Dobbins Air Reserve Base - Current and Future

Current and Future

The future of Plant #6 seems secure. In 1995, Lockheed merged with Martin Marietta to become Lockheed Martin. The C-130 Hercules remains in production 50 years after the first one rolled out in 1955. Work also continues on the F-22 Raptor and the Joint Strike Fighter. Dobbins ARB has its own ZIP code, 30069, and Lockheed Martin also has its own ZIP code, 30063, however, Marietta is the only place name (city) considered acceptable by the United States Postal Service for the later.

Dobbins ARB is also an automated weather station, reporting five minutes before every hour. Until sometime in 2008, it only reported from 7am to 11pm (6:55 to 10:55/22:55), although it occasionally reported overnight during unusual weather conditions, such as strong winds due to the 2004 hurricanes (Frances, Jeanne, Ivan). Local conditions shown on The Weather Channel (TWC) and Weatherscan are now taken from a different system setup by TWC during the mid-2000s (decade); until then, overnight conditions for local cable TV systems came from Fulton County Airport.

Like most U.S. bases, Dobbins ARB has had to fend off several attempts at closing it, as part of streamlining the country's military and reducing unnecessary spending. Development has steadily encroached upon the base since the war. 1978 OV-1 Mohawk 1989 A-7 Corsair II and 1993 C-130 Hercules plane crashes into residential areas near the base raised questions of safety in having a base in such a densely-populated suburban area. The airfield now sits in a vast sea of urban development, flying demonstrations at air shows were discontinued some years ago because of safety concerns, although the Navy hosted air shows in 2004 and 2006, and the Air Force side hosted air shows in 2008 and 2010 (2008 marked the first time in over 15 years of a USAF Thunderbirds performance at KMGE).

Public complaints about the noise continue, and attempts to close the facility have been thwarted so far by powerful local politicians, such as former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn in 1995. However, some have proposed that it again become a commercial airport, as it was originally envisioned (there have been calls for Dobbins ARB to become the second major commercial airport in metro Atlanta, to be a major reliever to Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the busiest airport in the United States).

Dobbins ARB is the only U.S. military facility left in northern Georgia after the 2005 BRAC recommendations were enacted. The Georgia Air National Guard transferred to Robins AFB in 1996, leaving Air Force Reserve C-130s as the only Air Force flying unit at the base. The 148th Medical Company (Air Ambulance) and the 151st Aviation unit of the Army National Guard are also based there. More units are moving to Dobbins ARB as the Georgia Army National Guard takes over NAS Atlanta as the latter closes due to BRAC and becomes a tenant non-flying command known as Navy Operational Support Center Atlanta.

Until the late 20th century, the oldest building on base was part of the Lockheed Martin complex, and was built before the American Civil War. Legend has it that the only reason the building wasn't burned to the ground during Union General William Tecumseh Sherman's "March to the Sea" in 1864 was because the building's owner, a British citizen, had flown the British flag during the occupation of Marietta, part of the Atlanta Campaign.

Near Dobbins ARB's main gate stands a Wichita built B-29 named "Sweet Eloise" (B-29-80-BW, AAF Ser. No. 44-70113), which is on public display as a memorial to World War II bomber production plant at the site. However, at least two Marietta-built B-29s have survived the years. One is on display at the Georgia Veterans Memorial State Park near Cordele (B-29A-15-BN, AAF Ser. No. 42-93967) and the other (B-29B-55-BA, AAF Ser. No. 44-84053) is located at Robins Air Force Base's Museum of Flight near Macon.