Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base is a joint installation shared by various active component and reserve component military units, as well as aircraft flight operations of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under the aegis of the nearby Johnson Space Center. The host wing for the installation is the Texas Air National Guard's 147th Reconnaissance Wing (147 RW). Opened in 1917, Ellington Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I.
The United States Air Force's 147th Reconnaissance Wing is an Air National Guard (ANG) unit operationally-gained by the Air Combat Command (ACC). The 147 RW provides a 24/7 capability with MQ-1B Predator Unmanned Aerial Systems. In its conduct of combat support sorties, the 147 RW provides theater and national-level leadership with critical real-time Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) and Air-to-Ground Munitions and strike capability. A collocated Air Support Operations Squadron (ASOS) provides terminal control for weapons employment in a Close Air Support (CAS) scenario, integrating combat air and ground operations.