On September 20, 1948, the newly formed Department of the Air Force deactivated the Rome Army Air Field and commissioned it as Griffiss Air Force Base. The base was named in honor of the first American pilot to die during World War II. Lieutenant Townsend Griffiss, a native of Buffalo, was shot down by members of the RAF (Royal Air Force) when his plane was mistaken as an enemy fighter. From the beginning, the air base was thrust into the new field of electronic warfare. In 1949, Watson Laboratory in New Jersey was relocated to Griffiss. Under the control of the Air Research and Development Command, several agencies setup there headquarters at Griffiss. ROAMA or the Rome Air Material Area was the first to open and was quickly followed by RADC or the Rome Air Developmental Center in 1951 and finally, GEEIA or the Ground Electrical Engineering and Installation Agency. ROAMA, RADC and GEEIA are well known vocabulary words for older Romans, because at there zenith they employed over 8000 workers. Downsizing posed a disastrous threat to Griffiss in the 1960's when GEEIA and ROAMA were relocated to other bases. RADC was left as the sole research tenant. They were always on the cutting edge of technology and always seeking better innovations in electronic warfare. It was here in 1954 that they relayed the first ever satellite communication sent from outer space. The logic and inner works for the smart bomb was also devised here.

While the research section was downsizing, the military side of the base was increasing. The base was ideally located and was considered strategically important. With the uncertainty of the Cold War, fears of massive Russian attacks scared Americans for generations. Griffiss, along with a few other bases, was designated as the Northeast Air Sector (NAS). The 1st and 27th Fighter Interceptor Squadrons (FIS) were activated in 1950. The 1st was quickly replaced with the 465th FIS. Now equipped with the new all weather F-86 Super Sabre jet, the 27th and 465th patrolled the thousands of miles of the NAS on a daily basis.

The elite of the Air Force was the Strategic Air Command (SAC), which was the brainchild of General Curtis LeMay. General LeMay was a well known and respected General of his time. The Strategic Air Command was his life and it was a command that he wanted mastered with perfection by all who served under him. He wanted Griffiss to become part of his beloved SAC. A new 2 1/4 mile runway was built in anticipation of becoming part of SAC. In 1959 the 4039th Strategic Wing was activated. Along with this came the 75th Bomb Squadron equipped with B-52 long- range bombers. The first bomber to arrive was the "Mohawk Valley" on January 2, 1960. To keep the B-52's airborne, the 41st Air Refueling Squadron (AREFS) with KC- 135 stratotankers was activated. During the Cold War, B-52's were kept on "alert" status. This meant that a bomb and refueling squadron had to always be airborne in case of a nuclear attack. Should the ground forces be caught off guard, this squadron was still able to deliver the "package" or a nuclear payload. Griffiss rotated weekly in the alert status with other bases.

1959 was a year of change at Griffiss. The 27th FIS was sent to another base and the resources of the 465th FIS were transferred to the newly re-instated 49th FIS. To keep Griffiss on the leading edge of technology, the 49th received some of the first F-101 Voodoos and shortly thereafter, the F-106 Dart. They mastered the "dart" with perfection. there unit patch is at the left.

General Lemay was a nostalgic man. Remembering the glorious units of World War II, many of the units were deactivated and renamed in there honor. In 1963, the 4039th Strategic Wing ceased to exist and the 416th Bombardment Wing (H) was activated. The 416th was in the 9th Air Force and flew hundreds of night missions over Europe during World War II. The 75th Bomb Squadron transferred there resources to the 668th Bomb Squadron. The 668th was also a part of the 416th during the war. Griffiss was now ready to challenge the Cold War. General LeMay visited his bases on a routine basis for inspection and was a stickler for perfection. One minute error and the base failed his inspection.

Since Griffiss was strategically located, it was studied for the possibility of nuclear Inter Continental Ballistic Missiles or ICBM's. The latest of the time was the Titan II. The same missile used to launch spacecraft into orbit. Some missiles arrived here under high security and were maintained on SAC Hill. A specific unit was never activated but they were under the control of a special Tactical Unit. Griffiss was added to the list of first strike bases by the Soviets. The target was Lake Delta. The explosion would evaporate the lake and rain radiation allover the state, at the same time destroying most of Rome. Not too many Romans ever knew about this, except for the people assigned to the Tactical Unit.

It was only a matter of time before the U.S. would be drawn into the Vietnam conflict. When the conflict did turn into an international problem, several planes of the 668th Bomb Squadron were deployed to Southeast Asia. Carpet bombings became a daily occurrence for the people of Vietnam. The 416th Wing participated in the Arc Light Operation Young Tiger Campaign. The wing flew thousands of combat missions and became a favorite target for the enemy MIG fighters and surface to air missiles (SAM). The defenses on the B-52 was extremely complex, but the plane was also well armed. A 50 mm gun was manned at the back of the plane, a pod of Hound Dog missiles on each wing, a payload of several hundred tons of ordnance and electronics warfare system to complicated to explain. The 41st AREFS was also sent to Southeast Asia. The last plane with Griffiss soldiers left Southeast Asia on December 11, 1975. The war was over.

In 1970 the Strategic Air Command took over the host mission of the base. With SAC came a new base hospital (801st Medical Group), a religious chapel and several new tenants. On January 11, 1981, it was announced that Griffiss would be the first to receive the new Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM). The 668th Bomb Squadron installed them and became the first combat ready nuclear squadron. A few months later, the 668th was the first unit to fire an ALCM, SRAM, a conventional bomb and fire the tail guns simultaneously. The worst enemy of the military, the Base Realignment and Closure Committee (BRACC), started looking at bases. Griffiss lost the 49th FIS in 1987 and the 24th Air Division in 1990.

Operation Desert Storm gave Griffiss a temporary reprieve. The 668th and 41st were ordered to Saudi Arabia. Several bombers of the 668th were divided up into provisional bomb wings, including the 801st, 806th and 1708th Bomb Wings of the 17th Air Division. The 801st was stationed at Moron AFB in Spain, the 806th was at RAF Fairfield in England and the 1708th was at Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. The 41st AREFS was put into the 1702nd Air Refueling Squadron (P) and stationed at Camp NACIREMA in Seeb, Oman. Both units flew hundreds of combat sorties and returned home with honor.

The sad reality of budget cuts for the military began to hit close to home. The Strategic Air Command and Tactical Air Command were merged to form the Air Combat Command in 1992. Also, since the Cold War seemed to be over, all aircraft were taken off of alert status. The 416th was grounded. A year later, the tail gunner position on the B-52 was eliminated. This left at least 50 people out of a job at Griffiss.

The bomb was dropped on Griffiss when it appeared on the list of bases to be closed. The city was shocked and at the same time devastated. Thousands of Romans tried to "Save the Griff" but there efforts seemed futile as the decisions were already made without taking reality into consideration. On June 24, 1994 everyone in Rome was listening to the live broadcast of the BRACC hearings, expecting the worst and hoping for the best. Griffiss was to be realigned, a political term for closure, not closed. Griffiss was stripped of all flying missions and subordinate units. This left only the Northeast Air Defense Sector (NEADS) under the Air National Guard and Rome Laboratory (the former RADC). This was a sad day in the security of our country.

The last KC-135 took off on September 28, 1994 soon afterwards the 41st and 509th AREFS were deactivated. The last B-52 taxied down the runway and took off into the cloud filled sky on November 15, 1994. The crew circled the base just to say goodbye. 47 years later on the same stage as the activation, the 416th was again deactivated, this time forever and the base name shortly thereafter. On September 20, 1995, in the funeral-like atmosphere, Rome said goodbye to an old friend forever. On November 6, 1997, Rome Laboratory was deactivated, only NEADS remains. Thousands of people were left without jobs and the local economy took a hard hit. The economy has been steadily increasing, but nothing has been the same since we lost Griffiss. We never really appreciated what we had, and now its gone.