other SAC units in preparation for transition to the General Dynamics FB-111A. Redesignated as the 509th Bombardment Wing, Medium, the 509th had no bomber aircraft from November 1969 until 1970, but continued KC-135 refueling and alert operations and performed FB-111 ground training. The wing resumed flying training with the FB-111 in December 1970 and assumed FB–111 alert commitments from 1 July 1971 until September 1990. During this time, the 509th won the SAC Bombing and Navigation Competition and the Fairchild Trophy in 1979, 1981, 1982, and 1983, and the Sanders Trophy for best air refueling unit in 1982. In 1966, the New Hampshire Air National Guard relocated the 157th Military Airlift Group (157 MAG) from the deactivating Grenier AFB in nearby Manchester, New Hampshire, to Pease AFB. Operating the C-97 Stratofreighter, the group transitioned to the C-124 Globemaster in 1968 and to the C-130 Hercules in 1971. The mission of the group was changed in 1975 when it was designated as the 157th Air Refueling Group (157 ARG) and transitioned to the KC-135A in 1975. The 157th later transitioned to the KC-135E in 1984, the KC-135R in 1993, and to the KC-46A in 2019. Pease AFB served as a base conducting summer field training for U.S. Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) cadets during the 1960s and '70s. Air Force Base closure In December 1988, Pease AFB was one of 86 military installations to be closed as part of the Secretary of Defense's Base Realignment and Closure process. In 1989, 3,461 active-duty military, 741 civil service workers and 347 non-appropriated fund employees were employed at Pease AFB. Of the total active duty personnel, 49 were assigned to the Air National Guard. It is estimated that the base created a total of 2,466 secondary jobs within the local communities. Military personnel began leaving the base in June 1990, and Pease AFB officially closed on 31 March 1991. The 509th BW transferred its FB-111 aircraft to Tactical Air Command and its KC-135s to other SAC units. The wing was then administratively moved to Whiteman AFB, Missouri, on 30 September 1990, but not manned until April 1993. Four historical aircraft on static display near the main gate were disassembled and moved to other locations; Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota received a B-47, and Whiteman AFB received a B-29, KC-97, and B-52. The B-29, serial number 44-61671, is on display at Whiteman as