Dyess Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located about southwest of downtown Abilene, Texas, and west of Fort Worth, Texas. The host unit at Dyess is the 7th Bomb Wing assigned to the Global Strike Command Eighth Air Force. The wing is one of only two B-1B Lancer strategic bomber wings in the USAF, the other being the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota. The 317th Airlift Wing, assigned to Air Mobility Command Eighteenth Air Force, is a tenant unit and one of four world-wide active-duty locations for the C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft. Dyess AFB was established in 1942 as Abilene Army Air Base. It was renamed in honor of Texas native and Bataan Death March survivor Lieutenant Colonel William Dyess. As of 2017, the 7th Bomb Wing is commanded by Colonel Joe Kramer. The vice commander is Colonel Kevin Kippie and the command chief master sergeant is Chief Master Sergeant Matt Coltrin. Dyess covers , and is home to the 7th Bomb Wing, which consists of four groups. The 9th and 28th Bomb Squadrons fly the B-1B. In addition, the 28th Bomb Squadron is the USAF schoolhouse for all B-1B aircrew members. The base employs more than 5,000 people, making it the single largest employer in the area. Dyess AFB has nearly 200 facilities on base, plus 988 units of family housing, and encompasses of land. The base has a total economic impact of nearly $310 million yearly on the local community. History The base is named after Lt Col William Edwin Dyess, a native of Albany, Texas, who was captured by the Japanese on Bataan in April 1942. Dyess escaped in April 1943 and fought with guerilla forces on Mindanao until evacuated by submarine in July 1943. During retraining in the United States, his P-38 Lightning caught fire in flight on 23 December 1943 near Burbank, California. He refused to bail out over a populated area and died in the crash of his P-38 in a vacant lot. World War II In 1942, the United States Army Air Forces built Tye Army Air Field, as it was popularly known, on the site of what is now known as Dyess AFB. On 18 December 1942, the field was opened and was initially named Abilene Army Air Base. The name was changed on 8 April 1943 to Abilene Army