a tea, used the restroom and was back on the road. 

The route took me on old business highway 58 through Mojave to the city of Rosamond. Within a couple of miles after I took the exit on Rosamond boulevard my GPS announced “ You have arrived at your destination!” And I was in the middle of a road where there was nothing on either side. No buildings, no parking, no entrance. Just open land on both sides. I drove a mile further and saw a huge sign on the right side of the road that read “ U.S Air Force, Edwards Air Force Base “. In front of the sign was an open area where 3 -4 cars were parked. No one was inside these cars. The man who was to meet me was scheduled to meet at 8 am in the VCC parking lot. I couldn’t see any sign that this was that parking. It was 7:37 am. I texted him to ask and waited to hear back. In the mean time I took the opportunity that there was no one nearby and in the backseat of my car changed into the saree I had carried along, crisply ironed for the visit and photo shoot.

By 7:45 there was still no response from him. I decided to drive further and look for the VCC parking lot. A few miles in I saw a sign “ Visitor Control Center 6 miles”. That was what VCC meant ! I made it to the area a couple of minutes before 8 am. As I was freshening up inside the VCC building my phone rang. It was Adam Bowles, the representative who was to give me a tour of the Base. He would meet me in the parking in a minutes he said.

I walked out into the parking lot and saw this guy get out of his van. He waved to me. He was a tall man likely in his mid 30s, African American, rather good looking and with particularly noticeable hazel colored eyes. We introduced ourselves. He had just come from the gym and that was believable looking at his toned muscles. He wasted no time to begin the tour with the displays right outside the VCC. There was an air traffic control tower surrounded by four fighter jets on display there. Behind this area was a large shed like structure. That was the framework of the new Test Flight Museum. The existing museum was too small to house all exhibits. This new museum is going to be a great addition to not just the base but for Kern County and expected to draw larger crowds from across the country and aviation enthusiasts around the world. 

My car remained parked in the VCC parking lot as Adam took me on the tour inside the Base in his van. We passed by some residential areas, dorms for trainee airmen, recreation areas that had gym, swimming pool and such facilities, and also a chapel. Our first stop was at the current Test Flight Museum. The museum itself was not expected to open until 9:30 am but there were a whole lot of fighter jets, helicopters, a space shuttle crew transport vehicle, a crash site rescue fire truck and other military vehicles on display around the building. Many of them that dated back to world war 2 era. I found only one that was launched about a month after my birth! Indeed the history of fighter jets seems to find its beginnings around world war 2. “The Blackbird “ was the most remarkable of all the displays at this location. I asked Adam about the annual air show that happens in October. This year they are having a change in their command. The new Commander will take office in August and they will not have time to put together the air show this year on his orders with such short notice. I guess I will have to wait a year or more for my turn to watch this spectacular show. 

From the Test Flight Museum we moved further on towards The Air Force Test Center. Models of two fighter jets were perched in front of this building. Across the street from this was an impressive monument. The Flag Memorial. It was dedicated to all the airmen( men and women in the air force) who came from all the states of the USA. A central fighter jet was surrounded by a semicircle of flags from each of the States that comprise the United States of America πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ. This is the first of its kind I’ve seen so far. 

Before I forget, I must mention here that as we started off viewing the displays at the VCC I turned to Adam and asked if he could take my pictures. I was really handicapped without Abhay in this matter. Adam was simply awesome. At every stop he happily took over photographer duties in addition to being my guide. At the Flag Memorial I taught him the trick for the back shot with the flying pallu πŸ˜ƒ. He was a good and patient student.

A little distance down the road under some trees stood the statue in uniform of Captain Chuck Yeager who had the distinction to crack the sound barrier for the very first time in 1947 on October 14th. He piloted the Bell X-1 Glamorous Glennis that reached a speed of 700 miles per hour. Last October there was a big celebration at the EAFB marking the 75th year of this landmark achievement.  I learnt that the first woman to achieve the same distinction was Jacky Cochran in May 1953, less than six years after Chuck Yeager.

From Chuck Yeager statue Adam took me to the North Gate entrance of the Base. The Base has 3 entrances. North, South and West Gates. I had entered the park through the West Gate where the VCC is situated.  The closest freeway to that entrance is state highway 14. For the North Gate the access is from state highway 58. Here at North Gate there is display of B-52 Stratofortress. B-52 for short. This huge bomber aircraft has the distinction of dropping the most ammunition during war. 

From this point we turned around. First stop on the way back was at a maintenance shed/ hangar. Here too a handful of retired aircraft were on display. Adam was patiently taking my pictures wherever I requested. This particular place seemed to be his favorite. He was eager to show me “ The Lake Bed”. Overlooking the hangar and the display of aircraft was a huge expanse of white-pink flat land that was glistening in the sun. This major geographical feature is of great historical and practical significance as I learned later from the resident historian at the Base, Mr James Tucker.

The flat land has a name. Roger’s Dry Lake. Much in the past it used to be Rodriguez Dry Lake. Remember California was part of Mexico. Sometime along the way the name got anglicized to Roger’s lake. The Santa Fe Railroad ran through this lake bed and the area was a water stop serving the railroad. There was a family that ran a homestead here. The Corum family. They applied for a post office in the place and asked it to be named after them but the request was rejected because there was already another town in California by that name, except spelled with an a. Coram. So the Corums settled for another name. Muroc. Which is Corum spelled backwards. 

In the late 1920s-early 1930s a Colonel by the name of Hap Arnold was flying from Riverside to Sacramento for a defense meeting and spotted this area with the huge expanse of the lake bed and thought to himself “This place is perfect for bombing target practice.” By 1932 he got the land authorized for such use. It became the Muroc Air Field and where he and his men had set up camp came to be known as East Base. This is now non operational. Present day there is a Main Base, a south base and north base. Various activities are conducted at these individual bases. All air force fixed winged aircraft are tested here before they are commissioned for use in combat. The EAFB serves multiple purposes including training personnel, testing flights and for research and development. The top “rocket scientists” are based here. NASA has its own operation here in the form of The Neil Armstrong Flight Research Center. There is a partnership between the United States Air Force and NASA at this place. Besides the above discussed activities the Base serves as a site for launching and landing of space shuttles.

After the stop to view the Lake Bed our next stop was the NASA building. We viewed the many aircraft that were displayed out there. Entry inside the premises was off limits. 

The next and final stop on the tour was a meeting with Mr Tucker, the EAFB historian. He was located at the Public Affairs Building. Adam’s office is also in the same building. What do you want to know, he asked me. Tell me something interesting that I will not find on Google, I told him. Ah, he sighed. If you are resourceful and know how to search you may find a lot on Google. He did end up sharing with me quite a few interesting bits of information about the place. His favorite line is “ there is so much history associated with this place that if you throw a pebble, anywhere it lands there would be a great story that happened “.  Just outside his office in the hallway hangs a huge map of the area. It gives an idea of the landscape, the mighty expanse of the lake bed and surrounding hillocks. On the map he showed me the locations of the North, South and Main Bases, residential areas, run ways and other important structures. The Base sits on over 300,000 acres or 420 square miles. It is HUGE.  In 1948 a test pilot by the name of Glenn Edwards died after his Northrop YB-49 crashed on the field at Muroc. A year later ( 1949) Muroc was renamed after him. A lot of milestone achievements have occurred since then. In addition to records of speed and altitude set by newer aircraft there has been testing of high thrust missile rocket engines at the EAFB. Technology continues to evolve rapidly with activity that happens on site. During my tour that morning I saw a number of test aircraft taking flight from the base. Mr. Tucker spoke about some of the notable aircraft that have been tested here. These begin with an X, which denotes test model. Once it gets approved for use the technology gets incorporated into Air Force inventory of aircraft.

Two trivia points Mr Tucker shared with me that I found very interesting is that the clay that forms the lake bed has natural fire retardant qualities. Thus not only does the large flat surface of the Roger’s Dry Lake serve for landing of aircraft and space shuttles, it allows rough landings to happen without incidents of catching fire upon impact or putting off fires that started before landing. The second bit of information was that whenever the area is blessed with rain, the water helps to naturally seal the cracks in the ground and smoothen the surface. 

Mr Tucker gave me references for some literature that I may find useful and shared a few copies of some. As I was taking his leave we ran into Mr Danny Bazzell who knew me because he was the one who had reviewed my application for the visit and approved it. It joked about a Tinbox folder for emails he gets from people talking about conspiracy theories, UFOs, aliens and such things. The need for security clearances and a few incidents of security breaches prompted them to stop public tours which they previously held. All of these gentlemen I met on the Base were really nice people and it was evident that they loved their job. I felt very welcome in their presence. Taking leave of Mr Tucker and Mr Bazzell it was again me with Adam in his van until he dropped me to my car in the VCC parking lot at the West Gate entrance. It was 11:15 am by then. One hour over the time they had approved for me initially. It had been a very unique and special experience for me. A totally exclusive tour where I could ask whatever question that came to my mind. The 3+ hours I got to spend there were mine to cherish.

I drove back happily from the VCC tracing my way on Rosamond Boulevard to northbound highway fourteen. I had a smile on my face as I passed by the railroad and the yuccas in the Mojave Desert. Something that I know, without Mr Tucker or Adam telling me was running through my mind. It was the fact that not only is the Edward AFB perhaps the crown jewel of Kern County but when it arrived at the location it brought an enormous source of economy for surrounding areas such as Mojave. Only 35% of the 30,000+ people who work at the Base are active duty or military personnel. The rest are civilians including the gentlemen I met on this day. The Base was perfect example of partnership between civilians and the military.

With a stop for lunch at the Thai restaurant in Mojave I was on westbound highway fifty eight, passing on the outskirts of Tehachapi and from there descending the slopes of the hills to relish the sights of Bakersfield from the distance before returning home. 

Saree is a tussar Kotpad in Ruby red color with natural tussar contrast border and pallu. Extra weft pallu features tribal Odisha motifs and fine weaving. 

























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