Beale Air Force Base is located in northern California, 40 miles north of Sacramento and midway between San Francisco and Reno, Nevada. It is the home of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing, which flies the U-2 and has as its slogan, "In God We Trust. All Others We Monitor." The mission of the 9th RW is to find, track, assess and confirm ground targets and to provide combat support.

The base, which houses approximately 4,000 military personnel, is considered one of the showplaces of the Air Force. The natural surroundings are very beautiful, and display many artifacts of early Native American life. During World War II Beale housed 60,000 troops, served as a prisoner of war camp and maintained a 1,000-bed hospital. Today the base preserves 38 Native American sites, 45 homesteader sites, and 41 World War II sites, including a block of POW cells with the prisoners' drawings on the walls.

During the Cold War era, Beale was support base for three Titan I missile sites. The project required the excavation of more than 600,000 cubic yards of rock and earth. By the time they were completed, each of the three complexes had received 32,000 cubic yards of concrete, 90 miles of cables, 300 tons of piping, and 1,800 separate supply items, for a total cost of over $40 million.

Edward Fitzgerald Beale

Almost all Air Force bases are named either for their location or in honor of an aviator. Beale is the exception, being named in honor of Edward F. Beale, the 19th-century pioneer and one of California's largest landholders. He graduated from the Naval Academy, served with the California militia and led the Army Camel Corps, an operation that sought to replace Army mules with camels, a pursuit that seems appropriately Californian.