Indian Springs renamed Creech Air Force Base

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NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. (AFPN) --  Nearby Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Air Field officially changed its name to Creech Air Force Base on June 20 in honor of Gen. Wilbur L. “Bill” Creech.

As the commander of Tactical Air Command from 1978 to 1984, General Creech shaped the Air Force of today with a call for new weapons and tactics. He revolutionized the Air Force by espousing a philosophy of decentralized authority and responsibility. He was also known as the “father of the Thunderbirds,” the Air Force’s premiere air demonstration squadron.

“The one thing that General Creech taught us all was excellence,” said Gen. John P. Jumper, Air Force chief of staff. “He taught us excellence and pride in not only the way we fight, which he is most famous for, but in the way our Air Force bases look and the way we measure things to make the Air Force better.”

A hero of the Korean and Vietnam wars, General Creech relied on his own experiences to transform the way the Air Force conducts warfare today. For example, General Jumper said, he understood the power of concepts such as jamming and electronic warfare, and he knew the future of being able to operate and dominate the sky at night.

“When we (launched) Operation Desert Storm in 1991, it was our ability to own the night that quickly turned the tide in our favor,” General Jumper said.

General Creech also embraced the idea of precision-guided weapons, and his devotion helped the Air Force develop such capabilities and combat effectiveness, officials said.

After a 36-year career that began as a private in the Army and ended as one of the most influential generals in Air Force history, General Creech retired in 1984. He lived with his wife, Caroline, in Las Vegas until he died Aug. 26, 2003.

The airfield that now bears General Creech’s name was originally built by the Army in the early 1940s to support the war effort during World War II.

Along with being the aerial demonstration training site for the Thunderbirds, the base plays a major role in the ongoing war on terrorism. The base is home to the MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle which flies daily in Afghanistan and Iraq. The base is also home to the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Battlelab whose mission is to work with the warfighter and identify problems that can be solved using innovative UAV solutions.

Detachment 2 of the 98th Range Wing Operations Group is also stationed at the base and is responsible for management and oversight of the base as well as the 1.1 million acres of the Nevada Test and Training Range’s southern ranges, officials said.

“Everything that is represented here at this base is better than it was, and when you come back, it will always be better than it is today,” General Jumper said. “That’s all General Creech ever asked for.”