Editing Cheney, Washington (section)

===Fairchild Air Force Base===
{{Main|Fairchild Air Force Base}}
[[Fairchild Air Force Base]], located approximately {{convert|7|mi|km}} north of Cheney and established in 1942, has been a key part of the U.S. defense strategy and its personnel are a substantial portion of the Cheney community. Originally established as a World War II repair depot, it has transitioned over the years from a Strategic Air Command bomber wing during the [[Cold War]], to [[Air Mobility Command]] air refueling wing during [[Iraq War|Operation Iraqi Freedom]]. Today, Fairchild's aircraft and personnel make up the backbone of the Air Force's airborne refueling tanker fleet on the West Coast. Fairchild's location north of Cheney and {{convert|12|mi|km}} west of [[Spokane, Washington|Spokane]], resulted from a competition with the cities of [[Seattle]] and [[Everett, Washington|Everett]] in western Washington. The War Department chose [[Spokane]] for several reasons: better weather conditions, the location {{convert|300|mi|km}} from the coast, and the [[Cascade Range]] providing a natural barrier against possible Japanese attacks.

[[Fairchild Air Force Base]] is also the [[United States Air Force]]'s primary training facility for Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape Techniques ([[Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape|SERE]]). SERE is a U.S. military training program developed at the end of the [[Korean War]] to provide service members with training in the [[The United States Military Code of Conduct|Code of Conduct]], survival skills, evading capture, and dealing with being taken prisoner. It was created by the [[U.S. Air Force]] but was expanded to the [[U.S. Army]] and the [[U.S. Navy]] after the [[Vietnam War]]. The SERE school at Fairchild AFB is intended to train aircrews, special forces, and other service members who operate in dangerous areas and are thus more likely to be captured.