Army Aviation Support Facility

COL David Fleming

The Kentucky Army National Guard Army Aviation Support Facility was named in honor of Colonel David F. Fleming on May 20, 2000.

The original building was constructed in 1971, with the main block of the building having been dedicated in 1974. The building is composed of a large, two-and-a-half story airplane/helicopter hangar with two, two-story wings on either end. The hangar is constructed of brick, with bands of windows running along the top of the building. The walls on either end of the building are actually metal doors that slide open to allow access for the helicopters. Contained in the two wings of the building are many work rooms, storage areas, and offices.

Two additions to the main hangar were added in 1974-75, and a hangar extension was constructed in 1978. The extension doubled the size of the original hangar.

The AASF was originally located in Louisville at Bowman Field. Bowman Field was the state airport, and it served as the home of the National Guard until the late 1960s (1967-68), when the Boone National Guard Center was completed at the state airport in Frankfort. The main mission of the Air Guard is combat air assault - their mission is to take troops behind enemy lines and support troops from the air. Besides Bowman Field, a hangar at Capital City Airport was used as the AASF prior to completion of the current facility in 1971.

Photos and information courtesy Kentucky Heritage Council -- Report No. 25" Inventory and Evaluation of National Guard Armories in the State of Kentucky" - 1999 by Kate Carothers.