In 1927, the citizens of Pierce County, Washington approved a bond measure to establish an airfield just north of the military reservation. The airfield, named Tacoma Field, officially opened March 14, 1930. On February 28, 1938 the airfield was officially transferred to the United States Government. Three years after the transfer, on July 3, 1940, the airfield was renamed McChord Field, in honor of Colonel William Caldwell McChord, who had been killed in an accident near Richmond, Virginia on August 18, 1937. Col McChord, (1881–1937), rated as a junior military aviator in 1918, died while trying to force-land his Northrop A-17 near Maidens, Virginia. At the time of his death, he was Chief of the Training and Operations Division in HQ Army Air Corps. Over the subsequent two decades McChord Field grew to roughly 3,000 acres (12 km²), encompassing the northern tip of the 70,000 acre (280 km²) Ft. Lewis. It became independent of Ft. Lewis in 1947 following the creation of the Air Force under provisions of the National Security Act of 1947.

McChord Air Force Base is the home of the 62nd Airlift Wing of the Air Mobility Command and is located adjacent to Ft. Lewis. It is comprised of four groups: the 62nd Operations Group, the 62nd Medical Group, the 62nd Mission Support Group and the 62nd Maintenance Group. These groups provide the airlift support that allows our nation to project influence world wide. The wing’s tasking requirements range from supplying humanitarian airlift relief to victims of disasters, to airdropping troops into the heart of contingency operations in hostile areas. McChord is home to 50 C-17 Globemaster III aircraft costing approximately $200 million per unit. Each C-17 has a cruise speed of 522 mph at 28,000 feet, a global range, a maximum load of 170,000 pounds, and it can fit in its cavernous cargo hold two large buses, three helicopters and one of the Army’s newest tanks. In addition, it features heads-up display, airdrop capabilities of both cargo and 102 paratroopers, and is able to land on small, austere airfields as short as 3,000 feet.

The Air Groups are staffed and supported by more than 8,600 active-duty, Reserve, Air National Guard and civilian personnel. They include approximately 4,300 active duty, 2,200 Reservists and Guardsmen, and 2,100 civilians. Prepared to fight or bring aid, the 62nd serves as an integral component in the global war on terror and is frequently tasked to bring relief to the victims of catastrophes worldwide.