The 3rd Flying Training Squadron dates to the organization of the 3rd Aero Squadron on 1 November 1916 at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Most of the officers and men of the Squadron were transferred from the Aviation School at Rockwell Field, San Diego, California, where, at the time, all Army aviators were trained. There, it replaced the 1st Aero Squadron, whose members were sent to Columbus Airfield, New Mexico as part of the Punitive expedition against Pancho Villa. There, the squadron may have operated some Curtiss JN-3s and possibly some Curtiss N-8s, preparing them to be sent south to Columbus.