March Joint Air Reserve Base (IATA: RIV, ICAO: KRIV, FAA LID: RIV) is located in Riverside County, California between the cities of Riverside and Moreno Valley. It is the home to the Air Force Reserve Command's 4th Air Force (4 AF) Headquarters and the 452d Air Mobility Wing (452 AMW), the largest air mobility wing of the 4th Air Force. In addition to multiple units of the Air Force Reserve Command supporting Air Mobility Command, Air Combat Command and Pacific Air Forces, March ARB is also home to units from the Army Reserve, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve and the California Air National Guard. For almost 50 years, March AFB was a Strategic Air Command base during the Cold War.
March is one of the oldest airfields operated by the United States military, being established as Alessandro Flying Training Field in February 1918. The airfield was renamed March Field the following month for 2nd Lt Peyton C. March, Jr., the recently deceased son of then-Army Chief of Staff Peyton C. March, who was killed in an air crash in Texas just fifteen days after being commissioned.
The March Field Airfest, also known as Thunder Over the Empire, is a biennial air show held at March. The air show is among the largest events in the Inland Empire and Riverside County. The show has featured such performers as the United States Air Force Thunderbirds, the F-22 Raptor and many other military and civilian demonstrations. 2010 saw the Patriots Jet Team as the highlight demonstration team of the show. Attendance for the 2010 show was estimated at over 150,000.
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