Hill Air Force Base

Hill Air Force Base is a federal military installation about 30 miles north of Salt Lake City, bordered on the east by the Wasatch Range. It is not a city: neighboring communities include Layton, Clearfield, Roy, Clinton, Sunset, Riverdale and Ogden. Military OneSource

What happens there

The 75th Air Base Wing runs the installation itself and supports the other units on base, including the Ogden Air Logistics Complex and the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings. Military OneSource

The Ogden Air Logistics Complex is one of three complexes in the Air Force Sustainment Center. It provides logistics, maintenance and distribution for the F-35, F-22, F-16 and A-10 fighters, maintains the C-130, T-38, T-1 and other aircraft as well as the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile, and is the Air Force's landing-gear center. Air Force Sustainment Center

The active-duty 388th Fighter Wing and the Air Force Reserve's 419th Fighter Wing fly and maintain a shared fleet of F-35A Lightning II fighters. 388th Fighter Wing

Workforce and economic impact

Hill's 2024 economic impact statement, as summarized by the Northern Utah Economic Alliance, counted a total workforce of 26,893 and estimated $12.76 billion in economic impact on the region that year, including $2.12 billion in government payroll. The impact estimate includes indirect effects; it is not the base's budget or money paid to local governments. Northern Utah Economic Alliance

History

Congress appropriated $8 million for the Ogden Air Depot in July 1939, and that December the War Department named the site Hill Field after Maj. Ployer Peter Hill, who died after the crash of the Boeing Model 299 test aircraft at Wright Field, Ohio. Groundbreaking was January 12, 1940, and official operations began that November. Hill Field became Hill Air Force Base on February 5, 1948. Military OneSource

Falcon Hill

The Falcon Hill Aerospace Research Park sits on about 550 acres of base land in Davis and Weber counties, next to Clearfield, Riverdale, Roy and Sunset. It uses the Air Force's Enhanced Use Lease program, which leases underused federal property for private development. The state's Military Installation Development Authority set up the project area in 2008 and partnered in 2009 with the Air Force and Sunset Ridge Development Partners. MIDA's plans for 2026 to 2035 include a new 1800 North gate and an extension of Falcon Hill Drive; those are goals, not finished work. MIDA

Environmental cleanup

Hill is a federal Superfund site. Aircraft maintenance and repair since World War II produced wastes including solvents and degreasers, and the EPA says soil, groundwater or indoor-air contamination has been found on the base and in Clearfield, Clinton, Layton, Riverdale, Roy, South Weber and Sunset. Cleanup includes groundwater pump-and-treat systems and soil vapor extraction; the Air Force and EPA are still studying PFAS and 1,4-dioxane. EPA

The base runs an Indoor Air Sampling Program for buildings near contaminated groundwater. Whether a property is affected depends on its location and sampling results. Indoor Air Sampling Program

Visiting

The Hill Aerospace Museum, beside the base in Roy, displays military aircraft from several eras. Our guide covers visiting it.