Hancock Field AFB is located 4.6 miles north-northeast of Syracuse, New York and is the home station of the New York Air National Guard 174th Fighter Wing.
Hancock Field was named for Clarence E. Hancock, a prominent local citizen, and member of the United States House of Representatives.
In contrast to its air defense mission of today, Syracuse Army Air Base — as it was first known — was built and activated in 1942. during the early days of World War II, as a staging area for warplanes bound for England.
Many of the “hardstands” and taxiways now overgrown by weeds were scenes of feverish activity almost 31 years ago when B-17s, B-24s, transports and many other types of aircraft were being prepared for the long hop across the North Atlantic.The installation consists of approximately 350 acres (1.4 km2) of flight line, aircraft ramp and support facilities on the south side of the airport. The base employs approximately 2,000 personnel consisting of full-time Active Guard and Reserve (AGR), Air Reserve Technicians (ART) and traditional part-time Air National Guardsmen. The facility maintains the BAK-14 arresting gear on the airport’s primary runway for emergency use by military tactical jet aircraft and also operates its own fire station with USAF crash vehicles that augment the airport’s civilian Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) organization.