This week in McGuire Air Force Base history Published June 8, 2009 By Gary Boyd 87th Air Base Wing/305th Air Mobility Wing historian JOINT BASE McGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST -- This is a week of significant anniversaries. The first permanently assigned air unit to Fort Dix Army Air Forces Base arrived June 9, 1941. The 126th Observation Squadron began operating with North American O-47 Army Liaison/Observation Aircraft on June 10; the airfield was ready just in time for America's entry into World War II. June 1961: McGuire also became the first Military Air Transport Service base to begin operations with an all-jet transport, the C-135A Stratolifter. The speed and range of the C-135 changed the entire dynamic of the base's mission. McGuire's aircraft could span intercontinental distances almost twice as fast before.