Dover Air Force Base or Dover AFB is a United States Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

 base located two miles southeast of the city of Dover, Delaware

Dover, Delaware

The city of Dover is the capital and second largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County, and the principal city of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County. It is located on the St. Jones River in the Delaware...

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Dover AFB is home to the 436th Airlift Wing

436th Airlift Wing

The 436th Airlift Wing is an active United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the Air Mobility Command Eighteenth Air Force, and is based at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware....

 (436 AW) of the Air Mobility Command

Air Mobility Command

Air Mobility Command is a Major Command of the U.S. Air Force. AMC is headquartered at Scott AFB, Illinois, east of St. Louis....

 (AMC), known as the "Eagle Wing", and the AMC-gained 512th Airlift Wing

512th Airlift Wing

The 512th Airlift Wing, an associate C-5 Galaxy Air Force Reserve unit is located at Dover AFB, Delaware. The 512 AW helps maintain, repair and flies the same aircraft as its active duty counterparts...

 (512 AW) of the Air Force Reserve Command

Air Force Reserve Command

The Air Force Reserve Command is a major command of the U.S. Air Force with its headquarters at Robins AFB, Georgia.It stood up as a major command of the Air Force on 17 February 1997....

 (AFRC), referred to as the "Liberty Wing". It was the only base to solely operate the massive C-5 Galaxy

C-5 Galaxy

The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport aircraft built by Lockheed. It provides the United States Air Force with a heavy intercontinental-range strategic airlift capability, one that can carry outsize and oversize cargos, including all air-certifiable cargo. The Galaxy has many...

, with two active flying squadrons (the 3rd Airlift Squadron

3d Airlift Squadron

The 3d Airlift Squadron is a squadron of the 436th Airlift Wing of the USAF. It is based at Dover Air Force Base near Dover, Delaware.-History:...

, which now operates the C-17 Globemaster III

C-17 Globemaster III

The Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft. Developed for the United States Air Force from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas, the C-17 is used for rapid strategic airlift of troops and cargo to main operating bases or forward operating bases throughout...

, and 9th Airlift Squadron

9th Airlift Squadron

The 9th Airlift Squadron is a unit of the United States Air Force based at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware and flying the C-5 Galaxy.-Mission:...

) and two Air Force Reserve flying squadrons (the 326th Airlift Squadron and the 709th Airlift Squadron).

Dover AFB is also the home for the largest military mortuary in the Department of Defense

United States Department of Defense

The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...

, and has been used for processing military personnel killed in both war and peacetime; the remains of those killed overseas are traditionally brought to Dover before being transferred to family.