Tullahoma, TN - A loud, sharp boom broke the stillness in a remote area of Arnold Air Force Base for the briefest of moments on Thursday morning (9/10/2024). That was the sound of history vanishing in thin air!

Arnold Engineering Development Complex was dedicated in June, 1951 by President Harry Truman and named after 5-star General of the Air Force Henry 'Hap' Arnold. He was a visionary leader of the Army Air Forces during World War II and the only airman to hold the 5-Star rank.

And now, the rest of the story. A recent test series ended and some explosive pucks were unused. There were no future plans to utilize these materials, and it was decided that the surplus pucks could not be kept indefinitely at Arnold Air Force Base.

Arnold's Senior Munitions Inspector Master Sgt. Anthony Velez said, “Due to the uniqueness of the items utilized, the U.S. Air Force determined that the items were not economically feasible to retain in the stockpile, ship back to the manufacturer or store through a depot activity.” 

A dark cloud rose above the tree line, evaporating into the blue sky almost as quickly as it appeared. Turf and earth were sent hurtling skyward before falling back to the ground. The quick burst released waves of energy that rippled the leaves on surrounding trees. Birds startled by the sudden, powerful crash of sound darted from the nearby forest in search of a quieter setting.

An existing crater from which the bang originated was made all the deeper by the blast. Within this cavity, team members from Arnold present and those from Eglin Air Force Base who traveled north from Florida to observe the scene found just what they hoped to – nothing.

Everything went off exactly as planned, and not a trace of the leftover explosives and residue associated with testing recently conducted at Arnold AFB remained.

Arnold Engineering is unique in that virtually every high performance flight system in use by the Department of Defense today and all NASA manned spacecraft have been tested at the nearby Coffee County complex. People from throughout Coffee, Rutherford, Cannon and other surrounding areas are a part of the historically famous Arnold Engineering Development Complex.