For the civil use of this facility and airport information, see Austin-Bergstrom International Airport Bergstrom Air Force Base (1942–1993) was a United States Air Force base located seven miles (11 km) southeast of downtown Austin, Texas. It was activated during World War II as a troop carrier training airfield, and was a front-line Strategic Air Command (SAC) base during the Cold War. In its later years, it was transferred to the Tactical Air Command (TAC) and became a major base for the U.S. Air Force's RF-4C reconnaissance fighter fleet. At the time of its closure, it was assigned to the Air Combat Command (ACC). The airfield was then converted for civilian use, with Austin-Bergstrom International Airport beginning passenger flights in 1999.