History of Air Education and Training 

Command

1942-2002
HISTORY 

OF 

AIR EDUCATION AND TRAINING COMMAND 

1942-2002 

Thomas A. Manning 

Command Historian 

Dr Bruce A. Ashcroft 

Richard H. Emmons 

Ann K. Hussey 

Dr Joseph L. Mason 

Office of History and Research 

Headquarters, Air Education and Training Command 

Randolph Air Force Base, Texas 

2005 
ii

iv 
v

PREFACE 

A work of this scope, covering such a long span 

of years, can be done only with the help of a great 

many people. This history rests squarely on the 

foundational work of our predecessors in the Air 

Education and Training Command history office in 

their seminal book, the History of Air Training 

Command, 1943-1993. Former members of the 

history office, CMSgt Robert J. Davis and Dr Karl D. 

Preuss, wrote passages and contributed ideas in the 

early stages of that undertaking. Others, notably Mr 

Lawrence R. Benson, Dr Dennis F. Casey, Mr Lloyd 

H. Cornett, Jr., Mr Jerome A. Ennels, Mr Jay E. 

Hines, Dr J. Dillard Hunley, Mr David W. Shurcliffe, 

Mr Edgar P. Sneed, and Mr Warren A. Trest, made a 

real contribution through the monographs and special 

studies they prepared while part of the AETC history 

program. Mrs Edith J. Taylor spent hours looking at 

reels of microfilm and locating missing pieces to the 

puzzle in dusty storage boxes. Last but not least, Ms 

Patricia E. Parrish and Mr Dick J. Burkard took on 

the Herculean task of laying out the entire book. 

Without their countless hours of overtime, the first 

edition would never have left the drafting table. 

Current members of the AETC history office, 

Dr Bruce A. Ashcroft and Mr Richard H. Emmons, 

wrote substantial sections of the first edition. 

A host of other people assisted in a variety of 

ways. Mr Joe Lopez and Ms Lydia Rodriguez from 

Air Education and Training Command’s manpower 

office provided the answers to innumerable questions 

about unit designations and the command’s 

organizational structure. Mrs Susie Leatherwood, a 

member of the civil engineering staff, helped fill 

several gaps in the appendix dealing with AETC 

bases, and Mr Ollie Barker, from the logistics staff, 

was able to resolve our questions about trainer 

aircraft. 

Finding the right photograph was a continuing 

challenge. For the many old photographs in the first 

edition, we received help from scores of sources, 

ranging from the San Antonio Express-News, to the 

public library in Fort Worth, Texas, to the historical 

society in Boca Raton, Florida, to the Eighth Air 

Force history office at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana. 

We are also indebted to the National Archives and 

Records Administration, the National Air and Space 

Museum, and the Department of Defense Still Media 

Records Center for their extensive collections of 

aviation photos. Most of all the command’s history 

offices repeatedly came up with the photos we 

needed. Similarly, the folks in the 12th Flying 

Training Wing’s media center at Randolph AFB were 

helpful in copying untold numbers of prints and 

converting slides into photographs. SSgt Larry L. 

McGriff from the command’s intelligence shop 

helped immeasurably with the computer scanning of 

photographs and art work. 

The new photos for the second edition were 

more easily obtained from our collection of 

photographs, digital photographs from the last decade 

of the command’s histories, and official Air Force 

photos. 

Updating the earlier edition was not a trivial 

matter. Dr Joseph L. Mason and SSgt Oscar M. Vega 

spent many weeks recovering and reformatting the 

outdated computer files and photos that comprised 

the earlier edition. In some instances, the old material 

has been altered or updated in this edition. 

All members of the AETC history office 

contributed to this edition. Dr Mason extensively 

used the research of historians Ann K. Hussey, Dr 

Ashcroft, and Mr Emmons to write the new material. 

Mr Thomas A. Manning, AETC Command Historian, 

edited the entire manuscript. 

This sixtieth anniversary history was therefore a 

collaborative effort by the staff of the History and 

Research Office. With the help of all those mentioned 

above, we did our best to get it right. Any errors of 

fact or interpretation are ours alone. 
vi
In World War I, aviation cadets at Kelly Field, Texas, learned 

to fly the bi-wing Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny." After completing

training, graduates went to France for pursuit instruction 

before reporting to their combat units. 

Prologue 

ORIGINS 

Air Education and Training 

Command (AETC) traces its lineage 

back to 23 January 1942, when the War 

Department constituted and activated 

the Army Air Corps Flying Training 

Command. The purpose of this volume 

is to recount and commemorate the first 

60 years of AETC history, but the 

history of aviation training in the United 

States military began much earlier. On 8 

October 1909, Wilbur Wright began 

instructing Lieutenants Frank P. Lahm 

and Frederic E. Humphreys on Signal 

Corps Airplane No. 1, which the Army 

had recently purchased from the Wright 

brothers. Each of the two men received 

a little over three hours training before 

soloing on 26 October 1909. 

FLYING TRAINING 

Flying training in the Army remained on this small scale until the outbreak of World War I. During the cours

that war, approximately 23,000 volunteers entered flying cadet training. Eight private and state universities off

preflight (ground school) training. Primary and advanced training were more of a problem because, in April 1

when the United States entered the war, the Army had fewer than 100 flying officers and only three flying fie

Mineola, New York; Essington, Pennsylvania; and San Diego, California. Because it would take a long time to 

struct adequate training facilities in the United States, Canada provided flying bases during the summer of 191

that several hundred American cadets could begin primary flying training. By Christmas 15 US training bases w

available, a number expanded to 27 in the United States and 16 in Europe by the end of the war. Here ca

underwent six to eight weeks of primary pilot training, including 40-50 hours in the air, usually in a Curtiss JN-4

Of the 23,000 who had begun prefl

training during World War I, over 11

received their wings and w

commissioned before entering four w

of advanced training either in the Un

States or Europe. Bombing instruc

occurred primarily at Ellington F

Texas. Taliaferro Field, Texas, am

other locations, provided observa

training, while pursuit (fighter) cou

were restricted to France because of a 

of necessary equipment in the Un

States. Brooks Field, Texas, contained 

principal instructor's school. Because 

United States was in World War I only 

a year and a half and entered it 

unprepared, only about 1,000 of 

11,000 aviators trained during the 

were actually involved in operat

against the enemy. Most of t

operations consisted of artil

observation or air-to-air combat. American airmen confirmed 491 "kills" of German aircraft, of which 462 w

credited to 63 pilots officially classified as aces. In addition, there were 57 confirmed losses of enemy balloons 

With his ground crew, Lt Benjamin D. Foulois (second fro

right) stands in front of the Wright Type B airplane at Fort Sa

Houston, Texas. The Army had moved flying operations fro

College Park, Maryland, to Fort Sam Houston for the winter. O

2 March 1910, Foulois made his first solo flight, and 

September he had made 61 practice flights. 
PROLOGUE 

2

result of American action. Although there were some criticisms of pilot training during World War I, on balance it 

appears that the pilot training program was no mean achievement. 

Rapid demobilization followed the end of World War I, and despite the experience of that conflict, the Army's air 

arm remained quite small during most of the interwar period, although there was a five-year expansion program 

after 1926 in response to the outspoken agitation of airpower advocates. Meanwhile--after a hiatus in training during 

1919--primary pilot instruction resumed on a small scale at March Field, California, and Carlstrom Field, Florida, in 

January 1920. Advanced training at that time included the Observation School at Post Field, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, 

and both pursuit and bombardment instruction at Kelly Field, Texas. However, the administrative difficulties of 

training about 200 flying cadets concurrently at such widely separated locations prompted a decision in 1921-1922 

to centralize all flying training in San Antonio, Texas--considered to be an ideal location because of climate and 

other factors. 

Brooks Field became the center for primary training and Kelly for advanced training. Each phase of instruction 

lasted about six months initially, with advanced training later divided into three months each of basic and advanced 

instruction. In 1927 basic moved out of the advanced phase and combined with primary. At that point, primary-basic 

changed to eight months in length and advanced to four months. With the beginning of the five-year expansion 

program in 1926, the new Air Corps*

 decided to eliminate one defect in this training arrangement--the fact that the 

two fields operated as separate commands--by establishing the Air Corps Training Center in San Antonio with one 

of the Army's first two pilots, Brig Gen (and later Maj Gen) Frank P. Lahm, as its first commander (1 September 

1926-16 July 1930).** The new command consisted of the primary and advanced schools plus the School of 

Aviation Medicine at Brooks Field. As the new center began to carry out its mission of improving supervision of 

flying training, it discovered that facilities in the San Antonio area were insufficient to accommodate the expanded 

number of cadets entering primary training. Hence, in violation of the principle of geographic concentration, 

primary pilot training resumed at March Field, California, from 1927 to 1931. 

 

*

 The organizational beginning of aviation in the Army occurred on 1 August 1907 with the establishment of the 

Aeronautical Division in the Signal Corps (redesignated the Aviation Section on 18 July 1914). On 24 May 1918, 

the Army created the Air Service, followed on 2 July 1926 by the Air Corps. 

** He was succeeded by six other commanders, the last of whom was Brig Gen Barton K. Yount (4 August 1938-

25 January 1939). Yount later served as the first commander of the Army Air Corps Flying Training Command. 

Brooks Field, Texas, was one of 27 flying fields the United States used for training pilots in 

World War I. Most fields were in the southern states, where flying conditions were generally 

good all year round. 
PROLOGUE 

3

 Another problem for the training center was the growth of the city of San Antonio, which created hazards for 

training. Consequently, in June 1927 General Lahm suggested the construction of a single large field outside of the 

city to house all flying training. Congress funded the new field's construction but not the purchase of the land, so the 

city of San Antonio borrowed the $546,000 needed to purchase the site selected for what became Randolph Field. 

By the fall of 1931, construction was essentially completed, so the Air Corps Training Center at Duncan Field, 

adjacent to Kelly, and the primary schools at Brooks and March moved to the new installation. Randolph Field was 

named in memory of Capt William M. Randolph, who was adjutant at Kelly and had died at Gorman, Texas, on 17 

February 1928, while taking off for a return flight to Kelly. The new field, which constituted the largest construction 

project for the Army Corps of Engineers since the Panama Canal, came to be known initially as the "West Point of 

the Air" and then, following establishment of the United States Air Force Academy in 1955, as the "Showplace of 

the Air Force." Lieutenant Harold Clark, later a brigadier general who retired in San Antonio, laid out the design for 

Randolph. 

Advanced training remained at Kelly because experience showed that Randolph Field would become quite 

congested with only primary and basic training located there. Following the 5-year expansion, the number of pilots 

in training declined until only 184 graduated in 1937, compared to an average of 257 per year during the expansion. 

But with the emergence of Germany as a major threat, the Air Corps proposed another period of expansion to train 

4,500 pilots over a two-year period. Consequently, it contracted with nine civilian flying schools to provide primary 

flying training beginning in 1939, while Randolph handled basic training, now completely separate from primary. 

Kelly Field, with Brooks as a subpost, took care of advanced flying training. In July 1939 the full course of flying 

instruction was shortened in length from a year to nine months--three for each phase. Primary training included 65 

hours of flying instruction and basic and advanced training included 75 hours each--a total of 215 hours instead of 

the 279 under the year-long program. Subsequently, each phase was reduced further to 10 and then 9 weeks before 

climbing back to 10 weeks in 1944. 

Meanwhile, the number of primary contract schools expanded to 41 by the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl 

Harbor and to 60 at various times in 1943--the peak year for numbers of pilots trained--although not all of them 

were open at one time. (There were also other contract schools, including 23 for glider pilot training and 4 for basic 

training, but most basic flying training was provided by active duty flying units.) 

Flying cadets refuel an airplane under the direction of an enlisted instructor at Brooks Field, 

Texas. 
PROLOGUE 

4

This is an aerial view (looking south) of Randolph Field, Texas, taken in December 1931. Known for many

years as the "West Point of the Air," Randolph's unique layout was designed by Lt Harold L. Clark. The field 

was named for Capt William M. Randolph, who was killed in an aircraft accident on 17 February 1928. 

In this aerial view of Randolph Field, you are looking toward the installation's most famous 

landmark--the "Taj Mahal." Randolph was dedicated on 20 June 1930 as a flying training base. 
PROLOGUE 

5

As the flow of students from these primary schools to basic training at Randolph increased from 257 in the first 

class in 1939 to over 2,000 per class at the end of 1941, basic training expanded to other fields. Instruction began at 

Maxwell Field, Alabama, in September 1940, and by January 1944 there were 31 fields involved in basic training. 

Advanced training also expanded, adding twin-engine instruction to the prewar single-engine format. The first field 

to offer single-engine training was Craig Field, Alabama, in August 1940. Soon after, Brooks and Kelly Fields 

began twin-engine training. 

Upon graduation from advanced training, students 

received their wings and lieutenant bars and then went on 

to transition training in fighters, bombers, and transports. 

The continental air forces conducted the latter training in 

the early years of World War II, but it became the 

responsibility of the new AAF Flying Training Command 

in 1942. The organization of the rapidly expanding pilot 

training program also evolved. At the beginning of 1939, 

General Yount was still Commanding General, Air Corps 

Training Center, and he also held the title of Assistant 

Chief of the Air Corps for Training. The expansion of the 

Air Corps led its chief, Maj Gen Henry H. (Hap) Arnold, 

to transfer General Yount to Washington, D.C., where he 

headed the Training Group, later redesignated the 

Training and Operations Division. 

On 8 July 1940, the Air Corps redesignated its training 

center at Randolph as the Gulf Coast Air Corps Training 

Center and established two additional training centers to 

manage the growing number of flying schools. The 

Southeast Air Corps Training Center headquartered at 

Maxwell Field managed those in the eastern third of the 

nation. The redesignated Gulf Coast Air Corps Training 

Center at Randolph handled those in the central sector, 

while the West Coast Air Corps Training Center at 

Moffett Field, California (later moved to Santa Ana), managed those in the western tier. In July 1941 General Yount 

became the west coast center commander. Then, on 28 January 1942, he assumed command of the newly established 

Air Corps Flying Training Command, which was to be headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. In July 1943 this 

command merged with the AAF Technical Training Command to form the Army Air Forces Training Command. 

Through most of the 1930s, the Air Corps conducted all primary and basic flying training at Randolph. 

These PT-13s lined up at Randolph Field were the principal trainers used in the primary phase. 

A regiment of aviation cadets is shown in 

formation at Randolph Field in the 1940s. 
PROLOGUE 

6

CONTRACT PRIMARY TRAINING IN WORLD WAR II 

In the late 1930s, the Air Corps conducted all pilot 

training in the vicinity of San Antonio, Texas. 

Randolph Field was the site of primary and basic 

training, while advanced training, took place across 

town at Kelly Field, with some training done at 

Brooks Field when necessary. This basing structure 

was sufficient for the small training program that 

graduated only 301 pilots in fiscal year 1938. 

Though Europe was on the verge of war, the 

prevailing viewpoint in the United States was 

isolationism. The American public (and many in 

government) did not want to get involved. In the 

absence of a firm political commitment to shore up 

the nation's defenses, military planners had to look for 

alternative ways to get the job done. That caused Maj 

Gen Henry H. Arnold to investigate the possibility of 

using civilian flying schools to supplement the Air 

Corps' few flying training schools. In September 

1938 he opened preliminary talks with three 

prominent flying school operators. General Arnold 

then appointed a board of officers to examine the 

issue. Two months later the board recommended 

contracting with civilian schools to provide primary 

pilot training for 4,500 trainees in two years at a 

projected cost of $20 per flying hour. 

Following the board's recommendation, the Air 

Corps established criteria for contract primary schools 

and began a search. It limited consideration to 

schools certified by the Civil Aeronautics Authority 

to conduct advanced private pilot training--roughly 

equivalent to Air Corps primary training. During 

the winter of 1938-39, officials inspected 14 

schools and chose nine to begin training on 1 July 

1939: Santa Maria, San Diego, and Glendale, 

California; Dallas, Texas; Tulsa, Oklahoma; East 

St Louis and Glenview, Illinois; Lincoln, 

Nebraska; and Tuscaloosa, Alabama. 

According to the contract, the government 

supplied students with training aircraft, flying 

clothes, textbooks, and equipment. The Air Corps 

also put a detachment at each school to supervise 

training. Schools furnished instructors, training 

sites and facilities, aircraft maintenance, quarters, 

and mess halls. From the Air Corps, schools 

received a flat fee of $1,170 for each graduate and 

$18 per flying hour for students eliminated from 

training. 

Following the fall of France in 1940, the Air 

Corps upped its pilot production goal to 7,000 per 

year, too much for the nine contract schools to 

handle. To meet that goal, the Air Corps increased 

the capacity of its schools and added more contract 

primary schools. At one time or another during 

World War II, 64 contract schools conducted 

primary training, with a maximum of 56 schools 

operating at any one time. During the course of the 

war, the schools graduated approximately 250,000 

student pilots. 

Shown with Maj Gen B.K. Yount are seven of the 

eight men who established the Air Corps' first nine 

contract primary schools: M. W. Balfour, O. L. 

Parks, H. S. Long, General Yount, A. Hancock, 

C. C. Moseley, and E. W. Prudden (representing

Claude Ryan). Not shown is E.S. Sias. 

The Lafayette, Louisiana, airport was one of 

several municipal airports that became 

contract flying schools during World War II.
PROLOGUE 

7

NAVIGATOR TRAINING 

Until the early 1930s, pilots had been their own 

navigators. Then as airlines began to make longdistance flights, they added a navigator to the flight 

crew. The military, however, continued to treat 

navigation training as part of pilot training. 

Consequently when it, too, began to see a need for 

specialized navigators, in July 1940 the Army signed 

a contract with Pan American Airways, Incorporated, 

to provide training in navigation and meteorology to 

flying cadets, an arrangement that continued until 

1944. In November 1940 the Air Corps opened its 

first navigator school at Barksdale Field, Louisiana. 

Cadres later went out from Barksdale to establish 

seven other schools across the country. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Technical training developed almost as early as 

flying training. The Army air arm saw a need for 

skilled aviation mechanics and other technicians as it 

prepared for World War I. At first, men who already 

possessed some mechanical experience received 

training at civilian trade schools and state 

universities. The policy proved both expensive and 

unsatisfactory, however, due to a lack of proper 

equipment and competent instructors. The next 

expedient was to send the men to flying fields for onthe-job training. Costly mistakes showed that this 

arrangement was also unsatisfactory. So the Army 

set up two mechanic schools, one at Kelly Field and 

another in a large building in St Paul, Minnesota, that 

the War Department took over. 

Major Walter R. Weaver*

 took charge of the 

school at St Paul on 12 February 1918. By the end of 

World War I, his organization had graduated about 

5,000 men, nearly one-third of all mechanics trained 

during 1918 (including those trained in 34 civilian 

institutions). The school at Kelly Field had begun 

operations in October 1917, but did not function 

effectively until June 1918, when 1,000 students 

entered training. By Armistice Day, 11 November 

1918, Kelly had trained over 2,000 more mechanics. 

Though the school in St Paul closed after the war, 

Kelly remained in operation and trained some 5,000 

more mechanics before January 1921. Then the Army 

decided to move a repair depot from Dallas to 

consolidate it with a supply depot at Kelly, forcing 

the Air Service Mechanics School to move to 

Chanute Field in Illinois. 

In the meantime, training in aerial photography 

for both officers and enlisted men began at Langley 

 

*

 Later, as a major general, Weaver commanded the 

Army Air Forces Technical Training Command. 

Field, Virginia, in 1917. The following year, the 

school sent students to Cornell University or the 

Eastman Kodak Company in Rochester, New York, 

for preliminary instruction before continuing with 

advanced training at Langley. Instruction in radio 

communication took place at an aviation instruction 

center near Tours, France, in 1918, and an Air 

Service Communications School was established at 

Fort Sill, Oklahoma, the following year. 

The number of technical trainees declined after 

the war. The air service trained about 15,000 

technicians from 1920 to 1940, compared to roughly 

the same number of mechanics trained in a single 

year during World War II. 

In 1922 the photography school at Langley and 

the communications school at Fort Sill both joined 

the mechanics course at Chanute, congregating all 

technical training in the Air Service at that location. 

The three previously autonomous schools consolidated to form the Air Service Technical School, 

redesignated the Air Corps Technical School in 1926. 

The former separate schools became departments, 

joined in 1930 by a Department of Armament and 

three years later by a Department of Clerical 

Instruction. In February 1938 Lowry Field, Colorado, 

came under the jurisdiction of the Air Corps 

Technical School, still headquartered at Chanute. The 

Departments of Photography and Armament moved 

to Lowry, followed in September by the Department 

of Clerical Instruction. 

Scott Field, Illinois, came under the jurisdiction of 

the Chanute school in 1939. The Department of Basic 

In the late 1930s, photography training moved 

from Chanute Field, Illinois, to Lowry Field, 

Colorado. This photo taken in 1940 shows 

students using 8-by-10 inch view cameras. 
PROLOGUE 

8

Instruction, inaugurated in 1935 at Chanute, relocated 

to the new location. The department returned to 

Chanute, however, when Scott became a radio school 

in 1940. Subject matter from the basic course was 

incorporated into the various specialized programs at 

Scott, and four of the departments--mechanics, 

communications, photography, and armament--taught 

both officers and enlisted personnel. 

By mid-1940 technical training started to expand 

more rapidly. Officer training came to include 

orientation for people directly commissioned from 

civilian life, administrative officer candidate training, 

and instruction in a variety of specialties including air 

intelligence, bombsight maintenance, engineering, 

and meteorology, in addition to the four mentioned 

above. Training for enlisted personnel also expanded 

to include such subjects as welding, Link training, 

parachute rigging, weather observation and 

forecasting, bombsight maintenance, and the 

maintenance of a variety of other technical equipment 

such as gunsights and power turrets. 

By early November 1941, students were entering 

technical training at the rate of 110,000 per year, and 

after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor the student 

flow rose sharply: 13,000 men entered technical 

training schools in January 1942 and 55,000 in 

December 1942. The peak occurred in March 1943, 

with 62,000 entrants. To accommodate the trainees, 

the AAF pressed civilian mechanics and factory 

schools into service, and many colleges and universities offered training in certain specialties. 

The number of military installations kept pace 

with the rapid increase in personnel. Limited airspace 

and flying facilities restricted flying training fields to 

between 2,000 to 5,000 people. Technical training 

bases, by contrast, ranged in size from 5,000 to as 

many as 30,000 people and required much more 

housing than flying training installations. Fortunately, 

many were located in or near urban areas where 

hotels and other housing facilities were available. 

Some hotels were even used for training. During the 

rapid expansion from February to October 1942, for 

example, the Army Air 

Forces took over a total 

of 452 hotels, as well as 

warehouses, theaters, 

convention halls, athletic fields, parking lots, 

and various other 

structures. The number 

of hotels at the peak of 

training included 337 in 

Miami Beach, Florida; 

62 in St Petersburg, 

Florida; 46 in Atlantic 

City, New Jersey; three 

in Chicago, Illinois; two 

in Knollwood, North 

Carolina; and two in 

Grand Rapids, Michigan. 

New technical 

training bases included 

Keesler Field, Mississippi, and Sheppard Field, 

Texas, both activated in 1941. Thereafter, the number 

of stations increased at a rapid pace. Already by 

October 1942, 15 AAF technical schools, 34 civilian 

contract mechanics schools, 7 basic training centers, 

5 universities, 5 commercial airline contract schools, 

and about 50 factory training schools provided 

technical training. In addition, there were other small 

technical training schools at various Flying Training 

Command and Second Air Force bases. Because bad 

weather did not seriously hamper technical training 

the way it did flying training, many technical training 

bases were in the northern part of the country, 

whereas flying fields were concentrated in the south 

and along the west coast. 

The commandant of the Air Corps Technical 

School at Chanute had final authority for curricular 

development and supervised technical training in all 

Air Corps schools, but he lacked command authority 

over the schools and the installations where they 

were located. To rectify this problem, the Air Corps 

established the Technical Training Command on 

26 March 1941 (redesignated Army Air Forces 

Technical Training Command in March 1942). The 

new command was responsible for the orientation, 

classification, basic, and technical training of enlisted 

men and the training of nonrated officers at officer 

Keesler Field, Mississippi, was one of two new technical training bases the Air 

Corps established in 1941. Besides airplane and engine mechanic training, it also 

operated a basic training center. 
PROLOGUE 

9

candidate and officer training schools and in 

technical subjects like armament, engineering, 

communications, and photography. The headquarters 

of the new command moved successively from 

Chanute to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1941, and then in 

1942 to Knollwood Field, North Carolina, until it 

merged with Flying Training Command in 1943. The 

first commander of Technical Training Command 

was Brig Gen (soon Maj Gen) Rush B. Lincoln, who 

became commandant of the Air Corps Technical 

School in October 1940. On 18 February 1942, he 

relinquished command to Maj Gen Walter R. 

Weaver, who remained the commander until the 

merger of the two component commands on 7 July 

1943. 

BASIC MILITARY TRAINING 

Basic military training was a major mission of the 

Air Corps Technical School and, later, Technical 

Training Command. In the early days of technical 

training there was little emphasis on military 

instruction. The mechanic schools at St Paul and 

Kelly Field emphasized technical training, and for the 

following two decades, the amount of military 

training provided to new enlisted personnel 

undergoing technical instruction varied with their 

unit commanders, who had sole responsibility for the 

program. In 1935 efforts to change this arrangement 

began, but the real change occurred in 1939 when the 

Army proposed that each component arm and service 

set up their own enlisted replacement centers. Air 

Corps policy had been to furnish initial basic training 

for recruits at established stations, followed by about 

a month's preparatory training at Scott Field, Illinois, 

before they went to Chanute for specialized training. 

Then in 1940 the War Department authorized the 

establishment of Air Corps enlisted replacement 

centers for the initial training of recruits. 

The Air Corps established the first of these centers 

at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, in the summer of 

1940, though formal activation did not occur until 

21 February 1941. That fall the Technical Training 

Command activated two more basic training centers 

at Keesler Field, Mississippi, and Sheppard Field, 

Texas, where the command already had mechanic 

schools. A group of officers and enlisted men from 

Scott Field became the initial staff for Jefferson 

Barracks, and it, in turn, provided cadres to staff the 

replacement training centers at Keesler and Sheppard. 

These installations did the same for subsequent 

replacement training centers. 

At Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, basic trainees took 

part in camouflage training. The above photo shows a 

three-man machine gun crew wearing camouflage suits.

The basic training center 

in Atlantic City, New 

Jersey, included a rifle 

range where students 

learned marksmanship 

skills. 
PROLOGUE 

10

By the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Air 

Corps had 21,000 recruits at the three replacement 

training centers. The subsequently phenomenal 

growth of technical school quotas made these three 

centers inadequate to supply recruits for technical 

training, so the number of basic training centers 

expanded to 12 (plus one 

provisional center) by the 

spring of 1943, including 

those at Miami Beach, St 

Petersburg, and Atlantic 

City. Shortly thereafter, the 

basic training mission declined in size because 

requirements for technical 

training centers were being 

met. Consequently, some of 

the 13 centers inactivated, 

while others moved to 

technical training centers 

such as Amarillo Field, 

Texas, that had previously 

not had replacement training 

centers. 

The length of basic 

training varied over time. 

For more than a year after 

Pearl Harbor, it remained at 

four weeks, but then it 

increased to two months, 

with some exceptions. In 

1944 and 1945 there were 

further fluctuations in length 

from six to nine weeks. 

Sometimes, however, quotas 

for technical training caused 

enlisted men to be removed 

from basic training before 

they had completed it. As a 

result, continental air forces 

and commands had to 

provide basic training until 

replacement training centers 

were set up overseas to 

resolve the problem. 

The number of trainees at 

basic training centers 

increased to its peak of 

135,795 in February 1943. 

By December 1944 it had 

declined to 16,509--about 

4,500 below the level on 

7 December 1941. Because 

of the rapid expansion and 

then the almost equally rapid 

contraction of the program, its quality varied 

considerably, but given the numerous problems with 

facilities, qualified instructors, changes in curriculum, and the like, the centers made as much of a 

contribution to the war effort as could be expected 

under the circumstances. 

Crowded conditions existed at all military training facilities. To handle the 

large number of trainees, schools housed students in open bay barracks like 

the one above at Sheppard Field, Texas. 

As part of chemical warfare instruction, students donned gas masks and ran 

the obstacle course. The above photo shows the rope climb at Keesler Field in 

Mississippi.
PROLOGUE 

11

FOREIGN FLYING TRAINING IN WORLD WAR II 

In World War I, partially trained American pilots arrived in Europe unprepared to fight the Germans. They 

completed their training in French, British, and Italian schools in aircraft not available in the United States. 

Mechanics, too, received training overseas. The British 

helped train US ground crews at their airfields and in their 

factories. So too, did France. Based on that foundation, the 

air arm of the US Army grew quickly and compiled a 

credible combat record during World War I. 

Two decades later, with World War II looming large, the 

United States had a chance to reciprocate. When the LendLease Act became law on 11 March 1941, the British were 

isolated, facing a hostile continent. France had fallen in 

1940, the British had retreated from Dunkirk at the same 

time, and the Germans had not yet reneged on the HitlerStalin non-aggression pact of 1939. Only the Royal Air 

Force (RAF), by denying air superiority to the Luftwaffe, 

had prevented a German invasion of the British Isles. 

Aware of the RAF's urgent need for additional training 

facilities, General Arnold offered the British over 500 

aircraft for use in the training of British pilots in the United States. Arnold also arranged for civilian contractors to 

set up schools exclusively for training British pilots. The schools would accept 50 RAF students every 5 weeks for a 

20-week course in order to produce 3,000 pilots a year. Known as the British Flying Training School program, it 

was unique among the programs the Air Corps offered to Allied nations inasmuch as the British dealt directly with 

the contractors and completely controlled all aspects of the flying training process. Basically, the Air Corps just 

helped the RAF and the contractors select the sites for the schools and then supervised their construction. The 

schools were located at Mesa, Arizona; Lancaster, California; Clewiston, Florida; Miami and Ponca City, 

Oklahoma; Terrell, Texas; and, briefly, Sweetwater, Texas. 

Additionally, the Army Air Corps offered to devote one-third of its pilot training capacity to meet the British 

need for more pilots. Known as the Arnold Plan, this program provided RAF students with the same training the Air 

Corps provided its own students and had the potential to produce 4,000 pilots a year. The program involved 12 

schools, four of them operated by contractors and the rest 

run directly by the Air Corps. 

Together the two programs produced 11,291 pilots for 

the Royal Air Force during World War II. The British 

Flying Training School program graduated 6,921 pilots, and 

the Arnold Plan program turned out 4,370. A third example 

of Anglo-American cooperation was the navigator training 

program conducted by Pan American Airways at Coral 

Gables, Florida. Beginning in August 1940, the airline 

taught long-range navigation techniques, many of which it 

had originated, to Air Corps students. As it had done with 

the two programs noted above, the Air Corps made this 

training available to the British. For a while, as many as 

150 of the 200 spaces in each class were taken by the 

British. In all, 1,225 British students completed this 

program. 

Perhaps the most surprising problem in training the British was one of communication. Though in theory both 

Americans and Britons spoke the same language, some difficulties with colloquial expression occasionally surfaced. 

Though there was never a serious communications barrier, there were minor problems throughout the British 

training program. 

Royal Canadian Air Force cadets at the 

Maxwell Field, Alabama, advanced school 

discuss flying after completing basic training

at Gunter Field, Alabama 

After processing at Randolph Field, the 201st 

Mexican Fighter Squadron split up to receive 

training at a variety of locations 
PROLOGUE 

12

After the United States entered the war, the Air Corps also developed a pilot training program for the Free 

French, many of whom had joined the Allies in North Africa in late 1942. This program was considerably smaller 

than either of the programs for British aviators. Because of the size of the program, the Air Corps concentrated each 

phase of training at a single base. Thus, French students received primary training at the civilian contract school at 

Tuscaloosa (and for a while at Orangeburg, South Carolina); basic training at Gunter Field; and advanced singleengine training and P-40 transition training at Craig Field. By the end of October 1945, 1,165 pilots had graduated 

from the program. Other programs produced navigators, bombardiers, gunners, and maintenance personnel. 

The United States also assisted the Chinese Air Force. The Air Corps conducted most of the training for the 

Chinese at three Arizona installations: Luke, Williams, and Thunderbird Fields. Training the Chinese presented 

some special challenges. Because of their small stature some 

students could not reach all the controls. That problem was 

usually solved through the use of extra cushions and 

occasionally by switching them to another type of airplane. A 

bigger problem was the language barrier. It took all the 

interpreters the Air Corps could muster to support the training 

programs for the Chinese. In the end, 3,553 Chinese received 

flying and technical training, including 866 pilots. 

While the preponderance of students trained in the United 

States during World War II were British, French, or Chinese, 

over 20 other nations also sent students. Most came from 

Latin America, most notably Brazil and Mexico. A smattering 

of others came from Australia, Turkey, the Netherlands, and 

the Soviet Union. Altogether, the Army Air Forces trained 

approximately 23,000 foreign students in the war years. 

OFFICER CANDIDATE SCHOOL 

A final responsibility of the Technical Training 

Command that should be mentioned was basic 

military training for nonrated officers. They were 

needed to relieve flying officers of their nonflying 

duties during the wartime expansion of the Air Corps 

and the Army Air Forces. (The Army Air Forces 

came into being on 20 June 1941. On 2 March 1942, 

as a result of a War Department circular, the Army 

Air Forces became a subordinate but autonomous 

arm of the US Army.) To provide this training, on 

17 February 1942, General Arnold directed the 

Technical Training Command to establish an Officer 

Candidate School (OCS). General Weaver located it 

at Miami Beach, where it activated on 21 February 

1942 and continued to operate until June 1944, when 

it moved to the San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center at 

the site of what later became Lackland Air Force 

Base. In June 1945 the Officer Candidate School 

again transferred to Maxwell Field, Alabama. 

The Officer Candidate School began as a 12-week 

course, but it expanded to 16 weeks in 1943. It also 

began as a uniform program for all officer candidates, 

but after 1943 the last phase of training was divided 

into specialized training for adjutants and personnel 

officers, as well as supply, mess, intelligence, guardcompany, and training officers. Later, it expanded to 

include physical training and technical officers as 

well. Then, in October 1944 as enrollment declined, 

the school dropped the specialized training 

altogether. Through the end of the war, the school 

graduated a total of 29,106 officers. These graduates 

had entered the school from a variety of backgrounds. 

Some were warrant officers or enlisted men who met 

the standards for admission to officer training. These 

sources were not adequate to meet all of the needs of 

the Army air arm, however, so it commissioned some 

individuals with special qualifications directly from 

civilian life. These people required some military 

training, so Technical Training Command also set up 

an Officer Training School (OTS) at Miami Beach to 

provide six weeks of military instruction. It became 

an integral but separate part of OCS in June 1942. 

Most OTS students were 30 years old or more, 

with the bulk of them in their 30s or 40s. They came 

from all walks of life, but most were teachers, 

businessmen, or professionals. The majority was 

slated for administrative or instructional duties in the 

Army Air Forces, but others became ferry pilots. 

Beginning in the winter of 1942, Medical, Dental, 

and Sanitary Corps officers also attended Officer 

Training School in courses separate from those for 

other officers. On 26 June 1943, OTS terminated its 

activities, but by that date it had trained a total of 

13,898 students, of whom 13,284 graduated. 

Hundreds of Chinese students received 

instruction during the war, like these cadets 

on parade at Marana Field, Arizona. 
13

1942

Air Education and Training Command traces its lineage to the establishment of the Air Corps Flying 

Training Command on 23 January 1942, with the mission to train pilots, flying specialists, and combat crews. 

The command was redesignated the Army Air Forces Flying Training Command on or about 15 March 1942, 

after the Army Air Forces became a subordinate but autonomous arm of the US Army. The command 

struggled with the challenge of a massive wartime expansion of the air forces. Throughout 1942, the need for 

combat crew personnel far exceeded the current and contemplated production of the command’s flying 

training schools. The rate of expansion of housing and training facilities, instructors, as well as the 

procurement of aircraft and other equipment, though at a breakneck pace, constrained the rate of increase of 

production. Facilities were used to their maximum capacity as quickly as they could be stood up. Some 

schools were expanded while they were still under construction. “The first year has been largely one of 

organization and expansion,” the commander, Maj Gen Barton K. Yount, reflected in January 1943. “While 

we will continue to grow bigger, we are now so organized that we can specialize on the quality of our product, 

and that will be our aim during the coming year.” 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(approximate as of 31 December 1942) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 85 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 220,000 (20,000 officer, 160,000 enlisted, 40,000 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 19,000 (A-17, A-20, A-25, A-26/B-26, A-29, A-35, A-36, AT-6, AT-7, 

AT-8, AT-9, AT-10, AT-11, AT-12, AT-17, AT-18, AT-21, AT-22, 

AT-23, AT-24, B-17, B-18, B-24, B-25, B-40, BC-1, BT-9, BT-12, 

BT-13, BT-14, BT-15, C-32, C-45, C-50, C-56, C-60, C-64, CG-4, 

L-1, L-2, L-3, L-4, L-5, O-46, O-47, O-52, OA-9, OA-10, OA-14, 

P-35, P-36, P-38, P-39, P-40, P-47, PT-13, PT-15, PT-18, PT-19, 

PT-22, PT-23, PT-27, RA-24, RA-28, RA-33, RP-322, UC-36, UC-40, 

UC-61, UC-67, UC-78) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS 

3 training centers: 

SOUTHEAST, Maxwell Field AL 

GULF COAST, Randolph Field TX 

WEST COAST, Santa Ana Army Air Base CA 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

 Maj Gen Barton K. 

Yount assumed command 

of the Air Corps Flying 

Training Command on 28 

January 1942. He had 

previously served as 

commanding general of 

the West Coast Air Corps 

Training Center. 

ORGANIZATION 

HEADQUARTERS 

Established 

Air Education and Training Command of 2002 traces 

its lineage to the establishment of the Air Corps 

Flying Training Command on 23 January 1942. 

Redesignated 

The Army Air Forces came into being on 20 June 

1941, and on 2 March 1942, as a result of a War 

Department circular, the Army Air Forces became a 

subordinate but autonomous arm of the US Army. 

The Air Corps Flying Training Command was 

consequently redesignated the Army Air Forces 

Flying Training Command on or about 15 March 

1942. 

Maj Gen Barton K. Yount 
1942 

14

Headquarters Relocation 

One of the early problems the command faced was to 

locate the headquarters. Because wartime expansion 

of government agencies had overcrowded the 

Washington, D.C. area, General Yount chose to move 

the headquarters to Fort Worth, Texas, where the 

staff could centrally manage flying operations. The 

top four floors of the Texas and Pacific Railroad 

Building provided excellent office space (the 

headquarters took over a fifth floor in 1943), and a 

nearby Air Force station could support the 

headquarters. The Washington headquarters closed 

on 30 June 1942, and the Fort Worth location opened 

the next day. The headquarters staff numbered 204 

uniformed personnel on 30 December 1942. 

SUBORDINATE UNITS 

Flying Training Wings 

The rapid expansion of training increased the number 

of the stations attached to each training center. The 

geographic dispersion and diversity of training made 

close supervision by the center commander impossible. General Yount therefore proposed to 

General Arnold, AAF Chief of Staff, to organize not 

more than four flying training wings in each of the 

three training centers. The command would furnish 

the personnel necessary to staff each wing with a 

commanding brigadier general and a small staff, who 

would supervise and coordinate actual training 

operations. General Arnold approved the proposal on 

19 October 1942, but authorization to activate twelve 

Flying Training Wings was not received until 

17 December 1942. The wings stood up in 1943. 

INSTALLATIONS 

Airfield Construction 

During 1942, the command selected locations for the 

more than fifty additional airfields necessary to 

implement the 75,000-pilot program (see page 15). 

Local civic groups and congressmen "gave the site 

boards no respite," in the words of an AAF Training 

Command historian, as they lobbied for new bases in 

their jurisdiction. New airfields had to be located in 

areas with sufficient flying space free of other air 

traffic, and the West Coast training center faced the 

extraordinary requirement to avoid sites near the 

internment camps for Japanese-Americans. 

From 1942 to 1946, Army Air Forces Flying

Training Command (later AAF Training

Command) was headquartered in Fort Worth, 

Texas. The command initially occupied the top 

four floors of the Texas and Pacific Railway office 

building. 

Housing was primitive in the early days at Yuma 

Army Air Field, Arizona. Construction began on 

1 June 1942, and advanced single-engine 

instruction commenced in January 1943.
1942 

15

FLYING TRAINING BASE EXPANSION IN 1942 

New Location Type of Training Notes 

West Coast Trng Ctr 

Holtville, CA 

Inyokern, CA 

Mojave, CA 

Needles, CA 

 

These four planned sites were abandoned in favor of 

converting glider schools at Twenty-Nine Palms, CA, and 

Wickenburg, AZ, where training began Mar 43 

Yuma, AZ Single-engine Construction began 1 Jun 42, training began Jan 43 

Douglas, AZ Twin-engine Construction began Jun 42, training began 7 Oct 42 

Marfa, TX Advanced twin-engine Construction began Jun 42, training began 7 Dec 42 

Kingman, AZ Flexible gunnery Construction began 27 May 42, training began Jan 43 

Winslow, AZ Planned site abandoned in favor of alternate at La Junta, CO 

Gulf Coast Trng Ctr 

Brady, TX Elementary 

El Reno, OK Elementary 

Miami, OK Elementary Converted from British training Nov 42 

Ponca, City FL Elementary Converted from British training Nov 42 

Sweetwater, OK Elementary Later converted to women’s flying training 

Terrell, TX Elementary Converted from British training Nov 42 

Waxahachie, TX Elementary Planned site abandoned 

Garden City, KS Basic 

Independence, KS Basic 

Winfield, KS Basic 

Bryan, TX Single-engine 

Altus, OK (Victoria Fld.) Single-engine 

Altus, OK Twin-engine Also advanced twin-engine 

Dodge City, KS Twin-engine 

Frederick, OK Twin-engine 

Pampa, TX Twin-engine 

Everman, TX Advanced single-engine 

Plainview, TX Advanced twin-engine Planned site abandoned due to congested airspace 

Lamesa ,TX Advanced twin-engine 

Vernon,TX Advanced twin-engine 

Dodge City, KS Elementary Converted from British training 28 Jun 42 

Garden City, KS Elementary Converted from British training 28 Jun 42 

Liberal, KS Elementary Converted from British training 2 Sep 42 

Southeast Trng Ctr

Cape Girardeau, MS Elementary Training began 31 Dec 42 

McBride MS Elementary Training began 1 May 43 

Charleston, MS Basic 

Greenwood, MS Basic 

Muscle Shoals, AL Basic 

Tuckerman, AR Basic 

Bainbridge, GA Advanced single-engine Already under construction, converted to adv single-engine 

Seymour, IN Advanced twin-engine 

Stuttgart, AR Advanced twin-engine 

Valdosta, GA Advanced twin-engine Converted to combat crew training 

Sebring, FL Combat crew training 

Smyrna, TN Combat crew training 

Monroe, LA Navigation Expanded 

Eglin FL Fixed gunnery Eglin FL 

Ft Myers, FL Gunnery 

Panama City, FL Gunnery 

Elementary
1942 

16

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

75,000-Pilot Program 

Planning for facilities and personnel was based on 

programs for a certain annual production rate of 

pilots. These programs changed rapidly as the war in 

Europe progressed and accelerated again after the 

United States formally entered hostilities. Targets 

began in 1940 at an annual rate of 7,000 pilots, and 

peaked briefly in 1942 at a plan for 102,000 pilots per 

year. Training expansion in 1942 was based primarily 

on the 75,000-pilot program. Acute shortages in 

housing, classroom facilities, trained personnel, and 

trainer aircraft plagued the command. Students in 

flying training shared classroom facilities with 

technical trainees, combat aircraft substituted for 

advanced trainers (and all aircraft flew seven days a 

week). Primary pilot production peaked in November 

1943, with facilities designed for the 75,000-pilot 

program operating above capacity, before gradually 

declining in 1944. 

Centralized Instructor Schools 

A lack of trained instructors hampered the expansion 

of training. Though many graduates of training 

programs remained at their station to instruct 

subsequent classes, an acute instructor shortage 

persisted. A lack of training instructors was the most 

serious bottleneck in the production pipeline. In order 

to solve the problem, as well as to standardize 

instruction, the training centers urged General Yount 

to establish a Central Instructors School to serve all 

three training centers. In December, General Yount 

requested authority to implement the plan, which 

Headquarters AAF granted on 4 January 1943. The 

command planned schools for pilot, bombardier, 

navigator, and flexible gunnery instructors. 

On 14 May 1942, Congress created the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). 

Members of the WAAC primarily filled clerical positions, releasing men for combat duty. 

Pictured above are members of the first WAAC contingent to arrive at Randolph Field. 

In September 1943 the WAAC was replaced by the Women's Army Corps (WAC). The 

WAC remained in existence until 12 June 1948, when Congress passed the Women's 

Armed Service Integration Act, and Women in the Air Force (WAF) became a 

permanent designation. By the mid-1970s, the Air Force stopped using the term WAF 

and began referring to both men and women as “airmen.”
17

1943

The Army Air Forces Flying Training Command redesignated as the Army Air Forces Training 

Command on 7 July 1943, assumed responsibility for both flying and technical training. The Technical 

Training Command inactivated. The two training commands had undergone enormous and rapid expansion 

in an effort to meet the needs of US forces in World War II. The latter half of 1943 inaugurated a period of 

continuation, refinement, adaptation, and eventual contraction of training for the Army Air Forces. The basic 

training centers and technical schools had already reached their peaks of production in February and May, 

but the apexes of training for most other major categories did not occur until 1944. The one exception to this 

generalization was primary pilot training, which achieved its maximum production level in November 1943, 

when 11,411 student pilots graduated. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1943) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 438 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 461,656 (53,585 officers; 325,453 enlisted; 82,618 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 29,713 (A-17, A-20, A-25, A-26/B-26, A-29, A-35, A-36, AT-6, AT-7, 

AT-8, AT-9, AT-10, AT-11, AT-12, AT-17, AT-18, AT-21, AT-22, AT-23, 

AT-24, B-17, B-18, B-24, B-25, B-29, B-34, B-40, BC-1, BT-9, BT-12, 

BT-13, BT-14, BT-15, C-32, C-45, C-50, C-56, C-60, C-64, CG-4, L-1, L-2, 

L-3, L-4, L-5, O-46, O-47, O-52, OA-9, OA-10, OA-14, P-35, P-36, P-38, 

P-39, P-40, P-47, PT-13, PT-15, PT-18, PT-19, PT-22, PT-23, PT-27, 

RA-24, RA-28, RA-33, RP-322, UC-36, UC-40, UC-61, UC-67, UC-78) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

3 flying training commands: 

EASTERN, Maxwell Field AL: 

7 flying training wings: 

 27th (Basic), Cochran Field GA 

 28th (Adv Single-Engine), Craig Field AL 

 29th (Primary), Moody Field GA 

 30th (Adv Twin-Engine), Columbus Field MS 

 74th (Preflight), Maxwell Field AL 

 75th (Flex Gunnery), Buckingham Field FL 

76th (Spec 4-Engine), Smyrna Field TN 

CENTRAL, Randolph Field TX: 

 8 flying training wings: 

 31st (Primary), Enid Field OK 

 32d (Basic), Perrin Field TX 

 33d (Adv Twin-Engine), Blackland Field TX 

34th (Bomb & Spec 2/4-Engine), San Angelo 

Field TX 

77th (Adv Single-Engine), Foster Field TX 

78th (Preflight), San Antonio Aviation Cadet 

Center TX 

 79th (Flexible Gunnery), Harlingen Field TX 

 80th (Nav & Glider), San Marcos Field TX 

WESTERN, Santa Ana Army Air Base CA: 

 

 7 flying training wings: 

 

35th (Basic), Minter Field CA 

 36th (Primary), Santa Ana Army AB CA 

 37th (Adv Single-Engine), Luke Field AZ 

38th (Bomb & Spec 2/4-Engine), Kirtland Field 

NM 

 81st (Preflight), Santa Ana Army AB CA 

 82d (Flex Gunnery), Las Vegas Field NV 

83d (Adv Twin-Engine), Douglas Field AZ 

3 technical training commands: 

EASTERN, Greensboro NC: 

Boca Raton Field FL: technical school 

Greensboro Center NC: basic training center 

Gulfport Field MS: technical school, basic training 

center 

Keesler Field MS: technical school, basic training 

center 
1943 

18

Miami Beach FL: basic training center, officer 

candidate school 

Seymour Johnson Field NC: technical school, basic 

training 

Yale University, New Haven CT: technical school 

CENTRAL, St Louis MO: 

Chanute Field IL: technical school 

Indianapolis IN: technical school 

Jefferson Barracks MO: basic training center 

Scott Field IL: technical school 

Sioux Falls Field SD: technical school 

Tomah WI: technical school 

Truax Field WI: technical school 

WESTERN, Denver CO: 

Amarillo Field TX: technical school, basic training 

center 

Buckley Field CO: technical school, basic training 

center 

Fort Logan CO: technical school, miscellaneous 

training 

Kearns Center UT: basic training center, miscellaneous training 

Lincoln Field NE: basic training center, technical 

school 

Lowry Field CO: technical school, miscellaneous 

training 

Sheppard Field TX: technical school, basic training 

center 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

On 7 July 1943, Maj Gen Barton K. Yount 

stepped down from his position as Commanding 

General of AAF Flying Training Command into the 

position of Commanding General of the Army Air 

Forces Training Command. When the command was 

established there was no provision for a deputy 

commanding general. Upon activation of AAF 

Training Command, Brig Gen Walter F. Kraus 

became Chief of Staff. Two months later, on 

13 September, General Yount was promoted to 

lieutenant general. 

ORGANIZATION 

Training Command 

On 31 July 1943, the Army Air Forces continued 

with organizational actions related to the activation of 

Training Command. What had been Flying Training 

Command's major subordinate units--the Southeast 

Flying Training Center at Maxwell, the Gulf Coast 

Flying Training Center at Randolph, and the West 

Coast Flying Training Center at Santa Ana were 

redesignated as the Eastern, Central, and Western 

Flying Training Commands, respectively. The five 

districts that had belonged to Technical Training 

Command also transferred to the new AAF Training 

Command. However, on 31 August 1943, Training 

Command disbanded the Third District at Tulsa, 

Oklahoma, and the Fifth District in Miami Beach. 

The other three were renamed. First District at 

Greensboro became the Eastern Technical Training 

Command, Second District in St Louis was renamed 

the Central Technical Training Command, and 

Denver's Fourth District became the Western 

Technical Training Command. 

SUBORDINATE UNITS 

Flying Training Wings Activated 

On 8 January 1943, the War Department constituted 

and activated 12 flying training wings and assigned 

them to the AAF Flying Training Command. Those 

included the 27th at Cochran Field, the 28th at Craig, 

the 29th at Moody, the 30th at Columbus, the 31st at 

Enid, the 32d at Perrin, the 33d at Blackland, the 34th 

at San Angelo, the 35th at Minter, the 36th at Santa 

Ana, the 37th at Luke, and the 38th at Roswell 

(which moved during 1943 to Kirtland). In July these 

units were reassigned to AAF Training Command. 

The War Department added 10 flying training wings 

to Training Command on 25 August. Those included 

the 74th at Turner (which moved during 1943 to 

Maxwell), the 75th at Buckingham, the 76th at 

Smyrna, the 77th at Foster, the 78th at San Antonio, 

the 79th at Harlingen, the 80th at San Marcos, the 

Seated is Maj Gen Barton K. Yount, Commanding

General, AAF Training Command. Standing, left to 

right, are the commanding generals of the six 

subordinate commands: Maj Gen Thomas J. Hanley, 

Jr., Eastern Flying Training Command; Maj Gen 

Jacob E. Fickel, Eastern Technical Training

Command; Maj Gen Gerald C. Brant, Central Flying

Training Command; Maj Gen John F. Curry, 

Western Technical Training Command; Maj Gen 

Ralph P. Cousins, Western Flying Training

Command; and Maj Gen Frederick L. Martin, 

Central Technical Training Command.
1943 

19

81st at Santa Ana, the 82d at Las Vegas, and the 83d 

at Douglas. The wings assisted Training Command 

with the management of the hundreds of training 

installations operating throughout the United States. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

Aviation Cadet College Training Program 

Because of the rapid expansion of flying training and 

a continuing shortage of adequate facilities to process 

and house pilot trainees, Flying Training Command 

began the year with a huge backlog of men awaiting 

entry into preflight training. This, in turn, created 

morale problems. As a solution, in the spring of 1943 

the Army Air Forces introduced a three- to fivemonth college training program for aviation cadets. 

Initially, these men went to college before undergoing aptitude testing. Unfortunately, after the 

college training, the Army Air Forces found many of 

the students were poorly equipped for flying. Rather 

than waste the government's money and the 

individual's time, the AAF decided to establish precollege testing, beginning in the fall of 1943. Medical 

and psychological examining units conducted the 

tests at the basic training centers. 

Instructors in Primary Schools 

During the expansion of pilot training in the early 

years of World War II, the contract primary pilot 

schools had a big problem obtaining and retaining 

instructors. By July 1943, the AAF had solved this 

problem by encouraging most civilian instructors to 

join the Enlisted Reserve Corps. In this way, civilian 

instructors were protected from local draft boards 

and recruitment as pilots in the Army Air Forces, the 

SERGEANT PILOTS 

The story of enlisted pilots began long before the 

US Army admitted it even had any. In 1912 Capt 

Frank P. Lahm commanded a newly opened air 

school in the Philippines. Lahm had trouble finding 

enough officers to train, so Cpl Vernon L. Burge, his 

new chief, volunteered. Burge received his pilot’s 

license in June 1912. It was the start of an on-again, 

off-again relationship between the Army and enlisted 

pilots. 

Only a few hundred enlisted airmen earned pilot 

wings before the training stopped during the Great 

Depression of the 1930s. In June 1941 Congress 

passed a law authorizing an enlisted pilot training 

program. The law permitted 18- to 25-year old men 

who had graduated in the top half of their high school 

class to apply. By contrast, aviation cadets had to 

have completed two years of college and be at least 

21 years old. A few months after the law was signed, 

the first class of “flying sergeants” reported to 

primary flying school. The sergeant pilots of Class 

42-C finished their training and graduated on 

7 March 1942, one-half from Kelly Field and the 

other from Ellington Field in Texas. All of Class 

42-C went to P-38s. Subsequent classes were 

assigned to various types of aircraft in both combat 

and support units. 

The training of sergeant pilots was short-lived, 

however, and ended in late 1942 because 

qualification requirements for both enlisted pilot and 

aviation cadet programs were made equal. Flying 

training graduates were now given their wings and 

the rank of flight officer or second lieutenant, 

depending on class standing. 

By the time the sergeant pilots’ program ended, 

nearly 3,000 enlisted pilots had earned their wings 

and flown for the Signal Corps, Air Corps, or Army 

Air Forces. 

Ferrying Command, and especially the US Navy. The 

result was a much higher level of experience among 

instructors than had prevailed previously. 

Eliminations in Pilot Training

Including fatalities, almost 40 percent of students 

who entered primary pilot training from 1939 to the 

end of the war failed to earn their wings. The reasons 

for this high attrition rate were numerous, including 

low aptitude on the part of those who were 

eliminated. Though higher headquarters never 

established a fixed elimination rate, the operational 

demand for pilots primarily determined the 

Shown above are a group of aviation cadets at 

one of the colleges that provided training during

World War II. Note the aviation cadet patch 

worn on the lower right sleeve and the Army Air 

Forces patch on the left shoulder.
1943 

20

elimination rate. During 1943, when the demand for 

pilots was greatest, the elimination rate declined. 

During 1944, when a surplus of pilots was in sight, 

eliminations rose as standards increased. These 

adjustments provided a crude but realistic way to 

reconcile the conflicting needs of the Army Air 

Forces for both quality and numbers of pilots. 

Trainer Aircraft 

Flying training and many parts of technical training 

required the availability of adequate numbers and 

types of trainer aircraft. As the nation geared up for 

war, suitable trainers were not available for training 

since most aircraft went to the operational 

commands. Thus, almost all schools suffered from a 

shortage of trainers until after 1943. Those aircraft 

that were available were either marginally 

satisfactory or already worn out from combat service. 

Until the spring of 1945, the most appropriate aircraft 

remained in short supply at installations in AAF 

Training Command. Ultimately, the rugged Stearman 

PT-13 "Kaydet" and its re-engined cousin, the PT-17, 

proved to be the most suitable primary trainers. In 

basic pilot training, the low-wing monoplane of 

medium horsepower designated the Vultee BT-13 

"Valiant" served for most of the war as the standard 

trainer. However, many pilots regarded it as too easy 

to fly, so it was replaced by the North American 

AT-6 "Texan," which was already being used 

extensively in advanced single-engine schools. Until 

late in the war, there was no suitable trainer for 

advanced twin-engine pilot instruction. Then the 

Army Air Forces modified the B-25 for that purpose. 

Before that, a number of aircraft had been used, of 

which the Curtiss AT-9 proved to be the most 

satisfactory. 

Instrument Training 

Instrument training was the most important part of 

basic pilot training, but until 1944 only 14 of the 70 

flying hours in this phase dealt with instrument 

procedures. Moreover, training covered primarily 

only three instruments--the rate-of-turn, bank, and 

airspeed indicators--to the virtual exclusion of 

gyroscopic instruments. However, the Navy had 

developed a method of instrument flying called the 

full-panel system that proved much more satisfactory. 

It relied upon the directional gyroscope and the 

artificial horizon. In June 1943 AAF instructors who 

had observed this more accurate method introduced it 

in basic and advanced pilot schools. During the 

following year, there was a substantial improvement 

in basic graduate proficiency in instrument flying, 

partly as a result of this full-panel system. Also 

contributing to the improvement were better training 

of instructors, procurement of adequately-equipped 

During 1943 the first class of twin-engine bomber instructors entered training at Randolph AFB, Texas. Shown 

here are a number of the instructor trainees walking between rows of AT-9 "Jeep" aircraft, one of the principal 

aircraft used in the advanced phase of pilot training.
1943 

21

aircraft, greater emphasis on using Link trainers, and 

(in 1944) adding five hours of flying time to 

instrument training in the basic curriculum. 

Bombardier Training 

As of 7 July, nine locations in Central and Western 

Flying Training Commands provided bombardier 

training. Earlier, when combat requirements had 

been greater, the course had lasted 12 weeks; 

however, a 16 June Training Command memorandum lengthened it to 18 weeks even though the 

peak in class size and number of graduates did not 

occur until September 1944, after tapering off from 

an initial high in June 1943. 

Flexible Gunnery Training 

At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Army 

Air Corps still did not have a specialized school for 

flexible gunnery. Three schools opened in December 

1941, and the program had grown rapidly. The 

number of graduates had reached 59,789 by 7 July 

1943, with another 57,176 men completing the course 

by the end of the year. Unfortunately, the quality of 

the training left much to be desired, as General 

Arnold wrote to General Yount on 29 June 1943. Part 

of the problem was a serious lack of proper aircraft 

and equipment to support the training. But even when 

more equipment and aircraft became available, there 

was still a need to devise a method of training that 

simulated firing upon fighter aircraft as they attacked 

a bomber. As 1943 ended, Training Command was 

still working on a satisfactory solution to this 

problem. 

Centralized Instructor Schools 

A major advance in flying training occurred during 

1943 when the Army Air Forces established separate 

central instructor schools for pilot, bombardier, 

navigator, instrument flying, and fixed and flexible 

gunnery training. These schools arose because of the 

need to standardize and centralize instructional 

methods among the many different locations offering 

such training during a period of rapid expansion. A 

key ingredient in this process was the establishment 

of a Central Instructor School at Randolph Field in 

March 1943. A major weakness of this school, 

however, was its inability to secure and keep 

qualified people as staff instructors. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Mobile Training Units 

To supplement training provided at AAF technical 

training schools, contract mechanic schools, and 

factory schools, General Walter R. Weaver, 

Commanding General, AAF Technical Training 

Command, and Major General John F. Curry, 

Commanding General of Western Technical Training 

Command, developed a new concept in the summer 

of 1942 called mobile training for tactical 

maintenance personnel and aircrews. The mobile 

training units (MTU) that provided this instruction 

carried their training equipment to the receiving 

organization in trailers or transport aircraft, with each 

To help students identify aircraft as friend or foe, flying

training schools taught aircraft recognition courses. 

Instructors used model airplanes and drawings to 

familiarize students with various types of aircraft.

In a photography class, an instructor uses a visual aid to 

demonstrate the principles of the tri-metrogon system of 

aerial charting.

A mobile training unit instructor points out the remote 

compass transmitter to instrument specialists on the 

A-26. This training took place on an English estate.
1943 

22

MTU set up to provide instruction on only one type 

of aircraft. To avoid duplicating the instruction in 

schools, moreover, the MTUs focused their efforts on 

demonstrating how to correct specific malfunctions 

of aircraft parts and systems. They also served to 

keep men in the field current on the maintenance of 

new and modified equipment. By July 1943 only 17 

mobile training units existed. Later in the year the 

number had grown to 34, so Training Command 

decided to centralize management of the program in 

Western Technical Training Command. By the end of 

the year, the number of MTUs had grown to 43, a 

figure that expanded to 163 by the end of the war. 

Training Procedures and Problems 

At the beginning of World War II, a shortage of 

teachers and equipment in technical schools dictated 

that teaching be disproportionately oriented toward 

lectures and theory. Consequently, graduates 

displayed serious deficiencies when they reported for 

duty. This led General Arnold to direct, in August 

1942, that training be more practical. A resultant 

series of directives from General Weaver was only 

partially implemented, but a modified policy issued 

by Training Command in October 1943 discouraged 

lectures and limited the use of written tests in favor 

of discussion, hands-on training, and actual 

demonstration of skills. Efforts also began to reduce 

student-teacher ratios, although it was not until 1945 

that declining enrollments produced satisfactory 

ratios in most programs. 

GLIDER TRAINING 

Beginning in the 1930s, the United States 

experimented with ways of landing troops behind 

enemy lines, such as dropping parachutists or using 

gliders. The Germans were the first to put the 

concept into practice during World War II. Before the 

end of the war, however, the United States was 

making the largest use of airborne troops. These 

comprised not only parachutists, but troops dropped 

in by gliders. In 1941 the Air Corps directed Flying 

Training Command to establish a glider training 

program. Contract schools opened soon after, but they 

were not around long. Most had closed by mid-1943. 

Only the AAF programs at South Plains and 

Sheppard, Texas, remained. 

Technical Training Command also played a part in 

glider training when in 1943 it directed Sheppard to 

open a glider mechanic school. Students learned to 

perform maintenance and, in an emergency, to rebuild 

wrecked gliders. This was a relatively simple 

operation, considering that the primary glider, the 

CG-4A, consisted of little more than a shell, equipped 

with radio, wheels, and brakes. 

By late 1944 Training Command had ended all 

glider instruction, both flying and technical. Rather 

than create a separate glider force, the Army Air 

Forces had decided it would be more profitable to 

train its troop carrier pilots to also operate gliders. 

Training Command used the CG-4A "Waco" as 

its primary glider trainer. 
23

1944

While war continued to rage in the Pacific and Europe, the training pipeline began to catch up with the 

demand for most categories of graduates. The high point of training in the standard sequence of flying 

training occurred, for example, at the end of February, with the peak production of graduate pilots occurring 

two months later. June brought the high point in the graduation of four-engine pilots, but the production of 

aircraft commanders for very heavy bombers continued to rise into 1945. 

Pictured here are the types of uniforms worn by Training Command flying cadets. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1944) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 170 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 377,767 (52,335 officers; 224,591 enlisted; 100,841 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 21,052 (A-20, A-26/B-26, A-36, AT-6, AT-7, AT-9, AT-10, AT-11, 

AT-17, AT-18, B-17, B-18, B-24, B/TB-25, B-29, B-34, B-40, BT-9, 

BT-13, BT-14, BT-15, C-45, C-46, C-47, C-60, C-64, CG-4, F-2, F-6, 

F-7, F-9, F-10, L-2, L-3, L-4, L-5, O-47, OA-10, OA-14, P-38, P-39, 

P-40, P-47, P-61, P-63, PT-13, PT-18, PT-19, R-4, RA-24, RP-322, 

TB-32, UC-78) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

3 flying training commands: 

EASTERN, Maxwell Field AL: 

7 flying training wings: 

27th (Basic), Cochran Field GA 

28th (Adv Single-Engine), Craig Field AL 

29th (Primary), Moody Field GA 

30th (Adv Twin-Engine), Columbus Field MS 

74th (Preflight), Maxwell Field AL 
1944 

24

75th (Flexible Gunnery), Buckingham Field FL 

76th (Specialized 4-Engine), Smyrna Field TN 

CENTRAL, Randolph Field TX: 

8 flying training wings: 

31st (Primary), Enid Field OK 

32d (Basic), Perrin Field TX 

33d (Adv Twin-Engine), Blackland Field TX 

34th (Bombardier and Specialized Twin- and 

Four-Engine), San Angelo Field TX 

77th (Adv Single-Engine), Foster Field TX 

78th (Preflight), San Antonio Aviation Cadet 

Center TX 

79th (Flexible Gunnery),Harlingen Field TX 

80th (Nav and Glider), San Marcos Field TX 

WESTERN, Santa Ana Army Air Base CA: 

7 flying training wings: 

35th (Basic), Minter Field CA 

36th (Primary), Santa Ana Army Air Base CA 

37th (Adv Single-Engine), Luke Field AZ 

38th (Bombardier and Specialized Twin- and 

4-Engine), Kirtland Field NM 

81st (Preflight), Santa Ana Army Air Base CA 

82d (Flexible Gunnery), Las Vegas Field NV 

83d (Adv Twin-Engine), Douglas Field AZ 

2 technical training commands: 

 EASTERN, St Louis MO: 

 

 Boca Raton Field FL 

 Chanute Field IL 

 Gulfport Field MS 

 Scott Field IL 

 Seymour Johnson Field NC 

 Truax Field WI 

 WESTERN, Denver CO: 

 Amarillo Field TX 

 Buckley Field CO 

 Keesler Field MS 

 Lincoln Field NE 

Lowry Field CO 

Sheppard Field TX 

Student Instructors seek poor weather conditions to practice instrument flying in their B-25s during 

Instrument Pilot Instructors School 
1944 

25

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

General Yount remained the commander 

throughout this period. On 8 May Brig Gen William 

W. Welsh replaced General Kraus as Chief of Staff. 

Then on 16 September Brig Gen Kenneth P. 

McNaughton succeeded General Welsh in that 

position. 

ORGANIZATION 

Central Technical Training Command 

Requirements in the combat theaters for graduates of 

technical training schools and even pilots proved to 

be smaller than initially expected, so the Army Air 

Forces reduced the size of these training programs in 

January 1944. The cut in technical training was 

particularly heavy, so AAF Training Command 

requested and received authority to discontinue the 

headquarters of Central Technical Training 

Command in St Louis, Missouri, effective 1 March 

1944. Simultaneously, the headquarters of Eastern 

Technical Training Command moved from 

Greensboro, North Carolina, to St Louis. All stations 

previously in the central command, with the 

exception of Keesler Field, became part of the eastern 

command. Keesler went to the western command. 

INSTALLATIONS 

Reduction in Installations 

As training activities contracted, the number of 

Training Command installations declined more 

rapidly than the number of graduates because it was 

usually the smaller installations that inactivated or 

were placed in stand-by status. Thus, the number of 

stations dropped from a high of 457 in July 1943 to 

170 by the end of 1944. The largest portion of the 

decline resulted from the closing of college training 

detachments at the end of the 1943-1944 academic 

school year. However, many civilian aviation 

schools and other kinds of installations, such as 

factory schools, also closed. Many of their functions 

were then concentrated at other technical training 

installations such as Chanute, Keesler, Lowry, and 

Sheppard Fields. 

Basic Training Centers Inactivated 

The number of basic training centers also declined 

from the 13 in existence in the spring of 1943 to only 

four by 31 December 1944. The four remaining 

centers were Amarillo and Sheppard Fields in Texas, 

Buckley in Colorado, and Keesler in Mississippi. 

SUBORDINATE UNITS 

AAF Base Units Established

In April 1944 the flying and technical training 

installations disbanded all active support units, except 

AAF bands, and reorganized each base under an AAF 

base unit. At Keesler, for example, the 3704th AAF 

Base Unit took over all administration, training and 

operations, and supply and maintenance duties. In the 

process of this reorganization, the base discontinued 

59 units. 

Bombardiers practice dropping dummy bombs 

from an AT-11 "Kansan" during training. 

HEADQUARTERS ORGANIZATION 

Flexible Gunnery Deputy Appointed 

Despite the fact that flexible gunnery training 

enjoyed the highest priority for the procurement of 

the equipment it needed, it continued to be the 

weakest program in the command. At the beginning 

of 1944, flexible gunnery still lacked proper 

equipment, especially turrets and sights that 

automatically compensated for the movement of the 

aircraft and the target, and it also lacked a definitely 

established training doctrine. To promote the latter 

and provide better direction, the command established a deputy commander for flexible gunnery 

within the headquarters on 10 July 1944. 
1944 

26

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

Consolidation of Preflight Training 

With the decline in the numbers of required pilot 

trainees as the war progressed, the Army Air Forces 

decided in October 1944 not to send more aircrew 

trainees to Santa Ana Army Air Base or Maxwell 

Field but to send them all to the AAF Preflight 

School at the San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center. 

The preflight school at Maxwell officially closed on 

1 December 1944, but the school at Santa Ana 

remained open until January 1945, providing 

preflight training for Chinese students. 

Instructors used this giant cockpit mock-up in 

B-29 transition training at Roswell Field, New 

Mexico. 

Fighter Transition Training 

In January 1944 Training Command began to plan 

for the separation of single-engine fighter transition 

training from advanced single-engine training. The 

main purpose of the latter was to teach people to fly 

fast airplanes instinctively and to shoot accurately 

from them. Previously, it had included fighter 

transition, but the new plan was for students to train 

on the AT-6 aircraft until graduation from the 

advanced phase, when they received their 

commissions. Only then would they receive a 

transition course on the P-39 or P-40 aircraft, 

including gunnery training. The AAF announced this 

separation on 1 May 1944 and implemented it in July 

1944. This change permitted more intensive training 

than had been possible in the advanced course alone, 

generally improving gunnery training and giving 

students more time in tactical aircraft as a result. 

Meanwhile, other improvements in fixed gunnery 

training had converted it from almost a guessing 

game into something approaching an exact science. 

Advanced Twin-Engine Training 

The greatest improvement in advanced twin-engine 

training during this period was the gradual 

introduction into flying training of the kinds of 

aircraft actually being flown in combat, such as the 

TB-25 (a stripped training version of the B-25 also 

known as the AT-24) instead of such generally 

unsatisfactory advanced trainers as the AT-9. Many 

of the TB-25s were worn out from combat duty and 

required extensive maintenance. Yet mechanics at 

training installations had to be retrained to repair 

them, and once they got this training, it was hard to 

keep them at the schools when combat theaters 

needed their skills. Even so, it was regrettable that at 

the end of 1944 more than two-thirds of flying 

training still took place in advanced trainers because 

actual combat aircraft, which were not available, 

clearly provided superior training. 

Formation and Egress Training 

As the war continued, reports coming from the 

combat theaters continued to emphasize the 

importance of formation flying. Consequently, the 

Training Command sent a letter on 16 May 1944 to 

the flying training commands directing transition 

schools to use any extra flying time available in the 

curriculum for formation training. Also, as a result of 

combat reports, on 27 July 1944, the AAF Training 

Command added a practice segment to twin-engine 

training that taught pilots how to abandon a disabled 

aircraft during flight and following a crash landing. 

Four-Engine Transition Training 

As the strategic bombing offensive against the Axis 

forces in Europe mounted, so did the demand for 

pilots to fly the B-17s and B-24s that constituted the 

backbone of the campaign. Production of pilots had 

begun slowly in January 1942 but began to mount in 

March 1943, reaching an initial peak in November of 

that year and then its high-water mark in June 1944. 

At this point in time, available facilities were 

stretched to the breaking point before entering 

students began to decline during the fall months. 

B-29 Transition Training 

Until the fall of 1944, Second Air Force provided all 

B-29 transition training for the Army Air Forces. 

Then, on 12 September 1944, HQ AAF directed 

Training Command to establish B-29 schools for the 

transition of crews consisting of pilots, copilots, and 

flight engineers. By late September, plans called for 

five schools to provide transition training in very 

heavy bombers, including a school for the TB-32 at 

Fort Worth, Texas. Training of pilots and flight 

engineers as instructors got underway at Maxwell 

Field, Alabama, on 20 September 1944, when the 

school took over facilities previously used for B-24 

training. Limited availability of B-29s restricted 

training, but by November regular training of crews 

had begun at Maxwell on B-29s stripped of their 

armament and gear. Further expansion of training 
1944 

27

was limited by continued delays in the delivery of 

B-29s, so Second Air Force continued to provide the 

bulk of B-29 transition training. 

Flexible Gunnery Training 

Over the course of 1944, there were many 

improvements in flexible gunnery training, especially 

in the aircraft used in training. In July 1943 flexible 

gunnery schools had possessed few tactical aircraft 

with which to train, mainly 55 twin-engine B-34s. 

By December 1944 they had 440 four-engine aircraft 

(173 B-17s, 255 B-24s, and 12 B-40s). By the latter 

date, students on gunnery missions fired from these, 

while two-engine aircraft towed targets and singleengine tactical aircraft simulated attacks on the 

bombers. Unfortunately, towed targets hardly 

resembled attacking fighter aircraft, but one device 

that more closely simulated combat conditions was a 

camera gun that students "fired" at fighter aircraft 

flying in normal attack patterns toward the bombers. 

These cameras, which came into general use during 

1944 and 1945, posed problems relating to 

developing the film and measuring the results for 

each student, but in conjunction with greater 

standardization of training and other improvements, 

they greatly reduced the shortcomings in flexible 

gunnery training by the end of the year. 

The Miami Beach Officer Training Center was 

headquartered in a modern hotel building, but 

training took place in temporary classrooms. 

Flight Engineer Training 

In putting together the curriculum for training pilots 

and copilots on the B-29, Training Command could 

make use of its experience in transition training for 

heavy bombers. No such experience was available in 

the case of flight engineers, because the B-29 was the 

first AAF aircraft that required a flight engineer. This 

individual operated the engine control panel of the 

aircraft. Located behind the pilot, the panel contained 

all operating instruments but those the pilot used to 

control the altitude and direction of the B-29. At the 

direction of the pilot, the flight engineer used these 

instruments to adjust the throttles, fuel mixture, 

supercharger, and propeller pitch. He also computed 

the aircraft's cruising range, fuel consumption, engine 

performance, weight and balance, and airworthiness. 

Flight engineers underwent comprehensive training at 

Amarillo and Lowry Fields before assignment to 

B-29 transition training. 

Flexible gunnery students at Harlingen Field, 

Texas, used a Waller Trainer to "fire" at 

approaching planes projected on a screen. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Better Training Equipment Needed 

The history of communications training down 

through 1944 showed a trend that was more or less 

common to all wartime training--whether flying or 

technical--that the quality of graduates from a given 

course was directly proportional to the amounts and 

kinds of training equipment available. Allocating 

equipment to combat units without also providing 

adequate quantities to training organizations 

produced a false economy; it forced combat units to 

conduct training while weakening that provided by 

training agencies. The obvious solution was to 

provide a share of new training equipment to all 

organizations in Training Command. 
1944 

28

SAN ANTONIO MILITARY INSTALLATIONS IN WORLD WAR II 

Military installations in San Antonio played a vital 

role in America’s war effort. San Antonio was home to 

five major installations--the Army’s Fort Sam Houston, 

and four air force bases: Randolph, Kelly, Brooks, and 

Lackland. 

Fort Sam Houston was the first to be established--

back in the early 1870s. Interestingly, military aviation 

began at Fort Sam Houston when Lt Benjamin Foulois 

arrived in February 1910 with a single plane, the 

Wright Flyer. His instructions prior to setting out for 

San Antonio were to "take plenty of spare parts and 

teach yourself to fly." 

When training requirements overtaxed the 

capabilities of Kelly and Brooks a decade later, the 

expanding Air Corps opened a third base in the San 

Antonio area in 1930--Randolph Field. At Randolph 

the Air Corps trained aviation cadets to be officers and 

taught them how to fly. 

The last of the air bases--Lackland--opened as the 

San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center in 1942, shortly 

after the start of World War II. Its mission was to 

process into the Army Air Corps young men who 

sought to become officers and aviators. 

The Army adopted the BT-9 as its standard basic trainer in late 

1935 and used it as such throughout World War II. 

At that time, tens of thousands of 

young men were entering flying training 

all across the country. Typically, the 

cadets first reported to a preflight school 

like the San Antonio Aviation Cadet 

Center. 

After preflight training, students were 

transferred to civilian-operated flight 

schools for primary training. At peak 

strength there were 56 such schools in 

operation. The most popular primary 

trainers were the Stearman PT-13 and 

PT-17 "Kaydet," the Fairchild PT-19 

"Cornell," and the Ryan PT-20 "Recruit." 

Upon completion of primary training, 

the cadets went to an Air Corps flying 

school such as Randolph for basic flying 

training. At Randolph they flew aircraft 

such as the Vultee BT-13 "Valiant" and 

were evaluated to determine who should 

go into single-engine advanced training 

and who should proceed to twin-engine 

training. 

Both Kelly and Brooks ran advanced 

flying schools. Those students selected for 

single-engine training flew the AT-6 

"Texan," and those who went into twinengine training flew the Curtiss AT-9 

"Jeep," the all-wood Beechcraft AT-10 

"Wichita," or the Cessna AT-17 "Bobcat." 

A few years later, in 1917, the Army’s fledgling Air 

Service established Kelly Field to train pilots for World 

War I. Brooks Field opened the following year with a 

mission to train instructor pilots. 

In 1943, as more and more flying schools opened 

across the country, San Antonio’s historic bases 

underwent changes in their missions. Kelly dropped its 

advanced flying training mission and converted to an 
1944 

29

Typical of the trainers used 

during World War II were the 

PT-19 (left) and the AT-9 

(below). 

air logistics base, a role it retained until it realigned 

under Lackland AFB in 2001. Brooks also closed its 

advanced flying training school and began B-25 crew 

training, a mission it kept until the end of the war. 

For its part, Randolph picked up the advanced 

flying training mission, closed the basic flying school, 

and opened the Central Instructor School to train 

instructor pilots, a mission Randolph still performs. 

And, for the last few months of the war, Randolph 

also conducted B-29 crew transition training. 

All the while, Fort Sam Houston had also played a 

major role in preparing US Army ground forces for 

their wartime roles. During the course of the war, Fort 

Sam, mobilized and trained three infantry divisions 

and five field army headquarters. The Army also had 

several medical department schools at Fort Sam, as 

well as the provost marshal and adjutant general 

schools. In addition, Fort Sam Houston served as a 

recruit reception center and organized and trained 

approximately half a million soldiers and 

outprocessed a comparable number at the end of the 

war. 

Meanwhile, by war’s end, the Army Air Forces 

had trained over 193,000 pilots for the fight against 

the Axis powers, and San Antonio’s four air bases had 

played a major role in getting that massive training 

effort off the ground. 
1944 

30

Armament Maintenance 

Among other specialists trained in technical training 

schools were experts in armament maintenance. 

Combat aircraft were complex, including lots of 

lethal equipment, such as machine guns, cannons, 

bombs, and related gun turrets and bombsights. Such 

equipment exceeded the capabilities of general 

airplane mechanics and required the technical 

expertise of specialized armament maintainers, some 

160,000 of whom received training during the war. 

Aircraft Maintenance 

Of the constellation of technical training courses 

offered to officers and enlisted men in 116 different 

schools (32 of them factory schools) at the end of 

1944, many involved advanced training in aircraft 

maintenance. One of the most important of these was 

a power plant course designed to produce engine 

specialists. This covered maintenance of standard 

aircraft engines and their accessories, including 

superchargers, generators, starters, and carburetors. 

The airplane and engine mechanic school at Keesler Field, Mississippi, provided soldiers practical 

instruction on general inspection of aircraft. 
31

1945

As World War II approached its conclusion (effectively on 14 August but formally not until 2 September), 

training activities and the strength of Training Command declined. The end of the war in Europe in May 

caused the focus of training to shift from the needs of the European Theater to those of the Pacific, 

particularly courses associated with very heavy bombardment. Then, with the cessation of hostilities in the 

Pacific, most training ceased for those students not planning to remain in the post-war air forces. Before that 

time, however, the trend in training had gone increasingly toward specialized training on particular types of 

aircraft. Then during the last four months of 1945, rapid retrenchment in training occurred, and emphasis 

shifted to separating people from the Army Air Forces and reorganizing Training Command for its still 

undetermined peacetime goals. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1945) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 34 

Alabama--Tuskegee; Arizona--Ajo, Datelan, Gila Bend, Luke, Williams; 

California--Mather, Minter; Colorado--Buckley, Lowry; 

Florida--Apalachicola, Boca Raton, Tyndall; Georgia--Moody, Turner; 

Illinois--Chanute, Scott; Louisiana--Barksdale, Selman; 

Mississippi--Columbus, Keesler; Nevada--Las Vegas; Oklahoma--Enid; 

Texas--Amarillo, Bryan, Ellington, Fort Brown, Gainesville, 

Goodfellow, Harlingen, Midland, Perrin, Randolph, Sheppard 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 136,134 (26,240 officers; 75,263 enlisted; 34,631 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 6,169 (A-26, AT-6, AT-7, AT-11, B-17, B-24, B-25, B-26, B-29, C-45, 

C-46, C-47, C-60, C-64, CG-4, F-7, F-9, L-4, L-5, OA-10, P-38, P-47, 

P-61, P/RP-63, PT-13, PT-19, R-4, R-5/H-5, R-6/H-6, TB-32) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: With the end of the war in Europe, the War Department closed hundreds 

of bases. In Training Command the base closures and mission 

reorganizations happened so fast that there wasn't always time to issue 

inactivation orders. As a result, it was difficult to tell exactly when all 

units or bases closed or transferred to other commands. Among the 

wings listed below, some had closed by the end of 1945 and others 

existed on paper only. 

2 training commands: 

FLYING, Randolph Field TX: 

 

12 flying training wings: 

27th (Basic), Cochran Field GA 

30th (Adv Twin-Engine), Columbus Field MS 

32d (Basic), Perrin Field TX 

33d (Adv Twin-Engine), Blackland Field TX 

34th (Bombardier and Specialized Twin- and 

4-Engine), San Angelo Field TX 

37th (Adv Single-Engine), Luke Field AZ 

38th (Bombardier and Specialized Twin- and 

4-Engine), Williams Field AZ 
1945 

32

Cadets march through the main gate at the San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center. In the early 1940s, San 

Antonio was one of the three locations where Training Command processed and classified aircrew candidates 

for training. 

75th (Flexible Gunnery), Buckingham Field 

FL 

76th (Specialized 4-Engine), Smyrna Field TN 

77th (Adv Single-Engine), Foster Field TX 

80th (Navigation and Glider), San Marcos 

Field TX 

82d (Flexible Gunnery), Las Vegas Field NV 

TECHNICAL, Scott 

Field IL: 

Buckley Field CO 

Lowry Field CO 

Boca Raton Field FL 

Chanute Field IL 

Keesler Field MS 

Amarillo Field TX 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

On 27 September 1945, Maj Gen James P. 

Hodges succeeded General Yount as commander. On 

12 May Maj Gen Walter F. Kraus returned to serve 

for a second time as Chief of Staff, replacing General 

McNaughton. He was replaced by Brig Gen James F. 

Powell on 7 December 1945. 

Maj Gen James 

P. Hodges 
1945 

33

ORGANIZATION 

Technical Training Command Established 

In mid-October 1945, Training Command delegated 

all stations and activities of the Western Technical 

Training Command to the jurisdiction of the Eastern 

Technical Training Command, which it redesignated 

as Technical Training Command. Its headquarters 

remained at Scott Field, Illinois, where the eastern 

command had been headquartered. The revised single 

technical training command retained seven stations: 

Scott and Chanute Fields in Illinois; Keesler Field, 

Mississippi; Boca Raton Field, Florida; Lowry and 

Buckley Fields in Colorado; and Amarillo Field, 

Texas. 

Flying Commands Consolidated 

Also in mid-October, Training Command reassigned 

all people and equipment in Western Flying Training 

Command to the jurisdiction of its central 

counterpart, which on 1 November 1945, became 

known as Western Flying Training Command. Then 

on 15 December the enlarged western command 

absorbed Eastern Flying Training Command. The 

single entity became Flying Training Command on 1 

January 1946, with its headquarters at Randolph 

Field, Texas. 

INSTALLATIONS 

Reduction in Installations

As the overall training mission declined with the 

winding down of the war, first in Europe and then in 

the Pacific and other theaters, the number of bases 

under Training Command jurisdiction also declined-- 

from 170 at the end of 1944 to about 140 in May 

1945, 113 in September, and 34 at the end of 1945. 

Lincoln Field 

On 15 March Lincoln Field, Nebraska, transferred 

from Second Air Force to AAF Training Command 

and became a combat crew processing and 

distribution center. Then as a part of demobilization, 

on 15 December Training Command placed Lincoln 

Field on inactive status. 

Waco Field, Texas 

From its establishment on 16 September 1941, Waco 

had served as a pilot training base; however, that 

mission came to an end on 15 December 1945, when 

the command inactivated the base. 

San Marcos Field, Texas 

By the end of the year, San Marcos ended navigator 

training and became an inactive field. 

Lubbock Field, Texas 

Pilot training was the primary mission at Lubbock, 

from its establishment on 26 June 1941 to its 

inactivation on 31 December 1945. 

Transfer of Aviation Cadet Center 

In June 1945 the San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center 

transferred to the Personnel Distribution Command. 

In preparation for that event, also in June, the Officer 

Candidate School transferred from the aviation cadet 

center to Maxwell Field, Alabama. 

Pilot Training Bases 

Many pilot training installations discontinued training 

during the year. The last contract primary pilot 

schools ended their operations in October. By that 

time, only Goodfellow Field, Texas, and Tuskegee 

Field, Alabama, continued to offer primary pilot 

training. The last class of black pilots graduated from 

primary training at Tuskegee on 20 November. 

Goodfellow's last primary class transferred to 

Randolph Field to finish training. Randolph began 

primary training on 26 December. By the end of 

1945, only Perrin Field, Texas, and Tuskegee Field 

continued to provide basic pilot training. The 

remaining active advanced single-engine schools 

were at Luke Field, Arizona; Stewart Field, New 

York; and Tuskegee. Advanced twin-engine training 

continued only at Enid Field, Oklahoma; Turner 

Field, Georgia; and Tuskegee. 

SUBORDINATE UNITS 

Wing Inactivations 

During the year, AAF Training Command inactivated 

the 28th, 29th, 31st, 35th, 36th, 74th, 78th, 79th, 81st, 

and 83d Flying Training Wings. 

Demobilization Unit 

By the end of the year, the primary functions of AAF 

Training Command had become the rapid separation 

of eligible personnel from the Army Air Forces and 

the recruiting of Regular Army enlistees to operate 

the post-war air forces. Consequently, in early 

September Training Command headquarters set up a 

demobilization unit in its Personnel (A-1) Division, 

and on 22 October it established a Recruiting Section. 

Its goal was to create an entirely voluntary force, 

preferably one consisting of experienced, three-year 

reenlistees.
1945 

34

THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN 

On 7 March 1942, the first African-Americans to 

become military pilots received their wings at 

Tuskegee Field, Alabama. For many this event 

marked 25 years of determined effort to include 

blacks in military aviation. As early as 1917, Walter 

White, Director of the National Association for the 

Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), had 

called for the inclusion of blacks in the Air Corps 

only to be told that “no colored squadrons were 

being formed at the present time.” Finally, on 21 

March 1941, the Air Corps activated the 99th 

Pursuit Squadron, which became the first squadron 

of what became the renowned Tuskegee Airmen. 

At Tuskegee Field these four aircraft were the 

preferred trainers during the war: top to bottom, 

the PT-17, primary; the BT-13, basic; the AT-6, 

advanced; and the P-40, transition. 

Tuskegee Field was established on 23 July 1941, 

and training began on 1 November. Also in July, the 

War Department announced that the 99th Pursuit 

Squadron was to consist of 33 pilots, 27 planes, and 

400 enlisted men. Moreover, over 270 enlisted men 

were already training at Chanute Field, Illinois, to 

serve as airplane mechanics, supply clerks, 

armorers, and weather forecasters at Tuskegee. 

Additionally, the War Department announced plans 

to train about 100 pilots each year at Tuskegee, a 

clear indication that more black squadrons were in 

the offing. During the war, Tuskegee trained 650 

single-engine, 217 twin-engine, and 60 auxiliary 

pilots, plus 5 from Haiti. 

After the first class of five pilots graduated, it 

took until July 1942 for enough black airmen to 

complete flight training for the squadron to reach 

full strength. Even then, the Army was not ready to 

send black pilots overseas. Under the command of 

Capt Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., the 99th remained at 

Tuskegee and received additional training to prepare 

for combat. In April 1943 the unit deployed to 

French Morocco in North Africa. 

After acclimating to their new environs, pilots 

from the 99th got their first taste of combat on 2 

June 1943, during a strafing mission against the 

island of Pantelleria. A month later, Lt Charles Hall 

scored the squadron’s first air-to-air victory when he 

shot down a German FW-190. In September 1943, 

the 99th conducted bomber escort, dive bombing, 

and strafing missions against targets on the Italian 

mainland. Squadron pilots were criticized for their 

failure to score another aerial victory for the 

remainder of the year. Limited contact with the 

enemy was partly to blame. The 99th also lacked 

flight leaders with combat experience, in contrast to 

white units, until the pilots had flown more combat 

missions. 

Cadets at Tuskegee flew light planes while 

completing the Indoctrination Flight Course. 

Meanwhile, Davis, now a colonel, had become 

Commander of the 332d Fighter Group. The unit 

activated at Tuskegee in mid-1942 and transferred to 

Michigan in 1943, where it conducted advanced 

training at Selfridge and Oscoda, before deploying 

overseas to Italy in February 1944. The group com- 
1945 

35

Aviation cadets conduct a physics class laboratory experiment at Tuskegee Institute. 

prised three fighter squadrons: the 100th, 301st, and 

302d, all of which had also begun at Tuskegee before 

completing their training in Michigan. The 99th was 

also assigned to the 332d Group in May 1944. 

As soon as these units arrived in Italy they began 

flying combat missions, using P-39s. The 332d 

switched to P-47s in the spring and to the more 

capable P-51s in June 1944. With the P-51s, the 

group flew long range bomber escort missions against 

such targets as oil refineries, factories, airfields, and 

marshalling yards. 

As the war progressed the 332d’s squadrons 

established an enviable combat record. On 11 July 

1944, P-51s from the 332d Fighter Group shot down 

18 enemy fighters while flying escort for a large 

bomber formation. On 24 March 1945, while escorting B-17s during a raid on a tank factory in Berlin, 

the 332d’s pilots downed three German jet fighters. 

For their actions, the 332d and three of its 

squadrons--the 99th, 100th and 301st--earned 

Distinguished Unit Citations. 

Barracks inspection at Tuskegee.
1945 

36

Pictured above is a formation of PT-17 "Kaydets" used as primary trainers throughout World War II. 

Below is the BT-13 "Valiant" which served as a basic trainer during the war years.
1945 

37

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

Relocation of Central Instructors School 

In order to make room at Randolph Field for B-29 

training, the Central Instructors School, redesignated 

the Army Air Forces Instructors School (Central), 

moved from Randolph and Brooks Fields to Waco 

Field, Texas, between 23 February and 5 April. With 

the cessation of very heavy bomber training in 

August, however, the AAF apparently began to have 

second thoughts about the location of all pilot 

instructor training at Waco. In any event, it returned 

to Randolph in November 1945. 

New Instrument Pilot Instructors School

Late in 1944 a vast expansion in instrument pilot 

training resulted in an increased need for instructors 

in that area. The existing instructors school at Bryan, 

Texas, was not able to take on the additional load, so 

on 4 February, Lubbock Field, formally became the 

site of a second AAF Instructors School (Instrument 

Pilot), although the first class of instructors had 

already begun training on 10 January. This was made 

possible by the simultaneous termination of the 

advanced two-engine program at Lubbock. In late 

November, the two schools transferred to Barksdale 

Field, Louisiana. 

Qualification Screening Study 

During the first half of 1945, Training Command 

completed a study of about 1,500 individuals sent 

into pilot training before being screened for aptitude. 

The group turned out to include a much higher 

proportion of men with low aptitude than had 

previously entered pilot training. Further, the 

percentage of eliminations was much higher than had 

been the case with groups screened by the qualifying 

examination and classification tests. This study 

The A-2 bomb trainer was a steel scaffold about 12 feet high. Mounted on wheels, it could be electrically 

propelled across the hangar floor. The top of the structure represented the bombardier’s compartment 

and was large enough to accommodate an instructor, a student bombardier, and another student who 

acted as bomb approach pilot. In the lower portion of the scaffold sat another student who operated a 

moveable “bug” (an electronic motor on wheels), at which the bombardier aimed his sight. The “bomb” 

released was a small plunger that struck a paper target on the "bug," thereby registering the student’s 

accuracy. 
1945 

38

showed clearly the value and validity of the screening 

procedures developed by the Army Air Forces. 

Navigator Training 

By May 1945, navigator training for cadets existed 

only at three schools--Hondo and San Marcos Fields 

in Texas and Selman Field, Louisiana. Shortly after 

the conclusion of hostilities with Japan, the Army Air 

Forces decided to concentrate all navigation training 

at Ellington Field, Texas, which previously had 

trained instructors and graduate navigators. This 

consolidation occurred basically in September, 

although the navigation school at San Marcos 

remained open until the end of November and 

Selman Field remained in operation until early 1946 

for the purpose of providing continuation training. 

The base at Hondo closed in December. In early 

1946, with the announcement that Ellington would 

close in April, the command assigned all navigator 

training to Mather Field in California. 

Preflight Training Ended 

By April the preflight training program had met all 

quotas for pilot, navigator, and bombardier schools 

and had created a backlog of graduates that was more 

than adequate to satisfy all anticipated requirements. 

Consequently, at the end of the month Training 

Command suspended preflight training for returnees 

from overseas and restricted the preflight training 

school to B-29 flight engineers and a few other 

special priority needs. 

Combat Returnees 

During this period, a great many of the students and 

instructors in Training Command were returnees 

from combat theaters. Whether 

because of morale problems, lack 

of preparation, or emotional 

disorders resulting from combat, 

the veterans were frequently 

problem students and poor 

instructors. In primary pilot 

training, for example, returnees 

tended to resent treatment and 

training as cadets, and they also 

were inclined to exhibit tenseness 

and nervousness while taking off 

in an aircraft, listening to an 

engine cut out, or watching a 

spin. However a few returnees 

made excellent instructors, 

although some regarded instructing student pilots as more 

dangerous than some combat 

assignments. 

B-29 Training 

By contrast with most other areas 

of training where the supply of 

graduates had exceeded the 

demand, very heavy bombardment units still required increasing numbers of crew members 

for the assault on the home 

islands of Japan. Consequently, 

the early part of the year was a 

period of rapid expansion for the 

B-29 program. Initially, Maxwell 

Field, Alabama, trained most of 

the crews, with instruction beginning at Roswell Field, New Mexico, in January and 

Randolph Field in June. 

Flexible Gunnery Training 

During the early part of 1945, seven schools provided 

flexible gunnery training. To make training more 

realistic, these schools used "frangible" bullets to fire 

at specially built Bell RP-63 aircraft that simulated 

conventional fighter attacks against bombers. The 

Students practice navigation skills in an AT-11. 
1945 

39

At Buckingham Field in Florida, a Juda target car 

is readied for flexible gunnery practice. 

bullets were made in such a way that they splattered 

into powder when they struck the aircraft. The 

RP-63s were equipped with radiosonic equipment to 

cause a wing lamp to flash, showing gunners when 

they had scored. Unfortunately, the number of hits 

registered by the recording devices was usually 

disappointingly small--whether because of misses or 

a failure of the recording mechanisms was unclear. 

Flexible gunnery training ended shortly after the 

surrender of Japan. 

From 1944 to 1946, Keesler operated the only 

emergency rescue school in the Army Air Forces. 

The OA-10, above, and the B-17, right, were the 

major aircraft used for air-sea rescue training. 

B-17 Airborne Lifeboat Training 

Keesler's emergency rescue school began providing 

airborne lifeboat training for air-sea rescues on 

29 January. During the course, B-17 crews learned 

how to search for and then drop lifeboats to downed 

aircrews in areas where no amphibious rescue craft 

were available, where high seas precluded water 

landings, or where downed personnel were too close 

to enemy forces for other means of rescue to be 

practical. 

B-29 Flexible Gunnery Training 

Throughout 1944, B-29 gunners received practically 

the same training as those for other aircraft, but at the 

end of the year a few of them began to receive 

training in B-24s modified by the addition of central 

fire control turrets to make them more like B-29s. 

Then, as the year progressed, Buckingham Field, 

Florida; Las Vegas Field, Nevada; and Harlingen 

Field, Texas, all began offering B-29 gunnery 

instruction until the end of the war. Among the 

training devices used in this instruction was the 

manipulation trainer--12 towers arranged to resemble 

a formation of planes. The towers ranged in height 

from 10 to 40 feet, each equipped with 2 nose, 2 tail, 

2 ring sighting, and 4 blister positions. As students in 

these positions faced simulated attacks from PT-13 

and PT-17 aircraft, they "fired" camera guns at the 

attacking fighters. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Aircraft Mechanics Training 

Among the more important of the many technical 

training courses offered in 1945 was the primary or 

basic training provided to potential airplane and engine 

mechanics. The program consisted of a 76-day course 

at Keesler or Amarillo Fields. Graduates then took a 

36-day course on a particular airplane before being 

granted the military specialty for mechanics 

(specification serial number 747). Amarillo offered 

specific training on the B-17 and B-29; Keesler 

provided instruction on the B-24, B-25, B-26, B-32, 

C-46, and C-47 (terminated early in 1945); and 

Chanute specialized in the P-47. Amarillo ended its 

primary course on 10 May and, instead, offered only a 

primary course on the B-29. 

Factory Training of Mechanics Ends 

During the last part of 1944, there had appeared a 

trend toward replacement of factory schools with 

courses in technical training centers. However, many 
1945 

40

The bombsight was the key to successful missions. Here, Lowry students inspect and adjust Sperry bombsights. 

factory schools continued to exist even after the end 

of the war. The last one--operated by Douglas 

Aircraft Company in Santa Monica, California--

closed its doors on 15 December 1945. 

Mobile Training Units 

From July 1943 through June 1944, mobile training 

units provided instruction for 144,063 men. That 

number climbed to 321,004 in FY 45, a clear 

indication that mobile training had not slacked off by 

the end of the war. However, it shrank quickly after 

that. Meanwhile, to alleviate personnel problems that 

had resulted from assigning all mobile training unit 

personnel to Headquarters, Western Technical 

Training Command, on 1 March 1945, the Army Air 

Forces set up the 3718th AAF Base Unit to oversee 

140 MTUs (increased to 163 by the end of the war.) 

MILITARY TRAINING 

Basic Military Training 

By January 1945 basic military training had become 

a comparatively minor part of Training Command's 

activities. Only three centers remained active--

Amarillo, Sheppard, and Keesler. Buckley Field 

stopped basic training in December 1944, but it was 

early 1945 before all trainees had assignments. Only 

about 19,000 soldiers were in basic training in 

January, as compared to the peak figure of 135,796 in 

February 1943. The figure climbed to 42,413 on 

3 August 1945 and remained at 37,453 in December. 
41

1946

Not surprisingly, demobilization caused a considerable amount of confusion in the command's various 

training programs. Because of the discharge of a large number of qualified people from the Army Air Forces 

and subsequent budgetary reductions, the command suffered from a shortage of skilled personnel to provide 

instruction and maintenance. The number of students flowing into the schoolhouse was in a constant state of 

flux. Further complicating the picture was the fact that the majority of trainees were not suited to AAF 

training. In spite of these difficulties, Training Command was still able to lay a foundation for peacetime 

training. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1946) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 14 

Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; Colorado--Lowry; Florida-- Boca 

Raton; Illinois--Chanute and Scott; Louisiana--Barksdale; 

Mississippi--Keesler; Oklahoma--Enid; Texas--Goodfellow, Lackland, 

Randolph, and San Marcos; Washington--Geiger 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 52,707 (5,780 officers; 34,717 enlisted; 12,210 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 2,099 (A-26, AT-6, AT-7, AT-11, B-17, B-24, B-25, B-26, B-29, 

C-45, C-46, C-54, F-51, F-80, L-4, L-5, OA-10, P-47, P-51, P-80, PT-13) 

During the 1940s, Training 

Command used Beechcraft's AT-11 

"Kansan" as a bomber and gunnery 

trainer. 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

3 divisions: 

FLYING, Randolph Field TX: 

 Barksdale Field LA 

 Enid Field OK 

 Goodfellow Field TX 

 Mather Field CA 

 San Marcos Field TX 

 Williams Field AZ 

TECHNICAL, Scott Field IL:

 Boca Raton Field FL 

 Chanute Field IL 

 Geiger Field WA 

 Keesler Field MS 

 Lowry Field CO 

INDOCTRINATION, Lackland Field TX
1946 

42

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

Lt Gen John K. 

Cannon 

On 13 April 1946, Lt Gen John K. Cannon 

succeeded General Hodges as Commanding General, 

AAF Training Command. A new chief of staff, Col 

(later Brig Gen) Isaiah Davis, took office on 7 March. 

He was replaced on 15 April by Brig Gen Alvin C. 

Kincaid. 

ORGANIZATION 

Training Command Headquarters Moved 

At the end of the war, the trend throughout the Army 

Air Forces was to consolidate activities on facilities 

that would be a part of the post-war air force. 

Unfortunately for AAF Training Command, its headquarters was located in Fort Worth, Texas, in the 

Texas and Pacific Railway Building. Although the 

headquarters requested that AAF leave Training 

Command at Fort Worth, that request was denied. In 

November 1945 Headquarters, AAF directed 

Training Command to move its headquarters to 

Barksdale Field, Louisiana between 19 and 

28 February. Because the round-trip distance between 

Fort Worth and Barksdale was in excess of 150 

miles, regulation forbade the use of government 

vehicles in the move. Instead, the headquarters had to 

use commercial van services at a cost of almost 

$23,000. In addition, the headquarters lost the 

services of 140 civilians, who chose to resign rather 

than make the move. However, 310 officers, 411 

enlisted personnel, and 239 civilians did go to 

Barksdale. 

In February 1947 Training Command moved its headquarters from downtown Fort Worth, Texas, to 

Barksdale Field in northwestern Louisiana. In the foreground of the above photo, is the new 

headquarters building. 
1946 

43

Training Command Redesignated 

On 1 July 1946, AAF Training Command became 

Air Training Command. At about the same time, 

Army Air Forces began interpreting the word 

"command" to mean a major air command. For that 

reason, on 1 November the Flying Training and 

Technical Training Commands became the Flying 

and Technical Training Divisions of Air Training 

Command. In addition, the Military Training Center 

in San Antonio (which had earlier been a part of 

Technical Training Command) became the 

Indoctrination Division. All three were co-equal in 

status. 

INSTALLATIONS 

Perrin Field, Texas 

Activated on 20 September 1941, Perrin served as a 

flying training base until its inactivation on 

31 October 1946. 

Las Vegas Field, Nevada 

Air Training Command inactivated the base on 

31 December 1946. From its activation on 

20 December 1941, Las Vegas AAF had conducted 

flying training. 

Tyndall Field, Florida 

Established on 16 June 1941, Tyndall Field served 

Training Command as a flexible gunnery and flying 

training base during World War II. The field 

transferred to Continental Air Command on 

28 February 1946, to Tactical Air Command on 

21 March, and finally to Air University on 15 May. 

Overseas Replacement Depots 

On 30 April the Overseas Replacement Depots at 

Kearns, Utah, and Greensboro, North Carolina, 

transferred from Strategic Air Command to Training 

Command. Their function of processing and shipping 

people did not fit neatly into any part of the 

command's mission. So, on 31 July Headquarters 

AAF transferred the Kearns depot to Air Defense 

Command, and it reassigned Greensboro to the same 

command on 15 August. 

NAMED ACTIVITIES 

Central Instructors School Transferred 

On 13 March 1946, Training Command transferred 

the AAF Pilot Instructors School, previously called 

the Central Instructors School, from Randolph to 

Barksdale. 

New Mission for Instructor Pilot School 

In March the Instructor's School (Instrument Pilot) 

changed from a school for instructors who taught use 

of instruments to a school that trained all pilots in the 

command in the use of instrument procedures. As a 

result, on 15 March Training Command renamed the 

school. It became the AAF Pilot School (Instrument). 

Air Reserve Officer Training Corps 

Army Air Forces activated the Air Reserve Officer 

Training Corps (the forerunner of today's Air Force 

Reserve Officer Training Corps) in 1946 and placed 

it under the supervision of Air Training Command. 

Then in November, control passed to Air Defense 

Command. 

SUBORDINATE UNITS 

Inactivation of Flying Training Wings 

On 16 June 1946, Headquarters AAF inactivated the 

27th, 34th, 37th, 38th, 75th, 76th, 77th, 80th, and 82d 

Flying Training Wings. Three more wings--the 30th, 

32d, and 33d--were inactivated on 13 October. 

Thereafter, the primary unit at each ATC installation 

was an AAF base unit. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

Shortages of Trained Personnel 

Although command strength did not begin to decline 

rapidly until the second half of the year (when it 

dropped precipitously), discharges and reductions in 

force produced an intense shortage of qualified and 

experienced personnel. The situation was so critical 

in January 1946 that Training Command approved a 

seven-and-one-half-week moratorium on flying 

training. Simultaneously, the command placed all but 

seven of the stations in Flying Training Command in 

a status of reduced activity so that the few available, 

A student atop the A-2 bombing trainer receives 

instruction on the use of the M-series bombsight. 
1946 

44

qualified personnel could provide training and 

maintenance where needed. The same kinds of 

problems also existed in technical training. 

Pilot Production Expanded 

Headquarters AAF announced in June that pilot 

production would be set at 1,400 per year. However, 

that proved impractical because of shortages of 

supplies, spare parts, and maintenance personnel, and 

lack of flyable aircraft. By autumn, that production 

plan had been revised downward to 825. Even that 

goal was unattainable. For the year, only 371 pilots 

graduated. 

Peacetime Pilot Training Program 

The standard pilot training program was set at 52 

weeks, consisting of three phases: primary, basic, 

and advanced. Preflight training had been restricted 

to B-29 flight engineers and a few other special 

priority needs at the end of April 1946, and then ATC 

totally discontinued it as a separate phase in 1946. 

All preflight instruction was integrated into the new 

three-phase program. 

Under the new course of instruction, all students 

received common training in the primary and basic 

phases, and 35 percent of the basic graduates were 

then assigned to advanced single-engine school, 27 

percent to advanced two-engine school, and 38 

percent to the newly established four-engine school. 

Transition in conventionally powered fighter 

aircraft—the P-47 and P-51—was integrated into the 

advanced single-engine phase of standard pilot 

training, and those transition schools were 

discontinued. The P-80 jet fighter pilot transition and 

fighter gunnery schools at Williams Field remained; 

however, the gunnery school existed only to fulfill 

research obligations. 

Observer Bombardment Training 

At the end of World War II, the Army Air Forces did 

away with individual navigator, bombardier, and 

radar operator training and conducted a course to 

train personnel in all three skills. Originally, planners 

wanted to put this training at Las Vegas Field, but 

because of problems with sharing the airfield with 

local interests, Training Command decided to put the 

new instructional program at Mather. The first class 

began training in June 1946. Both the C-47 and B-25 

multi-engine aircraft were used in this course; for a 

short period, students also used a few B-29s, but they 

were too costly. 

In May 1946 San Marcos Field, Texas, shown above, came back on active status to operate the AAF 

helicopter and liaison schools, which transferred from Sheppard Field, Texas, late in the month. At the 

same time, the schools moved from Technical Training Command control to Flying Training Command. 
1946 

45

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Weather Training 

In 1946 the War Department transferred 

responsibility for installation and maintenance of 

weather equipment from the Signal Corps to the 

AAF, which, in turn, assigned that training 

responsibility to Training Command. However, a 

shortage of instructors and training equipment 

prevented the command from adding new courses 

until 1948. 

Technical Training Quotas 

An unstable student flow created high and low 

workloads and precluded the possibility of obtaining 

maximum use of available instructor personnel. Thus, 

in August 1946, the AAF established a system of 

mandatory quotas, where major commands were 

directed to meet, but not exceed, authorized 

allotments set by Training Command requirements. 

This compulsory quota system continued until late 

June 1947, when the determination of training needs 

returned to the major commands. 

Polar Mobile Training Units 

The fact that air routes across the polar regions were 

the shortest distance between many parts of Asia, 

Europe, and the United States served as the 

mainspring of the AAF's postwar plans. Air Training 

Command gave Technical Training Command the 

responsibility of assembling and training two 

specialized arctic training teams by 1 September 

1946. Their mission was to indoctrinate AAF units 

and individuals destined for polar assignments in 

personal survival and in the care and use of 

equipment in cold weather climates. 

Rows of Link trainers fill this Chanute Field, Illinois, classroom. These trainers were used to teach both 

Link trainer operators and maintenance technicians. 

Shown above is a large mock-up of the Mseries bombsight where instructors presented 

detailed instruction on its operation.
1946 

46

MILITARY TRAINING

Basic Military Training 

Throughout the year, basic training consisted of six 

weeks instruction for all recruits. Those not selected 

for technical training received an additional two 

weeks of continuation training. After 1 July 1946, all 

basic training was conducted in San Antonio, at what 

later became known as Lackland. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Separations 

Separation criteria were progressively lowered for 

both officer and enlisted personnel during 1946. 

Training Command losses from separations were not 

made up by gains from recruits and returnees. 

Shortages were particularly acute in maintenance, 

mess, clerical, and medical personnel. By mid-year, 

the command had an estimated personnel shortage of 

over 17,000--10,000 in maintenance. 

The Control Tower Operator Course at Chanute Field, Illinois, used a model airport and a full-scale mockup control tower shown above. 

Enlisted personnel learn how to pack parachutes at Chanute Field. 
47

1947

The Army Air Forces had set a post-war goal of building its strength to 70 groups; however, Congress 

balked at funding the ambitious undertaking. Instead, the AAF had to downscale its plans, settling on 55 

groups. All 55 groups were to be organized and manned by 1 January 1948. (However, before the AAF 

could meet its objective, Congress passed the National Security Act of 1947, and soon after, the Air Force 

became a separate service, equal to the Army and Navy.) To meet this directive, ATC expanded its pilot 

training program to produce 3,000 pilots per year. The command also integrated primary and basic training 

– another step toward meeting the Air Force's ever increasing demand for pilots capable of flying heavier and 

faster aircraft. 

By 31 December 1947, the Air Force was 55 groups strong, but many of the major commands felt their 

personnel cupboards had been stripped clean in order to accomplish this goal. Earlier in the year, the ATC 

commander had told Gen Carl A. Spaatz, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, that ATC would do all it could 

to bring the new groups up to strength, but Spaatz's push to man the groups at any cost almost destroyed 

ATC's training capacity. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1947) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 13 

Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; Colorado--Lowry; Illinois-- 

Chanute and Scott; Louisiana--Barksdale; Mississippi--Keesler; 

Nevada--Las Vegas; Texas--Goodfellow, Lackland, Randolph, and San 

Marcos; Wyoming--Fort Francis E. Warren 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 49,321 (4,969 officers; 199 warrant officers; 35,476 enlisted; 8,677 

civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,707 (A-26, AT/T-6, B-17, B-25, B-29, C-45, C-46, C-47, C-54, C-82, 

F-2, F-10, L-4, L-5, PT-13, P-51, P-80, R-5, R-6) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

3 divisions: 

FLYING

Randolph Field TX 

Barksdale Field LA 

Goodfellow Field TX 

Las Vegas Field NV 

Mather Field CA 

San Marcos Field TX 

Williams Field AZ 

TECHNICAL

Scott Field IL 

Chanute Field IL 

Fort Francis E. Warren WY 

Keesler Field MS 

Lowry Field CO 

INDOCTRINATION

Lackland Field TX 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

Lieutenant General John K. Cannon continued to 

serve as Commanding General, Air Training 

Command, and Brig Gen Alvin C. Kincaid remained 

chief of staff. 

ORGANIZATION

INSTALLATIONS 

Internal Base Structure Reorganized 

Headquarters USAF directed a service-wide reorganization of internal base structure. The major 

change was the replacement of the base unit 

organization with a base-wing set-up. All ATC bases 
1947 

48

were to have a wing headquarters with three 

subordinate groups: training, maintenance, and 

airdrome. However, in August 1947 this reorganization was deferred until 1948. 

Goodfellow Field 

Since August 1940, Goodfellow's primary mission 

was flying training; however, that came to an end on 

1 May 1947, when ATC inactivated the base, but the 

closure was short-lived. In June 1947 the Air Force 

published a new statement of training requirements. 

Beginning in August, pilot output was to increase 

from 825 per year to 3,000 per year. For ATC, the 

first step in this expansion effort was the activation of 

another pilot training base. Effective 1 December 

1947, Goodfellow Field, Texas, returned to active 

status. Basic pilot training resumed in March 1948. 

Enid Field, Oklahoma 

From its activation on 20 September 1941, Enid had 

operated a flying training program. Air Training 

Command inactivated the base on 31 January 1947. 

Geiger Field and Fort Francis E. Warren 

For sometime city officials in Spokane, Washington, 

had tried to acquire joint use of facilities at Geiger 

Field. Air Training Command used Geiger as its 

Aviation Engineer Training Center, and the Air Force 

was opposed to sharing facilities with civilian 

authorities. Instead, Headquarters USAF directed 

ATC to transfer its training mission from Geiger 

Field to Fort Francis E. Warren in Wyoming. 

Training stopped at Geiger Field on 15 May 1947, 

and ATC assumed jurisdiction of Fort Francis E. 

Warren on 1 June. Within a matter of weeks, 3,346 

military personnel and 4,000 tons of equipment had 

relocated. Training began at the Wyoming fort on 

7 July. Geiger Field transferred to Strategic Air 

Command as of 15 September. Also in connection 

with the disposal of Geiger Field, ATC transferred a 

Geiger subpost, Fort George E. Wright, to Strategic 

Air Command on 16 July. 

Boca Raton Field, Florida 

As a cost-cutting measure, War Department officials 

in early 1947 were making plans to dispose of Boca 

Raton Field, Florida, the only radar school in the 

Army Air Forces. The radar training program would 

move to Keesler in November. However, Mother 

Nature put a kink in those arrangements. On 

18 September a hurricane caused major damage to 

Boca Raton and the radar school. Keesler officials 

airlifted personnel to the base to assist with salvage, 

packaging, and shipping equipment. Before the move 

could be completed, on 12 October a second 

hurricane slammed into the base, again dumping 

torrential rains. By the time that storm had moved on, 

Boca Raton was totally uninhabitable. Whatever 

could be salvaged was moved to Keesler. It took 

Keesler personnel several weeks to dry out and repair 

radar equipment. As a result, the radar school didn't 

open at its new location until early 1948. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

Jet Fighter Training

In 1946 Training Command began its first jet fighter 

transition course at Williams. However, by early 

1947 the AAF had sped up its conversion to jet 

aircraft. The only way training needs could be met 

was by limiting course quotas to commands already 

using jet aircraft. Also, the training program was 

handicapped by the fact that no dual jet aircraft 

existed. Putting untrained jet pilots into a single-seat 

fighter endangered personnel and expensive equipment. To overcome this problem, Air Training 

Command decided to use a newly developed 

"captivair" training device. It was received and 

installed at Williams in early 1947. 

Two hurricanes, one in September and the other in 

October, destroyed Boca Raton Field in Florida. 

Heavy rains shut down drainage and sewer systems. The resulting unsanitary conditions caused 

medical authorities to condemn the base, and that, 

in turn, accelerated the move of the radar school to 

Keesler. The upper photo shows barracks flattened 

in the storms, and the lower picture shows all that 

remains of one of the giant radar training facilities.
1947 

49

Basic Flying Training 

In September the primary and basic flying training 

courses were combined into a single eight-month 

basic course, with two phases. All flying was done in 

the T-6. (The earlier course had used the PT-13 for 

the primary phase and the AT-6 for the advanced.) In 

addition, the new course had added a two-week 

preflight segment. 

Fighter Gunnery Training 

Partially discontinued at Williams Field in September 

1946, fighter gunnery training was reestablished there 

in early 1947. The new program studied the use of 

fighter gunnery, bombing, and rocketry equipment. 

Students flew P-51s, P-47s, and beginning at midyear, P-80s. 

Flight Engineer Training 

Part of this Mather-based program transferred to 

Strategic Air Command in early 1947. It had been an 

expensive program from ATC’s perspective, in terms 

of operating expenses. Because the course used B29s, ATC believed SAC should take over the 

program. Finally, ATC agreed to keep the ground 

training, while SAC provided flight instruction. A 

student would not receive his flight engineer rating 

until he had successfully completed flying training in 

SAC. The new training program went into effect in 

February 1947, and within several months ATC 

transferred the B-29s to SAC. 

Liaison-Type Aircraft Training 

Air Training Command learned in late 1947 that the 

Army was discontinuing its liaison-type airplane and 

engine mechanic training program at Fort Sill, 

Oklahoma. In the future, this training would be 

provided by ATC for Army soldiers. Keesler Field 

became host of the new training program, which 

began in early 1948. Also relocated were L-4 and L-5 

aircraft. 

Prototype Dehmel Z-1 

Beginning in 1947, ATC used this trainer at 

Barksdale AFB. It had an automatic radio range that 

recorded the solution of instrument flying problems 

on cardboard discs. The Dehmel Z-1 operated 

electronically, which meant instrument readings were 

more accurate. According to Barksdale officials, the 

Z-1 was more like a real aircraft than any other 

synthetic flying training device in use in Air Training 

Command. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING

Cutbacks in Technical Training 

In March 1947 budgetary cuts caused a major 

reduction in force of graded civilian employees. 

Technical Division had no choice but to fill empty 

civilian instructor slots with military personnel. That 

left the schools with a high percentage of instructors 

with little if any teaching experience and, in some 

Synthetic trainers such as the F-80 Captivair were money savers, as well as time savers. Instructors 

considered them an excellent way for students to develop muscular and mental coordination. (In June 

1947 the "P" for pursuit changed to "F" for fighter.) 
1947 

50

Several trainers were used in the gunnery phase of pilot training. Here an aviation cadet fires a BB 

machine gun from a link trainer-type cockpit to simulate the ideal curve of pursuit in firing at moving

targets.

A mobile training unit instructor 

explains up-to-the-minute P-51 

maintenance procedures to a group 

of ground crew specialists. 

Enlisted personnel at Randolph 

Field, Texas, received hands-on 

training using the C-8 synthetic 

trainer 
1947 

51

cases, very limited knowledge of course material. In 

fact, many of these new instructors had just graduated 

from the courses they were now expected to teach. 

Besides these problems, there was also a morale 

problem. In general, military instructors were offered 

poor housing and given few opportunities for 

promotion. There was also a definite lack of 

distinction between students and instructors in 

performance of routine organizational duties. Not 

only were there attitude problems within the 

instructor ranks, but these problems also spilled over 

into the student ranks, and that resulted in high 

elimination rates. While the command attempted to 

remedy the situation, little success was noted in 1947. 

Generalized Technical Training 

Air Training Command began a general system of 

instruction in several courses during the second half 

of 1947. The idea behind generalized training had 

come with the realization that the Air Force was 

extremely reluctant to assign heavy bombardment 

aircraft to ATC for ground training, yet the command 

was still required to train crew and support personnel. 

Trainers felt the only way adequate instruction could 

be provided was by the use of mobile training teams 

that would take the training to the unit. However, the 

command didn't have the instructors to provide that 

training. In fact, budget cuts had left ATC with an 

instructor force with very limited teaching 

experience. The only way ATC officials thought 

training needs could be met was by establishing 

generalized training. Instead of needing the latest in 

equipment (as was the case in specialized 

instruction), generalized training could be conducted 

using generic equipment. More specialized training 

would be provided on the job. One of the first 

generalized courses was airplane and engine 

mechanic, jet propulsion, which opened at Chanute 

on 17 September. By mid-1948 this course made up 

almost 50 percent of Chanute's student body. 

Aviation Career Plan 

In an effort to increase voluntary enlistments from 

high school graduates and improve the caliber of 

personnel chosen for various types of technical 

training, the Air Force established the Aviation 

Career Plan in July 1947. Under this program, 

selected high school graduates could apply and 

qualify for technical training of their choice prior to 

enlistment.

Radio Operator Training 

Air Training Command ended radio operator 

mechanic training in October 1947. The course first 

began at Chanute in the 1930s and then moved to 

Scott in 1940, where it expanded during the war to 

fill about 46 wings of the large school buildings on 

base. It was from this course that many specialized 

radio and communications courses evolved. 

Training Aids

During World War II, a separate field division had 

existed in New York City for the purpose of 

developing and manufacturing all types of training 

aids. The program died at the end of the war, leaving 

training aids with no roadmap for the future. This 

lack of direction resulted in duplication of effort 

between agencies and no clear policy for meeting 

newly-assigned training requirements. By the end of 

1946, Headquarters AAF had decided at assign Air 

Training Command responsibility for training aids. 

This was just one of several taskings added ATC’s 

mission statement.

Radio Operator Training 

Air Training command ended radio operator 

mechanic training in October 1947. The course first 

began at Chanute in the 1930s and then moved to 

Scott in 1940, where it expanded during the war to 

fill about 46 wings of the large school buildings on 

base. It was from this course that many specialized 

radio and communications courses evolved. 

Intelligence Training 

Teachers, lawyers, and investigators made up the 

greatest percentage of personnel trained as 

intelligence officers during World War II. By mid1946 most of these people had left the service, 

returning to their civilian occupations. The AAF was 

left with an intelligence organization where almost 75 

percent of the personnel had been trained on the job. 

Only 25 percent had any formal training in 

intelligence. As a result, the AAF directed Air 

Training Command and Air University to establish 

formal courses. The ATC courses were to focus on 

basic training in intelligence techniques needed for 

combat reporting, photographic intelligence, prisoner 

of war interrogation, and briefing and interrogation of 

Aviation cadets receive Morse code training from 

female AAF instructors (note the shoulder patch). 
1947 

52

combat crews. Keesler was selected as the site for 

this training. The first (and only) courses began at 

Keesler in June. Then the announced move of the 

Boca Raton radar school to Keesler, resulted in 

intelligence training moving in July to Lowry. 

Food Service Training Ended 

The last class at the Air Force Food Service School, 

Scott Field, Illinois, graduated in June. The Army 

Ground Force Schools would provide future food 

specialty training for the Air Force. 

Military Police Training 

In February Air Training Command discontinued its 

military police training program at Keesler. All 

military police training then was consolidated with 

the Army program and given at the Provost Marshal 

General’s School, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Command Mission Broadened 

Besides its overall mission of providing individual 

and unit training for officer and enlisted personnel in 

various flying and technical specialties, HQ USAF 

also assigned ATC responsibility for planning, 

reviewing, revising, and establishing qualitative 

requirements for Air Force training material. This 

included liaising on training material matters, 

conducting service tests and evaluations of Air Force 

training material, establishing priorities among 

training material projects, and disseminating training 

material information to interested Air Force agencies. 

Contractual Training 

In this period of demobilization, Air Force officials 

were concerned that the drawdown would damage the 

civilian aircraft industry to the point where these 

companies would be unable to provide fast assistance 

to the military in event of a national emergency. 

According to the Air Force, the best way to maintain 

a healthy aircraft industry was by supporting it 

through purchase of new military aircraft and by 

taking part in joint research and development 

programs. However, the limited defense budget 

made this impossible. The next best alternative was 

to put Air Force training dollars into civilian industry. 

Air Force officials directed ATC to study the 

feasibility of contracting all or part of formal 

technical and flying training to manufacturers of Air 

Force equipment and operators of civil flying and 

technical schools. The study found no monetary 

savings in such an approach, although some military 

personnel could be released to tactical units if 

training were provided by contractors. Instead, ATC 

suggested that flying and technical training remain 

in-house. The same number of military personnel 

could be released by increasing the number of 

civilian authorizations allowed to support training 

Basic trainees perform "dry fire" training at efforts. The Air Force adopted that suggestion. 

Lackland Field, Texas. 

An instructor reviews the circuitry for the B-25 

power system with a student. 
53

1948

In 1948 Air Training Command began rebuilding its training complex. The command was still reeling 

from the heavy losses it sustained in its instructor force in 1947. Then the personnel withdrawals that had to 

be made in support of the Berlin Airlift and the expansion of Strategic Air Command combined to handicap 

even more the training bases just at the time pilot production increased. Plans called for ATC to add five 

additional flying stations. By year's end, the command had already activated four: Perrin AFB, Texas; Enid 

AFB, Oklahoma; Waco AFB, Texas; and Las Vegas AFB, Nevada. In a 17 September letter to the field, 

Headquarters USAF directed all commands to release many highly experienced personnel in support of the 

Berlin Airlift. Officials in Air Training Command were so concerned about the effect this loss of personnel 

would have on mission accomplishment that a return letter was sent to Washington asking which of the new 

flying training bases—Waco or Enid—was to be written off. Both bases had activated on 15 October, but 

with an extremely limited number of personnel on-hand. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1948) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 17 

Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; Colorado--Lowry; Illinois-- 

Chanute and Scott; Louisiana--Barksdale; Mississippi--Keesler; 

Nevada--Las Vegas; Oklahoma--Enid; Texas--Goodfellow, Lackland, 

Perrin, Randolph, San Marcos, Sheppard, and Waco; Wyoming--Fort 

Francis E. Warren. 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 71,075 (6,316 officers; 231 warrant officers; 46,707 enlisted; 17,821 

civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,830 (AT/T-6, B/TB-26, B-17, B/RB/TB-25, B-29, B-50, C/RC-45, 

C-47, C-54, C-82, F-51, F-80, H-5, H-6, H-13, L-4, L-5, L-16) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

3 divisions: 

FLYING, Randolph AFB TX: 

1 bombardment training wing: 

3535th, Mather AFB CA 

8 pilot training wings: 

3500th (Adv Multi-Engine), Barksdale AFB LA 

3510th (Basic), Randolph AFB TX 

3525th (Adv Single-Engine), Williams AFB AZ 

3545th (Basic), Goodfellow AFB TX 

3555th (Basic), Perrin AFB TX 

3565th (Basic), Waco AFB TX 

3575th (Adv Multi-Engine), Enid AFB OK 

3585th (Liaison-Helicopter), San Marcos AFB TX 

3595th (Adv Single-Engine), Las Vegas AFB NV 
1948 

54

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

Lt Gen Robert 

W. Harper 

 On 14 October 1948, Lt Gen Robert W. Harper 

succeeded General Cannon as the ATC commander. 

General Harper had been the Air University 

commander. General Cannon went to Ramstein Air 

Base, Germany, as Commander in Chief, United 

States Air Forces in Europe. On 16 November Maj 

Gen Robert W. Burns became ATC's first vice 

commander. 

ORGANIZATION 

INSTALLATIONS 

Perrin AFB, Texas 

On 1 April 1948, ATC reactivated Perrin to operate 

as a basic pilot training school. A shortage of funds 

forced ATC to open the base with only a caretaker 

group on hand. Three months later, on 1 July, the 

base began training. Then on 28 August, following 

the inactivation of the base unit at Perrin, ATC 

activated the 3555th Pilot Training Wing (Basic).

TECHNICAL, Scott AFB IL: 

5 technical training wings: 

3310th, Scott AFB IL 

3345th, Chanute AFB IL 

3380th, Keesler AFB MS 

3415th, Lowry AFB CO 

3450th, Fort Francis E. Warren AFB WY 

INDOCTRINATION, Lackland AFB TX: 

2 Air Force indoctrination wings: 

3700th, Lackland AFB TX 

3750th, Sheppard AFB TX 

Enid AFB, Oklahoma 

Returned to active status on 1 August, Enid became 

the command's second advanced multi-engine pilot 

training base. The other was at Barksdale. However, 

withdrawal of personnel in support of the Berlin 

Airlift almost caused the closure of the base before it 

could put its training program into effect. Training 

did begin on 15 October under the direction of the 

3575th Pilot 

Training Wing 

(Advanced 

Multi-Engine), 

organized on 

28 August 

1948. The only 

way ATC was 

able to provide 

personnel for 

the school was 

by taking 

individuals 

from other bases. One of the hardest hit was 

Randolph, and for a short period of time, Randolph 

officials claimed they were being "bled to death" to 

keep Enid open. 

Sheppard AFB, Texas 

To handle the overflow of recruits coming in as a 

result of the Berlin Airlift, ATC needed a second 

center for basic military training. Sheppard was 

selected, and on 1 August ATC reactivated this 

World War II provider of airplane and engine 

mechanics. 

Waco AFB, Texas 

Almost two and one-half years after its inactivation, 

on 1 August 1949, ATC reopened Waco AFB. On 

28 August the command discontinued Waco's base 

unit and established the 3565th Pilot Training Wing 

(Basic). Its first class began on 25 October. 
1948 

55

Las Vegas AFB, Nevada 

To provide advanced training of fighter pilots, ATC 

returned Las Vegas AFB to active status on 1 April 

1948 and established the 3595th Pilot Training Wing 

(Advanced Single-Engine) on 22 December. 

However, training did not begin at Las Vegas until 

1 March 1949. 

SUBORDINATE UNITS 

3525th Pilot Training Wing 

Since its activation in June 1941, Williams AFB, 

Arizona, had conducted flying training. On 

28 August 1948, Air Training Command discontinued the base 

unit at Williams 

and established 

the 3525th Pilot 

Training Wing 

(Advanced 

Single-Engine). 

3535th 

Bombardment 

Training Wing 

On 28 August 1948, ATC activated the 3535th 

Bombardment Training Wing at Mather AFB in 

California. The wing would oversee the navigation 

and flying training 

operation. Mather had 

been in the command 

from January 1942 

until October 1944 

when it was transferred to Air Transport 

Command. Then on 

20 December 1945, 

the AAF reassigned 

the base to Training 

Command. 

3585th Pilot Training Wing 

Air Training Command activated the 3585th Pilot 

Training Wing (Liaison-Helicopter) at San Marcos 

AFB, Texas, on 25 August 1948. The wing remained 

in operation until early 1949, when it was inactivated. 

However, its 3585th Pilot Training Group transferred 

to Waco in March 1949, when helicopter training 

moved from San Marcos to Waco. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

Flying Training Expansion 

At the beginning of 1948, Randolph AFB was the 

only ATC base providing basic flying training. With 

the Air Force-directed increase in pilot production 

(3,000 pilots by 1950), ATC needed additional 

schools. The first school added was Goodfellow in 

December 1947. Its first class began on 1 March 

1948. Two other Texas stations, Perrin and Waco, 

also opened in 1948 and began pilot training. Air 

Training Command had intended to put a fourth 

school into operation, but because of cost and 

personnel considerations, officials decided to revise 

the training program. Basic went from eight to six 

months by shifting some course material to the 

advanced phase, and advanced went from four to six 

months. This revised plan--six months of basic flying 

training and six months of advanced schooling--went 

into effect in early 1949. 

Advanced Multi-Engine Training 

Early in 1948 ATC discontinued four-engine training, 

using the B-17. When this program ended, ATC 

renamed twin-engine pilot training as multi-engine 

training. Only Barksdale provided this instruction 

until October 1948, when Enid began accepting 

students. The schools used B-25s and B-50s. 

Fighter Gunnery School 

At Williams the Flying Division discontinued its 

fighter gunnery school on 1 June 1948. Student 

training had been removed from the school in 1947, 

and all that remained were its research functions. 

These communications students at Scott AFB, 

Illinois, are setting up a radio range station 

antenna. 
1948 

56

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Technical Training Production 

In October 1948 Headquarters USAF directed ATC 

to increase its rate of production to meet 

requirements of a 70-group (previously 55-group) Air 

Force, with no increase in personnel or installations. 

Tech School versus Direct Duty 

Approximately 44 percent of all basic military 

training graduates went on to receive technical 

training before reporting to a first duty station. The 

other 56 percent went directly from basic to their first 

assignment. 

MILITARY TRAINING 

Coeducation Introduction 

In 1948 the Indoctrination Division at Lackland 

introduced coeducation into basic military training, 

Officer Candidate School, and the Central Instructor 

School. The division acquired separate housing for 

Women in the Air Force (WAF) on Kelly AFB, 

adjacent to Lackland. The 3700th WAF Training 

Group and its three squadrons, the 3741st, 3742d, and 

3743d, managed the 11-week basic military training 

program for the WAF. Basic military training for the 

WAF was two weeks shorter than for men because 

the women did not take part in weapons training, 

marksmanship, bivouacs, aquatic survival, or field 

marches. 

Aviation Career Plan 

A year after its establishment, the aviation career plan 

caused some major headaches for officials at 

Lackland. In August 1948 an unrestricted number of 

high school graduates entered the Air Force, and they 

soon overloaded Lackland's training capacity. 

Additional housing had to be found--some at nearby 

Kelly and Brooks Air Force Bases. As a last resort, 

Lackland officials ordered tents erected between 

barracks to house about 3,000 basic trainees. This 

was just a stopgap measure until Air Training 

Command could open Sheppard and move new 

recruits to that northern Texas base for basic training. 

By fall the number of high school graduates coming 

into the Air Force had leveled off, giving recruiting 

officials time to correct the system before the next 

year's high school graduation. 

A mobile training instructor demonstrates the finer points of a C-54 automatic pilot system. 
57

1949

The last half of 1949 was an exercise in austerity. President Harry S. Truman decided that the country 

could only afford a 48-group Air Force. By this time, the Air Force had activated 59 groups. With the new 

announcement, the Air Force had to shift quickly from expansion to contraction. Congress also failed to pass 

the fiscal year 1950 military appropriations bill until December. With only a minimum of operating funds 

available, the Secretary of Defense directed major spending cuts throughout the Department of Defense 

(DOD). A total of 25,000 Air Force civilian authorizations were lost--1,562 in Air Training Command. These 

were positions that, according to DOD, could not be filled by military. In addition, ATC had to cut flying 

hours and separate large numbers of reserve officers, as well as convert rated officers to nonrated status. 

Even with the abolishment of the three divisional headquarters--Flying, Technical, and Indoctrination, ATC 

operations remained crippled by a lack of funding. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1949) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 17 

Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; Colorado--Lowry; Illinois-- 

Chanute and Scott; Mississippi--Keesler; Nevada--Las Vegas; 

Oklahoma--Vance; Texas--Connally, Ellington, Goodfellow, Lackland, 

Perrin, Randolph, Reese, and Sheppard; Wyoming--Francis E. Warren 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 70,762 (7,867 officers; 345 warrant officers; 49,840 enlisted; 12,710 

civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 2,132 (AT-6, B-17, B/RB-25, B-26, B-50, C-45, C/TC-47, C-54, 

F/TF-51, F-80, H-5, H-13, L-5, L-13, L-16, T-33) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

8 pilot training wings: 

3500th (Adv Multi-Engine), Reese AFB TX 

3510th (Basic), Randolph AFB TX 

3525th (Adv Single-Engine), Williams AFB AZ 

3545th (Basic), Goodfellow AFB TX 

3555th (Basic), Perrin AFB TX 

3565th (Basic), Connally AFB TX 

3575th (Adv Multi-Engine), Vance AFB OK 

3595th (Adv Single-Engine), Las Vegas AFB NV 

Air Training Command first used the 

T-33, destined to be its bellweather 

trainer, in advanced single-engine 

training at Williams AFB, Arizona, in 

June 1949. 
1949 

58

1 AF indoctrination wing: 

3700th, Lackland AFB TX 

Students receive Morse code and type the 

transcribed messages as part of the radio 

operators course at Keesler AFB, Mississippi. 

Both men and women were entered in the course. 

1 bombardment training wing: 

3535th, Mather AFB CA 

1 navigator training wing: 

3605th, Ellington AFB TX 

6 technical training wings: 

3310th, Scott AFB IL 

3345th, Chanute AFB IL 

3380th, Keesler AFB MS 

3415th, Lowry AFB CO 

3450th, Francis E. Warren AFB WY 

3750th, Sheppard AFB TX 

1 training aids wing: 

3499th, Chanute AFB IL 

Completed in March 1940, Scott AFB Building P-3 was originally designed to be Headquarters, General 

Headquarters Air Force (GHQ Air Force). Air Training Command moved its headquarters into the building

on 17 October 1949. On July 1951, ATC renamed the building Yount Hall in honor of Lt Gen Barton K. 

Yount, the first Commanding General of AAF Training Command. 
1949 

59

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

General Harper remained the ATC commander, 

and Major General Burns continued as vice 

commander. 

ORGANIZATION 

Command HQ Established at Scott 

In early 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson 

initiated a series of economic measures throughout 

the armed forces. His purpose was to effect greater 

utilization of the assets assigned to all services. As a 

result of these actions, a number of bases transferred 

between major commands, schools moved, and other 

bases closed. In addition, the Defense Department 

reduced civilian and military personnel requirements 

needed to operate a base and ordered abolishment of 

subordinate headquarters. Because of these DODdirected initiatives, the Air Force reassigned 

Barksdale to SAC. The base had long runways better 

suited to bomber traffic than training. Barksdale 

became a SAC installation on 30 September. 

Originally, USAF officials had intended to leave 

ATC headquarters at Barksdale as a tenant, but 

planners later decided to move ATC to Randolph, 

where the Flying Division was based. Before that 

move could take place, Headquarters USAF decided 

to put ATC at Scott AFB in Illinois, effective 

17 October 1949. The new ATC headquarters was 

considerably bigger, because it absorbed the 

functions of its previous three subordinate 

headquarters--Flying, Technical, and Indoctrination 

Divisions. Air Training Command abolished the 

Indoctrination Division on 1 November and 

discontinued the other two on 14 November. 

Wing-Base Organization 

In April 1949 ATC completed implementation of a 

USAF directive to organize installations by "wingbase." The wing commander would control both the 

base and the operating units on that base. General 

organization of the wing included an air base group, a 

tactical group, a maintenance and supply group, and a 

medical group. In ATC a training group replaced the 

tactical group. This new plan made organizations 

uniform throughout the Air Force. 

INSTALLATIONS 

Ellington AFB, Texas 

At Houston, Texas, ATC activated Ellington AFB, 

effective 31 March 1949. Two weeks later the 

command established a USAF Navigation School at 

Ellington, and sometime after that the 3605th 

Navigation Training Wing came into existence. The 

first class entered training on 8 August 1949. Three 

months later, aviation cadets and nonrated officers 

joined the list of students. Ellington was first 

activated in World War I to provide bombing 

instruction. It again opened on 17 August 1940 as a 

bombardment school, but because of poor weather 

conditions, that training was discontinued in January 

1942. Instead, beginning in September 1941, 

Ellington became a preflight school for navigators 

and bombardiers. Then on 15 April 1946, Training 

Command inactivated the base. 

San Marcos AFB, Texas 

In preparation for inactivation, on 1 March 1949, 

ATC transferred helicopter and liaison training from 

San Marcos to Waco. Then on 31 March, the 

command inactivated San Marcos AFB. 

Connally AFB, Texas 

The command redesignated Waco AFB as Connally 

on 10 June 1949. The name honored Col James T. 

Connally of Waco, killed on a bombing mission over 

Yokohama in 1945. On 8 January 1951, Air Training 

Command again changed the base designation--this 

time to James Connally AFB. 

Vance AFB, Oklahoma 

On 9 July Enid AFB became Vance, named for Lt 

Col Leon R. Vance, Jr., of Enid. The War 

Department posthumously awarded the Medal of 

Honor to Vance for gallantry in action over France on 

5 June 1944. 

Lubbock (Reese) AFB, Texas 

Air Training Command activated Lubbock on 

1 August 1949 as an advanced multi-engine pilot 

training school. The first class convened on 

1 November. The command had directed that the 

3500th Pilot Training Wing (Advanced 

The Acrojets at Williams AFB in Arizona were the 

first jet aerial demonstration team in the Air 

Force. Duty with the Acrojets was in addition to 

the pilots' assigned duties. 
1949 

60

Multi-Engine) relocate from Barksdale to Reese 

during the late summer. On 29 November 1949, ATC 

redesignated Lubbock as Reese AFB, to honor 1Lt 

Augustus F. Reese of nearby Shallowater, Texas. 

Lieutenant Reese was killed on 14 May 1943 over the 

island of Sardinia, when his P-38 crashed after a 

strafing run. 

Fort Francis E. Warren 

On 7 October 1949, Fort Francis E. Warren became 

Francis E. Warren AFB, Wyoming. 

SUBORDINATE UNITS 

3499th Training Aids Wing 

In October 1949 ATC organized a training aids wing 

at Chanute. The purpose of the 3499th was to provide 

training in the field for maintenance personnel 

assigned to work on various types of aircraft in 

general use in the Air Force. By 1 January 1950, the 

wing possessed 37 detachments: 15 bomber, 7 cargo, 

and 15 fighter. 

3750th Technical Training Wing 

Headquarters ATC discontinued the 3750th Air Force 

Indoctrination Wing, which had provided basic 

training at Sheppard, and on 1 April 1949, established the 3750th Technical Training Wing also at 

Sheppard. The wing acquired Keesler's airplane 

mechanics school, which provided room to expand its 

communications and electronics training programs. 

TRAINING 

Survey of Training 

In late 1948, as the result of personnel cuts taken in 

1947, ATC officials asked the US Office of 

Education to survey technical and flying training 

bases and make suggestions for improving the entire 

training system. Their report made a number of 

recommendations, ranging from ways to define 

course content better to employing only instructors 

with proper education qualifications, as well as an 

interest in teaching. From this survey, ATC 

established a training analysis and 

development office at the headquarters to 

oversee improvement of teaching 

methods, curricula, instructors, and 

training aids, all in an effort to improve 

the quality of the graduate. In addition, 

ATC created a formalized method for 

training technical instructors. 

FLYING TRAINING 

Pilot Schools Transfer from 

Barksdale 

When Barksdale became a Strategic Air 

Command installation, ATC officials 

relocated all flying training from that 

base. The multi-engine pilot school 

(operated by the 3500th Pilot Training 

Wing) moved to Lubbock in late summer, 

and the Instrument Pilot School became a 

tenant on Air University's Tyndall AFB, 

Florida. 

Shortages Affect Training 

All of the flying programs suffered from 

shortages of aircraft replacement parts, 

qualified maintenance personnel, and 

instructors--problems that had been with 

the schools since the war. But in 1949 the 

instructor shortage became so critical that 

schools had to increase numbers of recent 

graduates used for instructor training. At 

Williams the high accident rate was 

attributed in part to a lack of experienced 

instructors. 

The TE-105A Ejection Seat Trainer, more commonly known as 

the "Boom Bucket," was erected at Williams AFB, Arizona, in 

1949. This trainer, the only one of its kind in the Air Force, 

simulated ejection from a jet aircraft. By the last ride on 30 July

1974, a total of 18,187 students had used the trainer. 
1949 

61

Basic Pilot Training 

Early in 1949 Flying Division 

changed its pilot training 

program from eight months in 

basic and four months in 

advanced training to two equal 

phases of six months each. 

Then in June officials added a 

four-week preflight training 

segment at Lackland. That 

increased the pilot training 

program from 12 to 13 months. 

Navigator-Bombardier 

Training 

The aircraft observer (bombardment) program at Mather 

changed to navigator-bombardier. The new program was to 

be a two-base effort. Ellington 

would provide basic 

instruction and then feed its 

graduates to the Mather school. 

Fighter Gunnery School 

The command had closed its 

only gunnery school (at 

Williams) in 1948, but in 

February 1949, ATC officials 

directed Las Vegas AFB to 

study the possibility of 

establishing a central gunnery 

school with both training and 

research capabilities. On 

15 May 1949, with USAF approval, ATC opened its 

USAF Aircraft Gunnery School at Las Vegas. Even 

before the school opened, Las Vegas AFB officials 

hosted their first aerial USAF Gunnery Meet. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Accelerated Technical Training Program 

In March the Air Force directed ATC to accelerate 

certain portions of its technical training program, as a 

part of an overall restructuring to a 48-group Air 

Force. The statement of trained personnel 

requirements gave priority to radio, radar, armament, 

and aircraft maintenance training programs. To meet 

these training requirements, it was necessary for ATC 

to find additional space for these courses. To do that, 

the Air Force announced on 17 January that all 

aviation engineering courses at Francis E. Warren, 

with the exception of powerman, would transfer to 

the Army's Engineer School at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. 

Then on 21 February, ATC announced it would use 

Sheppard for technical training. All airplane and 

engine mechanic and rotary wing and liaison 

mechanic courses at Keesler would move to 

Sheppard. Then radio operator and control tower 

courses at Scott would relocate to Keesler. In 

addition, the fixed wire courses at Scott went to 

Francis E. Warren, so that Scott had room to expand 

its radio mechanic school. As the result of all this 

restructuring, ATC now had nine major family 

groups of training: aircraft maintenance, armament 

and ordnance, aviation engineers, communications, 

photography, radar, weather, intelligence, and 

miscellaneous. In those nine families, there were 

approximately 100 active courses. 

MILITARY TRAINING 

First Women Enter OCS 

On 12 June 1948, Congress passed the Women's 

Armed Services Integration Act, establishing Women 

in the Air Force as a permanent part of the Air Force. 

Seven months later ATC's Officer Candidate School 

Class 49A included its first WAF students. 

Upon their arrival at Lackland AFB, Texas, these prospective officer 

candidates march to the processing station. 
1949 

62

Operations Hayride and Snowbound 

In late January heavy snowstorms in Nebraska 

brought requests for assistance. Helicopters from San 

Marcos AFB, Texas, and a C-47 from Randolph took 

part in Operation Hayride. They helped provide food 

to snowbound families and stranded livestock, transported medical aid, and surveyed roads and power 

lines to determine the extent of storm damage. When 

these winter storms moved into Wyoming in early 

February, assistance continued under the title, 

Operation Snowbound. 

For years ATC bases had reported an acute shortage of family housing. This was one of the major 

factors affecting morale. Finally, on 8 August 1949, Congress passed the Wherry Housing Act, 

encouraging private contractors to build family housing for the services. Above is a duplex unit and 

below are multi-family housing units. 

MISCELLANEOUS 
63

1950

The outbreak of the Korean War on 25 June 1950 indicated that ATC would soon see an increase in 

training requirements. By 1 July the Air Force had directed ATC to accelerate training to fill the needs of a 

new 95-wing Air Force. A few days later ATC found itself with a new mission--combat crew training. With 

operational commands immersed in the war, it was left to ATC to train pilots for combat. The first school 

opened at Nellis AFB in Nevada. In August the Air Staff raised the rate of pilot production from 3,000 to 

4,000 per year, and by the end of the year, it had climbed to 7,200. At the same time, the need for training 

technicians also rose. As it had in World War II, ATC met the increased training requirements by 

contracting with civilian schools, but there were other problems that weren't so easy to solve. The command 

soon found itself facing sudden and generally short-range training requirements of an emergency nature. 

There was no time to prepare, and that meant the quality of training suffered--both flying and technical 

training. Because troops in the Far East received priority in the supply system, ATC also faced across-theboard shortages in equipment such as armament, radar, aircraft spares, maintenance items, clothing, 

bedding, and office equipment. Shortages of spare parts even caused a reduction in helicopter training at San 

Marcos and B-29 training at Randolph later in the war. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1950) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 22 

Alabama--Craig; Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; Colorado--

Lowry; Florida--Tyndall; Illinois--Chanute and Scott; Mississippi--

Columbus, Greenville, and Keesler; Nevada--Nellis; New York--Sampson; 

Oklahoma--Vance; Texas--Connally, Ellington, Goodfellow, Lackland, 

Perrin, Randolph, Reese, and Sheppard; Wyoming--Francis E. Warren 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 110,044 (9,432 officers; 81,215 enlisted; 19,297 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 2,621 (AT/T-6, B-17, B/TB-25, B-26, B-29, C-45, C-47, C-54, F-51, F-80, 

F-84, F-86, H-5, H-13, L-5, L-13, L-16, T-28, T-29, T-33, YT-34, YT-35) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

1 bombardment training wing: 

 3535th, Mather AFB CA 

1 navigator training wing: 

 3605th, Ellington AFB TX 

8 pilot training wings: 

 3500th (Adv Multi-Engine), Reese AFB TX 

 3510th, Randolph AFB TX 

 3525th (Adv Single-Engine), Williams AFB AZ 

 3545th (Basic), Goodfellow AFB TX 

 3555th (Basic), Perrin AFB TX 

 3565th (Basic), Connally AFB TX 

 3575th (Adv Multi-Engine), Vance AFB OK 

 3615th (Adv Single-Engine), Craig AFB AL 

2 training wings: 

 3595th (Combat Crew), Nellis AFB NV 

 3625th, Tyndall AFB FL 

2 Air Force indoctrination wings: 

 3650th, Sampson AFB NY 

 3700th, Lackland AFB TX 

6 technical training wings: 

 3310th, Scott AFB IL 

 3345th, Chanute AFB IL 

 3380th, Keesler AFB MS 

 3415th, Lowry AFB CO 

 3450th, Francis E. Warren AFB WY 

 3750th, Sheppard AFB TX 
1950 

64

1 training aids wing: 

 3499th, Chanute AFB IL 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

General Harper continued in command of ATC, 

and Maj Gen Burns remained as vice commander. 

ORGANIZATION 

INSTALLATIONS 

Nellis AFB, Nevada 

On 30 April 1950, ATC redesignated Las Vegas AFB 

as Nellis, honoring 1Lt William H. Nellis, a Nevada 

resident who lost his life in aerial combat over 

Luxembourg on 27 December 1944. 

Tyndall AFB, Florida, was the location of the only 

Air Police school in the Air Force. Prior to the 

establishment of this school in September 1950, 

the Army had provided training. 

Tyndall AFB, Florida 

Air University transferred Tyndall AFB to ATC on 

1 September. At the same time, Air University's 

3820th Air University Wing became an ATC asset; 

however, ATC discontinued the 3820th and 

established the 3625th Training Wing in its place to 

conduct weapons controller training. Tyndall had 

operated the Air Tactical School, but it was put on 

hold in July with the advent of the Korean War. On 

4 September ATC established the USAF Air Police 

School, which joined ATC's USAF Instrument Pilot 

School and Air University's aircraft controller school, 

which also was reassigned to Air Training Command. 

Craig AFB, Alabama 

Effective 1 September, Air University handed control 

of Craig AFB to ATC along with the 3840th Air 

University Wing. On the same day, ATC 

discontinued the 3840th 

and established the 

3615th Pilot Training 

Wing. The advanced 

single-engine pilot training mission transferred 

from Nellis to Craig, 

which also gained pilot 

instructor training from 

Randolph. With these 

moves, Nellis and Randolph assumed new training 

missions: fighter-bomber training at Nellis and B-29 

combat crew instruction at Randolph. (Instructor 

training began at Craig on 1 September, and pilot 

training started on 1 November. Nellis established its 

USAF Air Crew School (Fighter) on 14 November. 

Randolph had initiated B-29 training on 7 August.) 

Sampson AFB, New York 

Headquarters USAF directed Air Training Command 

to activate and redesignate a former US Navy 

training center as Sampson AFB on 15 November 

1950. Air Training Command intended to use 

Sampson as a second basic military training center to 

handle the influx of recruits for the Korean War 

buildup, and established the 3650th Air Force 

Indoctrination Wing at the base. However, Sampson 

did not receive its first group of trainees until 

February 1951, and its basic military school was not 

established until 1 March. 

Contract Flying Schools 

To handle increased pilot requirements for the 

Korean War, Air Training Command activated two 

bases, Greenville AFB, Mississippi, on 1 December 

and Columbus AFB, Mississippi, on 20 December, to 

be used as stations for contract flying schools. 

However, contract flying squadrons were not 

established until 1951. 

Within days of the outbreak of the Korean War, 

ATC was training combat-ready F-80 pilots at 

Nellis AFB, Nevada. 
1950 

65

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

Combat Crew Training 

From 1946 until the outbreak of the Korean War, 

pilots were sent to an operational command where 

they received additional training that qualified them 

as combat-capable on a specific aircraft. In 1950 

ATC assumed most combat crew training, thereby 

relieving combat commands of much of their training 

burden and allowing them to concentrate on their 

combat mission. Three weeks after the Korean War 

began ATC converted Nellis from a basic singleengine pilot training school to fighter crew training. 

At about the same time, ATC redesignated the 3595th 

Pilot Training Wing (Advanced Single-Engine) as the 

3595th Training Wing (Combat Crew). On 17 July 

1950, Nellis began a special training program to 

provide 115 combat-ready F-51 pilots for the Far 

East Air Forces and 92 combat-ready F-80 pilots to 

serve as replacements for casualties in the first 

months of the Korean campaign. 

New Aircraft 

Williams began receiving new two-seat T-28 trainers 

in late 1950, and new dual TF-51s were assigned to 

Craig. Also, during the final half of the year, T-29 

navigation trainers began arriving at Ellington AFB, 

Texas. 

Mutual Defense Assistance Program 

Under this program, first authorized by the US 

government in 1949, students from France, Belgium, 

Netherlands, Norway, Turkey, and Denmark would 

come to the United States for undergraduate pilot 

training. Air Training Command provided the 

instruction. The first class, 74 French cadets, entered 

training at Randolph on 17 April 1950. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Technical Training--Vertical Expansion 

The "crack and crevice" program, as it was known, 

was a way to house and train a greater number of 

technical training students with no increase in facilities. Beginning on 24 July 1950, all technical training 

programs went on a six-day-a-week operation. That 

reduced by almost 17 percent the amount of time it 

took to train a technician. Multiple shifts also ran. 

While this increased the need for more instructors, it 

limited the amount of housing and dining facilities 

needed. Along with this, the amount of dormitory 

space given each student was reduced from 72 square 

feet to 60, and at Keesler and Sheppard the space was 

even less--only 50 square feet per student. Finally, 

the interval between class entries also decreased. All 

of this was an effort to train students as quickly as 

possible and get them in the field. 

Technical Training--Lateral Expansion 

This program allowed for the addition of new 

training bases, use of underutilized space at flying 

training bases, increased use of Army and Navy 

schools, and establishment of a few contract training 

programs. However, it was 1951 before ATC added 

new technical training bases. In 1950 the Air Force 

began sending some students to Army and Navy 

schools to train as food service and automotive 

technicians. Also in 1950, Air Training Command 

negotiated a series of contracts with 65 civilian 

institutions to provide technical training in 

basic courses (primarily in airplane and engine 

Guarding Air Force assets was only one of the jobs 

demanded of the air police. Here, a newly-trained 

air policeman makes a routine patrol of the 

Tyndall AFB, Florida, flightline. 

One of ATC's new T-28s, used in basic flying

training. 
1950 

66

mechanics, automotive mechanics, electronics, and 

clerk-typist courses). The first two classes, one in 

Oklahoma and the other in California, began in 

August training airplane mechanics. Between July 

1950 and June 1951, contract schools graduated 

5,670 airmen at a cost of $17 million. 

MILITARY TRAINING 

Recruiters' Indoctrination Training 

Although the Army still controlled the recruiting 

program, in January ATC began indoctrination 

training for Air Force recruiters at Lackland. The 

course was designed to give recruiters a better 

understanding of the needs of the Air Force. Officials 

hoped this training would ultimately improve the 

quality of personnel brought into the service. As of 

June, only about one-half of all Air Force recruits 

were high school graduates. 

Recruit Overflow 

In August Sheppard was again pressed into 

indoctrination training to receive the overflow of 

recruits from Lackland. The 3740th Basic Military 

Training Group and 10 of its squadrons moved from 

Lackland to Sheppard. This was planned to be a short 

term solution, as ATC activated another military 

training base, Sampson AFB, New York, in 

November. Before Sampson could open its doors to 

receive recruits, however, the number of enlistees at 

Lackland totaled over 70,000. The 3740th remained 

active at Sheppard until 12 May 1952, when ATC 

inactivated it. During that time, the group provided 

basic training for about 100,000 airmen. 

Supply Shortages Plague Lackland 

The announcement of unlimited recruiting in 

December 1950 caused major problems for Lackland. 

Clothing and bedding were in short supply, and it got 

to the point where new recruits were issued only the 

minimum essentials. Clothing stocks had to be 

drastically reduced at other ATC bases so recruits 

could receive essential clothing--although it was 

impossible to provide exact sizes. Lackland had only 

been constructed to handle about 28,000 recruits, but 

by January 1951 the number exceeded an unbelievable 70,000. Officials had no choice but to 

establish a tent city. Lackland completely exhausted 

the Air Force's supply of steel folding cots and 

mattresses. Others had to make do with canvas cots. 

At one time, the base had almost 10,000 recruits 

sleeping on canvas cots, without mattresses. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Conversion to Career Specialty Codes 

In February 1950 personnel classification boards 

began converting from military occupational 

specialty (MOS) and specification serial number 

(SSN) categories to the Air Force career specialty 

codes or AFSCs. All personnel were to be converted 

to the new system by July. Under the new program, 

using a series of aptitude tests, the Air Force would 

assign every service member to the career field for 

which they were best qualified. 

Construction Accelerated 

The buildup of American forces created a need for 

additional training facilities in ATC. Congress 

approved over $240 million in military construction 

in FY 1950, and another $134 million was expected 

at year's end. For example, at Keesler, over $50 

million was put into new dormitories, classrooms, 

and laboratories. 

In 1950 three bases provided weather training: 

Scott in Illinois, Keesler in Mississippi, and 

Sheppard in Texas. All weather training later 

consolidated at Chanute. Then in 1990, during the 

first round of base closure, this training was 

identified for movement to Keesler. 
1950 

67

FUNCTIONAL ARRANGEMENT OF AIRMEN CAREER FIELDS 
1950 

68

ATC AND CREW TRAINING 

Shortly after the Korean War 

began on 25 June 1950, ATC took 

over most combat crew training, 

thereby relieving operational commands of much of their training 

burden and allowing them to concentrate on their combat mission. 

As one observer put it, ATC got 

into the crew training business 

because the operational commands 

were "up to their prop tips in actual 

warfare." 

In response to the North Korean 

invasion, President Harry Truman 

authorized the Air Force to 

increase its strength from 48 to 95 

wings by June 1952. Just three 

weeks after the Korean War 

started, ATC converted Nellis from 

a basic single-engine training school and began fighter 

crew training. The total base structure for ATC's flying 

program rose dramatically from the 17 bases in use in 

1950 to 29 by 30 June 1951. This base structure was 

needed to support the rapid increase in pilot production 

from 800 in FY 1949 to over 2,000 in FY 1951. By 

December 1951, ATC had added another eight bases 

and another six in the next year and a half. 

Before long, the training load became too heavy for 

one headquarters. So, in 1951 ATC split its training 

responsibilities into two subordinate headquarters: 

Flying Training Air Force (FTAF) at Waco, Texas, and 

Technical Training Air Force (TTAF) at Gulfport, Mississippi. By the spring of 1952, FTAF found itself unable 

to do more than provide basic flying training to student 

pilots for the rapidly growing Air Force. So, Air 

Training Command established Crew Training Air 

Force (CTAF) at Randolph on 1 April 1952 to get 

crews ready for combat. Activation of CTAF freed 

Flying Training Air Force to concentrate on the 

operation of the pilot and observer training programs. 

Crew Training Air Force eventually consisted of 10 

bases devoted to combat crew training. Four of 

these--Nellis, Randolph, Perrin, and Williams--were 

already ATC pilot training bases and were able to 

convert to crew training with relative ease. Two 

additional bases, Tyndall and Moody, were operational 

bases of other commands and transferred to ATC with 

the crew training mission. Three 

others--Luke, Pinecastle, and Laughlin-- 

were inactive World War II bases that 

ATC activated, while the fourth, the 

municipal airport at Wichita, Kansas, 

(later McConnell AFB) was activated for 

the command. 

The transfer of crew training responsibilities to ATC was not without its 

problems. One of the greatest impacts on 

the program in the early 1950s was the 

replacement of conventional aircraft with 

jet aircraft. For example, the F-84, F-86, 

F-89, F-94, F-100, B-47, and B-57 were 

all introduced in the span of a few years. 

At the same time, the Korean War required 

several thousand experienced personnel, 

A B-47 aircrew at Wichita AFB, Kansas, prepares for a training mission. 

Pilots slated for duty in Air Defense Command received air-toair intercept training in ATC's F-86Ds.
1950 

69

leaving ATC short 3,700 rated officers in FY51. Over 

11,000 of the command’s aircraft mechanics were sent 

to Korea, leaving ATC with another shortage--nearly 

2,000 jet aircraft maintenance personnel. On top of that, 

ATC had a hard time obtaining sufficient numbers of 

new aircraft to provide the necessary training for 

maintenance personnel. Finally, the command was 

plagued with maintenance problems that usually 

accompanied the phase-in of new aircraft. 

It took a while to iron out these problems, and some 

of them (e.g., the acquisition of new aircraft), were 

never fully resolved. Despite the difficulties it 

encountered, ATC still trained tens of thousands of 

aircrew members. Overall, ATC provided combat crew 

and transition training to approximately 13,000 in 

fighters, 52,000 in bombers, 12,000 in interceptors, 

2,000 in tankers, and 1,800 in transports. 

As noted earlier, HQ USAF did not transfer all 

combat crew training to ATC in the 1950s. For 

example, SAC had its own program for training B-36 

and B-52 crews, and TAC continued to prepare light 

bombardment and reconnaissance replacement crews 

for combat. All the while, air transport crew training 

remained with the Military Air Transport Service. 

Toward the end of the decade, SAC pressed to take 

over training for all of its crews to help it meet its alert 

commitments. The Air Staff agreed, and SAC assumed 

the crew training mission on 1 July 1958. Also, 

Headquarters USAF assigned TAC responsibility for all 

its crew training. Thus, TAC picked up the Fighter 

Weapons School at Nellis AFB on 1 February and 

assumed the rest of the training mission on 1 July 1958, 

along with the bases at Luke, Nellis, and Williams. 

Air Training Command got out of the crew training 

business completely a few years later when it 

transferred Perrin AFB and its interceptor crew training 

mission to Air Defense Command. 

Thirty-five years later, crew training returned to the 

command. The Air Force reorganized the MAJCOMs at 

the end of the Cold War, eliminating, for example, the 

venerable Strategic Air Command and Tactical Air 

Command. Air Training Command became Air 

Education and Training Command in 1993 and regained 

responsibility for combat crew training. The post-Cold 

War drawdown created a surplus of front-line aircraft 

available to reassign to AETC, and Air Force Chief of 

Staff General Merrill McPeak believed that the transfer 

of crew training to AETC would allow the operational 

wings to focus on their missions. 

B-29s line the ramp at Randolph as one takes 

off on a training mission. 

Students prepare to take off on a cross-country

flight in F-51 fighters at Nellis AFB, Nevada. 

Nellis was the first ATC base converted to 

crew training in the early 1950s. 

A flight engineer on board a B-29 Superfortress at 

Randolph AFB, Texas, takes readings in 

preparation for takeoff. This was part of the 

training provided by Crew Training Air Force. 
1950 

70

Students in aerial photography training receive 

preflight orientation before flying a photo mission. 

The F-10, a modified B-25 aircraft, was used in 

training.

Better Use of the Force 

Since the end of World War II, it had been ATC 

policy to put an officer in any position involving 

responsibility and supervision. That prevented 

noncommissioned officers and key civilians from 

being given the opportunity to develop leadership 

skills. Considering the longstanding personnel 

shortages and looking at the Korean situation, ATC 

officials decided it was time to change that policy. By 

giving increased responsibility to NCOs and key 

civilians, ATC expected to see an increase in 

productivity. 

Hospital Cutbacks 

Early in 1950 ATC learned that the hospital at 

Lackland AFB would be reduced to a dispensary. 

This was a major concern, since that hospital 

supported the indoctrination center. However, there 

was little Air Training Command could do because 

the reduction was directed by the Secretary of 

Defense. Brooke General Hospital at Fort Sam 

Houston in San Antonio became responsible for 

providing medical services to the basic military 

training center. In April the Department of Defense 

announced a priority listing for building permanent 

hospital facilities. Chanute received first priority in 

ATC, followed by Scott, Keesler, Sheppard, and 

Mather. 

Recall of Reservists 

Besides the tremendous increase in new recruits, 

ATC also had to in-process thousands of volunteer 

reservists. Between late July and the end of October, 

the command brought on active duty about 20,000 

reservists. Most of this work was done at Chanute, 

Scott, Francis E. Warren, and Keesler. Also, effective 

28 July 1950, it became legal to recall reservists involuntarily. However, involuntary recall didn't last 

long. By October the Department of Defense had 

suspended the process, primarily because the services 

had found that many veterans had been improperly 

classified upon separation at the end of World War II. 

They did not possess the qualifications needed for 

immediate assignment. Instead of wasting effort on 

the inactive reserve, the Air Force decided to place its 

emphasis on acquiring personnel from the organized 

reserves--individuals who possessed known critical 

skills. In April and May 1951, all 28 of the corollary 

reserve units attached to various ATC bases were 

recalled to active duty for 21 months. 

Civilianization 

To meet the demands of the expanding Air Force, the 

Air Staff decided to civilianize, on a one-to-one 

basis, large numbers of military positions in finance, 

administration, and academic training. A survey of 

ATC bases showed that a total of 5,585 such 

positions existed in the command; however, the 

intent was not to convert all positions to civilian 

status, but rather to establish a 40 percent civilian, 60 

percent military mix. This plan went into effect in 

October. 

Food Service Operation 

Since 1947 the command's policy had been to assign 

cooks, bakers, and stewards on a permanent basis, but 

all other food service workers were conscripted from 

whatever sources could be found. It took almost 10 

percent of the command's military strength to meet 

operating needs of the various mess halls. This was a 

serious problem, because most of that 10 percent 

drew upon critical career fields such as mechanics, 

radio operators, instructors, air police, and vehicle 

operators, as well as students. Beginning in 1949, on 

a trial basis, Air Training Command directed six 

technical training centers to replace this conscripted 

workforce with civilian hires. The test was called 

Operation New Look. By 1950 the test had proved 

successful, but overall reform was slow because 

funds were not readily available to pay salaries for 

civilian workers. 
71 

1951

During the first year of the Korean War, Headquarters USAF assigned combat crew training 

responsibility to ATC, the command's total base structure jumped from 22 to 37, and personnel strength and 

student load more than doubled. With the acceleration of training caused by the war, ATC recognized it 

could not provide the supervision needed for training expansion from a single headquarters. To leave the 

command free to serve as a policy-making and planning agency, officials decided to set up three 

subcommands to supervise flying training, technical training, and indoctrination training. Soon after, that 

became two subcommands, when ATC decided to combine technical and indoctrination training under a 

single headquarters. Headquarters USAF approved the decentralization in early 1951. While ATC had 

sought numerical designations for its new air forces--Thirtieth Flying Training and Thirty-first Technical 

Training Air Forces--USAF officials recommended functional rather than numerical designations. Thus, 

ATC's new subordinate commands became Flying Training (FTAF) and Technical Training Air Forces 

(TTAF). Plans called for FTAF to be headquartered at Randolph and TTAF at Lowry; however, the 

unexpected escalation of training at those bases meant facilities were not available. Thus, ATC established 

the FTAF headquarters at Waco, near James Connally AFB, and TTAF took up residence at the Gulf Coast 

Military Academy near Keesler AFB. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1951) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 37 

Alabama--Craig; Arizona--Luke, Marana, Williams; 

California--Mather, Parks; Colorado--Lowry; 

Florida--Bartow, Pinecastle, Tyndall; Georgia--

Bainbridge, Moody, Spence; Kansas--Wichita; 

Illinois--Chanute, Scott; Mississippi--Columbus, 

Greenville, Keesler; Missouri--Malden; Nevada--

Nellis; New York--Sampson; North Carolina--

Kinston; Oklahoma--Vance; Texas--Amarillo, Bryan, 

Ellington, Goodfellow, Hondo, James Connally, 

Lackland, Perrin, Randolph, Reese, San Marcos, 

Sheppard; Wyoming--Francis E. Warren 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 

140,676 (16,445 officers; 376 warrant officers; 

111,961 enlisted; 11,894 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 

3,632 (B-25, B-26, B-29, B-47, C-45, C-47, C-54, 

F-51, F-80, F-84, F-86, F-89, F-94, H-5, H-13, L-5, 

L-13, L-16, T-6, T-7, T-28, T-29, T-33, T-34) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

2 training air forces: 

FLYING, Waco TX: 

 1 bombardment training wing: 

3535th, Mather AFB CA 

 1 combat crew training wing: 

3520th, Wichita AFB KS 

 

1 navigator training wing: 

3605th, Ellington AFB TX 

 12 pilot training wings: 

127th, Luke AFB AZ 

3500th (Adv Multi-Eng), Reese AFB TX 

3510th, Randolph AFB TX 

The T-29D observer trainer aircraft had stations 

for six students and two instructors on board the 

flying classroom. 
1951 

72

3525th (Adv Single-Eng), Williams AFB AZ 

3530th (Adv Single-Eng), Bryan AFB TX 

3545th (Basic), Goodfellow AFB TX 

3555th (Basic), Perrin AFB TX 

3560th (Adv Single-Eng), Big Spring AFB TX 

3565th (Basic), James Connally AFB TX 

3575th (Adv Multi-Eng), Vance AFB OK 

3585th (Liaison-Helicopter), San Marcos AFB 

TX 

3615th (Adv Single-Eng), Craig AFB AL 

 3 training wings: 

 3550th (Intcp Aircrew), Moody AFB GA 

 3595th (Combat Crew), Nellis AFB NV 

 3625th, Tyndall AFB FL 

9 independent training squadrons (contract flying): 

 3300th, Greenville AFB MS 

 3301st, Columbus AFB MS 

 3302d, Spence Field, GA 

 3303d, Bartow Field FL 

 3304th, Hondo Airfield TX 

 3305th, Malden Airfield MO 

 3306th, Bainbridge Airfield GA 

 3307th, Marana Airfield AZ 

 3308th, Kinston Airfield NC 

TECHNICAL, Gulfport MS: 

 3 Air Force indoctrination wings: 

 3275th, Parks AFB CA 

 3650th, Sampson AFB NY 

 3700th, Lackland AFB TX 

 7 technical training wings: 

 3310th, Scott AFB IL 

 3320th, Amarillo AFB TX 

 3345th, Chanute AFB IL 

 3380th, Keesler AFB MS 

 3415th, Lowry AFB CO 

 3450th, Francis E. Warren AFB WY 

 3750th, Sheppard AFB TX 

 1 training aids wing: 

3499th, Chanute AFB IL 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

Throughout this period, Lieutenant General 

Harper remained the commanding general. The vice 

commander, Maj Gen Robert W. Burns, left his 

position in May to become Special Assistant to the 

Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations, at Headquarters 

USAF. Effective 1 June 1951, Maj Gen Kenneth P. 

McNaughton became the new vice commander. 

ORGANIZATION 

Flying Training Air Force 

On 1 May 1951, ATC 

activated Flying Training 

Air Force, with headquarters 

at Waco, Texas. This new 

unit assumed command of 

all ATC stations conducting 

flying training. With the 

establishment of Flying 

Training Air Force, ATC no 

An instructor explains how to wear and use the 

parachute. 
1951 

73

longer needed a Deputy Commander, Flying at the 

headquarters to manage flying operations, so the 

position was abolished. 

Technical Training 

Air Force 

Activated on 16 July 

1951 at Gulfport, 

Mississippi, the TTAF 

HQ controlled ten 

stations that provided 

technical and basic 

military training for 

ATC. 

INSTALLATIONS 

Amarillo AFB, Texas 

On 1 March ATC activated Amarillo as a technical 

training base. It would provide airplane and engine 

mechanic jet training. At the same time, the 

command established the 3320th Technical Training 

Wing to oversee training activities at Amarillo. 

Moody AFB, Georgia 

This station transferred from SAC to ATC on 

1 September 1951. Also on this date, ATC 

established the 3550th Training Wing (Interceptor 

Aircrew). Moody became a part of ATC's all-weather 

interceptor training program. 

Wichita AFB, Kansas 

In 1950 USAF officials had begun working with city 

officials to lease facilities at the Wichita municipal 

airport for use as a B-47 training facility. The plan 

was to have training in place by mid-March 1951. 

The advantage of using the Wichita airport was that it 

would be a joint-use facility. The other tenant would 

be Boeing Aircraft Company, the manufacturer of the 

B-47 Stratojet. Boeing had set up a test program at 

Wichita. Unfortunately, the city also wanted to use 

the airport for commercial flights, so the Air Force 

decided it would be better to purchase the airport, 

rather than lease. In the midst of all these problems, 

the first group of students began arriving. The 

command spent about $35,000 to erect a tent city to 

house incoming personnel. Air Training Command 

established the 3520th Combat Crew Training Wing 

at Wichita on 5 June and assumed jurisdiction of the 

municipal airport (which it tentatively named Wichita 

AFB) on 7 June 1951. Concurrently ATC established 

a B-47 school, but a variety of problems kept the 

school from beginning training in 1951. 

Luke AFB, Arizona 

The command placed Luke on active status on 

1 January 1951 to augment jet fighter combat crew 

training in operation at Nellis. The program was to be 

conducted by the 127th Fighter Wing, which had 

transferred from Continental Air Command to ATC, 

effective 10 February. The wing moved from 

Romulus, Michigan, to Luke on 23 February, and on 

1 March ATC established the USAF Air Crew 

School (Fighter-Bomber/Escort) at Luke. Fighterbomber training began here on 1 March 1951. 

Effective 5 March, the 127th was redesignated as a 

pilot training wing. 

Big Spring AFB, Texas 

On 1 October 1951, ATC established the 3560th Pilot 

Training Wing (Advanced Single-Engine) at Big 

Spring, Texas. However, the command was not 

formally able to activate the base until 1 January 

1952, because the City of Big Spring had difficulty 

acquiring clear title to some of the property it 

intended to transfer to ATC. 

Bryan AFB, Texas 

Another advanced single-engine pilot school opened 

in the latter half of 1951 when ATC activated Bryan 

AFB on 1 July. On the same day, the command 

established the 3530th Pilot Training Wing 

(Advanced Single-Engine) at Bryan. 

Pinecastle AFB, Florida 

Air Training Command activated Pinecastle AFB on 

10 September 1951; however, training did not begin 

until early 1952. The 3540th Combat Crew Training 

Wing celebrated its establishment on 10 January 

1952. Pinecastle was to take part in B-47 training. 

Parks AFB, California 

On 30 June 1951, ATC added Camp Parks to its 

inventory of bases, intending to use it for basic 

military training. Effective 1 August, Headquarters 

USAF directed the camp be redesignated as Parks 

AFB. Two weeks later, on 16 August, Air Training 

Wichita Municipal Airport, Kansas.
1951 

74

Command established an Air Force indoctrination 

wing--the 3275th--at Parks; however, it was not until 

March 1952 that Parks began receiving recruits for 

basic military training. With Parks, Sampson, and 

Lackland AFBs now providing basic military 

training, Air Training Command was able to remove 

Sheppard from the basic military training program so 

that it could concentrate on training aircraft 

mechanics. 

SUBORDINATE UNITS 

Contract Squadrons Activated 

In late 1950, Air Training Command had activated 

two installations in Mississippi--Columbus AFB 

and Greenville AFB--to provide contract flying 

training. However, the two squadrons--the 3300th 

Training Squadron (Contract Flying) at Greenville 

and the 3301st--were not established until 

31 January and 1 March 1951, respectively. The 

command added seven bases to its contract flying 

training program before the year was out: Spence, 

Georgia (16 April); Bartow, Florida (1 May); 

Hondo, Texas (5 June); Malden, Missouri, and 

Bainbridge, Florida (11 July); Marana, Arizona 

(1 September); and Kinston (later redesignated 

Stallings), North Carolina (17 October). On the 

same date, the fields were activated and ATC 

organized training squadrons: the 3302d Training 

Squadron (Contract Flying) at Spence, the 3303d at 

Bartow, the 3304th at Hondo, the 3305th at Malden, 

the 3306th at Bainbridge, the 3307th at Marana, and 

the 3308th at Kinston. During World War II, all of 

these fields had served as flying training bases. 

HEADQUARTERS ORGANIZATION 

Flight Safety 

Between July 1949 and June 1951, the command saw 

a major increase in flying and a corresponding 

increase in aircraft accidents. In fiscal year 1950, a 

total of 296 major aircraft accidents were recorded, 

compared to 414 in fiscal year 1951. In an effort to 

put greater emphasis on flight safety, the ATC 

commander established a Directorate of Flight Safety 

and assigned it to the Deputy Chief of Staff, 

Operations. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

Basic Pilot Training 

The main effort during the year involved 

reaching the goal of training 7,200 pilots 

per year. To increase the number of 

applicants, ATC developed publicity 

campaigns directed at college students and 

active duty airmen. Notices at air bases 

stressed the career advantages of flying 

training to active duty airmen. A second 

tactic to increase the number of students 

involved reducing qualifications. The 

command recommended that the required 

two years of college training be dropped, 

that the age limit be lowered from 20 to 

18, that the requirement for applicants to 

be single be dropped, and that 

qualification test scores be reduced. In 

response to the ATC suggestions and to 

the low number of applicants received 

An airman first class tries his hand at a primitive device used to 

screen candidates for pilot training in the 1950s. 

These students at Chanute AFB, Illinois, are learning how 

to perform maintenance on weather equipment. 
1951 

75

These student repairmen install a terminal box atop a telephone pole. This is an example of the practical 

training received in the installer repairman phase of the fixed wire communications course at Francis E. 

Warren AFB, Wyoming. 

from August through October, the Air Force reduced 

the qualifying test score. In addition, in November, 

airmen with 18 months of active duty became eligible 

for pilot training if they had graduated from high 

school and were otherwise qualified. Finally, the Air 

Force reduced the enlistment period for qualified 

aviation candidates from four years to two. 

Combat Crew Training 

A major change in the ATC mission during the 

Korean War involved the transfer of responsibility 

for much of combat crew training from the 

operational commands to ATC. This change came 

from the Air Force's desire to dedicate the maximum 

amount of resources to combat. Further, the 

operational commands did not have the resources to 

provide the training needed by the ATC graduates 

and reservists recalled to active duty. The four major 

combat crew training programs included 

fighter/bomber escort training and B-29 combat crew 

training, both initiated in 1950; all-weather 

interceptor training; and B-47 crew training. Air 

Training Command initiated aircrew (interceptor) 

training at Tyndall AFB, Florida, on 4 January 1951, 

using F-86, F-89, and F-94 aircraft. Because the 

USAF Instrument Instructor and Aircraft Controller 

Schools were already located at Tyndall, ATC 

realized advantages through the joint use of 

expensive training equipment, such as a synthetic jet 

instrument trainer. 

B-47 Training 

Headquarters USAF transferred responsibility for 

B-47 training from SAC to ATC in January 1951. 

The implementing directive detailed the acquisition 

of bases at Wichita, Kansas, and Pinecastle, Florida; 

outlined a $100 million construction program at both 

bases; allocated 84 aircraft for the training; and 

transferred 30 experienced airplane commanders 

from SAC to serve as instructors. The designated 

successor to the B-29, the B-47 needed only a 3-man 

crew compared to the B-29's 11-man crew. 

According to the basic plan, ATC would train 49 

crews by the end of the year, but by 31 December 

1951, no crew training had been accomplished. The 

contractor had delivered ten B-47s by the end of 
1951 

76

September, but from the beginning mechanical 

problems and lack of essential equipment prevented 

training. In addition, both bases had inadequate or 

incomplete training facilities, so even if training 

equipment had been available, the bases would not 

have been prepared to accommodate the training. 

Vertical Expansion 

Even pilot training was affected by vertical 

expansion. One example was the pilot instructor 

school; Air Training Command reduced the length of 

the school from eight weeks to six, cut the interval 

between classes from one month to two weeks, and 

expanded enrollment from 49 in the last class to 

graduate at Randolph AFB to 95 in the first class to 

graduate at Craig AFB. 

Contract Flying Schools 

To meet the urgent need for more pilots, beginning in 

late 1950, ATC made arrangements with a number of 

civilian schools to establish contract flying training 

programs. By late 1951, the command was sending 

student pilots to one of the nine new contract schools. 

Air Materiel Command awarded and administered 

the contracts, while ATC set training policy and 

monitored training performance. 

Helicopter and Liaison Pilot Training 

Effective 15 January 1951, ATC returned San 

Marcos AFB, Texas, to active status so that 

helicopter and liaison aircraft training could be 

moved from James Connally. The availability of 

several small auxiliary airfields and the hilly, rough 

terrain of the San Marcos area (approximating that of 

Korea) precipitated the change. In addition to the 

course moves from James Connally, the helicopter 

and liaison aircraft mechanics courses transferred 

from Sheppard to San Marcos to make room for F-80 

and F-89 training. Most of the training offered in this 

program went to Army pilots. On 1 February 1951, 

ATC designated and assigned the 3585th Pilot 

Training Wing (Liaison-Helicopter) to San Marcos. 

Preflight Training 

Not all commissioned officers who entered pilot 

training underwent preflight instruction. Some went 

directly into the primary phase of pilot training. 

Because of the wide variance in the military training 

received by graduates of the various ROTC units and 

because the proportion of ROTC officers entering 

pilot training had increased steadily to about 65 

percent of all entries, ATC implemented a new policy 

where aviation cadets received 12 weeks of preflight 

training, and ROTC-commissioned officers received 

four weeks of training. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Mobile Training Detachments in Korea 

When a United Nations offensive pushed the front 

lines in Korea farther north, ATC deployed mobile 

training detachments to Korea to provide conversion 

training for pilots and aircraft mechanics as fighter 

wings converted from F-51s and F-80s to F-84s and 

F-86s. 

In early 1951 recruits arrived by the train load, more than doubling the population of Lackland AFB. 
1951 

77

Overcrowding at Lackland 

The Air Force announced unlimited recruiting in 

December 1950 in response to the Chinese 

intervention on the Korean peninsula. During the first 

two weeks of 1951, the population at Lackland AFB 

jumped from 36,513 to over 70,000 people, and 

training stopped temporarily. By then, the base was 

truly a "Tent City." Since base housing capacity 

stood at only 27,500, ATC took immediate steps to 

relieve the congestion at its primary recruit processing center. On 16 January ATC stopped enlisting 

personnel without any previous military experience 

and began shipping "untrained, inadequately clothed, 

and sketchily processed airmen" to other bases to get 

the situation under control. On 7 February Sampson 

AFB, New York, began providing basic military 

training. By the end of February, basic military 

training had resumed at Lackland. Shortly thereafter, 

ATC increased basic military training from seven 

weeks to eight. 

Instructor Shortage in Technical Training 

With the rapid buildup of student enrollment, ATC 

experienced two major problems in the instructor 

arena. There were not enough teachers to fill the 

classrooms, and many of those teachers didn't possess 

the skills needed to provide quality instruction. To 

solve these problems, ATC retained graduates for 

Temporary facilities (above) housed a flood of recruits arriving at Lackland AFB (below) in response to 

the military expansion brought on by the Korean conflict and the intensifying Cold War. 
1951 

78

instructor duty, traded with other commands to gain 

experienced personnel, hired civilian instructors, and 

assigned other permanent party personnel to 

instructor positions. For example, from 1 January 

through 31 March 1951, ATC gained 2,615 

instructors from its technical training graduates, 46 

from other commands, and 647 civilian hires. In a 

move to stabilize its instructor force, ATC converted 

5,500 military authorizations to civilian. By mid-year 

40 percent of ATC's instructor positions were 

civilian. 

Torch Tender Program 

Considering the large number of units Air Force-wide 

converting from conventional to jet aircraft, ATC 

established in April an on-the-job training program to 

turn out more jet mechanics. Using recently 

graduated airplane and engine mechanics, ATC 

assigned these individuals to Williams, Nellis, and 

Tyndall, to learn jet aircraft maintenance. The 

command's objective was to train 3,000 jet mechanics 

as quickly as possible. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Operating Costs 

In the space of one year, ATC almost doubled its 

operating expenses--from $371 million to $614 

million. A large part of that increase was in personnel 

expenses. Many civilian employees had been put on a 

six-day work week, and overtime increased 

dramatically. 

The F-80 jet mechanics training program included disassembling the fuselage to remove the power plant for 

the 25-hour inspection. 
79

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1952) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 42 

Alabama--Craig; Arizona--Luke, Marana, Williams; 

California--Mather and Parks; Colorado--Lowry; 

Florida--Bartow, Pinecastle, and Tyndall; Georgia-- 

Bainbridge, Moody, and Spence; Kansas--Wichita; 

Illinois--Chanute and Scott; Mississippi-- Columbus, 

Greenville, and Keesler; Missouri-- Malden; 

Nevada--Nellis; New York--Sampson; North 

Carolina--Stallings; Oklahoma--Vance; Texas--

Amarillo, Bryan, Ellington, Foster, Goodfellow, 

Harlingen, Hondo, James Connally, Lackland, 

Laredo, Laughlin, Perrin, Randolph, Reese, San 

Marcos, Sheppard, and Webb; and Wyoming--

Francis E. Warren 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 

169,712 (17,303 officers; 121,347 enlisted; 31,062 

civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 

4,768 (B-17, B-25, B-26, B-29, B-47, B-50, C-45, 

C-47, C-54, F-51, F-80, F-84, F-86, F-89, F-94, H-5, 

H-13, H-19, H-23, L-5, L-13, L-16, L-21, T-6, T-28, 

T-29, T-33, T-34) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

3 training air forces: 

CREW, Randolph AFB TX 

1952

 In the first half of the year, ATC continued to expand as it activated five more flying training bases. 

During the last half of 1952, however, the volume of training conducted steadily decreased as the supply of 

trained pilots and technicians met the Air Force demand in almost all areas. With this being the case, the 

Air Force reduced its enlistment quotas, and fewer personnel entered basic military training. With 

smaller training programs, fewer enlistments, and an Air Force austerity program in manning, ATC's 

permanent party assignments started decreasing in the last half of the year. Air Training Command 

reached its Korean War peak of 176,446 personnel in June. The Technical Training Air Force took the 

sharpest reductions, losing 10,000 manpower authorizations during the last half of the year. In 1952 a 

total of 386,701 students graduated from ATC courses, a reduction of 100,000 from the previous year. 

The most important change in the training program involved the inauguration of four-phase pilot 

training. Air Training Command completed its program of decentralization, begun in 1951, by activating

the Crew Training Air Force in March. 

Mechanics clean the guns on an F-80 in preparation for another gunnery training mission at Luke 

AFB, Arizona.

Crew 

Training 

Air Force 
1952 

80

Crew Training Air Force (contd) 

9 flying training wings: 

 3510th (Med Bomb), Randolph AFB TX 

 3520th (Med Bomb), Wichita AFB KS 

 3540th (Fighter), Pinecastle AFB FL 

 3550th (Interceptor), Moody AFB GA 

 3555th (Fighter), Perrin AFB TX 

 3595th (Fighter), Nellis AFB NV 

 3600th (Fighter), Luke AFB AZ 

 3625th (Adv Interceptor), Tyndall AFB FL 

 3645th (Fighter), Laughlin AFB TX 

FLYING, Waco TX: 

 4 observer training wings: 

 3535th, Mather AFB CA 

 3565th, James Connally AFB TX 

 3605th, Ellington AFB TX 

 3610th, Harlingen AFB TX 

 3750th, Sheppard AFB TX 

10 pilot training wings: 

3500th (Basic Multi-Eng), Reese AFB TX 

3525th (Basic Single-Eng), Williams AFB AZ 

3530th (Basic Single-Eng), Bryan AFB TX 

3545th (Primary), Goodfellow AFB TX 

3560th (Basic Single-Eng), Webb AFB TX 

3575th (Basic Multi-Eng), Vance AFB OK 

3580th (Basic Single-Eng), Foster AFB TX 

3585th, (Liaison-Helicopter) San Marcos AFB 

TX 

3615th (Basic Single-Eng), Craig AFB AL 

3640th (Basic Single-Eng), Laredo AFB TX 

 9 pilot training squadrons (contract primary): 

 3300th, Greenville AFB MS 

 3301st, Columbus AFB MS 

 3302d, Spence AB, GA 

 3303d, Bartow AB FL 

 3304th, Hondo AB TX 

 3305th, Malden AB MO 

 3306th, Bainbridge AB GA 

 3307th, Marana AB AZ 

 3308th, Stallings AB NC 

TECHNICAL, Gulfport MS: 

 7 technical training wings: 

 3310th, Scott AFB IL 

 3320th, Amarillo AFB TX 

 3345th, Chanute AFB IL 

 3380th, Keesler AFB MS 

 3415th, Lowry AFB CO 

 3450th, Francis E. Warren AFB WY 

 3750th, Sheppard AFB TX 

 3 Air Force indoctrination wings: 

 3275th, Parks AFB CA 

 3650th, Sampson AFB NY 

 3700th, Lackland AFB TX 

 1 mobile training wing: 

 3499th, Chanute AFB IL 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

Lieutenant General Harper remained the ATC 

commander throughout this period, and Major 

General McNaughton continued as vice commander. 

3275th Air Force 

Indoctrination 

Wing 
1952 

81

 ORGANIZATION 

Crew Training Air Force 

At Randolph AFB on 16 March 1952, ATC established the Crew Training Air Force (CTAF). 

Assigned to CTAF were six bases: Luke and its 

127th Pilot Training Wing, Moody and its 3550th 

Training Wing (Interceptor Aircrew), Nellis and its 

3595th Training Wing (Combat Crew), Randolph and 

its 3510th Pilot Training Wing, Tyndall and its 

3625th Training Wing, and Wichita and its 3520th 

Combat Crew Training Wing. Pinecastle became a 

CTAF base effective 16 August. Perrin came under 

CTAF control on 1 September, followed by Laughlin 

on 1 October. 

INSTALLATIONS 

5 New FTAF Bases Activated 

During 1952 ATC activated five new bases under 

Flying Training Air Force. Four of the installations 

provided basic single engine flying training: Webb, 

Laredo, Laughlin, and Foster. The fifth base, 

Harlingen, provided basic observer training. Later in 

the year ATC decided to switch Laughlin to 

advanced fighter training, and with that change the 

base became a CTAF asset. 

ATC MAJOR INSTALLATIONS--1952 
1952 

82

Laredo AFB, Texas 

Effective 1 April 1952, ATC reopened Laredo AFB 

and established the 3640th Pilot Training Wing. Later 

the parenthetical notation (Basic Single-Engine) was 

added to the designation. 

Stallings Air Base, North Carolina 

In May 1952, Air Training Command renamed 

Kinston Airfield, North Carolina, as Stallings Air 

Base in memory of Lt Bruce Stallings, a P-51 pilot 

killed in March 1945, and his brother, Lt Harry 

Stallings, a B-29 navigator killed in April 1945. 

Foster AFB, Texas 

Air Training Command returned Foster to active 

status on 1 September 1952. Earlier, on 1 May, the 

command had established the 3580th Pilot Training 

Wing (Basic Single-Engine) at Foster to prepare for 

pilot training to begin in January 1953. 

Harlingen AFB, Texas 

On 1 April 1952, ATC activated Harlingen AFB, 

Texas. At the same time, the command established 

the 3610th Observer Training Wing at Harlingen. 

Laughlin AFB, Texas 

The command brought Laughlin back on active status 

on 1 May. At the same time ATC established the 

3645th Pilot Training Wing (Basic Single-Engine) 

and assigned it to Flying Training Air Force. Then 

on 1 October the 3645th was redesignated as a flying 

training wing (fighter) and reassigned to Crew 

Training Air Force. 

Webb AFB, Texas 

In 1951 Air Training Command had established a 

pilot training wing at Big Spring, Texas, but because 

of legal considerations, the command was unable to 

activate Big Spring AFB until 1 January 1952. Four 

months later, on 18 May, ATC changed the name of 

Big Spring to Webb AFB, honoring Lt James L. 

Webb, Jr., a local Big Spring resident who was killed 

in a plane crash during a training mission in Japan in 

1949. 

Students inflate a parachute 

under the supervision of their 

instructor during class in the 

parachute rigger’s school at

Chanute AFB, Illinois. 
1952 

83

SUBORDINATE UNITS 

Wing Redesignations 

During 1952 ATC redesignated a number of its wings, as it reorganized its flying program under the Flying Training 

and Crew Training Air Forces. 

Previous Designation New Designation Date Changed

3500th PTW (Adv M-E) 3500th PTW (Basic M-E) 27 Jun 52 

3510th PTW 3510th FTW (Med Bomb) 11 Jun 52 

3520 CCTW 3520 FTW (Med Bomb) 11 Jun 52 

3525th PTW (Adv S-E) 3525th PTW (Basic S-E) 27 Jun 52 

3530th PTW (Adv S-E) 3530th PTW (Basic S-E) 27 Jun 52 

3535th BTW 3535 OTW 27 Jun 52 

3540th CCTW 3540th FTW (Fighter) 27 Jun 52 

3545th PTW (Basic) 3545th PTW (Primary) 27 Jun 52 

3550th TW (IA) 3550 FTW (Interceptor) 11 Jun 52 

3555th PTW (Basic) 3555th FTW (Fighter) 27 Jun 52 

3560th PTW (Adv S-E) 3560th PTW (Basic S-E) 27 Jun 52 

3565th PTW (Basic) 3565th OTW 27 Jun 52 

3575th PTW (Adv M-E) 3575th PTW (Basic M-E) 27 Jun 52 

3595th TW (Cmbt Crew) 3595th FTW (Fighter) 11 Jun 52 

3605th NTW 3605th OTW 27 Jun 52 

3615th PTW (Adv S-E) 3615th PTW (Basic S-E) 27 Jun 52 

3625th TW 3625th FTW (Adv Intcp) 11 Jun 52 

3640th PTW 3640th PTW (Basic S-E) Jul-Aug 52 

NOTE: CCTW = combat crew training wing; FTW = flying training wing; Med Bomb = medium bombardment; 

M-E = multi-engine; NTW = navigator training wing; OTW = observer training wing; PTW = pilot training wing; 

S-E = single-engine; TW = training wing. 

A student pilot approaches his 

assigned AT-6 "Texan" on the 

ramp at Randolph AFB, Texas. 

Note the unique nose art which

included a picture of the "Taj." 
1952 

84

3499th Mobile Training Wing 

On 4 November 1952, ATC redesignated the 3499th 

Mobile Training Group as a wing. Previously, the 

mobile training group had been a part of the 3499th 

Training Aids Wing, until the command discontinued 

the wing in early 1952. 

3750th Observer Training Group 

Air Training Command established the 3750th 

Observer Training Group at Sheppard on 10 October 

1952 and assigned it to Flying Training Air Force. 

The group operated at Sheppard until its inactivation 

on 15 March 1954. At that time, its training mission 

moved to James Connally. 

3600th Flying Training Wing (Fighter) 

The command discontinued the 127th Pilot Training 

Wing at Luke on 1 November and established the 

3600th Flying Training Wing (Fighter). 

Contract Flying Squadrons Redesignated 

Effective 27 June 1952, ATC redesignated all nine of 

its training squadrons (contract flying) as pilot 

training squadrons (contract primary). 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

Basic Renamed Primary Pilot Training 

In 1952 ATC renamed basic pilot training, the first 

phase of flying training, as "primary" training. The 

advanced flying phase became "basic pilot training." 

The change came with the activation of the Crew 

Training Air Force in March 1952, with its charter of 

conducting advanced pilot training. Primary and 

basic pilot training fell under ATC's Flying Training 

Air Force. 

Interceptor Training 

Mechanical difficulties with the F-89 aircraft 

prevented ATC from training any students in this 

aircraft during the year. The F-86D program 

graduated 46 pilots during the year compared to a 

training plan of 1,200 per year (later reduced to 710 

due to problems with the aircraft). The only 

significant interceptor pilot production occurred in 

F-94 aircraft, in which 598 pilots graduated (slightly 

below the 650 annual goal). 

Two students in the cockpit of a Lockheed F-94C "Starfire" prepare to take off on an interceptor combat 

crew training mission at Moody AFB, Georgia. 
1952 

85

Four-Phase Pilot Training 

The most important change in training during the 

year involved the adoption of a four-phase pilot 

training program in November, with no change in 

flying hours. Part one of the program included 12 

weeks of preflight training. The second part, called 

primary training, required 18 weeks and featured 

120 hours of T-6 flight training. Part three, the basic

flight phase, lasted 16 weeks and included 130 hours 

of flying. This phase included flying in both the T-6 

or T-28 and in tactical aircraft (T-33 jet trainer, F-80 

jet fighter, F-51 conventional fighter, or B-25 multiengine bomber). At the end of the third phase, cadets 

were commissioned and received pilot wings. The 

fourth phase of pilot training featured crew training 

and covered an average of 12 weeks. Total time spent 

in training lasted nearly 16 months. The first class to 

begin the four-phase program was 53-H (later 

changed to 54-A/B/C), which entered training at all 

flying bases on 3 November. 

Initiatives to Increase Pilot Applicants 

In an effort to increase the number of pilot training 

applicants, ATC created aviation cadet selection 

teams to visit colleges across the nation. The first two 

teams came into existence in January. Along with 

other initiatives begun in 1951, ATC finally began to 

see the number of pilot training applicants increase. 

By April the monthly average had risen from less 

than 750 to over 3,800. 

B-47 Training 

The shortage of airplanes that hindered the B-47 

training program in 1951 continued through much of 

1952. Fourteen three-man crews received training 

during the year at Wichita. The first B-47 students at 

Pinecastle began training on 22 December. 

B-26 Transition Training 

To provide trained B-26 crews for the advanced 

combat training TAC offered, ATC developed a fourweek transition program for rated officers. Perrin 

AFB hosted the course which started in April. 

Because the B-26 had been used during World War 

II, ATC experienced no difficulty in obtaining 

aircraft or in producing trained crews. 

Fighter-Bomber Crew Training 

In April ATC reduced its training requirements from 

1,110 F-80 pilots per year to 288 and stopped all F-80 

training in September. In November 1951 ATC had 

planned to train 345 F-51 pilots per year, but in April 

1952 the command instead directed the elimination of 

the program following the graduation of the 30 June 

class. As training for these older fighters decreased, 

programs for the newer F-84 and F-86 aircraft 

increased. Quotas for the F-84 grew from 420 in the 

November 1951 plan to 588 under the April 1952 

schedule. For the new F-86 training course, ATC 

doubled its planned quotas from its initial 508, set in 

April 1952, to 1,224 in October.

Helicopter Training 

With the introduction of the H-19 at San Marcos, 

ATC cut helicopter training from 11 weeks to 10. 

Observer Training 

During the year, ATC revised its observer training 

program based on a 1 November 1951 training 

directive. Instead of three separate courses--cadet and 

nonrated officers, rated bombardiers and navigators, 

and pilots--ATC implemented a single basic observer 

course, with advanced training related to specific 

aircraft. Complete conversion to a single observer 

program was delayed by the necessity of providing 

refresher courses to navigators, bombardiers, and 

radar observers who had been trained during World 

War II. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Contract Schools Use Reduced 

The command decreased its reliance on civilian 

contract and other service schools during the year. In 

December 1951 the Air Force had more than 13,000 

students enrolled in Army and contract schools. By 

June 1952 that number had been cut in half. At 

contract schools, the student load declined from 

15,000 enrollments in June 1951 to 2,050 in June 

1952. The number of contract schools ATC used 

declined from 53 to 5. 

Changes in Technology 

The continued introduction of new aircraft and 

equipment forced ATC to develop new courses. 

Among the technical training courses begun in 1952 

were specialized B-47 courses and F-86E and F-89 

aircraft mechanic classes. As in 1951, the delayed 

delivery of new equipment to ATC caused shortages 

in trained technicians. Some of the most critical 

shortages were in the communications-electronics 

fields, because the command could not get the new 

cryptographic and electronic countermeasures (ECM) 

equipment being prepared for the war effort. In 

October ATC established an ECM operator-mechanic 

course at Keesler. Retention of instructors became an 

increasing problem. Reenlistment rates among 

electronics instructors dropped, and ATC 

experienced a high turnover among its civilian 

instructors as private industry offered these groups 

more money for their experience and expertise. 

Mechanic Training 

In 1952, when the Air Force listed its 13 most critical 

specialties, 10 were in aircraft maintenance fields. In 

February ATC estimated that the Air Force would 
1952 

86

have a shortage of 32,000 aircraft mechanics by 

30 June 1953. Most frustrating for the command was 

the fact that the capability existed to train far more 

mechanics. Air Training Command estimated it could 

train an additional 35,000 mechanics yearly if the Air 

Staff would increase the student load ceilings at 

Amarillo and Sheppard--the two main aircraft 

mechanic training centers; if the command had 

sufficient training equipment; and if more airmen 

could be funneled through the induction centers. 

Officials at ATC argued that recruiting should be 

intensified to gain inductees and that the major air 

commands should provide more training aircraft. At 

Amarillo, only one F-89, one F-86F, and three B-47s 

were available for aircraft mechanic training, forcing 

two or three classes to use the same aircraft at any 

one time. 

MILITARY TRAINING 

Training Extended 

During the years before the Korean War, basic 

military training had lasted anywhere from 4 to 13 

weeks. In the rush to flow recruits through the 

training system and into the theater of conflict, ATC 

reduced the course to seven weeks in 1950 and then 

to two weeks in January 1951. After the initial push, 

ATC reintroduced the eight-week course and urged 

the Air Staff to lengthen the course. 

In July 1952 the Air Staff approved 

a 12-week course, which ATC 

implemented on 1 August at 

Lackland and Parks and on 

1 September at Sampson. However, 

after only two months, the Air Staff 

decided that the course should be 

shortened, and ATC developed an 

11-week program to begin in 

January 1953. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Operation Sign Post 

Air Defense Command conducted a 

nationwide air defense exercise 24-

28 July, with the aid of Tactical Air 

Command and Air Training 

Command. At that time, ATC had a 

fairly heavy requirement to provide 

air defense support, as shown by 

the fact that over 50 percent of the 

aircraft used in the exercise 

belonged to ATC. The operation 

was a costly venture for ATC, 

because the majority of the aircraft 

deployed were those used in flying 

training programs. That cost the 

command thousands of lost student 

flying training hours. 

International Training has always been an important part of the 

AETC mission. Through the Mutual Defense Assistance Program, 

hundreds of international students received flying or technical 

training at various ATC bases. In 1952 Yugoslavian and Taiwanese 

students joined the growing list of countries. The lower photo shows 

the first Taiwanese students to receive jet training at Williams AFB, 

Arizona. The upper photo shows graduating Dutch aviation cadets in 

formation at Vance AFB, Oklahoma. 
87

1953

As in the previous year, the volume of training conducted steadily decreased during 1953. Air Training 

Command graduated 333,332 students from all its training programs, down from 439,991. Pilot production 

for the year neared the planned 7,200, but the crew training program failed to produce 7,200 combat-ready 

pilots from its advanced courses. In May the Air Staff dropped its plans to reach a production of 10,000 

pilots annually and postponed plans to build up to 143 wings. Instead, the Air Staff looked to establish 120 

wings by 30 June 1956. The Air Staff shortened basic military training, despite ATC objections, as a cost 

saving device. The command's permanent party assignments continued to decline despite the activation of an 

additional base. The Air Staff reduced the size of Headquarters ATC to 839 personnel authorizations as of 

31 December, less than half the 1,729 assigned at the start of the Korean War. The Korean War ended on 

27 July. During the three-year conflict, ATC produced 11,947 combat-ready pilots and graduated over 

1,000,000 personnel from its various courses. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1953) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 43 

Alabama--Craig; Arizona--Luke, Marana, and Williams; California--

Mather and Parks; Colorado--Lowry; Florida--Bartow, Graham, 

Pinecastle, and Tyndall; Georgia--Bainbridge, Moody, and Spence; 

Kansas--Wichita; Illinois--Chanute and Scott; Mississippi--Columbus, 

Greenville, and Keesler; Missouri--Malden; Nevada--Nellis; New 

York--Sampson; North Carolina--Stallings; Oklahoma--Vance; Texas--

Amarillo, Bryan, Ellington, Foster, Gary, Goodfellow, Harlingen, 

Hondo, James Connally, Lackland, Laredo, Laughlin, Perrin, 

Randolph, Reese, Sheppard, and Webb; and Wyoming--Francis E. 

Warren 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 158,042 (15,974 officers; 113,454 enlisted; 28,614 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 4,702 (B-25, B-26, B-29, B-47, B-50, C-45, C-47, F-80, F-84, F-86, 

F-89, F-94, H-5, H-13, H-19, L-5, L-13, L-16, L-17, L-19, L-21, T-6, 

T-28, T-29, T-33, T-34) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 3 training air forces: 

CREW, Randolph AFB TX 

9 flying training wings: 

3510th (Medium Bombardment), Randolph AFB TX 

3520th (Medium Bombardment), Wichita AFB KS 

3540th (Fighter), Pinecastle AFB FL 

3550th (Interceptor), Moody AFB GA 

3555th (Fighter), Perrin AFB TX 

3595th (Fighter), Nellis AFB NV 

3600th (Fighter), Luke AFB AZ 

3625th (Advanced Interceptor), Tyndall AFB FL 

3645th (Fighter), Laughlin AFB TX 
1953 

88

FLYING, Waco TX: 

4 observer training wings: 

3535th, Mather AFB CA 

3565th, James Connally AFB TX 

3605th, Ellington AFB TX 

3610th, Harlingen AFB TX 

11 pilot training wings: 

3500th (Basic Multi-Eng), Reese AFB TX 

3505th (Basic Single-Eng), Greenville AFB 

MS 

3525th (Basic Single-Eng), Williams AFB AZ 

3530th (Basic Single-Eng), Bryan AFB TX 

3545th (Primary), Goodfellow AFB TX 

3560th (Basic Single-Eng), Webb AFB TX 

3575th (Basic Multi-Eng), Vance AFB OK 

3580th (Basic Single-Eng), Foster AFB TX 

3585th (Liaison-Helicopter), Gary AFB TX 

3615th (Basic Single-Eng), Craig AFB AL 

3640th (Basic Single-Eng), Laredo AFB TX 

9 independent pilot training squadrons (contract 

primary): 

 3300th, Graham AB FL 

 3301st, Columbus AFB MS 

 3302d, Spence AB, GA 

 3303d, Bartow AB FL 

 3304th, Hondo AB TX 

 3305th, Malden AB MO 

 3306th, Bainbridge AB GA 

 3307th, Marana AB AZ 

 3308th, Stallings AB NC 

TECHNICAL, Gulfport MS: 

7 technical training wings: 

3310th, Scott AFB IL 

3320th, Amarillo AFB TX 

3345th, Chanute AFB IL 

3380th, Keesler AFB MS 

3415th, Lowry AFB CO 

3450th, Francis E. Warren AFB WY 

3750th, Sheppard AFB TX 

3 military training wings: 

3275th, Parks AFB CA 

3650th, Sampson AFB NY 

3700th, Lackland AFB TX 

1 mobile training wing: 

3499th, Chanute AFB IL 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

Lieutenant General Harper remained the 

commander through this period. On 1 July Maj Gen 

Glenn O. Barcus succeeded General McNaughton as 

vice commander. 

ORGANIZATION 

INSTALLATIONS 

Graham Air Base, Florida 

Air Training Command activated Graham Air Base 

on 27 January 1953 to replace Greenville AFB as a 

contract primary pilot training school. Greenville 

then became an ATC basic single-engine pilot 

training school. 

Gary AFB, Texas 

On 10 May 1953, ATC changed the name of San 

Marcos AFB to Gary AFB to honor Lt Arthur 

Edward Gary, killed in the Philippines in 1941. Gary 

was a native of San Marcos. 

NAMED ACTIVITIES 

Officer Military Schools 

To consolidate its officer training activities, ATC 

established the USAF Officer Military Schools at 

Lackland, effective 1 August 1953. The command 

3310th Technical 

Training Wing

3610th Observer

Training Wing 
1953 

89

changed its Officer Candidate School (OCS) 

curriculum to include 86 hours of air base defense 

instruction and to provide greater emphasis on 

military training. The first class to receive the new 

syllabus would begin training in January 1954. 

During the last quarter of 1953, the OCS class quotas 

dropped from 600 to 156 per quarter. In the officer 

basic military course, the Air Staff limited this direct 

commissioning program to applicants from medical, 

legal, chaplain, and meteorological fields during the 

last half of the year. 

SUBORDINATE UNITS 

3505th Pilot Training Wing 

In April 1953 Greenville AFB, Mississippi, began 

basic single-engine pilot training. That mission was 

performed by the 3505th Pilot Training Wing (Basic 

Single-Engine), which ATC had activated on 

1 February 1953. 

Military Training Wings 

On 6 January 1953, Technical Training Air Force 

redesignated its three indoctrination wings--the 

3700th at Lackland, the 3650th at Sampson, and the 

3275th at Parks--as military training wings. 

TRAINING 

Changes in Technology 

As the B-26 aircraft left the Air Force inventory, 

ATC converted Perrin AFB, Texas, from B-26 

training to all-weather interceptor crew training. 

After April 1953, all advanced flying training used jet 

aircraft, except that accomplished on B-26 and B-29 

bombers. There was also a significant increase in the 

number of specialized technical training courses as 

new equipment, primarily electronic, moved into the 

Air Force inventory. Typically, training equipment, 

spare parts, and experienced instructors were often 

scarce. Courses for specialties such as missile 

guidance, radio-radar, and rocket propulsion received 

emphasis in 1953. 

FLYING TRAINING 

Pilot Production 

To attain its annual pilot production target, ATC 

attempted to reduce the attrition rate to the 29 percent 

upon which the command based its planning. If and 

when the graduations from basic flight training 

increased, ATC faced a second problem—

deficiencies in the advanced training program. In 

Shown is a general view of the flight line at Perrin AFB, Texas, in the 1950s. This ATC base conducted F-86D 

interceptor crew training. 
1953 

90

preflight training alone, Air Training Command saw 

an average of 14.2 percent attrition in the first half of 

1953. Large numbers of students dropped out 

because of physical problems. Improved screening 

procedures corrected that problem. However, a 

second problem affected student motivation. With the 

lessening of tensions in Korea, the sense of urgency 

and of need to serve one's country had diminished. 

Training Realignments 

Air Training Command had added Foster AFB, 

Texas, to its basic single-engine training program in 

1952, and the base accepted its first students in 

February 1953. Greenville AFB, Mississippi, 

switched from operating a contract primary school to 

conducting basic single-engine training in April. 

With this realignment, Perrin, Goodfellow, Gary, and 

Craig discontinued basic single-engine training and 

concentrated on primary missions: interceptor 

training at Perrin, primary pilot instruction at 

Goodfellow, helicopter and liaison training at Gary, 

and pilot instructor training at Craig. 

Interceptor Training 

During the year, ATC consolidated its interceptor 

training. Previously, the command gave instrument 

training at Moody, with applied training at either 

Tyndall or Perrin. Under the revised curriculum, each 

of the three bases provided both phases of training. 

Perrin and Tyndall concentrated on the F-86D, and 

Moody trained on the F-89 and F-94. 

B-29 Training 

Strategic Air Command transferred B-29 crew 

training to ATC during 1953. 

B-47 Training 

Pinecastle AFB in Florida produced its first fullytrained B-47 bomber crews during 1953. In the last 

half of the year, ATC provided training for over 

1,300 students on the B-47. Even though ATC 

increased training on the B-47 by the end of the year, 

the Air Staff had decided to make B-47 crew training 

the responsibility of SAC, the using command. 

This is an interior view of the Convair T-29D, which ATC used for navigator training. The "D" 

model had no astrodomes and carried six students and an instructor. 
1953 

91

Advanced Multi-Engine Training 

The command began a new advanced multi-engine 

training program involving the T-29 and B-25 

aircraft, with plans to add TC-54 and B-50 aircraft in 

the coming year. On 1 September Air Training 

Command established advanced multi-engine schools 

at Mather in California and James Connally, 

Ellington, and Harlingen in Texas as a part of Flying 

Training Air Force and at Keesler in Mississippi, 

under Technical Training Air Force. 

Observer Training 

The implementation of the four-phase flying training 

program in 1952 created an imbalance with the 

observer training program. Students in the observer 

program could receive their commission much more 

quickly than those in the lengthened flying training 

program. To rectify the situation, ATC added a 

preflight course to the observer training program, 

similar to that given to students in flying training. 

Other major changes in observer training included the 

implementation of B-57 bomber-observer and B-26 

tactical reconnaissance training at Mather. 

Mutual Defense Assistance Program 

For the first time in its history, the Mutual Defense 

Assistance Program (MDAP) used a quota system to 

fill training requests. Almost 40 percent of the quotas 

were used by West Germany. In addition, six new 

countries began receiving training authorizations 

under MDAP: Spain, Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, 

Syria, and South Korea. Air Training Command had 

provided instruction for various Arab countries prior 

to 1953, but never as a part of MDAP. 

Training Program Drawdown 

With the end of the Korean War, Air Training 

Command shut down many of its flying training 

courses. For example, during April the B-50 observer 

program entered its final class, and in June B-29 

gunnery and bombardier refresher training ceased. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Training Program Changes 

During the year, ATC made three curricula changes 

which significantly affected its training program. In 

July ATC moved factory training courses to its 

technical training centers. In September the command 

revised all advanced officer and airman courses to a 

maximum of 19 weeks, saving permanent change of 

station (PCS) funds. Then in October ATC reverted 

to a five-day academic week. Overall, there was a 

shift from general instruction to more specialized 

training. In November the Air Staff issued a new 

technical training directive that defined the difference 

Air Training 

Command began 

acquiring the 

Beech T-34A 

“Mentor” in 1954. 

The T-34 replaced 

the AT-6 and other 

types of aircraft in 

primary training. 
1953 

92

between formal training and on-the-job training and 

delineated the responsibilities of ATC and of the 

using agencies. 

MILITARY TRAINING 

Training Reduced 

To save money, the Air Staff decreased basic military 

training from 12 to 9 weeks; ATC implemented the 

change at Lackland in January and at Parks and 

Sampson in February. During the first half of 1953, 

the Air Staff reduced its induction quotas from 

10,000 to 15,000 per month to less than 5,000. With 

the lower quotas, ATC no longer needed to use Parks 

for basic military training, so BMT phased out at the 

end of September. (Parks continued to be used for air 

base defense training and processing oversees 

returnees. The command had established the air base 

defense school at Parks in September 1952.) 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Mission Change 

With the addition of crew training and the acquisition 

of interceptor aircraft, HQ USAF decided effective 

20 October to assign ATC responsibility for 

supporting Air Defense Command (ADC). All three 

of ATC's interceptor training bases had air defense 

commitments. Moody maintained two combat-ready 

aircraft and crews on five-minute active air alert as 

ADC augmentation forces. Tyndall had a requirement 

to deploy 16 combat-ready F-86D aircraft and to 

maintain 16 others in a 4-hour readiness state in the 

event of an emergency. Perrin maintained an ADC 

defense squadron manned with ATC aircraft and 

instructor pilots as part of the active air alert force. 

Construction Savings 

In February the federal government imposed a freeze 

on military construction and began reviewing its 

building program. The Secretary of the Air Force 

canceled or deferred nearly one-third of ATC's 

projects--almost $25 million. The greatest single 

block of cancellations involved the decision to delay 

activation of Moore Field, Texas, as a flying training 

base. That saved ATC $8 million. 

Operation Tail Wind 

On 11 and 12 July, Air Defense Command tested its 

augmentation plan. A total of seven ATC bases 

actively participated in the exercise, deploying 

aircraft and aircrews, as well as supporting the ADC 

radar net. 

Radar students at Keesler AFB, Mississippi, learn to install and operate 

various radar systems. 
93

1954

During the year, pilot training leveled out at 7,000 per year, observer training remained unchanged, and 

technical training production jumped from 30,000 at the end of 1953 to 47,000 by the end of June 1954. In 

the last half of the year, Headquarters USAF told ATC that beginning in FY 57 pilot production would drop 

to 4,800. That would be enough to support a 137-wing Air Force. Production was to be evenly divided 

between single- and multi-engine aircraft. In 1954, 65 percent of pilot trainees received single-engine 

instruction and 35 percent multi-engine. Although the reduction from 7,000 to 4,800 pilots per year was a 30 

percent cut in production, ATC only recommended releasing two of its 17 bases involved in pilot training. 

According to ATC officials, the five basic single-engine training bases could be reduced to four. 

Headquarters USAF wanted the production slowdown to be a gradual effort. That was partially because 

civilian contractors operated the nine primary flying schools, and the Air Force didn't want to cause financial 

hardship for them. By cutting production gradually, each contractor had time to adjust the size of his 

operation. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1954) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 42 

Alabama--Craig; Arizona--Luke, Marana, and Williams; California--

Mather and Parks; Colorado--Lowry; Florida--Bartow, Graham, and 

Tyndall; Georgia--Bainbridge, Moody, and Spence; 

Kansas--McConnell; Illinois-- Chanute and Scott; Mississippi--

Columbus, Greenville, and Keesler; Missouri--Malden; Nevada--Nellis 

and Stead; New York--Sampson; North Carolina--Stallings; 

Oklahoma-- Vance; Texas--Amarillo, Bryan, Ellington, Gary, 

Goodfellow, Harlingen, Hondo, James Connally, Lackland, Laredo, 

Laughlin, Perrin, Randolph, Reese, Sheppard, and Webb; and 

Wyoming--Francis E. Warren 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 156,773 (16,078 officers; 111,739 enlisted; 28,956 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 4,702 (B-25, B-26, B-29, B-47, B-57, F-51, F-80, F-84, F-86, F-89, 

F-94, F-100, H-5, H-13, H-19, H-21, L-19, L-21, T-6, T-28, T-29, 

T-33, T-34) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

1 USAF recruiting wing: 

 3500th, Wright-Patterson AFB OH 

3 training air forces:

CREW, Randolph AFB TX 

 9 combat crew training wings: 

 3510th (Med Bomb), Randolph AFB TX 

 3520th (Med Bomb), McConnell AFB KS 

 3550th (Interceptor), Moody AFB GA 

 3555th (Adv Interceptor), Perrin AFB TX 

 

3595th (Fighter), Nellis AFB NV 

 3600th (Fighter), Luke AFB AZ 

 3625th (Adv Interceptor), Tyndall AFB FL 

 3635th (Survival), Stead AFB NV 

 3645th (Fighter), Laughlin AFB TX 

FLYING, Waco TX: 

 4 aircraft observer training wings: 

 3535th, Mather AFB CA 

 3565th, James Connally AFB TX 

 3605th, Ellington AFB TX 

 3610th, Harlingen AFB TX 
1954 

94

Flying Training Air Force (contd) 

 2 flying training wings: 

3585th (Liaison-Helicopter), Gary AFB TX 

 3615th (Basic Single-Eng) Craig AFB AL 

 8 pilot training wings: 

3500th (Basic Multi-Eng), Reese AFB TX 

3505th (Basic Single-Eng), Greenville AFB 

MS 

3525th (Basic Single-Eng), Williams AFB AZ 

3530th (Basic Single-Eng), Bryan AFB TX 

3545th (Basic Multi-Eng), Goodfellow AFB 

TX 

3560th (Basic Single-Eng), Webb AFB TX 

3575th (Basic Multi-Eng), Vance AFB OK 

3640th (Basic Single-Eng), Laredo AFB TX 

 9 independent pilot training squadrons (contract 

primary): 

 3300th, Graham AB FL 

 3301st, Columbus AFB MS 

 3302d, Spence AB, GA 

 3303d, Bartow AB FL 

 3304th, Hondo AB TX 

 3305th, Malden AB MO 

 3306th, Bainbridge AB GA 

 3307th, Marana AB AZ 

 3308th, Stallings AB NC 

TECHNICAL, Gulfport MS: 

 7 technical training wings: 

 3310th, Scott AFB IL 

 3320th, Amarillo AFB TX 

 3345th, Chanute AFB IL 

 3380th, Keesler AFB MS 

 3415th, Lowry AFB CO 

 3450th, Francis E. Warren AFB WY 

 3750th, Sheppard AFB TX 

 3 military training wings: 

 3275th, Parks AFB CA 

 3650th, Sampson AFB NY 

 3700th, Lackland AFB TX 

 1 mobile training wing: 

 3499th, Chanute AFB IL 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

On 1 July 1954, the ATC Vice Commander, Maj 

Gen Glenn O. Barcus temporarily assumed command 

of ATC from Lieutenant General Harper, who retired. 

Barcus was replaced on 26 July by Lt Gen Charles T. 

Myers, who had previously served as Commander, 

Northeast Air Command. Also on 2 July, Maj Gen 

Edward H. Underhill replaced Major General Barcus 

as vice commander. 

ORGANIZATION 

INSTALLATIONS 

McConnell AFB, Kansas 

On 12 April 1954, ATC redesignated Wichita AFB as 

McConnell AFB, honoring two brothers--Lt 

Thomas L. McConnell, killed in the South Pacific in 

3585th Flying

Training Wing

Maj Gen 

Glenn O. Barcus

Lt Gen 

Charles T. Myers
1954 

95

1943, and Capt Fred M. McConnell, Jr., who died in 

a plane crash in Korea in 1945. 

SUBORDINATE UNITS 

Recruiting Wing Activated 

On 10 April 1954, as a part of its plan to manage Air 

Force recruiting, ATC activated the 3500th USAF 

Recruiting Wing at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. The 

command formed the new unit using personnel from 

the former 3500th Personnel Processing Group, 

which had been assigned at Waco. 

3635th Combat Crew Training Wing 

Effective 1 September 1954, SAC transferred the 

3904th Composite Wing at Stead AFB, Nevada, to 

ATC. On that same date, ATC discontinued the 

3904th and established the 3635th Combat Crew 

Training Wing (Survival) and assigned it to Crew 

Training Air Force. 

Wing Redesignations 

In September-October 1954, ATC redesignated its 

eight flying training wings as combat crew training 

wings to describe their mission better. The command 

also renamed its four observer training wings as 

aircraft observer training wings, effective 

10 September, and redesignated two pilot training 

wings--the 3615th at Craig and the 3585th at Gary--

as flying training wings. 

HEADQUARTERS ORGANIZATION 

DCS/Installations 

Air Training Command established a new 

headquarters function, Deputy Chief of Staff, Installations, on 12 August 1954. This was the forerunner 

of civil engineering. 

TRAINING 

Missile Training 

In August ATC learned that it would be assisting Air 

Defense Command with air-to-air missile training of 

ADC units. Although the Air Staff suggested using 

Tyndall as the site for such training, in November 

ATC and ADC reached agreement on establishing 

missile training at Moody AFB, Georgia. Training 

would begin in February 1955. 

FLYING TRAINING 

Combat Crew Training Transferred 

Air Training Command returned various combat 

crew training responsibilities to SAC and TAC in 

1954. Among these was the transfer of Pinecastle 

AFB, Florida, and its B-47 training mission to SAC 

on 1 January 1954 and the transfer of Foster to TAC 

on 1 July. In addition, SAC took over B-47 training 

at McConnell AFB, Kansas, but ATC continued 

providing B-47 transition training. At Vance, TAC 

began providing B-26 combat crew training. 

The Century Problem 

In World War II, pilots flew propeller-driven aircraft. 

After the war the all-jet combat force began to take 

shape. The next step was replacement of subsonic jets 

with supersonic jets, which posed the "Century 

Problem" for ATC. Tactical wings had already begun 

receiving the new 100-series aircraft, while ATC 

schools still had to make do with a combination of 

T-34s, T-28s, and T-33s. (In fact, ATC received its 

first F-100 in August 1954 at Nellis, but not long 

after the Air Force grounded all F-100s following 

three major accidents. As a result, ATC officials 

believed it would be 1956 before the command could 

begin training.) With this outdated training, graduates 

were handicapped before they reached their first 

assignment. In the eyes of ATC officials, the only 

way to improve the quality of pilot trainees was by 

acquiring new trainer aircraft. Planners felt three new 

trainers were needed. The first, the T-34, had already 

begun to arrive in ATC in significant numbers by the 

end of the year. The second, a T-37 twin-jet trainer, 

was intended to replace the conventional T-28 in the 

second phase of primary training. When the T-37 

came onboard, that meant for the first time ATC 

would be using a jet trainer in primary training. The 

third trainer was intended to replace the T-33 in basic 

single-engine training. Its purpose would be to 

prepare student pilots for supersonic flight. What that 

aircraft would be was still to be determined. 

Basic Pilot Training 

With the Korean War past, USAF officials became 

concerned that ATC was producing too many pilots 

and that training costs needed to be reduced. The Air 

Staff decided the best way to handle the problem was 

by limiting advanced combat flying training to pilots 

who signed an agreement to remain in the service for 

four years beyond graduation from basic pilot 

training. The first class asked to sign such agreements 

was 55-G. About 44 percent signed. By the end of the 

year, it was obvious that too many pilots were being 

trained. The command had had great difficulty 

placing graduates of basic pilot training. In fact, 

during the last three months of the year, a total of 178 

graduates were transferred to technical training 

programs, when ATC was unable to find cockpit 

assignments for these individuals. Also as a result of 

this overproduction, ATC temporarily discontinued 

its advanced multi-engine training program (B-25s, 

B-50s, and T-29s) in December. 
1954 

96

Student officers in the USAF Bombardment 

School, Mather AFB, California, on a training 

mission in a modified Douglas C-54 "Skymaster." 

This C-54, the only one of its kind in use during 

the 1950s, could accommodate 21 students. The 

more common bombing trainer was the B-25. 

Basic Single-Engine Training 

In 1954 ATC reduced its basic single-engine pilot 

schools from seven to five. James Connally returned 

to observer training, and on 1 July ATC transferred 

Foster AFB to TAC. The command was able to do 

this because bases like Greenville and Laredo had 

acquired sufficient facilities to assume their full share 

of the training load. In addition, the days of split-shift 

training (T-28s in phase one and T-33s in phase two) 

were over. All five bases--Bryan, Greenville, Laredo, 

Webb, and Williams--used the single-engine curriculum. The command even saw quality of training 

improve because of the increased number of hours 

students received in the T-33. 

Observer Training 

As a cost-cutting measure, Headquarters USAF 

directed ATC in November 1953 to reorganize its 

observer training program and decrease training time. 

Air Training Command managed the restructure by 

converting primary observer training into a primarybasic course and by providing advanced instruction in 

the basic course. Under the new program, every 

graduate of primary-basic training would be a 

qualified navigator. At the beginning of the year, nine 

ATC bases provided various types of observer 

training. Lackland taught preflight, Ellington and 

Harlingen gave primary training, while Mather, 

Lowry, Keesler, James Connally, and Sheppard 

provided advanced training. Sheppard was only in the 

program temporarily to help relieve congestion at 

James Connally, and Lowry dropped out of the 

program in November when armament instruction 

ended. By 31 December, only five bases remained in 

the observer program: Mather, James Connally, 

Harlingen, Ellington, and Keesler.

Contract Primary Flying Training 

Since the formation of the primary contract flying 

training schools in the early 1950s, the only military 

base to provide primary training was Goodfellow. It 

had been kept in that position to monitor the training 

given by the contractors. By the end of 1953, ATC 

was satisfied with the quality of training provided by 

the schools, and officials felt it was unnecessary for 

Goodfellow to continue its monitoring role. Instead, 

in February 1954 Goodfellow converted to basic 

multi-engine pilot training. Meanwhile, the contract 

schools were in the midst of a major aircraft 

conversion. Beginning in May, Marana started 

receiving T-34s and T-28s to replace the older T-6s 

and PA-18s. The Spence school reported the arrival 

of its first T-34s in June, and Bainbridge and 

Columbus started receiving new aircraft in 

September. By year's end, Marana had received 55 

T-34s and Spence had 56. The government-owned 

T-6s were turned over to Air Materiel Command. The 

PA-18s belonged to the contractors. Contractors 

reported that they would give several of these surplus 

aircraft to the Civil Air Patrol in early 1955. 

C-119 and B-57 Training 

At Randolph B-29 combat crew training had to be 

sharply curtailed midway through the year, so that the 

base could prepare for operation of a four-engine 

transport school, using the C-119. Student training 

began in July. In addition, Randolph began its first 

B-57 pilot training course in late October. While 

some classroom instruction took place, students did 

not fly the B-57 in 1954. It was November before 

ATC received its first four B-57s, and another four 

aircraft arrived in December; however, the command 

had immediate maintenance problems with the 

aircraft, recording an in-commission rate of only 

seven percent. Besides the maintenance problems, 

Air Training Command also had difficulty finding 

qualified instructors. Because of the newness of the 

aircraft, most qualified pilots were assigned to TAC 

units converting to the B-57. The Randolph training 

program had to qualify T-33 pilots as B-57 

instructors. 
1954 

97

Air Training Command operated a 15-day 

survival course at Stead AFB, Nevada, for Air 

Force bomber crews. Here, an aircrew member 

learns how to use a rack to smoke fresh meat. 

Survival Training 

Since October 1950, SAC had taught survival 

techniques for downed aircraft crews. The first 

course was held at Camp Carson, Colorado, and in 

1952 the training moved to Stead AFB, Nevada. 

Originally, SAC had begun the training for its 

personnel, teaching them how to survive if forced 

down in remote and/or unfriendly terrain, how to 

escape capture, and how to escape if captured. Later 

other commands used the training. In the spring of 

1954, since ATC had primary responsibility for 

training, Air Force officials decided to transfer 

survival training to ATC. On 1 September 1954, SAC 

transferred its survival training mission to ATC, 

along with Stead. 

Basic Multi-Engine Training 

Here again production was exceeding need. The 

command had made the decision to change its 

proportion of single-engine graduates to multiengine--from a 75/25 mix to 65/35. This was 

accomplished by transferring Goodfellow from 

primary pilot training to multi-engine instruction in 

the first half of 1954. Also training multi-engine 

pilots were Reese and Vance. 

Interceptor Weapons Training 

The command established interceptor weapons 

instructor training at Moody and Tyndall in July. To 

inject more realism into the training, ATC made 

arrangements with SAC to allow instructor pilots to 

fly intercept missions against SAC bombers. 

Atomic, Biological, and Chemical Warfare 

For several years, the Armed Forces Special 

Weapons Project at Sandia Base, New Mexico, had 

provided all atomic, biological, and chemical (ABC) 

warfare training for the Air Force. Beginning in 

October 1954, ATC added ABC instruction to its 

bomber training program at Randolph and its fighter 

pilot programs at Luke and Nellis. In addition, ATC 

established six general ABC courses to train aircrews 

already in the field, using mobile training teams. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Lowry Interim Site of AF Academy 

In July 1954 USAF officials named Lowry as the 

interim site for the new Air Force Academy. At the 

same time, SAC also wanted to use Lowry to support 

missile units. In both cases, no new construction was 

allowed. According to the USAF, Lowry had to 

support the new academy, and if necessary, training 

could be relocated so that facilities were available for 

the academy. In fact Lowry did have to transfer 

training. Beginning in September, the school moved 

intelligence, comptroller, and transportation training 

programs to Sheppard. At the same time, Sheppard 

also gained 37 jet engine, hydraulic, and electrical 

repairman courses from Chanute, because the training 

load at the Illinois school had overtaxed base support 

facilities. 

From 1954 to 1958, Lowry AFB, Colorado, served 

as the interim site of the Air Force Academy until 

the academy’s permanent home was completed in 

Colorado Springs, Colorado. 

Helper-Positions 

When incoming airmen completed basic military 

training, a large percentage went directly to formal 

technical training courses. Other recruits were directduty assigned and received on-the-job training to the 
1954 

98

apprentice level. The remainder of basic military 

training graduates, beginning in October 1954, were 

sent into the field to fill "helper" positions. 

Commanders could assign these individuals to any 

career field where an authorized vacancy existed. 

MILITARY TRAINING 

Recruiting 

Effective 6 March 1954, Secretary of Defense 

Charles E. Wilson signed a memorandum specifying 

that the Air Force would assume operational control 

of its recruiting function not later than 1 July. When 

the Air Force became a separate service in 1947, recruiting had remained a joint function carried out 

through the Army's recruiting organization. Headquarters USAF delegated recruiting responsibility to 

ATC. The primary reason the Defense Department 

had decided to give the Air Force control of its 

recruiting function was to save money and 

manpower. The new organization that would exist 

under ATC included a wing, six groups, 71 

detachments, and recruiting stations, as necessary. 

Third Basic Training Facility Needed 

At the beginning of the year, ATC had two basic 

military training facilities--Lackland and Sampson. 

However, the Air Force projected that an average of 

12,000 new enlistees would enter the service every 

month through FY 56. For that reason, ATC decided 

to reopen a third processing center. On 7 September 

Parks began receiving new recruits after a year in 

standby status. 

An instructor at Lowry AFB, Colorado, teaches future armament officers 

 on the care and assembly of bombs. 
99

 1955

Pilot production continued its downward trend. However, there was a positive side in that smaller classes 

meant ATC could give more attention to the quality of pilot being produced. Course syllabi increased the 

amount of flying time pilot trainees received. The command also increased its efforts to acquire more 

modern aircraft for training purposes. That way pilot trainees would experience flying heavier, faster aircraft 

before being assigned to tactical units. By mid-year four of ATC's nine contract primary schools had 

replaced their PA-18 and T-6 trainers with T-34s and T-28s. Also during the year, the Air Force took a close 

look at ATC's technical and basic military instruction programs. The Air Force hoped to integrate basic 

military and basic technical training, establish a field training system, and readjust training loads to 

economize the use of the command’s facilities. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1955) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 42 

Alabama--Craig; Arizona--Luke, Marana, and Williams; California--

Mather and Parks; Colorado--Lowry; Florida--Bartow, Graham, and 

Tyndall; Georgia--Bainbridge, Moody, and Spence; 

Kansas--McConnell; Illinois-- Chanute and Scott; Mississippi--

Greenville and Keesler; Missouri-- Malden; Nevada--Nellis and Stead; 

New York--Sampson; North Carolina-- Stallings; Oklahoma--Vance; 

Texas--Amarillo, Bryan, Ellington, Edward Gary, Goodfellow, 

Harlingen, Hondo, James Connally, Lackland, Laredo, Laughlin, 

Moore, Perrin, Randolph, Reese, Sheppard, and Webb; and Wyoming--

Francis E. Warren 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 146,814 (16,658 officers; 96,934 enlisted; 33,222 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 4,830 (B-25, B-29, B-47, C-45, C-47, F-51, F-80, F-84, F-86, F-89, 

F-94, F-100, H-13, H-19, H-23, L-19, L-21, T-28, T-29, T-33, T-34) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

1 USAF recruiting wing: 

 3500th, Wright-Patterson AFB OH 

3 training air forces: 

CREW, Randolph AFB TX 

 8 combat crew training wings: 

 3510th (Med Bomb), Randolph AFB TX 

 3520th (Med Bomb), McConnell AFB KS 

 3550th (Interceptor), Moody AFB GA 

 3555th (Adv Interceptor), Perrin AFB TX 

 3595th (Fighter), Nellis AFB NV 

 3600th (Fighter), Luke AFB AZ 

 3625th (Adv Interceptor), Tyndall AFB FL 

 3635th (Survival), Stead AFB NV 

FLYING, Waco TX: 

 

1 combat crew training wing: 

 3645th (Fighter), Laughlin AFB TX 

 4 aircraft observer training wings: 

 3535th, Mather AFB CA 

 3565th, James Connally AFB TX 

 3605th, Ellington AFB TX 

 3610th, Harlingen AFB TX 

 2 flying training wings: 

3585th (Liaison-Helicopter), Edward Gary 

AFB TX 

3615th, Craig AFB AL 

 
1955 

100

8 pilot training wings: 

3500th (Basic Multi-Eng), Reese AFB TX 

3505th (Basic Single-Eng), Greenville AFB 

MS 

3525th (Basic Single-Eng), Williams AFB AZ 

3530th (Basic Single-Eng), Bryan AFB TX 

3545th (Basic Multi-Eng), Goodfellow AFB 

TX 

3560th (Basic Single-Eng), Webb AFB TX 

3575th (Basic Multi-Eng), Vance AFB OK 

3640th (Basic Single-Eng), Laredo AFB TX 

 9 independent pilot training groups (contract 

primary): 

 3300th, Graham AB FL 

 3301st, Moore AB TX 

 3302d, Spence AB, GA 

 3303d, Bartow AB FL 

 3304th, Hondo AB TX 

 3305th, Malden AB MO 

 3306th, Bainbridge AB GA 

 3307th, Marana AB AZ 

 3308th, Stallings AB NC 

TECHNICAL, Gulfport MS: 

 7 technical training wings: 

 3310th, Scott AFB IL 

 3320th, Amarillo AFB TX 

 3345th, Chanute AFB IL 

 3380th, Keesler AFB MS 

 3415th, Lowry AFB CO 

 3450th, Francis E. Warren AFB WY 

 3750th, Sheppard AFB TX 

 3 military training wings: 

 3275th, Parks AFB CA 

 3650th, Sampson AFB NY 

 3700th, Lackland AFB TX 

 1 mobile training wing: 

 3499th, Chanute AFB IL 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

Lieutenant General Myers continued to serve as 

the ATC commander, and Major General Underhill 

remained vice commander. 

ORGANIZATION 

INSTALLATIONS 

Gary AFB, Texas 

On 1 September 1955, ATC redesignated Gary as 

Edward Gary AFB. 

Contract Primary Bases 

For simplicity sake, since 1952 ATC had listed all of 

its contract primary fields as air bases, except 

Columbus and Greenville AFBs. However, the 

command did not make those designations official 

until 1 November 1955. Also, on 25 April 1955, ATC 

redesignated all of the contract primary squadrons as 

pilot training groups (contract primary). 

Columbus AFB, Mississippi 

On 1 April 1955, ATC transferred jurisdiction of 

Columbus AFB to SAC. Since 1951, Columbus had 

hosted contract primary flying training. All of the 

Columbus flying training mission moved to Moore 

Air Base, Texas. 

Moore AB, Texas 

Between December 1954 and March 1955, ATC 

moved the contract flying training program at 

Columbus to Moore Air Base, Texas, including the 

3301st Pilot Training Squadron. Between the 

mid-1954 announcement that contract pilot training 

would move to Moore and the activation of the base 

on 1 January 1955, builders repaired and added to 

base facilities so that Moore could begin training on 

3 January. 

SUBORDINATE UNITS 

3645th Combat Crew Training Wing 

Laughlin AFB, Texas, and its 3645th Combat Crew 

Training Wing (Fighter) transferred from Crew 

Training Air Force to Flying Training Air Force 

effective 1 September. 

HEADQUARTERS ORGANIZATION 

Project Jericho 

During the year, ATC officers put together a plan to 

relocate the command headquarters from Scott to 

Randolph and to inactivate the Crew Training Air 

Force and combine its mission with Flying Training 

Air Force. That plan was called Project Jericho. 

Officials in ATC realized that the Air Force was 

nearing its goal of establishing 137-wings. Once that 

happened, training demands would decrease. By 

consolidating and relocating, ATC believed the Air 

Force would save money and personnel. However, 

Headquarters USAF disagreed. Project Jericho died, 

but the command still continued its efforts to reduce 
1955 

101

operating costs. On 3 October 1955, ATC reorganized its headquarters, reducing its authorized strength 

from 782 to 580 positions. The command realized 

this savings by putting only planning, policy-making, 

and flying and technical training inspection functions 

in the headquarters. At the same time, the headquarters changed the designation of two Deputy 

Chiefs of Staff (DCS). The DCS/Comptroller Office 

became DCS/ Comptroller, and the DCS/Operations 

Office became DCS/Plans and Operations. Earlier in 

the year, on 1 February, ATC dissolved its Deputy 

Chief of Staff, Programming Office. This function 

then became a part of the DCS/Operations Office. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

Changes in Basic Flying Training 

At year's end, single-engine programs existed at 

Bryan, Greenville, Laredo, Laughlin, and Webb. 

(Williams transferred its program to Laughlin in 

September, in preparation for assuming an advanced 

fighter training role.) Multi-engine training took 

place at Goodfellow, Reese, and Vance. Looking 

ahead, ATC wanted to end multi-engine training by 

FY 58 and conduct all basic training in jet T-33 

trainers. During 1955, ATC removed all T-28s from 

the multi-engine program, leaving only B-25s. The 

T-28s were needed for the primary flying schools. 

The command planned to begin all-jet basic training 

at Reese and Vance in 1957 and at Goodfellow in 

1958. 

Prior to taking off on a routine training flight, an instructor and student at Bryan AFB, Texas, discuss last 

minute details with the crew chief. 

Lt Vincent D. Meyer and John Tyson record the 

last student flight in the T-6 aircraft at Moore AB, 

Texas, on 22 June 1955. 
1955 

102

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Field Training--A Revised Concept 

A combination of factors--low reenlistment rates, 

failure of tactical units to maintain adequate on-thejob training (OJT) programs, too lengthy formal 

training followed by increased instances of malassignment, and a mobile training program with 

limited capability--caused the Air Staff to take a 

closer look at the way people were trained. Of key 

importance was ATC's ability to produce "combatready" personnel. From the Air Staff perspective, 

ATC's training responsibilities went beyond 

graduation from technical training. What was needed 

was a well-organized system of continuation training. 

The Air Force directed ATC to explore the possibility 

of providing continuation training through field 

training detachments (FTD). Officials at ATC 

suggested that continuation training should include 

the use of mobile training units and on-the-job 

training. Headquarters USAF agreed, and ATC 

prepared to test the FTD concept at Hamilton AFB, 

California, a base belonging to Air Defense 

Command; Smoky Hill AFB, Kansas, a SAC 

installation; and Foster AFB, Texas, a TAC station; 

however, a shortage of qualified instructions delayed 

the test. (Only one mobile training wing existed in 

the entire Air Force--the 3499th at Chanute. This 

unit, with its over 170 detachments, was to become 

the nucleus of a new field training program.) It was 

early 1956 before the test began. If the test proved 

successful, the Air Staff proposed sending 95 percent 

of all new enlistees to formal technical training, with 

only five percent receiving direct-duty assignments. 

All technical training courses would be revised to 

include only the basics, and more specific instruction 

would be provided either by OJT or through mobile 

training units. 

MILITARY TRAINING 

Basic and Technical Training Integrated 

In early 1955, Headquarters USAF proposed that 

ATC integrate its basic military and technical training 

programs. Officials in ATC conducted a study and 

determined that the best way to proceed was by 

retaining the current recruiting system, a minimum of 

two basic military training bases, and seven technical 

training bases. However, instead of providing all 

basic military training at these two bases, ATC 

suggested that the military training bases process, 

test, and classify all basic airmen and provide the first 

six weeks of basic training. Then those airmen 

selected for technical training would receive the last 

six weeks of their basic military training at a 

technical training center. Headquarters USAF 

approved this plan, and ATC put it into effect on 

2 January 1956. Not included in this program were 

prior service and WAF personnel. 

Through the Mutual Defense Assistance Program, 

a student officer from Thailand receives hydraulic 

systems training from an instructor at Chanute.
103

1956

In the Air Force, ATC remained the largest major command, but strength was dropping as the demand 

for training decreased. At a USAF conference in August 1956, officials made plans to reduce annual pilot 

production to the point where ATC thought it would be able to drop two primary bases in FY 58 and two 

basic schools in FY 59--possibly Marana, Stallings, Greenville, and Goodfellow. Yearly pilot production for 

FY 58 was set at 4,000 and at 3,800 for FY 59. By 31 December 1956, ATC officials had changed their plans, 

partially because the number of foreign students had increased and partially because the command was 

receiving new T-37s earlier than expected. Instead of recommending four bases for closure, ATC only 

identified one--Stallings. Besides flying training, ATC also was concerned with both the quality and quantity 

of new trainees received. Training was expensive. Retention had become a major problem. First-termers 

accounted for about 70 percent of all enlisted strength; and many first-termers didn't remain for a second 

term. Instead they were lured away by civilian industry. Civilian industry was ready to recruit those in 

highly technical fields. On the officer side of the house, the Air Force found it equally as difficult to attract 

qualified officer candidates as it did to retain them. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1956) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 40 

Alabama--Craig; Arizona--Luke, Marana, and Williams; California--Mather 

and Parks; Colorado--Lowry; Florida--Bartow, Graham, and Tyndall; 

Georgia--Bainbridge, Moody, and Spence; Kansas--McConnell; Illinois--

Chanute and Scott; Mississippi--Greenville and Keesler; Missouri--Malden; 

Nevada--Nellis and Stead; North Carolina--Stallings; Oklahoma--Vance; 

Texas--Amarillo, Bryan, Ellington, Goodfellow, Harlingen, Hondo, James 

Connally, Lackland, Laredo, Laughlin, Moore, Perrin, Randolph, Reese, 

Sheppard, and Webb; and Wyoming--Francis E. Warren 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 

139,831 (15,538 officers; 80,805 enlisted; 43,488 

civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 

4,179 (B-25, B-47, F-84, F-86, F-89, F-94, F-100, 

H-13, H-19, H-21, KC-97, T-28, T-29, T-33, T-34) 

Lackland built a new hospital in the mid-1950s, later named Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center. It replaced 

temporary structures first occupied in June 1942. 
1956 

104

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

3 training air forces:

CREW, Randolph AFB TX 

 9 combat crew training wings: 

 3510th, Randolph AFB TX 

 3520th (Med Bomb), McConnell AFB KS 

 3525th (Fighter), Williams AFB AZ 

 3550th (Interceptor), Moody AFB GA 

 3555th (Interceptor), Perrin AFB TX 

 3595th (Fighter), Nellis AFB NV 

 3600th (Fighter), Luke AFB AZ 

 3625th (Interceptor), Tyndall AFB FL 

 3635th (Survival), Stead AFB NV 

FLYING, Waco TX: 

 1 flying training wing: 

 3615th, Craig AFB AL 

 4 navigator training wings: 

 3535th, Mather AFB CA 

 3565th, James Connally AFB TX 

 3605th, Ellington AFB TX 

 3610th, Harlingen AFB TX 

 8 pilot training wings: 

 3500th (Basic Multi-Eng), Reese AFB TX 

 3505th (Basic Single-Eng), Greenville AFB 

MS 

 3530th (Basic Single-Eng), Bryan AFB TX 

3545th (Basic Multi-Eng), Goodfellow AFB 

TX 

 3560th (Basic Single-Eng), Webb AFB TX 

 3575th (Basic Multi-Eng), Vance AFB OK 

 3640th (Basic Single-Eng), Laredo AFB TX 

 3645th (Basic Single-Eng), Laughlin AFB TX 

 9 independent pilot training groups (contract 

primary): 

 3300th, Graham AB FL 

 3301st, Moore AB TX 

 3302d, Spence AB, GA 

 3303d, Bartow AB FL 

 3304th, Hondo AB TX 

 3305th, Malden AB MO 

 3306th, Bainbridge AB GA 

 3307th, Marana AB AZ 

 3308th, Stallings AB NC 

TECHNICAL, Gulfport MS: 

 1 USAF recruiting wing: 

 3500th, Wright-Patterson AFB OH 

 7 technical training wings: 

 3310th, Scott AFB IL 

 3320th, Amarillo AFB TX 

 3345th, Chanute AFB IL 

 3380th, Keesler AFB MS 

 3415th, Lowry AFB CO 

3450th, Francis E. Warren AFB WY 

 3750th, Sheppard AFB TX 

 1 military training wing: 

 3700th, Lackland AFB TX 

 1 mobile training wing: 

 3499th, Chanute AFB IL 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

Lieutenant General Charles T. Myers continued to 

serve as the ATC commander, and Maj Gen Edward 

H. Underhill remained vice commander. 

ORGANIZATION 

INSTALLATIONS 

Sampson AFB, New York 

Air Training Command discontinued its basic 

training school at Sampson AFB on 1 July 1956. 

Shortly thereafter, ATC discontinued Sampson's 

3650th Military Training Wing. Three months later, 

on 1 October, Sampson transferred to Air Materiel 

Command. 

Edward Gary AFB, Texas 

The command inactivated Edward Gary AFB on 

14 December 1956. Earlier ATC had discontinued 

the 3585th Flying Training Wing (LiaisonHelicopter). For several years the Edward Gary AFB 

had served as a helicopter training school for Air 

Force and Army personnel. When the Defense 

Department announced in early 1956 that the Army 

would resume its own aviation instruction, ATC 

moved its helicopter training to other bases. Then for 

a short period of time late in the year, an army 

contractor used base facilities until Air Training 

Command closed the installation. 
1956 

105

SUBORDINATE UNITS 

Recruiting Wing Reassigned 

Air Training Command reassigned its 3500th USAF 

Recruiting Wing at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, 

from the headquarters to Technical Training Air 

Force, effective 1 January 1956. The reason for that 

reassignment was because of the new program that 

integrated basic military and basic technical training. 

Between this consolidation and an earlier 

headquarters reduction, ATC had cut its authorized 

personnel strength by about 10,000 spaces. 

3645th Combat Crew Training Wing 

Flying Training Air Force redesignated its 3645th 

Combat Crew Training Wing (Fighter) at Laughlin as 

the 3645th Pilot Training Wing (Basic SingleEngine), effective 1 January 1956. 

3525th Pilot Training Wing 

Air Training Command redesignated the 3525th Pilot 

Training Wing (Basic Single-Engine) at Williams on 

1 January. It became the 3525th Combat Crew 

Training Wing (Fighter). A month later, on 

1 February 1956, ATC reassigned the 3525th from 

Flying Training Air Force to Crew Training Air 

Force. 

HEADQUARTERS ORGANIZATION 

Possible Headquarters Move 

Early in the year, USAF officials considered the 

possibility of moving Headquarters ATC from Scott 

to Randolph; Military Air Transport Service from 

Andrews AFB, Maryland, to Scott; and Headquarters, 

Air Research and Development Command from 

Baltimore, Maryland, to Andrews. However, no 

definite decision had been made by year's end. 

DCS/Manpower and Organization 

Effective 1 March, ATC elevated its manpower and 

organization function to deputy chief of staff level. 

TRAINING 

Training Flow 

In 1954 General Myers suggested to the USAF that a 

stable flow of airmen in the basic and technical 

courses could be provided if frequent procurement 

changes and lack of operational control and recruiting 

pressures could be eliminated. Headquarters USAF 

granted that request in December 1954 and provided 

ATC with the annual procurement objective for FY 

56, but in spite of this agreement, the Air Staff 

continued to provide ATC with monthly procurement 

quotas. 

FLYING TRAINING 

US Army Aviation Training 

In mid-April the Department of Defense notified the 

Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of the Air 

Force that the Army would again be responsible for 

conducting aviation training required in support of 

current Army activities. As a result of that 

announcement, in late December ATC transferred 

Edward Gary AFB, Texas, to the Army for use in 

pilot training. The ATC helicopter mechanic courses 

at Edward Gary moved to Sheppard, and pilot 

training went to Randolph. 

Williams AFB, Arizona 

On 8 January 1956, ATC discontinued the singleengine basic pilot school at Williams and replaced it 

with an advanced fighter school. (Williams had 

transferred its single-engine training responsibilities 

to Laughlin in September 1955.) Providing the 

training was the 3525th Combat Crew Training Wing 

(Fighter). On the first of the following month, ATC 

relieved Williams from assignment to Flying 

Training Air Force and assigned it to Crew Training 

Air Force. 

Randolph had ended all B-29 training (shown 

below) by October 1956, so that space would be 

available to support incoming KC-97 combat crew 

training. However KC-97 training did not begin 

until 29 January 1957. 
1956 

106

Basic Flying Training 

By 1 July ATC's five single-engine pilot training 

bases--Bryan, Greenville, Laredo, Webb, and 

Laughlin--had phased out T-28s and converted all 

training to the T-33. 

Observer Training 

All four ATC observer schools--Ellington, Harlingen, 

James Connally, and Mather--were redesignated as 

USAF Navigator Schools on 15 September. Effective 

15 November 1956, HQ USAF directed the term 

navigator be substituted in all cases for observer or 

aircraft observer. That directive resulted in the 

redesignation of ATC's four observer training wings 

as navigator training wings. 

Navigational Proficiency Flights 

With the assignment of B-47 and KC-97 crew 

training to support Strategic Air Command, ATC 

asked Headquarters USAF for permission to conduct 

continuation training of navigator instructors in 

overwater navigation. The Air Staff agreed, and the 

first flight, a T-29 to Ramey AFB, Puerto Rico, left 

McConnell on 5 November. Two flights were 

scheduled each month, one from Randolph and one 

from McConnell. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Changes in Technical Training 

Air Training Command began new instructional 

programs for the semiautomatic ground environment 

(SAGE) defense system, guided missiles, and field 

training. It would be through the SAGE system that 

the Air Force entered the age of computers. Prior to 

SAGE, radar systems operated manually. Beginning 

in 1953, the Air Force contracted with Western 

Electric Corporation to develop a semiautomatic 

system. That system was created at Lincoln 

Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

The first training took place at the laboratory 

beginning in 1956. Not long after, ATC moved 

operations training to Richards-Gebaur AFB in 

Missouri and located maintenance instruction at 

Keesler. 

An instructor provides hands-on training for students in a flight training devices course at Chanute AFB, 

Illinois. 
1956 

107

Instructor Ratio 

The manpower costs of providing technical training 

continued to climb, even though ATC had managed 

to reduce its student-instructor ratio from 2 students 

to 1 instructor down to 2.9 to 1. At mid-year, 

DCS/Manpower and Organization suggested establishing a required ratio of 4 to 1 for all technical 

training groups. 

Project Big Triangle 

While ATC carried a high instructor ratio for the first 

half of the year, it was a false reading. Most 

instructors were only marginally qualified, primarily 

because ATC had taken graduates directly out of 

technical school and assigned them to instructor duty. 

They had no practical experience. The Air Force 

needed these individuals to fill combat positions, 

while ATC needed more skilled airmen to fill 

instructor jobs. So, in July the Air Force initiated 

Project Big Triangle, a program that transferred 

experienced airmen direct from overseas assignments 

to instructor positions. However, the program was 

only in existence for a short period of time, because 

of the success of Project Home Front. Under Home 

Front, a large number of instructor jobs were filled by 

civilians. In addition, the Air Force stabilized military 

instructor tours for two years in scarce skills and 

three years in all others. All of these efforts improved 

the instructor manning situation in ATC. 

Guided Missiles 

In late 1955, President Dwight D. Eisenhower 

approved recommendations of the National Security 

Council to research and develop an intercontinental 

ballistic missile program. At the same time, all of the 

services were preparing plans for their individual 

missile programs. In the Air Force, training 

responsibility remained with ATC. Lowry and 

Keesler developed the first general courses in 1956, 

and plans called for other courses to open at Chanute 

in 1957, Amarillo in 1958, and Sheppard in 1959. 

Career Field Terminology Changed 

Beginning in July, the Air Force discontinued the use 

of the terms hard core and soft core when describing 

career fields. Instead, career fields were divided into 

four classes: highly technical, technical, semitechnical, and non-technical. 

Aviation cadets at Ellington AFB, Texas, take part in a 42-week navigation course, which included 180 hours 

of in-flight training. 
1956 

108

MILITARY TRAINING 

Parks Training Transferred 

On 21 November Air Training Command discontinued the basic military and air defense schools at 

Parks. By year's end, ATC also had discontinued the 

3275th Military Training Wing at Parks. That left the 

command with a single installation providing basic 

military instruction—Lackland. Originally, ATC had 

intended to move air defense training to Lackland, 

but an April 1956 study had found that Lackland did 

not have enough space to support such a program. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Project Home Front 

As the Air Force neared its goal of establishing 137 

wings, it became more difficult to find military 

personnel to fill positions. In an effort to work around 

this problem, the Air Force decided to convert a 

number of military jobs to civilian. By putting 

civilians in certain positions, military personnel 

would then be available for assignment to combat 

units. In ATC officials identified almost 15,500 

military positions to be filled by civilians.

Students in the aerial photography course at Lowry AFB, Colorado, familiarize themselves with the 

equipment used in aerial photomapping.
109

1957

In fiscal year 1958, the Air Force reduced its training budget by $75 million. To operate under such 

circumstances, ATC initiated an Economy Resources Program. For example, at Chanute officials instituted a 

civilian hiring freeze, reduced civilian authorizations by 259, decreased overtime by 94 percent, sliced TDY 

travel by 60 percent, and reduced transportation costs by 10 percent. At Keesler, almost half of the training 

equipment in the budget was put on hold. In addition, all of the technical training centers cut back on the 

number of special training courses offered. Overall, Technical Training Air Force generated about $8 million 

in savings. Flying Training Air Force reduced flying hours and dropped its pilot and navigator training rates. 

It was able to do that because in August 1957 the Air Force had lowered its new pilot training rate to 2,700 

per year. In addition, the command projected a large savings from the consolidation of Crew and Flying 

Training Air Forces and the movement of ATC headquarters from Scott to Randolph. After years of talking, 

the Air Staff had approved these changes. By the end of the year, Congress had loosened its purse strings, 

primarily in response to the tremendous scientific advances that had taken place in the Soviet Union in 1957, 

specifically the space race and the successful launching of Sputnik I. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1957) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 34 

Alabama--Craig; Arizona--Luke and Williams; California--Mather; 

Colorado--Lowry; Florida--Bartow and Graham; Georgia--Bainbridge, 

Moody, and Spence; Kansas--McConnell; Illinois--Chanute; 

Mississippi--Greenville and Keesler; Missouri--Malden; 

Nevada--Nellis and Stead; Oklahoma--Vance; Texas--Amarillo, Bryan, 

Ellington, Goodfellow, Harlingen, Hondo, James Connally, Lackland, 

Laredo, Moore, Perrin, Randolph, Reese, Sheppard, and Webb; and 

Wyoming--Francis E. Warren 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 113,279 (12,808 officers; 68,817 enlisted; 31,654 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 3,783 (B-25, B-47, C-54, F-84, F-86, F-89, F-100, H-13, H-19, H-21, 

KC-97, T-28, T-29, T-33, T-34, T-37) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

2 training air forces:

FLYING, Randolph AFB TX 

1 flying training wing: 

3615th, Craig AFB AL 

7 pilot training wings: 

3500th (Basic Multi Eng), Reese AFB TX 

3505th (Basic Single Eng), Greenville AFB 

MS 

3530th (Basic Single Eng), Bryan AFB TX 

3545th (Basic Multi Eng), Goodfellow AFB 

TX 

3560th (Basic Single Eng), Webb AFB TX 

3575th (Basic Multi-Eng), Vance AFB OK 

3640th (Basic Single Eng), Laredo AFB TX 

 4 navigator training wings: 

 3535th, Mather AFB CA 

 3565th, James Connally AFB TX 

 3605th, Ellington AFB TX 

 3610th, Harlingen AFB TX 

 8 combat crew training wings: 

 3510th, Randolph AFB TX 

 3520th (Med Bomb), McConnell AFB KS 

 3525th (Fighter), Williams AFB AZ 

 3550th (Interceptor), Moody AFB GA 

 3555th (Interceptor), Perrin AFB TX 

 3595th (Fighter), Nellis AFB NV 

 3600th (Fighter), Luke AFB AZ 
1957 

110

combat crew training wings (contd) 

 3635th (Survival), Stead AFB NV 

 1 independent combat crew training group: 

 3625th (Aircraft Controller), Tyndall AFB FL 

 7 independent pilot training groups (contract 

primary): 

 3300th, Graham AB FL 

 3301st, Moore AB TX 

 3302d, Spence AB GA 

 3303d, Bartow AB FL 

 3304th, Hondo AB TX 

 3305th, Malden AB MO 

 3306th, Bainbridge AB GA 

TECHNICAL, Gulfport MS 

 1 field training wing: 

 3499th, Chanute AFB IL 

 1 military training wing: 

 3700th, Lackland AFB TX 

 7 technical training wings: 

 3310th, Scott AFB IL 

 3320th, Amarillo AFB TX 

 3345th, Chanute AFB IL 

 3380th, Keesler AFB MS 

 3415th, Lowry AFB CO 

 3450th, F.E. Warren AFB WY 

 3750th, Sheppard AFB TX 

 1 USAF recruiting wing: 

 3500th, Wright-Patterson AFB OH 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

Lieutenant General Charles T. Myers continued as 

the Commander, Air Training Command. Effective 

20 April 1957, Maj Gen Henry R. Spicer replaced 

Maj Gen Edward H. Underhill as ATC vice 

commander. Underhill became Commander of 

Eastern Air Defense Force and Continental Air 

Defense Force, Eastern Continental Air Defense 

Region. Then on 1 July 1957, General Spicer became 

the Flying Training Air Force (Advance) commander. 

Succeeding him as the ATC vice commander was 

Maj Gen Carl A. Brandt, who had been Commander 

of Technical Training Air Force. 

ORGANIZATION 

Project New Home 

For almost two years, ATC officials tried to convince 

the Air Staff that Randolph would make a better 

command headquarters because it was located closer 

to ATC's major installations. However, politics kept 

the Air Staff from approving such a move. Then in 

June 1957, the Air Staff reversed itself, approving the 

ATC move to Randolph. While Scott AFB lost ATC, 

it gained Headquarters, Military Air Transport 

Service; Air Weather Service; and Airways and Air 

Communications Service. The ATC move took place 

between July and October. On 1 August 1957, 

Headquarters ATC (Advance) came into being at 

Between July and October 1957, ATC transferred its headquarters from Scott AFB, Illinois, to Randolph 

AFB, Texas. The new headquarters was located in Building 900, which originally served as the aviation cadet 

administration building and more recently was home to the Crew Training Air Force. 
1957 

111

Randolph. Headquarters ATC (Rear) was established 

at the same time at Scott and discontinued on 

30 September. Effective 1 October, control of Scott 

AFB transferred from ATC to MATS. By the end of 

the year, all technical training courses at Scott either 

had moved or were in the process of moving to other 

ATC bases. Most went to Keesler and Lackland. 

FTAF/CTAF Merger 

After months of discussion, ATC decided to combine 

all flying and crew training responsibilities under a 

single headquarters. Effective 1 July 1957, the 

command discontinued Crew Training Air Force at 

Randolph and transferred its mission, personnel, and 

assets to Flying Training Air Force. Eight wings and 

one independent group were included in that move: 

the 3525th, 3595th, and 3600th Combat Crew 

Training Wings (Fighter); the 3520th CCTW 

(Medium Bombardment); the 3550th and 3555th 

Combat Crew Training Wings (Interceptor); the 

3510th CCTW; the 3635th CCTW (Survival); and the 

3625th Combat Crew Training Group (Aircraft 

Controller). The command established Headquarters 

FTAF (Advance) at Randolph on the same day. 

Between July and October, Flying Training Air Force 

relocated its headquarters from Waco to Randolph. 

3499th Field Training Wing 

Effective 24 June 1957, ATC discontinued the 

3499th Mobile Training Wing and activated the 

3499th Field Training Wing at Chanute. The new 

wing operated the command's extensive field training 

program. 

INSTALLATIONS 

Laughlin AFB, Texas 

One of ATC's basic pilot training installations, 

Laughlin graduated its final pilot training class on 

27 April. Jurisdiction of the base passed from ATC to 

SAC on 1 April, and ATC inactivated its basic pilot 

school on 15 May. 

Parks AFB, California 

Parks AFB discontinued all training in late 1956. On 

1 January 1957, ATC transferred Parks to Continental Air Command. 

Tyndall AFB, Florida 

Interceptor pilot training ended at Tyndall on 20 June 

1957. Less that two weeks later, on 1 July, ATC 

transferred control of the base to Air Defense 

Command. Loss of Tyndall meant the transfer of 

navigator radar intercept training to James Connally 

AFB in Texas. Tyndall's F-86Ds moved to Moody, 

Moody sent its F-89Ds to James Connally, and James 

Connally gave its F-94Cs to the Air National Guard. 

Tyndall kept the interceptor weapons school, which 

also had transferred to Air Defense Command. Also 

on 1 July, ATC discontinued the 3625th Combat 

Crew Training Wing (Interceptor) at Tyndall. The 

only remaining ATC assets at Tyndall were the 

3625th Combat Crew Training Group (Aircraft 

Controller) and its subordinate units. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

Primary Flying Training 

In April 1957 ATC proposed that contract flying 

training schools at Marana and Stallings be closed. 

The Secretary of the Air Force approved the 

recommendation. On 2 September ATC discontinued 

the 3307th Pilot Training Group at Marana, and on 

1 October it discontinued the 3308th Pilot Training 

Group at Stallings. This left ATC with seven contract 

groups still providing primary pilot training. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Field Training 

On 6 March 1957, after a lengthy test, the Air Force 

approved establishment of a new field training 

program under the control of ATC. The field test 

conducted in 1956 had proved highly successful. It 

showed that ATC could cut training costs, increase 

productivity of first-termers, and still maintain 

training quality. By establishing field training detachments (FTD) to provide hands-on training, ATC 

also lifted the heavy burden of OJT from the user. 

The group commander at Bainbridge AB, Georgia, 

Lt Col E. L. Masters, and H. W. Davis, General 

Manager, Southern Airways School, stand with 2Lt 

T. W. Beaghen following his first flight in the T-37 

jet trainer on 18 July 1957. This flight was part of 

Project Palm--the suitability testing of the T-37. 
1957 

112

Unfortunately, ATC had to delay implementation 

until sufficient personnel were available for 

assignment to the FTDs. In July ATC organized the 

first of its planned 70 FTDs. By the time all 

detachments were in operation in 1958, ATC had 32 

in SAC, 18 in TAC, and 20 in ADC. If these proved 

successful, then consideration would be given to 

adding FTDs to other commands 

McCormick Board 

In 1957 Technical Training Air Force formed a base 

utilization board to examine all TTAF facilities, 

looking at existing and future training requirements. 

That board concluded that two bases could be 

released--Francis E. Warren in Wyoming and Scott in 

Illinois. The Wyoming base had a number of strikes 

against it, including poor weather conditions that 

limited training to seven months of the year, lack of a 

flying field, and many inadequate buildings. Board 

members also considered Scott superfluous, because 

Keesler had the facilities available to absorb Scott's 

communications training, and Lackland had the 

capability to absorb Scott's personnel training 

program. For political reasons, the Air Force made no 

recommendations for closing either base, but by 

year's end, Air Training Command had closed most 

of its operation at Scott and transferred the base to 

Military Air Transport Service. 

MILITARY TRAINING 

Changes in BMT 

In 1957 basic military training was an 11-week, twophase program. All male, non-prior service personnel 

selected for technical training were scheduled to 

complete four weeks of BMT at Lackland and the 

remaining seven weeks at a technical training center. 

Female airman and others not selected for technical 

training took the entire basic military training course 

at Lackland. The most significant change to take 

place in the BMT program in 1957 was the decision 

to use experienced noncommissioned officers as 

BMT instructors, rather than continuing the practice 

of using recent graduates. This change came about as 

the result of an inspection, which had found that 

many of the program's shortcomings were 

attributeable to immature instructors, who had not 

developed the leadership skills needed to fill such 

positions. 

Marksmanship Center 

Effective 1 December 1957, ATC established a 

USAF Marksmanship Center at Lackland and 

assigned it to the 3700th Military Training Wing. The 

school was established in response to a USAF 

directive to place greater emphasis on small arms 

training. 

A flight instructor at Randolph AFB, Texas, uses a simulator to explain the operation of a KC-97 aircraft 

to an aircrew member. 
1957 

113

MISCELLANEOUS 

Massive Facilities Upgrade Needed 

In November 1957 Headquarters USAF sent a survey 

team to the field to view firsthand the effects of 

reduced spending in training. Officials in Air 

Training Command were especially concerned about 

facilities. Less than 20 percent of the buildings (2,467 

out of 13,117) on ATC bases were of permanent 

construction. The average age of ATC bases was 20 

years. Just to bring 25 ATC bases--18 in Flying 

Training Air Force and 7 in Technical Training Air 

Force--up to prescribed Air Force standards was 

estimated to cost over $892 million--more than the 

current value ($667.4 million) of those 25 bases. In 

ATC's opinion, the best way to deal with the problem 

was to reduce the number of active bases. 

These mobile training unit 

instructors prepare a mock-up 

of the AN/AFG-30 radar to be 

used in conducting training on 

the F-84G. 

As part of their indoctrination 

into the Air Force, new WAF 

officers in the Officer Basic 

Military Course at Lackland 

AFB, Texas, receive lessons in 

personality development. 
1957 

114

THE MYTH OF THE REESE HAILSTORM 

Over the years a story has made the rounds about a 

disastrous hailstorm at Reese AFB in the late 1950s that 

so decimated the B-25s used in multi-engine training 

that the Air Force decided to switch to a single-track 

generalized UPT program. Despite the staying power of 

this tale, there is no documented link between the 

hailstorm and the decision to move from specialized 

dual-track training to generalized UPT. 

A hailstorm did strike Reese on the afternoon of 

Friday, 24 May 1957. For six long minutes, hailstones 

two to three inches in diameter pelted the B-25s parked 

on the ramp and damaged 84 aircraft. Among the items 

damaged were 168 control surfaces and 156 window and 

windshield panels. 

To help the wing fix the B-25s, the San Bernadino 

Air Materiel Area at Norton AFB, California, dispatched 

a C-124 with the Air Material Area's entire supply of 

control surfaces. Additionally, Reese's C-47 picked up 

more control surfaces from Vance and Goodfellow. 

Throughout the weekend, Reese personnel, both civilian 

and military, worked almost around the clock patching 

and installing control surfaces, and forming, trimming, 

and installing windows and windshield panels (using all 

the plexiglass on base, including some taken off desk 

tops and wall charts. By Monday morning most of the 

aircraft had been repaired, and the wing was only one 

sortie short of meeting its flying commitment for the 

day. 

Although the hailstorm severely damaged Reese's B25s, the decision to switch from specialized to 

generalized UPT was made long before the storm hit. 

Air Training Command had hoped to acquire a 

conventional multi-engine aircraft to replace the B-25, 

but the Department of Defense deleted funds for that 

purpose from the FY 54 budget because of the high cost 

involved. By May 1956 ATC had decided to phase out 

the B-25 and rely exclusively on the T-33 in the basic 

phase of UPT. 

Plans called for Vance to begin the conversion to 

single-engine training in October 1957 and complete it 

in March 1958. Reese was to begin converting to the 

T-33 in September 1958 and Goodfellow was to follow 

suit in late 1959 or early 1960. Vance completed the 

conversion as scheduled and began single-engine 

training on a full-time basis on 1 April 1958. 

Goodfellow never got to offer single-engine training; the 

last B-25 class graduated on 15 August 1958. Shortly 

thereafter, on 1 October 1958, the base transferred from 

ATC to the USAF Security Service. Multi-engine 

training at Reese came to a close with the graduation of 

the last B-25 class on 24 January 1959. 
115

1958

By the end of 1957, ATC basing structure had changed considerably as the result of tactical commitments, 

decreased student load, and fund shortages. Two primary contract schools had closed, and three other bases 

transferred to other commands. During 1958 ATC discontinued its Flying Training and Technical Training 

Air Forces; transferred Francis E. Warren and McConnell to Strategic Air Command; Ellington to 

Continental Air Command; and Luke, Williams, and Nellis to Tactical Air Command. Just the losses to SAC 

and TAC cost ATC 762 aircraft. These reassignments came about as the result of a USAF-directed study of 

the feasibility of putting all combat crew training under the appropriate zone of interior operational 

commands. Already, SAC had sole responsibility for tanker and bomber courses. From the results of the 

study, the USAF directed the transfer of tanker and bomber training to SAC but left interceptor, helicopter, 

and survival training in ATC. Effective 1 July, the Air Staff passed the fighter training program to TAC. Also 

on 1 July, the traveling instructor teams responsible for nuclear weapons delivery training and delivery 

training material for fighter, interceptor, and bomber weapons systems were reassigned to appropriate 

stateside commands. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1958) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 25 

Alabama--Craig; California--Mather; Colorado--Lowry; Florida--

Bartow and Graham; Georgia--Bainbridge, Moody, and Spence; 

Illinois--Chanute; Mississippi--Greenville and Keesler; Missouri--

Malden; Nevada--Stead; Oklahoma--Vance; Texas--Amarillo, 

Harlingen, James Connally, Lackland, Laredo, Moore, Perrin, 

Randolph, Reese, Sheppard, Webb 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 

87,396 (9,458 officers; 339 warrant officers; 53,574 

enlisted; 24,025 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 

2,802 (B-25, C/VC-45, C/VC-47, C/VC-54, C-119, 

C-123, C-131, F-86, F-89, H-13, H-19, H-21, T-28, 

T-29, T-33, T-34, T-37, U-3) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

1 field training wing: 

 3499th, Chanute AFB IL 

5 flying training wings: 

 3510th, Randolph AFB TX 

 3550th (Advanced Interceptor), Moody AFB GA 

 3555th (Advanced Interceptor), Perrin AFB TX 

 3615th (Basic), Craig AFB AL 

 3635th (Advanced), Stead AFB NV 

1 military training wing: 

 3700th, Lackland AFB TX 

Fledgling aviation cadets and student pilots 

participate in flight training on the simulated 

parachute jump rig at Lackland AFB, Texas.
1958 

116

3 navigator training wings: 

 3535th, Mather AFB CA 

 3565th, James Connally AFB TX 

 3610th, Harlingen AFB TX 

5 pilot training wings: 

 3500th (Basic), Reese AFB TX 

 3505th (Basic), Greenville AFB MS 

 3560th (Basic), Webb AFB TX 

 3575th (Basic), Vance AFB OK 

 3640th (Basic), Laredo AFB TX 

5 technical training wings: 

 3320th, Amarillo AFB TX 

 3345th, Chanute AFB IL 

 3380th, Keesler AFB MS 

 3415th, Lowry AFB CO 

 3750th, Sheppard AFB TX 

1 USAF recruiting wing: 

 3500th, Wright-Patterson AFB OH 

3 independent groups or group equivalents: 

 3450th Technical Training Group, F.E. Warren 

AFB WY 

 3545th USAF Hospital, Goodfellow AFB TX 

 3625th Technical Training Group (Weapons 

Controller), Tyndall AFB FL 

6 pilot training groups (contract primary): 

 3300th, Graham AB FL 

 3301st, Moore AB TX 

 3302d, Spence AB GA 

 3303d, Bartow AB FL 

 3305th, Malden AB MO 

 3306th, Bainbridge AB GA 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

 At the end of July, Lt 

Gen Charles T. Myers 

retired as Commander, 

Air Training Command. 

Named as his replacement was Lt Gen 

Frederic H. Smith, Jr., 

Commander, Fifth Air 

Force. General Smith 

assumed command on 

1 August 1958. Major 

General Brandt continued to serve as vice 

commander. 

ORGANIZATION 

Headquarters Consolidation 

In January 1958 Air Training Command announced 

that it would consolidate its headquarters with Flying 

Training and Technical Training Air Forces. By 

merging the three, ATC estimated it would save 

almost $5.6 million in operating costs and reduce 

headquarters manning by 780 authorizations. 

Effective 1 April, Flying Training Air Force ceased 

to exist. Technical Training Air Force closed on 

1 June. All assets transferred directly to Headquarters 

ATC. Both of these air forces had served ATC since 

1951. 

INSTALLATIONS 

Ellington AFB, Texas 

The Air Force directed ATC to transfer Ellington to 

Continental Air Command on 1 April 1958. With the 

termination of navigator training at Ellington, ATC 

no longer had a need for this base. 

Hondo Air Base, Texas 

Another contract primary pilot training school closed 

in 1958. Air Training Command discontinued its 

3304th Pilot Training Group at Hondo on 1 July. 

Training had stopped on 30 June, and ATC released 

the base on 31 October. 

Stead Unit Renamed 

Air Training Command redesignated the 3635th 

Combat Crew Training Wing at Stead on 15 July. It 

became the 3635th Flying Training Wing (Advanced). The reason for the redesignation was 

because helicopter pilot training had transferred from 

Randolph to Stead, and the 3635th had become 

responsible for that training, as well as operation of 

the survival school. 

Bryan AFB, Texas 

Basic single-engine training ended at Bryan on 

12 June. The command discontinued Bryan's 3530th 

Pilot Training Wing on 25 October and placed the 

base on inactive status until it transferred to Air 

Materiel Command on 1 April 1960. 

Francis E. Warren AFB, Wyoming 

Air Training Command finally received permission 

from Headquarters USAF to phase out its training 

Lt Gen Frederic H. 

Smith, Jr. 
1958 

117

programs at Francis E. Warren AFB. Effective 

1 February 1958, the base transferred from Air 

Training Command to Strategic Air Command. 

Sheppard AFB gained communications operations, 

wire maintenance, and utilities courses. Aircraft and 

engine maintenance training went to Chanute, and 

Amarillo took administrative and supply training. 

Goodfellow Transfer 

Basic pilot training ended at Goodfellow in 

September. On 1 October Air Training Command 

transferred the base to the USAF Security Service. 

The only active ATC unit remaining on Goodfellow 

AFB was the 3545th USAF Hospital. It continued to 

serve the base until its inactivation on 30 June 1971. 

Combat Crew Reassignments 

Effective 1 July, ATC passed jurisdiction of four of 

its bases to SAC and TAC. McConnell AFB in 

Kansas became a SAC asset, while Williams and 

Luke in Arizona, and Nellis in Nevada went to 

Tactical Air Command. 

SUBORDINATE UNITS 

3510th Redesignated 

On 1 June ATC redesignated the 3510th Combat 

Crew Training Wing at Randolph AFB as the 3510th 

Flying Training Wing. The wing provided jet 

qualification training. 

Interceptor Wings Redesignated 

The command renamed two of its interceptor wings--

the 3550th and 3555th Combat Crew Training Wings 

(Interceptor)--on 15 August. They became the 3550th 

and 3555th Flying Training Wings (Advanced 

Interceptor). 

Pilot Training Wings 

All of ATC's basic (multi- and single-engine) pilot 

training wings changed designations on 1 September, 

becoming pilot training wings (basic). The change 

came about when ATC decided to close its 

multi-engine program. 

Weapons Controller 

As ground-controlled interception systems became 

more complex, the Air Force realized separate career 

fields were needed--one for aircraft controllers 

directing airborne intercepts and the other for those 

concerned only with air traffic control. The new 

career field, established in August 1958, was called 

weapons controller. For that reason, on 15 August 

ATC discontinued the 3625th Combat Crew Training 

Group (Aircraft Controller) at Tyndall and 

concurrently organized the 3625th Technical 

Training Group (Weapons Controller). 

HEADQUARTERS ORGANIZATION 

Internal Headquarters Reorganization 

After assuming command of ATC, Lt Gen Frederic 

H. Smith ordered an in-depth study of the headquarters structure--particularly, the huge Deputy 

Chief of Staff (DCS), Plans and Operations. General 

Smith also wanted to elevate technical and flying 

training directors to DCS level; to reduce 

DCS/Manpower and Organization to directorate 

level; and to create a new DCS/Plans, Programs, and 

Operations Services. Based on the study and General 

Smith's directives, Air Training Command submitted 

a proposal to Headquarters USAF to reorganize the 

headquarters. The Air Staff approved the plan, and by 

year's end, ATC had three DCS-level organizations: 

flying training; technical training; and plans, 

programs, and operations services. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

Fighter Weapons School 

The command had suspended training at its Nellisbased fighter weapons school in late 1956. The 

reason for the suspension was because of the almost 

total failure of the F-86 aircraft used at Nellis. The 

school was to have received F-100s in FY58. Instead, 

those aircraft went to tactical units. In January 1957 

the ATC commander told the Air Force chief of staff 

At right, the flight commander of the 3567th 

Navigator Training Squadron, James Connally

AFB, Texas, uses a new astronomical triangle 

to brief celestial navigation instructors. Any

portion of the heavens could be projected on 

the ceiling of the Spitz planetarium at James 

Connally for study by navigation students. 
1958 

118

HELICOPTER TRAINING 

Pilots received rescue sling instruction using the H-5 helicopter during survival training.

Like the shuttlecock in a badminton game, 

helicopter pilot training had been batted back and 

forth over the years, from base to base and service to 

service. The Army Air Forces Training Command 

(AAFTC) initiated helicopter training at Freeman 

Field, Indiana, in June 1944. Six months later 

AAFTC moved the training to Chanute Field, Illinois, 

so it could consolidate the flying training operation 

with helicopter mechanic training. Helicopter pilot 

training remained at Chanute until 1 June 1945 when 

it transferred to Sheppard Field, Texas. A year later, 

on 31 May 1946, it moved yet again--to San Marcos 

Field, Texas. 

In the years after the war, the helicopter training 

pipeline slowed to a trickle. Army Ground Forces 

had a small contingent of helicopter pilots, but 

training for any additional pilots stopped altogether in 

July 1946. When the Air Force became a separate 

service in September 1947, it reestablished helicopter 

training for the Army and collocated it with Air Force 

training at San Marcos. There it remained until 1 

March 1949 when ATC moved the course to James 

Connally AFB, Texas. 

The Korean War generated more than a tenfold 

increase in Army requirements. Because San Marcos 

had access to a number of small auxiliary fields and 

was located in the midst of rough terrain 

approximating that of Korea, ATC decided to return 

helicopter training to San Marcos. At the same time, 

since the preponderance of pilots in training were 

Army students, the Army made a bid to take over its 

own helicopter training, so it could tailor the course to 

better suit its requirements. However, responsibility 

for providing that training remained with the Air 

Force throughout the war. It was not until 1956 that 

DOD gave the Army approval to train helicopter 

pilots. To accommodate the transfer of training, the 

Air Force also gave the Army two Texas bases--

Wolters in July 1956 and Edward Gary (formerly San 

Marcos) in December 1956. 

Before transferring Edward Gary, the Air Force 

relocated its helicopter training program to Randolph. 

Two years later ATC moved the school to Stead AFB, 

Nevada, to take advantage of the varying conditions 

that location offered--desert, water, snow, mountains, 

and high altitude. Stead was also the site of the Air 

Force's survival school, and the collocation of the 

schools presented opportunities for invaluable 

collateral training. 

From the beginning, the Air Force had restricted 
1958 

119

entry into helicopter training to those who were already 

rated pilots. This approach meant a helicopter student 

pilot spent 17 months in flying training. That changed 

in July 1964 when the Air Force instituted the 

Undergraduate Pilot Training (Helicopter) program 

which consisted of 26 weeks of instruction in T-28 

fixed-wing aircraft and 21 weeks in H-19 and H-21 

helicopters. This UPT helicopter program remained in 

effect until July 1967 when the Air Force again decided 

that all helicopter students had to be graduates of the 

standard undergraduate pilot training program. In the 

meanwhile, helicopter training moved from Stead AFB 

in Nevada (which was closing) to Sheppard AFB, Texas, 

early in 1966. 

As the war in Vietnam droned on, it became clear 

that the Army had assumed the dominant role in the 

employment of helicopters. In December 1969, the 

Department of Defense directed the Air Force and Navy 

to abandon their practice of requiring helicopter pilots to 

have first completed fixed-wing UPT. As it so frequently did, the Navy went its own way. The Army agreed to 

provide undergraduate helicopter pilot training for the 

Air Force in a two-phase program; the first phase would 

be at Fort Wolters, Texas, and Fort Rucker, Alabama, 

would conduct the second phase. Students received 

their wings upon completion of the training at Fort 

Rucker. 

In 1973 the Army closed Fort Wolters and 

consolidated both phases of helicopter pilot training at 

Fort Rucker. For the next several years the Air Force 

sent first assignment instructor pilots, other instructor 

pilots, and recent UPT graduates with banked 

assignments through the Army's Rotary Wing Qualification course to meet its modest requirements. 

During the late 1940s and early 1950s, ATC 

conducted helicopter pilot training at James 

Connally AFB in Texas. 

The Army continued to provide training at Fort 

Rucker until late in 2001, when it decided to retire the 

UH-1H. The Air Force chose to upgrade a portion of 

these aircraft and adopt a new, independent training 

program to meet the needs of its pilots. 

that the only way ATC could continue to operate the 

school was if the Air Force would agree to provide 

first-line aircraft on a timely basis. If that couldn't be 

agreed upon, then ATC felt the school mission should 

be handed to TAC. In December USAF officials 

announced that TAC would assume responsibility for 

the fighter weapons school, which it did on 

1 February 1958. 

Advanced Flying Training 

When the Air Force transferred tanker and bomber 

training to Strategic Air Command and fighter 

training to Tactical Air Command, ATC found itself 

with a much smaller advanced flying training 

program. All that was left was interceptor training at 

Moody and Perrin, helicopter and survival training at 

Stead, weapons controller instruction at Tyndall, and 

jet qualification and flight surgeon indoctrination 

training at Randolph. Jet qualification training had 

been taught at Craig, but by moving it to Randolph, 

Air Training Command was able to free Craig for 

basic pilot training and close Bryan. 

Multi-Engine Training 

Goodfellow and Reese were the last two bases to 

offer multi-engine pilot training. On 1 October ATC 

closed its Goodfellow school and handed jurisdiction 

of that base to the USAF Security Service. At about 

the same time, the 3500th Pilot Training Wing at 

Reese changed its mission from multi- to singleengine training; however, it was early 1959 before 

Reese completed multi-engine training and 

concentrated solely on single-engine jet training. 

Nuclear Weapons Training 

Beginning on 1 January, Air Training Command 

consolidated all of its nuclear weapons delivery 

training at McConnell. Courses at Randolph 

transferred. Other nuclear weapons training continued at Lowry and Kirtland. 
1958 

120

Helicopter Pilot Training 

At Randolph trainers had divided the helicopter 

course into three stages: H-13s, H-19s, and H-21s. In 

January 1958 ATC added a fourth phase--operational 

flying at Stead using the H-19. At the same time, 

ATC proposed to the Air Staff that all helicopter pilot 

training be moved to Stead AFB in Nevada. If that 

happened, Randolph could assume a jet flying 

mission. The Air Staff approved the move, and on 

1 July Air Training Command discontinued the 

Randolph school and, concurrently, established a new 

helicopter pilot school at Stead AFB. The H-13s were 

retired to Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona, while all 

the H-19s and H-21s moved to Stead. The new 

school was collocated with the survival school. 

T-37s in Primary Training 

Bainbridge was the first primary pilot training base to 

begin using T-37s. The first class trained with a 

combination of T-34s and T-37s was Class 59-9, 

beginning 21 January 1958. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Using Television in the Classroom 

Lowry was the first technical training base to study 

the possibility of using television in the classroom. 

The first televised training program began in 1958 for 

bomber navigation systems. 

USAF Sentry Dog Program 

In early 1957 the Army announced that it would close 

its dog training school at Fort Carson, Colorado. The 

Air Force established similar training at Lackland in 

FY 58. One of the first courses was set up to train air 

policemen as sentry dog handlers. It began on 

8 October. 

MILITARY TRAINING 

Marksmanship Center 

By early January, Lackland had secured instructors 

and equipment for its new marksmanship center, but 

no acceptable training site had been located. The 

Department of the Army had refused ATC's request 

to transfer Camp Stanley to the Air Force. So, 

Lackland officials began looking at other options, 

such as acquiring property on Leon Springs 

Reservation, which encompassed Camp Stanley and 

Camp Bullis. Also being studied were sites in the 

vicinity of Hondo. 

 Basic military trainees practice on the firing range at Lackland AFB, Texas.
121

1959

A major change in flight training occurred in 1959 when the USAF shifted from specialized to generalized 

training. Rather than select students for either single-engine or multi-engine training, each pilot now went 

through the same training and was considered universally assignable. As part of the change, the Air Force 

decided to end contract primary training and establish an undergraduate pilot training program, using 

military instructors throughout. By year's end, the Air Force had lowered its pilot production goal from 2,200 

to 1,500. At the same time, the Air Force decided it no longer needed aviation cadets in pilot training. Also 

during the second half of the year, Congress levied deep budgetary and manpower cuts on the Air Force. The 

service's solution was to reduce all headquarters structures from 10-20 percent. In ATC those savings were 

made by abolishing the materiel function at each of the technical training centers and passing those 

responsibilities to the maintenance and supply group commanders. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1959) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 26 

Alabama--Craig; California--Mather; Colorado--Lowry; Florida--Bartow and 

Graham; Georgia--Bainbridge, Moody, and Spence; Illinois--Chanute; 

Mississippi--Greenville and Keesler; Missouri--Malden; Nevada--Stead; 

Oklahoma--Vance; Texas--Amarillo, Brooks, Harlingen, James Connally, 

Lackland, Laredo, Moore, Perrin, Randolph, Reese, Sheppard, Webb 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 88,999 (9,997 officers; 339 warrant officers; 54,203 enlisted; 24,460 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 2,713 (B-25, C-45, C-47, C/TC-54, C-119, C-123, C-131, F-86, F-89, H-13, 

H-19, H-21, T-28, T-29, T-33, T-34, T-37) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

6 numbered air force equivalent units: 

 Lackland Mil Trng Center, Lackland AFB TX 

 Amarillo Tech Trng Center, Amarillo AFB TX 

 Chanute Tech Trng Center, Chanute AFB IL 

 Keesler Tech Trng Center, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Center, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Center, Sheppard AFB TX 

2 wing equivalent units: 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Wright-Patterson AFB 

OH 

 USAF Aerospace Medical Center, Brooks AFB 

TX 

5 flying training wings: 

 3510th, Randolph AFB TX 

 3550th (Advanced Interceptor), Moody AFB GA 

 3555th (Advanced Interceptor), Perrin AFB TX 

 3615th (Basic), Craig AFB AL 

 3635th (Advanced), Stead AFB NV 

3 navigator training wings: 

 3535th, Mather AFB CA 

 3565th, James Connally AFB TX 

 3610th, Harlingen AFB TX 

5 pilot training wings: 

 3500th (Basic), Reese AFB TX 

 3505th (Basic), Greenville AFB MS 

 3560th (Basic), Webb AFB TX 

 3575th (Basic), Vance AFB OK 

 3640th (Basic), Laredo AFB TX 

2 independent group or group equivalents: 

 3545th USAF Hospital, Goodfellow 

 3625th Technical Training (Weapons Controller), 

 Tyndall AFB FL 

6 pilot training groups (contract primary): 

 3300th, Graham AB FL 

 3301st, Moore AB TX 
1959 

122

 3302d, Spence AB GA 

 3303d, Bartow AB FL 

 3305th, Malden AB MO 

 3306th, Bainbridge AB GA 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

Lt Gen 

James E. Briggs 

Lieutenant General Frederic H. Smith was 

selected for his fourth star and assigned as 

Commander in Chief, United States Air Forces in 

Europe and Commander, Fourth Allied Tactical Air 

Force. General Smith departed ATC on 5 July. For a 

short period of time the vice commander, Major 

General Brandt, acted as the ATC commander. Then 

on 1 August, Maj Gen James E. Briggs, the former 

Superintendent of the United States Air Force 

Academy, received his third star and assumed 

command of ATC. 

ORGANIZATION 

INSTALLATIONS 

Brooks and Aerospace Medical Center 

In 1959 the Air Force put medical education and 

training and space medical research responsibilities 

under the direction of Air Training Command. 

Headquarters USAF directed that Continental Air 

Command transfer Brooks AFB, Texas, to ATC on 

1 October. At the same time, ATC activated the 

USAF Aerospace Medical Center at Brooks, and, 

concurrently, Air University issued orders reassigning the School of Aviation Medicine at Brooks 

to ATC and the aerospace medical center. In 

addition, ATC reassigned the USAF Hospital 

Lackland from the Lackland Military Training Center 

to the medical center. The last action, the 

organization of the 3790th Epidemiological 

Laboratory at Lackland, took place on 1 November; 

ATC assigned the lab to the medical center. The 

addition of all of these units increased ATC's 

assigned personnel strength by 4,965. 

SUBORDINATE UNITS 

Technical Training Bases Reorganized 

Concerned that the size of each of the technical 

training bases was more than a single commander 

could successfully manage, in late 1958 General 

Smith asked Headquarters USAF for permission to 

redesignate the technical training wings as training 

centers. Headquarters USAF approved the request. 

Effective 1 January 1959, ATC renamed its military 

training wing and all five of its technical training 

wings. The 3700th Military Training Wing became 

the Lackland Military Training Center; while the 

3320th Technical Training Wing was redesignated as 

Amarillo Technical Training Center; the 3345th, 

Chanute Technical Training Center; the 3380th, 

Keesler Technical Training Center; the 3415th, 

Lowry Technical Training Center; and the 3750th, 

Sheppard Technical Training Center. 

USAF Recruiting Service 

During the first half of 1959, there was much 

discussion about renaming the 3500th USAF 

Recruiting Wing as a higher-level organization. 

However, because the new unit would have greater 

status than the current wing, Headquarters USAF 

ordered discontinuance of the 3500th and activation, 

on 8 July, of the USAF Recruiting Service, assigned 

to ATC. Recruiting Service remained headquartered 

at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. Also on this date, 

ATC assigned six recruiting groups to the new 

service. They were located at Mitchel AFB in New 

York, Olmsted AFB in Pennsylvania, Robins AFB in 

Georgia, Lackland AFB in Texas, Chanute AFB in 

Illinois, and Mather AFB in California. 

3499th Field Training Wing 

Effective 1 September 1959, ATC discontinued the 

3499th Field Training Wing at Chanute. This unit had 

managed field training operations, but ATC had 

decided that there would be less duplication of effort 

if field training responsibilities were reassigned to the 

technical training centers. The command established 

field training squadrons at Sheppard on 15 June, at 

Amarillo on 15 July, and at Chanute on 15 August. 

NAMED ACTIVITIES 

Officer Military Schools 

Besides the Officer Candidate School, the preflight 

training school, and the officer basic military training 

courses, Lackland's Officer Military Schools added 

an additional organization, on 1 July, the USAF 

Officer Training School (OTS). (While OCS was a 

six-month program, OTS only lasted three-months. 

Besides length, the other major difference between 

the two schools was that OCS required only two 
1959 

123

years of college for entrance, while Officer Training 

School required a four-year degree.) 

HEADQUARTERS ORGANIZATION 

DCS/Installations 

The Deputy Chief of Staff, Installations became the 

DCS/Civil Engineering effective 21 April. 

Office of Information 

Effective 1 October, headquarters officials renamed 

the Information Services Agency as the Office of 

Information. 

TRAINING 

Civilian- vs Military-Conducted Training 

In early 1958, Headquarters USAF directed ATC to 

restudy the issue of training provided by civilian 

contractors as opposed to training conducted by the 

military. General Smith reported back to the Air Staff 

in November that while the use of some contracting 

services was advantageous to the Air Force, he did 

not think civilian contracting would solve the 

manpower and money problems facing the Air Force. 

By mid-1959, ATC had convinced the Air Staff that 

there should be no further expansion of contractual 

services in primary mission functions such as flight 

instruction and aircraft maintenance, but ATC was 

not opposed to contracting semi-technical or indirect 

support functions such as food services and 

petroleum, oil, and lubrication (POL) operations. 

FLYING TRAINING 

Final T-33 Delivered 

The most widely used aircraft in ATC was the T-33, 

first produced in 1948 by Lockheed. The company 

ended production in 1959, and ATC took possession 

of its last T-33 in early September at James Connally 

AFB. 

Students at Stead AFB, Nevada, learn how to survive in water. Stead adapted the base's recreational 

swimming pool for interim use until a permanent heated facility could be built. Students wore waterproof 

suits in winter to protect them from the cold water. 
1959 

124

To study equilibrium, specialists at the School of Aviation Medicine, Randolph Field, 

Texas used the blueprints of Danish inventors to build this Danish Balancing Chair.

Personnel from the School of Aviation Medicine 

check out pressure suit equipment as they prepare 

for a 10-day stay in a sealed altitude chamber at 

Randolph

The Ruggles Orientator, developed by Maj

William Ocker and Capt Carl Crane in the 

1930s, was used in preflight testing to give 

students the feel of instrument flying. A hood 

was placed over the cockpit to simulate the 

conditions of flying at night or under nonvisual 

circumstances.
1959 

125

Primary Training 

By August 1959 five of ATC's contract primary pilot 

training bases--Bainbridge, Graham, Bartow, Moore, 

and Spence--had begun using T-37s in place of 

T-28s. Only Malden kept the old training program--

T-34s and T-28s--since it was to be closed in the 

early 1960s. 

From 1931 until 1959, the School of Aviation Medicine was located at Randolph AFB, Texas, whereupon 

it moved across town to Brooks AFB. Shown above is the research laboratory at Randolph. 

Doctors check the reaction of flying cadets to a selfbalancing test. 

Scientists developed the tilting chair in an attempt 

to solve the puzzle of the vanishing horizon. 

In the 1930s, the Wobblemeter was used as a 

screening device to check balance and

orientation. 
1959 

126

Observer Training 

In March ATC directed Mather to move its primarybasic observer training to Harlingen by early 1962. 

This training had to be relocated so that Mather could 

take over Keesler's electronic warfare officer (EWO) 

training by early 1963. As a part of EWO training, 

students used TC-54 aircraft. However, jet aircraft 

were to replace the TC-54, and Keesler did not have 

the facilities to support jets. Even if Keesler had been 

in a position to expand its runways, there was no land 

available. While reluctant to lose the training, Keesler 

officials gained needed space for new family 

housing, as the transfer of EWO allowed this gulf 

coast base to close one runway. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Francis E. Warren and Scott End Training 

Training ended at Francis E. Warren on 24 March, 

but it was 1 May before ATC discontinued its 3450th 

Technical Training Group. At Scott the last students 

graduated in late February, and ATC inactivated the 

3310th Technical Training Group. 

Instructor Shortage 

Throughout its history, one of the most difficult tasks 

ATC had was that of meeting its instructor 

requirements. For example, in 1959 ATC was short 

of instructors in its Officer Military Schools at 

Lackland. The turnover in instructors at Keesler was 

so high it was impossible to maintain a high level of 

field-experienced teachers in the classroom. At 

Lowry critical shortages existed in atomic weapons 

courses, and at Amarillo supply courses had a limited 

number of teachers available. To help turn the 

situation around, Headquarters USAF approved a 

minimum three-year tour for military instructors and 

authorized 100 percent manning of instructor 

authorizations, whenever possible. 

Project Tight Fist 

During the 1950s, weapon systems became more 

complex. That, in turn, led to an increased need for 

highly trained technicians, and that often meant 

longer and larger technical training courses. All of 

this resulted in increased costs in personnel and 

support--costs that the Air Force found difficult to 

explain to Congress. Officials at Headquarters USAF 

were of the opinion that the commands were 

overstating their training requirements. They 

recommended a complete review of job standards, a 

consolidation of similar courses, greater use of field 

training detachments, and elimination of subject 

matter that could be provided in an OJT program. Air 

Training Command called this review Project Tight 

Fist. As a result of this reexamination, ATC was able 

to shorten 93 technical training courses. 

Missile Training 

Although ATC had trained personnel in various 

missile career fields since 1951, graduate totals had 

been fairly small. However, that changed in FY 59, 

when the command graduated more personnel in 

missile career fields in this 12-month period than in 

all previous years combined. Various ATC bases 

conducted a total of 219 courses during the year and 

graduated 8,004 students. 

In 1959 ATC began phasing out its last World War II trainer--the B-25. Almost 30,000 pilots had earned 

their wings in B-25 cockpits, logging nearly 2.5 million flying hours. With the graduation of the last B-25 

class at Reese in January 1960, specialized UPT came to an end and generalized training began.
1959 

127

MISCELLANEOUS 

Facilities 

Between FY 55 and FY 59, ATC's base structure 

decreased from 43 to 25 primary installations. With 

more modern facilities, officials believed the 

command could operate with 6 training centers and 

16 flying training bases. Many buildings had been 

constructed during World War II and were in such 

poor shape it wasn't economically feasible to repair 

them. Also, as more and more sensitive electronic 

equipment arrived on the training scene, there were 

problems with environmental controls. Some support 

Students in the missile training course at Sheppard AFB, Texas, learn the intricacies of inter-continental 

ballistic missile power production. 

Students in nuclear weapons training at Lowry AFB, Colorado, learn to mate the reentry vehicle to the Thor intermediate range ballistic missile.
1959 

128

facilities, such as warehouses, shops, and a hospital, 

had tarpaper exteriors. And many of the flying 

training bases had support facilities that were built 

for conventional aircraft and were not adaptable to jet 

flying. Unless these problem areas received attention, 

ATC planners felt training in the coming decade 

would be handicapped. However, to make these 

changes, the command estimated it would cost almost 

$110 million--money Congress seemed unlikely to 

approve anytime soon. 

Recruit Testing 

On 1 April 1958, Recruiting Service began preenlistment testing and selective recruiting of nonprior service airmen. The purpose of such actions was 

to improve the quality of incoming recruits and 

ensure "untrainables" were not enlisted. 

Missile students at Chanute AFB, Illinois, learn how to handle liquid oxygen (LOX), used 

as a missile final oxidizer. Here, students transfer LOX from storage to mobile service 

tanks.
129

1960

During the first half of 1960, Air Training Command announced that future preflight, primary, and basic 

pilot training program would be consolidated and given by military instructors at USAF-owned facilities. 

Training at all contract primary schools was to end by December 1960, and all of those bases would close by 

March 1961. This plan caused some problems in the cancellation of facility projects and the departure of 

personnel. Civilians left their jobs in such large numbers that certain contractors had difficulty hiring 

experienced replacements for short-term employment. Also through the end of the year, budget limitations 

prevented ATC from acquiring the high performance jet aircraft and equipment it needed for training 

purposes. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1960) 

Amarillo TTC Air Force MTC 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 26 

Alabama--Craig; Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; 

Colorado--Lowry; Florida--Bartow and Graham; Georgia-- 

Bainbridge, Moody, and Spence; Illinois--Chanute; 

Mississippi--Greenville and Keesler; Nevada--Stead; 

Oklahoma--Vance; Texas--Amarillo, Brooks, Harlingen, 

James Connally, Lackland, Laredo, Moore, Perrin, 

Randolph, Reese, Sheppard, and Webb 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 

89,692 (10,430 officers; 55,353 enlisted; 23,909 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 

2,202 (C-47, C-54, C-123, C-131, F-86, F-89, F-100, 

F/TF-102, H-19, H-21, H-43, T-28, T-29, T-33, T-34, and 

T-37) 

Sheppard TTC Keesler TTC 

Lowry TTC Chanute TTC 
1960 

130

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

6 numbered air force equivalent units: 

 Lackland Mil Trng Ctr, Lackland AFB TX 

 Amarillo Tech Trng Ctr, Amarillo AFB TX 

 Chanute Tech Trng Ctr, Chanute AFB IL 

 Keesler Tech Trng Ctr, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Ctr, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Ctr, Sheppard AFB TX 

 

2 wing equivalent units: 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Wright-Patterson AFB 

OH 

 USAF Aerospace Medical Ctr, Brooks AFB TX 

4 flying training wings: 

 3510th, Randolph AFB TX 

 3550th (Adv Interceptor), Moody AFB GA 

 3555th (Adv Interceptor), Perrin AFB TX 

 3635th (Adv), Stead AFB NV 

3 navigator training wings: 

 3535th, Mather AFB CA 

 3565th, James Connally AFB TX 

 3610th, Harlingen AFB TX 

6 pilot training wings: 

 3500th (Basic), Reese AFB TX 

 3525th, Williams AFB AZ 

 3560th (Basic), Webb AFB TX 

 3575th (Basic), Vance AFB OK 

 3615th (Basic), Craig AFB AL 

 3640th (Basic), Laredo AFB TX 

3 independent groups or group equivalents: 

 3545th USAF Hospital, Goodfellow AFB TX 

 3505th Tech Trng, Greenville AFB MS 

 3625th Tech Trng (Weapons Controller), Tyndall 

AFB FL 

5 independent pilot training groups (contract 

primary): 

 3300th, Graham AB FL 

 3301st, Moore AB TX 

 3302d, Spence AB GA 

 3303d, Bartow AB FL 

 3306th, Bainbridge AB GA 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

Continuing as the ATC commander was Lt Gen 

James E. Briggs. On 16 November 1960, the vice 

commander, Maj Gen Carl A. Brandt, retired. He was 

succeeded by Maj Gen Henry K. Mooney, former 

commander of SAC's Sixteenth Air Force. Mooney 

had served as the ATC assistant vice commander 

since September. 

ORGANIZATION 

INSTALLATIONS 

Bryan AFB, Texas 

In caretaker status since 1 October 1958, Air Training 

Command transferred Bryan to Air Materiel 

Command on 1 April 1960. 

Malden Air Base, Missouri 

With pilot production decreasing, the ATC 

commander suggested closing Malden, a contract 

flying training base, in early 1959. However, it wasn't 

until late December that Headquarters USAF 

approved the ATC request. The last primary class 

graduated on 29 June 1960, and one day later ATC 

terminated its training contract. On 26 July the 

command discontinued the 3305th Pilot Training 

Group (Contract Primary). That left ATC with five 

contract primary schools still in operation; ATC 

released Malden on 1 September. 

Williams AFB, Arizona 

On 1 October Tactical Air Command transferred 

Williams AFB to ATC. This Arizona base would 

become part of ATC's new consolidated pilot training 

program. On the same date, Tactical Air Command 

reassigned its 4530th Combat Crew Training Wing 

(Tactical Fighter) and subordinate units at Williams 

to Air Training Command, and ATC discontinued the 

wing. Concurrently, Air Training Command used 

assets from the 4530th to organize and establish the 

3525th Pilot Training Wing. 

NAMED ACTIVITIES 

Preflight Training 

Early in 1960 the Air Force authorized ATC to 

discontinue pilot and navigator preflight courses at 

Lackland. Pilot preflight training became the 

responsibility of the primary training bases, and 

navigator preflight moved to the navigator schools. 

Lackland graduated its last preflight class in early 

May, and ATC discontinued the school on 1 July. 

Preflight had accounted for more than half of the 

training load under the Officer Military Schools. The 
1960 

131

contract schools were the first to use the newlypublished syllabus for consolidated preflight-primary 

pilot training, beginning on 1 July. New navigator 

training programs went into effect at Harlingen on 

6 April and at James Connally on 14 April. 

USAF Language School 

On 1 January 1960, ATC established the USAF 

Language School at Lackland and assigned it to the 

USAF Officer Military Schools. The school provided 

English language instruction to foreign students 

coming to the United States for training under the 

Military Assistance Program. Manning for the new 

organization came from the 3746th Preflight Training 

Squadron (Language), which the command had 

discontinued on 1 January. 

Chaplain School Opened 

Since July 1953 the Air Force had conducted a 

training course for chaplains at Lackland. That course 

evolved into a separate school when, on 1 June 1960, 

ATC established the USAF Chaplain School at 

Lackland and assigned it to the Officer Military 

Schools. The new school provided instruction for 

chaplains as well as legal officers.

SUBORDINATE UNITS 

3505th Pilot Training Wing (Basic) 

Air Training Command discontinued its 3505th Pilot 

Training Wing (Basic) at Greenville AFB, 

Mississippi, on 1 December. Future plans called for 

the base to offer some type of technical training. 

TRAINING 

First OTS Class Graduates 

On 9 February the USAF Officers Training School at 

Lackland graduated its first class. Ninety-four 

students had entered the 12-week class, and eightynine completed the course, receiving their 

commissions. 

Foreign Language Training 

In early 1960, HQ USAF suggested the foreign 

language training program, currently conducted at 22 

colleges and universities, be transferred from Air 

University control to ATC. After considerable study, 

the Air Force passed control of the program to ATC 

on 1 July. At that time, the training program covered 

59 languages. Air Training Command subsequently 

assigned management responsibility to the Chanute 

Technical Training Center. Unlike the Lackland 

Two German students work on their English language proficiency at Lackland AFB. Allied students 

already schooled in English learned colloquial and technical language prior to entering flying training. 
1960 

132

program, which provided language training for 

foreign students, this program provided language 

instruction for USAF personnel. 

FLYING TRAINING 

Consolidated Pilot Training 

With pilot production continuing to fall, ATC began 

looking at a new training concept--combining 

preflight, primary, and basic instruction into 

consolidated pilot training (CPT). Secretary of the 

Air Force Dudley C. Sharp approved the idea in 

March 1960, and Air Training Command intended to 

have the training program in operation by March 

1961. At the same time, Secretary Sharp approved 

initiation of a consolidated pilot training program, 

ATC decided to replace all civilian flying instructors 

with military officers and to phase out all contract 

primary schools. The six bases selected for CPT were 

Craig, Webb, Vance, Reese, Williams, and Moody; 

however, by year's end, Laredo had been added. In 

addition, USAF officials sanctioned contracting base 

support functions where beneficial. As a part of the 

implementation plan, Williams had to be transferred 

from TAC to ATC, the basic instructor school at 

Craig moved to Randolph, basic flying training ended 

at Greenville, interceptor training ceased at Moody, 

and the remaining contract primary schools--Graham, 

Moore, Spence, Bartow, Malden, and Bainbridge--

closed. All contract primary training ended in late 

December. The new undergraduate pilot training 

program (UPT) contained three phases: preflight, 

primary, and basic. Only jet aircraft (T-37s and 

T-33s) would be used. 

F/TF-102 

The Air Force first programmed the F-102 for use in 

ATC training programs in 1955. At that time, the 

USAF followed an aircraft allocation program where 

a portion of the first production units of newlydesigned aircraft went to ATC so that trained 

crewmembers could be supplied to operational 

commands at the same time they were equipped with 

the weapon system. That policy changed in 1956 

when Gen Nathan B. Twining, Chief of Staff of the 

Air Force, on a visit to Russia, witnessed the flyover 

of a fleet of jet bombers known to have 

intercontinental range, but which USAF officials had 

thought were still in the prototype stage. Twining 

altered this aircraft allocation policy, directing that 

ATC not receive new fighter-interceptors until all 

requirements of operational units were filled. As a 

result, ATC did not receive F-102 aircraft until 

25 May 1960, when the first TF-102 landed at Perrin. 

The first class of students began F-102 training on 

12 August. By year's end, Perrin had transitioned 

from F-86Ls to F-102 and TF-102 aircraft. 

Interceptor Training 

Until the arrival of the F/TF-102s, ATC's two 

remaining interceptor training bases--Perrin and 

Moody--used T-33s and F-86Ls. Moody stopped 

interceptor instruction on 3 November 1960 and 

became one of ATC's new undergraduate pilot 

training schools. As the only remaining interceptor 

trainer, Perrin began transitioning to the new 

F/TF-102 aircraft. 

Firefighters and Helicopters 

Beginning on 19 April, the helicopter training 

program at Stead added a new program of instruction. 

A Convair TF-102A "Delta Dagger" trainer lands at Edwards AFB, California, with a drag chute. This 

Perrin AFB, Texas, trainer was similar to the F-102A but had a wider front fuselage seating two side-byside.
1960 

133

The school taught helicopter pilots and firefighters to 

operate fire suppression equipment using the H-43B. 

B-25 Phased Out 

The command phased out its last B-25 on 18 January 

1960 at James Connally. This aircraft had been in 

ATC's inventory since July 1943. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Instructor Shortage Continues 

Even though the technical training centers trained 

over 5,000 instructors in various formal resident 

courses during the year, the command still had 

problems filling critical instructor vacancies. Part of 

the problem was that turnover in personnel continued 

to be high. 

Electronic Counter Countermeasures 

In early 1959 during the Berlin crisis, the Air Force 

found its transport forces had inadequate capability to 

conduct operations in an electronic countermeasures 

environment. The Military Air Transport Service 

recommended to the Air Staff that ATC develop a 

field training program to provide initial and refresher 

training for transport aircrews. Air Training 

Command established that training in mid-1961. In 

addition, ATC initiated an electronic counter 

countermeasures ground training program at Keesler 

for personnel in Military Air Transport Service and 

Tactical Air Command. The first class began on 

17 October. 

Greenville Begins Technical Training 

In mid-October basic pilot training 

ended at this west central Mississippi 

base. While ATC officials would have 

preferred to close the installation, for 

political reasons they had to find a new 

training mission for Greenville. 

Between November 1960 and mid1961, Greenville received six personnel 

courses from Lackland and two fire 

protection courses from Lowry. 

MILITARY TRAINING 

BMT Revised 

During the last half of 1959, the Air 

Force announced it was short 13,304 

personnel to meet critical new 

requirements in Strategic Air Command 

and overseas. The Air Staff asked all 

major commands to look for ways to release 

personnel to fill these important vacancies. Officials 

in ATC determined that they could release almost 

3,000 military authorizations by cutting three flying 

training bases. The command also found it could save 

another 893 positions by reducing basic military 

training from 11 weeks to 8. Headquarters USAF 

approved the BMT reduction, effective 1 February 

1960. 

Marksmanship Center 

The Air Force directed formation of a marksmanship 

school at Lackland in late 1957. By the end of 1958, 

the center had a three-part mission: training, 

developing USAF competitive teams, and performing 

weapons research and maintenance. One of the 

problems the center had faced from its beginning was 

a lack of range space. In FY 60 ATC finally began 

construction of four carbine ranges at Lackland, and 

the command signed a joint use agreement with the 

Army for construction of a range at Camp Bullis, 

Texas. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Flying Ended at Brooks 

In early 1960, the remaining flying activities 

(medical evacuation and operational support airlift) at 

Brooks AFB, Texas, transferred to either Randolph or 

Kelly. Brooks officially ended all flying activities on 

23 June. To that date, it was the oldest continuously 

active flying establishment in the nation, its flying 

mission dating back to World War I. 

A military training instructor inspects basic trainees at Lackland 

AFB, Texas, in the 1960s. 
1960 

134

OFFICER TRAINING SCHOOL 

In the late 1950s, the four officer sources--Air Force 

Academy, Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), 

Officer Candidate School (OCS), and direct 

commissioning--were not producing the needed mix of 

skills and knowledge, especially in technical, 

engineering, and scientific fields. With four-year 

maturation periods, the Air Force Academy and ROTC 

were slow in responding to programmed manpower 

requirements. The Air Force was also reluctant to rely 

too heavily on direct commissioning. The solution was 

to tap into a significant manpower pool that had largely 

been ignored--graduating college seniors who had not 

participated in ROTC. 

To train those graduates, the Air Force resurrected a 

concept tried during World War II--an officer training 

school (OTS). On 1 July 1959, the Air Force activated 

OTS at Lackland AFB. The first class entered OTS on 

18 November 1959 and graduated on 9 February 1960. 

Believing that college graduates needed a shorter, but 

more intense course than OCS, the Air Force established 

a three month course for OTS, versus six months in 

OCS. At the same time, the Air Force created the 

Airman Education and Commissioning Program 

(AECP), allowing qualified airmen to complete degree 

requirements and earn a commission through OTS. 

The OTS system had several advantages over OCS. It 

provided a more expeditious and responsive procurement system, and training costs per graduate were 

less. Also, OTS met the Air Force's desire to make a 

college degree the minimum educational standard for its 

officers. Officer Training School expanded rapidly, 

turning out 320 graduates in FY 60, 2,265 in FY 62, and 

5,371 in FY 63. The school quickly outgrew its quarters 

on Lackland and in 1961 moved to nearby Medina Base. 

With the tremendous growth of OTS and the 

establishment of AECP, OCS was phased out on 1 July 

1963. 

Officer Training School soon turned into the major 

supplier of Air Force officers. Not only did OTS absorb 

OCS’s production quotas after 1963, but the Vietnam 

War soon accelerated officer procurement. As its peak, 

OTS produced 7,894 officers in FY 67. The 

unpopularity of the war on college campuses resulted in 

significant drops in ROTC enrollment, and OTS had to 

take up the slack. After the war, AFROTC scholarships 

proved very attractive and the military became more 

accepted on campuses. Eventually, the ratio between 

ROTC and OTS reversed itself, with ROTC doubling 

and even tripling OTS production. By the end of 2002, 

OTS had produced over 108,000 Air Force officers. 

 Graduates of OTS celebrate their commissioning as second lieutenants in the United States Air Force. 
135

1961

On 25 July 1961, President John F. Kennedy addressed the nation, outlining the crisis developing in Berlin 

and calling for a military buildup to cope with the growing tensions in East-West relations. At the same time, 

Kennedy asked Congress for authority to order to active duty certain reserve and guard personnel and to 

extend by one year enlistments and active duty tours. Congress gave its approval, and the Air Force 

immediately took steps to increase the strength and readiness of its forces. It recruited more people, especially 

in electronic and aircraft support career fields, and the rapid buildup caused some disruption in training 

plans. 

Parked in front of Base Operations at Randolph AFB, Texas, are the three aircraft—T-37 (primary phase), 

T-41 (flight screening), and the T-38 (basic phase)—the 3510th Flying Training Wing used in UPT. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1961) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 20 

Alabama--Craig; Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; Colorado-- 

Lowry; Georgia--Moody; Illinois--Chanute; Mississippi--Greenville 

and Keesler; Nevada--Stead; Oklahoma--Vance; Texas--Amarillo, 

Harlingen, James Connally, Lackland, Laredo, Perrin, Randolph, 

Reese, Sheppard, and Webb 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 83,283 (8,967 officers; 52,144 enlisted; 22,172 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,954 (C-47, C-54, C-123, C-131, F-86, F-89, F/TF-102, H-19, H-21, 

H-43, T-28, T-29, T-33, T-37, T-38, T-39, and U-3) 

 
1961 

136

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

6 numbered air force equivalent units: 

Lackland Mil Trng Ctr, Lackland AFB TX 

 Amarillo Tech Trng Ctr, Amarillo AFB TX 

 Chanute Tech Trng Ctr, Chanute AFB IL 

 Keesler Tech Trng Ctr, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Ctr, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Ctr, Sheppard AFB TX 

2 wing equivalent units: 

 Medical Service School, Gunter AF Station AL 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Wright-Patterson AFB 

OH 

3 flying training wings: 

 3510th, Randolph AFB TX 

 3555th (Adv Interceptor), Perrin AFB TX 

 3635th (Adv), Stead AFB NV 

3 navigator training wings: 

 3535th, Mather AFB CA 

 3565th, James Connally AFB TX 

 3610th, Harlingen AFB TX 

8 pilot training wings: 

 3500th, Reese AFB TX 

 3525th, Williams AFB AZ 

 3550th, Moody AFB GA 

 3560th, Webb AFB TX 

 3575th, Vance AFB OK 

 3615th, Craig AFB AL 

 3640th, Laredo AFB TX 

 3645th, Laughlin AFB TX 

3 independent groups or group equivalents: 

 3545th USAF Hospital, Goodfellow AFB TX 

 3505th Tech Trng, Greenville AFB MS 

 3625th Tech Trng (Weapons Controller), Tyndall 

AFB FL 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

Lieutenant General James E. Briggs continued as 

the ATC commander, and Maj Gen Henry K. 

Mooney remained vice commander. 

ORGANIZATION 

New Mission Statement 

The Air Force published a new mission statement for 

ATC in late December 1961. Added to its previous 

taskings were marksmanship training, instruction in 

foreign language and area studies, assistance training 

for friendly foreign powers, prisoner training, on-thejob training advisory service, and operational readiness training to support missiles. All of these were 

duties ATC already performed, but they had not been 

spelled out in previous mission statements. 

INSTALLATIONS 

Harlingen AFB, Texas 

In March, during his budget message to Congress, 

President Kennedy announced that the Department of 

Defense would close 73 military installations (70 

stateside), including Harlingen AFB, Texas, the only 

ATC base on the list. Harlingen entered its last group 

of students into navigator training on 9 August. From 

that point on, James Connally AFB provided all 

undergraduate navigator training. 

Medina, Texas 

Air Training Command had intended to move both 

the USAF Officer Training School and the Officer 

Candidate School from Lackland to the Medina 

annex in 1961. However, in response to the Berlin 

crisis, production rates for both schools increased to 

the point where only OTS could be accommodated at 

Medina annex. However, that move was not 

completed until 30 June 1962. 

Brooks AFB, Texas 

On 1 November 1961, ATC transferred Brooks AFB 

to Air Force Systems Command (AFSC). This was 

all part of an Air Force plan to reorganize aerospace 

medical research. Along with the transfer of Brooks, 

ATC passed to AFSC (and its newly formed 

Aerospace Medical Division at Brooks) control of the 

Metal identification tags are 

stamped out on a 

machine. All 

basic trainees received two tags,

which they retained for the 

duration of their 

service in the Air 

Force.
1961 

137

USAF Aerospace Medical Center, the School of 

Aerospace Medicine, the USAF Hospital Lackland, 

and the 3790th Epidemiological Laboratory. (The 

School of Aviation Medicine had been redesignated 

as the School of Aerospace Medicine on 8 May 

1961.) However, the Medical Service School at 

Gunter remained in the command, reassigned from 

the medical center to Headquarters ATC on 

1 October. 

SUBORDINATE UNITS 

Contract Primary Bases Closed 

While training at the contract schools ended in 

December 1960, Air Training Command did not stop 

operation of the training units until early 1961. 

Effective 16 January, ATC discontinued the 3306th 

Pilot Training Group at Bainbridge, and on 

1 February the other four groups--the 3300th at 

Graham, the 3301st at Moore, the 3302d at Spence, 

and the 3303d at Bartow ceased to exist. The 

command had intended to shut all five bases by 

March, but an Air Force-imposed freeze on shipping 

property delayed closure. Finally, ATC released 

control of Bainbridge and Spence on 31 March, 

Bartow on 19 May, and Graham on 31 August. 

Moore Air Base remained on inactive status until 

15 July 1963, when part of the installation was sold 

to private concerns and the rest transferred to the 

Department of Agriculture. 

Training Wings Redesignated 

On 5 January 1961, ATC redesignated five of its pilot 

training wings--the 3500th, 3560th, 3575th, 3615th, 

and 3640th--by dropping the parenthetical notation 

(basic). In addition, the 3550th Flying Training Wing 

(Advanced Interceptor) also underwent a name 

change, becoming the 3550th Pilot Training Wing. 

3645th Pilot Training Wing 

Effective 16 October 1961, ATC designated and 

organized the 3645th Pilot Training Wing at Laughlin 

AFB, Texas. The purpose of the activation was so 

that ATC could transfer half of its training mission 

from Laredo (where facilities were substandard) to 

Laughlin. Between 1952 and 1957, ATC had trained 

pilots at Laughlin, and then the base transferred to 

SAC. Air Training Command hoped to reacquire 

Laughlin within a number of months, when SAC 

moved its U-2 mission to another base. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

T-38 "Talon" 

At Randolph on 17 March 1961, ATC took possession of its first T-38. ATC's first supersonic flying 

trainer was intended to replace the T-33 in pilot 

training. By mid-year 15 "Talons" had arrived at 

Randolph to take part in an extensive test and evaluation program. The first ATC students who had the 

opportunity to fly the new T-38s came from Webb’s 

Class 62-F. By year's end, Randolph had 44 new 

T-38s and Webb had 21. 

Undergraduate Navigator Training 

Like the consolidation of the pilot training program, 

in 1961 ATC decided to combine preflight and 

primary-basic navigator training into a new program 

known as undergraduate navigator training or UNT. 

By early September Randolph had taken possession of its first five T-39As. Air Training Command intended 

to use the Sabreliners in the instrument pilot instructor school. Then in November two of the T-39s and 13 

military personnel took part in Operation Long Legs II, a month-long goodwill tour of Latin America.
1961 

138

James Connally would conduct UNT, and Mather 

would provide advanced training. The command 

planned to have the program in full operation by 

mid-1962. 

Interceptor Program 

By the end of the year, only Perrin trained interceptor 

pilots. The school noted two special events in 1961--

graduation of its first class of F-102 pilots in 

February and graduation of its last class of F-86L 

pilots in July. 

Space Systems 

In 1961 ATC had a limited space training program 

that covered the Samos (a reconnaissance satellite) 

and Midas (a missile detection and alarm system) 

research and development program. Field training 

detachments provided instruction (primarily theory) 

because the Air Staff had not made funding available 

to ATC for purchase of training equipment. 

Yugoslav Pilot Training 

In January the United States agreed to sell 135 

surplus F-86 "Sabrejets" to the Yugoslav government. As part of the agreement, US officials 

promised to train four pilots and four maintenance 

personnel at Perrin. Training began in September and 

ended in November. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Field Training 

When ATC first established its field training 

program, its purpose was to support Strategic Air 

Command, Tactical Air Command, and Air Defense 

Command. In 1961 ATC agreed to expand its field 

program provided necessary instructor authorizations 

came from the gaining commands. Headquarters 

USAF agreed with that proviso, and during the year, 

Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) and United States Air 

Forces in Europe (USAFE) transferred slots to ATC 

for the establishment of field training detachments in 

those commands. 

EWO Instruction 

The last electronic warfare officer (EWO) course 

began at Keesler on 13 December. Students 

graduated in August 1962. Beginning in January 

1962, Mather provided all EWO instruction in ATC. 

An instructor at Chanute AFB, Illinois, uses a training aid to teach students about the B-52 

electrical system. 
1961 

139

MILITARY TRAINING 

Overcrowding at Lackland 

While the command had the funding and personnel to 

support basic military training at Lackland, it did not 

have dollars for new construction. As a result, 

Lackland continued to operate with limited barracks 

space. Not only were crowded conditions unpleasant 

for incoming trainees, but they also were possible 

hazards to health. To alleviate the problem of overcrowding, Lackland officials began looking at other 

options, such as using facilities at the Medina annex 

near Lackland or putting all phases of basic military 

training at the technical training centers. However, 

Lackland found a temporary fix by phasing out 

preflight training at Lackland, transferring personnel 

courses to Greenville, and receiving funding for 

building renovation. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Family Housing 

Hundreds of family housing units constructed in the 

late 1940s and early 1950s also received facelifts in 

the early 1960s. Soon after taking the oath of office, 

President Kennedy directed acceleration of housing 

contract awards as a means of bolstering the sagging 

economy. In ATC not only were older units 

refurbished, but by year's end, contractors had 930 

new family housing units under construction at 

Brooks, Keesler, and Mather. 

Using operational training aids, future missile engine mechanics learn the complex job of servicing an Atlas 

missile at Chanute AFB, Illinois. 
1961 

140

AVIATION CADETS 

Cadets wait outside the main gate at Randolph AFB, 

Texas, the "Home of the Aviation Cadet." 

The aviation cadet program was the source of 

most rated officers until the late 1950s. 

Originally called flying cadet, the program 

started during World War I in an effort to build 

up the nation's air arm. The term was often used 

restrictively to denote a pilot cadet, but in its 

general application included persons in cadet 

training to become a rated officer. When the 

United States entered the war, it had a total of 65 

rated pilots and two flying schools. By the end 

of the war, over 10,000 pilots had been trained 

on 41 American bases or by allies in Europe and 

Canada. 

To qualify as a flying cadet, an applicant had 

to be "under 25, have 2-3 years of college, be 

athletic, honest, and reliable." This was a far cry 

from the extensive battery of physical, mental, 

and psychological tests required in later years. 

Aviation Cadets in basic flight training head for their planes. 
1961 

141

Although the cadet program ended with 

the armistice, Congress authorized its 

resumption in 1919, but limited the number 

on active duty to 1,300. Austerity hit the 

air arm in the 1920s; by 1926 the 

authorized number of cadets on duty had 

dropped to 196. A cadet who earned his 

wings could either serve out his enlistment 

or take a discharge and enter the Officers' 

Reserve Corps as a second lieutenant. In 

1929, during the midst of a five-year 

expansion program, the law changed, and 

cadets had to serve three years--one in 

flying school and two either as a reserve 

officer on active duty or as a regular Army 

officer. 

The term flying cadet changed to 

aviation cadet in 1941, just prior to the 

expansion of the cadet program during 

World War II. Although the cadet program 

normally required at least two years of 

college, this was reduced to a high school 

diploma. At the close of the war, aviation 

cadet training came to a standstill. It was 

not until 1948 that aviation cadet training 

began again in earnest but at the modest 

rate of 5,000 pilots per year. With the start 

of the war in Korea, flying quotas again 

began to rise. 

During the war, the educational 

requirement for the cadet program was 

again lowered to a high school diploma, but 

more and more officers commissioned 

through the Air Force Reserve Officer 

Training Corps (AFROTC) began entering 

flying training. After the Air Force 

Academy (AFA) graduated its first class in 

1959, the number of AFROTC and AFA 

graduates entering pilot and navigator 

training continued to rise. In 1961 the Air 

Force discontinued aviation cadet pilot 

training, and in 1965 it ended aviation cadet 

navigator training. Since then, applicants 

for either pilot or navigator training had to 

have a college degree. 

Colonel Idwal Edwards presents the regimental colors 

during a ceremony at Randolph AFB. 

Soon after their arrival at Randolph, these 1930s-era 

cadets are fitted for their initial uniform issue. 
1961 

142

Contracting Base Support 

Also as a part of the consolidation of all pilot 

training, the Air Force directed ATC to test the idea 

of using contractors to provide support services at 

pilot training bases. During the test, the command 

contracted for all support services at Vance, while at 

Craig all operations were to be provided by military 

personnel. Craig's expenditures were not to exceed 

those at Vance. The other pilot training bases--Reese, 

Webb, Williams, and Moody--used civilian contractors in a limited capacity in such areas as food 

service, housing, transportation, garbage collection, 

custodial and photographic services, and aircraft 

refueling. The command completed its year-long 

study in June 1962 and recommended that Vance be 

returned to normal military operation as soon as 

possible. However, because of the cost savings, 

Headquarters USAF disagreed and, instead, directed 

the Vance contract be renewed. 

Modernization of Facilities 

Early in 1959 the Air Force noted it had limited funds 

available for military construction projects. To stretch 

the dollars, USAF officials suggested renovating old, 

structurally sound facilities. That could be done at 

half the cost of building new facilities. At Chanute, 

Keesler, Lowry, Perrin, and Sheppard, open bay 

barracks were gutted and divided into rooms holding 

three men each. At Lackland the same World War IIvintage barracks also received a facelift inside and 

out. However, they remained open bay barracks. Also 

at this time, the Air Force released additional funds to 

pay for modernization of over 200 buildings at 

Amarillo, Chanute, James Connally, Keesler, 

Lackland, and Sheppard. Part of that modernization 

included the installation of air conditioning in 

barracks at Keesler, James Connally, and Sheppard. 

By mid-June 1961, contractors had completed most 

of the renovation work. The entire project cost $18.6 

million and rehabilitated 551 buildings. 

Command Motto 

ATC conducted a command-wide contest in 1961 to 

find a motto that best described its mission. A family 

member at Greenville AFB, Mississippi, had the 

winning entry: "Prepare the Man." The command 

used this motto until 29 October 1974. 

In October, because ATC no longer 

conducted base search and rescue 

operations, it transferred its H-43A 

helicopters at Stead to Military Air 

Transport Service. However, H-43s 

still remained at the flying bases to 

provide fire rescue service. 
143

1962

In the summer of 1962, the Soviets began increasing their military assistance to Cuba. Intelligence reports 

indicated that the Russians were placing offensive weapons, including ballistic missiles, in Cuba. On 

22 October, in an address to the nation, President Kennedy said the Soviet Union was building long-range 

missile bases in Cuba. Kennedy ordered an air and sea quarantine of the island. For its part, ATC provided 

personnel and materiel support. Also, one of its newly-acquired bases, Laughlin, played a major role in the 

Cuban crisis, as it was home to the SAC U-2s that first spotted missiles in Cuba. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1962) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 19 

Alabama--Craig; Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; Colorado-- 

Lowry; Georgia--Moody; Illinois--Chanute; Mississippi--Greenville 

and Keesler; Nevada--Stead; Oklahoma--Vance; Texas--Amarillo, 

James Connally, Lackland, Laredo, Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, 

Sheppard, and Webb. 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 80,057 (8,803 officers; 50,391 enlisted; 20,863 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,782 (C/VC-47, C/TC/VC-54, C-123, C-131, CH-21, HH-43, T-28, 

T/NT/VT-29, T/JT-33, T-37, T-38, T-39, U-3, and UH-19) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

6 numbered air force equivalent units: 

Lackland Mil Trng Ctr, Lackland AFB TX 

 Amarillo Tech Trng Ctr, Amarillo AFB TX 

 Chanute Tech Trng Ctr, Chanute AFB IL 

 Keesler Tech Trng Ctr, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Ctr, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Ctr, Sheppard AFB TX 

2 wing equivalent units: 

 USAF Medical Service School, Gunter AFS AL 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Wright-Patterson AFB 

OH 

2 flying training wings: 

 3510th, Randolph AFB TX 

 3635th (Advanced), Stead AFB NV 

2 navigator training wings: 

 3535th, Mather AFB CA 

 3565th, James Connally AFB TX 

8 pilot training wings: 

 3500th, Reese AFB TX 

 3525th, Williams AFB AZ 

 3550th, Moody AFB GA 

 3560th, Webb AFB TX 

 3575th, Vance AFB OK 

 3615th, Craig AFB AL 

 3640th, Laredo AFB TX 

 3646th, Laughlin AFB TX 

3 independent groups or group equivalents: 

 3505th Tech Trng, Greenville AFB MS 

 3545th USAF Hospital, Goodfellow AFB TX 

 3625th Tech Trng (Weapons Controller), Tyndall 

AFB FL 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

Lieutenant General James E. Briggs continued as 

the ATC commander and Maj Gen Henry K. Mooney 

as vice commander. 
1962 

144

ORGANIZATION 

INSTALLATIONS 

Perrin AFB, Texas 

In 1958 when SAC and TAC took responsibility for 

conduct of their combat crew training, ADC had 

refused the opportunity to train pilots as all-weather 

interceptor crews, so that mission had remained in 

ATC. Then, in March 1962, Air Defense Command 

decided it wanted to merge Perrin's interceptor assets 

with other air defense resources. The plan was to use 

Perrin to provide tactical alert training. Air Defense 

Command acquired Perrin AFB, Texas, on 1 July and 

with it the 3555th Flying Training Wing. However, 

on the same date, ADC discontinued the 3555th and, 

using the wing's assets, formed the 4780th Air 

Defense Wing (Training). 

Laughlin AFB, Texas 

Strategic Air Command transferred jurisdiction of Laughlin to ATC on 1 April 1962. 

NAMED ACTIVITIES 

Officer Military Schools 

Effective 1 July, ATC discontinued 

Headquarters, Officer Military Schools at 

Lackland. The Path Finder study, mentioned 

below, found this headquarters unnecessary, 

since the Officer Candidate School was about 

to go away, leaving only the Officer Training 

School. 

SUBORDINATE UNITS 

3646th Pilot Training Wing 

On 15 February ATC redesignated its 3645th 

Pilot Training Wing at Laughlin as the 3646th 

Pilot Training Wing. 

3610th Navigator Training Wing 

Air Training Command discontinued its 3610th 

Navigator Training Wing and subordinate units at 

Harlingen AFB, Texas, on 1 July. At the same time, 

the command placed Harlingen on inactive status. 

TRAINING 

Path Finder Study 

In November 1961 the ATC commander appointed a 

Path Finder study group to assess the command's 

ability to meet future training requirements and 

provide new ideas that could be applied to training 

technology. Group members completed the study in 

May 1962. Their major finding was that 

Headquarters ATC was too large. They proposed 

reorganizing the headquarters and transferring certain 

functions to the training centers and wings to allow 

Headquarters ATC more time to focus on policymaking and mission. The command implemented 

most of the study's recommendations. 

Foreign Language Training 

The Department of Defense, in early 1962, assigned 

the US Army responsibility for all DOD foreign 

language training. Headquarters USAF opposed the 

move because the Air Force program at Lackland 

was oriented toward language used in flying and 

technical training. To answer Air Force concerns, the 

Defense Department directed the Army to establish a 

Defense Language Institute; however, the institute 

was to have only technical control over Lackland's 

foreign language program. Air Training Command 

would retain operational control. 

Operation Overhaul 

In July 1962 ATC initiated Operation Overhaul, an 

effort to improve the Officer Training School (OTS) 

program. The School had expanded to the point 

where it provided the Air Force with more than half 

of its newly-commissioned officers. By implementing Operation Overhaul, ATC adjusted the OTS 

program so that it more nearly reflected job 

requirements of a junior officer. 

FLYING TRAINING 

Foreign Pilot Training 

Air Training Command began using the T-28 in 

foreign pilot training in 1958 at Graham Air Base in 

Florida. When that contract school closed in early 

Students attending the Nuclear Weapons Specialist 

(Reentry Vehicles) Course at Lowry Technical Training

Center, Colorado, "learn by doing" as they attach the 

Mark VIII warhead to the Mark III nose module. 
1962 

145

1961, this training moved to Moody AFB in Georgia. 

In early 1962 the number of South Vietnamese 

students entering this program began to increase 

sharply. As a result, the Air Force stopped disposal 

action on all T-28s stored at Davis-Monthan AFB in 

Arizona. Twenty-six of those aircraft moved to 

Moody, plus the Navy transferred four. Besides the 

pilot training, the Air Force also directed Air 

Training Command to form a 45-member mobile 

training team to go to Southeast Asia to train T-28 

maintenance personnel. 

Undergraduate Navigator Training 

In early June, Harlingen AFB, Texas, closed its UNT 

program, leaving James Connally AFB, Texas, as the 

only base providing this training. The command 

published a new syllabus during the year, which 

extended training by six weeks. That extension was 

needed to cover the basic electronics instruction 

added back to the course from the advanced 

navigator training program. This was a shift back to 

the way training was conducted in 1957, before basic 

electronics was moved to the advanced training 

syllabus. 

SAC KC-97 Operations 

Since July 1958, Strategic Air Command had 

conducted KC-97 training at Randolph in a tenant 

status. Its 4397th Air Refueling Wing oversaw the 

training program. However, ATC wanted SAC to 

relocate so that Randolph could be used for other 

ATC programs. While Headquarters USAF agreed 

with ATC, it was reluctant to push the relocation 

issue, since the KC-97 mission was soon to end. 

However, a series of delays pushed that inactivation 

to 30 June 1962. 

With a cheerful assist from his fellow Vietnamese 

Air Force students, this air cadet takes his 

traditional dunking following his first solo flight in 

the T-28. The cadet was a member of the last class 

to train in the T-28 program at Keesler AFB, 

Mississippi. This class graduated in 1973. 

In a 1960 technical training class at Keesler AFB, Mississippi, students learn to maintain the 

semiautomatic ground environment (SAGE) air defense system.
1962 

146

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

SAGE Instruction 

On 1 July ATC ended its semiautomatic ground 

environment (SAGE) system training program at 

Richards-Gebaur AFB in Missouri. From that point 

on, Keesler conducted all SAGE training. 

F/RF-4 Training 

Although the Air Force didn't expect to receive its 

first F/RF-4C until late 1963, the technical training 

centers at Amarillo and Lowry were already 

preparing lesson plans for courses that would support 

these aircraft. In addition, ATC trainers also were at 

work developing field training programs to support 

the new aircraft. 

Intelligence Training 

On 14 March Headquarters USAF notified ATC that 

the Defense Department had assigned responsibility 

for all DOD air intelligence training and advanced 

training in photographic, radar, and infrared 

interpretation to the Air Force. Sheppard already 

conducted some intelligence training. However, late 

in the year, Lowry officials proposed placing all 

intelligence training at Lowry, and both ATC and the 

Air Staff agreed. 

Field Training 

Air Training Command moved closer to worldwide 

training coverage when, in the second half of the 

year, it began providing field training support to 

Military Air Transport Service and Alaskan Air 

Command. 

MILITARY TRAINING 

Student Housing Problems at Lackland 

In 1960-61 ATC thought it had found a fix for the 

crowded housing conditions on Lackland. Officials 

made plans to move the language school to Lowry 

and to put medical helper training at Greenville. 

However, by 1962 ATC learned that Lowry's training 

load was going to increase substantially. There would 

not be room for the language school. Rather than 

moving the language school, ATC instead transferred 

medical helper training to Greenville in July, and in 

August and September the command moved 

cryptographic operator courses from Lackland to 

Sheppard. These training relocations were just bandaid fixes. The only way the housing problem could be 

corrected was by building new facilities. 

Jungle Jim 

In January 1961 Soviet Premier Nikita S. Krushchev 

announced his regime would support national wars of 

liberation. At that time the Defense Department had 

no troops specially trained to oppose insurgent 

forces. In response, the Chief of Staff of the Air 

Force, Gen Curtis LeMay, ordered establishment of a 

combat crew training squadron at Eglin that would 

develop forces able to instruct US allies in counter 

guerrilla operations. The Air Staff also directed ATC 

to establish a special survival course for Jungle Jim 

personnel (those assigned to the squadron). Stead 

personnel began that training in April 1961. It was 

because of projects like Jungle Jim that ATC 

redesignated its USAF Survival School as the USAF 

Survival and Special Training School on 1 March 

1962. 

Physical Fitness Testing 

For the first time, in October 1962 ATC began testing 

the physical fitness of its military personnel. 

A survival training instructor at Stead AFB, 

Nevada, demonstrates how to slice meat to 

preserve as jerky. 
147

1963

The Air Force established a standard wing structure--a dual deputy concept--in 1963. While there was 

some reluctance in ATC to implement such a system, in July seven of the UPT wings--Reese, Moody, 

Williams, Laughlin, Laredo, Webb, and Mather--reorganized. Each of the wings had a Deputy Commander 

for Operations, a Deputy Commander for Materiel, an air base group, and a medical function. In early 

August, ATC replaced the Deputy Commander for Operations with a Deputy Commander for Training. The 

remaining flying training wings and technical training centers were scheduled to reorganize under the dual 

deputy concept on 1 January 1964; however, lack of support by Headquarters ATC officials caused the plan 

to be rescinded in January 1964. In July, the command closed the doors on the Officer Candidate School, 

which had commissioned second lieutenants into the Air Force since 1942. Finally, ATC, which had 

particular interest in personnel matters because of its mission of recruiting and training, stood up the USAF 

Military Personal Center at Randolph AFB. 

Aerial view of Lowry AFB, Colorado, in 1962. At the center is the headquarters for Lowry 

Technical Training Center. The building was the Agnes Memorial Sanitarium until the city of 

Denver donated it to the Army in 1937 to help establish Lowry Field. 
1963 

148

OFFICER CANDIDATE SCHOOL 

With the enormous expansion of the Army Air 

Forces (AAF) in the early years of World War II, an 

increasing burden was placed on officers, especially the 

small group of flying officers. To ease that burden, a 

large number of administrative officers had to be trained 

to relieve the flying officers of their non-flying duties. 

In 1942 Lt Gen Henry H. Arnold, Chief of the AAF, 

directed Maj Gen Walter R. Weaver, head of the 

Technical Training Command, to establish an Officer 

Candidate School (OCS). In response, General Weaver 

quickly opened an officer candidate school in February 

1942 at several Miami Beach, Florida, resort hotels. 

Officer candidates were selected from two categories: 

former aviation cadets eliminated for flying or medical 

deficiency and warrant officers and enlisted men. Their 

qualifications included age limits of 18 to 36 years, 

demonstrated capacity for leadership, and a score of 110 

or higher on the Army general classification test. These 

requirements remained in effect without major 

modification until after V-E day. In succeeding years, 

however, these requirements changed in response to the 

fluctuating need for officers. 

Initially the OCS course was 12 weeks in length, 

and the academic curriculum was uniform for all 

candidates. In January 1943 the curriculum was 

divided into two phases. The first phase involved 

military indoctrination and leadership, while the 

second prepared candidates for duty in a particular 

field. To handle the expanded curriculum, officials 

extended the OCS course to 16 weeks in June 1943. 

The school remained at Miami Beach until it moved 

in June 1944 to the Aviation Cadet Center in San 

Antonio, Texas. In June 1945, only two months before 

it was temporarily suspended, the school moved to 

Maxwell Field, Alabama. During the war, over 29,000 

men graduated from Officer Candidate School. After 

the war, the Officer Candidate School closed for a 

short period of time and then resumed its 16-week 

course in September 1945. 

The following February, OCS returned to San 

Antonio. Although only a shell of its former self, the 

school continued to graduate newly commissioned 

reserve officers at a rate of 300-600 per year for the next 

Folding up the OCS flag for the last time are (left to right) Lt Col J. V. O’Brien, 

Commander, OCS; Maj Gen P. M. Spicer, Commander, Lackland Military 

Training Center; and Col B. H. Settles, Director of Operations at Lackland 

Military Training Center. After 21 years of operation, OCS officially closed its 

doors on 1 July 1963. 
1963 

149

Following graduation, officer candidates have a 

private ceremony of their own. 

17 years, save for the Korean War when there was an 

increase in production. The curriculum remained substantially the same during this period, although the 

course was extended from 16 to 24 weeks in length. 

There were some changes in eligibility requirements, 

however. When OCS reopened in 1946, only enlisted 

men and warrant officers were eligible. The following 

year, the school was open to civilians, who had at least 

two years of college or passed a college-level test. In 

1948 women also became eligible. Then in 1952 the 

educational requirements for OCS were lowered. Two 

years of college were no longer necessary, and high 

school graduates could now enter. In 1955, however, 

OCS applicants were required to have completed one 

year of active duty. 

In the late 1950s, the Air Force also modified OCS's 

mission. From producing primarily administrative and 

other nonrated officers, the school began to send about 

one-half of its graduates to preflight school, responding 

to the Air Force's need for more aircrew members. In 

1959 when the Air Force, realizing that it had to expand 

officer procurement to meet its growing needs, opened 

Officer Training School (OTS), OCS's days were 

numbered. For over 21 years, OCS had afforded 

airmen an opportunity to earn an Air Force 

commission. Faced with the Air Force's increased 

emphasis on college graduates for its officer corps and 

the concomitant growth of OTS, as well as the 

establishment of the Airman Education and 

Commissioning Program (AECP) in 1960, OCS was 

phased out on 1 July 1963. During its existence, OCS 

produced over 41,000 officers. 

Officer candidates eat a "square" meal in the OCS dining hall at Lackland AFB. 
1963 

150

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1963) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 19 

Alabama--Craig; Arizona--Williams; California-- Mather; Colorado--Lowry; 

Georgia--Moody; Illinois--Chanute; Mississippi--Greenville and Keesler; 

Nevada--Stead; Oklahoma--Vance; Texas-- Amarillo, James Connally, 

Lackland, Laredo, Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, Sheppard, and Webb 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 79,272 (8,524 officers; 50,521 enlisted; 20,227 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: Body text with one carriage return below. 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

6 numbered air force equivalent units: 

 Lackland Mil Trng Ctr, Lackland AFB TX 

 Amarillo Tech Trng Ctr, Amarillo AFB TX 

 Chanute Tech Trng Ctr, Chanute AFB IL 

 Keesler Tech Trng Ctr, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Ctr, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Ctr, Sheppard AFB TX 

2 wing equivalent units: 

 USAF Medical Service School, Gunter AFS AL 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Wright-Patterson AFB 

OH 

2 flying training wings: 

 3510th, Randolph AFB TX 

 3635th (Advanced), Stead AFB NV 

2 navigator training wings: 

 3535th, Mather AFB CA 

 3565th, James Connally AFB TX 

8 pilot training wings: 

 3500th, Reese AFB TX 

 3525th, Williams AFB AZ 

 3550th, Moody AFB GA 

 3560th, Webb AFB TX 

 3575th, Vance AFB OK 

 3615th, Craig AFB AL 

 3640th, Laredo AFB TX 

 3646th, Laughlin AFB TX 

2 independent groups equivalent units: 

 3505th Tech Trng, Greenville AFB MS 

 3545th USAF Hospital, Goodfellow AFB TX 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

On 1 August 1963, Lt Gen Robert W. Burns 

assumed command of ATC from Lt Gen James E. 

Briggs, who retired after 35 years of service. Before 

his ATC assignment, General Burns had concurrently 

served as the Chairman of the Inter-American 

Defense Board and as the senior Air Force member 

of the Military Staff Committee at the United 

Nations. Continuing as vice commander was Major 

General Mooney. 

ORGANIZATION 

NAMED ACTIVITIES 

Air Intelligence 

Effective 1 July 1963, Air Training Command established the Armed Forces Air Intelligence Training 

Center as a named activity at Lowry AFB, Colorado. 

The center was assigned to the 3415th Technical 

School, USAF at Lowry, and its first students entered 

Lt Gen Robert W. 

Burns 
1963 

151

training on 17 July. By establishing the training 

center, ATC consolidated all intelligence training at a 

single base. 

SUBORDINATE UNITS 

3625th Technical Training Group 

With the reduction in weapons controller training 

requirements, ATC decided to redesignate its training 

group at Tyndall as a squadron and assign it to the 

3380th Technical School, USAF at Keesler. On 

1 July ATC renamed the group the 3625th Technical 

Training Squadron (Weapons Controller). 

Pilot Training Groups Discontinued 

As a part of cost cutting measures directed by the 

Department of Defense, ATC discontinued six pilot 

training groups on 15 July: the 3500th at Reese, the 

3525th at Williams, the 3550th at Moody, the 3560th 

at Webb, the 3640th at Laredo, and the 3645th at 

Laughlin. 

TRAINING

Instructor Shortage 

During 1963 ATC reported a shortage of captains 

assigned. Because a majority of officer instructor 

authorizations called for captains, this meant the 

command was unable to fill its officer instructor slots 

with skilled personnel. Flying training missions 

confronted similar manning difficulties because most 

pilots and navigators lacked field experience. As a 

result, training quality suffered. 

FLYING TRAINING 

Undergraduate Pilot Training 

In the first half of the year, the Office of the 

Secretary of Defense finally approved Laredo as the 

eighth ATC base to provide undergraduate pilot 

training. The command had first decided to add 

Laredo to its list of UPT bases in 1960, though 

money was needed to repair the aging airfield. It took 

almost two years for the Defense Department to 

release limited funds for runway repair. Other 

changes in pilot training included the relocation of 

foreign pilot training from Moody AFB, Georgia, to 

Randolph. That gave Moody the capability to support 

jet pilot training. Also, after months of waiting, SAC 

finally moved its U-2 wing from Laughlin to DavisMonthan AFB, Arizona, giving ATC the additional 

space it needed to conduct pilot training more 

effectively from Laughlin. 

T-38 Conversion 

During 1963 ATC continued to accept T-38 "Talons" 

into its inventory, and by December the conversion 

from T-33s to T-38s was one year ahead of schedule. 

Of the eight UPT bases, only Laughlin, Laredo, and 

Craig had not begun conversion. 

Pilot Attrition 

Although attrition rates during 1963 were lower than 

programmed, there was one category of student 

whose attrition was higher than any other. This was 

the officer training school (OTS) graduate entering 

pilot training. During FY 62, OTS trainees had a 43 

percent attrition rate. In the first half of FY 63, that 

figure rose to 46.5 percent. Among the contributing 

factors was the lack of previous association with a 

military or flying situation, as well as a need for more 

careful screening of OTS graduates before they 

entered pilot training. One of ATC's actions, 

prompted by an IG inspection, was to transfer staff 

supervisory responsibility of OTS from the Deputy 

Chief of Staff, Technical Training to the Deputy 

Chief of Staff, Operations. 

Airspace Concerns 

Since the introduction of the supersonic T-38 in 

1961, ATC had problems with civilian agencies in 

allocating airspace. Recurring negotiations took place 

between ATC and the Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA) in 1963. Representatives from 

several Air Force commands, including ATC, SAC, 

and TAC, convened at Randolph AFB in December 

1963 and sorted out long- and short-term solutions to 

the problem of airspace. Following that meeting, the 

FAA told its regional directors that there was an 

urgent need to reexamine ATC's T-38 training 

program and to absorb as many training operations as 

possible into the "area positive control" (APC) 

An instructor of laser photo reconnaissance 

systems at Lowry AFB, Colorado, demonstrates 

polarized light with a laser light source. (Note the 

master instructor badge used in the 1950s and 

1960s.)
1963 

152

environment--the airspace between 41,000 and 

60,000 feet. Conferees agreed on a tentative schedule 

that would integrate training into the APC at the 

several flying training bases. 

Simulator Versus EWO Flying Training 

Periodically, ATC had made efforts to modernize or 

replace the eight TC-54D simulators used in 

electronic warfare officer training since 1958 but 

with little success. In August 1963 the Air Force 

disapproved an ATC request to modify a dozen T-29s 

at a cost of $1.2 million, because funds were not 

available. At the same time, Headquarters USAF 

began looking at the possibility of reassigning 

electronic countermeasures-equipped T-29s from 

SAC to ATC for EWO training; however, that option 

also failed when Mather officials determined these 

aircraft did not meet the needs of students in 

electronic warfare training. Instead, the command 

slowed its disposal of TC-54s and decided to 

continue use of its current simulators. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Missile Training 

In 1963 Chanute discontinued Bomarc missile 

training and, at the same time, prepared course 

outlines for SAC's Minuteman II program. 

In the foreground of the Chanute missile training 

facility, is the Titan missile area. Titan and Atlas 

components are in the center, and the Atlas 

missile area is in the background. 

MILITARY TRAINING 

Cuban Brigade 

A small part of Lackland's military training program 

commanded attention at high levels in March. 

Veterans of the 2506th Cuban Brigade, which had 

participated in the Bay of Pigs debacle, reported to 

Lackland under a DOD program that permitted 

Cuban officers and enlisted men to join one of the US 

services and receive military and language 

instruction. Lackland's chief contribution was 

language training. Although some Cubans wanted 

flying duty, training was confined to seven fields: 

supply, aircraft maintenance, transportation, 

financial, motor vehicle maintenance, air police, and 

personnel. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Personnel Operating Functions to Transfer 

For many years, USAF officials had discussed the 

idea of consolidating personnel operating functions 

into a single personnel center or command. In fact, 

between the end of World War II and 1962, the Air 

Force had examined that possibility in 26 separate 

studies. Air Training Command had a special interest 

in the consolidation issue because it possessed two 

major personnel functions--recruitment and training. 

Then in 1962 the Office of the Secretary of Defense 

introduced Project 39, which was directed at cutting 

headquarters strength by 15 to 30 percent. That 

brought renewed interest in consolidation, because 

moving personnel functions to Randolph could save 

over 1,000 authorizations at the Pentagon. In mid1963 the Air Force moved various personnel 

functions from Washington, D.C., to Randolph. The 

move was wrapped in controversy, because of discussions to consolidate personnel functions possibly 

with ATC--in effect, creating an Air Force Training 

and Personnel Command. Much of the opposition to 

consolidation came from senior air commanders who 

feared they would lose control over their sources of 

manpower, if ATC managed all personnel. This 

consolidation never happened, but the various 

personnel offices were combined at Randolph into a 

separate USAF Military Personnel Center on 

2 November 1963. 

The new USAF Military Personnel Center stood 

up on 2 November 1963. 
153

1964

As the year progressed, plans for moving the USAF Recruiting Service from Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, 

to Randolph continued to mature. Another development in 1964 was the phasedown of Greenville AFB, 

Mississippi. The spin characteristics of the T-37 aircraft continued to cause concern, but the problem was 

studied and resolved during the year. Possibly because of the escalation of the war in Vietnam, the Air Force 

experienced an unusually good recruiting year. During early 1964, ATC submitted its proposals for cuts 

mandated by the Air Force under Project ICE--increased combat effectiveness. Despite chronic problems 

with contractors and slipped milestones, ATC moved ahead with training plans for the Minuteman II missile. 

Students in basic training at Lackland AFB, Texas, learn how to handle and control incendiaries as part of 

chemical warfare training. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1964) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 19 

Alabama--Craig; Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; Colorado--Lowry; 

Georgia--Moody; Illinois--Chanute; Mississippi--Greenville and Keesler; 

Nevada--Stead; Oklahoma--Vance; Texas--Amarillo, James Connally, 

Lackland, Laredo, Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, Sheppard, and Webb 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 77,696 (8,835 officers; 48,856 enlisted; 20,005 civilians) 
1964 

154

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,663 (C-47, C-54, C-118, C-123, C-131, CH-3, CH-21, HH-43, T-28, T-29, 

T-33, T-37, T-38, T-39, T-41, U-3, UH-19) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

6 numbered air force equivalent units: 

 Lackland Mil Trng Ctr, Lackland AFB TX 

 Amarillo Tech Trng Ctr, Amarillo AFB TX 

 Chanute Tech Trng Ctr, Chanute AFB IL 

 Keesler Tech Trng Ctr, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Ctr, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Ctr, Sheppard AFB TX 

2 wing equivalent units: 

 USAF Medical Service School, Gunter AF Station 

AL 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Wright-Patterson AFB 

OH 

2 flying training wings: 

 3510th, Randolph AFB TX 

 3635th (Advanced), Stead AFB NV 

8 pilot training wings: 

 3500th, Reese AFB TX 

 3525th, Williams AFB AZ 

 3550th, Moody AFB GA 

 3560th, Webb AFB TX 

 3575th, Vance AFB OK 

 3615th, Craig AFB AL 

 3640th, Laredo AFB TX 

 3646th, Laughlin AFB TX 

2 navigator training wings: 

3535th, Mather AFB CA 

 3565th, James Connally AFB TX 

2 independent groups or group equivalents: 

 3505th Tech Trng, Greenville AFB MS 

 3545th USAF Hospital, Goodfellow AFB TX 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

Lt Gen 

William W. Momyer 

 On 11 August 1964, Lt Gen William W. Momyer 

replaced Lt Gen Robert W. Burns as Commander, 

Air Training Command. General Momyer had 

previously served as the HQ USAF Assistant Deputy 

Chief of Staff, Programs and Requirements. General 

Burns retired. Major General Mooney remained as 

vice commander. 

ORGANIZATION 

SUBORDINATE UNITS

Reserve Medical Units 

In early 1964 the Continental Air Command 

reorganized its reserve medical program. Between 

April 1964 and March 1965, reserve medical units 

were established at all ATC bases. In May 1964 units 

at Keesler, Amarillo, James Connally, and Lowry 

were ordered to extended active duty. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

T-29s and T-33s Eliminated in IPIS 

The command eliminated the use of T-29s and T-33s 

in instrument pilot instructor school after a survey 

showed school production had exceeded Air Force 

demand. Another factor possibly contributing to the 

removal of the two types of aircraft from IPIS was 

the saturation of airspace and air traffic at Randolph, 

as observed by officials during a management 

inspection of ATC in late 1963. 
1964 

155

Simulators and Weapons Controllers 

The most significant event influencing the weapons 

controller training program was the proposed transfer 

of resources for providing "live" intercept training. 

From 1953 until 1958, the Tyndall course had used 

T-33s to conduct ground control intercepts. After 

1958 ATC placed less emphasis on live aircraft 

support, so that by early 1963 only ten T-33s 

remained in the 3625th Technical Training Group's 

inventory. At that time a disagreement developed 

between Air Training Command and Air Defense 

Command as to the need for live intercept training. 

Officials in ATC believed that adequate training 

could be provided through simulation. It took almost 

a year to accomplish and on 1 April 1964, ATC 

transferred all 11 aircraft and 59 manpower authorizations to Air Defense Command for simulator 

training. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Minuteman Missile 

As Minuteman I missile training phased out, ATC 

prepared to teach maintenance training on the new 

generation of Minuteman missiles--Minuteman II. 

Instructors began receiving contractor-conducted 

training at Holloman AFB, New Mexico, in January 

1964. Then in April the first ATC instructors--10 

from Chanute--entered a ballistic missile analysis 

course given by Boeing. 

Shown is a view of communications 

equipment used with the Minuteman 

launch training facility. 

At Vance AFB, Oklahoma, pilot trainees use the altitude chamber to simulate flying at high 

altitudes. 
1964 

156

MISCELLANEOUS 

Project ICE 

At the end of 1963, Gen Curtis LeMay, Air Force 

Chief of Staff, advised all major commands that the 

Air Force had to intensify economy measures 

because of budget reductions, decreases in manpower, and ever-increasing fixed costs. The plan was 

called Project ICE [increased combat effectiveness]. 

Its purpose was to cut costs elsewhere so that greater 

emphasis could be placed on combat effectiveness. 

Among the cuts ATC identified in 1964 were 

reducing the number of women in the Air Force, 

consolidating medical training, reducing activities in 

the Office of Information, and consolidating common 

training for the services. 

Humanitarian Aid 

On 19 August 1964, Stead AFB provided helicopter, 

medical, water-carrying, and earth-moving support to 

civilians fighting a 200,000-acre brush and grass fire 

in Nevada. In September Laughlin personnel assisted 

with emergency rescue efforts when floods hit the 

Del Rio, Texas, area. Then in December 1964 and 

January 1965, Stead again provided helicopters, 

supplies, and personnel to assist in disaster relief 

efforts in northern California and southern Oregon, 

where winter floods had devastated the area. 

Students learn how to handle parachutes during the Parachute/Life Support Course at Chanute AFB, Illinois. 
157

1965

During the year, the US government escalated American military involvement in Vietnam. This had a 

marked effect on individual technical and military training centers. For example, in December 1964 Keesler 

Technical Training Center had 10,089 students in training; in December 1965 it had 16,495. Despite ATC's 

efforts, the war in Southeast Asia siphoned off most of the command's best instructors, leaving it with a 

significant lack of experienced, qualified personnel. The number of graduates from basic military training 

increased dramatically. To accommodate the increased production, ATC reverted to a split-phase basic 

military training program. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1965) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 18 

Alabama--Craig; Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; 

Colorado--Lowry; Georgia--Moody; Illinois--Chanute; 

Mississippi--Keesler; Nevada--Stead; Oklahoma--Vance; 

Texas--Amarillo, James Connally, Lackland, Laredo, 

Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, Sheppard, and Webb 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 76,752 (8,315 officers; 47,677 enlisted; 20,760 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,876 (C-47, C-54, C-123, C-131, CH-3, HH-43, T-28, T-29, 

T-33, T-37, T-38, T-39, T-41, U-3, UH-19) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

6 numbered air force equivalent units: 

 Lackland Mil Trng Ctr, Lackland AFB TX 

 Amarillo Tech Trng Ctr, Amarillo AFB TX 

 Chanute Tech Trng Ctr, Chanute AFB IL 

 Keesler Tech Trng Ctr, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Ctr, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Ctr, Sheppard AFB TX 

2 wing equivalent units: 

 USAF Medical Service School, Gunter AF Station 

AL 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Randolph AFB TX 

3 flying training wings: 

 3510th, Randolph AFB TX 

 3630th, Sheppard AFB TX 

 3635th (Advanced), Stead AFB NV 

2 navigator training wings: 

 3535th, Mather AFB CA 

 3565th, James Connally AFB TX 

8 pilot training wings: 

 3500th, Reese AFB TX 

 3525th, Williams AFB AZ 

 3550th, Moody AFB GA 

 3560th, Webb AFB TX 

 3575th, Vance AFB OK 

 3615th, Craig AFB AL 

 3640th, Laredo AFB TX 

 3646th, Laughlin AFB TX 

1 independent group equivalent unit: 

 3545th USAF Hospital, Goodfellow AFB TX 
1965 

158

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

The ATC commander, Lieutenant General 

Momyer, designated Major General Mooney, ATC's 

vice commander since 16 November 1960, as the 

new Lackland Military Training Center commander. 

Stepping in on 1 August as the new vice commander 

was Maj Gen Nils O. Ohman. Previously, General 

Ohman served as the ATC Deputy Chief of Staff, 

Technical Training. 

ORGANIZATION 

HQ ATC Reorganization 

In early February, the ATC commander announced 

that the headquarters would undergo an extensive 

reorganization to better group functions and promote 

more efficient management of the headquarters. 

Those changes began on 1 March, when the Deputy 

Chief of Staff, Flying Training became the Deputy 

Chief of Staff, Operations and the Deputy Chief of 

Staff, Plans, Programs, and Operations Services 

became the Deputy Chief of Staff, Plans. All flying 

activities in ATC then fell under Operations, as did 

the command post, weather, and operation services. 

Operations transferred functional responsibility for 

monitoring Officer Training School and general 

military training to the Deputy Chief of Staff, 

Technical Training. Staff surveillance of the Judge 

Advocate School passed from Operations to the Staff 

Judge Advocate, and the Chaplain School came 

under the command chaplain. 

INSTALLATIONS 

Greenville AFB Inactivated 

In December 1963 Secretary of Defense Robert 

McNamara announced that Greenville AFB would 

close in 1965. During the first half of 1964, ATC 

began moving medical training from Greenville to 

Gunter AFS in Alabama. Personnel courses 

transferred to Amarillo, and firefighting went to 

Chanute. On 1 April 1965, ATC inactivated 

Greenville and its 3505th Technical Training Group. 

At the same time, ATC assigned the base to Keesler 

in caretaker status, until it returned to civilian control 

on 27 October 1966. 

NAMED ACTIVITIES 

USAF Recruiting Service Relocated 

By 1 July 1965, the USAF Recruiting Service moved 

its headquarters from Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, 

to Randolph. The move had a two-fold purpose, to 

move Recruiting Service from its old warehouse 

Airmen in the technical missile courses at Sheppard AFB, Texas, march to the mess hall after morning classes.
1965 

159

facility, which was in need of major repairs, and to 

put it closer to command headquarters. 

Judge Advocate Course Realigned 

Effective 14 September 1965, the Judge Advocate 

course moved from jurisdiction of the USAF 

Chaplain School to the Officer Training School. This 

move was made in preparation for the transfer of the 

chaplain school to Maxwell AFB in 1966. 

SUBORDINATE UNITS 

3630th Flying Training Wing 

The command designated and organized the 3630th 

Flying Training Wing at Sheppard and assigned it to 

Headquarters ATC effective 10 December 1965. The 

new wing would conduct the undergraduate pilot 

training program for the German Air Force. 

TRAINING 

Training Expansion 

During the last half of 1965, flying training showed a 

small increase; however, military and technical 

training units showed a large expansion, primarily 

because of the situation in Southeast Asia. At 

Sheppard, for instance, the average daily student load 

grew from 4,000 in July to almost 9,500 in 

December. Keesler's student load jumped from 

12,675 at mid-year to 16,495 at the end of the year, 

and Chanute more than doubled its load, climbing to 

almost 9,200. 

FLYING TRAINING 

Flying Program Revised 

In early 1965, ATC decided to replace its 55-week, 

252 flying-hour training program with a new course. 

Known as the 30/90/120-Hour Program, the new 

class was 53 weeks long and included 240 flying 

hours (30 conventional and 210 jet). Class 67-A was 

the first to enter the new program, beginning on 

29 July. 

Flight Screening Program 

The main difference between the previous UPT 

program and the 30/90/120 program was the addition 

of a light plane phase, in which civilian contractors 

provided 27 days of instruction and 30 hours of 

flying in the T-41. To provide flying hours for the 

T-41, ATC reduced the primary phase to 90 hours 

and left the basic phase unchanged at 120 hours. The 

An instructor at Lowry AFB, Colorado, makes a point to a group of munitions maintenance students. 
1965 

160

flight screening program began in July 1965 when 

ATC revised its flying training program, cutting two 

weeks from the course. Jet flying hours dropped from 

252 to 210. Civilian contractors conducted the 

training near each of the undergraduate pilot training 

bases. 

Undergraduate Navigator Training 

Air Training Command reached a milestone in 

undergraduate navigator training during the first half 

of 1965 when the aviation cadet program came to an 

end at James Connally AFB. During the year, 

personnel at James Connally spent most of their time 

preparing for the TAC takeover in early 1966. All 

navigator training would relocate to Mather AFB in 

California, along with a number of T-29s. 

Helicopter Training 

Air Training Command activated the 3637th Flying 

Training Squadron (Helicopter) at Sheppard on 

1 October and assigned it to the Sheppard Technical 

Training Center. Then in December, with the 

activation of the 3630th Flying Training Wing, ATC 

reassigned the squadron from the center to the wing. 

With the coming closure of Stead AFB in 1966, the 

squadron would assume helicopter training at 

Sheppard. The command had operated a helicopter 

school since March 1944 when it opened helicopter 

training at Freeman Field, Indiana. The school moved 

to Chanute in late 1944, to Sheppard in 1945, to San 

Marcos in 1947, James Connally in 1949, back to San 

Marcos in 1951, to Randolph in 1956, and to Stead in 

1958. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Amarillo Announced as Closure Base 

In early 1965, ATC began making plans to close its 

training activities at Amarillo and transfer the base to 

Air Defense Command by mid-1968. The command 

would relocate 29 technical courses: 7 to Chanute, 

10 to Lowry, 5 to Sheppard, and 7 to Lackland. 

MILITARY TRAINING 

Split-Phase BMT Reborn 

In early 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson 

announced that the United States would begin 

increasing the number of its forces in Southeast Asia. 

In response to a USAF request and not wanting to be 

caught unprepared as it was with Korea, ATC 

conducted a comprehensive study of Lackland's 

housing capacity to determine the greatest basic 

military training load the base could handle. Officials 

found that Lackland could hold 20,000 nonprior 

service students "until the winter months by doubling 

up practically all personnel." However, rather than 

expecting Lackland to handle the basic military 

increase alone, on 9 August 1965, Air Training 

Command returned to a split-phase basic military 

training program. In order to handle the influx of 

nonprior service airmen, most basic military training 

students selected for technical instruction received 

four weeks of BMT at Lackland and the last two 

weeks of the six-week course at either a technical 

training school or the medical service school. Airmen 

designated as direct duty assignees, all Women's Air 

Force members, and Air National Guard and Air 

Force Reserve personnel took the entire BMT course 

at Lackland. The split program remained in effect 

until 5 April 1966, when all basic military training 

returned to Lackland. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Manpower Shortfalls 

Air Training Command continued to have problems 

keeping qualified, experienced instructors, and the 

problem worsened as more and more personnel 

received assignments to Southeast Asia just as ATC's 

training requirements increased. Weapon systems 

support training and aircraft and motor vehicle 

maintenance courses at Chanute, administrative and 

supply courses at Amarillo, electronics training at 

Keesler, and a variety of other courses at Lowry and 

Sheppard hadn't the number of experienced 

Ms Carol Wenheimer, the only female contract 

instructor pilot, walks out to a waiting T-41 trainer 

at Stinson Field in San Antonio, Texas. Civilian 

contractors conducted the light plane phase of 

undergraduate pilot training at flying facilities 

located near each of ATC's UPT bases.
1965 

161

instructors needed to provide quality instruction. 

Even some flying training units reported shortages of 

instructor pilots, maintenance and supply specialists, 

and survival instructors. To alleviate these problems, 

Air Training Command increased formal instructor 

training, shifted some instructors from well-manned 

fields to those with chronic shortages, froze military 

instructor assignments, hired more civilian 

instructors, and filled many other instructor slots with 

new graduates. 

ATC Response to Southeast Asia Conflict 

Escalation of the war in Vietnam had a corresponding effect on ATC's Prime BEEF (base engineer 

emergency force) teams. Here was just the sort of 

contingency envisioned in the BEEF concept. The 

first deployment took place at mid-year. On 30 June 

the Air Force directed ATC, SAC, and ADC to alert 

skilled personnel in certain specialties for shortnotice, temporary deployment to Southeast Asia as a 

composite team. The expected tasks were site layout, 

construction cribbing, and steel revetments. No ATC 

base had a fully-manned BEEF team from which to 

draw, but a detailed screening of personnel records at 

HQ ATC identified 24 airmen at 8 bases who met 

most of the criteria. While the Prime BEEF program 

was still in development, the requirement was 

regarded as a foretaste of the future and justification 

for an immediate review of the command's manning 

and training resources. 

Project Sparrow Hawk 

In mid-December 1964, the US Air Force established 

Project Sparrow Hawk, a high priority requirement 

for evaluating six A-6A, six A-4, and six F-5A 

aircraft in the tactical mission environment. The 

object of the test was to determine the capability of 

these aircraft to perform close air support. Tactical 

Air Command conducted the test at Eglin AFB in 

Florida, with ATC providing T-38 aircrew transition 

and ground crew training. The Air Staff also directed 

ATC to coordinate with TAC on training requirements. By 30 June 1965, Air Training Command had 

completed its support of Sparrow Hawk. 

Mission Support Aircraft Reduced 

Early in the year Headquarters USAF looked at the 

possibility of reducing the number of mission support 

aircraft service-wide. Air Training Command soon 

learned that its fleet would be reduced by almost 30 

percent--a loss of 59 aircraft, mostly C-54s, C-123s, 

and T-29s. The command's remaining airlift capability was to be concentrated at the technical training 

centers. 

Basic training recruits 

practice climbing the 

stacked barrels on the 

obstacle course at 

Amarillo AFB, Texas 
1965 

162

BASIC TRAINING IN THE VIETNAM ERA 

Compared to the drastic influx of trainees during the Korean War, the buildup of basic training at Lackland for 

the Vietnam War went smoothly. The modern Air Force of computers and sophisticated management concepts 

expanded in an orderly manner. The days of "Tent City" remained just part of Lackland's colorful history. 

Although the Lackland mission did not change during the last half of 1965, the growing manpower requirements 

for Southeast Asia were reflected in the increased workload for the Basic Military School. 

All of Lackland's organizations geared for the upsurge when advised by higher headquarters that the USAF 

Recruiting Service had been authorized to exceed the programmed nonprior service enlistment objective for the first 

quarter of fiscal year 1966. The programmed increase called for 400 additional nonprior service airmen in July, 200 

in August, and 800 in September. Lackland anticipated a student load of 17,900 on 13 July and did not expect the 

student load to drop below 17,000 before the middle of October. 

The plan for emergency expansion of basic military training (BMT) called for additional housing facilities to 

accommodate a total on-base load of 10,000. At the time, the Basic Military School only had space for 17,770 

trainees, including guardsmen and reservists. Lackland obtained additional space by consolidating some of its 

technical training students, relocating OTS permanent party personnel to the Lackland Training Annex, housing 

trainees in the transient airmen's quarters, and regrouping permanent party personnel. Still, Lackland had to increase 

the size of each flight from 60 to 65 in order to find enough room. By 18 September the trainee population had 

climbed to 20,037. 

The Vietnam buildup necessitated a brief return to split-phase training from August 1965 to April 1966. This 

program provided for 22 days at Lackland and 8 days at a technical school, with directed duty assignees receiving 

the full 30 days at Lackland. When BMT returned to a single phase on 1 April 1966, it was cut back to 24 days for a 

brief period from April to July 1966. After that, basic training stabilized at a length of six weeks, called the 

"minimum essential" program. Ironically, this was the same length as the program used by the Army Air Forces 

when Lackland opened as a basic training base 20 years before. 

During 1966, no other single incident had as significant an impact on the Lackland training center as the death of 

an airman basic on 10 February 1966. The cause of death was spinal meningitis. Before it was over, 10 cases of the 

dreaded disease had been confirmed. Luckily, there were no other deaths. Training officials took immediate steps 

to halt the spread of the virus. They increased the distance between tables in the basic trainees' dining halls and 

canceled all nonessential activities requiring gatherings of basic trainees. Officials also curtailed the use of chapels, 

theaters, service clubs, and all activities requiring exertion. In addition, they cut the size of flights to 55 and 

canceled all town passes. 

Largely because of the meningitis outbreak, Headquarters USAF diverted incoming recruits to Amarillo AFB, 

Texas, which was scheduled to close in July 1968. Lackland sent a sizeable cadre of permanent party personnel to 

Amarillo to assist. Recruits began arriving on 18 February 1966. It was not until the latter part of March that 

Lackland was back to normal. However, due to the influx of trainees for the Vietnam buildup, Amarillo conducted 

BMT until November 1968 and did not close until 31 December 1968. 

During the late 1960s, Lackland went through a building boom. Five huge dormitories, each capable of housing 

1,000 airmen, were constructed. These giant dormitories had living areas, dining halls, classrooms, and training 

areas for an entire basic training squadron all under one roof. The base also acquired a personnel processing facility, 

a dispensary, a sentry dog veterinary clinic, two visiting officers' quarters, and several recreational facilities. 
163

1966

The escalation of the war in Vietnam involved ATC in greater recruitment on behalf of the Air Force. The 

fiscal year 1966 goal for enlisting non-prior service personnel for four years of active duty, first set at 88,535, 

stood at 139,491 on 18 January. By the end of FY 66, the goal had increased to 162,868. Pilot shortages 

provided a theme for much Air Force discussion and received much attention in Air Training Command. 

Official Air Force projections placed the FY 67 deficit in pilots at more than 3,000, although the immediate 

demand for pilots was being satisfied by the undergraduate pilot training program and by assigning deskbound rated officers to primary flying positions. In addition, the withdrawal of rated officers from ATC 

struck hard at the command's instructor pilot force. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1966) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 16 

Alabama--Craig; Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; Colorado--Lowry; 

Georgia--Moody; Illinois--Chanute; Mississippi--Keesler; Oklahoma--Vance; 

Texas--Amarillo, Lackland, Laredo, Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, Sheppard, and 

Webb 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 79,327 (7,990 officers; 49,417 enlisted; 21,920 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,833 (C-47, C-54, C-123, C-131, CH-3, CH-21, HH-43, T-28, T-29, T-33, 

T-37, T-38, T-39, T-41, U-3, UH-19) 

President Lyndon B. Johnson talks to crowds of Laughlin AFB 

personnel who turned out to see the chief executive when he 

visited the base in 1966. President Johnson was there on an 

inspection tour of Amistad Dam on the Rio Grande River near 

Del Rio. The giant dam, a joint project of the United States and 

the Republic of Mexico was nearing the halfway point in its 

construction. President Johnson and his party toured the dam 

site with Mexican President Gustavo Diaz Ordaz. 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

7 numbered air force equivalent units: 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Randolph AFB TX 

 Lackland Mil Trng Ctr, Lackland AFB TX 

 Amarillo Tech Trng Ctr, Amarillo AFB TX 

 Chanute Tech Trng Ctr, Chanute AFB IL 

 Keesler Tech Trng Ctr, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Ctr, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Ctr, Sheppard AFB TX 

2 flying training wings: 

 3510th, Randolph AFB TX 

 3630th, Sheppard AFB TX 
1966 

164

1 navigator training wing: 

 3535th, Mather AFB CA 

8 pilot training wings: 

 3500th, Reese AFB TX 

 3525th, Williams AFB AZ 

 3550th, Moody AFB GA 

 3560th, Webb AFB TX 

 3575th, Vance AFB OK 

 3615th, Craig AFB AL 

 3640th, Laredo AFB TX 

 3646th, Laughlin AFB TX 

2 independent group or group equivalent units: 

 3545th USAF Hospital, Goodfellow AFB TX 

 3636th Combat Crew Trng (Survival), Fairchild 

AFB WA 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

Lt Gen 

Sam Maddux, Jr. 

On 1 July Lt Gen Sam Maddux, Jr., who had 

served as Vice Commander of Pacific Air Forces 

since 1965, replaced Lt Gen William W. Momyer as 

Commander of ATC. General Momyer became the 

Deputy Commander, Military Assistance Command, 

Vietnam and the Commander, Seventh Air Force. 

Continuing as ATC vice commander was Major 

General Ohman. 

ORGANIZATION 

INSTALLATIONS 

James Connally AFB, Texas, Reassigned 

As ordered by the Secretary of the Air Force, on 

1 January 1966, ATC transferred James Connally 

AFB, Texas, and its 3565th Navigator Training 

Wing, to Tactical Air Command. Only the 3565th 

Navigator Training Group at James Connally 

remained in ATC, assigned on 1 January directly to 

the headquarters for the purpose of closing the 

undergraduate navigator training program there. 

When that job was completed, on 1 May ATC 

inactivated the group and its two training squadrons. 

Stead AFB, Nevada 

At the direction of the Department of the Air Force, 

ATC inactivated Stead AFB, Nevada, and its 3635th 

Flying Training Wing (Advanced) on 15 June 1966. 

Stead's helicopter pilot training unit, the 3638th 

Flying Training Squadron (Helicopter) was 

discontinued on 1 April, and the 3637th Combat 

Crew Training Squadron (Survival and Special 

Training) ceased to exist on 1 June. Helicopter 

training moved to Sheppard AFB in Texas, and 

survival training transferred to Fairchild AFB in 

Washington. Activated on 1 March 1966 to assume 

survival training at Fairchild was the 3636th Combat 

Crew Training Group (Survival). The group reported 

directly to HQ ATC. 

Flying Activities Ended at Lowry 

In 1938 the first Army aircraft landed at Lowry Field. 

Through the years, many different aircraft operated 

from the field, but in recent years airspace had 

become so crowded that in 1966 the Air Force 

directed Lowry to shift all of its flying activities to 

nearby Buckley Air National Guard Base. 

NAMED ACTIVITIES 

Medical Service School, USAF 

In the mid-1960s, Gunter began to find it more 

difficult to support medical training, as training 

requirements expanded. Air Training Command 

considered several sights for possible relocation--in 

particular, the San Antonio area and Keesler. 

However, it was the cutback in missile training which 

ultimately led to the ATC decision to put the school 

at Sheppard. Between March 1966 and March 1967, 

the Medical Service School at Gunter AFS, Alabama, 

moved to Sheppard along with 115 of its assigned 

officers and 261 airmen. Headquarters, Medical 

Service School, USAF closed at Gunter on 3 June 

1966 and opened the following day at Sheppard 

under control of the technical training center 

commander. The last class ended at Gunter on 

31 March 1967. 

Recruiting Service 

Since its activation as a wing-level unit in 1954, 

Recruiting Service had undergone considerable 

growth. In recognition of its increased size, the Air 

Force elevated it to numbered air force-level effective 

14 June 1966. 
1966 

165

Language School 

For many years, the USAF Language School at 

Lackland had taught officer and enlisted personnel 

under the Military Assistance Program to understand, 

speak, read, and write enough English to enter 

technical and flying courses. On 1 July that program 

ended when ATC discontinued the language school. 

From that time on, the Army-operated Defense 

Language Institute provided that training. 

Recent graduates of the medical school at Gunter 

AFS, Alabama (right), receive a briefing from 

their supervisor at Wilford Hall Medical Center, 

Lackland AFB, Texas. An instructor (below) 

shows students the correct way to administer 

patient care. 
1966 

166

SURVIVAL TRAINING 

When the United States entered World War II, the 

thorny problem of recovering downed airmen in the 

several theaters of war quickly came to the attention 

of Army Air Forces officials and US intelligence 

agencies. The success of British evasion and escape 

organizations did not go unnoticed by US intelligence 

agencies. The Army Air Forces, in coordination with 

the Office of Strategic Services, took on the job of 

developing a capability that paralleled the British 

effort. As the scope of the war broadened in Europe, 

so did the business of rescuing downed airmen. With 

the help of well-organized underground forces, the 

Army Air Forces extricated 60 percent of the aircrews 

downed in the Balkans by late 1944. The task of 

rescuing downed airmen in the Pacific theater was far 

more complex and far less successful. 

After the war, the Strategic Air Command (SAC), 

under Gen Curtis E. LeMay, set out to develop a more 

comprehensive aircrew survival capability. The first 

step down that road was the Arctic Indoctrination 

School, established in August 1947 at Marks AFB, 

Alaska. A short while later, SAC established an 

additional survival training capability at Ladd AFB, 

Alaska. The school at Marks provided training for 

aircrews exposed to the arctic environment, while the 

facility at Ladd was more limited in scope and 

designed mainly for crews stationed there. Before 

long the survival training program outgrew the 

facilities available at Marks, and in November 1948 

the Air Force consolidated training at Ladd AFB. 

Arctic survival training remained there until 1960, 

when it moved to Eielson AFB, Alaska. 

On 16 December 1949, SAC opened another 

survival school at Camp Carson, Colorado, to teach its 

aircrews how to survive in mountainous terrain. 

Soon, Far East Air Forces, Tactical Air Forces, 

Military Air Transport Service, and the Royal 

Canadian Air Force were all vying for class slots for 

their aircrews. By 1952 the school was so popular 

that it had outgrown the capacity of its Colorado 

location. Hence, the Air Force sought a larger 

training area to accommodate the increase in students. 

In July 1952 Strategic Air Command selected 

Stead AFB, Nevada, as the location for its new land 

survival school and turned over the training area at 

Camp Carson to the US Army. With the Korean War 

in mind, officials in SAC believed the surroundings at 

Stead AFB provided a realistic setting for survival 

training. Ten miles northwest of Reno, the new center 

was close to the high Sierra Nevada mountains on one 

side and a hot, bleak, treeless environment on the 

other. The survival school remained at Stead for 14 

years; however, jurisdiction of the base and school 

transferred from Strategic Air Command to Air 

Training Command on 1 September 1954. Then on 

30 June 1966, the Secretary of Defense announced the 

closure of the base and the transfer of all land survival 

school assets to Fairchild AFB, Washington. 

In this simulated prisoner of war compound at 

Fairchild AFB, Washington, instructors conduct 

resistance training. 

 

During field training this enlisted survival 

student tries his luck at using improvised 

fishing gear to supplement his 2,500-calorie 

allotment for five and one-half days in the field. 
1966 

167

With the transfer of the school to Fairchild, ATC 

activated the 3636th Combat Crew Training Group 

(Survival) on 15 March 1966 to carry out that mission. 

In addition to the training provided at Fairchild, other 

major commands also operated survival training 

programs during the Vietnam War. Tactical Air 

Command, for example, had the Deep Sea Survival 

School at Tyndall AFB, Florida, and the Tropic 

Survival School at Albrook AFB, in the Panama 

Canal Zone, while Pacific Air Forces had the Jungle 

Survival School at Clark Air Base in the Philippines. 

The proliferation of programs (ATC estimated there 

were over 100 land and water survival and life support 

continuation training schools) prompted the Air Staff 

to consolidate all training centers under one 

command. Air Training Command became the single 

manager for survival training, and the group was 

elevated to wing status on 1 April 1971. By mid-1971 

the wing had completed the consolidation. It offered 

basic global survival at Fairchild; jungle survival at 

Clark; water survival at Homestead AFB, Florida; and 

arctic survival at Eielson AFB, Alaska. Subsequently, 

Headquarters USAF authorized the wing to conduct 

tropical survival at Albrook. 

A couple of years after the end of the Vietnam 

War, the Air Force shut down the Jungle and Tropic 

Survival Schools. Operations at Clark ceased in April 

1975, and the school at Albrook closed in June 1975. 

The 3636th Combat Crew Training Wing continued to 

conduct basic survival courses at Fairchild, while one 

of its squadrons provided water survival training at 

Homestead and a detachment offered arctic survival 

training at Eielson. Hurricane Andrew devastated 

Homestead AFB in 1992, and the subsequent 

devastation forced the command to relocate water 

survival training. The 3613th Combat Crew Training 

Squadron moved from Homestead to Tyndall AFB, 

Florida. 

The command restructured its wings in 1993 and 

determined that the 3636th Combat Crew Training 

Wing should be a group. On 24 January 1993, 

therefore, the command redesignated the 3636th as the 

336th Crew Training Group, and the 3612th, 3613th, 

and 3614th Combat Crew Training Squadrons became 

the 22d, 17th, and 66th Crew Training Squadrons, 

respectively. Three years later, the group became 

simply the 336th Training Group, but continued its 

mission of providing survival training. 

In the 1950s, ATC operated a 15-day survival training course at Stead AFB, Nevada, for aircrew members. 

Here instructors watch students roast a freshly-caught rabbit over an open fire. 
1966 

168

Chaplain School 

In 1965 Headquarters USAF announced that the 

USAF Chaplain School at Lackland would move to 

Maxwell in 1966 and become part of Air University. 

Air University established a USAF Chaplain School 

on 20 May 1966; however, ATC did not discontinue 

its school until 1 July 1966. The first formal chaplain 

training came into existence in March 1918 at Fort 

Monroe, Virginia. A month later the program moved 

to Camp Zachary Taylor near Louisville, Kentucky. 

Then late in World War II it operated at Fort 

Oglethorpe, Georgia. Fort Slocum, New York, hosted 

the program from 1946 to 1 July 1953, when the Air 

Force began training chaplains. On that date, ATC 

established a chaplain's course at Lackland. From 

1958 to 1965, judge advocates also reported to the 

chaplain school for training. 

SUBORDINATE UNITS 

3330th Basic Military School, USAF 

Because of the crowded conditions at Lackland and 

an outbreak of meningitis among the basic trainees, 

on 17 February ATC organized a second basic 

military school, the 3330th, at Amarillo and assigned 

it to that center. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

Changes in Flying Training Operations 

At Laughlin, the wing commander introduced a new, 

more efficient way to conduct daily launch and 

recovery operations at a flying training base. 

Previously the wing had divided the day into four 

flying periods and launched up to 45 aircraft of each 

type, one after another, into nearby training areas. 

There were forty-one T-38 training areas and thirty 

T-37 training areas, but they were small, 

overcrowded, and difficult for the student pilots to 

manage. Under the Laughlin plan the wing divided 

the training day into three-and-one-half-minute 

segments and that provided 315 takeoff times for 

each type of aircraft. This program allowed the wing 

to enlarge the size of the training areas and reduce the 

number needed. The new training areas were large 

enough for student pilots to fly any kind of T-38 

mission, and the continuous flow relieved the 

congestion experienced under the old block launch 

system. After a test of the new concept at other bases, 

ATC directed all undergraduate pilot training wings 

to adopt the continuous flow concept. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Air Base Ground Defense Training 

In 1966 Air Training Command revived air base 

ground defense training after a decade-long gap. The 

new five-day, 40-hour course operated at Lackland 

AFB, Texas, training air policemen for duty in 

Southeast Asia. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Project 100,000 

In August an ad hoc Air Force group convened to 

study whether the military services should be 

required to recruit more "lower mental category," or 

Category IV, enlistees. Past studies convinced the 

group that Category IV enlistees encompassed such a 

wide range of abilities that the use of "Category IV" 

itself had little meaning. The study group believed 

that the first consideration in accepting lower ability 

airmen in the numbers proposed (about 10,200) 

would be to establish additional screening criteria to 

determine if the grouping of prospective enlistees 

into Category IV was due to environmental factors 

that could be corrected (such as poor education) or if 

the enlistees were really not very bright. This project 

continued into 1967. During that time, well over 

80,000 enlisted entered in this category, and about 

76,000 graduated from technical training. 

Basic training students at Amarillo AFB, Texas, 

receive their first pay at the reception center. 

Following an outbreak of spinal meningitis at the 

Lackland Military Training Center in February

1966, ATC temporarily diverted incoming recruits to 

Amarillo AFB. Because of the buildup for the 

Vietnam War, Amarillo continued conducting basic 

training until December 1968. Two weeks later, on 1 

January 1969, ATC inactivated the base. 
169

1967

Reductions in training requirements, recruiting objectives, and the budget for fiscal year 1968 allowed Air 

Training Command to reprogram closure actions at Amarillo and save an estimated $4.1 million in base 

operating support. The command decided to move supply, aircraft and engine mechanic, airframe repair, 

and fuels courses sooner than planned. However, basic military training and administrative courses would 

remain active at Amarillo until early 1968, as originally scheduled. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1967) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 16 

Alabama--Craig; Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; Colorado--Lowry; 

Georgia--Moody; Illinois--Chanute; Mississippi--Keesler; Oklahoma-- Vance; 

Texas--Amarillo, Lackland, Laredo, Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, Sheppard, and 

Webb 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 76,629 (8,429 officers; 47,607 enlisted; 20,593 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,946 (C-47, C-54, C-131 CH-3 HH-43, T-28, T-29, T-37, T-38, T-39, T-41, 

TH-1, U-3A, UH-19) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

7 numbered air force equivalent units: 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Randolph AFB TX 

 Lackland Mil Trng Ctr, Lackland AFB TX 

 Amarillo Tech Trng Ctr, Amarillo AFB TX 

 Chanute Tech Trng Ctr, Chanute AFB IL 

 Keesler Tech Trng Ctr, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Ctr, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Ctr, Sheppard AFB TX 

1 flying training wing: 

 3510th, Randolph AFB TX 

1 navigator training wing: 

 3535th, Mather AFB CA 

8 pilot training wings: 

 3500th, Reese AFB TX 

 3525th, Williams AFB AZ 

 3550th, Moody AFB GA 

 3560th, Webb AFB TX 

 3575th, Vance AFB OK 

 3615th, Craig AFB AL 

 3640th, Laredo AFB TX 

 3646th, Laughlin AFB TX 

2 independent group or equivalent units: 

 3545th USAF Hospital, Goodfellow AFB TX 

 3636th Cmbt Crew Trng, Fairchild AFB WA 

3 independent squadrons: 

 3250th Flying Training, Tyndall AFB FL 

 3251st Flying Training, Perrin AFB TX 

 3253d Pilot Training, Peterson Field CO 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

General Maddux remained commander and Major 

General Ohman vice commander. 

ORGANIZATION 

SUBORDINATE UNITS 

Transfer of 3630th Flying Training Wing 

Since 1965, the 3630th Flying Training Wing at 

Sheppard had conducted flying training for the 

German Air Force. Beginning in early 1967 a limited 

number of US trainees joined the program. From its 

activation, the wing had reported directly to HQ 

ATC. However, concerns about duplication of some 
1967 

170

functions and operating costs caused ATC to reassign 

the 3630th to Sheppard Technical Training Center, 

effective 1 April 1967. 

3320th Retraining Group Relocates 

One of the actions ATC took in response to the 

announced closure of Amarillo AFB was the relocation of the retraining group from Amarillo to Lowry 

AFB, Colorado. The retraining group, with its 

mission to rehabilitate and return to duty airmen 

convicted of criminal offenses, started the move on 

1 July and completed it on 1 September 1967. 

3250th and 3251st Flying Training Sqs 

Randolph phased down pilot instructor training 

during 1967 so it could begin to provide UPT to meet 

pilot production needs in Vietnam. The T-37 pilot 

instructor training program at Randolph transferred to 

Perrin AFB, Texas, in July 1967, where it was 

operated by the 3251st Flying Training Squadron, 

which ATC had organized on 1 April 1967. The 

command activated a second flying training 

squadron, the 3250th at Tyndall AFB, Florida, on 

1 October 1967 to provide T-38 pilot instructor 

training. 

3253d Pilot Training Squadron 

After a number of years of study, the Secretary of 

Defense approved a light plane training program for 

the Air Force Academy on 8 December 1966. The 

Air Force designated ATC the training agency, and 

the command activated the 3253d Pilot Training 

Squadron at Peterson Field, Colorado, on 1 October 

1967. Training began in January 1968. 

3389th Pilot Training Squadron 

With the shift of Randolph's T-28 program to the 

Mississippi gulf coast, ATC organized the 3389th 

Pilot Training Squadron at Keesler on 15 January 

1967 and assigned it to the center. The squadron 

provided flying training for foreign students through 

the Military Assistance Program (MAP). The 

majority of students came from South Vietnam. In 

March the squadron added C-47 training, when 

Randolph transferred its C-47s to Keesler. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

USAF Students in GAF Course 

On 21 April a limited number of USAF students 

began pilot training with German Air Force students 

at Sheppard. The program consisted of a single 

course of 55 weeks, as compared to 53 weeks in the 

standard UPT course. It provided 132 hours of T-37 

and 130 hours of T-38 instruction, but contained no 

instruction in T-41 aircraft. German students began 

T-38 training on 30 March. 

Wild Weasel Lead-in Training Transferred 

Beginning in mid-1967, ATC transferred all Wild 

Weasel electronic warfare lead-in training for rearseat F-4C pilots at Mather to a TAC base. Turnover 

of the training program concluded with the transfer of 

the simulator on 16 January 1968. 

UPT at Randolph 

Early in 1967, Randolph transferred its T-28 and 

C-47 courses to Keesler and its pilot instructor 

training to Perrin and Tyndall to make room for 

undergraduate pilot training. It would be the ninth 

UPT base in Air Training Command. A contractor 

provided the first phase of training at Stinson Field in 

San Antonio, and primary training began at Randolph 

on 16 May. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Instructor Badge 

On 11 December 1967, the Chief of Staff of the Air 

Force approved a distinctive badge for ATC 

instructors assigned primary duty in a formal training 

situation. 

Students at Chanute Technical Training Center 

receive hands-on electrical training. 
1967 

171

MILITARY TRAINING 

Military Training Instructor Uniforms 

Air Training Command authorized and issued 

distinctive campaign hats, on 1 July 1967, to each 

military training instructor who had direct contact 

with basic trainees. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Project Mix Fix 

Beginning in 1965, the Air Force had implemented a 

program to identify those positions that had to be 

filled by military personnel and those that could be 

converted to civilian slots. By early 1967, ATC had 

transferred 1,401 military authorizations to civilian. 

Air Force-wide over 14,000 military slots had been 

identified for conversion. 

Changes in Aircraft Inventory 

Sheppard received its first four TH-1F aircraft on 

3 May 1967, delivered to the 3637th Flying Training 

Squadron (Helicopter). Training began in July, and 

by year's end, the TH-1F had replaced most of 

Sheppard's UH-19Bs. Also in 1967, ATC released the 

last of its T-33s. Only two bases--Craig and 

Randolph--still used the T-33. The last one departed 

Craig in mid-February, and Randolph said goodbye 

to its final two at the end of June. Because many of 

the T-33s at both bases were fairly new, instead of 

putting them in storage, the Air Force transferred them 

to Alaskan Air Command. Even with the loss of these 

aircraft, Air Training Command saw a substantial 

increase in the number of assigned aircraft--from 

1,876 in June to 1,946 as of 31 December. The reason 

for that expansion was because pilot training goals 

had grown. Of all ATC bases, only Lackland had no 

assigned aircraft. 

Colonel Ross, Deputy Commander, 3345th 

Technical School, Chanute AFB, Illinois presents 

MSgt McCarthy the "Instructor of the Year" 

award for 1967. 

An instructor at Lowry AFB, 

Colorado, explains some of the vital 

elements in the F-4C offensive fire 

control system 
1967 

172

During the 1960s WAFs trained in their own 

separate flights while going through basic 

training. At the left, a trainee is fitted for her first 

uniform. 
173

1968

The tone of the year was set in January, first with the capture of the USS Pueblo, then the Tet offensive, 

and finally President Johnson's announcement that he would not seek reelection. As more and more forces 

deployed to Southeast Asia, ATC found itself with fewer personnel assigned. While enough instructors were 

available for pilot training, other areas such as navigator and electronic warfare had less than 80 percent of 

required instructors. Even basic military training suffered from a loss of instructors. And even when enough 

instructors were on hand, training was sometimes less than satisfactory because instructors didn't have the 

experience needed. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1968) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 16 

Alabama--Craig; Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; Colorado--Lowry; 

Georgia--Moody; Illinois--Chanute; Mississippi--Keesler; Oklahoma-- 

Vance; Texas--Amarillo, Lackland, Laredo, Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, 

Sheppard, and Webb 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 73,718 (8,233 officers; 45,593 enlisted; 19,892 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 2,113 (including C-47, C-54, C-131 CH-3 HH-43, T-28, T-29, T-37, T-38, 

T-39, T-41, T-43, TH-1) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

6 numbered air force equivalent units: 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Randolph AFB TX 

 Lackland Mil Trng Ctr, Lackland AFB TX 

 Chanute Tech Trng Ctr, Chanute AFB IL 

 Keesler Tech Trng Ctr, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Ctr, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Ctr, Sheppard AFB TX 

1 flying training wing: 

 3510th, Randolph AFB TX 

1 navigator training wing: 

 3535th, Mather AFB CA 

8 pilot training wings: 

 3500th, Reese AFB TX 

 3525th, Williams AFB AZ 

 3550th, Moody AFB GA 

 3560th, Webb AFB TX 

 3575th, Vance AFB OK 

 3615th, Craig AFB AL 

 3640th, Laredo AFB TX 

 3646th, Laughlin AFB TX 

2 independent group or group equivalent units: 

 3545th USAF Hospital, Goodfellow AFB TX 

 3636th Combat Crew Training (Survival), 

Fairchild AFB WA 

3 independent squadrons: 

 3250th Flying Training, Tyndall AFB FL 

 3251st Flying Training, Perrin AFB TX 

 3253d Pilot Training, Peterson Field CO 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

Lieutenant General Maddux remained as the ATC 

commander. On 15 July 1968, Maj Gen Leo F. 

Dusard, Jr., replaced Maj Gen Nils O. Ohman as the 

vice commander. General Dusard had served as 

Director of Personnel and Education at the Air Staff. 

Ohman became the Commander, Headquarters 

Command in Washington, D.C. 
1968 

174

ORGANIZATION 

INSTALLATIONS 

Amarillo AFB Closure 

While the closing of Amarillo AFB remained a 

scheduled action, DOD postponed it from 30 June to 

31 December 1968 to allow more time to prepare 

facilities for the accommodation of relocated courses. 

Throughout 1968, ATC continued to release property 

and facilities. For example, the airfield portion of 

1,784 acres and seven buildings were released to the 

city of Amarillo on 1 April. Other property and 

facilities were released to civilian control on 1 July. 

Bell Helicopter Company, which repaired helicopters 

at Amarillo for the Army, established and expanded 

operations on the base, and Texas A&M University 

established a technical training institute. School, 

student, and instructor squadrons were discontinued 

in August and September, and ATC discontinued the 

3220th Technical Training School headquarters on 

1 October. Technical training ended on 27 August 

1968, when personnel and administration courses 

moved to Keesler, and basic military training ended 

at Amarillo on 11 December, leaving only Lackland 

to provide basic military training for the Air Force. 

On 31 December 1968, Amarillo Technical Training 

Center headquarters and supporting units were 

discontinued, and a day later ATC placed the base on 

inactive status. 

SUBORDINATE UNITS 

Reorganization of the Pilot Training Wings

All of ATC's eight UPT wings had two pilot training 

squadrons, and each conducted training in both T-37 

and T-38 aircraft. A staff study prepared at Reese 

AFB, Texas, and a test conducted there in 1967, 

indicated that separate T-37 and T-38 squadrons 

would yield many benefits, such as improved 

scheduling, uniform grading practices, and more 

efficient use of resources and instructors. In addition, 

there would no longer be a need to dual-qualify 

supervisory personnel. General Maddux agreed with 

the test results and ordered the reorganization. 

Beginning in mid-1968, ATC established a single 

phase-pilot training squadron concept at all UPT 

bases; all T-37 instruction was provided by one 

specialized squadron, and all T-38 training was 

conducted by the other. This reorganization did not 

affect T-41 training. 

Since October 1958, when the Air Force first acquired from the Army the task of meeting the Defense 

Department's need for dogs, Lackland handled all aspects of the sentry dog program. 
1968 

175

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

AFA Pilot Indoctrination Program 

Air Force Academy cadets began pilot indoctrination 

training on 5 January 1968. Early in the planning for 

this program, HQ USAF advised that an FAA private 

pilot license should not be considered a prerequisite 

for successful completion of the program, nor should 

instructors be required to have FAA certification. 

However, if arrangements could be made at no 

expense to the Air Force, then FAA licenses could be 

given. On 5 June 1968, ATC authorized FAA flight 

examiners to fly with cadet trainees. These flight 

checks could be given at any point after 30 hours, 

provided the student received a minimum of 35 hours 

of flight training before being issued the private pilot 

license. 

Specialized EW Training for ADC 

During the latter part of 1967, Air Defense Command 

asked ATC to provide special training for officers 

assigned to the EC-121R aircraft. This training 

supported a Southeast Asia operation originally 

designated Project Muscle Shoals, but later changed 

to Igloo White. Between October 1967 and October 

1968, when the course ended, ATC trained a total of 

47 officers. 

USMC Students in UPT 

Because the Air Force had the largest undergraduate 

pilot training program in the Defense Department, it 

made sense to use the ATC program as a means to fill 

unexpected pilot requirements. Such was the case in 

1967, when DOD requested Air Force assistance to 

meet Marine Corps training needs. On 21 June 1968, 

Class 68-08 graduated at Laredo and Vance--the first 

group of USAF-trained Marine Corps pilots to 

receive Air Force wings. 

Project FLYTE 

During 1967 and 1968, ATC started several 

independent studies aimed at new approaches to 

improving undergraduate pilot training. The most 

important of these was the Project FLYTE [Flying 

Training Evaluation] study. Project FLYTE sought a 

total mission analysis from which details of training 

methods and types of new training aircraft and 

simulators could be worked out. It included student 

selection policies, the automated student management 

system, ATC's standardization and evaluation 

program, student evaluation, airspace utilization, 

field evaluation program, and pilot proficiency 

flying. 

UH-19 Training Terminated 

On 8 April 1968, ATC ended its UH-19 helicopter 

pilot training course at Sheppard AFB. The TH-1F 

replaced the UH-19. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Revision of Electronics Training Courses 

In May 1966 HQ USAF requested a long-term, 

comprehensive review of all electronics training 

courses taught within the Department of Defense. 

The purpose of the study was to save money and 

authorizations. Air Training Command issued its 

final semiannual report on 19 January 1968. Out of 

the original 146 courses studied, ATC left 32 

unchanged, reduced the length of 96, and discontinued 18. From these changes, the command was 

able to reduce its instructor force by 242 

authorizations. In all, the review saved ATC nearly 

$5.25 million.

Amarillo Course Transfers 

With the announcement that Amarillo would close, 

ATC considered putting the center's personnel and 

administration courses at Lackland. However, 

Lackland didn't have the dormitory space to 

support the large student load. Instead, these 

courses moved to Keesler, increasing that base's 

student population by 20 percent. Students learn the techniques of removing an H-43 rotor 

blade in a helicopter maintenance course. 
1968 

176

MILITARY TRAINING 

Consolidated OTS Campus 

Air Training Command provided precommissioning 

training for men and women at Lackland Military 

Training Center's Officer Training School, using 

facilities both on the main base and at Lackland's 

training annex (Medina), two miles west of the main 

installation. In May 1968, Officer Training School 

consolidated its campuses at Medina. At the same 

time, Officer Training School became responsible for 

basic military instruction for judge advocates. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Enlistment for OTS Lengthened 

On 16 May 1968, when the first FY 69 class entered 

Officer Training School, the enlistment period for all 

civilian applicants who specifically enlisted for OTS 

was increased from two to four years, making the 

time consistent with that of individuals enlisting in 

the Regular Air Force. 

ASVAB Test 

A new pre-enlistment test, the Armed Services 

Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), went into 

effect on 1 September 1968, replacing the Airman 

Qualifying Examination. The new test measured nine 

aptitude areas. According to the Defense Department, 

Recruiting Service would serve as the official 

ASVAB Armed Forces Centralized Test Scoring Unit 

for DOD. 

Garden Plot 

With the war in Vietnam becoming even more 

unpopular, HQ USAF assigned ATC new 

responsibilities under the Garden Plot plans--

response to civil disturbances. In April 1968 

Sheppard personnel supported airlift of Army troops 

and vehicles to Andrews AFB in response to disorder 

following the assassination of Dr Martin Luther 

King. Four months later Sheppard assisted with the 

airlift of Army personnel and equipment from Fort 

Sill, Oklahoma, to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where they guarded against civil 

disturbances.

Air Training Command used the Bell TH-1F turbine-engine helicopter in its undergraduate helicopter 

pilot training program. When the prototype of this helicopter was ordered into production it was 

designated the HU-1A and named the Iroquois. The HU designation gave rise to the nickname "Huey" 

which was unofficial but more frequently used than Iroquois. 
177

1969

As the Vietnam War raged on, ATC added another pilot training base--Columbus AFB, Mississippi, 

bringing the total to 10. Meanwhile, beginning in February 1969, the US Air Force began working with the 

Vietnamese Air Force to help it become a self-sufficient, 40-squadron air arm by the second quarter of fiscal 

year 1972. Training was the foundation of the program, and all elements of ATC's training establishment 

would play a vital role if this goal were to be achieved. 

The 3630th Flying Training Wing at Sheppard AFB, Texas, provided pilot training for the German Air Force 

and conducted helicopter pilot training. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1969) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 16 

Alabama--Craig; Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; 

Colorado--Lowry; Georgia--Moody; Illinois--Chanute; 

Mississippi--Columbus and Keesler; Oklahoma--Vance; 

Texas--Lackland, Laredo, Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, Sheppard, 

and Webb 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 74,159 (8,412 officers; 46,286 enlisted; 19,461 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 2,282 (C-54, C-131, CH-3, HH-43, T-28, T-29, T-37, T-38, T-39, 

T-41, TH-1) 

 
1969 

178

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

6 numbered air force equivalent units: 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Randolph AFB TX 

 Lackland Mil Trng Ctr, Lackland AFB TX 

 Chanute Tech Trng Ctr, Chanute AFB IL 

 Keesler Tech Trng Ctr, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Ctr, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Ctr, Sheppard AFB TX 

1 flying training wing: 

 3510th, Randolph AFB TX 

1 navigator training wing: 

 3535th, Mather AFB CA 

9 pilot training wings: 

 3500th, Reese AFB TX 

 3525th, Williams AFB AZ 

 3550th, Moody AFB GA 

 3560th, Webb AFB TX 

 3575th, Vance AFB OK 

 3615th, Craig AFB AL 

 3640th, Laredo AFB TX 

 3646th, Laughlin AFB TX 

 3650th, Columbus AFB MS 

2 independent group or group equivalent units: 

 3545th USAF Hospital, Goodfellow AFB TX 

 3636th Cmbt Crew (Surv), Fairchild AFB WA 

3 independent squadrons: 

 3250th Flying Training, Tyndall AFB FL 

 3251st Flying Training, Perrin AFB TX 

 3253d Pilot Training, Peterson Field CO 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

Lieutenant General Maddux remained as the ATC 

commander, and Major General Dusard continued as 

the vice commander. 

ORGANIZATION 

INSTALLATIONS 

Stead AFB, Nevada 

Training ended at Stead AFB in mid-1966, and it 

became an inactive base, with caretaker responsibility 

passed to an ATC detachment at Mather AFB. On 

6 November 1969, the base reverted to civilian 

control, and ATC inactivated its caretaker 

detachment. 

SUBORDINATE UNITS 

3650th Pilot Training Wing 

On 15 February 1969, ATC activated the 3650th Pilot 

Training Wing at Columbus AFB, Mississippi. The 

base transferred from Strategic Air Command to 

ATC on 1 July 1969 and became ATC's tenth UPT 

base. The first UPT class--71-01--entered training 

there on 17 July 1969. 

Due to the saturation of Keesler's single runway, 

Air Force training officials transferred the MAP 

C-47 transition and instrument courses to Tactical 

Air Command, as it more closely resembled 

combat crew training than undergraduate pilot 

training. The move began on 1 September 1969 

and was completed 18 days later. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

EB-66 EWO Training 

The electronic warfare officer training for officers 

assigned to EB-66 aircraft in Southeast Asia started 

in January 1967 at Mather AFB and was finally 

terminated in May 1969. In all, a total of 310 officers 

were trained in this course. 

Navigator-Bombardier Course 

On 25 March 1969, ATC discontinued teaching the 

Navigator-Bombardier Course (ASQ-48) as SAC no 

longer had requirements for these graduates. 

Courses Transfer to Tactical Air Command 

Air Training Command transferred the F-111D 

weapon systems training course at Mather to Tactical 

Air Command on 1 February 1969. Then on 1 July, 

the RF-4C navigator-reconnaissance upgrade training 

also at Mather shifted from ATC to TAC. 
1969 

179

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Military Working Dog Program 

On 18 July 1969, ATC initiated a program to train 

and test the patrol dog's ability to detect marijuana. A 

group of patrol dogs and their handlers were trained 

for 14 weeks and carried out a preliminary field test 

at Laughlin and Laredo AFBs. A second project 

developed around the use of working dogs in rivers 

and bays. Training managers completed basic 

research on this project in November 1969 at Panama 

City, Florida, in conjunction with the US Navy's Ship 

Research and Development Laboratory. 

Project Pacer Bravo 

As part of the Vietnamese Air Force improvement 

and modernization program, the Air Force 

established Project Pacer Bravo to furnish the 

Vietnamese with trainers and training aids for their 

17 maintenance training courses. Air Training 

Command assigned fabrication of the trainers to its 

military training center at Lackland and the technical 

training centers at Chanute, Keesler, Lowry, and 

Sheppard in June 1969. When the project was 

finished, Chanute had produced 195 trainers, Keesler 

234, Lackland 115, Lowry 173, and Sheppard 155--a 

total of 872. By the end of the year, ATC had 

shipped all trainers well ahead of schedule. 

MILITARY TRAINING 

Closed Circuit Television for OTS 

Officials in OTS launched a closed circuit television 

project in 1968 as a means of putting the school on a 

three-week entry/graduation schedule. The shortened 

schedule was established to meet personnel 

requirements in Southeast Asia. In broad terms, the 

project consisted of acquisition and installation of 

equipment, studio construction, and software 

development. The school accepted the first elements 

in October 1969, and limited transmission of lessons 

began in December. Full operation of this project was 

scheduled to be completed by August 1970. 

At Reese AFB, Texas, a student pilot undergoing physiological training is lifted by his parasail.
1969 

180

MISCELLANEOUS 

Draft Lottery Implemented 

The Selective Service System implemented the draft 

lottery method of induction on 1 December 1969. 

This had an immediate effect on the Regular Air 

Force and the Officer Training School, causing 

increased volunteers for the Air Force. 

Project 703 

Announced in August 1969, Project 703 called for an 

FY 70 DOD budget reduction of a billion dollars. 

This resulted in the Air Force slashing procurement 

and training goals, and that, in turn, had widespread 

influence in almost every facet of the command's 

activities. 

Hurricane Camille 

The Mississippi gulf coast bore the brunt of 

Hurricane Camille when it reached landfall on 

17 August. One of the strongest hurricanes ever 

recorded, Camille left a path of destruction, including 

132 deaths, 27 persons missing, 8,931 injured, and 

5,662 homes destroyed. Utilities and communications 

were inoperable. Fortunately, Keesler AFB sustained 

relatively light damage ($3.5 million) in comparison 

to the surrounding area, so base personnel were able 

to provide immediate assistance, distributing food 

and clothing, providing medical aid, and helping with 

cleanup efforts. Most technical training courses were 

put on hold until 2 September. 

At Chanute AFB, Illinois, student officers perform an alignment of the missile offset and rotation angle. The 

student at left uses an odolite to determine position as the student in the center records angle readings.
181

1970

In its continuing effort to cut costs, the command made some major changes in the undergraduate pilot 

training program. Air Training Command reduced UPT in July 1970 from 53 to 48 weeks and lowered the 

number of flying hours each student received from 240 to 208.5. The 240-hour program had consisted of 30 

hours in a light plane and 210 hours in jets. In the shorter program student pilots received 16 flying hours in 

a light plane and only 192.5 hours in jet trainers. At the same time, ATC introduced an experimental UPT 

curriculum at Moody AFB, Georgia, which provided just 188 hours of flying time and cut more deeply into 

the T-37 and T-38 phases of instruction. Two years later, ATC would abandon the experimental program at 

Moody and go back to where it started at the other UPT bases with a syllabus that provided for 210 flying 

hours in jet trainers--90 in the T-37 and 120 in the T-38. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1970) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 16 

Alabama--Craig; Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; Colorado--Lowry; 

Georgia--Moody; Illinois--Chanute; Mississippi--Columbus and Keesler; 

Oklahoma--Vance; Texas--Lackland, Laredo, Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, 

Sheppard, and Webb 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 70,530 (8,830 officers; 42,878 enlisted; 18,822 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 2,299 (C-54, C-131, CH-3, HH-43, T-28, T-29, T-37, T-38, T-39, T-41, 

TH-1) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

6 numbered air force equivalent units: 

 Lackland Mil Trng Center, Lackland AFB TX 

 Chanute Tech Trng Center, Chanute AFB IL 

 Keesler Tech Trng Center, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Center, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Center, Sheppard AFB TX 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Randolph AFB TX 

1 flying training wing: 

 3510th, Randolph AFB TX 

1 navigator training wing: 

 3535th, Mather AFB CA 

9 pilot training wings: 

 3500th, Reese AFB TX 

 3525th, Williams AFB AZ 

 3550th, Moody AFB GA 

 3560th, Webb AFB TX 

 3575th, Vance AFB OK 

 3615th, Craig AFB AL 

3640th, Laredo AFB TX Shown is a view of an Undergraduate Navigator 

Training student receiving hands-on training. 
1970 

182

9 pilot training wings (contd): 

 3646th, Laughlin AFB TX 

 3650th, Columbus AFB MS 

2 independent group or equivalent units: 

 3545th USAF Hospital, Goodfellow AFB TX 

 3636th Cmbt Crew Trng (Survival), Fairchild 

AFB WA 

3 independent squadrons: 

 3250th Flying Training, Tyndall AFB FL 

 3251st Flying Training, Perrin AFB TX 

 3253d Pilot Training, Peterson Field CO 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

Lt Gen 

George B. Simler 

 On 1 September 1970, Lt Gen George B. Simler 

assumed command from Lt Gen Sam Maddux, Jr., 

who retired. General Simler previously served as the 

Vice Commander of United States Air Forces in 

Europe. On 1 May 1970, Maj Gen Charles W. 

Carson, Jr. temporarily replaced Maj Gen Leo F. 

Dusard, Jr. as vice commander. He filled the position 

until Maj Gen John R. Murphy arrived on 1 July from 

his position as Director of Legislative Liaison, Office 

of the Secretary of the Air Force. 

ORGANIZATION 

Office of Foreign Military Affairs Established 

On 15 December 1970, General Simler enlarged his 

headquarters to seven deputy chiefs of staff, when he 

added an Office of Foreign Military Affairs. 

Originally, responsibilities for foreign military 

training plans and programs had been a function of 

the Deputy Chief of Staff, Plans. The change took 

place in response to the increasing importance of the 

foreign military training program, especially in 

helping the South Vietnamese Air Force become 

self-sufficient. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

Transfer of Helicopter Training to the Army 

In December 1969, Congress directed that the 

fixed-wing training of helicopter pilots by the Navy 

and the Air Force be discontinued and that all rotary 

wing training be given by the Army. By April 1970, 

the Air Staff had decided that future Air Force 

helicopter pilots would receive light plane screening 

by ATC; a two-phase undergraduate helicopter pilot 

training program by the Army at Fort Wolters 

(formerly Wolters AFB), Texas, and the US Army 

Aviation School at Fort Rucker, Alabama; and 

combat crew training by Military Airlift Command. 

The first Air Force students entered the Army portion 

of this training on 11 October 1970. 

Last T-37 Received 

For 14 years, the T-37 played a major role in ATC's 

flying training program. The first of these aircraft had 

arrived at James Connally AFB in 1956. The last of 

1,137 arrived in ATC in January 1970. 

An aircraft hangar at Chanute AFB, Illinois, serves 

as a classroom for jet engine maintenance training.
1970 

183

Project Fast Track 

Continued budget reductions caused ATC to test a 

multi-track system of graduating navigator students 

on a proficiency basis to cut down on instructor 

workload, reduce pipeline time, and cut training 

costs. In early briefings this project was called "Fast 

Burner," but the command later changed it to "Fast 

Track." The first class (72-02) entered this test 

project on 26 October 1970. The fast track section of 

the class, selected after about 10 weeks of training, 

was accelerated to the point where it graduated with 

Class 72-01. Continuing shortage of navigators, 

coupled with budgetary constraints, made it 

necessary to increase production at the least possible 

cost. Therefore, ATC developed a 30-week 

(previously 38-week) training course for implementation in 1971, which accelerated all students. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Shown is a view of a computer operators console 

used for both the computer operators and 

maintenance courses. 

Computer Systems Training for Officers 

In January 1968, the Air Force established a new 

officer career area, Computer Systems, with two 

specialties--Computer Systems Analyst and 

Computer Systems Programming Officer. Training 

production in these specialties had just begun when 

the Air Force revised the career field on 31 August 

1970, calling it the Officer Computer Technology 

career area. The new career field included computer 

systems staff officers, design engineers, system 

analysts, programming officers, and operations 

officers. 

Project Heavy Bare 

The Air Force demonstrated the bare base concept 

under the nickname Coronet Bare in October 1969. 

Training in the operation and maintenance of unique 

bare base equipment in preparation for Coronet Bare 

was conducted informally at contractor facilities. 

Following this demonstration, the Air Force established Project Heavy Bare, a program designed to 

qualify a fighter squadron to operate from airfields 

devoid of the structures and services normally found 

on USAF bases. The many services, shops, and 

buildings normally provided by base support units 

were planned to become portable and organic 

elements of the squadron. Air Training Command 

accepted responsibility for training individuals in 

AFSC-oriented courses; preparing course outlines, 

materials, and training aids; and conducting most 

initial classes. 

A Security Police trainee (above) prepares to 

throw a hand grenade during a field exercise at 

Camp Bullis, near Lackland AFB, Texas. Below, 

Security Police trainees learn how to handle a 

vehicle-mounted M-60 machine gun. 
1970 

184

MILITARY TRAINING 

USAF Marksmanship School Inactivated 

On 1 August 1970, ATC inactivated the USAF 

Marksmanship School at Lackland, a victim of the 

budgetary belt-tightening and organizational 

contractions implemented throughout the Air Force. 

Air Training Command transferred the school's 

training and gunsmith capabilities to other units at 

Lackland. 

Distinguished Graduate Criteria Changed 

The Air Force phased out the award of Regular Air 

Force commissions for distinguished graduates in 

Officer Training School beginning on 23 January 

1970. This occurred because the Air Force did not 

feel the criteria used for distinguished graduate was 

necessarily a valid predictor of subsequent 

performance as an officer. The distinguished graduate 

program was retained, made a matter of record, and 

continued to be an element of consideration by 

regular-status appointment boards. The phaseout 

began with Class 70-08, where no more than 15 

percent of the distinguished graduates were selected 

for regular appointment. This ratio was reduced by 

three percent in each succeeding class until Class 

70-13, whose one percent constituted the final 

awards. None were tendered the appointment in subsequent classes. 

Officer trainees run as part of the physical fitness 

training at Officer Training School, Lackland 

AFB, Texas.

A class at the Officer Training School, Lackland AFB, Texas, conducts a discussion on the military code of 

conduct. 
185

1971

Change seemed to be the byword throughout the command in 1971. At the beginning of the year, ATC 

reorganized all the technical training centers to align such functions as civil engineering, personnel, 

administration, comptroller, and band under the air base group commander, who also became the base 

commander. In March Air Training Command reassigned the 3630th Flying Training Wing at Sheppard, 

which conducted a UPT program for the German Air Force, from the technical training center to HQ ATC. 

The command then went on to consolidate pilot instructor training (PIT) at a single location, when it moved 

the PIT squadrons at Perrin and Tyndall to Randolph. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1971) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 16 

Alabama--Craig; Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; Colorado--Lowry; 

Georgia--Moody; Illinois--Chanute; Mississippi--Columbus and Keesler; 

Oklahoma--Vance; Texas--Lackland, Laredo, Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, 

Sheppard, and Webb 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 75,442 (9,669 officers; 46,285 enlisted; 19,488 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 2,210 (C-54, C-131, T-28, T-29, T-37, T-38, T-39, T-41, TH-1) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

6 numbered air force equivalent units: 

 Lackland Mil Trng Ctr, Lackland AFB TX 

 Chanute Tech Trng Ctr, Chanute AFB IL 

 Keesler Tech Trng Ctr, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Ctr, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Ctr, Sheppard AFB TX 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Randolph AFB TX 

1 combat crew training wing: 

 3636th (Survival), Fairchild AFB WA 

2 flying training wings: 

 3510th, Randolph AFB TX 

 3630th, Sheppard AFB TX 

1 navigator training wing: 

 3535th, Mather AFB CA 

9 pilot training wings: 

 

3500th, Reese AFB TX 

 3525th, Williams AFB AZ 

 3550th, Moody AFB GA 

 3560th, Webb AFB TX 

 3575th, Vance AFB OK 

 3615th, Craig AFB AL 

 3640th, Laredo AFB TX 

 3646th, Laughlin AFB TX 

 3650th, Columbus AFB MS 

1 group equivalent unit: 

 3545th USAF Hospital, Goodfellow AFB TX 

2 independent squadrons: 

 3253d Pilot Training, Peterson Field CO 

 3301st School (USAF Skill Ctr), Forbes AFB KS 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

Lieutenant General Simler continued as 

commander, and Major General Murphy remained 

the vice commander. 
1971 

186

ORGANIZATION 

3301st School Squadron Established 

In connection with the Vietnam drawdown and to 

fulfill one of ATC's special obligations-- 

administering the vocational training program 

designed to prepare selected enlisted members for 

jobs in the civilian sector--ATC activated the 3301st 

School Squadron (USAF Skill Center), at Forbes 

AFB, Kansas, a TAC installation, on 1 December 

1971. The 3301st reported directly to the Deputy 

Chief of Staff, Personnel at HQ ATC. 

3630th Flying Training Wing 

Effective 15 March 1971, ATC reassigned the 3630th 

Flying Training Wing from the Sheppard Technical 

Training Center to HQ ATC. In the 1960s, the wing 

had reported directly to HQ ATC, but concerns about 

duplication of effort between the wing and its host 

caused ATC to reassign the 3630th to Sheppard. 

However, because of the importance of the wing's 

foreign training mission--it conducted a special UPT 

program for the German Air Force--ATC realigned 

the 3630th directly under the command headquarters. 

Technical Training Center Reorganization 

In an effort to standardize organization and save 

manpower, Air Training Command implemented a 

reorganization of all technical training centers on 

4 January 1971. The command aligned comptroller, 

civil engineering, personnel, administrative, and band 

functions under the air base group and designated the 

air base group commander as base commander. 

Additionally, the command did away with the 

commandant of troops position at each of the 

technical training wings. In place of the wing staff 

position, on 1 March 1971, Air Training Command 

activated numbered student groups at each of the 

centers to manage the troops. 

Survival Group Becomes Wing 

On 1 April 1971, ATC restructured the 3636th 

Combat Crew Training Group (Survival) as a wing 

for operational and administrative control of all 

survival training. 

DCS/Materiel Renamed 

In line with a change made earlier by HQ USAF, Air 

Training Command redesignated its DCS/Materiel as 

DCS/Logistics on 1 December 1971 and made 

compatible changes of other titles in the field units. 

INSTALLATIONS 

Amarillo AFB Turned Over 

Six years after the Air Force first announced its 

closure, Amarillo AFB finally reverted to civilian 

control on 16 February 1971. 

A student navigator at Mather AFB, California, plots his course while seated at 

the T45 simulator. 
1971 

187

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

Consolidation of PIT 

As a part of its plan to consolidate pilot instructor 

training, on 15 May ATC reassigned its 3251st 

Flying Training Squadron at Perrin AFB, Texas, to 

the 3510th Flying Training Wing at Randolph. 

Shortly thereafter, the squadron moved to Randolph. 

On 15 August ATC reassigned its 3250th Flying 

Training Squadron at Tyndall to the 3510th Flying 

Training Wing and moved the squadron to Randolph. 

Then on 6 October, ATC inactivated the 3250th. 

Both of these squadrons had provided pilot instructor 

training. 

Helicopter Training 

Since the Army now provided all undergraduate 

helicopter pilot training, the Air Force chose to 

consolidate all helicopter combat crew training at Hill 

AFB, Utah, under the control of the Military Airlift 

Command (MAC), the primary end-user of all USAF 

helicopter pilots. The transfer from ATC to MAC 

was completed on 30 June 1971. 

T-43 Contract Award 

In May 1971, the Air Force awarded the Boeing 

Aircraft Company a contract for nineteen 

T-43 aircraft--a military version of the 737--to 

replace the T-29 for navigator training at Mather. At 

the same time, Honeywell, Incorporated, received the 

contract to produce a 52-station navigator simulator 

system. The Air Force expected delivery of the first 

production aircraft and simulator at Mather in 

September 1973. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Project Peace Echo Concluded 

Beginning in 1968, ATC furnished training for the 

Israeli Air Force. A cadre of men were trained to fly 

and maintain F-4E aircraft sold to Israel under a 

military assistance program known as Peace Echo. 

By August 1971 when Peace Echo concluded, ATC 

had trained 1,297 Israeli personnel. 

Drug Abuse Education 

Beginning in December 1970, ATC developed an Air 

Force-wide drug abuse education program. Training 

officials believed two resident courses should be 

offered. Base level personnel designated to conduct 

local programs would attend one course. The other 

Air Training Command assigned the first T-37 to be painted with white corrosion control 

paint to the 3640th Pilot Training Wing at Laredo AFB, Texas. 
1971 

188

would be for commanders, staff officers, and 

supervisors. The Air Force approved this concept, 

and Lackland's 3275th Technical School began 

training on 4 October 1971. 

Joint Service Nuclear Training 

On 28 December 1971, ATC became the Air Force's 

executive agent responsible for providing all the 

nuclear familiarization training required within the 

Department of Defense. This training consisted of six 

courses conducted at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, by 

the Field Command Defense Nuclear Agency. 

MILITARY TRAINING 

Project Hasty Piper 

Recruiting officials implemented Project Hasty Piper 

in July 1971, as a unique program to assist the 

recruiter in meeting enlistment goals. Personnel 

assigned hand-picked volunteers, newly-graduated 

from basic military training or technical training 

schools, to their hometown recruiting offices for a 

14-day stint enroute to their first base of assignment. 

While there, they were given maximum exposure to 

the news media and, in company with a recruiter, 

contacted former schoolmates and friends and visited 

schools, churches, and social and fraternal 

organizations where their presence might have 

influence. Although ATC considered this program 

highly successful, it was unfunded, so ATC had to 

suspend it in February 1972. 

Students attending the Air Force Survival 

School, Fairchild AFB, Washington, practice the 

parachute landing fall. 

Newly-enlisted Air Force recruits receive the 

traditional military haircut at Lackland AFB, 

Texas. 
189

1972

The establishment of the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF) in the spring of 1972 was an 

innovative move by the Air Force to cope with the advent of the all-volunteer force. Various studies had 

confirmed what many intuitively knew--the opportunity for education and training was the most powerful 

inducement that attracted young men and women to military service. One of the goals of the CCAF was to 

permit airmen to receive academic credit for both military and civilian education and training and apply the 

courses they took toward an associate's degree. To get to that point, ATC first had to get the technical 

schools accredited and establish a centralized transcript service. Toward that end, the command renamed 

the technical school at each training center the School of Applied Aerospace Sciences. Through the CCAF 

program, an airman could earn a certificate which recognized the completion of 64 semester hours of collegelevel courses--the equivalent of an associate's degree. 

The Northrop T-38 "Talon" was the Air Force's first supersonic trainer. With its two high thrust-toweight ratio GE J85-5 turbojet engines, the "Talon" was a high performance aircraft with speed, 

endurance, and capabilities similar to supersonic combat aircraft. Air Training Command received its 

first T-38 on 17 March 1961. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1972) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 16 

Alabama--Craig; Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; 

Colorado--Lowry; Georgia--Moody; Illinois--Chanute; 

Mississippi--Columbus and Keesler; Oklahoma--Vance; 

Texas--Lackland, Laredo, Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, 

Sheppard, and Webb 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 72,895 (9,833 officers; 44,599 enlisted; 18,463 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 2,129 (C-54, C-131, T-28, T-29, T-37, T-38, T-39, T-41, TH-1) 
1972 

190

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

6 numbered air force equivalent units: 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Randolph AFB TX 

 Lackland Mil Trng Ctr, Lackland AFB TX 

 Chanute Tech Trng Ctr, Chanute AFB IL 

 Keesler Tech Trng Ctr, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Ctr, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Ctr, Sheppard AFB TX 

1 wing equivalent unit: 

 School of Military Sciences, Officer, Lackland 

AFB TX 

1 combat crew training wing: 

 3636th (Survival), Fairchild AFB WA 

9 flying training wings: 

 12th, Randolph AFB TX 

 14th, Columbus AFB MS 

 29th, Craig AFB AL 

 38th, Laredo AFB TX 

 47th, Laughlin AFB TX 

 64th, Reese AFB TX 

 71st, Vance AFB OK 

 78th, Webb AFB TX 

 3630th, Sheppard AFB TX 

1 navigator training wing: 

 3535th, Mather AFB CA 

2 pilot training wings: 

 3525th, Williams AFB AZ 

 3550th, Moody AFB GA 

1 group equivalent unit: 

 Community College of the Air Force, Randolph 

AFB TX 

4 independent squadrons: 

 3253d Pilot Training, Peterson Field CO 

 3301st School (USAF Skill Center), Forbes AFB 

KS 

 3302d Computer Services, Randolph AFB TX 

 3303d Procurement, Randolph AFB TX 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

Lt Gen 

William V. McBride 

 Lieutenant General William V. McBride, former 

USAFE vice commander, succeeded Lt Gen 

George B. Simler on 9 September 1972 as ATC commander. On the same day, General Simler and his 

aide, Maj Gil L. Gillespie, died when their T-38 

crashed on takeoff from Randolph AFB. General 

Simler was on his way to Scott AFB, Illinois, where 

he was to become Commander, Military Airlift 

Command. He received his fourth star posthumously. 

On 4 November Maj Gen Felix M. Rogers, 

DCS/Technical Training, replaced Maj Gen John R. 

Murphy as the vice commander. General Murphy 

went on to an assignment in Japan. 

ORGANIZATION 

Wing Activations 

To preserve the illustrious lineage and histories of 

combat units, the Air Force directed ATC to replace 

its four-digit flying and pilot training wings with 

two-digit designations. The command inactivated the 

four-digit units and activated two-digit wings. Eight 

wings changed numerical designation during the 

year. 

Old No./Station New No. Effective

 3510 FTW (Randolph) 12 FTW 1 May 

 3650 PTW (Columbus) 14 FTW 1 Jun 

 3615 PTW (Craig) 29 FTW 1 Jul 

 3640 PTW (Laredo) 38 FTW 1 Aug 

 3646 PTW (Laughlin) 47 FTW 1 Sep 

 3500 PTW (Reese) 64 FTW 1 Oct 

 3575 PTW (Vance) 71 FTW 1 Nov 

 3560 PTW (Webb) 78 FTW 1 Dec 

OTS Reassigned to HQ ATC 

In July 1971, OTS had been elevated from 

group-level to wing-level. To emphasize that this 

source of new officers was important and vital to the 

Air Force, ATC reassigned the Officer Training 

School, on 1 June 1972, from the jurisdiction of 

Lackland Military Training Center to the command 
1972 

191

COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF THE AIR FORCE 

Because of the controversy surrounding American 

involvement in Vietnam, the Defense Department 

examined the possibility of establishing an allvolunteer force. The 1970 Gates Commission noted 

that while the offer of sufficient money would induce 

people to join the services, the quality of personnel 

drawn to the military life remained problematic. Air 

Force planners, especially, recognized that education 

related-incentives might attract better quality recruits. 

From this realization, the Air Force established the 

Community College of the Air Force (CCAF) in 1972 

as part of ATC. 

The idea behind the community college was to 

provide the means to blend on-duty technical training 

and education experiences with courses from civilian 

colleges and universities into coherent, job-related 

education programs. Under the CCAF program, an 

airmen could earn a Career Education Certificate, 

which recognized the completion of a minimum of 64 

semester hours of college-level work. The Air Force 

considered the certificate equivalent to an associate's 

degree offered by a college or university. 

The Community College of the Air Force was first 

accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges 

and Schools in December 1973. This was the highest 

accreditation available and gave CCAF academic 

credibility. In a further step, Public Law 94-361, 

signed in July 1976, authorized the Commander, Air 

Training Command to award the Associate in Applied Science degree to those who had completed a 

CCAF study program. On 25 April 1977, CCAF 

awarded its first college degrees to 275 airmen 

stationed around the world. This marked the first 

time enlisted personnel had received college degrees 

from a military organization. 

Air Training Command originally established the 

community college at Randolph AFB. In 1975 Lt 

Gen John W. Roberts, ATC commander, expressed 

concern about the growing number of missions being 

located at Randolph and Lackland AFBs, while the 

Lackland Training Annex at nearby Medina had 

facilities to absorb additional activities. Therefore, the 

USAF Occupational Measurement Center moved to 

Medina in 1976 and, the following year, CCAF 

relocated to the training annex. Only two years later, 

as part of the realignment brought about by the 

consolidation of Air University and Air Training 

Command, ATC moved the community college to 

Maxwell AFB at Montgomery, Alabama. Organizationally, the Community College of the Air Force 

remained part of ATC. 

The Community College of the Air Force 

graduated its 100,000th student in the spring of 1992, 

when it offered approximately 70 academic degree 

programs through more than 80 affiliated schools. 

When Air Education and Training Command stood up 

on 1 July 1993, the command realigned CCAF under 

Air University. 

headquarters. On 1 August 1972, ATC redesignated 

OTS as the School of Military Sciences, Officer. 

Computer Services Squadron Activated 

Air Training Command activated the 3302d 

Computer Services Squadron at Randolph on 

1 January 1972 to provide data automation services 

to the headquarters and base functional managers. 

The Deputy Chief of Staff, Comptroller exercised 

operational control over the 3302d. 

USAF Recruiting Service 

On 1 March 1972, the USAF Recruiting Service 

commander gained a second title, that of ATC 

Deputy Chief of Staff, Recruiting Service. As a 

deputy chief of staff, Recruiting Service no longer 

needed separate comptroller, materiel, or personnel 

functions. This resulted in a savings of several 

personnel authorizations. 

Community College of the Air Force 

At the direction of Headquarters USAF, Air Training 

Command activated the Community College of the 

Air Force (CCAF) at Randolph AFB, Texas, on 

1 April 1972 and assigned the group-level unit to 

command headquarters. 

Additional Student Squadrons 

Following racial incidents at Sheppard, ATC decided 

its student squadrons were too large to manage 

effectively. Therefore, on 1 January 1972, the command activated 24 additional student squadrons: five 

each at Chanute and Sheppard, eight at Keesler, and 

three each at Lackland and Lowry. 

3303d Procurement Sq Activated 

Air Training Command activated the 3303d 

Procurement Squadron at Randolph AFB, Texas, on 

1 November. The squadron was under the operational 

control of DCS/Logistics. 
1972 

192

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

VNAF T-37 PIT 

Flying training officials conducted a pilot instructor 

training (PIT) course for Vietnamese Air Force 

(VNAF) instructors at Webb AFB, Texas. The course 

began in August 1972 and used the same syllabus as 

the regular ATC T-37 PIT course. 

Flight Screening Program Revised 

During the latter part of 1972, Air Training 

Command revised the flight screening portion of its 

undergraduate pilot training program. Graduates of 

the Air Force Academy pilot indoctrination program 

and Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps flight 

instruction program were no longer required to go 

through flight screening. Instead they entered directly 

into undergraduate pilot training. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

ITRO Launched 

In September 1972 the Interservice Training Review 

Organization (ITRO) launched a continuing 

all-services evaluation of technical training courses 

aimed at eliminating duplicate training by combining 

courses or designing new ones. Resulting courses 

would be conducted by the service with the major 

interest. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Last T-38 Received 

Air Training Command accepted its last T-38 (tail 

number 70-1956) at Palmdale, California, on 

31 January 1972. The aircraft was assigned to the 

3510th Flying Training Wing at Randolph. Eleven 

years earlier, on 17 March 1961, the command had 

received its first T-38 (tail number 195). During that 

11-year period, ATC took delivery of 1,114 T-38s. 

Air Installation Compatible Use Zone 

Starting in May 1972, the Air Force implemented a 

DOD program aimed at solving the long-standing and 

ever-increasing problems of encroachment of civilian 

communities around flying bases. Officials were to 

look at each base, considering such factors as 

accident potential, noise hazard, and danger to 

aircraft operation. Using this information, flying 

bases could then work with their civilian counterparts 

to improve land development management. 

A technical training instructor at Lowry AFB, Colorado, explains to students how to load 

AGM-69A short range attack missiles on a B-52 aircraft. 
193

1973

After months of negotiation, on 27 January 1973, the Vietnam peace agreement was finally signed in Paris. 

At the same time, President Richard M.Nixon announced to the nation that the draft was at an end; the 

military would become an all volunteer force. To ATC and its USAF Recruiting Service, the peace agreement 

meant lower recruiting goals and greater emphasis on acquiring and maintaining a quality force. Also in 

1973 there was considerable activity in the world of flying training. The command centralized its flight 

screening program at Hondo, Texas; consolidated helicopter UPT at Fort Rucker, Alabama; acquired its first 

T-43, the new navigator training aircraft, and as part of the post-Vietnam draw-down, closed Laredo AFB. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1973) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 15 

Alabama--Craig; Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; Colorado-- 

Lowry; Georgia--Moody; Illinois--Chanute; Mississippi--Columbus 

and Keesler; Oklahoma--Vance; Texas--Lackland, Laughlin, 

Randolph, Reese, Sheppard, and Webb 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 68,308 (9,168 officers; 41,167 enlisted; 17,973 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,965 (C-118A, C-131D/E, T-29, T-37B, T-38A, T-41A/C, T-43A, 

TH-1F) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

6 numbered air force equivalent units: 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Randolph AFB TX 

 Air Force Mil Trng Ctr, Lackland AFB TX 

 Chanute Tech Trng Ctr, Chanute AFB IL 

 Keesler Tech Trng Ctr, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Ctr, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Ctr, Sheppard AFB TX 

1 wing equivalent unit: 

 School of Military Sciences, Officer, Lackland 

AFB TX 

1 combat crew training wing: 

 3636th (Survival), Fairchild AFB WA 

11 flying training wings: 

 12th, Randolph AFB TX 

 14th, Columbus AFB MS 

 29th, Craig AFB AL 

 38th, Moody AFB GA 

 47th, Laughlin AFB TX 

 64th, Reese AFB TX 

 71st, Vance AFB OK 

 78th, Webb AFB TX 

 80th, Sheppard AFB TX 

 82d, Williams AFB AZ 

 323d, Mather AFB CA 

1 group equivalent unit: 

 Community College of the Air Force, Randolph 

AFB TX 

6 independent squadrons: 

 3253d Pilot Training, Peterson Field CO 

 3300th Support, Randolph AFB TX 

 3301st School (USAF Skill Center), Kirtland AFB 

NM 

 3302d Computer Services, Randolph AFB TX 

 3303d Procurement, Randolph AFB TX 

 3304th School (ATC NCO Academy), Lackland 

AFB TX 

 3314th Management Engineering, Randolph AFB 

TX 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

Lieutenant General McBride continued as 

commander. However, Maj Gen Frank M. Madsen, 

Jr., replaced Maj Gen Felix M. Rogers as Air 
1973 

194

Training Command's vice commander on 23 October 

1973. Rogers received his third star and became 

Commander, Air University. Madsen had been 

Deputy Chief of Staff, Technical Training, and he 

continued serving in that position and as vice 

commander until his retirement in 1974. 

ORGANIZATION 

Military Training Center Redesignated 

Since training officials felt the former designation of 

Lackland Military Training Center gave an 

impression that there might be other Air Force 

centers providing basic training, Headquarters USAF 

directed Air Training Command to redesignate the 

unit as the Air Force Military Training Center, 

effective 1 January 1973. 

Management Engineering Squadron 

On 1 October 1973, ATC activated the 3314th 

Management Engineering Squadron at Randolph 

AFB, Texas. The 14 management engineering 

detachments belonging to the 3300th Support 

Squadron transferred to the new squadron. 

New Flying Training Wings Established 

In 1973 ATC inactivated the remainder of its four 

digit flying wings and replaced them with two-digit 

wings. All of the newly-activated units then had 

combat lineage. (The command had activated the 

38th Flying Training Wing at Laredo on 1 August 

1972 and then inactivated the unit on 30 September 

1973 in preparation for the closure of Laredo. Two 

months later, on 1 December, ATC activated the 38th 

at Moody.) 

Old No./Station New No. Effective

 3525 PTW (Williams) 82 FTW 1 Feb 

 3535 NTW (Mather) 323 FTW 1 Apr 

 3550 PTW (Moody) 38 FTW 1 Dec 

 3630 FTW (Sheppard) 80 FTW 1 Jan 

ATC NCO Academy Activated 

Air Training Command activated the 3304th School 

Squadron (ATC NCO Academy) at Lackland on 

5 January 1973. With the establishment of the 

academy, more ATC personnel had the opportunity 

to receive professional military education training. 

The ATC Deputy Chief of Staff, Personnel maintained operational control of the unit. 

New DCS Created 

On 1 May 1973, ATC created a new headquarters 

position, Deputy Chief of Staff, Community College 

Affairs. The CCAF commander filled the post. 

Three North American T-28 "Trojan" trainers fly over Keesler AFB, Mississippi. 

Under the Military Assistance Program (MAP) at Keesler, the propeller-driven T-28 

was used to train pilots from countries without jet aircraft. The program began during 

the winter of 1966-1967 and continued until 8 May 1973. 
1973 

195

INSTALLATIONS 

Laredo AFB Closed 

In conjunction with the cutback in pilot production, 

the Secretary of Defense announced in early 1973 

that ATC no longer needed Laredo. Air Training 

Command inactivated the base on 30 September and 

placed it in caretaker status. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

Centralized Flight Screening Program 

Air Training Command centralized light plane 

screening at Hondo Municipal Airport, Hondo, 

Texas, on 17 May 1973. Training officials contracted 

with the Del Rio Flying Service to provide this 

training using ATC T-41A aircraft. The centralized 

flight screening program fell under the jurisdiction of 

ATC's School of Military Sciences, Officer. 

Proficiency Advancement Testing 

On 23 November 1973, ATC began testing the feasibility of individual proficiency advancement in 

undergraduate pilot training at Columbus. In the test, 

students advanced through the syllabus based on their 

performance. Fewer missions would be flown provided the student demonstrated the required skills. 

Conversely, more time per phase of training could be 

provided those students who needed it. Overall, the 

concept still retained the average class flying time of 

210 hours per student. 

POW Requalification Training 

In April 1973 ATC published a Pilot Requalification 

Training Guide for use in training prisoners of war 

who returned during Project Homecoming. Training 

began in May. At Randolph ATC conducted pilot 

requalification training in the T-37, T-38, and T-39. 

Mather provided navigator requalification training in 

the T-29. The program concluded in late 1976. 

New Navigator Training Aircraft 

The rollout of the first T-43 test aircraft occurred on 

2 March 1973 at Boeing's Renton, Washington, plant. 

A Boeing test crew made the first flight on 10 April. 

On 28 July Boeing delivered the test aircraft to 

Mather. The first production model arrived at Mather 

on 28 October. 

Helicopter UPT 

The closing of Fort Wolters, Texas, by the Army 

resulted in a consolidation of all Air Force undergraduate pilot training-helicopter at Fort Rucker, 

Alabama. Fort Wolters graduated its last class on 

1 November 1973. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

First Sergeant Course 

On 1 May ATC assumed responsibility for creating a 

first sergeant course. Directed by the Air Force, ATC 

established a four-week course at Keesler comprised 

of three separate blocks of instruction: 

administration, human relations, and management. 

The first class began on 17 October 1973. 

Missile Training 

In September 1970, ATC transferred Chanute's 

Minuteman missile launch officer course to 

Vandenberg AFB, California. Since that time, SAC 

and ATC instructors had jointly conducted this 

training; ATC had responsibility for teaching the 

basic Minuteman course, while SAC taught 

operational procedures. On 1 July 1974, SAC 

assumed responsibility for the entire course. 

MILITARY TRAINING 

All-Volunteer Force 

With the signing of the peace agreement in Paris, 

President Nixon called for the end of the draft, 

indicating that the United States would depend 

exclusively on a volunteer military establishment. No 

conscription took place after 27 January 1973; 

although, the draft didn't officially end until 

congressional authorization expired on 30 June 1973. 

The T-43A, a military version of the Boeing 737, 

replaced the T-29 as a navigator trainer. The T-43 

had 19 navigator stations in the fuselage--12 for 

students, 4 for advanced students, and 3 for 

instructors. 
1973 

196

Project Homecoming returnee, Col George R. Hall, waves to well wishers at 

Keesler. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Project Homecoming 

The Air Force implemented Project Homecoming--

the repatriation of Americans freed from the prison 

camps of North and South Vietnam--on 12 February 

1973. Air Force officials designated 10 bases in the 

continental United States as welcoming points. Of 

these ATC owned three: Lackland, Sheppard, and 

Keesler. 

Energy Crisis 

On 20 October the Arab-Israeli conflict erupted, and 

the Arab nations declared an oil embargo. The 

embargo had a severe impact on flying training, 

causing the cancellation of one UPT class (75-05) 

and shifts and slips in other classes. 

Well wishers crowd 

Keesler’s Base Operations 

awaiting arrival of military

personnel recently released 

from prison camps in North 

and South Vietnam 
197

1974

Perhaps the most dominant feature on the ATC landscape in 1974 was the serious fuel shortage the 

command had to contend with for much of the year. The shortage arose when the Organization of Petroleum 

Exporting Countries sent oil prices skyrocketing by cutting back on production. Almost overnight, the price 

of aviation fuel tripled. To conserve fuel, ATC made numerous adjustments to the UPT syllabus, including a 

reduction in the number of sorties and flying hours and an increased reliance on the use of synthetic trainers. 

In other efforts to cope with the crisis, OTS did not accept any pilot applicants for FY 75, and the Air Force 

cut overall pilot production goals by 18 percent. By the end of the year, the situation had improved 

sufficiently that ATC rescinded many of the temporary measures and returned to the use of the regular 

syllabus. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1974) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 15 

Alabama--Craig; Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; Colorado--

Lowry; Georgia--Moody; Illinois--Chanute; Mississippi--Columbus and 

Keesler; Oklahoma--Vance; Texas--Lackland, Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, 

Sheppard, and Webb 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 52,319 (8,255 officers; 26,135 enlisted; 17,929 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,725 (C-118A, C-131D/E, T-37B, T-38A, T-39A, T-41A/C, T-43A, 

TH-1F) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

6 numbered air force-equivalent units: 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Randolph AFB TX 

 Air Force Mil Trng Ctr, Lackland AFB TX 

 Chanute Tech Trng Ctr, Chanute AFB IL 

 Keesler Tech Trng Ctr, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Ctr, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Ctr, Sheppard AFB TX 

1 combat crew training wing: 

 3636th (Survival), Fairchild AFB WA 

11 flying training wings: 

 12th, Randolph AFB TX 

 14th, Columbus AFB MS 

 29th, Craig AFB AL 

 38th, Moody AFB GA 

 47th, Laughlin AFB TX 

 64th, Reese AFB TX 

 71st, Vance AFB OK 

 78th, Webb AFB,TX 

 80th, Sheppard AFB TX 

 82d, Williams AFB AZ 

 323d, Mather AFB CA 

1 wing equivalent unit: 

 Officer Training School, Lackland AFB TX 

1 group equivalent unit: 

 Community College of the Air Force, Randolph 

AFB TX 

6 independent squadrons: 

 557th Flying Training, USAF Academy, Colorado 

Springs CO 

 3300th Support, Randolph AFB TX 

 3302d Computer Services, Randolph AFB TX 

 3303d Procurement, Randolph AFB TX 

 3304th School (NCO Academy), Lackland AFB 

TX 

 3314th Mgmt Engrg, Randolph AFB TX 
1974 

198

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

Lt Gen 

George H. McKee 

 Lieutenant General George H. McKee assumed 

command of ATC on 1 September. He replaced Lt 

Gen William V. McBride who received his fourth 

star and became the Commander, Air Force Logistics 

Command. Major General Alton D. Slay succeeded 

Maj Gen Frank M. Madsen, Jr., as vice commander 

on 1 February. Subsequently, General Slay 

transferred to HQ USAF; he was replaced by Maj 

Gen Robert W. Maloy on 16 August. 

ORGANIZATION 

Academy Pilot Indoctrination 

The ATC unit that conducted the pilot indoctrination 

program for Air Force Academy cadets underwent 

several changes in 1974. Effective 1 January, ATC 

redesignated the 3253d Pilot Training Squadron as 

the 3253d Flying Training Squadron. Two months 

later, on 21 March, the 3253d shifted its operations 

from Peterson Field in Colorado Springs to the US 

Air Force Academy. Then on 31 July ATC 

inactivated the 3253d Flying Training Squadron and 

activated the 557th Flying Training Squadron at the 

USAF Academy and assigned it to HQ ATC. 

Special Treatment Center 

After only three years, ATC inactivated the Special 

Treatment Center at Lackland AFB on 15 May. The 

Air Force had originally established the center in 

1971 to provide psychiatric evaluation and behavioral 

reorientation for airmen with drug problems. 

However, as the war in Southeast Asia wound down 

and individual bases became more proficient in their 

rehabilitation efforts, the center's workload declined. 

Therefore, ATC suggested and the Air Staff approved 

the transfer of those services to the 3415th Special 

Training Group at Lowry AFB. 

USAF Skill Center 

The command inactivated another unique 

organization, the 3301st School Squadron (USAF 

Skill Center) on 31 May 1974. The skill center had 

been at Forbes AFB, Kansas, since 1971 as part of a 

nationwide effort to help service members, especially 

veterans of the war in Southeast Asia, make the 

transition back to civilian life. The transition program 

was targeted at enlisted ranks up to technical sergeant 

and consisted of job counseling and vocational 

training. No sooner had the skill center relocated to 

Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, in 1973, when Congress 

decided the transition program had outlived its 

usefulness and cut off its funding as of May 1974. 

NCO Leadership Schools 

To provide better professional military education 

opportunities for its noncommissioned officers, ATC 

developed a two-phased plan to establish NCO 

leadership schools at most of the command's bases. 

Under Phase I, the command set up schools at eight 

bases in 1974: Keesler, Williams, and Chanute on 

15 July; Sheppard on 4 September; Laughlin on 

30 September; and Craig, Lowry, and Mather on 25 

November. Schools opened at Lackland, Moody, 

Columbus, Randolph, and Reese in 1975. Only 

Vance, where mission support services were provided 

by contractors, did not have its own leadership 

school; instead, NCOs at Vance attended the school 

at Sheppard. 

USAF Occupational Measurement Center 

Headquarters ATC inactivated the 3700th 

Occupational Measurement Squadron at Lackland 

AFB on 1 July and, in its place, activated the USAF 

Occupational Measurement Center. The new 

designation acknowledged the Air Force-wide 

application of the unit's work--preparing job-skills 

testing materials. 

ATC Schools Redesignated 

From its founding in 1959 until 1972, the Air Force 

commissioning program at Lackland Training Annex 

(Medina) was known as the Officer Training School 

(OTS). On 1 August 1972, ATC changed the name to 

the School of Military Sciences, Officer. This 

coincided with a similar name change for the Basic 

Military Training School at Lackland to the School of 

Military Sciences, Airman and the renaming of the 

schools at the technical training centers to School of 

Applied Aerospace Sciences. The idea behind these 

changes was to raise the prestige of the schools in the 

eyes of the civilian academic community. At that 

time, the Community College of the Air Force was 

seeking accreditation for a wide variety of courses. 

However, the name changes proved more confusing 

than helpful, and ATC reverted to the original 

designations on 8 April 1974. 
1974 

199

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

Assignments for UPT Graduates 

The methodology for determining which UPT 

graduates received which aircraft assignments 

changed dramatically in 1974. Prior to 1974, ATC 

had the responsibility for matching pilots and aircraft. 

The command met that responsibility through a merit 

assignment system that allowed the students to select 

their assignments based on their performance in UPT, 

i.e., their rank order in their class. Responding to 

SAC complaints that it was receiving the less capable 

graduates, ATC had modified the assignment system 

slightly in 1972, but the results were still not 

satisfactory. So, on 14 January 1974, the Air Force 

Military Personnel Center (AFMPC) took over the 

assignment process and modified it further. The new 

system allowed only the top 10 percent of each class 

to choose their assignments. After that, AFMPC 

filled ATC instructor pilot openings and then made 

assignments based on student preferences and the 

needs of the Air Force (matching demonstrated talent 

with Air Force requirements). 

T-37s Approved for UNT 

In March 1974 General McBride approved a proposal 

to include a limited number of T-37 flights in the 

undergraduate navigator training (UNT) curriculum. 

The idea sprang from a visit that ATC's 

DCS/Operations, Maj Gen James M. Breedlove, 

made to the Royal Air Force's (RAF) navigator 

training facilities in the United Kingdom in 1973. 

There General Breedlove was impressed with an 

RAF program that used small jet aircraft to introduce 

navigator students to the environment of fighter-type 

aircraft. Upon his return he directed his staff to 

investigate the possibility of incorporating similar 

training in UNT. With an increasing number of 

navigators assigned as weapon system officers in 

aircraft such as the F-4 and F-111, the idea had 

considerable appeal. A brief test of the concept at 

Williams in the summer and fall of 1973 indicated 

that such training would be worthwhile. Air Training 

Command, therefore, made plans to introduce five 

T-37 tactical orientation sorties in UNT to provide 

instruction in such areas as map reading; 

communications and inflight procedures; dead 

reckoning; and departures, approaches, and 

instrument flying procedures. Included in the 

proposed package were six hours of instruction in the 

T40 instrument flight simulator. Headquarters USAF 

approved ATC's proposal, and the command began 

T-37 training on 2 January 1975. 

A technical training student at Chanute AFB, Illinois, learns the hydraulic system of a T-38. 
1974 

200

T-43 Aircraft Acquired for UNT 

In 1973 ATC began replacing its aging T-29s, for 

years the backbone of UNT, with T-43As. The T-43s 

were Boeing 737s that had been specially modified 

for the navigator training mission. By July 1974 the 

command had on hand its full complement of 

nineteen T-43s and had phased out most of the T-29 

fleet. The last T-29 UNT class graduated in March 

1975. 

Contract Awarded for Simulators 

As early as 1964, the Air Force had begun examining 

its undergraduate pilot training to determine what 

changes would be needed to take the program 

through the next two decades. Over the next several 

years, both USAF organizations and contractors 

conducted a series of studies concerning the future of 

UPT. From those reviews came the recommendation 

to control pilot training costs by using simulators. 

The Air Force awarded contracts on 5 September 

1974 for the construction of four instrument flight 

simulator (IFS) complexes at Reese AFB. Two 

complexes, each housing four cockpits, were for the 

T-37 IFS and the other two, also housing four 

cockpits each, were for the T-38 IFS. All told, Air 

Training Command intended to construct similar 

complexes at each of its other six UPT bases and two 

complexes at Randolph AFB for pilot instructor 

training. Eventually, the command planned to 

substitute simulator time for all instrument flying 

time except instrument validation flights at an 

anticipated annual savings of $23 million. 

In an effort to improve undergraduate pilot training and reduce costs, ATC began using 

instrument flight simulators in 1977 to train pilots in instrument flying. Shown here is a simulator 

equipped with a T-37 cockpit at rest on its six-degree-of-freedom motion system. 
201

1975

Two changes in widely disparate fields marked the end of the old way of doing things and ushered in the 

new. In the first instance, ATC eliminated all WAF squadron sections within the command on 31 December, 

when it inactivated the WAF squadron section at Mather, the last one. This action assigned enlisted women 

to their duty organization and created a single management structure for both men and women, a milestone. 

In the second case, the command retired the last of its T-29s, an aircraft it had used for 25 years in 

undergraduate navigator training; ATC replaced the T-29 with a new twin-engine jet trainer, the Boeing 

T-43. Meanwhile, the command continued its post-Vietnam draw-down when it transferred Moody AFB to 

TAC. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1975) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 14 

Alabama--Craig; Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; Colorado--

Lowry; Illinois--Chanute; Mississippi--Columbus and Keesler; 

Oklahoma--Vance; Texas--Lackland, Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, 

Sheppard, and Webb 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 57,986 (7,508 officers; 33,562 enlisted; 16,916 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,694 (T-37B, T-38A, T-39A, T-41A/C, T-43A, TH-1F) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

6 numbered air force equivalent units: 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Randolph AFB TX 

 Air Force Mil Trng Ctr, Lackland AFB TX 

 Chanute Tech Trng Ctr, Chanute AFB IL 

 Keesler Tech Trng Ctr, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Ctr, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Ctr, Sheppard AFB TX 

1 wing equivalent unit: 

 Officer Training School, Lackland AFB TX 

1 combat crew training wing: 

 3636th (Survival), Fairchild AFB WA 

10 flying training wings: 

 12th, Randolph AFB TX 

 14th, Columbus AFB MS 

 29th, Craig AFB AL 

 47th, Laughlin AFB TX 

 64th, Reese AFB TX 

 71st, Vance AFB OK 

 78th, Webb AFB TX 

 80th, Sheppard AFB TX 

 82d, Williams AFB AZ 

 323d, Mather AFB CA 

1 independent group equivalent unit: 

 Community College of the Air Force, Randolph 

AFB TX 

7 independent squadrons: 

 557th Flying Training, USAF Academy, Colorado 

Springs CO 

A T-41 of the 557th Flying Training Squadron. 
1975 

202

 3300th Support, Randolph AFB TX 

 3302d Computer Services, Randolph AFB TX 

 3303d Procurement, Randolph AFB TX 

 3305th School (ISD), Randolph AFB TX 

 3306th Test and Evaluation, Edwards AFB CA 

 3314th Management Engineering, Randolph AFB 

TX 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

Gen 

John W. Roberts 

 Lieutenant General (later Gen) John W. Roberts, 

HQ USAF DCS/Personnel, replaced Lt Gen William 

V. McBride as ATC commander on 29 August 1975. 

Then on 1 September, Maj Gen Larry M. Killpack, 

the Twelfth Air Force vice commander, succeeded 

the retiring Maj Gen Robert W. Maloy as vice 

commander. 

ORGANIZATION 

Tri-Deputy Wing Organization Implemented 

To increase emphasis on weapons systems 

maintenance, to place tighter control over 

management resources, and to increase emphasis on 

people programs, the Air Force directed service-wide 

implementation of a tri-deputy organization at 

operational wings on 1 July 1975, including Air 

Training Command's flying training wings. The new 

organization called for deputy commanders for 

operations, maintenance, and resource management. 

However, this organizational structure did not apply 

to the technical training wings or the 71st and 80th 

Flying Training Wings at Vance and Sheppard. 

Contractors provided all support functions for the 

71st, while the 80th and each of the technical training 

wings received support from the technical training 

centers assigned to those installations. 

Realignment and Activation of Squadrons 

Air Training Command relocated the 3304th School 

Squadron (NCO Academy) from Lackland AFB to 

the Lackland Training Annex and reassigned it from 

Headquarters ATC to the Officer Training School 

effective 28 September 1975. On 1 July 1975, Air 

Training Command realigned the 3305th School 

Squadron (ISD) from the 12th Flying Training Wing, 

Randolph AFB, Texas, to Headquarters ATC, with 

DCS/Operations designated as the office of primary 

responsibility. This action relieved the 12th Flying 

Training Wing commander of a unit which received 

direction and guidance from a headquarters staff 

function. Additionally, on 15 May 1975, ATC 

established the 3306th Test and Evaluation Squadron 

at Edwards AFB, California. 

ATC Staff Organization Changes 

On 1 March 1975, the Deputy Chief of Staff, Civil 

Engineering became the DCS/Engineering and 

Services, reflecting the designation for the 

engineering function on the Air Staff. Additionally, 

Air Training Command moved the Security Police 

directorate from the office of the Inspector General to 

a separate special staff activity on 15 March 1975. 

Air Force Consolidates Airlift Support 

Two major developments in 1975 affected the 

command's aircraft fleet--the Air Force phased out all 

reciprocating engine administrative support aircraft 

and consolidated all T-39 jet aircraft based in the 

United States under one command, Military Airlift 

Command. On 10 June 1975, Air Training Command 

transferred its T-39 administrative support aircraft to 

Military Airlift Command. Air Training Command 

had two additional T-39A aircraft that were not 

involved in this action, since they were carried as 

research and development aircraft. The Directorate of 

Transportation in DCS/Logistics assumed responsibility for HQ ATC staff travel and for processing 

airlift requests from subordinate units, previously 

satisfied by possessed mission support aircraft. 

INSTALLATIONS 

Transfer of Moody AFB to TAC 

On 30 June 1975, the Secretary of the Air Force 

announced that Moody AFB, Georgia, would transfer 

from ATC to Tactical Air Command on 1 December 

1975. The announcement indicated that ATC would 

inactivate its 38th Flying Training Wing, which 

conducted undergraduate pilot training at Moody, and 

the base would become host to a wing of F-4E 

tactical fighter aircraft. This change in Moody's 

mission would mark the first time in almost 25 years 

that this Georgia base was not engaged in pilot or 

aircrew training. Training officials conducted the last 

UPT student flight at Moody on 4 November 1975, 

and the last undergraduate pilot training class (76-04) 

graduated on 21 November 1975. The transfer was 

completed as scheduled on 1 December, and at the 
1975 

203

same time, Air Training Command inactivated the 

38th Flying Training Wing. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

T-29 Training Ends at Mather 

Students flew the last T-29 navigator training sortie 

at Mather AFB on 5 March 1975, ending 25 years 

service as a trainer aircraft. Just over a week later, 

ATC sent the last T-29 at Mather to the Military 

Aircraft Storage and Disposal Center at 

Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona. Navigator training at 

Mather received its last of nineteen T-43 trainers on 

24 July, these to replace the T-29s. Additionally, on 

2 January 1975, a T-37 navigator training program 

began with Class 76-03. 

Consolidated Navigator Training 

On 23 May 1975, the Air Force Chief of Staff and the 

Chief of Naval Operations jointly approved 

consolidated navigator training following an 

interservice training review of undergraduate flight 

training. The Air Force formally approved the 

program at Mather on 28 November 1975, which 

included the four navigation training programs then 

conducted by the Navy--Naval Flight Officers, Navy 

Pilots, Coast Guard Pilots, and Marine Corps Enlisted 

Navigators. The first Navy graduates completed this 

training on 16 December 1976. 

Control Operator TSgt Ernest Bergmann and 

Instructor Navigator Maj Robert Woodrow, left 

to right, operate the controls of T-45 navigator 

simulators during training. 

An undergraduate navigator student at Mather AFB, California, sits in front of a position board in the 

T-43 flying training classroom. 
1975 

204

Project Constant Growth 

Because of recent budget and fuel considerations, the 

Air Force reduced its flying hour program which, in 

turn, brought about a significant lowering of the 

average level of pilot flight experience. To offset this 

trend, the Air Force began a test program on 

1 October 1975 to use ATC T-37 and T-38 aircraft, 

instructor pilots, and maintenance support to augment 

the flying time of pilots in certain units equipped with 

aircraft having high operating and support costs. 

Called Constant Growth, 192 pilots from MAC, 

SAC, and TAC participated in the test. On 1 July 

1976, HQ USAF replaced the Constant Growth title 

with a new term--Accelerated Copilot Enrichment 

(ACE) Program. Under ACE, ATC established 

detachments at 16 SAC units to provide T-37 and 

T-38 flying time to copilots. 

Project Peace Hawk 

On 2 October 1975, 100 Royal Saudi Air Force 

enlisted men, possessing no more than a ninth grade 

education and no formal English language 

instruction, arrived at Lackland to begin basic 

military training. This marked the first time that ATC 

had provided basic military training for other than 

USAF personnel and began one of the more unique 

foreign military training programs undertaken in the 

command. Known as the Royal Saudi Air Force 

maintenance training assistance program, or Project 

Peace Hawk (later Peace Start), it provided English 

language, basic mathematics and science, basic 

military training, and technical training to 1,200 

enlisted students in support of the Saudi purchase of 

F-5 aircraft. The duration of the planned training at 

Lackland was 116 weeks, since the first three phases 

of the training--basic--English language, and 

mathematics and science would be conducted there. 

The first 100 students entered training in October 

1975. By the time the Saudis ended the program in 

1978, a total of 1,063 students had entered training. 

The last ones graduated in 1980. In the mid-1970s, 

the Royal Saudi Air Force bought sixty F-5 aircraft 

and requested training for 120 pilots and 1,200 

technical students. Air Training Command provided 

flying and technical training, and also agreed to 

provide basic military training. 

Red Flag Exercises 

In mid-1975 Tactical Air Command developed a 

concept for simulated combat exercises nicknamed 

Red Flag that provided realistic combat training for 

its tactical forces. Scenarios for the exercises 

included the full spectrum of tactical air warfare, 

using strike force, air escort, wild weasel, and 

In the mid-1970s, the Royal Saudi Air Force bought sixty F-5 aircraft and requested training for 120 pilots 

and 1,200 technical students. Air Training Command provided flying and technical training, and for the first 

time, the command also agreed to provide basic military training to foreign personnel.
1975 

205

reconnaissance elements; also TAC proposed having 

helicopter support for search and rescue of "downed" 

crewmen with realistic escape and evasion situations. 

Tactical Air Command asked ATC for assistance in 

preparing search and rescue and escape and evasion 

exercises. Survival training officials developed six 

such scenarios, and from 29 November to 

20 December 1975, survival instructors from the 

3636th Combat Crew Training Wing participated in 

Exercise Red Flag I. 

TRAINING THE VIETNAMESE 

For many years foreign students sent to the United 

States for pilot training went through the standard Air 

Force undergraduate pilot training course. When the 

Air Force introduced the T-33 jet as its basic singleengine trainer, it created a curious anomaly--jetqualified pilots from countries that had no jet aircraft. 

To rectify that situation, ATC developed a course that 

centered around the propeller-driven T-28 aircraft and 

offered it to other countries under the military 

assistance program (MAP). Vietnam was one country 

that opted for the new MAP program. 

In 1959, the first year in which new MAP T-28 

graduates were produced, only 7 of 49 pilots were 

Vietnamese. The proportion of Vietnamese Air Force 

(VNAF) students soon increased dramatically, 

however, and from 1962 to 1964, some of the MAP 

T-28 classes consisted solely of Vietnamese students. 

From 1958 to 1973, VNAF students made up a 

majority of the graduates--approximately 900 out of 

1,450. The remaining graduates came from 22 other 

countries. One measure of the predominant position 

of the Vietnamese in the program was the fact that all 

the other countries, together, averaged less than two 

graduates annually, while VNAF graduates 

occasionally amounted to more than a hundred in a 

single year. 

Before US involvement in Vietnam officially 

ended in 1973, training the Vietnamese had been one 

of ATC's top priorities, and, in fact, continued until 

April 1975, when South Vietnam surrendered to the 

communists. By that time, however, ATC had shut 

off the Vietnamese training pipeline. After Congress 

severely cut funding for Vietnam, HQ USAF directed 

ATC on 30 August 1974 to send Vietnamese students 

home as they finished a phase of training. 

In addition to instructing VNAF students in the 

conventional T-28 program, Keesler also provided T28 transition, T-28 pilot instructor training, C-47 

transition, and C-47 instrument courses. Furthermore, 

in July 1971, ATC established a special T-37 UPT 

course at Sheppard for foreign students. Instead of 

the normal 90 hours in the T-37 followed by 120 

hours in the T-38, as laid out in the standard UPT course, 

Sheppard students received 170 hours in the T-37. 

The special T-37 course was especially useful for 

pilots who were preparing to fly the A-37, an attack 

version of the T-37, developed in response to counterinsurgency requirements in Vietnam. 

The T-37 course became so popular that ATC had 

to find another base to relieve overcrowding at 

Sheppard. The command chose Webb AFB, Texas, 

and began the T-37 course there in August 1973. The 

last Vietnamese students graduated from this course 

in April 1975. Other Vietnamese students attended a 

special graduate pilot T-38 course that ATC offered at 

Webb and Laughlin. Identical to the T-38 phase of 

UPT, this course was particularly appropriate for 

countries that had the F-5, a single-seat combat 

version of the T-38. The last six Vietnamese students 

graduated from this course at Webb in March 1975. 

Besides the training it conducted in the United 

States, ATC also deployed several field training 

detachments (FTD) to Vietnam. One of these, FTD 

917H, trained helicopter pilots and mechanics at Tan 

Son Nhut Air Base in Saigon during 1963 and 1964. 

Another, FTD 921R, trained Cessna U-17A pilots and 

maintenance personnel at Nha Trang Air Base from 

September 1963 until August 1964, when it turned 

over its mission and equipment to the Vietnamese, 

who had become self-sufficient in the U-17A. Early 

in 1968, FTD 615S deployed to Tan Son Nhut for 6 

months of temporary duty to assist the maintenance 

personnel of the VNAF 33d Wing make the transition 

from the C-47 to the C-119. 

In addition to such "in-country" training programs, 

ATC also provided flying and technical training to 

Vietnam under the VNAF improvement and 

modernization program. The goal of the program, 

popularly known as "Vietnamization," was to make 

the VNAF self-sufficient. In a sense, this was the 

ultimate goal of all Air Force foreign training 

programs, but in the case of South Vietnam, the need 

for self-sufficiency was made more evident by its 

absence, particularly in the face of the hostile forces 

that eventually overran the entire country. 
1975 

206

Red Flag expanded from its beginning in 1975 to become the most realistic simulated airwarfare training exercise held anywhere in the world. Shown is an F-16 from the 414th Red 

Flag Training Squadron in 1996, above the ranges north of Nellis after flying in a training 

mission with other U.S. and foreign forces. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Closure of Survival Schools 

The reduction in required production from both the 

Jungle Survival School at Clark Air Base in the 

Philippines, and the Tropical Survival School at 

Albrook Air Force Base, Canal Zone, combined with 

the fact that portions of that training were included in 

other survival courses, led ATC to recommend 

closing both schools. On 7 February 1975, HQ USAF 

approved this request. Jungle survival training ended 

at Clark on 27 March 1975, and Air training 

Command inactivated the 3614th Combat Crew 

Training Squadron on 14 April. Tropic survival 

training ended on 25 April, and ATC closed 

Detachment 2, 3636th Combat Crew Training Wing 

on 9 May. 

Students at the Air Force Survival School at 

Fairchild AFB, Washington, complete two desert 

shelters. 
207

1976

One of the major issues facing the ATC commander and his staff during 1976 was the prospect of closing 

two UPT bases. Pilot production had been on a steady decline since FY 72, and during that time, the 

command had ended undergraduate pilot training at three bases--Randolph, Laredo, and Moody. Only seven 

UPT bases remained--Columbus, Craig, Vance, Williams, Laughlin, Reese, and Webb. Rather than reduce 

training production at all seven locations, ATC officials believed it to be more economical to close two bases. 

So it was on 11 March 1976 that the Secretary of the Air Force proposed closing several military installations, 

including Craig and Webb. However, Congress had made no firm decision on the proposed closures by the 

end of the year. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1976) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 14 

Alabama--Craig; Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; Colorado--

Lowry; Illinois--Chanute; Mississippi--Columbus and Keesler; 

Oklahoma--Vance; Texas--Lackland, Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, 

Sheppard, and Webb 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 53,800 (6,975 officers; 31,698 enlisted; 15,127 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,638 (T-37B, T-38A, T-39A, T-41A/C, T-43A, TH-1F) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

6 numbered air force and equivalent units 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Randolph AFB TX 

 Air Force Mil Trng Ctr, Lackland AFB TX 

 Chanute Tech Trng Ctr, Chanute AFB IL 

 Keesler Tech Trng Ctr, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Ctr, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Ctr, Sheppard AFB TX 

1 wing equivalent unit: 

 Officer Training School, Lackland AFB TX 

1 combat crew training wing: 

 3636th (Survival), Fairchild AFB WA 

10 flying training wings: 

 12th, Randolph AFB TX 

 14th, Columbus AFB MS 

 29th, Craig AFB AL 

 47th, Laughlin AFB TX 

 64th, Reese AFB TX 

 71st, Vance AFB OK 

 78th, Webb AFB TX 

 80th, Sheppard AFB TX 

 82d, Williams AFB AZ 

 323d, Mather AFB CA 

2 independent group and equivalent units: 

 Community College of the Air Force, Randolph 

AFB TX 

 Foreign Military Training Affairs Group, 

Randolph AFB TX 

9 independent squadrons: 

 557th Flying Training, USAF Academy, Colorado 

Springs CO 

 3300th Support, Randolph AFB TX 

 3302d Computer Services, Randolph AFB TX 

 3303d Procurement, Randolph AFB TX 

 3304th School (NCO Academy), Lackland AFB 

TX 

 3305th School (ISD), Randolph AFB TX 

 3306th Test and Evaluation, Edwards AFB CA 

 3307th School (ATC Technology Applications 

Center), Lackland AFB TX 

 3314th Management Engineering, Randolph AFB 

TX 
1976 

208

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

General Roberts continued as the ATC 

commander, with Major General Killpack as vice 

commander. 

ORGANIZATION 

DCS/Technical Training Reorganized 

Air Training Command reorganized DCS/Technical 

Training on 1 February 1976, dividing the function 

into two new positions: Assistant Chief of Staff for 

Technical Training Operations and Assistant Chief of 

Staff for Technical Training Support. Shortly after 

this realignment, the focal point for the Interservice 

Training Review Organization (ITRO) moved from 

the command section to technical training support. 

Foreign Military Affairs Training Group 

On 1 June ATC activated the Foreign Military 

Training Affairs Group and assigned it to the 

headquarters. This new group was to manage all 

foreign training affairs. 

3304th School Squadron 

On 15 March 1976, ATC reassigned the 3304th 

School Squadron (ATC NCO Academy) from OTS to 

HQ ATC control. 

3307th School Squadron 

At Lackland, ATC activated the 3307th School 

Squadron (ATC Technology Applications Center) on 

15 August 1976. 

TRAINING 

Language Training 

In 1976, executive control of the Defense Language 

Institute, English Language Center (DLIELC) at 

Lackland passed from the Army to the Air Force. On 

1 October ATC assumed responsibility for DLIELC 

and further delegated that duty to the Air Force 

Military Training Center at Lackland. 

FLYING TRAINING 

T45 Simulator 

On 16 March ATC acquired the T45 navigation 

training simulator at Mather. This simulator was used 

in conjunction with T-43 training. It replaced the 

T-29 simulator. The first UNT class to receive 

improved training using the T45 simulator was 

76-15, which graduated on 1 July 1976. 

In November 1975 the Air Force chief of staff announced that the service would begin a 

test program for training female pilots. The first of two groups of 10 women pilot 

candidates began flight screening at Hondo Municipal Airport on 26 August, prior to 

entering UPT at Williams on 29 September. The first class, shown here, received its 

wings on 2 September 1977.
1976 

209

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Hasty Chief and Hasty Spark 

The first class of Hasty Chief (later called Able 

Chief) aircraft maintenance specialists began training 

at Sheppard on 3 May. The idea was to reduce the 

amount of time students spent in resident training and 

provide the remaining training at the gaining site 

through the use of field training detachments. The 

command implemented a similar program in 

communications and electronics courses during 

September at Keesler. It was called Hasty Spark 

(later renamed Bright Spark). 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Community College of the Air Force 

President Gerald R. Ford approved legislation on 

14 July authorizing the Community College of the 

Air Force to grant associate degrees for college-level 

academic study. Effective 12 January 1977, the US 

Commissioner of Education authorized the ATC 

commander to grant the Associate of Applied Science 

Degree to graduates of the Community College of the 

Air Force. This was the first time that a military 

agency had been given the authority to grant degrees 

to members of the enlisted force. 

THE WOMEN AIRFORCE SERVICE PILOTS (WASP) 

The Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II were pioneers, the first licensed women pilots in the United 

States to fly military aircraft for a military service. The WASP was formed in August 1943 from two earlier, 

relatively independent programs for women pilots: Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) and Women's 

Flying Training Detachment (WFTD). 

Before the United States entered World War II, two women 

had championed the use of women pilots by the military. Nancy 

Harkness Love, a well-known aviator of the 1930s, advocated a 

policy of using exceptionally well-qualified professional female 

pilots for ferrying aircraft, while Jackie Cochran, a worldrenowned aviator, had a more ambitious project in mind--

procuring and training a relatively large corps of women pilots 

for a variety of jobs besides ferrying. 

Love proposed that 21- to 35-year-old women possessing a 

high school diploma, US citizenship, a commercial pilot's 

license, 500 hours of flying time, and a 200-horsepower rating 

be hired as military ferry pilots. They would ferry primary 

trainers and liaison aircraft for a $250 monthly salary plus a $6 

per diem for any time spent away from their assigned base. 

Major General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold, Chief of the Air 

Corps, initially rejected Love's proposal but, in September 1942, 

facing a growing need for male combat pilots, approved 

formation of the WAFS. The squadron was organized at New 

Castle Army Air Base, Wilmington, Delaware, as a separate organization under Love. It consisted of 25 pilots, 

known as the "Originals," who averaged 1,100 hours and were among the most experienced young pilots, male or 

female, in the country. 

Meanwhile, as early as 1939, Jackie Cochran had suggested recruiting and training women to fly military 

aircraft. On 7 October 1942, shortly after the WAFS was formed, General Arnold inaugurated a flight training 

program to produce 500 women ferry pilots. He appointed Cochran as the director of flying training, and by 

October 1942, 40 women had been accepted and sent for training at Howard Hughes Airport in Houston, Texas. 

The unit was called the WFTD, or among the women it was known as the "Woofteddies." 

When facilities at Houston proved too limited, a new school was opened in February 1943 at Avenger Field, 

Sweetwater, Texas, and training at Houston soon phased out. On 5 August 1943, the WAFS and the women of 

Cochran's WFTD school were united as the WASP. Cochran was named Director of Women Pilots, and Love 

continued in the WASP as executive of the Ferrying Division of the Air Transport Command. 

These WASPs ferried planes and flew 

navigation training missions from Ellington 

Field, Texas.
1976 

210

Classes entered the WASP program at monthly intervals. A total of 18 classes completed training: 8 in 1943 and 

10 in 1944. Of the 25,000 women who applied for flight training, 1,830 were accepted, and of those, 1,074 received 

their wings. Entrance requirements remained essentially the same as those for the WAFS, except the age 

requirement was dropped from 21 to 18, and the flight experience was set at only 200 hours. That requirement was 

later dropped to 35 hours, and the 200-horsepower rating requirement was eventually eliminated. 

Training for women pilots paralleled but did not duplicate that given the men. Because the women were 

expected to go into ferrying, emphasis was placed on cross-country flying. Gunnery and formation flight training 

were omitted. The first course was four-months long. Although the hours were flexible and varied according to 

previous training, 115 flying hours were generally called for in addition to 180 hours of ground instruction. As the 

experience level of the trainees declined, the course was expanded and revised. By the close of 1943, the length had 

been extended to 27 weeks and the flying hours to 210. Few curricular changes were made in 1944; the main one 

increased training from 27 to 30 weeks. 

During the early stages of the program, an 80 percent graduation rate had been anticipated for the women 

trainees. The actual rate averaged out at 74 percent for the 1943 graduates and 53 percent for the 1944 classes, the 

latter considerably better than the attrition rate for male trainees in the Central Flying Training Command in 1944. 

The increase in washout rates probably reflected the lower flight experience among the later classes. 

The WASPs flew all types of military aircraft, including AT-6, AT-10, AT-11, and BT-13 trainers; C-47, C-54, 

and C-60 transports; A-25 and A-26 attack aircraft; B-24, B-25, TB-26, and B-29 bombers; P-38, P-40, P-47, and P51 fighters. In addition to ferrying, the WASPs performed many other tasks such as glider and target towing, radar 

calibration flights, aircraft testing, and other noncombat duties to release male pilots for overseas action. The 

WASPs flew approximately 60 million miles and suffered 38 fatalities, or 1 to about 16,000 hours of flying. 

The WASPs were employed under the Civil Service program. It was always assumed they would become part of 

the Army when a proper place within the military organization could be found for them. In fact, bills were 

introduced in Congress to give them military rank, but even with General Arnold's support, all efforts failed to 

absorb the WASPs into the military. On 20 December 1944, the Army Air Forces, citing the changing combat 

situation, disbanded the WASP program. The WASPs returned to civilian life with no veterans' benefits. In 1977 

Congress finally granted benefits to the 850 remaining WASPs. 

Eight WASPs gather on the 

ramp at Waco Field, Texas, 

for a final group picture 

before the WASP was 

disbanded on 20 December 

1944. 
211

1977

In February 1976 Gen David C. Jones, the Air Force Chief of Staff, insisted on reducing training costs, 

stating, "We need to establish a goal on reduction of people tied up in training-- instructors, students, and 

support." Since more than half the visible costs of technical training was generated by basic resident training 

courses, General Jones' directive encouraged ATC to examine the training philosophy behind these courses. 

In the search for new, innovative, less costly approaches to training, ATC, along with the Air Staff, explored 

ways to reduce the training investment in first termers. The command made major cutbacks in crew chief 

and electronic principles training and reviewed all courses looking for more effective ways to align training 

more closely with specific requirements of using commands. In a further effort to reduce training costs, the 

command placed increased reliance on its newly acquired instrument flight simulators and dropped UPT 

flying hours from 210 to 170 and ATC closed two more of its UPT bases--Craig and Webb. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1977) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 12 

Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; Colorado--Lowry; Illinois--Chanute; 

Mississippi--Columbus and Keesler; Oklahoma--Vance; Texas--Lackland, 

Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, and Sheppard 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 50,757 (6,500 officers; 30,457 enlisted; 13,800 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,553 (T-37B, T-38A, T-39A, T-41A/C, T-43A, TH-1F) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

6 numbered air force equivalent units: 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Randolph AFB TX 

 Air Force Mil Trng Ctr, Lackland AFB TX 

 Chanute Tech Trng Ctr, Chanute AFB IL 

 Keesler Tech Trng Ctr, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Ctr, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Ctr, Sheppard AFB TX 

1 wing equivalent unit: 

 Officer Training School, Lackland AFB TX 

1 combat crew training wing: 

 3636th (Survival), Fairchild AFB WA 

8 flying training wings: 

 12th, Randolph AFB TX 

 14th, Columbus AFB MS 

 47th, Laughlin AFB TX 

 64th, Reese AFB TX 

 71st, Vance AFB OK 

 80th, Sheppard AFB TX 

 82d, Williams AFB AZ 

 323d, Mather AFB CA 

4 independent group and equivalent units: 

 Community College of the Air Force, Lackland 

AFB TX 

 Foreign Military Training Affairs Group, 

Randolph AFB TX 

 San Antonio Procurement Center, Kelly AFB TX 

 San Antonio Real Property Maintenance Agency, 

San Antonio AFS TX 

9 independent squadron and equivalent units: 

 557th Flying Training, USAF Academy, Colorado 

Springs CO 

 3300th Support, Randolph AFB TX 

 3302d Computer Services, Randolph AFB TX 

 3303d Procurement, Randolph AFB TX 

 3304th School (NCO Academy), Lackland AFB 

TX 

 3305th School (ISD), Randolph AFB TX 

 3306th Test and Evaluation, Edwards AFB CA 

 3307th School (ATC Technology Application 

Center), Lackland AFB TX 

3314th Management Engineering, Randolph AFB 

TX 
1977 

212

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

On 30 March President Jimmy Carter elevated the 

position of Commander, ATC to the grade of general. 

Lieutenant General John W. Roberts received his 

fourth star and became Air Training Command's first 

four-star commander. The reason for this change 

stemmed from the ever-increasing importance of the 

command's multiple mission responsibilities. In midAugust Major General Killpack was reassigned to 

Headquarters USAF as Assistant DCS/Personnel, and 

on 15 August Maj Gen Evan W. Rosencrans assumed 

the duties of ATC vice commander. 

ORGANIZATION 

Technical Training Wings Activated 

Air Training Command inactivated the USAF School 

of Applied Aerospace Sciences at each of its 

technical training centers and activated numbered 

technical training wings in their place on 1 April 

1977. These included the 3250th Technical Training 

Wing at Lackland, the 3300th at Keesler, the 3330th 

at Chanute, the 3400th at Lowry, and the 3700th at 

Sheppard. Several months later Air Training 

Command published a second order that inactivated 

the wings effective 1 January 1978, based on 

realignment actions proposed by the Cadou study. 

(These wings were again activated in November 

1979.) 

Cadou Study 

In June 1976 General Roberts directed the formation 

of a study group to review the entire technical 

training system. The group 

found considerable organizational variance between 

centers. The one constant 

was that support functions 

were broken up among 

several staff agencies at both 

group and wing level. The 

study was completed in July 

1977, and from those results, 

General Roberts announced 

that all the centers would 

adopt the same standard 

organization. However, the 

new realignment did not 

become effective until 

1 January 1978. Under the 

new organization, Air 

Training Command reduced 

overhead at the technical 

training centers by 375 

authorizations. Also, as a 

result of the Cadou study, ATC combined its two 

technical training assistant chief positions into a 

single Deputy Chief of Staff, Technical Training. 

San Antonio Procurement Center 

Effective 1 January, ATC activated the San Antonio 

Procurement Center at Kelly AFB. The center was 

responsible for all base procurement functions at 

Kelly, Brooks, Lackland, and Randolph. It was to be 

a group-level organization under the operational 

control of the ATC Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics. 

Real Property Maintenance Agency Formed 

On 15 February, at the direction of HQ USAF, the 

San Antonio Real Property Maintenance Agency 

(SARPMA) was activated as a group-level named 

unit and assigned to Air Training Command. It was a 

consolidation of real property maintenance activities 

at Randolph, Lackland, Brooks, and Kelly AFBs and 

the Army's Fort Sam Houston. The new agency was 

located at San Antonio Air Force Station, adjacent to 

Fort Sam Houston. However, it did not become 

operational until 1 October 1978. 

Assistant for Readiness 

As another sign of the increased emphasis given to 

readiness throughout the Air Force, the ATC 

commander announced, on 31 May, establishment of 

an assistant for readiness as a special office reporting 

directly to him. 

INSTALLATIONS 

Craig and Webb Closed 

Craig AFB, Alabama, graduated its final 

undergraduate pilot training class (77-08) on 

In 1972 all of the technical training schools became Schools of Applied 

Aerospace Science. Five years later ATC replaced the schools with 

numerically-designated wings. 
1977 

213

12 August. At Webb AFB in Texas, the last two pilot 

training classes completed course work on 

30 August, and fixed wing qualification training 

ended on 1 September. Air Training Command 

inactivated both the 29th Flying Training Wing at 

Craig and the 78th Flying Training Wing at Webb on 

30 September, and the two installations were placed 

in caretaker status the following day. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

First Female Navigator Candidates 

The navigator school at Mather AFB in California, 

began receiving its first female navigator candidates 

on 10 March. These women trained as a part of UNT 

Class 78-01. The five female students received their 

wings on 12 October. 

Fixed-Wing Qualification Training 

With the announcement by the Department of 

Defense that Webb AFB would close in September, 

Air Training Command moved its fixed-wing 

qualification training program to Sheppard, where the 

first class began on 30 June. 

MILITARY TRAINING 

Recruiter Assistance Program 

In 1977 the time-honored methods of canvassing high 

schools, advertising for recruits, and talking to groups 

of young people were insufficient to meet production 

needs of the Air Force. One answer to the problem 

was a program initiated by General Roberts in late 

1976--the Air Force Recruiter Assistance Program. It 

encouraged active duty Air Force personnel to refer 

sharp prospects to recruiters. The program proved to 

be highly successful in fiscal year 1977, providing 

recruiters with approximately 34,000 leads. 

The first female graduates from undergraduate navigator training stand beside 

a T-43 navigator trainer at Mather AFB, California. The women received 

their wings on 12 October 1977.
1977 

214

MISCELLANEOUS 

Conversion to Contract 

As another means of reducing costs in the late 1970s, 

ATC looked at contracting various support functions. 

By July 1977, nine ATC bases had implemented 

contracts for audiovisual services, and five others 

converted vehicle operations, vehicle maintenance, 

and transportation reports and analysis to contract 

operations. 

Over the years, flights in flying training units have developed their own distinctive patches. Pictured above are 

some of the patches worn by T-33 and T-38 flights at Williams AFB, Arizona, between 1961 and 1993. 
215

1978

In May ATC assumed responsibility for the Air University (AU), headquartered at Maxwell AFB, 

Alabama. Not only did this put continuing and advanced education under ATC control, but it also 

consolidated responsibility for most Air Force recruiting, education, and training programs under a single 

major command. As a part of this reorganization, ATC gained two installations: Gunter Air Force Station 

and Maxwell AFB. Less than two months later, ATC acquired another base when the USAF Security Service 

released Goodfellow AFB. At the same time, the command assumed responsibility for all of the Air Force's 

cryptologic training. Late in the year, ATC tailored navigator training to meet operating command needs by 

providing additional instruction in advanced and tactical navigation. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1978) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 15 

Alabama--Gunter and Maxwell; Arizona--Williams; 

California--Mather; Colorado--Lowry; Illinois--Chanute; 

Mississippi--Columbus and Keesler; Oklahoma--Vance; 

Texas--Goodfellow, Lackland, Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, and 

Sheppard 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 55,624 (8,107 officers; 32,060 enlisted; 15,457 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,521 (T-37B, T-38A, T-41A/C, T-43A, TH-1F) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

7 numbered air force equivalent units: 

 Air Force Mil Trng Ctr, Lackland AFB TX 

 Air University, Maxwell AFB AL 

 Chanute Tech Trng Ctr, Chanute AFB IL 

 Keesler Tech Trng Ctr, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Ctr, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Ctr, Sheppard AFB TX 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Randolph AFB TX 

1 wing equivalent unit: 

 Officer Training School, Lackland AFB TX 

1 combat crew training wing: 

 3636th Wing (Survival), Fairchild AFB WA 

8 flying training wings: 

 12th, Randolph AFB TX 

 14th, Columbus AFB MS 

 47th, Laughlin AFB TX 

 64th, Reese AFB TX 

 71st, Vance AFB OK 

 80th, Sheppard AFB TX 

 82d, Williams AFB AZ 

 323d, Mather AFB CA 

1 technical training wing: 

 3480th (USAF Cryptological Training Center), 

Goodfellow AFB TX 

4 independent group and equivalent units: 

 Community College of the Air Force, Lackland 

AFB TX 

 Foreign Military Training Affairs Group, 

Randolph AFB TX 

 San Antonio Contracting Center, Kelly AFB TX 

 San Antonio Real Property Maintenance Agency, 

San Antonio AFS TX 

10 independent squadron and equivalent units: 

USAF Occupational Measurement Center, 

Randolph AFB TX 

557th Flying Training, USAF Academy, Colorado 

Springs CO 

3300th Support, Randolph AFB TX 

3302d Computer Services, Randolph AFB TX 

3303d Contracting, Randolph AFB TX 
1978 

216

3304th School (ATC NCO Academy), Lackland 

AFB TX 

3305th School (ISD), Randolph AFB TX 

3306th Test and Evaluation, Edwards AFB CA 

3307th Test and Evaluation (ATC Technology 

Applications Center), Lackland AFB TX 

3314th Management Engineering, Randolph AFB 

TX 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

General Roberts remained the ATC commander, 

and Major General Rosencrans continued to serve as 

the vice commander. 

Air University Assigned to ATC 

By the mid-1970s, more than 20 studies had looked 

at various realignments of education, training, and 

personnel management functions. Though virtually 

all the studies concluded that some type of merger or 

consolidation was feasible, the Air Force took no 

action along these lines until 1978. On 20 March 

1978, the Secretary of the Air Force announced that 

Air University would transfer to ATC on 11 April; 

however, because of "political sensitivities" the 

transfer did not take place until 15 May. 

Organizationally, Air University became another 

ATC center, but one with a decidedly different 

mission, given its singular professional military 

education orientation and its close relationship with 

the civilian academic community. 

ORGANIZATION 

Relocation of Instructor Training School 

Air Training Command transferred its Instructor 

Training School from Randolph to Maxwell on 

1 October 1978, merging it with Air University's 

Academic Instructor School. 

DCS/Education Created 

As part of the Air University transfer, General 

Roberts established a DCS/Education as part of his 

staff. 

Students in the weapons mechanic course at Lowry AFB, Colorado, load a 750-pound bomb on an 

F-111A simulator. 
1978 

217

COMPUTERS AND TRAINING 

In the 1950s and early 1960s, as computer 

technology rapidly advanced, the Air Force began to 

look at ways to use this state-of-the-art equipment to 

enhance its training programs. Air Training 

Command started using computer-driven simulators 

to provide realistic practice for technical training 

students in air traffic control and some other 

operations specialties. By the late 1970s, Air Training 

Command had acquired computer-driven maintenance 

training simulators for electronic systems on new 

aircraft. However, a lot of skepticism still existed 

concerning the effectiveness of using computerdriven simulators instead of actual equipment. 

Even more controversial was the idea of using 

computer-assisted instruction. Through out its history, 

Air Training Command had problems acquiring and 

retaining skilled instructors. By implementing 

computer-assisted instruction, the command believed 

it could reduce the number of instructors needed, as 

well as allow for self paced instruction, meaning 

resident training time could be reduced for some 

students. That, in turn, would mean a cost-savings for 

the Air Force as well as the command. 

During the 1970s, Air Training Command 

experimented with three major computer-based 

instructional systems: the Computer Directed Training System, which taught personnel how to use and 

program computers; the Programmed Logic for 

Automated Teaching Operations (PLATO) system at 

Chanute and Sheppard Technical Training Centers; 

and the Advanced Instructional System (AIS) at 

Lowry Technical Training Center. However, because 

of a lack of computer terminals and because of 

internal limitations of the programs, neither 

instructors, students, nor gaining commands were 

satisfied with training provided through these 

systems, particularly AIS. According to one study, 

"Instructors are not properly prepared, either from a 

training or psychological standpoint, to teach the 

computer managed, self paced method. They consider 

themselves 'babysitters' and the computer the 

'enemy'." 

Up to this point, only about one percent of ATC's 

technical training involved computer-based 

instruction. One reason Air Training Command had 

failed to make greater use of computers to facilitate 

technical training was the absence of any unified 

position on how to take advantage of such 

technology. However, in the 1980s, as the command 

faced increased student loads, shortages of instructors, 

a longer training day, and increasing training 

requirements to support new weapon systems, it 

looked to computerized training as a means of 

balancing the workload, while at the same time 

responding to greater student instructional needs. 

Two new systems under development included the 

Branch Level Training Management System 

(BLTMS) and Advanced Instructional Delivery and 

Evaluation System (AIDES), which later became 

known as the Advanced Training System (ATS). The 

command planned to use BLTMS to manage training 

at the centers and later to expand it to include student 

instruction, while AIDES was more a training 

delivery system. Even in the development stage, these 

two systems caused controversy. Planners felt that a 

single system could include both training delivery and 

training management, while the technical training side 

of the house leaned more toward a training delivery 

system only. The command settled on two programs: 

the BLTMS would administer the training 

management system, while the Advanced Training 

System would standardize all computer-assisted 

training offered in the command. 

Instrument Flight Center Closed 

Because the Air Force no longer had a requirement 

for a dedicated instrument school, the Instrument 

Flight Center (IFC) began phasing down operations 

at Randolph in 1977, and ATC inactivated the unit on 

30 June 1978. Thus, the IFC concluded over 30 years 

of instrument flying-related activities, including the 

Instrument Pilot Instructor School. 

Occupational Measurement Center Moved 

The USAF Occupational Measurement Center 

(OMC) developed the Air Force's promotion tests and 

validated that the tests remained job-related through 

periodic occupational surveys of all specialties. The 

OMC had moved to the Medina Annex from 

Lackland's main base in 1976, but during late 1977, 

General Roberts decided to move it again, this time 

to Randolph AFB. This move freed 354 billeting 

spaces at Lackland to accommodate programmed 

increases in Officer Training School production. On 

1 May 1978, ATC reassigned OMC from the Air 

Force Military Training Center to HQ ATC. The 

center's new home was the former location of the 

USAF Instrument Flight Center. This move placed 

the OMC in close proximity to DCS/Technical 

Training, the staff agency to which it reported. 
1978 

218

Relocation of Procurement Center 

In January 1978, ATC noted that the San Antonio 

Procurement Center had encountered major problems 

due to its location at Kelly AFB, an Air Force 

Logistics Command installation. Since the San 

Antonio Real Property Maintenance Agency was its 

major customer, ATC decided to collocate both 

organizations at the San Antonio Air Force Station. 

The move began at the end of 1978 and ended in May 

1979. Also on 1 October 1978, Air Training 

Command redesignated the procurement center as the 

San Antonio Contracting Center, and at the same 

time, the command redesignated its 3303d 

Procurement Squadron as the 3303d Contracting 

Squadron. 

INSTALLATIONS 

Goodfellow AFB, Texas, Reassigned to ATC 

Goodfellow had served as an ATC pilot training base 

during World War II and in the post-war era before it 

was turned over to USAF Security Service in 1958 

for cryptologic training. In April 1978 the Secretary 

of the Air Force directed that responsibility for all 

cryptologic training, along with the base, be transferred to Air Training Command. The transfer agreement was negotiated between the two commands in 

May, and ATC gained jurisdiction of the base on 

1 July. In conjunction with the transfer, ATC 

activated the 3480th Technical Training Wing 

(USAF Cryptological Training Center) at 

Goodfellow. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

IFS Operational 

On 17 February 1978, the 64th Flying Training 

Wing, Reese AFB, Texas, became the first ATC pilot 

training base with a fully operational instrument 

flight simulator (IFS) program, which allowed 

training in both the T-37 and T-38 simulator 

complexes. 

USAF to Host ENJJPT 

On 17 May 1978, ministers from the North Atlantic 

Treaty Organization (NATO) accepted an offer by 

the United States to host the Euro-NATO Joint Jet 

Pilot Training (ENJJPT) Program for a 10-year 

period beginning in 1981. Ultimately, the Air Force 

selected ATC's Sheppard AFB for the location of this 

training. 

Tailored Navigator Training 

For all navigator training classes beginning after 

2 October 1978, ATC provided specialized rather 

than generalized training. The new program taught 

basic navigator skills to all graduates. Two new 

courses--advanced navigation (AN) and tactical 

navigation (TN)--provided specialized training 

tailored to the needs of the major commands. Upon 

graduation from UNT, navigators with assignments 

to tankers, transports, and bombers, took the AN 

course and those going to Tactical Air Command, 

mainly as weapon systems officers, took the TN 

course. Others entered electronic warfare officer 

training at Mather. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Eight-Hour Training Day 

Triggered by a congressional inquiry, the General 

Accounting Office (GAO) investigated all DOD 

technical training programs. It found that each of the 

services had different length training days. In its 

report the GAO proposed that all technical training 

students should spend eight hours a day in class, five 

days a week. According to the GAO estimate, ATC 

could save $70 million by converting from its 6-hour 

to an 8-hour day. By the end of the year, ATC had 

converted most of its courses but found that its 

savings were actually only $17 million. 

EDUCATION 

CCAF Accreditation 

To ensure acceptance of its credits and degrees by 

civilian educational institutions, the Community 

College of the Air Force (CCAF) applied for 

accreditation with the Southern Association of 

Colleges and Schools' Commission on Colleges. The 

association accepted the CCAF as a candidate for 

accreditation in June 1978. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Overseas Exercise Support 

For the first time in the history of the command, ATC 

tested its wartime/contingency mission readiness by 

deploying 250 of its personnel into the Pacific Air 

Forces (PACAF) region. This 8-22 February 1978 

deployment was in support of Exercise Commando 

Rock. Again in April, Air Training Command 

deployed 291 personnel to Hahn Air Base, Germany, 

to support USAFE's Exercise Salty Rooster. 
219

1979

For the second time in two years, Air Training Command reorganized its technical training 

establishment in the field. On 1 November 1979, ATC activated numbered technical training wings at each 

of the command's five training centers--the 3250th at Lackland, 3300th at Keesler, 3330th at Chanute, 

3400th at Lowry, and the 3700th at Sheppard. These were the same numerical designations the training 

schools had had prior to 1 January 1978, when ATC replaced them with Deputy Commanders for Training. 

That reorganization resulted in significant manpower savings, but it had its drawbacks. The appellation 

Deputy Commander for Training was peculiar to ATC, not well known throughout the Air Force, and the 

source of some confusion. General Davis, the ATC commander, therefore, opted to return to the numbered 

wings. Meanwhile Recruiting Service for the first time in its history failed to meet its nonprior service 

enlistment goals. 

Cryptologic voice-processing students practice their skill during a laboratory session at 

Goodfellow AFB, Texas. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1979) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 15 

Alabama--Gunter and Maxwell; Arizona--Williams; 

California--Mather; Colorado--Lowry; Illinois--Chanute; 

Mississippi--Columbus and Keesler; Oklahoma--Vance; 

Texas--Goodfellow, Lackland, Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, 

and Sheppard 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 55,512 (8,259 officers; 32,155 enlisted; 15,098 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,516 (T-37, T-38, T-41, T-43, TH-1, UV-18) 
1979 

220

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

7 numbered air force equivalent units: 

 Air University, Maxwell AFB AL 

 Air Force Mil Trng Ctr, Lackland AFB TX 

 Chanute Tech Trng Ctr, Chanute AFB IL 

 Keesler Tech Trng Ctr, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Ctr, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Ctr, Sheppard AFB TX 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Randolph AFB TX 

1 wing equivalent unit: 

 Officer Training School, Lackland AFB TX 

1 combat crew training wing: 

 3636th (Survival), Fairchild AFB WA 

8 flying training wings: 

 12th, Randolph AFB TX 

 14th, Columbus AFB MS 

 47th, Laughlin AFB TX 

 64th, Reese AFB TX 

 71st, Vance AFB OK 

 80th, Sheppard AFB TX 

 82d, Williams AFB AZ 

 323d, Mather AFB CA 

1 technical training wing: 

 3480th (USAF Cryptological Training Center), 

Goodfellow AFB TX 

4 independent group and equivalent units: 

 Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

 Foreign Mil Trng Affairs Gp, Randolph AFB TX 

 San Antonio Contracting Center, San Antonio 

AFS TX 

 San Antonio Real Property Maintenance Agency, 

San Antonio AFS TX 

9 squadron and equivalent units: 

 USAF Occupational Measurement Center, 

Randolph AFB TX 

 557th Flying Training, USAF Academy, Colorado 

Springs CO 

 3302d Computer Services, Randolph AFB TX 

3303d Contracting, Randolph AFB TX 

 3304th School (ATC NCO Academy), Lackland 

AFB TX 

 3305th School (ISD), Randolph AFB TX 

 3306th Test and Evaluation, Edwards AFB CA 

 3314th Management Engineering, Randolph AFB 

TX 

 3507th Airman Classification, Lackland AFB TX 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

General 

Bennie L. Davis 

General Bennie L. Davis, the Headquarters USAF 

DCS/Personnel, replaced Gen John W. Roberts on 

1 April 1979 as Commander, Air Training Command. 

Roberts retired. On 12 March Maj Gen Charles G. 

Cleveland became vice commander, replacing Maj 

Gen Evan W. Rosencrans. Cleveland came from HQ 

USAF where he had served as Director of Personnel 

Programs. Rosencrans went to Korea. 

ORGANIZATION 

Relocation of CCAF 

When first activated in 1972, ATC located the 

Community College of the Air Force at Randolph. 

Then in 1977, due to crowding on Randolph, the 

college moved to the Lackland Training Annex. That 

was a short tenancy, because as a part of the 1978 

assignment of Air University to ATC, the command 

decided to move the Community College of the Air 

Force to Maxwell AFB, Alabama. That transfer took 

place on 1 June 1979. 

3300th Support Squadron 

Headquarters ATC inactivated the 3300th Support 

Squadron at Randolph AFB on 1 January 1979, and 

its functions transferred to the Headquarters 

Squadron Section. 
1979 

221

RECRUITING ISSUES 

For much of its history, Air Training Command's 

ability to identify promising talent for Air Force 

positions of all types had not been seriously 

challenged. Recruiting efforts nearly always met 

projected needs. In the mid-1970s, however, 

continuing this level of achievement became more 

challenging. A reorganization of the USAF 

Recruiting Service, mandated reductions in recruiting 

resources, and an improving job market for 17- to 21-

year-olds combined with more stringent enlistment 

criteria and screening procedures to cause concern. 

Quotas for new personnel were becoming 

increasingly more difficult to fill. A nearly 50 

percent reduction in the recruiting budget in fiscal 

years 1974 through 1977 exacerbated the problem. 

By late 1977, the time-honored methods of 

canvassing high schools, advertising, and talking to 

interested groups in public forums were not filling 

the need for new airmen. The first response to this 

more difficult recruiting environment, the Air Force 

Recruiter Assistance Program, offered active 

personnel, beginning in the fall of 1976, the chance 

to help recruiters identify potential airmen in their 

home towns. Although the program produced many 

leads, meeting recruitment quotas in the long term 

still seemed problematical. In addition, a low 

nonprior service enlistment rate in December 1978 

suggested a rough road ahead. 

Accordingly, the Recruiting Service established 

several initiatives. The guaranteed training 

enlistment program, operational in 1977, allowed 

applicants to select specific jobs at the outset of their 

careers from 140 Air Force specialties. 

Other initiatives in 1978 and in 1979 allowed new 

airmen to select their preferred base of assignment 

and to be promoted to airman second class upon 

completing basic training. Those signing up for a 

six-year tour could benefit from an accelerated 

promotion schedule to senior airman. A delayed 

enlistment program permitted potential recruits to 

enlist early for jobs that would be held for them up to 

one year. Even with these incentive programs, for 

the first time in its history, Recruiting Service failed 

to meet its recruiting goal for fiscal year 1979. 

In 1980 USAF Recruiting Service increased the 

use of incentives and added two more programs--

Stripes for Education, which offered the rank of 

airman second class to those who had completed at 

least two semesters of college, and a cash bonus for 

enlisting in select career fields. By 1981 these 

incentives combined with two significant military pay 

raises to produce some notable recruiting successes. 

However, the problems of attracting new people into 

certain Air Force technical careers persisted. 

The acquisition of officers into some career fields, 

such as engineering and the health professions, had 

represented a particularly difficult hurdle to cross. 

Here again, the use of specialized incentive programs 

brought results. The College Senior Engineer 

Program and the Undergraduate Engineer Conversion 

Program were the most successful. The former 

allowed senior engineering students to enlist with full 

pay and allowances, while the latter paid engineering 

graduates to return to school for a second engineering 

degree. In approximately four years, from 1979 

through the end of 1983, Recruiting Service had 

turned a shortage of 1,200 engineers into a surplus. 

An all-out effort to induce physicians, dentists and 

nurses to join the Air Force had also paid dividends. 

The use of enlistment bonuses to attract those wishing 

to enter certain technical fields also achieved success. 

Beginning in the mid-1970s the Air Force had 

faced a series of threats to its acquisition of quality 

personnel. The presence of a much more competitive 

marketplace for young people had prompted Air 

Training Command to adopt new initiatives and 

programs to attract new personnel. Many of these 

novel programs and initiatives became an integral part 

of the approach taken by recruiters to fill future Air 

Force needs for promising and talented airmen. 

Young people joined the Air Force for many 

reasons. Traditionally the chances to travel and to 

continue their education were at the top of the list. 
1979 

222

3307th School Squadron 

Effective 2 January 1979, ATC inactivated its 3307th 

School Squadron (also known as the ATC 

Technology Applications Center) at Lackland AFB, 

Texas. Some squadron personnel transferred to HQ 

ATC DCS/Plans and Programs to form an 

Applications Division under the Training Systems 

Development Directorate. 

3507th Airman Classification Squadron 

Effective 1 March 1979, ATC reassigned the 3507th 

Airman Classification Squadron from Recruiting 

Service to HQ ATC. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

Iranian Revolution 

Because of a revolution and subsequent change of 

national policy, Iran canceled all future entries into 

flying and technical training courses. Students 

already in training were to complete school. (While 

the new government did not intend it, this included 

the Crown Prince of Iran, who finished 

undergraduate pilot training at Reese AFB on 

9 March 1979.) As a result of the Iranian seizure of 

the US Embassy in Teheran and the holding of 

American hostages, ATC grounded all Iranian flying 

training students. 

Coast Guard Navigator Training Ended 

Giving no reason, the US Coast Guard notified ATC 

on 26 July that it would stop sending students to 

Mather AFB's Interservice Undergraduate Navigator 

Training and instead train its own navigators. 

Rotary Wing Qualification Course 

On 31 January 1979, ATC assumed responsibility for 

the Rotary Wing Qualification Course at Fort Rucker, 

Alabama. The course, formerly under MAC, trained 

fixed-wing pilots to fly helicopters. 

Security Assistance Program Training 

Since the early 1940s, ATC had provided special 

pilot training courses for foreign students under a 

variety of program titles, such as the Mutual Defense 

Assistance Program, the Military Assistance 

Program, and the Security Assistance Program. On 

11 September, ATC ended the special courses. 

Students already in training were allowed to complete 

their courses, but all future pilot trainees would take 

the standard USAF undergraduate pilot training 

course. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Computer Training Consolidated 

Since Keesler Technical Training Center already 

performed most Air Force computer maintenance 

training, General Davis directed the consolidation of 

computer programmer and operator training there 

also. He made this decision on 5 June 1979, and 

actual consolidation occurred between the fall of 

1979 and fall of 1980. 

The CCAF relocated to this building at 

Lackland in 1977, where it remained for 

two years before moving to Maxwell. 

Female recruits from the 3709th Basic Military

Training Squadron climb up a tower during

obstacle training at Lackland AFB, Texas. 
223

1980

Air Training Command continued its efforts to institute specialized undergraduate pilot training and 

acquire a next generation trainer. Defense ministers of the NATO alliance agreed to begin Euro-NATO Joint 

Jet Pilot Training at Sheppard. For the first time since FY 71, pilot production showed an increase over the 

previous year's production. Air Training Command elevated the helicopter training detachment at Fort 

Rucker to squadron status, a reflection of expanded Air Force requirements. In technical training, ATC saw 

a substantial expansion in its student load. 

ATC used the UV-18 aircraft for administrative airlift.

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1980) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 15 

Alabama--Gunter and Maxwell; Arizona--

Williams; California--Mather; Colorado--Lowry; 

Illinois--Chanute; Mississippi--Columbus and 

Keesler; Oklahoma--Vance; Texas--Goodfellow, 

Lackland, Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, and 

Sheppard 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 

55,488 (8,396 officers; 32,336 enlisted; 14,716 

civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,482 (T-37, T-38, T-41, T-43, UV-18)

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

7 numbered air force equivalent units: 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Randolph AFB TX 

 Air University, Maxwell AFB AL 

 Lackland Mil Trng Ctr, Lackland AFB TX 

 Chanute Tech Trng Ctr, Chanute AFB IL 

 Keesler Tech Trng Ctr, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Ctr, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Ctr, Sheppard AFB TX 

1 wing equivalent unit: 

 Officer Training School, Lackland AFB TX 

1 combat crew training wing: 

 3636th (Survival), Fairchild AFB WA 

8 flying training wings: 

 12th, Randolph AFB TX 

 14th, Columbus AFB MS 

 47th, Laughlin AFB TX 

 64th, Reese AFB TX 

 71st, Vance AFB OK 

 80th, Sheppard AFB TX 

 82d, Williams AFB AZ 

 323d, Mather AFB CA 

1 technical training wing: 

 3480th (USAF Cryptological Training Center), 

Goodfellow AFB TX 

4 independent group and equivalent units: 

 Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

 Foreign Mil Trng Affairs Gp, Randolph AFB TX 

 San Antonio Contracting Center, San Antonio 

AFS TX 

 San Antonio Real Property Maintenance Agency, 

San Antonio AFS TX 

10 independent squadron and equivalent units: 

 USAF Occupational Measurement Center, 

Randolph AFB TX 

 557th Flying Training, USAF Academy, Colorado 

Springs CO 
1980 

224

 3302d Computer Services, Randolph AFB TX 

 3303d Contracting, Randolph AFB TX 

 3304th School (NCO Academy), Lackland AFB 

TX 

 3305th School (ISD), Randolph AFB TX 

 3306th Test and Evaluation, Edwards AFB CA 

 3314th Mgmt Engrg, Randolph AFB TX 

 3507th Airman Classification, Lackland AFB TX 

 3588th Flying Trng (Heli), Fort Rucker AL 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

General Bennie L. Davis continued to serve as the 

ATC commander, and Maj Gen Charles G. Cleveland 

remained the vice commander. 

ORGANIZATION 

3588th Flying Training Squadron 

In 1971, when the Army began training Air Force 

undergraduate helicopter pilots, Air Training 

Command established small detachments of Air 

Force personnel at Army training sites to monitor 

training, provide interservice liaison, and give 

administrative support to Air Force students. When 

this training went to a single location--Fort Rucker, 

Alabama--ATC transferred student accountability 

and processing from Randolph to Craig AFB in 

Alabama. Craig closed in 1977, and the responsibility 

went to a detachment of the 14th Flying Training 

Wing at Columbus. Since that time, the detachment's 

mission had expanded to include more than 350 

hours per month for flying and academic training 

with 17 permanent party personnel assigned. Then on 

31 January 1980, Air Training Command replaced 

the detachment with the activation of the 3588th 

Flying Training Squadron (Helicopter). The squadron 

reported directly to the HQ ATC Deputy Chief of 

Staff, Operations. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

First Female Enters UPT-H 

Although the Army had been training female 

helicopter pilots for some time, the Air Force had not, 

that was until 2d Lt Mary L. Wittick entered undergraduate pilot training helicopter (Class 81-05) in 

May 1980. 

Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training 

For some years, member nations of the NATO 

alliance had attempted to develop a common pilot 

training program. By combining pilot training 

programs, the allies could reduce costs and increase 

NATO operational standardization. In 1978 NATO 

officials accepted a US offer to host ENJJPT at an 

American base. On 11 June 1980, the Secretary of 

Defense announced that ATC would conduct the 

ENJJPT course at Sheppard AFB, Texas. 

Participating nations were to contribute to the 

ENJJPT program proportionately to their use of it. 

Recruits are fitted for initial clothing issue at Lackland AFB, Texas.
1980 

225

The first Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training pilot 

to solo was 2d Lt Larry Weisenberg, whose 

classmates performed the traditional dunking on 

20 November 1981.

Contributions of capital assets such as aircraft and of 

personnel primarily instructor pilots (IP) would count 

as credits. Student training costs, and flying hour 

costs for IP training and continuation flying would 

count as debits. Nations with an overall debit 

balance would be required to pay increased financial 

charges to the program, while nations with a credit 

balance would be compensated by cash, credit to the 

country's foreign military sales account with the 

United States, or by credit to the ENJJPT program 

trust fund. The first class of ENJJPT students entered 

training on 1 October 1981. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Interservice Training Review Organization 

To ATC the most significant problems of peacetime 

training were a shortage of resources of all types and 

a constant struggle to produce cost effective training. 

In 1972 the General Accounting Office had issued a 

report criticizing the services for maintaining 

duplicate training courses and encouraging wholesale 

consolidation of these courses. Acting on this 

criticism, the Defense Department established the 

Interservice Training Review Organization (ITRO) in 

August 1972 as a cooperative effort among the 

services to review all training and education with a 

goal of eliminating duplication. From the beginning, 

ITRO was a voluntary organization, and the services 

were not bound to follow its recommendations. In the 

first few years, ITRO was successful mainly in 

promoting small, noncontroversial training 

consolidations. Between 1976-1978, in fact, no 

technical training consolidations took place, although 

the Air Force and Navy began interservice navigator 

training at Mather AFB in July 1976. Following an 

eight-month study in 1979, the ITRO Review Board 

approved the reorganization on 1 January 1980. 

Designed to make ITRO more responsive, it 

eliminated the excessive organizational layering and 

numerous committees. 

At Chanute AFB, Illinois, a fuels training instructor shows a student how to perform a refueling operation. 
1980 

226

A fireman inspects the nose wheel of a T-38 after a 

student pilot reported "hot brakes." 

A technician repaints a T-38 wing at 

Williams AFB, Arizona. 

MILITARY TRAINING 

Test of BMTS Surge Capabilities 

In times of war, Air Force manpower requirements 

would drastically increase, with a corresponding 

increase in the number of those entering basic 

training. A key factor in determining ATC's 

capability to meet the manpower increases rested on 

knowing the maximum training capability of the 

basic military training school. On 5 May 1980, 

training officials doubled the load for two flights--

Flights 410 and 411--which entered training with 100 

members each rather than the normal load of 50. 

Graduating on 18 June 1980, the two flights lost only 

four members due to training setbacks, and none 

were eliminated. While training was not canceled or 

degraded, officials believed that a sustained surge 

could impact the quality of training. Thus, Air 

Training Command modified its surge training plans 

to include the use of two or more installations for 

basic training. 

EDUCATION 

Community College Receives Accreditation 

On 12 December 1980, the Southern Association of 

Colleges and Schools voted unanimously to accredit 

the Community College of the Air Force as a degree 

granting institution, ending two and one half years of 

evaluation and consideration. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

US Government Expels Iranian Students 

Although the Iranian government had stopped 

sending students into USAF training programs in 

January 1979, numerous Iranians were still in 

training at the beginning of 1980. Following the 

Iranian seizure of the American Embassy in Teheran 

in November 1979, all Iranians in flying training had 

been grounded, though they continued to receive 

academic instruction. On 7 April 1980, the 

Department of Defense directed that all Iranian 

military trainees were to leave the country by 

11 April 1980. All Iranian students and their families 

under the jurisdiction of Air Training Command, 

except two students and their wives who were in 

advanced stages of pregnancy, left on schedule. After 

the births, these students and their dependents left for 

Iran on 24 April 1980. 
227

1981

The command had long tried to accommodate other nations with a variety of flying training programs. At 

no time was that more evident than in 1981. Since 1966 ATC had conducted a special undergraduate pilot 

training program geared mainly for the German Air Force but also open to students from the German Navy 

and the Royal Netherlands Air Force. That program, whose last class began in the summer of 1981, was 

succeeded by the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training program, whose first class entered in the fall. As the 

name suggested, the new program was designed for a wider audience--the nations of the Atlantic Alliance. 

Also in the fall, Air Training Command began a new program for German navigator students. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1981) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 15 

Alabama--Gunter and Maxwell; Arizona--Williams; California--

Mather; Colorado--Lowry; Illinois--Chanute; Mississippi--Columbus 

and Keesler; Oklahoma--Vance; Texas--Goodfellow, Lackland, 

Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, and Sheppard 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 57,712 (8,191 officers; 33,420 enlisted; 16,101 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,462 (T-37B, T-38A, T-41A/C, T-43A, UV-18) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

7 numbered air force equivalent units: 

 Air Force Mil Trng Ctr, Lackland AFB, TX 

 Air University, Maxwell AFB AL 

 Chanute Tech Trng Ctr, Chanute AFB IL 

 Keesler Tech Trng Ctr, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Ctr, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Ctr, Sheppard AFB TX 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Randolph AFB TX 

1 wing equivalent unit: 

 Officer Training School, Lackland AFB TX 

1 combat crew training wing: 

 3636th (Survival), Fairchild AFB WA 

8 flying training wings: 

 12th, Randolph AFB TX 

 14th, Columbus AFB MS 

 47th, Laughlin AFB TX 

 64th, Reese AFB TX 

 71st, Vance AFB OK 

 80th, Sheppard AFB TX 

 82d, Williams AFB TX 

 323d, Mather AFB CA 

1 independent technical training wing: 

 3480th (USAF Cryptological Training Center), 

Goodfellow AFB TX 

4 independent group and equivalent units: 

 Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

 Foreign Mil Trng Affairs Gp, Randolph AFB TX 

 San Antonio Contracting Center, San Antonio 

AFS TX 

 San Antonio Real Property Maintenance Agency, 

San Antonio AFS TX 

10 independent squadron and equivalent units: 

 USAF Occupational Measurement Center, 

Randolph AFB TX 

 557th Flying Training, USAF Academy, Colorado 

Springs CO 

 3302d Computer Services, Randolph AFB TX 

 3303d Contracting, Randolph AFB TX 

 3304th School (ATC NCO Academy), Lackland 

AFB TX 

 3305th School (ISD), Randolph AFB TX 

 3306th Test and Evaluation, Edwards AFB CA 

 3314th Management Engineering, Randolph AFB 

TX 
1981 

228

 3507th Airman Classification, Lackland AFB TX 

 3588th Flying Training (Helicopter), Fort Rucker 

AL 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

Gen 

Thomas M. Ryan, 

Jr. 

 Gen Thomas M. Ryan, Jr., assumed command of 

Air Training Command on 29 July 1981, replacing 

Gen Bennie L. Davis, who became Commander in 

Chief, Strategic Air Command. Air Training 

Command also gained a new vice commander when 

Maj Gen William P. Acker took over from Maj Gen 

Charles G. Cleveland on 24 July 1981. General 

Cleveland was promoted to lieutenant general and 

became the Commander of Air University. 

TRAINING 

Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program 

On 1 October 1981, the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot 

Training (ENJJPT) program began when Class 83-01 

entered training at Sheppard AFB, Texas, graduating 

a year later. The 12 participating nations--Belgium, 

Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, the 

Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Turkey, the United 

Kingdom, and the United States--saw ENJJPT as a 

way to increase standardization and cut costs by 

reducing duplicate training. The establishment of 

ENJJPT was several years in the making and was 

modeled after the undergraduate pilot training 

program that the command had conducted for the 

German Air Force since 1966. 

German Navigator Training 

At the same time it was making plans to phase out the 

UPT program for German pilot candidates, ATC was 

also planning to introduce a special navigator training 

program for the German Air Force and Navy. Both 

those services were about to reequip many of their 

squadrons with the Tornado fighter-bomber, a twoseat, swing-wing aircraft similar to the F-111. The 

Germans wanted to put a weapon systems officer 

(WSO) in the second seat and asked the Air Force to 

set up a program to help them do that. On 28 August 

1981, HQ USAF formalized an agreement with the 

German Air Force that established a German 

squadron at Mather to train up to 80 WSOs a year. 

The new program began on 1 October 1981, and at 

year's end there were 20 students in training. 

Time-Related Instruction Management 

For several years Air Training Command had sought 

a way to capitalize on computer technology and use it 

to improve the administrative and student 

management side of UPT. The base management 

system provided what computer support there was, 

and it processed information in overnight batches. 

Consequently, the information was not always 

timely. An ATC initiative, the time-related 

instruction management (TRIM) system, would put 

computer terminals in the squadrons and operations 

areas to replace the printouts and provide more 

current information; TRIM also had a computerassisted instruction (CAI) feature that allowed 

student pilots to work on their own. On 16 September 

1981, the Air Force issued a contract to Hazeltine 

Corporation to develop the system. Each UPT base 

and Randolph would receive the TRIM system, 

which included four computers: one to handle 

scheduling and administration, two to provide CAI 

for the students, and one to link the system together. 

Terminals in flight rooms, squadron and wing 

operations areas, and classrooms would provide 

access to the system. Initial training was underway at 

year's end. 

Next Generation Trainer 

Air Training Command moved a step closer to 

obtaining a successor to the aging T-37 primary 

trainer in 1981. In October the Aeronautical Systems 

Division at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, the agency 

responsible for such matters, issued a request for 

An instructor navigator shows a student how to 

use the radar in the T45 simulator at Mather 

AFB, California.
1981 

229

proposal to aircraft companies interested in 

manufacturing the next generation trainer for the Air 

Force. On 7 December, five companies responded to 

the solicitation with their proposals. Shortly 

thereafter, the source selection process began. 

Busy Plotter 

In 1979 Air Training Command established a 

program called Busy Plotter that provided 

proficiency flying for navigators in Strategic Air 

Command. With the scarcity of flying hours brought 

on by the high cost of fuel, ATC's T-43 navigator 

training aircraft were much less expensive to fly than 

SAC's large, heavy B-52s. Busy Plotter, therefore, 

served essentially the same purpose for SAC 

navigators as the Accelerated Copilot Enrichment 

program did for SAC copilots. By September 1981, 

CINCSAC, Gen Bennie L. Davis, decided that the 

program had served its purpose, and ATC 

discontinued Busy Plotter on 1 October 1981. 

Airmen run the confidence course at Lackland 

AFB, Texas, which was Air Training Command’s 

only basic military training school during the 

1980s. 

Undergraduate navigators at Mather AFB, California, make extensive use of simulators to chart their 

missions. 
1981 

230

MISCELLANEOUS 

Air Traffic Controller Strike 

A strike on 3 August 1981 by unionized air traffic 

controllers employed by the Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA) disrupted training activities 

within the command. First of all, even though FAA 

supervisory personnel and those controllers who did 

not go out on strike tried to handle the workload, it 

was too much for them. From ATC's perspective that 

translated into reduced flying training activities in 

conditions that necessitated instrument flight rules 

(IFR). Williams AFB was hit the worst. It lost all 

FAA support for IFR flights, until the installation of a 

military radar approach control, which helped some. 

Elsewhere within the command, the problem was not 

quite so serious. To make up for the shortage of 

qualified air traffic controllers, the Department of 

Defense made 1,000 military controllers available to 

the FAA, 64 of them from Air Training Command. 

Any further deployment of controllers, the flying 

training wings contended, would greatly reduce their 

capabilities--causing delays in graduations, loss of 

production capacity, and a reduction in the quality of 

instruction. However, no other deployments 

occurred, and the disruptions in training proved 

minor at most ATC bases. 

During the nationwide strike by civilian air 

traffic controllers, the Keesler AFB, Mississippi, 

controller course saw only a minor increase in its 

student load. 

A student with simulated injuries is hauled into a 20-man life raft during the final exercise of the water 

survival (non-parachuting) course at Fairchild AFB, Washington.
231

1982

The second of July 1982 was a red letter day for Air Training Command. On that date, Secretary of the 

Air Force Verne Orr announced that Fairchild Republic and the Garret Turbine Engine Company had been 

awarded the contract for the production of the T-46A. The T-46, also referred to as the Next Generation 

Trainer, was going to replace the T-37 in the primary phase of undergraduate pilot training. Air Force 

contract options provided for a fleet of 650 T-46As. Air Training Command anticipated it would receive the 

first aircraft in April 1986. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1982) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 15 

Alabama--Gunter and Maxwell; Arizona--Williams; California--

Mather; Colorado--Lowry; Illinois--Chanute; Mississippi--Columbus 

and Keesler; Oklahoma--Vance; Texas--Goodfellow, Lackland, 

Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, and Sheppard 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 57,065 (8,324 officers; 33,005 enlisted; 15,736 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,406 (T-37B, T-38A, T-41A, T-43A) 

"Aim High" became the Air Force slogan in October 

1982, replacing the earlier catch phrase, "Air Force--

A Great Way of Life." In tests, the Air Force had 

found that young people associated the phrase, "Aim 

High," with the Air Force--its quality of life, people, 

and high-tech equipment. One phrase that kept 

being repeated was "Aim High--Air Force." Young

men and women, ages 17 and 18, said it told them 

that they could achieve their fullest potential in the 

Air Force. 
1982 

232

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

7 numbered air force equivalent units: 

 Air Force Mil Trng Ctr, Lackland AFB TX 

 Air University, Maxwell AFB AL 

 Chanute Tech Trng Ctr, Chanute AFB IL 

 Keesler Tech Trng Ctr, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Ctr, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Ctr, Sheppard AFB TX 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Randolph AFB TX 

1 wing equivalent unit: 

 Officer Training School, Lackland AFB TX 

1 combat crew training wing: 

 3636th (Survival), Fairchild AFB WA 

8 flying training wings: 

 12th, Randolph AFB TX 

 14th, Columbus AFB MS 

 47th, Laughlin AFB TX 

 64th, Reese AFB TX 

 71st, Vance AFB OK 

 80th, Sheppard AFB TX 

 82d, Williams AFB AZ 

 323d, Mather AFB CA 

1 independent technical training wing: 

 3480th (USAF Cryptological Training Center), 

Goodfellow AFB TX 

4 independent group and equivalent units: 

 Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

 Foreign Mil Trng Affairs Gp, Randolph AFB TX 

 San Antonio Contracting Center, San Antonio 

AFS TX 

 San Antonio Real Property Maintenance Agency, 

San Antonio AFS TX 

10 independent squadron and equivalent units: 

 USAF Occupational Measurement Center, 

Randolph AFB TX 

 3302d Computer Services, Randolph AFB TX 

 3303d Contracting, Randolph AFB TX 

 3304th School (ATC NCO Academy), Lackland 

AFB TX 

 3305th School (ISD), Randolph AFB TX 

 3306th Test and Evaluation, Edwards AFB CA 

 3307th Test and Evaluation (Acquisition 

Management), Randolph AFB TX 

 3314th Mgmt Engrg, Randolph AFB TX 

 3507th Airman Classification, Lackland AFB TX 

 3588th Flying Trng (Heli), Fort Rucker AL 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

General Thomas M. Ryan, Jr., continued to serve 

as the ATC commander, while Maj Gen William P. 

Acker remained vice commander. 

ORGANIZATION 

Technical Training Centers Reorganized 

The command reorganized its technical training 

centers to reduce the administrative burden borne by 

the technical training group commanders, provide 

additional assistance for the wing commanders, and 

streamline the technical training process. On 1 April 

ATC implemented a number of measures that 

included changing the name of the Plans and 

Requirements Division to the Operations Division 

and making its chief a colonel who would also serve 

as the deputy wing commander. Other changes worth 

noting were the placement of the Registrar Branch 

under the Operations Division and the transfer of the 

measurement function from Faculty Development to 

the Training Evaluation Division. However, the 

centerpiece of the reorganization was the 

establishment of a student group at each center on 1 

October 1982. 

557th Flying Training Squadron Transferred 

Since 1968, ATC's 557th Flying Training Squadron 

had run the Air Force Academy's pilot indoctrination 

program designed for those cadets slated to attend 

undergraduate pilot training after graduation. 

Following a 1981 study of the program, the Air Force 

Academy indicated its interest in taking over the pilot 

indoctrination program in order to centralize 

command and control, consolidate airfield 

management, and emphasize the motivational aspects 

of the program. Finally, both ATC and HQ USAF 

agreed to transfer the unit to the Air Force Academy, 

and the academy assumed control of the 557th on 1 

October 1982. The squadron had a fleet of fifty T41Cs for flight screening, plus two UV-18Bs to 

support the Air Force Academy's parachute training 

program. In addition ATC also transferred the 

squadron's manpower authorizations: 54 officer, 7 

enlisted, and 4 civilian spaces. 

3307th Test and Evaluation Squadron 

Air Training Command activated the 3307th Training 

and Evaluation Squadron (Acquisition Management) 

on 15 November 1982. The command established the 

squadron to look after ATC's interest in the 
1982 

233

acquisition of the T-46A. The squadron fell under 

the administrative and operational control of the 

Acquisition Directorate in DCS/Plans, with the 

director dual-hatted as the squadron commander. To 

carry out its unique mission, the 3307th had a 

detachment at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, to 

interface with the Air Force Systems Command T-46 

Systems Program Office and an operating location at 

the prime contractor's (Fairchild Republic) facility in 

Farmingdale, New York. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

Contract Award for Next Generation Trainer 

On 2 July 1982, Secretary of the Air Force Verne Orr 

announced that Fairchild Republic and the Garrett 

Turbine Engine Company had been awarded the 

contract for the production of an aircraft known as 

the Next Generation Trainer. This aircraft, formally 

designated the T-46A, was going to be the 

replacement for the T-37 and, as such, was destined 

for use in the primary phase of undergraduate pilot 

training. The new trainer had two jet engines and 

side-by-side seating. Air Force contract options 

provided for a fleet of 650 T-46As. Air Training 

Command anticipated it would receive the first 

aircraft in April 1986. 

German Air Force Training Ends 

After 16 years at Sheppard, the German Air Force 

undergraduate pilot training program came to an end 

on 7 August 1982, when the last class graduated. 

Although designed primarily for German Air Force 

students, the course had also been available to pilot 

candidates from the German Navy and the Royal 

Netherlands Air Force. In all, the course produced 

1,252 German and 49 Dutch pilots. Additionally, 

from 1968 to 1975, 544 USAF pilots graduated from 

the course. 

An instructor monitors student progress in automotive training at Chanute AFB, Illinois.
1982 

234

EDUCATION 

Enlisted Commandant for SNCOA 

General Ryan converted the commandant's position 

at the Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy 

(SNCOA), Gunter AFS, Alabama, from colonel to 

chief master sergeant. In December 1982 he selected 

CMSgt Bobby G. Renfroe to serve as the academy's 

first enlisted commandant. 

Establishment of CADRE 

On 10 December 1982, HQ USAF constituted the Air 

University Center for Aerospace Doctrine, Research, 

and Education (CADRE) and tasked the new 

organization to research, formulate, analyze, test, and 

publish doctrinal and concept studies. The new 

organization would also embrace the Aerospace 

Studies Institute, the Air University Press, and the 

projected Command Readiness Exercise System. Air 

University provided 70 manpower authorizations 

from its existing resources to get CADRE off the 

ground and anticipated adding 24 more slots in FY 85 

with the establishment of the Command Readiness 

Exercise System. 

Recruits assigned to the 3743d Basic Military Training Squadron at Lackland AFB, Texas, practice 

marksmanship with M-16 rifles. 

Students get hands-on training in the 

short-range attack missile lab at Chanute 

AFB, Illinois. 
235

1983

On 1 July 1983, scarcely five years after HQ USAF had aligned Air University under ATC, it reversed the 

process and conferred major air command status on Air University once more. With the realignment, Air 

Training Command lost two installations--Maxwell Air Force Base and Gunter Air Force Station. The 

command also did away with the Deputy Chief of Staff, Education post on the headquarters staff and, in its 

place, established a new position--the Assistant Chief of Staff, Commissioning Programs. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1983) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 13 

Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; Colorado--Lowry; Illinois--

Chanute; Mississippi--Columbus and Keesler; Oklahoma--Vance; 

Texas--Goodfellow, Lackland, Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, and 

Sheppard 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 53,772 (7,916 officers; 31,645 enlisted; 14,211 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,401 (T-37B, T-38A, T-39A, T-41A, T-43A) 

Basic trainees make their way across a water hazard on the confidence course at Lackland AFB, Texas. 
1983 

236

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

6 numbered air force equivalent units: 

 Air Force Mil Trng Ctr, Lackland AFB TX 

 Chanute Tech Trng Ctr, Chanute AFB IL 

 Keesler Tech Trng Ctr, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Ctr, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Ctr, Sheppard AFB TX 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Randolph AFB TX 

1 air division equivalent unit: 

 Air Force Reserve Officers' Trng Corps, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

2 wing equivalent units: 

 Officer Training School, Lackland AFB TX 

 USAF Instrument Flight Ctr, Randolph AFB TX 

1 combat crew training wing: 

 3636th (Survival), Fairchild AFB WA 

8 flying training wings: 

 12th, Randolph AFB TX 

 14th, Columbus AFB MS 

 47th, Laughlin AFB TX 

 64th, Reese AFB TX 

 71st, Vance AFB OK 

 80th, Sheppard AFB TX 

 82d, Williams AFB AZ 

 323d, Mather AFB CA 

1 technical training wing: 

 3480th (USAF Cryptological Training Center), 

Goodfellow AFB TX 

4 independent group and equivalent units: 

 Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

 Foreign Mil Trng Affairs Gp, Randolph AFB TX 

 San Antonio Contracting Center, San Antonio 

AFS TX 

 San Antonio Real Property Maintenance Agency, 

San Antonio AFS TX 

10 independent squadron and equivalent units: 

 USAF Occupational Measurement Center, 

Randolph AFB TX 

 3302d Computer Services, Randolph AFB TX 

 3303d Contracting, Randolph AFB TX 

 3304th School (ATC NCO Academy), Lackland 

AFB TX 

 3305th School (ISD), Randolph AFB TX 

 3306th Test and Evaluation, Edwards AFB CA 

 3307th Test and Evaluation (Acquisition 

Management), Randolph AFB TX 

 3314th Management Engineering, Randolph AFB 

TX 

 3507th Airman Classification, Lackland AFB TX 

 3588th Flying Training (Helicopter), Fort Rucker 

AL 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

Gen 

Andrew P. Iosue 

Gen Andrew P. Iosue assumed command of ATC 

on 23 June. He replaced Gen Thomas M. Ryan, Jr., 

who went on to become Commander, Military Airlift 

Command. Air Training Command also gained a new 

vice commander in Maj Gen James P. Smothermon, 

who replaced Maj Gen William P. Acker on 14 June. 

Maj Gen Smothermon previously commanded the 

United States Logistics Group in Turkey. 

ORGANIZATION 

Air University Regains MAJCOM Status 

On 1 July 1983, scarcely five years after HQ USAF 

had aligned Air University under Air Training 

Command, it reversed the process and conferred 

major air command status on Air University once 

more. At the time of the merger on 15 May 1978 the 

Air Force sought to consolidate most of its education 

and training programs and provide a focal point for 

personnel procurement programs. The move brought 

professional military education (PME) under the 

same roof as flying, technical, and basic military 

training. Moreover, it provided common direction for 

two of the Air Force's major commissioning 

programs ROTC and OTS. Over time, HQ USAF had 

become concerned that this arrangement lowered the 

visibility and diminished the importance of the Air 

War College, the Air Command and Staff College, 

and other PME schools. In elevating Air University 
1983 

237

to MAJCOM status once again, HQ USAF hoped to 

erase that perception. However, the Air Force 

continued to believe there was merit in having a 

single MAJCOM administer the two commissioning 

programs and decided to keep ROTC under ATC 

control. Effective 30 June 1983, ATC reassigned the 

Air Force Reserve Officers' Training Corps at 

Maxwell from Air University to HQ ATC. 

Instrument Flight Center Reestablished 

Reversing another step it had taken five years earlier, 

HQ USAF, on 1 October 1983, reestablished the 

Instrument Flight Center (IFC) at Randolph AFB. 

This confirmed the Air Force's need for a central 

facility to determine and validate new flight concepts 

and instrument flight systems. When it was initially 

established in 1972, the IFC standardized the use of 

instrument procedures and training methods for 

pilots, participated with other government and 

civilian organizations in developing instrument 

systems, and trained pilots to become instrument 

pilot instructors through the Instrument Pilot 

Instructor School (IPIS). Colonel E.J. Baker assumed 

command of the revitalized IFC on 1 October. The 

organization was assigned to Air Training Command 

as a wing-level direct reporting unit under the 

operational control of the ATC vice commander, with 

the Director of Operations at HQ USAF providing 

policy and functional guidance. At first the 

Instrument Flight Center had 24 manpower slots and 

was tasked only with developing instrument flight 

standards, but planning had already begun to 

reestablish IPIS as part of the command's Instrument 

Flight Center. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

UPT-Helicopter 

ATC conducted undergraduate helicopter training at 

the U.S. Army Aviation Center, Fort Rucker, 

Alabama. The 3588th Flying Training Squadron 

provided administrative support for the Air Force 

students in the program (82 Air Force students 

completed the course in 1983) and carried out 

specialized instruction applicable to Air Force 

students. In 1983, the Army added two weeks to their 

Instructors closely monitor students installing an electronics pod on an F-4D aircraft during classes at 

Sheppard AFB, Texas.
1983 

238

AIR UNIVERSITY 

When Air Education and Training Command 

(AETC) stood up on 1 July 1993, Air University (AU) 

became part of the new command. This was not the 

first time the Air Force's education and training 

missions had been linked so closely. After countless 

studies that recommended the consolidation of the 

two missions, Gen David C. Jones, Air Force Chief of 

Staff, had directed the merger of Air University and 

Air Training Command on 15 May 1978. At that 

time, AU lost its status as a major command and 

became, in effect, another ATC center. To formulate 

policy and provide guidance for Air University, ATC 

established a new staff agency, the Deputy Chief of 

Staff, Education. This organizational relationship 

remained in effect until July 1983. 

Air University traced its roots back to the Air 

Corps Tactical School, established at Langley Field, 

Virginia, in the 1920s. In 1931 the Air Corps Tactical 

School moved to Maxwell, and it was there that many 

of the ideas, tactics, and doctrine that the Army Air 

Forces adopted in World War II were first hammered 

out. After a brief stay in Orlando, Florida, during the 

war, the school moved back to Maxwell in late 1945 

and was redesignated as Air University on 12 March 

1946. 

From its inception, Air University's mission was to 

provide advanced military education for senior 

officers at the Air War College and for mid-level 

officers at the Air Command and Staff School. Junior 

officers began their professional military education 

(PME) at Tyndall Field, Florida, at the Air Tactical 

School. In 1950, when the tactics school closed, Air 

University opened the Squadron Officer Course at Maxwell as an arm of the Air Command and Staff School. 

Though some name changes occurred over time, these 

three schools formed the core of Air Force PME until 

1972, when the Air Force established the USAF 

Senior NCO Academy across town from Maxwell at 

Gunter Air Force Station. 

With professional military education as the 

centerpiece, Air University broadened its base 

considerably over the years. As its mission expanded, 

Air University became the home for such organizations as the Air Force Institute of Technology; the 

Extension Course Institute; the Ira C. Eaker Center 

for Professional Development; and the Air University 

Center for Aerospace Doctrine, Research, and 

Education. 

On 1 July 1983, almost as suddenly as the merger 

of Air Training Command and Air University had 

been carried out five years earlier, it was dissolved, 

and Air University regained its status as a major 

command. Although the Air Force did not consider 

the merger a failure, it was concerned that the 

visibility of PME had been reduced and felt that 

reestablishing Air University as a MAJCOM would 

serve to elevate professional military education to its 

appropriate level. Headquarters USAF also indicated 

to Lt Gen Charles G. Cleveland, the AU commander 

at the time, that Air University's capability and 

involvement in the doctrinal development process (the 

AU Center for Aerospace Doctrine, Research, and 

Education was established in 1982) was a primary 

reason for the reestablishment of Air University as a 

major command. 

syllabus to prepare their students to manage Aviation 

Branch activities. The commander of the 3588th 

proposed adding two weeks to the Air Force portion 

of the course, to provide additional instruction and to 

keep its students on the same schedule as their Army 

partners. ATC and the Air Force approved the request 

in November. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Project Smooth Flow 

Over the years, technical training managers 

frequently faced sizeable fluctuations in trained 

personnel requirements (TPR) in numerous Air Force 

specialties or AFSCs. At the root of the problem was 

Air Force insistence on bringing each AFSC up to 

100 percent manning by the end of the next fiscal 

year. The net result of this approach was a series of 

peaks and valleys, e.g., when large numbers of 

airmen entered a particular specialty in a given year 

and left the Air Force coping with large numbers four 

years later. This single year orientation impacted 

student flow and disrupted faculty stability. It 

dramatically affected the number of 3-level airmen 

fed into certain career fields from year to year and, 

since instructor authorizations were tied directly to 

production levels, the average instructor experience 

level varied considerably over time. To avoid this 

unwelcome set of circumstances, ATC initiated 

Project Smooth Flow early in 1983. Smooth Flow 

was designed to stabilize entries into a specialty by 

incorporating long-range planning into the TPR 
1983 

239

An aerial view of the academic circle 

at Maxwell AFB, Alabama, the home 

of Air University. 

Following the collapse of communism and the end 

of the Cold War, the US Air Force, under the 

leadership of General Merrill A. McPeak, Chief of 

Staff, prepared itself to face a new world order. In 

line with several other initiatives to streamline the Air 

Force, General McPeak proclaimed 1992 as the "Year 

of Training." To examine how the Air Force could 

better train its people, General McPeak established 

three task groups, one to look at the process, one to 

look at the structure, and one to focus exclusively on 

flying training. Among other things, the Training 

Structure Task Group, chaired by Lt Gen Joseph W. 

Ashy, ATC commander, looked once more at the 

option of consolidating the education and training 

missions under a single command and concluded it 

was desirable. 

In redesignating ATC as the Air Education and 

Training Command and realigning Air University 

under the new command, Headquarters USAF also approved several other actions. This time around, the 

Air University commander retained policy development responsibilities as the Director of Education on 

the AETC staff--a move that addressed a sore point 

that festered throughout the earlier consolidation of 

education and training missions. For the most part, 

Air University retained its unique identity; it was not 

considered as just another training center (which 

became training wings under AETC), nor was it on a 

par with the two numbered air forces activated as part 

of AETC. It stood by itself, an organization unlike 

any other in the Air Force with its singularly 

important educational mission. Finally, Air 

University also assumed management responsibility 

for the Community College of the Air Force and the 

Air Force ROTC program, and it prepared to assume 

control of the Officer Training School, which was 

slated to complete its move from Lackland to 

Maxwell by 1 October 1993. 

development process. Instead of trying to achieve 

100 percent manning each year, ATC intended to 

attain that level over a period of two to four years. 

Basically, Smooth Flow allowed ATC to negotiate 

the TPR with other commands at training 

management conferences. Based on an analysis of 

eight years of TPR data for a specialty, ATC could 

recommend an adjusted TPR that was two percent 

higher or lower than the number required to man the 

career field at 100 percent. Air Training Command 

used the Smooth Flow approach for the first time at 

the training flow management committee meeting 

held from 7-11 March 1983. 

Training Technology Applications Program 

The Training Technology Applications Program 

(TTAP) was established on 23 December 1982, but it 

did not get on its feet until 1983. Air Training 

Command created TTAP to coordinate programs to 

transfer research and technology into training and to 

field test training innovations in an operational 

setting. The objectives of the program were to 

identify new training technology, develop priorities 

for applying the technology, purchase test equipment, 

evaluate the tests, and upgrade the successful 

technology to operational status. In the course of the 

year, TTAP made some real progress, approving and 

funding 16 projects originated by HQ ATC and the 

technical training wings. Among them was a project 

involving a programmable arc welding trainer for 
1983 

240

Sheppard that would provide low cost initial 

instruction in a hazard free environment and a test at 

Lackland designed to identify reading problems of 

recruits in basic military training. While TTAP was 

not a panacea for technical training problems, it did 

offer a means of identifying, testing, and funding 

training innovations in a controlled setting. 

Sentinel Aspen 

As part of a major effort to upgrade intelligence 

training, ATC issued a statement of need for Sentinel 

Aspen in January 1983. Under the Sentinel Aspen 

umbrella, the command intended to address four 

areas of general intelligence training that required 

modernization: target selection and weaponeering 

calculations; the collection, processing, exploitation, 

and dissemination of information obtained through 

imagery; interface with operational indications and 

warning systems; and fusion or interface concepts in 

use in the intelligence community. Planners expected 

the modernization program to cost on the order of 

$56 million. To carry out the upgrade, ATC 

concentrated on the development of five things: a 

General Imagery Intelligence Training System 

(GIITS), Intelligence Data Handling Systems, an 

Intelligence Applications Training Module, an 

Indications and Warning Training Module, and an 

Intelligence Fusion Training Module. In 1983 the 

command decided to focus mainly on the 

development of GIITS, and the Air Force awarded 

contracts to Ford Aerospace Corporation and 

Goodyear Aerospace Corporation to come up with a 

system that incorporated the traditional photo 

analyst's light table and optics with a computerized 

analysis system that featured imagery displayed in 

digital form and manipulated on video terminals. 

MILITARY TRAINING 

Engineer Recruitment 

Procurement efforts to alleviate a critical shortage of 

military engineers that existed since the 1970s finally 

began paying off for the Air Force in 1983. From a 

shortfall of approximately 1,200 engineers in 1979, 

the projected overall engineer strength for FY84 was 

more than 100 percent. This turnaround was a 

significant achievement for Recruiting Service. New 

incentive programs allowed the Air Force to compete 

with the higher salaries civilian employers offered. 

The most successful programs were the College 

Senior Engineer Program, which allowed engineering 

students to enlist and receive pay and benefits as E-3s 

during their senior year; they attended OTS after 

graduation. The Undergraduate Engineer Conversion 

Program sent college graduates back to school to earn 

a second degree (in engineering) after attending OTS. 

In a laboratory setting at Goodfellow AFB, Texas, a student examines photo imagery. 
241

1984

Training philosophy was about to change. The ATC commander announced that Air Training Command 

was moving away from its existing policy of training to minimum skill levels and, instead, moving toward a 

program of training airmen to the fullest extent that resources allowed. The command's goal was to provide 

using agencies with individuals immediately able to perform all assigned tasks. While it was more expensive 

to extend training, such a program did lessen the heavy on-the-job training load carried by the operational 

commands. Also by 1984, ATC was spending over $1 million on the Installation Restoration Program--a 

DOD effort to clean up toxic and hazardous waste sites. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1984) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 13 

Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; Colorado--Lowry; Illinois--

Chanute; Mississippi--Columbus and Keesler; Oklahoma--Vance; 

Texas--Goodfellow, Lackland, Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, and 

Sheppard 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 53,966 (7,568 officers; 32,153 enlisted; 14,245 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,393 (T-37B, T-38A, T-39, T-41A, T-43A) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

6 numbered air force equivalent units: 

 Air Force Mil Trng Ctr, Lackland AFB TX 

 Chanute Tech Trng Ctr, Chanute AFB IL 

 Keesler Tech Trng Ctr, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Ctr, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Ctr, Sheppard AFB TX 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Randolph AFB TX 

1 air division equivalent unit: 

 Air Force Reserve Officers' Trng Corps, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

2 wing equivalent units: 

 Officer Training School, Lackland AFB, TX 

 USAF Instrument Flight Ctr, Randolph AFB TX 

1 combat crew training wing: 

 3636th (Survival), Fairchild AFB WA 

8 flying training wings: 

 12th, Randolph AFB TX 

 14th, Columbus AFB MS 

 47th, Laughlin AFB TX 

 64th, Reese AFB TX 

Airman Basic Virginia Queen, above, was the 

first female to go through the security

specialist course at Lackland AFB, Texas.
1984 

242

 71st, Vance AFB OK 

 80th, Sheppard AFB TX 

 82d, Williams AFB AZ 

 323d, Mather AFB CA 

1 technical training wing: 

 3480th (USAF Cryptological Training Center), 

Goodfellow AFB TX 

4 independent group and equivalent units: 

 Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

 Foreign Military Training Affairs Group, 

Randolph AFB TX 

 San Antonio Contracting Center, San Antonio 

AFS TX 

 San Antonio Real Property Maintenance Agency, 

San Antonio AFS TX 

12 independent squadron and equivalent units: 

 USAF Occupational Measurement Center, 

Randolph AFB TX 

 3302d Computer Services, Randolph AFB TX 

 3303d Contracting, Randolph AFB TX 

 3304th School (ATC NCO Academy), Lackland 

AFB TX 

 3305th School (ISD), Randolph AFB TX 

 3306th Test and Evaluation, Edwards AFB CA 

 3307th Test and Evaluation (Acquisition 

Management), Randolph AFB TX 

 3308th Technical Training (Advisory), Randolph 

AFB TX 

 3309th Training Readiness, Randolph AFB TX 

 3314th Mgmt Engrg, Randolph AFB TX 

 3507th Airman Classification, Lackland AFB TX 

 3588th Flying Training (Helicopter), Fort Rucker 

AL 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

General Iosue remained commander and Maj Gen 

Smothermon, vice commander. 

ORGANIZATION 

Headquarters Reduction 

In the DOD Authorization Act of 1984, Congress 

directed the Secretary of Defense to reduce by 5 

percent (later 7.45 percent) the number of military 

and civilian authorizations in management 

headquarters in the Office of the Secretary of 

Defense, DOD agencies, and military departments. 

To ATC that meant its ceiling dropped from 1,301 to 

1,204 positions. Air Training Command managed the 

reduction by realignment. Later in the year 

authorizations were transferred from the headquarters 

to two newly activated units: the 3308th Technical 

Training Squadron (Advisory) and the 3309th 

Training Readiness Squadron. 

DCS/Information Systems 

A new Deputy Chief of Staff, Information Systems 

formed at HQ ATC on 1 October. It was a 

combination of the Office of Computer Resources 

and the Directorate of Communications-Electronics. 

3308th Technical Training Squadron 

On 1 April ATC activated the 3308th Technical 

Training Squadron (Advisory) at Randolph and 

assigned it to the headquarters. With the organization 

of this unit, ATC combined all of its training 

technology and technical training advisory services 

under a single organization. 

3309th Training Readiness Squadron 

Air Training Command activated the 3309th Training 

Readiness Squadron at Randolph and assigned it to 

the headquarters on 1 July. The 3309th managed the 

command's readiness program and served as ATC's 

intelligence function. The last time HQ ATC had an 

office dedicated to intelligence functions was in 

1975, but a headquarters reduction had caused its 

loss. 

3785th Field Training Wing 

Beginning in late 1983, HQ ATC conducted a study 

of the field training program, looking at organization 

and mission performance. The study group found that 

the training detachments did an excellent job in the 

field. It was organization that caused problems. From 

its establishment on 1 April 1976, the 3785th Field 

Training Group had operated a worldwide teaching 

program with the aid of a single squadron--the 

3751st. Through the years, the lines of authority and 

responsibility had become indistinct. To define these 

elements more clearly, the study group recommended 

elevating the 3785th to wing level and assigning four 

squadrons to the wing. With Air Staff approval, on 

1 July 1984, ATC redesignated the 3785th Field 

Training Group as the 3785th Field Training Wing, 

assigned the 3751st Field Training Squadron to the 

wing, and activated three additional field training 

squadrons: the 3752d, 3753d, and 3754th. Like the 

group, the 3785th Field Training Wing, remained 

assigned to the Sheppard Technical Training Center. 
1984 

243

First Sergeant Academy 

Air Training Command established a First Sergeant 

Academy at Keesler on 24 January and assigned it to 

the 3300th Technical Training Wing. 

Support Squadron 

In an effort to attract more qualified officers to fill 

support roles, ATC reorganized some of its services, 

transportation, supply, and security police divisions 

as squadrons. On 1 April the command activated 

services squadrons at Chanute, Keesler, Lowry, and 

Sheppard. Randolph, Mather, Keesler, Lackland, and 

Lowry gained transportation squadrons on 1 July, and 

Goodfellow added a supply squadron. On the same 

day, ATC activated security police squadrons at 

Columbus, Laughlin, Reese, Vance, and Williams. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

TRIM Implemented 

On 16 January 1984, ATC began using the TimeRelated Instruction Management (TRIM) system, a 

computer system to support flying training activities. 

The first unit to use the system was the 47th Flying 

Training Wing at Laughlin AFB, Texas. 

Navigator-Bombardier Training Ends 

On 6 November 1984, ATC ended navigatorbombardier training at Mather AFB in California. For 

37 years, Mather had provided this instruction. 

However, when SAC decided to phase in a new 

avionics system in the early 1980s, either ATC had to 

upgrade its training equipment at considerable 

expense or transfer training responsibility to SAC. 

Both commands agreed that the best solution was to 

transfer the training to SAC's combat crew training 

school at Castle AFB in California. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Information Systems 

In 1984 the Air Force combined communications and 

data automation to form a new information systems 

career field. Both the officer training (49XX) and the 

enlisted program (491XX) were to begin in 1985. 

Keesler had conducted most of the old 

communications-electronics and data automation 

training and would continue with the new courses. 

However, a small part of the enlisted training 

program would operate at Sheppard. 

An instructor from ATC's survival school at Fairchild AFB, Washington, demonstrates animal 

skinning techniques during survival, evasion, resistance, and escape training for cadets at the Air Force 

Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado. 
1984 

244

Intelligence Training 

On 1 February the Air Force announced that ATC 

would consolidate all intelligence training at 

Goodfellow AFB in northwestern Texas. That meant 

that the cryptologic and intelligence courses at the 

Keesler and Lowry Technical Training Centers, as 

well as those at Offutt AFB in Nebraska, would all 

transfer to Goodfellow, where the 3480th Technical 

Training Wing (USAF Cryptological Training 

Center) operated. The consolidation was expected to 

be complete by 1988. 

Air Base Ground Defense Training 

In May 1984 the Army and Air Force signed a 

memorandum of agreement governing joint force 

development. The agreement included 31 initiatives, 

two of which covered air base ground defense. The 

first made the Army responsible for defense of all Air 

Force installations outside the immediate perimeter 

of the base, while the second directed the Army to 

conduct air base ground defense training for Air 

Force personnel. Air Training Command had 

provided that training at Camp Bullis in Texas. 

However, beginning in October 1985, the Army 

would offer this instruction at Fort Dix, New Jersey. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Push-Pull Mobilization 

Air Training Command gained a new responsibility 

in December 1984--management of Push-Pull 

Mobilization. Headquarters USAF had developed the 

concept in October 1983 in an effort to improve 

response time in a contingency scenario. Basically, 

the Air Staff would identify skills needed and pretrained individual manpower (PIM) to be recalled. 

These personnel would be "pushed" to in-processing 

sites at one of the technical training centers, based on 

career specialty. Then, based on requirements, the 

PIM would be "pulled" from the centers and assigned 

to using organizations. 

"Show the Way" Logo Developed 

In 1984 Recruiting Service developed a logo for Air 

Training Command. Included in the logo were the 

torch of knowledge, taken from the official ATC 

emblem, and the words, "Show the Way." 

An aggressor force makes plans during an air base ground defense training exercise at Camp Bullis, near San 

Antonio, Texas.
245

1985

Budget reduction was a major concern of the ATC leadership. Confronted by the Balanced Budget Act, 

better known as Gramm-Rudman-Hollings, ATC suffered nearly $600 million in cuts in the FY 87 budget. 

With the passage of Gramm-Rudman, the steady growth of defense budgets under the Reagan administration 

came to an end. Although the reductions came from across the training spectrum, the deepest cuts were in 

flying training. These included reductions in undergraduate pilot training for the Air Reserve Forces, a cut in 

flying training hours, and a two-year delay in the tanker-transport-bomber training system. The most 

wrenching cut, however, was the Air Force's decision to cancel the T-46A, the replacement aircraft for the 

T-37. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1985) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 13 

Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; Colorado--Lowry; Illinois--

Chanute; Mississippi--Columbus and Keesler; Oklahoma--Vance; 

Texas--Goodfellow, Lackland, Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, and 

Sheppard 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 53,254 (7,708 officers; 31,984 enlisted; 13,562 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,389 (T-37B, T-38A, T-39A, T-41A, and T-43A) 

The Fairchild T-46 was the next generation trainer the Air Force had proposed to replace the T-37. However, 

a dwindling defense budget caused HQ USAF to cancel acquisition of the new system. 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

7 numbered air force equivalent units: 

 Air Force Mil Trng Ctr, Lackland AFB TX 

 Chanute Tech Trng Ctr, Chanute AFB IL 

 Goodfellow Tech Trng Ctr, Goodfellow AFB TX 

 Keesler Tech Trng Ctr, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Ctr, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Ctr, Sheppard AFB TX 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Randolph AFB TX 

1 air division equivalent unit: 

 Air Force Reserve Officer Trng Corps, Maxwell 

AFB AL 
1985 

246

2 wing equivalent units: 

 Officer Training School, Lackland AFB TX 

 USAF Instrument Flight Ctr, Randolph AFB TX 

1 combat crew training wing: 

 3636th (Survival), Fairchild AFB WA 

8 flying training wings: 

 12th, Randolph AFB TX 

 14th, Columbus AFB MS 

 47th, Laughlin AFB TX 

 64th, Reese AFB TX 

 71st, Vance AFB OK 

 80th, Sheppard AFB TX 

 82d, Williams AFB AZ 

 323d, Mather AFB CA 

4 independent group and equivalent units: 

 Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

 Foreign Mil Trng Affairs Gp, Randolph AFB TX 

 San Antonio Contracting Center, Fort Sam 

Houston TX 

 San Antonio Real Property Maintenance Agency, 

Fort Sam Houston TX 

12 independent squadron and equivalent units: 

 USAF Occupational Measurement Center, 

Randolph AFB TX 

 3302d Computer Services, Randolph AFB TX 

 3303d Contracting, Randolph AFB TX 

 3304th School (ATC NCO Academy), Lackland 

AFB TX 

 3305th School (ISD), Randolph AFB TX 

 3306th Test and Evaluation, Edwards AFB CA 

 3307th Test and Evaluation (Acquisition 

Management), Randolph AFB TX 

 3308th Technical Training (Advisory), Randolph 

AFB TX 

 3309th Training Readiness, Randolph AFB TX 

 3314th Management Engineering, Randolph AFB 

TX 

 3507th Airman Classification, Lackland AFB TX 

 3588th Flying Training (Helicopter), Fort Rucker 

AL 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

Gen Andrew P. Iosue remained the ATC 

commander. On 17 July Maj Gen Charles R. Hamm 

replaced Maj Gen James P. Smothermon as the ATC 

vice commander. General Smothermon became commander of the 314th Air Division and Korean Air 

Defense Sector, Osan Air Base, Korea. 

ORGANIZATION 

Organizational Changes 

Among the significant organizational changes taking 

place during 1985 were the reorganization of base 

supply at ATC bases; the transfer of base contracting 

functions for Kelly AFB from San Antonio 

Contracting Center to the San Antonio Air Logistics 

Center; the reorganization of the consolidated 

maintenance squadrons at Chanute, Lowry, and 

Sheppard Technical Training Centers; and the 

realignment of the Air Force Officer Orientation 

School from Air University to Air Training 

Command and its concomitant relocation from 

Maxwell AFB, Alabama, to Lackland's Medina 

Annex. Also, as a part of a HQ USAF test, Keesler 

and Reese had established mission support 

squadrons, which combined such functions as 

personnel, administration, professional military 

education, and social actions. If the test proved 

successful, the Air Force's standard wing 

organization would then include a mission support 

squadron. 

AFROTC Name Change 

Effective 1 August 1985, the Air Force Reserve 

Officers' Training Corps became the Air Force 

Reserve Officer Training Corps. 

AFROTC cadets practice marksmanship with the 

M-9 pistol during field training. 

Goodfellow Technical Training Center 

As part of the plan to consolidate all Air Force 

intelligence training at Goodfellow AFB in Texas, 

ATC activated the Goodfellow Technical Training 

Center on 1 March, the sixth such training center in 

the command. At the same time, ATC removed the 

parenthetical notation (USAF Cryptological Training 

Center) from the 3480th Technical Training Wing at 
1985 

247

Goodfellow and assigned the wing to the technical 

training center. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

T-46 Cancellation 

After a number of modification and production 

delays, the first flight of the T-46, the replacement for 

the T-37, occurred on 15 October at Edwards AFB, 

California. However, with the Air Force searching for 

ways to meet tighter congressional funding 

limitations, HQ USAF decided to delete funding for 

the continued production of the T-46 from the FY 87 

budget, thereby effectively killing the acquisition 

program. 

Pacer Classic 

Begun in October 1985, Pacer Classic was a 

maintenance program to rebuild and modernize the 

T-38. The venerable T-38, used in flying training for 

nearly a quarter of a century, had begun to show 

signs of wear. Following two wing failures in 1978, 

ATC had initiated a program to replace the T-38's 

wings. Then in 1982 several initiatives were 

undertaken to improve the T-38's J85 engine. These 

efforts eventually developed into Pacer Classic, an 

umbrella program under which the T-38 fleet would 

receive various airframe modifications and engine 

enhancements to prolong its service life and keep it 

flying into the twenty-first century. 

First Woman Enters ENJJPT 

The Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training program at 

Sheppard entered its first female student, Ensign 

Petronella Speerstra from the Netherlands, in 

November 1985. This was a significant development, 

because the NATO course was designed to produce 

fighter pilots, and women had previously been barred 

from serving in that capacity. 

Fixed-Wing Qualification 

Air Training Command began a new fixed-wing 

qualification program on 1 October that provided for 

proficiency advancement and qualified helicopter 

pilots to fly fixed-wing aircraft. Training was 

removed from UPT, and flying was conducted in the 

upgrade sections of the T-37 and T-38 squadrons at 

the UPT bases. Randolph would gain all new fixedwing qualification entries in January 1986. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Computer Technology 

The command's technical training philosophy 

continued to be that training should be provided to 

the fullest extent that resources allowed rather than 

just to the minimum skill levels required. However, 

ATC's resources had limits, and training in support of 

this philosophy was expensive. So, ATC had to look 

for innovative ways of supplying the degree of 

training the major commands wanted. One of those 

ways was a heavy reliance on computer technology 

for such uses as developing exportable courseware. 

To provide support for building exportable training, 

HQ USAF approved the establishment of a systems 

support activity at Keesler. By the end of the year, 

Keesler's systems support activity was at work on its 

first task developing exportable courseware for two 

specialties, administration and personnel. 

B-1B and Peacekeeper Training 

During the year, ATC continued to develop training 

programs for two new weapon systems--the B-1B 

and the Peacekeeper missile. Field training began at 

the first B-1B base--Dyess, Texas, in January 1985, 

several months before the first new bomber was 

delivered. The technical training wings at Chanute 

and Lowry would provide portions of the 

Peacekeeper missile training. 

An armament student uses a laser gun to align the 

AGM-86B air-launched cruise missile to its mount.

Student analysts at the cryptology school at 

Goodfellow AFB, Texas, practice surveillance and 

warning techniques during an exercise.
1985 

248

MISCELLANEOUS 

AIDS Screening Becomes Mandatory 

During 1985 in the Department of Defense, there was 

growing concern over the spread of acquired immune 

deficiency syndrome or AIDS. On 1 October the 

Department of Defense directed that all recruits and 

officer candidates would be tested for the disease. If 

two tests were positive, the individual would be given 

a more sophisticated and expensive test. If this were 

positive, the entrant would be medically disqualified 

from the service. 

Hurricane Elena 

On 2 September Hurricane Elena struck the 

Mississippi gulf coast, near Keesler AFB, causing 

extensive damage. While most of Keesler's technical 

training facilities escaped damage, officials halted 

training so that all personnel were available to assist 

with recovery efforts along the gulf coast. Command 

headquarters directed Lackland to stop sending basic 

military training graduates to the school for several 

days. Training resumed at Keesler less than a week 

later. 

ATC provided field training at Dyess AFB for personnel working on the new B-1B bomber (above) and 

offered portions of the MX Peacekeeper training at its technical training centers. 

The MX Peacekeeper was the newest 

intercontinental ballistic missile in the Air 

Force inventory.
249

1986

When ATC changed commanders on 28 August, it was more than a ceremony. It marked the reversion of 

the ATC commander position from a four-star to a three-star position. However, the change had little, if any, 

effect on the operation of the command. During the year, ATC added a new training mission, that of 

providing undergraduate space training. The command leadership spent much of their time working around 

budgetary restrictions caused by the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings legislation. Problems directly affecting 

personnel management included restrictions on permanent change of station moves, a congressionally 

mandated reduction in officer end strength, and a statutory requirement to cut the size of the command 

headquarters by 10 percent. One troubling personnel problem was pilot retention. In FY 86 the Air Force 

noted pilot retention dropped to its lowest level since 1981. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1986) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 13 

Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; Colorado--Lowry; Illinois--

Chanute; Mississippi--Columbus and Keesler; Oklahoma--Vance; 

Texas--Goodfellow, Lackland, Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, and 

Sheppard 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 54,053 (8,138 officers; 31,868 enlisted; 14,047 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,359 (T-37B, T-38A, T-39A, T-41A, T-43A) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

7 numbered air force equivalent units: 

 Air Force Mil Trng Ctr, Lackland AFB TX 

 Chanute Tech Trng Ctr, Chanute AFB IL 

 Goodfellow Tech Trng Ctr, Goodfellow AFB TX 

 Keesler Tech Trng Ctr, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Ctr, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Ctr, Sheppard AFB TX 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Randolph AFB TX 

1 air division equivalent unit: 

 Air Force Reserve Officer Trng Corps, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

1 wing equivalent units: 

 USAF Instrument Flight Center, Randolph AFB 

TX 

1 combat crew training wing: 

 3636th (Survival), Fairchild AFB WA 

8 flying training wings: 

 12th, Randolph AFB TX 

 14th, Columbus AFB MS 

 47th, Laughlin AFB TX 

 64th, Reese AFB TX 

 71st, Vance AFB OK 

 80th, Sheppard AFB TX 

 82d, Williams AFB AZ 

 323d, Mather AFB CA 

4 independent group and equivalent units: 

 Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

 Foreign Military Training Affairs Group, 

Randolph AFB TX 

 San Antonio Contracting Center, Fort Sam 

Houston TX 

 San Antonio Real Property Maintenance Agency, 

Fort Sam Houston TX 

11 independent squadron and equivalent units: 

 ATC Operations Center, Randolph AFB TX 

 USAF Occupational Measurement Center, 

Randolph AFB TX 

 3303d Contracting, Randolph AFB TX 

 3304th School (ATC NCO Academy), Lackland 

AFB TX 
1986 

250

 3305th School (ISD), Randolph AFB TX 

 3306th Test and Evaluation, Edwards AFB CA 

 3307th Test and Evaluation (Acquisition 

Management), Randolph AFB TX 

 3308th Technical Training (Advisory), Randolph 

AFB TX 

 3314th Management Engineering, Randolph AFB 

TX 

 3507th Airman Classification, Lackland AFB TX 

 3588th Flying Training (Helicopter), Fort Rucker 

AL 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

Lt Gen 

John A. Shaud 

 Lieutenant General John A. Shaud assumed 

command of ATC on 28 August 1986 from Gen 

Andrew P. Iosue, who retired. This marked the 

reversion of the ATC commander position from four 

to three stars. General Shaud came to Randolph from 

the Pentagon where he served as Air Force Deputy 

Chief of Staff for Personnel. Major General 

Charles R. Hamm continued as vice commander. 

ORGANIZATION 

Air Training Information Systems Division 

In 1984 HQ USAF published a plan to integrate 

management of information throughout the Air 

Force. According to the plan, management of 

information systems would be a "dual hat" 

arrangement in which host major commands would 

retain operational control, and Air Force 

Communications Command (AFCC) would exercise 

administrative management of personnel assigned to 

the information systems function. To accommodate 

the integration of communications and data 

automation functions in ATC, the Air Training 

Information Systems Division (ATISD) was activated 

on 1 January 1986 as a numbered air force-equivalent 

unit. It was formed through the consolidation of 

ATC's DCS/Information Systems, the 3302d 

Computer Services Squadron, Detachment 7 of HQ 

AFCC, and other AFCC resources. The ATISD 

designation was short lived, however, because AFCC 

redesignated it as the Air Training Communications 

Division on 1 November 1986. 

Officer Training School Realigned 

When ATC established OTS in 1959, it also assigned 

the school to the Lackland Military Training Center. 

On 1 June 1972, OTS was realigned under HQ ATC 

to put it more on a par with the Air Force Reserve 

Officer Training Corps (AFROTC), which was a 

numbered air force equivalent unit reporting to Air 

University, and with the Air Force Academy, which 

was a special operating agency reporting to HQ 

USAF. However, General Shaud's management 

philosophy was that senior field commanders, such as 

the AFMTC commander, should exercise control 

over related command missions, especially when 

located on the same base. Therefore, on 

14 November 1986, ATC reassigned OTS from the 

headquarters to AFMTC. 

ATC Operations Center Activated 

To gain some relief from a congressionally imposed 

manpower ceiling on management headquarters 

personnel, ATC had established the 3309th Training 

Readiness Squadron in 1984. Subsequently, a 

problem arose concerning the performance 

evaluations of officers assigned to the 3309th because 

their records did not indicate a major command 

assignment, though they directly supported ATC. On 

1 January 1986 the command established a named 

unit--the ATC Operations Center at Randolph--and 

An instructor provides "hands-on" training inactivated the 3309th. to an 

electronic warfare officer trainee in Mather's

AN/ALQ-T4 simulator.
1986 

251

3302d Computer Service Squadron 

On 1 January 1986, ATC inactivated its 3302d 

Computer Service Squadron at Randolph as part of 

the activation of AFCC's Air Training Information 

Systems Division. 

Comptroller Squadrons 

On 1 July ATC established comptroller squadrons at 

seven of its bases--Chanute, Keesler, Lackland, 

Lowry, Sheppard, Mather, and Randolph. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

Navigator Training 

On 15 July specialized undergraduate navigator 

training (SUNT) replaced the standard navigator 

training program, when the first class began the core 

course at Mather AFB in California. Under SUNT, 

all navigators would receive a 65 day common core 

training course. The students would then be 

selected for one of three training tracks: 

fighter, attack, reconnaissance; tanker, 

transport, bomber; or electronic warfare 

training. Students received their wings upon 

completion of the specialized training. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Proposed Consolidation of Survival 

Training 

Ever since the survival school moved from 

Stead AFB, Nevada, to Fairchild AFB, 

Washington, in 1966 there had been periodic 

discussions about consolidating the combat 

survival course at Fairchild and the water 

survival course at Homestead AFB, Florida. In 

1985 HQ USAF approved an ATC proposal to 

put the two courses at an ATC base in a more 

temperate climate, preferably Keesler. 

However, budget cuts brought on by the 

Gramm-Rudman bill and pressure from the 

Washington state congressional delegation 

combined to kill the proposal in 1986. 

Nurses participate in a training session at Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center, Lackland AFB, Texas.

Trainees learn to follow a technical order on jet engine 

inspection procedures as part of a jet engine class at 

Chanute AFB, Illinois. 
1986 

252

Undergraduate Space Training 

By the 1980s, the role of space systems in 

intelligence, communications, and weather reconnaissance had become so pervasive that the Air Force 

decided to establish a military command structure 

devoted to space operations. Headquarters USAF 

activated the Air Force Space Command 

(AFSPACECOM) in 1982. Since other services were 

also involved in space operations, in 1985 the 

Defense Department established the US Space 

Command. The Air Force also needed a space 

training program, and in 1985 HQ USAF decided that 

AFSPACECOM would take over mission specific, 

upgrade, and on-the-job training, while ATC would 

conduct an undergraduate space training (UST) 

course and AFSC awarding technical courses. 

Undergraduate space training would parallel UPT 

and UNT as a general operational training course. 

Like the undergraduate flying training courses, UST 

provided a basic preparation for space operational 

assignments, while the using command provided 

further specific training. The first UST course began 

at Lowry AFB on 9 October. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Military Construction 

During 1986 major construction projects worth over 

$50 million were completed at ATC bases. The 

largest share of the work took place at Goodfellow, 

primarily because the Air Force was consolidating 

intelligence training there and because construction 

had been put off at this base since 1978 because of 

two separate efforts to close Goodfellow. Also to 

provide housing for Goodfellow's increasing 

population, ATC began its first build-lease housing 

project. 

Anti-Terrorism Planning 

After the United States bombing raid on Libya in 

1984, experts predicted an expansion of global 

terrorist activity. In response, ATC established an 

Antiterrorism Committee to study enhanced security 

measures and awareness training. The command 

tested new entry control procedures at Williams and 

Chanute and installed new barriers to protect aircraft. 

Astronaut Sally Ride about to be dragged through Biscayne Bay as part of her water survival training at 

Homestead AFB, Florida. 
253

1987

Air Training Command underwent significant mission and organizational changes in 1987. The command 

gained a new mission in February, with the activation of the San Antonio Joint Military Medical Command 

(SA-JMMC). The biggest organizational change involved a major reorganization of HQ ATC. Guided by his 

perception that there were four "action" DCSs in the headquarters--Operations, Technical Training, 

Recruiting Service, and Medical Services and Training--the ATC commander realigned a number of 

functions on his staff. Also, HQ USAF approved the disestablishment of the San Antonio Real Property 

Maintenance Agency and the San Antonio Contracting Center. Besides organizational changes, the 

command also found itself facing the possible loss of a base, when first Lowry and then Mather, were 

considered for closure. Luckily, a combination of political pressure and local interest succeeded in removing 

either base from consideration for closure. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1987) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 13 

Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; Colorado--Lowry; Illinois--

Chanute; Mississippi--Columbus and Keesler; Oklahoma--Vance; 

Texas--Goodfellow, Lackland, Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, and 

Sheppard 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 52,579 (7,336 officers; 31,441 enlisted; 13,802 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,357 (T-37B, T-38A, T-39A, T-4lA, and T-43A) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

7 numbered air force equivalent units: 

 Air Force Mil Trng Ctr, Lackland AFB TX 

 Chanute Tech Trng Ctr, Chanute AFB IL 

 Goodfellow Tech Trng Ctr, Goodfellow AFB TX 

 Keesler Tech Trng Ctr, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Ctr, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Ctr, Sheppard AFB TX 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Randolph AFB TX 

2 air division equivalent units: 

 Air Force Reserve Officer Trng Corps, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

 San Antonio Joint Military Medical Command, 

Randolph AFB TX 

1 wing equivalent units: 

 USAF Instrument Flight Center, Randolph AFB 

TX 

1 combat crew training wing: 

 3636th, Fairchild AFB WA 

In February the Army and Air Force combined 

medical assets at San Antonio to form the Joint 

Military Medical Command. This consolidation 

included the Air Force's largest medical center, 

Wilford Hall (shown above) and the Army's 

second largest medical facility, Brooke Army

Medical Center. 
1987 

254

8 flying training wings: 

 12th, Randolph AFB TX 

 14th, Columbus AFB MS 

 47th, Laughlin AFB TX 

 64th, Reese AFB TX 

 71st, Vance AFB OK 

 80th, Sheppard AFB TX 

 82d, Williams AFB AZ 

 323d, Mather AFB CA 

4 independent group and equivalent units: 

 Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

 Foreign Military Training Affairs Group, 

Randolph AFB TX 

 San Antonio Contracting Center, Fort Sam 

Houston TX 

 San Antonio Real Property Maintenance Agency, 

Fort Sam Houston TX 

13 independent squadron and equivalent units: 

 ATC Civilian Automated Training Office, 

Lackland AFB TX 

 ATC Operations Center, Randolph AFB TX 

 USAF Occupational Measurement Center, 

Randolph AFB TX 

 3303d Contracting, Randolph AFB TX 

 3304th School (ATC NCO Academy), Lackland 

AFB TX 

 3305th School (ISD), Randolph AFB TX 

 3306th Test and Evaluation, Edwards AFB CA 

 3307th Test and Evaluation (Acquisition 

Management), Randolph AFB TX 

 3308th Technical Training (Advisory), Randolph 

AFB TX 

 3313th Medical Service, Randolph AFB TX 

 3314th Management Engineering, Randolph AFB 

TX 

 3507th Airman Classification, Lackland AFB TX 

 3588th Flying Training (Helicopter), Fort Rucker 

AL 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

Lieutenant General John A. Shaud continued to 

serve as the ATC commander. On 12 June 1987, Maj 

Gen Thomas A. Baker replaced Maj Gen Charles R. 

Hamm as the Vice Commander of Air Training 

Command. General Hamm became the 

Superintendent of the Air Force Academy at 

Colorado Springs, Colorado. 

ORGANIZATION 

DCS/Operations and Readiness 

Effective 1 January, the ATC commander directed 

that the Readiness Division in DCS/Plans and 

Requirements move to DCS/Operations. Concurrently, DCS/Operations became DCS/Operations and 

Readiness. 

Students at Chanute AFB, Illinois, learn about firefighting by handling real fires in a controlled setting. In a 

flaming laboratory, they learn both fire supervision and rescue techniques. Advanced training to prepare 

students to serve as fire chiefs included the use of a model depicting a typical base (next page). 
1987 

255

Headquarters Reorganization 

Looking at the way plans and requirements functions 

were spread among most of the DCSs, General Shaud 

decided the headquarters needed a major reorganization. In Shaud's opinion, ATC needed four action 

DCSs--Operations, Technical Training, Recruiting 

Service, and the Surgeon. The other DCSs--Plans, 

Logistics, Comptroller, Civil Engineering, and 

Personnel--would be the support agencies. By 

organizing under those guidelines, Shaud believed 

there would be clearer lines of responsibility between 

staff agencies. As of 1 April, all planners went to 

work for DCS/Plans and Requirements (XP), and XP 

established a requirements directorate. The 

headquarters disestablished the office of the Assistant 

Chief of Staff (ACS), Commissioning Programs, and 

changed the DCS/Recruiting Service designation to 

DCS/Recruiting Service and Commissioning 

Programs. Recruiting not only gained responsibility 

for commissioning programs, but it also became 

manager of AFROTC and OTS. (Later in the year, 

Recruiting Service also assumed responsibility for 

recruiting scholarship and non-scholarship applicants 

for AFROTC.) In addition, the ACS/Commissioning 

Program's management responsibilities for CCAF 

passed to Technical Training, and the Foreign 

Military Training Affairs Group no longer reported 

directly to the ATC commander but rather became a 

direct reporting unit of DCS/Plans and Requirements. 

A few months later, on 26 June, XP gained 

management responsibility for two more programs: 

the Defense Language Institute, English Language 

Center and Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training. 

DCS/Medical Services and Training 

Air Training Command redesignated its office of the 

command surgeon as the DCS/Medical Services and 

Training, effective 15 October. The major reason for 

that change was to show the increased responsibility 

that this office had undertaken since the activation of 

the San Antonio Joint Military Medical Command. 

Civilian Automated Training Office (CATO) 

The command activated the Civilian Automated 

Training Office (CATO) at Lackland on 1 October 

1987. Its purpose was to centralize all civilian 

training activities in ATC, thereby reducing the 

workload in each of the Central Civilian Personnel 

Offices scattered throughout the command. 

Joint Military Medical Command Formed 

In preparation for the establishment of the San 

Antonio Joint Military Medical Command (SAJMMC) on 15 January, Air Force Systems Command 

reassigned Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center to 

ATC. Then on 16 February the San Antonio Joint 

Military Medical Command was activated at 

Randolph and assigned to ATC. By establishing this 

command, the Army and Navy were able to 

centralize control of all their medical facilities in the 

San Antonio area. Staffed by Army and Air Force 

personnel, the new command oversaw the operation 
1987 

256

of Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center, Brooke Army 

Medical Center, the US Army Dental Activity, and 

the clinics at Randolph, Kelly, and Brooks. To assist 

with the headquarters management, ATC activated 

the 3313th Medical Services Squadron (JMMC) at 

Randolph on 1 March. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

SUPT Changes 

Late in the year the Air Force implemented a number 

of policy changes affecting the specialized 

undergraduate pilot training (SUPT) program. In 

particular, training tracks and basing strategy were 

changed. Where before there had been fighter-attackreconnaissance and tanker-transport-bomber tracks, 

now there were bomber and fighter or tanker and 

transport tracks. In addition, all training would be 

provided at a single base. Reese was the first base 

programmed to offer SUPT, beginning in mid-1991. 

New Approach to Navigator Training 

At the end of February, Mather discontinued 

undergraduate navigator training. Air Training 

Command then shifted to specialized undergraduate 

navigator training or SUNT. Following a common 

core course, students then entered one of three tracks: 

fighter-attack-reconnaissance, tanker transport 

bomber, or electronic warfare. Students did not 

receive their navigator rating until they had 

completed track training. 

Aviation Leadership Program 

For many years, ATC had provided flying training 

for Latin American students. However, enrollment 

numbers had fallen off during the mid-1960s, as US 

involvement in Vietnam increased. But by the early 

1980s, US interests in Latin America and the 

Caribbean had grown substantially, leading to the 

formation of the Aviation Leadership Program 

(ALP), a flying training program that Air Training 

Command conducted. Through this program, the US 

government had the opportunity to build better 

relations with future military leaders in Latin 

America and the Caribbean. The first group of ALP 

students began English language training at Lackland 

in April. 

New Paint Scheme for T-37s 

On 2 July the Air Staff approved the blue and white 

paint scheme designed for ATC's T-37 fleet by Keith 

Ferris. A rollout ceremony took place at Randolph on 

31 August 1987 for the first T-37 (tail #59-0382) 

painted in this design. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Undergraduate Space Training 

Air Training Command graduated its first 

undergraduate space training (UST) class in February 

at Lowry. Then on 1 April HQ ATC moved 

management of the UST program from 

DCS/Technical Training to DCS/Operations. 

Rivet Workforce 

The Air Force implemented Rivet Workforce on 30 

April, a service-wide initiative to create a more 

flexible, survivable, mobile workforce able to support 

USAF fighting needs across the spectrum of possible 

conflict. Rivet Workforce involved the restructuring 

of 21 career fields. By combining similar tasks, the 

Air Force combined the 21 AFSCs into 16 career 

fields. 

4-Level Training 

Because of the growing complexity of weapons 

systems, ATC was unable at times to provide 

sufficient weapons-specific training. Operational 

commands assigned their own personnel to provide 

the necessary training. A year-long test of an 

ATC/TAC training initiative to provide more handson training at the technical training centers, known as 

“4-level training,” began when six students entered 

jet engine maintenance training at Chanute on 

20 October. 

MILITARY TRAINING 

Recruiting Goal 

The Air Force dropped Recruiting Service's nonprior 

service recruiting goal for FY88 to 40,000 positions--

the lowest recruitment goal ever assigned--in 

response to declining defense spending. The 

Recruiting Service added AFROTC recruiting as a 

formal goal in FY88. Prior to the 1988-89 academic 

year, Recruiting Service had focused its efforts on 

recruiting for the Officer Training School and the 

Health Professions direct commissioning program 

and only indirectly supported AFROTC recruiting. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Contract Maintenance 

In 1986 in an effort to cut maintenance costs, ATC 

began looking at the possibility of converting aircraft 

maintenance at UPT bases, as well as training 

equipment maintenance at the centers, from military 

operation to civil service or contract, whichever was 

more cost-effective. By the end of 1987, the 

command had decided to convert maintenance at four 

bases--Columbus, Chanute, Lowry, and Sheppard--to 

contract maintenance beginning in April 1988. 
257

1988

In fiscal year 1988, ATC faced severe funding limitations, particularly in the areas of training, civilian pay, 

and medical programs. The command had to institute a civilian hiring freeze. Total budget for technical 

training dropped by almost 15.7 percent from FY 87 levels. In the words of General Oaks, the ATC 

commander, the impacts of these reductions "on our mission would have been catastrophic were it not for 

reduced accession levels and deferred training demands [that] enabled us to take short-term actions to 

manage this level." Looking forward, only four items on ATC's FY 90 budget proposal received funds: an 

extensive program to rebuild and renovate Lackland; construction of new facilities for the Defense Language 

Institute; the aviation leadership program, a pilot training program for Latin American students; and the 

primary aircraft training system or PATS, an aircraft to replace the T-37. 

An instructor at Sheppard AFB, Texas, guides students in learning to use test equipment and tools for 

installation of fiber optic cable.

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1988) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 13 

Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; Colorado--Lowry; Illinois--

Chanute; Mississippi--Columbus and Keesler; Oklahoma--Vance; 

Texas--Goodfellow, Lackland, Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, and 

Sheppard 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 50,755 (7,269 officers; 28,957 enlisted; 14,529 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,363 (T-37B, T-38A, T/CT-39A, T-41A, T-43A) 
1988 

258

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

7 numbered air force equivalent units: 

 Air Force Mil Trng Ctr, Lackland AFB TX 

 Chanute Tech Trng Ctr, Chanute AFB IL 

 Goodfellow Tech Trng Ctr, Goodfellow AFB TX 

 Keesler Tech Trng Ctr, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Ctr, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Ctr, Sheppard AFB TX 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Randolph AFB TX 

2 air division equivalent units: 

 Air Force Reserve Officer Trng Corps, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

 San Antonio Joint Military Medical Command, 

Randolph AFB TX 

1 wing equivalent unit: 

 USAF Instrument Flight Center, Randolph AFB 

TX 

1 combat crew training wing: 

 3636th (Survival), Fairchild AFB WA 

8 flying training wings: 

 12th, Randolph AFB TX 

 14th, Columbus AFB MS 

 47th, Laughlin AFB TX 

 64th, Reese AFB TX 

 71st, Vance AFB OK 

 80th, Sheppard AFB TX 

 82d, Williams AFB AZ 

 323d, Mather AFB CA 

4 independent group and equivalent units: 

 Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

 Foreign Mil Trng Affairs Gp, Randolph AFB TX 

 San Antonio Contracting Center, Fort Sam 

Houston TX 

 San Antonio Real Property Maintenance Agency, 

Fort Sam Houston TX 

14 independent squadron and equivalent units: 

 ATC Civilian Automated Training Office, 

Lackland AFB TX 

 ATC Operations Center, Randolph AFB TX 

 USAF Occupational Measurement Center, 

Randolph AFB TX 

 3302d Technical Training, Keesler AFB MS 

 3303d Contracting, Randolph AFB TX 

 3304th School (ATC NCO Academy), Lackland 

AFB TX 

 3305th School (ISD), Randolph AFB TX 

 3306th Test and Evaluation, Edwards AFB CA 

 3307th Test and Evaluation (Acquisition 

Management), Randolph AFB TX 

 3308th Technical Training (Advisory), Randolph 

AFB TX 

 3313th Medical Service, Randolph AFB TX 

 3314th Management Engineering, Randolph AFB 

TX 

 3507th Airman Classification, Lackland AFB TX 

 3588th Flying Training (Helicopter), Fort Rucker 

AL 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

Lt Gen 

Robert C. Oaks 

 Lieutenant General Robert C. Oaks replaced 

General Shaud as the ATC commander on 6 June. 

General Shaud became Chief of Staff, Supreme 

Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. General Oaks 

came to ATC from Naples, Italy, where he had 

served as Commander, Allied Air Forces Southern 

Europe and Deputy Commander in Chief, United 

States Air Forces in Europe for the Southern Area. A 

few months later, on 24 October, ATC also changed 

vice commanders. Major General Thomas A. Baker 

received his third star and became the Commander, 

Seventh Air Force, at Osan Air Base in Korea. His 

successor was Maj Gen Robert S. Delligatti, the ATC 

Deputy Chief of Staff, Plans and Requirements. 

ORGANIZATION 

3302d Technical Training Squadron 

On 1 July ATC replaced the Systems Support 

Activity, in operation at Keesler since 1985, with the 

newly-activated 3302d Technical Training Squadron. 

The squadron reported to the Keesler Technical 

Training Center until 1 November 1988, when Air 

Training Command reassigned it as a direct reporting 

unit of HQ ATC. Officials believed this change 

would make it easier for the 3302d to provide 
1988 

259

computer-based instruction assistance to all the 

centers. 

Family Support Centers 

In 1980, as a part of a conference on families, the Air 

Force identified a need for family support centers. By 

assisting families, the Air Force felt it would 

"improve retention and productivity." However, it 

wasn't until 1988 that ATC began establishing family 

support centers throughout the command. As of 

31 December, ATC had four full service centers in 

operation at Chanute, Lowry, Mather, and Sheppard, 

and six limited-service centers had opened at 

Goodfellow, Lackland, Laughlin, Reese, Keesler, and 

Williams. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

Pilot Selection and Classification System 

Under the old classification system, student pilots did 

not learn which category of aircraft they would fly 

operationally until about eight weeks before they 

completed pilot training. At that time, an advanced 

training recommendation board would meet, review 

the flying performance of the students, and determine 

follow-on assignments. As part of the switch from 

generalized to specialized training, ATC planned to 

implement a new selection and classification system 

to categorize students before they entered flight 

training. The major reason for moving the 

classification decision to the beginning of training 

was a desire to eliminate the negative connotations 

associated with not making the fighter-attackreconnaissance cut under the old system. By letting 

prospective pilots know at the start what category of 

aircraft they could expect to fly upon graduation, the 

Air Force hoped to instill in them a greater sense of 

dedication to and identification with their particular 

major weapon system. Air Training Command 

planned to implement the new selection and 

classification system in 1991. 

Specialized UPT 

Air Training Command's return to specialized 

undergraduate pilot training (SUPT) began in late 

1964 when HQ USAF asked Air University to 

forecast the Air Force's pilot training needs in the 

1970s. Nothing conclusive came of that study, but it 

raised the question of whether generalized or 

specialized UPT was the best path to follow. Several 

years and many studies later, the Air Force finally 

decided to implement SUPT. However, before the 

Air Force could begin, Congress wanted to see a 

master plan outlining how the Air Force intended to 

proceed. In April 1988 ATC produced the USAF 

Trainer Masterplan. It compared the relative merits 

and shortcomings of four variations of an improved 

UPT program, and it described in detail the course of 

action advocated by the Air Force. Those four 

variations included a modernized UPT that retained 

single-track generalized training, the all-through 

trainer system which also followed the single-track 

generalized concept, an alternate SUPT program, and 

SUPT. According to the trainer masterplan, SUPT 

would provide the highest quality graduate at the 

lowest cost. However, key to the success of any of 

these options were two modification programs, the 

Pictured above is the portable basic attributes 

tester--the Porta-BAT. With the basic attributes 

test, the Air Force hoped to gain information on 

pilot candidates' self confidence, risk tolerance, 

tenacity, situational awareness, and reaction to 

task saturation, as well as on basic stick and 

rudder skills in order to select the best candidates 

for pilot training. 

Officers train in Chanute's full-scale Logistics 

Readiness Center as part of the Aircraft 

Maintenance-Munitions Officers course. 
1988 

260

structural life extension program for the T-37 and the 

Pacer Classic program for the T-38, which would 

insure the planes remained airworthy. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Computer-Based Intelligence Training 

By 1988, ATC had finished consolidating 

intelligence training at Goodfellow and integrating 

the training courses. Several computer-based 

instruction (CBI) programs comprised an important 

aspect of this integration. Sentinel Bright, designed to 

provide linguistic and cryptology training, broke new 

ground in CBI but was plagued by technical 

difficulties. The two phases of Sentinel Aspen, begun 

in 1983, integrated training in imagery intelligence 

and its application in targeting. 

Advanced Technical Fighter 

The Advanced Technical Fighter, which eventually 

became the F/A-22, was announced publicly in 1988. 

ATC began planning to conduct all aspects of 

training at a single centralized site. 

SAN ANTONIO REAL PROPERTY MAINTENANCE AGENCY 

The San Antonio Real Property Maintenance 

Agency (SARPMA) was founded on 1 October 1978 

following a series of studies by the General Accounting 

Office and the Department of Defense aimed at 

achieving cost savings through regional consolidation. 

San Antonio, home to the Army's Fort Sam Houston 

and four Air Force bases--Brooks, Kelly, Lackland, 

and Randolph--was a prime candidate for such action. 

Established at San Antonio Air Force Station, adjacent 

to Fort Sam Houston, SARPMA consolidated the 

existing civil engineering organizations at all five 

facilities into a single entity reporting to Air Training 

Command. The new construct wrested control of the 

civil engineering function from local commanders, who 

nevertheless retained ownership of all real property and 

were responsible for its maintenance, a factor that 

played a large part in SARPMA's undoing. In theory, 

the installation commanders prioritized the work to be 

done and SARPMA attempted to meet their deadlines. 

In practice, SARPMA did not live up to expectations. 

Initially, commanders had difficulty obtaining such 

basic information as the status of a work order or the 

cost of a project, and all were dissatisfied with the time 

it was taking to get work done. 

Over time, mainly as a result of extraordinary 

management actions, SARPMA's performance began 

to improve. As that happened, opposition to the 

concept softened, especially on the part of the Army at 

Fort Sam Houston, but it was too little, too late. 

In 1983, at the direction of the Vice Chief of Staff 

of the Air Force, ATC prepared an assessment of 

SARPMA's performance and of alternate ways to 

accomplish the real property maintenance mission. A 

study group concluded that SARPMA provided 

services at about the same level that existed prior to its 

establishment, and that SARPMA's costs were about 

the same as a standard base civil engineering (BCE) organization. While the study did not show conclusively 

that the performance of SARPMA was appreciably 

better than the standard BCE organization, it discerned 

the concern among commanders about their diminished 

ability to influence such a vital function. Accordingly, 

ATC recommended to the Air Staff the return to 

standard BCE organizations. 

Not much came of this first major challenge to the 

continuation of SARPMA, which bogged down in the 

coordination process when the Army suggested tabling 

the idea until ATC could devise a detailed 

disestablishment plan. A review committee, composed 

of representatives from five San Antonio military 

installations, determined that the costs involved were 

substantial--$27.6 million to dissolve SARPMA plus 

annual recurring costs of $24.6 million to resume 

standard BCE organizations. Nonetheless, the 

committee wrote the plan and called for the base-level 

engineering organizations to be in-place and 

operational on 1 October 1987. 

After some delay, and despite the high costs, senior 

Air Force officials decided in the fall of 1986 to 

disestablish SARPMA and return to standard base civil 

engineering organizations. At the same time, Gen 

Larry D. Welch, Air Force Chief of Staff, directed the 

dissolution of the San Antonio Contracting Center, a 

procurement agency set up in the late 1970s that 

handled contracting arrangements for SARPMA. 

These actions reflected the strong belief of Air Force 

leaders that installation commanders should have the 

authority to decide how to accomplish the civil 

engineering mission, since they were held responsible 

for getting the job done. After redistributing its 

manpower authorizations and equipment to the 

participating installations (in roughly the same 

proportion as the installations had initially contributed), 

SARPMA inactivated on 1 October 1989. 
261

1989

A number of proposals began unfolding in 1989 that had the net effect of reducing the size of the 

Department of Defense and, in turn, the Air Force and Air Training Command. The impetus for these 

programmatic changes began with a movement to reform the acquisition of DOD weapon systems. This was 

soon amplified by the dramatic developments occurring in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. In response 

to these developments, DOD and HQ USAF initiated several programs to streamline and consolidate the 

military establishment. Also in 1989, the President and Congress approved the recommendations of the base 

closure commission to close 86 stateside bases, including two in ATC--Chanute and Mather. By the end of the 

year, ATC had plans well underway to transfer Chanute's technical training to other centers in Texas, 

Colorado, and Mississippi and to move Mather's navigator training to Beale AFB in California. Also in 

December, ATC participated in Operation Just Cause, the invasion of Panama, providing medical treatment 

at Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center for casualties airlifted back to the United States. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1989) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 13 

Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; Colorado--

Lowry; Illinois--Chanute; Mississippi--Columbus and 

Keesler; Oklahoma--Vance; Texas--Goodfellow, 

Lackland, Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, and Sheppard 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 

48,287 (7,906 officers; 26,831 enlisted; 13,550 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 

1,381 (T-37B, T-38A, T/CT-39A, T-4lA, T-43A) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

7 numbered air force equivalent units: 

 Air Force Mil Trng Ctr, Lackland AFB TX 

 Chanute Tech Trng Ctr, Chanute AFB IL 

 Goodfellow Tech Trng Ctr, Goodfellow AFB TX 

 Keesler Tech Trng Ctr, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Ctr, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Ctr, Sheppard AFB TX 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Randolph AFB TX 

2 air division equivalent units: 

 Air Force Reserve Officer Trng Corps, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

 San Antonio Joint Military Medical Command, 

Randolph AFB TX 

1 wing equivalent unit: 

 USAF Instrument Flight Ctr, Randolph AFB TX 

1 combat crew training wing: 

 3636th (Survival), Fairchild AFB WA 

8 flying training wings: 

 12th, Randolph AFB TX 

 14th, Columbus AFB MS 

 47th, Laughlin AFB TX 

 64th, Reese AFB TX 

 71st, Vance AFB OK 

In response to Hurricane Hugo, ATC personnel 

load electrical line vehicles at Sheppard AFB,

Texas, to help restore power in the Virgin 

Islands. 
1989 

262

 80th, Sheppard AFB TX 

 82d, Williams AFB AZ 

 323d, Mather AFB CA 

2 independent group and equivalent units: 

 Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

 Foreign Military Training Affairs Group, 

Randolph AFB TX 

14 independent squadron and equivalent units: 

 ATC Civilian Automated Training Office, 

Lackland AFB TX 

 ATC Operations Center, Randolph AFB TX 

 USAF Occupational Measurement Center, 

Randolph AFB TX 

 3302d Technical Training, Keesler AFB MS 

 3303d Contracting, Randolph AFB TX 

 3304th School (ATC NCO Academy), Lackland 

AFB TX 

 3305th School (ISD), Randolph AFB TX 

 3306th Trng Dev and Eval, Edwards AFB CA 

 3307th Test and Evaluation (Acquisition 

Management), Randolph AFB TX 

 3308th Technical Training (Advisory), Randolph 

AFB TX 

 3313th Medical Service (JMMC), Randolph AFB 

TX 

 3314th Mgmt Engrg, Randolph AFB TX 

 3507th Airman Classification, Lackland AFB TX 

 3588th Flying Training (Helicopter), Fort Rucker 

AL 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

General Robert C. Oaks remained the ATC 

commander, and Maj Gen Robert S. Delligatti 

continued as vice commander. 

ORGANIZATION 

Mission Support Squadrons 

Following a four-year test at numerous installations, 

HQ USAF approved the formation of a new 

squadron--the mission support squadron--that 

combined a number of support functions, including 

personnel, administration, education services, and 

social actions. However, in ATC activation of the 

new squadrons did not take place until 1989. 

In the late 1980s, ATC began to offer more system-specific training at its technical training centers to relieve 

the burden of on-the-job training at the using command. Sheppard AFB, Texas, obtained two F-16Cs in the 

spring of 1987 for use in training crew chiefs.
1989 

263

SACC and SARPMA Disestablished 

Effective 1 April 1989, ATC inactivated 

its San Antonio Contracting Center 

(SACC). Originally established on 

1 January 1977 as the San Antonio 

Procurement Center, SACC had provided 

centralized contracting support to military 

installations in the San Antonio area. Six 

months after the SACC shutdown, ATC 

inactivated the San Antonio Real Property 

Maintenance Agency (SARPMA), another 

venture that had centralized civil 

engineering functions in the San Antonio 

area. With Air Staff approval, ATC 

inactivated both of these named activities, 

and returned direct control of civil 

engineering and contracting functions to 

base commanders--the people directly 

responsible for mission performance. 

3306th Renamed 

Air Training Command inactivated its 3306th Test 

and Evaluation Squadron at Edwards AFB, 

California, and then activated the 3306th Training 

Development and Evaluation Squadron on 1 May. 

The new designation better described the mission of 

the 3306th, which was to evaluate weapon systems 

from a training perspective. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

Broad Area Review of Flying Training 

In November 1988 the ATC commander directed a 

broad area review of all undergraduate and graduate 

flying training programs in the command. According 

to General Oaks, the purpose of the review was "to 

improve the quality of flying training through the 

next decade with special emphasis on those items 

required to support SUPT." Meetings began in 1989. 

Through the broad area review, representatives from 

throughout the flying training community had the 

opportunity to examine a wide range of topics 

concerning flying training. From those discussions, 

ATC determined that its flight screening program 

needed to be revised and confirmed that facility 

improvements were needed to support the transition 

to SUPT. In addition, the review provided ATC with 

information on contracting ground-based instruction 

and solidified ATC's resolve to convert to contract 

simulator instruction. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Advanced Training System 

The idea of an Advanced Training System (ATS) 

came about in the early 1980s, when ATC was 

looking for a way to improve the technical training 

system through the increased use of computer 

technology. Keesler became the prime center for 

implementation of ATS. In May 1989 ATC awarded 

IBM the contract to build the Advanced Training 

System (ATS). Air Training Command expected the 

system to be fully operational at Keesler by FY 93. 

Broad Area Review of Technical Training 

Pleased with the initial results of the broad area 

review of flying training, in August Air Training 

Command announced that it would convene a second 

BAR, this time to discuss ways and means of 

improving technical training. 

Distance Learning 

In November ATC experimented with distance 

learning by conducting a TEMPEST fundamentals 

course for Army personnel at the Pentagon. 

Instructors transmitted course work from the Video 

The space shuttle Columbia touches down at Sheppard AFB, 

Texas, an alternate landing site for NASA’s space program.

Students and instructors stack 750-pound bombs 

during armament training at Lowry AFB, 

Colorado. 
1989 

264

Teleconferencing Center at Fort Sam Houston, 

Texas, to a classroom in the Pentagon. Under 

ordinary circumstances, students would have been 

sent to Lackland for in-house training. By using 

distance learning, the course came to them. 

MILITARY TRAINING 

Delayed Enlistment Program Halted 

For the first time in the history of Air Force 

recruiting, Recruiting Service suspended its delayed 

enlistment program because it had more people in the 

delayed entry pool than the Air Force could absorb 

into the active service within the next 12 months. The 

program remained suspended from 17 November 

1989 until 1 February 1990. 

New Entrant Drug and Alcohol Testing 

In FY88 Congress mandated preaccession drug and 

alcohol testing for all military applicants. The Army 

shifted the testing burden from the MEPS to its basic 

training centers. The Air Force preferred testing as 

early as possible, to save Lackland the burden of 

additional manning and the travel and housing costs 

for recruits who would fail the test upon arrival at 

BMT. In December, Congress authorized the services 

to test at a location of their choice. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Push-Pull Mobilization Test 

Air Training Command had its first opportunity to 

test the concept of Push-Pull mobilization during 

exercise Crimson Hammer '89 in July. The command 

screened a total of 3,178 reservists at three training 

centers. 

Top-to-Bottom Review of DOD 

In January the Secretary of Defense, Richard B. 

Cheney, ordered a top-to-bottom Defense 

Management Review (DMR). In response, the Air 

Force began a service-wide review, looking at ways 

to streamline operations, consolidate functions, and 

lower decision-making authority. Within the DMR 

framework, Air Training Command undertook four 

initiatives: 1) converting base fuels operations at 

Columbus, Laughlin, Randolph, and Reese to 

contract; 2) converting base service stores at ATC 

bases (except Chanute, Mather, Sheppard, and 

Vance) to contract; 3) changing the 18-month 

inspection cycle at the flying training wings to a 24-

month cycle; and 4) reducing the programmed 

attrition rate for pilot training through the 

implementation of specialized undergraduate pilot 

training. 

On 20 December US troops invaded Panama. Twelve hours after Operation Just Cause began, ATC's 

Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center and the Brooke Army Medical Center began receiving US casualties. 

Altogether, the two medical centers treated 258 casualties. In the picture above, President and Mrs George 

Bush visit with casualties at Wilford Hall. 
265

1990

The command's primary mission remained essentially unaltered in 1990, except for one change. That was 

due to the Secretary of the Air Force's decision to decentralize operation of the Air Force's communications 

and computer systems. As a result, major commands such as ATC were given functional responsibility for 

these systems. This was a minor development when compared to dramatic changes taking place in Eastern 

Europe--changes which were already having a major effect on the US military. The military was downsizing, 

and dramatic cuts in defense spending could be expected to be the norm for years to come. As these 

reductions took hold, they would have a ripple effect on ATC's mission, beginning with recruiting and then 

flowing out to basic military training, technical training, and flying training. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1990) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 13 

Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; Colorado--Lowry; Illinois--

Chanute; Mississippi--Columbus and Keesler; Oklahoma--Vance; 

Texas--Goodfellow, Lackland, Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, and 

Sheppard 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 50,356 (8,895 officers; 28,137 enlisted; 13,324 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,381 (T-37B, T-38A, T-39A, T-4lA, T-43A) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

7 numbered air force equivalent units: 

 Air Force Mil Trng Ctr, Lackland AFB TX 

 Chanute Tech Trng Ctr, Chanute AFB IL 

 Goodfellow Tech Trng Ctr, Goodfellow AFB TX 

 Keesler Tech Trng Ctr, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Ctr, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Ctr, Sheppard AFB TX 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Randolph AFB TX 

3 air division equivalent units: 

 Air Force Reserve Officer Trng Corps, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

 Air Training Communications Division, Randolph 

AFB TX 

 San Antonio Joint Military Medical Command, 

Randolph AFB TX 

1 wing equivalent unit: 

 USAF Instrument Flight Ctr, Randolph AFB TX 

1 combat crew training wing: 

 3636th (Survival), Fairchild AFB WA 

8 flying training wings: 

 12th, Randolph AFB TX 

 14th, Columbus AFB MS 

 47th, Laughlin AFB TX 

 64th, Reese AFB TX 

 71st, Vance AFB OK 

 80th, Sheppard AFB TX 

 82d, Williams AFB AZ 

 323d, Mather AFB CA 

3 independent group and equivalent units: 

 Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

 Air Force Security Assistance Training, Randolph 

AFB TX 

 3300th Training Support, Randolph AFB TX 

2 independent squadron equivalent units: 

 ATC Civilian Automated Training Office, 

Lackland AFB TX 

 ATC Operations Center, Randolph AFB TX 
1990 

266

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

Lt Gen 

Joseph W. Ashy 

 Lieutenant General Joseph W. Ashy assumed 

command of ATC from Lt Gen Robert C. Oaks on 25 

June. Before coming to ATC, General Ashy had 

served as the TAC vice commander. General Oaks 

received his fourth star prior to leaving for his new 

assignment as Commander, Allied Air Forces Central 

Europe and Commander in Chief, United States Air 

Forces in Europe. Major General Delligatti continued 

as vice commander. 

ORGANIZATION 

Management Structure Reorganization 

In May 1990 the Chief of Staff of the Air Force 

directed a reduction in the size of Air Force 

management structure, in other words, all organizations that performed headquarters responsibilities. In 

ATC's case, this included the training operations 

center, the 3313th Medical Service Squadron, and 

portions of the 3305th School Squadron, the 3307th 

Test and Evaluation Squadron, and the 3308th 

Technical Training Squadron. In order to meet 

reduction goals, some of the DCSs combined 

functions. Two special staff agencies, the Office of 

the Inspector General and the Security Police, 

reorganized, with the Security Police becoming a 

directorate under the IG. Many of the direct reporting 

units assigned to the headquarters were reassigned as 

a part of the newly-activated 3300th Training Support 

Group, and others like the 3313th Medical Service 

and the 3314th Management Engineering Squadrons 

were inactivated. The 12 management engineering 

teams scattered throughout ATC became subordinate 

to resource management organizations at the 

technical training centers and flying training wings. 

The majority of these organizational changes took 

place on 1 October 1990. Overall, HQ ATC would 

cut 397 authorizations from its management structure 

over the next three years. 

Air Training Communications Division 

Effective 1 October Air Force Communications 

Command transferred the Air Training Communications Division at Randolph AFB, Texas, to ATC. 

This was part of an Air Force-directed reorganization 

of Air Force Communications Command. 

AF Security Assistance Training Group 

Air Training Command redesignated its Foreign 

Military Training Affairs Group at Randolph as the 

Air Force Security Assistance Training (AFSAT) 

Group on 1 October. Earlier in the year HQ USAF 

had directed that the Foreign Military Training 

Affairs Group be given broader authority to plan and 

operate military and civilian training for allied and 

friendly countries. In addition, the group also gained 

responsibility for writing contracts for training 

associated with foreign military sales. The name 

change was a means of recognizing that broader 

authority. Previously, AFSAT was under the control 

of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Plans and 

Requirements, but with the redesignation, it reported 

directly to the ATC vice commander. 

3300th Training Support Group 

The command activated the 3300th Training Support 

Group at Randolph AFB, Texas, on 1 October and 

assigned it to HQ ATC. At the same time, ATC 

reassigned nine of its direct reporting units to the 

3300th: the 3302d Technical Training Squadron, the 

3303d Contracting Squadron, the 3304th School 

Squadron (ATC NCO Academy), the 3305th School 

Squadron, the 3507th Airman Classification 

Squadron, the 3306th Training Development and 

A staff member performs preliminary testing at 

the Air Force's only Genetics Laboratory located 

at the Keesler AFB, Mississippi, medical center. 
1990 

267

Evaluation Squadron, the USAF Occupational 

Measurement Squadron (formerly a center), the 

3307th Test and Evaluation Squadron (Acquisition 

Management), and the 3308th Technical Training 

Squadron (Advisory). 

3588th Flying Training Squadron 

Since January 1980, the 3588th Flying Training 

Squadron (Helicopter) had conducted helicopter pilot 

training for the Air Force at Fort Rucker, Alabama. 

The squadron reported directly to ATC's Deputy 

Chief of Staff, Operations and Readiness. However, 

General Ashy decided to reassign the 3588th, 

effective 1 October 1990, to the 14th Flying Training 

Wing at Columbus AFB, Mississippi. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

T-1A "Jayhawk" 

On 21 February Headquarters USAF announced the 

selection of a modified Beechjet 400A as the 

tanker-transport training system aircraft. The Air 

Force version would be known as the T-1A 

"Jayhawk." The first production aircraft was to be 

delivered by October 1991 at Reese AFB, Texas, 

where SUPT would be initiated. 

Helicopter Pilot Training 

For several years, Military Airlift Command, the 

principal user of helicopter pilots, had maintained 

that student pilots needed more training than that 

provided at the Fort Rucker, Alabama, course; MAC 

also wanted students to attend UPT. In April 1990 

HQ USAF agreed to the MAC request and informed 

ATC that it intended to change helicopter pilot 

training. Beginning in fiscal year 1992, all helicopter 

pilot candidates would go through standard UPT and 

then a rotary wing qualification course. 

Enhanced Flight Screening 

As ATC moved closer to making the transition to 

SUPT, the command determined it needed to shore 

up the flight screening program which provided 

prospective pilots with 14 hours of flying time in a 

T-41A light aircraft. In order to make flight screening 

a better barometer of a student's potential and to give 

the student a broader flying experience, ATC wanted 

to acquire a more capable aircraft and increase the 

flying time to 21.5 hours. The command wanted a 

plane that was capable of performing acrobatics and 

flying overhead traffic patterns and would expose 

students to moderate G-loadings. To validate the 

concept, ATC conducted a test at Hondo, Texas, 

during the latter half of 1990, using contractor-leased 

aircraft. The test was successful, and the command 

moved ahead with plans to implement an enhanced 

flight screening program in 1992. Meanwhile, to 

administer the flight screening program, ATC 

established the 1st Flight Screening Squadron at 

Hondo on 4 June and assigned it to the Officer 

Training School. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Military Working Dog Agency 

For years the Department of Defense had had a 

problem acquiring enough trained military working 

dogs to meet requirements. Part of the problem was 

the number of different agencies involved in 

procurement and training. It appeared the best way to 

improve the situation was by centralizing control of 

procurement and training, preferably under Air 

Training Command. The Air Staff approved the 

concept in June, and on 1 October Air Training 

Command established the DOD Military Working 

Dog Agency at Lackland. 

Avionics students at Sheppard AFB, Texas, 

perform an operations check of an F-15 avionics 

maintenance trainer.

At the DOD Military Working Dog Agency at 

Lackland AFB, ATC trained both dogs and their 

handlers. 
1990 

268

4-Level Technical Training Initiative 

After months of trial and error, ATC and its 

customers in October 1990 decided to cancel all 

4-level courses and, instead, broadened initial skills 

courses. 

A nurse cares for a premature baby in the NeoNatal Intensive Care Unit at the Keesler AFB, 

Mississippi, medical center. This neo-natal unit 

was one of only four in the United States Air 

Force. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Operation Desert Shield 

Between 10 August 1990 and 4 January 1991, Air 

Training Command deployed 397 people to the 

Persian Gulf in support of Operation Desert Shield, 

as well as providing backfill to other commands in 

the United States. 

US forces alight from a C-141 to defend the 

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as part of Operation 

Desert Shield. 

Construction Freeze Affects Base Closures 

On 24 January the Secretary of Defense imposed a 

freeze on military construction to avoid new 

construction on bases that might be shutdown in the 

next round of base closures. Unfortunately, the 

moratorium was extended into 1991, affecting new 

construction at those ATC bases that had gained 

training missions from closing installations. It also 

caused concern that new classroom and laboratory 

facilities would not be ready when courses began 

transferring from Chanute (for example, the weather 

training facility at Keesler). 

FIVE SQUADRON TEST 

In 1988 in preparation for the implementation of 

SUPT, ATC decided to test what type of organization best suited the dual-track training program. 

At that time, each UPT wing had two flying training 

squadrons one for T-37s and the other for T-38s, 

plus a student squadron. Air Training Command 

wanted to find out whether training could be 

conducted more effectively if student squadrons 

were eliminated. Instead, all training and administrative duties would be placed in the wings’ two 

T-37 and two T-38 flying training squadrons. 

Officials at ATC chose the 82d Flying Training 

Wing at Williams AFB, Arizona, as the test unit. 

Air Training Command activated two flying 

training squadrons at Williams--the 98th and 99th 

on 1 June 1988. That gave the 82d a total of four 

flying training squadrons. However, by year's end, 

the test had shown that a fifth squadron was needed 

to provide operational support. The 82d became the 

first ATC wing to have five flying training 

squadrons when, on 1 September 1989, the command activated the 100th Flying Training Squadron. 

By mid-1990, UPT wings at Vance, Reese, 

Laughlin, and Columbus had also converted to a 

five squadron organization. 

However, it didn't last long. In December 1990 

ATC implemented the objective wing. The 

command's UPT wings kept four flying training 

squadrons each, two for T-37s and two for T-38s. 

The fifth squadron was redesignated as an 

operations support squadron, but fulfilled essentially 

the same functions as the old student squadron. 
269

1991

After the success of Operation Desert Storm, Global Reach-Global Power became the blueprint to organize, 

train, and equip the Air Force to confront the challenges of a fast-changing world. Organization was the first 

page of the blueprint, and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force declared 1991 the "Year of Organization." By 

the end of the year, the Air Force had implemented the objective wing--a new wing structure that included an 

operations group and a support group. Besides the extensive organizational changes, ATC also faced the 

daunting task of closing four of its training bases--Chanute and Mather chosen in round one and Lowry and 

Williams selected in round two. In the second round, the base closure commission redirected the transfer of 

Mather's navigator training mission from Beale AFB, California, to Randolph AFB, Texas. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1991) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 13 

Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; Colorado--Lowry; Illinois--

Chanute; Mississippi--Columbus and Keesler; Oklahoma--Vance; 

Texas--Goodfellow, Lackland, Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, and 

Sheppard 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 45,642 (8,084 officers; 25,905 enlisted; 11,653 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,311 (T-37B, T-38A, T-39A, T-41A, T-43A) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

7 numbered air force equivalent units: 

 Air Force Mil Trng Ctr, Lackland AFB TX 

 Chanute Tech Trng Ctr, Chanute AFB IL 

 Goodfellow Tech Trng Ctr, Goodfellow AFB TX 

 Keesler Tech Trng Ctr, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lowry Tech Trng Ctr, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Tech Trng Ctr, Sheppard AFB TX 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Randolph AFB TX 

1 air division equivalent unit: 

 Air Force Reserve Officer Trng Corps, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

2 wing equivalent units: 

 USAF Instrument Flight Center, Randolph AFB 

TX 

 Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center, Lackland 

AFB TX 

1 combat crew training wing: 

 3636th (Survival), Fairchild AFB WA 

8 flying training wings: 

 12th, Randolph AFB TX 

 14th, Columbus AFB MS 

 47th, Laughlin AFB TX 

 64th, Reese AFB TX 

 71st, Vance AFB OK 

 80th, Sheppard AFB TX 

 82d, Williams AFB AZ 

 323d, Mather AFB CA 

3 independent group and equivalent units: 

 Air Force Security Assistance Training Group, 

Randolph AFB TX 

 Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

 3300th Training Support Group, Randolph AFB 

TX 

2 independent squadron equivalent units: 

 ATC Civilian Automated Training Office, 

Lackland AFB TX 

 ATC Operations Center, Randolph AFB TX
1991 

270

HISTORY OF FIELD TRAINING 

The Army Air Forces (AAF) initiated mobile 

training during World War II as a means of 

overcoming the inability of aircraft mechanics to stay 

abreast of the rapid technological advances in aircraft. 

Unable to return mechanics to the classroom because 

this would take them away from the flight line, AAF 

decided to take the classroom to the mechanics. As a 

result, mobile training units (MTU) followed 

operational units into the combat zones in Europe and 

the Pacific where they conducted conversion and 

familiarization training behind the frontlines. By the 

time Japan surrendered, there were 163 MTUs that 

had instructed over 500,000 personnel. After the war, 

most MTUs were disbanded, although some were 

retained to introduce new aircraft. 

Following the outbreak of the Korean War, the Air 

Force turned to mobile training once again. During 

the war, mobile training kept mechanics abreast of the 

latest maintenance techniques by sending detachments to Japan and Korea. As in World War II, 

mobile training required a haven behind the frontlines 

where training could be conducted without the 

immediate threat of enemy attacks. After the Korean 

War, the Air Force encountered a sharp decline in 

retention rates. Because of the high turnover of 

experienced aircraft maintenance personnel, HQ 

USAF directed ATC to revise technical training. 

Rather than keep long and expensive maintenance 

courses that had been designed on the assumption 

that a person would stay in the Air Force 20 years, 

ATC shortened basic resident training to the 

essentials, and expanded on-the-job training (OJT) at 

the using commands. By taking these steps, the Air 

Force trimmed training costs, reduced training time, 

and increased productive time for first term airmen. 

A mobile training unit instructor turns a bombed 

building formerly used by the German Air Force 

into a classroom for P-47 aircraft mechanics. 

First job training, as it was called, did not meet the 

operational commands' needs. The commands did not 

have the capability to furnish OJT because of the lack 

of experienced personnel who could be released for 

instructor duties. Still driven by the desire to furnish 

more training than first job training afforded, but 

confronted by the task of cutting training costs and 

yet raising productive time for first term enlistees, 

ATC kept the shortened resident courses but decided 

to transfer specialized equipment training to mobile 

training. Using mobile training detachments as a 

nucleus, ATC established field training detachments 

(FTD) and stationed them permanently at a site to 

improve training capabilities and induce instructors to 

remain in the Air Force. By the time the reforms had 

been completed, FTDs had responsibility for OJT 

advisory services, and 3-level, refresher, familiarization, conversion, and upgrade training. 

Ironically, field training's raison d'etre--the 

reduction of training time--did not meet expectations 

of ATC or HQ USAF. In the late 1950s, ATC 

reported that all FTDs devoted only about 10 percent 

of their time to specialized equipment training, while 

spending about 90 percent on conversion, upgrade, 

and familiarization training. Thus, field training spent 

most of its time training experienced maintenance 

personnel, rather than first termers, as the Air Force 

and ATC had intended. When retention rates began 

climbing in the late 1950s and ATC continued to have 

problems sending students to specialized equipment 

training without long breaks in training, ATC cut 

back specialized equipment training at the FTDs, 

returning to its preference for longer resident courses 

at the training centers. 

The Vietnam War furnished Air Training 

Command with another opportunity to test field 

training under combat conditions. As the demands of 

the Vietnam War increased sharply, tactical aircraft 

maintenance personnel were needed to make up the 

shortages in the units TAC deployed to Southeast 

Asia. Tactical Air Command attempted to meet the 

training burden from its own resources, increasing the 

output from its combat crew training schools and 

establishing replacement training units (RTU). By the 

end of 1965, however, it was apparent that these 

efforts would not be enough. Field training, the most 

flexible of ATC's training mediums, was the logical 

choice to participate in the training program. As a 

result, USAF personnel going to Southeast Asia were 

trained at FTDs in the United States or at ones in 

Asian countries outside the combat zone. 
1991 

271

In 1966 Pacific Air Forces challenged the rationale 

for keeping FTDs out of Southeast Asia. Stressing that 

F-105 wings needed better trained personnel to replace 

those who were departing, PACAF finally convinced 

the Air Force to send an FTD to Southeast Asia. With 

the exception of this field training detachment, ATC 

did not send any FTDs to Southeast Asia to train USAF 

people, preferring to use training teams from FTDs 

located stateside, in Asian countries peripheral to 

Southeast Asia, and at technical training centers to 

provide upgrade, conversion, and familiarization 

training. 

After the Vietnam War, because of poor retention 

rates, the limited use of first-term airmen, and the high 

cost of training, the Air Force directed ATC to revise 

weapon systems training. In 1976 ATC returned to a 

variation of specialized equipment training in two 

specialties, crew chief and avionics. This was 

accomplished by limiting initial training in the resident 

schools to the fundamentals, while providing hands on 

training on particular weapons systems at an FTD. 

These reforms, known as Able Chief and Able 

Avionics, produced competent graduates in less time 

than resident training and provided only enough 

training for the airmen's first job. Because airmen 

spent less time in training, ATC cut costs and increased 

the first term enlistees' productive time. 

It was generally understood, however, that reducing 

resident training to just the fundamentals was an 

expedient measure taken when the Air Force was 

confronted by the need to reduce training costs and/or 

by poor retention rates. Once these limitations eased, 

Air Training Command would return to its preferred 

training philosophy, conducting training in the resident 

technical training centers to the fullest extent that 

resources allowed instead of just to the minimum skill 

levels required. Field training would then be free to 

concentrate on its traditional role of familiarization and 

transition training. 

From the beginning, the Air Force had found field 

training a very cost effective way of providing 

technical instruction, but it still took millions of dollars 

to support equipment and personnel needs--dollars that 

had become extremely scarce as Congress curtailed 

defense spending. 

With the Soviet Union no longer a major threat to 

national security, the American public turned its sights 

on domestic rather than military issues. It was in this 

light that in 1991 Gen Merrill A. McPeak, Air Force 

Chief of Staff, directed a review of field training, with 

the intent of reducing the program by 50 percent. At 

that time, ATC operated 62 detachments and 29 operating locations worldwide, and graduated almost 100,000 

students per year. 

In response, ATC developed a roadmap that laid out 

a long term plan to reorganize field training. Some of 

the approximately 700 courses provided through field 

training would be conducted using such advanced 

technology as computerized instruction and distance 

learning. So called low flow courses--those with 

extremely small enrollment--could be offered as onthe-job training and provided by one of ATC's resident 

training centers. Others would either drop by the 

wayside or become a part of newly developed career 

field training programs. Finally, the roadmap called 

for the remaining high-level courses to move to one of 

the resident training centers, all a part of the Air Force 

plan to provide "cradle to grave" training programs for 

all career fields. 

In August 1993, the command, now redesignated 

AETC, learned that General McPeak wanted to end 

field training altogether. His reasoning was that field 

training violated the one base, one boss rule, because 

all detachments reported to the 82d Field Training 

Group, though they were located worldwide and 

received support from their host units. AETC planned 

to add the hands-on instruction from field training 

detachments to the Mission Ready Technician 

program, which used operational aircraft and 

equipment to give 3-level graduates the weaponssystem-specific skills they needed to become 

contributing members immediately upon reporting to 

their operational units. Under the plan, MAJCOMs 

picked up about one-third of the existing courses. The 

field training drawdown was put on hold in 1996, 

however, when the high cost of adding the necessary 

manpower to AETC became apparent in a DOD audit. 

Because Field Training proved to be the most costeffective solution in many cases, the program 

continued. 

Shown is a view of an instructor supervising students 

in a Field Training Course on the FB-111 aircraft. 
1991 

272

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

Lieutenant General Joseph W. Ashy remained as 

Commander of ATC, while HQ USAF reassigned 

ATC's vice commander, Maj Gen Robert S. 

Delligatti, to HQ USAFE as the Chief of Staff. 

Major General Eugene E. Habiger replaced General 

Delligatti as the ATC vice commander on 17 August 

1991. 

TOP FLIGHT 

After a one-year hiatus occasioned by the Gulf 

War, ATC resumed its annual competition for 

instructor pilots and maintenance teams in June 1991. 

Called Top Flight, the competition consisted of 

preflight exercises, aircraft launches and recoveries, 

refueling operations, and forms documentation. 

The event got its start in 1984 at Laughlin as a 

local "turkey shoot" and involved only 47 FTW 

aircrews. Air Training Command liked the idea so 

well that it expanded the concept to include 

maintenance personnel and had a two-day commandwide Turkey Shoot at Laughlin the following year. 

In 1986 ATC moved the competition to Randolph 

and expanded it further by adding more events to be 

judged. In 1987 the command changed the name to 

Torchlight. By 1989 Torchlight had become so 

elaborate it was five days long, and the wings were 

spending a great deal of time and money preparing 

for the competition. 

When he took over as ATC commander in June 

1990, General Ashy changed the name of the event to 

Top Flight and changed the thrust of the competition. 

Rather than reflect the results of weeks of practice by 

handpicked aircrews in specially maintained aircraft, 

the one-day competition evaluated the day-in, dayout proficiency of the command's instructor pilots 

and maintenance troops. 

ORGANIZATION 

The Objective Wing Structure 

The Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen Merrill A. 

McPeak, designated 1991 as the "Year of 

Organization." Lots of attention was focused on 

organizational structure. The last time wing 

organization had received this much attention was in 

the 1970s when the Air Force implemented its trideputy wing structure: operations, maintenance, and 

resources. This time the Air Force developed an 

objective wing that included two groups: operations 

and support. Air Training Command implemented the 

new structure at its flying training wings on 

15 December. 

Medical personnel carry an injured airman on a 

litter during an exercise at Sheppard. The medics 

are taking part in training directed by the 3790th 

Medical Service Training Wing that prepared 

personnel for treating the injured in a combat 

zone. 

Joint Military Medical Command 

From its activation on 16 February 1987 to its 

inactivation on 1 October 1991, the San Antonio 

Joint Military Medical Command (SA-JMMC) 

caused controversy. The Department of Defense 

originally established JMMC as a way to centralize 

control over all direct medical care services and 

training that the Air Force and Army performed 

separately in the San Antonio area. While officials 

agreed that JMMC had fostered cooperation between 

the various medical services, the joint arrangement 

had not shown any cost savings. Therefore, the 

Department of Defense directed the disestablishment 

of the San Antonio Joint Military Medical Command. 

At the same time, the services set up a Health Care 

Coordinating Council in the San Antonio area to 

better coordinate military medical care in the area. 

Upon the inactivation of JMMC, Wilford Hall USAF 

Medical Center then reported directly to HQ ATC. 

ATCD Closes 

On 1 October ATC inactivated the Air Training 

Communications Division, the last step in its effort to 

integrate communications and computer systems 

functions into the headquarters and its subordinate 

units. 

DCS Name Changes 

The Deputy Chief of Staff, Comptroller (AC) became 

the Deputy Chief of Staff, Financial Management and 

Comptroller (FM) on 1 October. This change came 

about as a part of a directive issued by the Assistant 

Secretary of the Air Force (Financial Management 

and Comptroller) to restructure the comptroller career 
1991 

273

field throughout DOD. Two months later, on 

1 December, ATC's DCS/Operations and Readiness 

(DO) became DCS/Operations, a name change that 

brought ATC headquarters in line with the rest of the 

Air Force. 

Air Force Bands 

On 15 July 1991, as part of the Air Force drawdown, 

the 502d Air Force Band at Keesler and the 505th Air 

Force Band at Chanute AFB were inactivated. The 

539th Air Force Band at Lackland became ATC's 

only band. On 1 October ATC redesignated the 

539th as the ATC Band and reassigned it from the 

Air Force Military Training Center (AFMTC) to the 

3300th Training Support Group at Randolph. 

MIMSO Relocated 

On 14 June 1991, General Ashy approved the 

relocation of the Military Indoctrination for Medical 

Service Officers (MIMSO) course from Sheppard 

AFB to the Officer Training School at the Lackland 

annex (Medina). The first MIMSO class began there 

on 4 December. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

Pilot Assignments 

On 5 April ATC initiated its new merit assignment 

ranking system, which allowed UPT students to 

select their assignments. Earlier, ATC had decided 

upon a pilot selection and classification system, but 

the Air Force chief of staff overturned that decision 

in February 1991. He was concerned about UPT 

graduates' lack of satisfaction with their assignments 

and so directed a return to a system used prior to 

1972 that allowed students to choose their own 

assignments based on their performance, i.e., their 

rank order within the class. Also, once SUPT started, 

the Air Force chief of staff wanted students to be able 

to make track classification decisions, so he directed 

that classification take place at the end of the T-37 

primary phase rather than before training began. 

ACE Detachments Realigned 

The Accelerated Copilot Enrichment (ACE) program, 

using ATC T-37 and T-38 aircraft, provided a 

relatively low cost method that allowed Strategic Air 

Command (SAC) copilots to gain flying experience 

and develop their decision-making skills and selfconfidence. Implementing the concept of one base, 

one wing, one boss, ATC transferred operational 

control for each ACE detachment to the local SAC 

flying wing commander on 1 July 1991 and the local 

TAC flying wing commander on 1 October 1991. 

Air Training Command retained possession of the 

aircraft, responsibility for aircraft maintenance, and 

the maintenance personnel assigned to the ACE 

detachments. 

CAREER TRAINER FORCE 

The concept of a career trainer force was related 

to the issue of pilot retention. Created in 1983, the 

career trainer force, whose name was shortened to 

trainer force in 1988, helped absorb aviators 

graduating from undergraduate pilot training for 

whom major weapons system training programs--

such as the F-16 or A-10--did not have sufficient 

room. Additionally, it provided a means for ATC to 

develop a cadre of trainers who could spend almost 

an entire career within the command. These pilots 

would move from one responsible job to another and 

remain competitive for their promotion with 

contemporaries who went to flying positions in other 

major commands. By 1989 the trainers acquired their 

own Air Force specialty code, and in 1990 Air 

Training Command had almost 500 pilots in the 

trainer force. 

In March 1991 Air Force leaders decided to 

reduce the flow of pilots whose first assignments 

were as instructor pilots and also to increase the 

major weapon systems presence in ATC's instructor 

force. As a result, the Air Force Military Personnel 

Center (AFMPC) eliminated the career trainer 

designation on each of the pilots in the program and 

moved responsibility for their career planning from 

ATC to the Air Force Military Personnel Center. 

Instead of receiving the individualized attention that a 

small, specialized program offered, the former trainer 

force officers would be treated the same as all the 

other pilots. Also, instead of having a focused career 

path--as originally intended--the officers would 

receive varied duty assignments. 

By the end of 1991, the career trainer force 

program had ended, and AFMPC notified all ATC 

officers with less than seven years commissioned 

service that they could expect to be assigned to major 

weapon systems training for career broadening 

experience in the near future. 

Flight Screening 

On 1 July 1991, ATC reassigned the 1st Flight 

Screening Squadron at Hondo, Texas, which 

supervised the command's flight screening program, 

from the Officer Training School at Lackland to the 

12th Flying Training Wing at Randolph. Although 

control of the program transferred to the 12th, flight 

operations continued at Hondo. The transfer was 
1991 

274

designed to place a flying operation directly under a 

flying training wing's control. The command 

maintained that flight screening under the supervision 

of the 12th Flying Training Wing would improve the 

screening process, lower pilot attrition, and save over 

$1 million yearly. 

Helicopter Pilot Production Declines 

In 1991 the Air Force had a surplus of helicopter 

pilots, so HQ USAF decided to reduce production 

from the 41 graduated in FY 91 to only 10 per year in 

FY 92-94. Under this program, the helicopter pilot 

trainees would be first assignment instructor pilots, 

who the Army would train in its rotary 

wing qualification course at Fort Rucker, Alabama, 

without any Air Force top-off training. Consequently, 

Air Training Command inactivated the 3588th Flying 

Training Squadron at Fort Rucker on 18 October. 

Also on the same date, ATC established 

Detachment 1, 14th Flying Training Wing at Fort 

Rucker to provide administrative support and 

supervision. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Contract Technical Training 

In 1990 and 1991, Air Training Command 

investigated the idea of establishing preaccession 

training. First proposed by a Colorado company, the 

concept was that civilian contractors would provide 

technical training for the military, but there was a 

catch. That training would have been provided to 

individuals before they joined the Air Force, hence 

the title: Preaccession Enlistment Recruit Training 

(PERT). In February 1991 ATC received permission 

from HQ USAF to develop a test of the PERT 

concept, but Congress later disapproved legislation 

that would have made the test possible. 

Field Training Cutback 

Along with all the other organizational changes 

taking place in 1991, the Air Force also decided to 

streamline field training. Air Training Command had 

62 detachments and 27 operating locations scattered 

worldwide, with a total authorized strength of over 

1,800 personnel. Under the reduction plan, field 

training was left with 63 locations and 1,300 

authorizations. 

EDUCATION 

Degree Requirements Tightened in CCAF 

As far back as 1985, the Community College of the 

Air Force (CCAF) had a problem acquiring degreed 

faculty. Blue suiters made up the biggest portion of 

the CCAF faculty. Unfortunately, because of the 

nature of the military personnel system--the constant 

movement of airmen--the Community College of the 

Air Force found it impossible to maintain a high 

percentage of degreed faculty. However, the 

community college had to find a way to meet 

requirements set by the Southern Association of 

Colleges and Schools or lose its accreditation. 

Beginning in 1990, ATC put together an aggressive 

plan to meet accreditation goals by 1994. It included 

identifying faculty members who did not have at least 

a two-year degree and counseling them to use 

college-level examination program tests and tuition 

assistance to meet degree requirements. By the end of 

the year, almost half of the instructors in the CCAF 

system had at least an associate's degree. 

A two-ship formation of C-130 Hercules flying 

over the oil fires at the end of the Gulf War in 

Kuwait. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Operation Desert Storm 

Air Training Command took several actions to 

support Operation Desert Storm, the campaign to 

expel the Iraqi army from Kuwait. These included 

deploying over 3,000 personnel to other commands 

and implementing Push-Pull mobilization, a program 

designed to "push" inactive reservists and retirees to a 

specified ATC technical training center. After 

screening for physical fitness, personnel were 

"pulled" for assignment to fill active duty shortfalls. 

On 23 January 1991, HQ USAF directed the 

activation of the 11th Contingency Hospital for 

deployment to RAF Little Rissington, United 

Kingdom. The 11th was an Air Force Reserve unit 

assigned to ATC. More than 350 reservists were 

recalled and assigned duties at Wilford Hall or with 

the 11th; 200 reservists deployed with 900 active 

duty personnel to operate the 11th Contingency 

Hospital. The command also activated four blood 

donor centers--Chanute, Keesler, Lackland, and 

Sheppard--to meet Desert Storm taskings. By the 

time the centers returned to normal operations on 

3 May 1991, they had shipped over 6,000 units of 

blood. 
275

1992

Though known formally as the Year of Training, 1992 was more than anything else a year of change. The 

changes started early in the year and finished late. On 1 February 1992, Air Training Command initiated the 

changes when it redesignated all the technical training centers (save for Chanute, scheduled for closure) as 

training centers. The command also changed the name of the Air Force Military Training Center to 

Lackland Training Center. Simultaneously, ATC reorganized the training centers to conform to the 

objective wing structure. As a result, the technical training wings were downgraded to groups, and the 

groups became squadrons. Then, on 15 September, the designations of most of the groups and squadrons 

were again changed, this time from four-digit units to three-digit units. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 1992) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 13 

Arizona--Williams; California--Mather; Colorado-- Lowry; 

Illinois--Chanute; Mississippi--Columbus and Keesler; 

Oklahoma--Vance; Texas---Goodfellow, Lackland, 

Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, and Sheppard. 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 

45,642 (8,084 officers; 25,905 enlisted; 11,653 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 

1,311 (T-37B, T-38A, T-39A, T-41A, T-43A) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

7 numbered air force equivalent units: 

 Chanute Technical Training Center, Chanute AFB 

IL 

 Goodfellow Training Center, Goodfellow AFB 

TX 

 Keesler Training Center, Keesler AFB MS 

 Lackland Training Center, Lackland AFB, TX 

 Lowry Training Center, Lowry AFB CO 

 Sheppard Training Center, Sheppard AFB TX 

 USAF Recruiting Service, Randolph AFB TX 

1 air division equivalent unit: 

 Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, 

Maxwell AFB AL 

8 flying training wings: 

 12th, Randolph AFB TX 

 14th, Columbus AFB MS 

 47th, Laughlin AFB TX 

 64th, Reese AFB TX 

 71st, Vance AFB OK 

 80th, Sheppard AFB TX 

 82d, Williams AFB AZ 

 323d, Mather AFB CA 

1 wing equivalent unit: 

 Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center, Lackland 

AFB TX 

1 combat crew training wing: 

 3636th (Survival), Fairchild AFB WA 

3 independent group and equivalent units: 

 Air Force Security Assistance Trng Gp, Randolph 

AFB TX 

This simple but elegant aviation badge has 

been awarded to pilots upon completion of 

their training since 25 January 1919. 
1992 

276

 Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

 338th Training Support Group, Randolph AFB 

TX 

2 independent squadron equivalent units: 

 ATC Civilian Automated Training Office, 

Lackland AFB TX 

 ATC Operations Center, Randolph AFB TX 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

General 

Henry Viccellio, Jr. 

 General Henry Viccellio, Jr, succeeded Lt Gen 

Joseph W. Ashy as the Commander of ATC on 

10 December 1992. For the first time since 28 August 

1986 when Gen Andrew P. Iosue retired as the ATC 

commander, the command was headed by a four-star. 

Prior to assuming command at ATC, General 

Viccellio was the Director of the Joint Staff in 

Washington, D.C. General Ashy became the 

Commander, Allied Air Forces Southern Europe and 

Deputy Commander in Chief for the Southern 

Region, United States Air Forces in Europe. Major 

General Eugene E. Habiger continued as vice 

commander. 

ORGANIZATION 

INSTALLATIONS 

Objective Centers Established 

Air Training Command converted its newly renamed 

training centers to the objective wing structure on 

1 February, a step it had already taken at the flying 

training wings in December 1991. At the flying 

training wings, that meant the command abandoned 

the tri-deputy structure (with Deputy Commanders 

for Operations, Maintenance, and Resource 

Management and a combat support group 

commander) in favor of a group-oriented wing with 

an operations group and a support group. A similar 

situation existed at the training centers where the 

technical training wing, Deputy Commander for 

Resource Management, air base group, and 

clinic/hospital were replaced by a technical training 

group, a logistics group, a support group, and a 

medical group. 

Officer Training School Redesignated 

Twice during the year, the Officer Training School 

(OTS) designation changed. On 1 February, as part 

of the major reshuffling of units, ATC redesignated 

OTS as the 3700th Officer Training Group. Then, on 

25 August, the 3700th underwent another redesignation, becoming the 301st Officer Training Squadron. 

The Slingsby T-3 replaced the T-41 as the Air Force's enhanced flight screener aircraft. 
1992 

277

At the same time, Air Training Command relieved 

the 301st from assignment to Lackland Training 

Center and assigned it to the 394th Military Training 

Group at Lackland. 

BMT School 

Known for years simply as BMTS, the Basic Military 

Training School at Lackland traveled the same path 

as OTS. On 1 February ATC redesignated BMTS as 

the 3720th Basic Military Training Group, and on 

25 August it became the 394th Military Training 

Group, which included not only basic military 

training squadrons, but also the officer training 

squadron among others. 

Instrument Flight Center Reassigned 

Air Training Command activated the USAF 

Instrument Flight Center (IFC) on 1 May 1972 and 

assigned it to the 12th Flying Training Wing at 

Randolph. The IFC was inactivated in 1978 but 

activated again in 1983. Twenty years to the day 

after its initial assignment to Air Training Command, 

the IFC was reassigned to the Air Force Flight 

Standards Agency on 1 May 1992. 

338th Training Support Group 

The 3300th Training Support Group, which reported 

directly to HQ ATC, was redesignated as the 338th 

Training Support Group on 15 September. 

First T-1A Squadron Formed 

To prepare for the start of specialized undergraduate 

pilot training (SUPT), ATC activated the T-1A 

Flying Training Squadron Provisional, 52d, at Reese 

AFB on 3 February 1992. Initially, the provisional 

squadron concentrated on collecting data and 

verifying the training syllabus, developing instructor 

techniques, and establishing flight profiles. As fall 

approached, the provisional squadron, manned by the 

initial cadre instructor pilots, turned its attention to 

getting the instructor transition course underway. On 

1 October ATC inactivated the provisional squadron, 

and the 52d Flying Training Squadron, one of two 

T-38 squadrons already assigned to the 64th Flying 

Training Wing at Reese took on the responsibility of 

conducting T-1A student training, slated to begin in 

January 1993. 

Flying Training Squadrons Inactivated 

With pilot production down dramatically, the 

command reassessed the need for four flying training 

squadrons at each UPT base and concluded two 

would do. Accordingly, on 1 October 1992, ATC 

inactivated the following units: the 43d and 49th 

Flying Training Squadrons at Columbus AFB, 

Mississippi; the 84th and 86th Flying Training 

Squadrons at Laughlin AFB, Texas; the 7th and 26th 

at Vance AFB, Oklahoma; and the 33d at Reese 

AFB, Texas. That left one T-37 squadron and one 

T-38 squadron at each UPT wing. As each wing 

implemented specialized undergraduate pilot training, 

ATC intended to reactivate one of the squadrons to 

serve as the T-1A squadron. 

Navigator Training Squadron at Randolph 

Air Training Command intended to transfer 

specialized undergraduate navigator training (SUNT) 

from the 323d Flying Training Wing at Mather to the 

12th Flying Training Wing at Randolph, when the 

323d inactivated and Mather closed in 1993. To 

prepare for that eventuality, the command activated 

the 558th Flying Training Squadron at Randolph on 

15 December 1992, assigning it to the 12th. Air 

Training Command planned to activate three more 

squadrons in 1993 to accommodate the navigator 

training mission. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

Enhanced Flight Screener 

After a delay of five months because the original 

contract award was protested, the Air Force 

confirmed on 22 September 1992 that Slingsby 

Aviation Limited of Great Britain would get the 

contract to replace the T-41 flight screener. Slingsby, 

teamed with Northrup Worldwide Aircraft Services, 

Inc., won a contract worth almost $55 million to 

provide 113 "Firefly" aircraft to the Air Force for 

flight screening operations that Air Training 

Command conducted at Hondo, Texas, and the US 

Air Force Academy conducted at Colorado Springs, 

Colorado. Beginning in January 1993, ATC would 

get 57 of the new aircraft, and the Air Force 

Academy would receive 56 planes, officially 

designated the T-3. 

The T-1A “Jayhawk” is shown on display at Reese 

AFB, Texas, during ceremonies to mark the arrival 

and ATC’s acceptance of the first production 

model. 
1992 

278

TECHNICAL TRAINING TRENDS 

Over the past 60 years, technical training had 

swung back and forth between two different training 

philosophies. On the one hand, Air Training 

Command could provide extensive instruction to 

nonprior service personnel at its resident training 

centers, thus minimizing the need for additional 

training at the operational units. On the other, the 

command could teach only the minimum job 

knowledge individuals needed for their first job, then 

upgrade their knowledge through on-the-job training. 

The first option was expensive in time and money; the 

second, though faster and apparently less costly, 

shifted much of the burden to the operational 

commands. Availability of money, quality of recruits, 

and level of retention rates were some of the most 

significant factors that determined which philosophy 

was ascendant. 

During the mid-1970s, the Air Force began to shift 

its philosophy of training. After Vietnam, defense 

dollars were more limited, the quality of recruits 

comparatively poorer, and retention rates lower. As 

part of an Air Force program to improve resource 

management, Air Training Command began cutting 

resources used for formal training. The command 

reduced initial skills instruction to the absolute 

minimum by eliminating theory, fundamentals, and 

system specific elements in its basic resident courses. 

The most visible indicator of these changes was the 

decline in average course length from seventeen 

weeks in 1970 to eleven weeks in 1980. 

During the early 1980s, the Air Force entered a 

favorable recruiting period. Retention levels increased, and the defense budget was much less 

austere. Moreover, evidence began to accumulate 

that personnel were not being adequately trained in 

the shorter courses. When it became apparent the Air 

Force could no longer live with the cuts in initial 

skills training, ATC began a program to reverse the 

trend and return instruction in theory and 

fundamentals to many courses. The length of sortieproducing courses (those directly involved in support 

of the operational mission) rose from an average of 

nine weeks in 1979 to sixteen weeks in 1985. 

The end of the Cold War signaled more changes to 

ATC's technical training system. Spurred by a 

significant drawdown in the military services, two 

training centers, Chanute and Lowry, were scheduled 

to close in 1993 and 1994, respectively. At the same 

time, Air Training Command considered other ways 

to cut costs and save training dollars. These ranged 

from incorporating such advanced learning technologies as computerized instruction and distance 

learning to expanding interservice training. 

For the Air Force, 1992 was the "Year of 

Training," a time for an indepth review of the training 

process. The biggest change to come out of that 

review was the merging of Air Training Command 

and Air University into Air Education and Training 

Command in 1993. 

For the technical training community, the review 

resulted in a reemphasis on resident training. No 

longer would on-the-job training and field training be 

expected to make up for shortfalls in initial skills 

training. Instead, training centers would improve 

initial skills courses to the point where a graduate 

could perform his job upon arrival at his first 

assignment. This would give the Air Force a more 

standardized trainee; everyone would receive the 

same training to do specific jobs. 

In addition, the Air Force tied career progression 

more closely to training. Previously, noncommissioned officers participated in follow-on or 

continuation training when it was convenient to do so. 

Under the new program, all NCOs would be required 

to go back to technical school for refresher courses as 

they prepared to assume seven-level responsibilities. 

Using career field training management plans, Air 

Education and Training Command now had the 

ability to establish "cradle to grave" training programs 

for all career fields. 

64th FTW Prepares to Implement SUPT 

In March the T-1As began arriving at Reese on a 

regular basis. The 64th Flying Training Wing 

received four aircraft that first month, three T-1As in 

April, and five more in May. By the end of the year, 

the wing had a total of 24 aircraft. Many of those 

aircraft were used for extensive testing conducted 

first by the Air Force Operational Test and 

Evaluation Center and then by the initial cadre of 

instructor pilots assigned to the 64th. The wing began 

flying local sorties to test syllabus maneuvers and 

aircraft effectiveness on 9 March. Several Course 

Readiness Reviews and Start Training Readiness 

Reviews looked not just at the aircraft but also at 

other elements of the tanker-trainer training system, 

such as simulators and the Training Management 
1992 

279

System. In general, the 64th Flying Training Wing 

still had some wrinkles to iron out but was far enough 

along that it began the Instructor Transition Course 

on schedule in September. The course was designed 

to train T-37 and T-38 instructor pilots (IP) to be 

T-1A IPs; the initial cadre (who had received their 

training from Beech) taught the course. Meanwhile, 

the first SUPT class, Class 93-12, was already in 

training. It began Phase I training on 20 July 1992 

and would begin T-1A and T-38 training on 

24 January 1993. 

Reese AFB Receives First T-1A "Jayhawk" 

On 17 January 1992, the Air Force accepted the first 

production model of the T-1A "Jayhawk" at the 

Beech Aircraft Corporation facility at Wichita, 

Kansas. The T-1A was the aircraft that would get 

specialized undergraduate pilot training off the 

ground by preparing student pilots specifically for 

assignments in tanker and transport aircraft. The next 

day that aircraft, number 90-0400, was flown to 

Reese AFB, the first base that would switch to 

specialized undergraduate pilot training, for use as a 

maintenance training aircraft. Strictly speaking the 

T-1A at Reese was the third aircraft (TT-03) 

modified by Beech for the Air Force; the company 

temporarily retained the first two to conduct its own 

testing. Almost a month later, on 15 February, the 

64th Flying Training Wing held a formal ceremony at 

Reese to mark officially the arrival of the first T-1A 

at the base. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Water Survival Training 

The water survival training area at Turkey Point, 

Florida, near Homestead AFB, was one of the victims 

of Hurricane Andrew, which slammed into the east 

coast of Florida on 24 August 1992. The damage 

was so extensive the command was forced to move 

water survival training, transferring the 3613th 

Combat Crew Training Squadron from Homestead to 

Tyndall AFB, Florida. 

Shown are the remains of the Turkey Point water 

survival training complex located near Homestead 

AFB after Hurricane Andrew struck the Florida 

coast. As an interim measure, the Air Force 

relocated the Water Survival School to Tyndall 

AFB on Florida's gulf coast. 

MSgt Alonzo Powell, an Air 

Force recruiter and former jet 

engine mechanic, works late in 

his downtown Los Angeles 

office. Powell came to the office 

in November 1991 after it had 

been closed for two years due to 

lack of enlistments. In FY 92

148 percent of the recruiting

goal had been reached.
1992 

280

MILITARY TRAINING 

Minority Officer Issues 

As early as 1990, the Minority Officer Procurement 

and Development initiative recommended the 

establishment of an AFROTC prep school, which the 

Air Staff approved in 1991 but put on hold the 

following year. The Air Force had not established 

minority officer accession guidelines, and ATC 

measured its progress compared to the representation 

of those groups among the population of college 

students. General Ashy recommended tabling the 

idea, observing that AFROTC forecasted 6.8 percent 

black officer production for FY93, and OTS selection 

board rates were promising. ATC continued to 

emphasize minority recruiting, and in March 1992 

AFROTC established a “Gold Bar” program, in 

which newly-commissioned minority AFROTC 

graduates recruited minority scholarship candidates 

and referred OTS candidates to Recruiting Service. 

General Viccellio ultimately established a Minority 

Officer Accession Working Group to stay on top of 

the issue. 

General Henry Viccellio, Jr., explains how ATC 

and Air University will be integrated into the Air 

Education and Training Command, during an 

interview with Airman Magazine 1 December 

1992. 

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES 

The Air Force, due to the very nature of its 

mission, had long been engaged in a variety of 

operations dealing with toxic and hazardous waste 

materials that had migrated into the surrounding area 

and resulted in environmental damage. This issue 

began receiving increased attention in 1978 when 

President Carter signed an executive order governing 

federal compliance with pollution control standards. 

In 1981 Department of Defense mandated that its 

bases institute the Installation Restoration Program 

(IRP) to identify and rectify environmental problems 

resulting from earlier methods of waste disposal. By 

the end of FY 1992, ATC had cleaned up 149 of its 

301 contaminated sites. These sites included lowlevel radioactive waste disposal areas, pesticides, and 

abandoned underground storage tanks. 

To reduce toxic waste and lower costs, ATC 

replaced liquid chemical stripping of paint from 

aircraft and other equipment with plastic particle 

blasting. The first booth became operational in 

April 1989 at Randolph AFB, Texas. 

In addition to IRP and related programs, ATC also 

was involved in over 30 bioenvironmental 

engineering programs. These included the removal 

of asbestos from military facilities, testing for radon 

gas in military housing, and establishing recycling 

programs. To help commanders measure the degree 

to which they were complying with federal and state 

environmental regulations, the Air Force established 

the Environmental Compliance and Management 

Program (ECAMP) in 1988. 

Finally, ATC worked to minimize hazardous 

waste, a major source of which was aircraft painting. 

Consequently, ATC began an extensive program in 

the late 1980s to replace chemical stripping of 

aircraft paint with a blasting technique that used 

plastic particles called "media." Media bead blasting 

reduced significantly the generation of hazardous 

waste. 
281

 1993

The first day of July 1993 was more than just the day when Air Training Command absorbed Air 

University and changed the command designation to Air Education and Training Command (AETC). It was 

the point when the Air Force saw the goals of the Year of Organization and the Year of Training come 

together to form a single command, AETC. For a moment, the focus shifted from downsizing to better 

organizing. AETC assumed responsibility for both aspects of career development, training and education. 

Missions such as combat crew training, pararescue, and combat controller training, and (later) space training 

transferred to the new command. Airman would report to their operational units mission ready. 

Restructuring the command therefore assumed first place among the issues facing the command staff. The 

introduction of three new training aircraft, the T-1, T-3, and T-6 (JPATS), joint training, the closure of 

Chanute, Mather, and Williams AFBs, and several A-76 studies were also major challenges. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of December 1993) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 14 

Alabama--Maxwell; Arizona--Luke; Colorado--Lowry; Florida--Tyndall; 

Mississippi--Columbus and Keesler; Oklahoma--Altus and Vance; Texas--

Goodfellow, Lackland, Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, and Sheppard 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 60,050 (10,113 officers; 35,160 enlisted; 14,759 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,377 (C-5, C-21, C-141, F-15, F-16, HC-130, KC-135, MC-130, MH-53J, 

MH-60, NCH-53A, T-1, T-37, T-38, T-39, T-41, T-43, TH-53A, UH-1N) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

4 numbered air force and equivalent units: 

AIR UNIVERSITY, Maxwell AFB AL: (including 

15 major subordinate units) 

502d Air Base Wing, Maxwell AFB AL 

Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB 

AL 

Air Force Institute of Technology, WrightPatterson AFB OH 

Air Force Quality Institute, Maxwell AFB AL 

Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, 

Maxwell AFB AL 

Air University Library, Maxwell AFB AL 

Air War College, Maxwell AFB AL 

College of Aerospace Doctrine, Research, and 

Education, Maxwell AFB AL 

College for Enlisted Professional Military 

Education, Maxwell AFB AL 

Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

Extension Course Institute, Maxwell AFB AL 

Ira C. Eaker College for Professional 

Development, Maxwell AFB AL 

Officer Training School, Maxwell AFB AL 

Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB AL 

USAF Civil Air Patrol, Maxwell AFB AL 

SECOND AIR FORCE, Keesler AFB MS: 

(including 5 wings and equivalent units) 

Lowry Training Center, Lowry AFB CO 

17th Training Wing, Goodfellow AFB TX 

37th Training Wing, Lackland AFB TX 

81st Training Wing, Keesler AFB MS 

82d Training Wing, Sheppard AFB TX 

NINETEENTH AIR FORCE, Randolph AFB TX: 

(including 10 wings, 1 independent group, and 1 

independent squadron) 

12th Flying Training Wing, Randolph AFB TX 

14th Flying Training Wing, Columbus AFB MS 

47th Flying Training Wing, Laughlin AFB TX 

58th Fighter Wing, Luke AFB AZ 

64th Flying Training Wing, Reese AFB TX 

71st Flying Training Wing, Vance AFB OK 

80th Flying Training Wing, Sheppard AFB TX 

97th Air Mobility Wing, Altus AFB OK 
1993 

282

325th Fighter Wing, Tyndall AFB FL 

336th Crew Training Group, Fairchild AFB WA 

419th Operations Training Squadron, Randolph 

AFB TX 

542d Crew Training Wing, Kirtland AFB NM 

USAF RECRUITING SERVICE, Randolph AFB 

TX: (including 4 groups) 

360th Recruiting Group, Hanscom AFB MA 

367th Recruiting Group, Robins AFB GA 

369th Recruiting Group, Lackland AFB TX 

372d Recruiting Group, Hill AFB UT 

3 independent units: 

59th Medical Wing, Lackland AFB TX 

338th Training Support Group, Randolph AFB 

TX 

Air Force Security Assistance Squadron, 

Randolph AFB TX 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

General Henry Viccellio, Jr., continued as the 

AETC commander, and Lt Gen Eugene E. Habiger 

remained vice commander. 

ORGANIZATION 

Air Training Command Redesignated 

On 1 July 1993, HQ USAF redesignated Air Training 

Command as Air Education and Training Command 

(AETC). For all practical purposes, this action made 

AETC the focal point for all education and training 

activities in the Air Force. The only notable 

exceptions were that operational commands 

continued crew training where the requirements were 

relatively small (e.g., B-1 and F-117 training), and 

the United States Air Force Academy retained its 

independent status. 

Air University 

Ten years after its return to major command status, 

Air University again became a subordinate part of 

Air Education and Training Command. As part of the 

decision to realign Air University under AETC, HQ 

USAF also made the Air Force Officer Training 

School, Community College of the Air Force, and the 

First Sergeants Academy subordinate organizations 

of Air University. The Air Force legal and chaplain 

training programs also transferred to Air University.

Numbered Air Forces Established 

On 1 July 1993, AETC activated the Nineteenth Air 

Force at Randolph to supervise flying training and 

the Second Air Force at Keesler to manage all 

technical training units. 
1993 

283

Training Centers and Training Wings

Effective 1 July, ATC inactivated the training centers 

at Goodfellow, Lackland, Keesler, and Sheppard. 

They were succeeded by the 17th, 37th, 81st, and 82d 

Training Wings, respectively all activated that same 

day. 

Technical Training Groups 

At the same time the wings were activated, the 

designations of the training groups changed, 

assuming the same numerical designations as their 

parent wings. Thus, the 391st Technical Training 

Group at Goodfellow became the 17th Technical 

Training Group, the 393d at Keesler became the 81st, 

the 394th at Lackland became the 37th, and the 396th 

at Sheppard became the 82d. In addition, the 394th 

Military Training Group at Lackland became the 37th 

Military Training Group, and at Sheppard the 396th 

Medical Training Group became the 82d Medical 

Training Group and the 82d Field Training Group. 

General Merrill A. McPeak and 

General Henry Viccellio, Jr., at 

the ceremony marking the 

standup of Air Education and 

Training Command, 1 July

1993 (above). 

Maj Gen John C. Griffith 

assumes command of Second 

Air Force, 1 July 1993 (left). 
1993 

284

Medical Centers 

The status of AETC's two largest medical facilities 

also changed on 1 July 1993. The command 

redesignated Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center at 

Lackland as the 59th Medical Wing, though the 

facility continued to be called Wilford Hall Medical 

Center, and replaced the Keesler Medical Center with 

the 81st Medical Group. 

Crew Training Reassignments 

Since AETC picked up a major portion of the crew 

training mission on 1 July 1993, HQ USAF 

reassigned the wings that had previously conducted 

the training to AETC. AETC gained the 58th Fighter 

Wing, Luke AFB, Arizona, and the 325th Fighter 

Wing, Tyndall AFB, Florida, from Air Combat 

Command. Also, AETC gained the 97th Air 

Mobility Wing, Altus AFB, Oklahoma, and the 542d 

Crew Training Wing, Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, 

from Air Mobility Command. 

Space and Missile Training 

Another Year of Training initiative implemented on 

1 July 1993 was to combine space and missile 

training. Previously the 4315th Combat Crew 

Training Squadron, an ACC unit, had provided 

missile training at Vandenberg AFB, California, and 

ATC's 319th Space Training Squadron had conducted 

undergraduate space training at Lowry AFB, 

Colorado. Both of those units inactivated, and AETC 

activated the 392d Space and Missile Training 

Squadron at Vandenberg, assigning it to the 17th 

Training Wing to perform both missions. 

Survival School Redesignated 

In converting the flying training wings and training 

centers to the objective wing structure, ATC also 

looked at the 3636th Combat Crew Training Wing 

(Survival) and determined it should be a group. 

Accordingly, on 29 January 1993, the command 

redesignated the 3636th as the 336th Crew Training 

Group. The redesignation was part of a large Air 

Staff initiative to redesignate four digit units to three 

and to preserve distinguished unit designations. At 

the same time, the command changed the 

designations of the group's subordinate squadrons. 

The 3612th, 3613th, and 3614th Combat Crew 

Training Squadrons became the 22d, 17th, and 66th 

Crew Training Squadrons, respectively. 

Air National Guard Units 

Effective 1 July 1993, Air Education and Training 

Command was designated the gaining command for 

three Air National Guard units with training 

missions. They were the 114th Fighter Squadron, 

Kingsley Field, Oregon; the 162d Fighter Group, 

Tucson International Airport, Arizona; and the 184th 

Fighter Group, McConnell AFB, Kansas. 

Officer Training School 

In anticipation of its move on 1 October 1993 from 

Lackland Annex to Maxwell AFB, Alabama, AETC 

reassigned the 301st Officer Training Squadron from 

the 394th Military Training Group at Lackland to Air 

University. The 301st Officer Training Squadron 

graduated its last class at Medina Annex on 

22 September 1993. On 1 October 1993, AETC 

redesignated the 301st Officer Training Squadron as 

the Officer Training School. 

College for Professional Military Education 

To consolidate all USAF enlisted professional 

military education under a single manager, Air 

Education and Training Command activated the 

College for Enlisted Professional Military Education 

(CEPME) as an Air University subordinate unit on 

15 December 1993, with the Air Force Senior NCO 

Academy and stateside NCO academies, which had 

belonged to the major commands, as the college’s 

subordinate organizations. 

Other Changes at Air University 

Three Air University subordinate organizations were 

redesignated. Effective 1 October 1993, the Air Force 

Aircrews also trained for various special 

operations at Kirtland in the MC-130H Combat 

Talon II aircraft. 

The 58th Fighter Wing at Luke AFB, Arizona, 

provided aircrew training for the F-16 air-toground mission. 
1993 

285

Quality Center became the Air Force Quality 

Institute; the name of the Air University Center for 

Aerospace Doctrine, Research, and Education 

changed to College of Aerospace Doctrine, Research, 

and Education; and the Ira C. Eaker Center for 

Professional Development became the Ira C. Eaker 

College for Professional Development. 

Deputy Chiefs of Staff Become Directors 

In accordance with guidance from the Air Staff, Air 

Training Command dropped the use of the title Chief 

of Staff on 1 February 1993 and referred to the 

individual holding that position as the Director of 

Executive Services. At the same time, the command 

also discontinued use of the title Deputy Chief of 

Staff for those heading major staff agencies and 

referred to them as Directors. The changes in 

terminology had a trickle-down effect; DCSs became 

directorates, directorates became divisions, and so on 

down the line. 

Operational Support Airlift 

Effective 15 April 1993, ATC activated the 332d 

Airlift Flight and assigned it to Randolph's 12th 

Operations Group. The activation of the 332d 

marked the transfer of five C-21A aircraft and 

operational support airlift responsibilities from Air 

Mobility Command to Air Training Command. 

Activation of Flying Training Squadrons 

To accommodate the navigator training mission at 

Randolph, ATC activated the 562d and 563d Flying 

Training Squadrons on 14 May. On that same date, 

the command also activated the 99th Flying Training 

Squadron at Randolph to train instructor pilots for the 

T-1A. 

Flight Screening Squadron 

As the 12th Flying Training Wing added new flying 

training squadrons to handle the T-1A and 

specialized undergraduate navigator training 

missions, ATC decided to redesignate the 1st Flight 

Screening Squadron as the 1st Flying Training 

Squadron. The name change took place on 28 May 

1993; the squadron remained assigned to the 12th 

Operations Group. Also assigned to the 12th 

Operations Group was the 557th Flying Training 

Squadron, the unit at the Air Force Academy that 

conducted flight screening and which was reassigned 

to AETC on 1 July. 

Inter-American Air Forces Academy 

In August 1992 Hurricane Andrew hit the Florida 

coast south of Miami and wiped out Homestead AFB. 

Following the hurricane, the Air Force temporarily 

relocated the Inter-American Air Forces Academy 

from Homestead to Lackland. Subsequently, the Air 

Force decided to make that arrangement permanent 

and, on 2 June 1993, the academy was relieved from 

assignment to Air Combat Command and assigned to 

Air Training Command. The unit was then further 

assigned to Lackland Training Center. 

Social Actions Relocated 

On 1 November 1993, AETC wings acted on HQ 

USAF’s directions to move the social actions 

function from the mission support squadron to the 

wing commander’s staff. At the same time, the 

responsibility for equal opportunity and treatment 

inquiries went to the wing Inspector General, but 

counseling and complaint reviews remained in the 

social actions office. 

INSTALLATIONS 

Chanute Inactivated 

Chanute AFB, Illinois, was one of the casualties of 

the first round of base closure. On 30 September 

1993, AETC inactivated the Chanute Technical 

Training Center, and the base closed the following 

day. Aerospace ground equipment, fuels, as well as 

jet and turboprop engine maintenance training moved 

to Sheppard AFB. Fire protection moved to 

Goodfellow AFB, weather training moved to Keesler 

AFB, vehicle maintenance moved to Lackland AFB, 

metals training moved to Aberdeen Proving Ground, 

and Nondestructive Inspection moved to NAS 

Pensacola. 

The 542d Crew Training Wing at 

Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, used

the MH-60 helicopter to train crews 

in the Pave Hawk mission--combat 

search and rescue and the 

infiltration/exfiltration of special 

operations forces. 
1993 

286

Shown is the flight crew of a T-43 preparing to 

depart Mather for the last time. 

Mather Inactivated 

Mather AFB, California, was another casualty of the 

first round of base closure. On 30 September 1993, 

AETC inactivated the 323d Flying Training Wing, 

and the base closed on 1 October 1993. 

Williams Inactivated 

The second round of base closure tapped Williams 

AFB, Arizona, for shutdown. AETC inactivated the 

host unit, the 82d Flying Training Wing, on 31 March 

1993, leaving the now independent 82d Operations 

Group to close the base. The command inactivated 

the operations group on 30 September 1993, and 

Williams AFB closed on 1 October 1993. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

Crew Training 

When AETC took on the crew training mission on 1 

July, it also picked up a sizeable number of fighters, 

tankers, transports, and helicopters from ACC and 

AMC. These aircraft were called “grey jets,” which 

referred to the grey paint schemes used on 

operational aircraft versus the traditional white paint 

scheme used on undergraduate pilot training aircraft. 

Overall, the command gained 287 aircraft 109 F-15s, 

101 F-16s, 58 tanker-transport aircraft, and 19 

helicopters. At Tyndall AETC picked up 78 F-15s 

(A through D models) to conduct air-to-air training. 

At Luke the command inherited 101 F-16s and 31 

F-15E Strike Eagles to provide air-to-ground training. 

At Altus it gained 7 C-5As and 15 C-141Bs to train 

AMC aircrew members. Also, AETC took over 6 

KC-135A/Q and 21 KC-135R tankers at Castle AFB, 

California, to conduct air-to-air refueling training. 

And, the command gained a variety of special 

operations aircraft at Kirtland including five 

HC-130P and four MC-130H aircraft, as well as six 

UH-1N, four MH-60G, five MH-53J, two CH-53A, 

and two NCH-53A helicopters. 

A contract simulator instructor monitors the performance of a prospective instructor pilot in the new 

T-1A simulator at Randolph AFB.
1993 

287

At Tyndall AFB, Florida, a pilot checks out in the F-15D air superiority fighter. 

First SUPT Class 

The 64th Flying Training Wing at Reese AFB 

graduated the Air Force’s first SUPT class on 29 July 

1993. These were the first students to select either the 

bomber-fighter track or airlift-tanker track based on 

their standings when they completed T-37 training. 

Fighter Training Moved from Holloman AFB 

On 10 September 1992, HQ USAF announced that 

Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals training would 

move from Holloman AFB, New Mexico, to ATC’s 

SUPT bases. A subsequent decision moved the 

training to only three bases: Columbus, Sheppard, 

and Randolph AFBs. Columbus conducted its first 

regular class on 20 September, Randolph on 

5 November 1993, and Sheppard in January 1994. 

Joint Specialized Undergraduate Pilot 

Training 

Beginning on 8 September 1993, the first six T-44A 

naval instructor pilots (one from the Marine Corps, 

one from the Coast Guard, and four from the U.S. 

Navy) reported to the 64th Flying Training Wing as 

T-37 instructor pilots, adding the “joint” to JSUPT. 

Three instructor pilots from Reese joined VT-31 at 

NAS Corpus Christi to serve as T-44A instructors in 

December. 

T-1A Pilot Instructor Training 

On 18 August 1993, with six T-1A aircraft on base, 

the 12 FTW began its first T-1A Instructor Transition 

Course at Randolph AFB. The first standard T-1A 

PIT class was scheduled to begin on 15 March 1994. 

F-15E Training 

On 15 November 1993, the Air Force announced its 

decision to reassign the F-15E operations training 

program, beginning in FY95, from AETC at Luke 

AFB to ACC at Seymour Johnson AFB, in order to 

accommodate additional F-16 training at Luke. 

The 97th Air Mobility Wing provided training for 

C-5 (top) and C-141 (middle) aircrews at the 

schoolhouse at Altus AFB, Oklahoma. The wing’s 

398th Operations Group at Castle AFB, 

California, conducted aerial refueling training for 

KC-135 (bottom) crews. 

Navigator Training 

Specialized Undergraduate Navigator Training 

moved from Mather AFB and began at Randolph 

AFB on 20 April 1993. On 10 August 1993, the first 

students, all ANG or foreign officers, entered the first 

SUNT class at Randolph AFB, earning their wings in 
1993 

288

late January 1994. However, the first active duty Air 

Force students did not graduate until the following 

April. 

Introduction to Bomber Fundamentals 

The first SUPT class with graduates entering 

Introduction to Bomber Fundamentals (IBF) began 

training at Reese AFB in December 1993. The course 

was designed to provide bomber pilots with classroom and simulator training in crew coordination, 

crew concept, and low-level flying procedures. 

Navigators and electronic warfare officers also 

attended the course. 

A pararescue student, equipped with parachute 

and survival gear, trains on a hanging harness for 

an upcoming parachute drop at the Pararescue 

Continuation Training School, Kirtland AFB, 

New Mexico. 

MILITARY TRAINING 

Biennial Review of BMT 

The 37th Training Wing hosted the 16th Basic 

Military Training Biennial Review in September 

1993. The review recommended that recruiting, basic 

military training, and technical training be integrated 

into a single process that would use a building block 

approach to bring a new member from the recruiter to 

his or her first active duty assignment. 

Recruiter Assistance Program 

Starting in August 1993, recent BMT graduates who 

went home on leave could work with local recruiters 

on a TDY status. The program generated leads by 

allowing potential recruits to speak directly with their 

peers who had recently become members of the Air 

Force. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Mission Ready Technician 

In early June 1993, General Viccellio told the Air 

Staff Director of Logistics and the ACC and AMC 

commanders that he would test a Mission Ready 

Training concept, which would produce a missionready technical training graduate, starting with the 

C-141 apprentice crew chief course. The 82d 

Training Wing would conduct the course, supported 

by the 97th Air Mobility Wing at Altus AFB. 

Pararescue and Combat Control Training 

As part of the Year of Training initiative, Air 

Mobility Command passed responsibility for 

pararescue (PJ) and combat control (CCT) training to 

AETC. The command chose to align the training 

under Nineteenth Air Force, which managed flying 

training, though Second Air Force, the command’s 

technical training component, ran the training 

pipeline and had responsibility for the conduct of the 

joint PJ/CCT indoctrination course, which the 37th 

Training Wing conducted. The career fields required 

lengthy specialized training, and few candidates 

completed the physically demanding programs. The 

career fields were chronically undermanned, 

therefore, and resolving this issue would be a 

persistent challenge over the next few years. 

Space and Missile Training 

After the 392d Space and Missile Training Squadron 

stood up at Vandenberg, AETC began to consolidate 

space and missile training, including operations and 

maintenance. The biggest challenge was to combine 

undergraduate missile and undergraduate space 

training. The purpose of the new undergraduate space 

and missile training (USMT) was to produce a 

graduate who could fill any job in the career field. 

EDUCATION 

Distance Learning 

The Air Force Institute of Technology broadcast its 

first distance learning course in November 1993 after 

the Air Force acquisition community levied a large 

training requirement for all personnel working in 

acquisition-coded positions. 
289

1994

The reorganization of AETC continued, as the command adopted the concept of the objective wing at 

headquarters AETC and Air University. Because the command had become responsible for crew training, 

several new wings stood up or transferred into the command. These wings would conduct Special Operations, 

F-16, Space and Missile, and Airlift training. At the same time, the first Specialized Undergraduate Pilot 

Training (SUPT) and Joint SUPT courses commenced. The first round of the Base Realignment and Closure 

Commission concluded for AETC as Lowry AFB joined Chanute, Mather, and Williams AFBs, which had 

closed the previous year. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of December 1994) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 13 

Alabama--Maxwell; Arizona--Luke; Florida--Tyndall; Mississippi--

Columbus and Keesler; Oklahoma--Altus and Vance; Texas--

Goodfellow, Lackland, Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, and Sheppard 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 58,642 (9,980 officers; 34,369 enlisted; 14,293 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,561 (AT-38, C-5, C-12, C-21, C-141, F-15, F-16, HC-130P, KC-135, 

MC-130H, MH-53J, MH-60G, T-1, T-3, T-37, T-38, T-41, T-43, 

TH-53A, UH-1N) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

4 numbered air force and equivalent units: 

AIR UNIVERSITY, Maxwell AFB AL: (including 

15 major subordinate units) 

42d Air Base Wing, Maxwell AFB AL 

Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB 

AL 

Air Force Institute of Technology, WrightPatterson AFB OH 

Air Force Quality Institute, Maxwell AFB AL 

Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, 

Maxwell AFB AL 

Air University Library, Maxwell AFB AL 

Air War College, Maxwell AFB AL 

College of Aerospace Doctrine, Research, and 

Education, Maxwell AFB AL 

College for Enlisted Professional Military 

Education, Maxwell AFB AL 

Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

Extension Course Institute, Maxwell AFB AL 

Ira C. Eaker College for Professional 

Development, Maxwell AFB AL 

Officer Training School, Maxwell AFB AL 

Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB AL 

USAF Civil Air Patrol, Maxwell AFB AL 

SECOND AIR FORCE, Keesler AFB MS: 

(including 4 wings, 1 independent group, and 1 

independent squadron) 

17th Training Wing, Goodfellow AFB TX 

37th Training Wing, Lackland AFB TX 

81st Training Wing, Keesler AFB MS 

82d Training Wing, Sheppard AFB TX 

381st Training Group, Vandenberg AFB CA 

602d Training Support Sq, Edwards AFB CA 

NINETEENTH AIR FORCE, Randolph AFB TX: 

(including 10 wings, 1 independent group, and 1 

independent squadron) 

12th Flying Training Wing, Randolph AFB TX 

14th Flying Training Wing, Columbus AFB MS 

47th Flying Training Wing, Laughlin AFB TX 

56th Fighter Wing, Luke AFB AZ 

58th Special Operations Wing, Kirtland AFB NM 

64th Flying Training Wing, Reese AFB TX 

71st Flying Training Wing, Vance AFB OK 

80th Flying Training Wing, Sheppard AFB TX 

97th Air Mobility Wing, Altus AFB OK 

325th Fighter Wing, Tyndall AFB FL 

336th Crew Training Group, Fairchild AFB WA 

619th Training Support Sq, Randolph AFB TX 
1994 

290

HQ AIR FORCE RECRUITING SERVICE, 

Randolph AFB TX: (including 4 groups) 

360th Recruiting Group, Hanscom AFB MA 

367th Recruiting Group, Robins AFB GA 

369th Recruiting Group, Lackland AFB TX 

372d Recruiting Group, Hill AFB UT 

2 independent units: 

59th Medical Wing, Lackland AFB TX 

Air Force Security Assistance Squadron, 

Randolph AFB TX 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

General Henry Viccellio, Jr., continued as the 

AETC commander, and Lt Gen Eugene E. Habiger 

remained vice commander. 

ORGANIZATION 

Changes to the Objective Wing 

On 1 January 1994, the Air Staff replaced the Morale, 

Welfare, Recreation, and Services designation with 

Services. AETC redesignated its units as services 

squadrons on the same day. In another change 

implemented Air Force-wide on 1 March 1994, 

AETC replaced its civil engineering designations 

with a new term, civil engineer. HQ USAF added a 

fourth organization to the original three-group, 

objective wing template as the medical group joined 

the existing operations, logistics, and support groups. 

Between 1 July and 30 September 1994, the Air 

Force began replacing its hospitals and clinics with 

the objective medical groups. Of AETC’s various 

units, only the 37th Training Wing, 58th Special 

Operations Wing, and the 80th Flying Training Wing, 

along with the 336th and 381st Training Groups, did 

not establish objective medical groups; the 37th 

because Lackland was also home to the 59th Medical 

Wing (Wilford Hall) and the other units because they 

were tenants who received their medical support from 

their host organizations. In November 1992, the 

CSAF added a plans office to the objective wing; but 

AETC chose to delay establishing a wing plans office 

until standup of the merged command. It was not 

until 1 July 1994 that AETC’s wings moved their 

logistics plans functions out of the logistics or 

support groups into the plans offices, finalizing the 

new organizations. 

2d Lts John Joyce (right) and Craig Parker (left) 

perform an inspection in the Minuteman Rapid 

Execution and Combat Targeting (REACT) B 

"Deuce" Missile Procedures Trainer. 

Space and Missile Training 

On 1 April 1994, AETC activated the 381st Training 

Group (Provisional) at Vandenberg AFB, California. 

Still in existence but separate from the provisional 

group were the 392d Space and Missile Training 

Squadron and its detachment at Lowry. On 1 October 

1994, AETC inactivated the temporary organization 

and activated the 381st Training Group, with four 

training squadrons, including the newly redesignated 

392d Training Squadron. 

338th Training Support Group 

On 18 February 1994, AETC inactivated the 338th 

Training Support Group, redistributing its missions to 

other organizations. This was a move away from 

using a group to oversee non-management headquarters functions. 

602d Training Support Squadron 

On 23 March 1994, AETC reassigned the 602d 

Training Support Squadron, located at Edwards AFB, 

California, from the 982d Training Group (82d 

Training Wing) to Second Air Force. 

58th Special Operations Wing 

On 1 April 1994, HQ USAF redesignated the 58th 

Fighter Wing at Luke AFB, Arizona, as the 58th 

Special Operations Wing and, on paper, moved the 

unit to Kirtland AFB, New Mexico. There it replaced 

the 542d Crew Training Wing, which AETC 
1994 

291

inactivated the same day. Personnel and resources of 

the 542d were used to stand up the 58th Special 

Operations Wing. 

56th Fighter Wing 

On 1 April 1994, HQ Air Force transferred its 56th 

Fighter Wing designation from MacDill AFB, 

Florida, to Luke AFB. When the 58th Special 

Operations Wing moved to Kirtland, it left most of its 

personnel and equipment at Luke, which HQ AETC 

used to stand up the 56th Fighter Wing. 

336th Training Group 

Another change occurred on 1 April 1994 when HQ 

Air Force redesignated the 336th Crew Training 

Group at Fairchild AFB, Washington, as the 336th 

Training Group 

619th Training Support Squadron 

On 1 April 1994, AETC redesignated 419th 

Operations Training Squadron as the 619th Training 

Support Squadron. 

Operational Support Airlift Training 

One of the initiatives of the Year of Training was to 

consolidate and relocate the Operational Support 

Airlift schoolhouses for the C-12F and C-21A from 

Scott AFB, Illinois, and C-12C/D from Andrews 

AFB, Maryland. After looking at various locations, 

the Air Force decided to locate both programs at 

Keesler AFB on 1 July 1994. 

Maxwell Air Base Wing Designation 

On 1 October 1994, AETC inactivated the 502d Air 

Base Wing, the host unit at Maxwell AFB, and 

replaced it with the 42d Air Base Wing. This was part 

of the Air Force’s effort to retain on active status 

those wings with the most illustrious histories. 

AETC Band 

On 1 October 1994, HQ USAF redesignated the 

AETC Band as the AETC Band of the West. 

INSTALLATIONS 

Lowry Inactivated 

Lowry AFB closed on 1 October 1994. Lowry’s 

small missile maintenance, Undergraduate Space 

Training, and Enlisted Space Operations Training 

moved to Vandenberg. Other courses moved elsewhere. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

The March Toward SUPT 

Student pilots at the 47th Flying Training Wing made 

their first SUPT track selections on 18 May 1994. 

After receiving its first T-1A on 19 November 1993, 

the first student sortie at Laughlin AFB in the new 

trainer occurred on 6 June 1994. Vance AFB received 

its first T-1A on 8 December 1994, and its first SUPT 

class entered training the following April. 

Joint SUPT 

The first two Navy students arrived at Reese AFB in 

September 1994 for joint specialized undergraduate 

pilot training. 

Enhanced Flight Screening 

Slingsby Aviation Limited delivered the first two 

T-3A Firefly aircraft on 4 February 1994 to Hondo 

Field, Texas, for the enhanced flight screening 

program. On 14 March 1994, five students in 

Class 94-11 became the first to begin flight screening 

with the T-3A. 

Women in Combat Flying Training 

1st Lt Jeannie M. Flynn became the first female to 

complete training in the F-15E Strike Eagle at Luke 

AFB, Arizona. After earning a master’s degree in 

aerospace engineering from Stanford University, she 

1st Lt Jeannie Flynn was first in her 

Undergraduate Pilot Training class in 1992 and 

chose to fly F-15s. By the end of 2002, she had 

logged over 2,000 hours in the F-15E, including 200 

hours in Operation Allied Force. 
1994 

292

AIR FORCE FLIGHT SCREENING 

The USAF did not create a true flight screening 

program until the Korean War. Before World War II, 

the Army Air Corps’ stringent qualification requirements naturally screened candidates for the relatively 

small number of pilots needed. During World War II, 

the Army Air Forces needed men to fill 100,000 

aircrew positions, and thousands of candidates went 

through training. Qualification requirements relaxed 

initially before becoming more rigorous as the 

urgency for pilot production lessened during the 

course of the war. The Korean War increased the 

demand for more pilots, but the tight defense budget 

meant that the Air Force could no longer rely on a 

high washout rate to screen pilot candidates. 

Consequently, the USAF adopted the Revitalized 

Pilot Training Program in November 1952. 

The introduction of the all-jet inventory of trainer 

aircraft in 1958 called into question the usefulness of 

a light aircraft flight screening program, which did 

not offer any experience in a high-performance 

trainer. The program ended in 1960, only to be 

revived when the war in Southeast Asia again 

increased the demand for pilots. In 1965, contractors 

near the Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) bases 

offered student pilots 30 hours of training in the 

Cessna 172F, which the USAF designated the T-41A. 

Later that year, ATC officials reported that the T-41 

was proving to be a good screening device to 

eliminate students who lacked the aptitude or 

motivation to fly. The Air Force Academy followed 

ATC by formalizing the Pilot Indoctrination Program 

(PIP) in 1968. Operational control of the Academy’s 

flight screening mission switched several times 

between the Academy and ATC. 

As ATC planned to implement Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training, Lt Gen Robert Oaks directed a 

review of all flying training programs. The outcome 

was a decision to adopt an acrobatic flight screener to 

better screen candidates with a goal of further 

reducing UPT attrition. Both AETC and the Academy 

adopted the Enhanced Flight Screening program with 

the mid-1990s arrival of the new Slingsby T-3A. 

Training started at Hondo, Texas, for ROTC and OTS 

students, and at the Academy for cadets. Almost 

immediately, the command experienced problems 

with the T-3, and ultimately cancelled the program in 

1998 following the loss of three aircrews at the 

Academy.

After the cancellation of EFS, attrition rates in 

SUPT predictably rose. For pilots without prior flying 

experience, the washout rate doubled to 15.6 percent. 

In response, AETC and the Air Force Academy 

implemented the Introductory Flight Training (IFT) 

program in 1998. Through IFT, students earned a 

private pilot’s license, which AETC had adopted as a 

prerequisite for UPT. Attrition rates improved in 

SUPT to 8.8 percent under the new program.

Headquarters AETC began planning in 2002 to 

implement a flight screening program, which would 

be called Introductory Flight Screening (IFS). The 

Academy’s version would be called Academy Flight 

Screening (AFS). Rather than requiring a private 

pilot’s license, IFS would follow procedures similar 

to SUPT and would require a check ride to pass. 

Instructor pilots would still be mainly contractors, but 

training would be offered at a single location and the 

syllabus standardized. Headquarters AETC expected 

that under the new program students would solo after 

about 15 hours and fly their check ride at around 23 to 

28 hours. Despite setbacks, the flight screening 

program had proven its value to the command by 

reducing attrition in SUPT. 

graduated first in her UPT class at Laughlin AFB in 

December 1992, and chose the F-15 after Chief of 

Staff General Merrill McPeak opened the door for 

women to fly combat aircraft. 

Joint Helicopter Training 

In 1992 the Air Staff decided that helicopter pilot 

training should become an SUPT track, which meant 

that prospective Air Force helicopter pilots would go 

through fixed-wing (T-37 and later JPATS) training, 

make their track selection, and go on to Fort Rucker, 

Alabama, for rotary-wing training. The Army agreed, 

offering to train 24 students (up from 10 a year from 

FY92-94) in FY94 and 50 in FY95. In preparation, 

AETC activated the 23rd Flying Training Flight at 

Fort Rucker on 15 January 1994, assigning it to the 

Air Force’s helicopter schoolhouse, the 542d Crew 

Training Wing at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico. On 

2 November 1994, the first Air Force students to start 

the new helicopter training plan entered training at 

Fort Rucker in SUPT Helicopter Class 95-01. 

KC-135 Training 

The 1990 BRAC Commission directed the closure of 

Castle AFB, California, by September 1995 and the 

movement of the KC-135 combat crew training 
1994 

293

school to Fairchild AFB, Washington. The BRAC in 

1993 redirected KC-135 training to Altus AFB. On 

20 January 1994, AETC activated the 97th Training 

Squadron at Altus to conduct the combat flight 

instructor course. Academic and simulator training 

continued at Castle, while the first class started flying 

at Altus on 21 January 1994 with three temporary 

duty KC-135 aircraft from the California base. On 

9 November 1994, AETC activated the 55th Air 

Refueling Squadron at Altus. This new unit assumed 

responsibility for initial KC-135 training. 

C-17 Training 

While AETC and AMC were working out a 

memorandum of agreement for support and operation 

of C-17 formal aircrew training, the first four 

students--four loadmasters from Charleston AFB, 

South Carolina entered C-17 simulator and academic 

training at Altus AFB, Oklahoma, on 22 June 1994. 

Conversion to JP-8 

HQ USAF had decided in 1991 to convert from JP-4 

to JP-8 jet fuel, primarily to address safety and 

environmental issues. The 58th Fighter Wing at Luke 

AFB converted in 1993, and AETC installed 

equipment to convert 479 T-37 aircraft to JP-8 

between February and May 1994. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

C-141 Mission Ready Technician Program 

Sheppard graduated its first class of C-141 crew 

chiefs under the mission ready technician program on 

29 July 1994. Students then moved on to Altus AFB 

for hands-on training where they graduated on 

16 August. This was the first AETC-developed 

training program that produced mission ready 

technicians upon graduation. 

Last Class at Lowry AFB 

Twenty-nine students completed the Apprentice 

Television Systems Specialist course on 29 April 

1994, the last class to graduate from Lowry Training 

Center before the base closed on 1 October 1994. 

Undergraduate Space and Missile Training 

On 14 December 1994, the first class graduated from 

Vandenberg’s new consolidated training course for 

all space and missile operations and maintenance 

officers. 

Water Survival Training 

When Hurricane Andrew destroyed the facilities of 

the USAF Water Survival School at Homestead AFB, 

Florida, in August 1992, the Air Force temporarily 

relocated the school to Tyndall AFB, where classes in 

water survival training began on 26 January 1993. 

After an Interservice Training Review Organization 

review, DOD decided to move Air Force water 

survival training to NAS Pensacola and consolidate it 

with the Navy program. Training ended at Tyndall in 

May 1994. The consolidated program began on 28 

June 1994 for Navy students and on 15 July 1994 for 

Air Force students. 

MILITARY TRAINING 

We Are All Recruiters (WEAR) 

In October 1994, Gen Viccellio challenged each wing 

to send an active duty spokesman to every high 

school in its local geographical area and to work 

more closely with their local area recruiters. 

The End of Direct Duty Assignments 

When Airman Basic Christine Ingram graduated 

from basic military training at Lackland AFB on 

17 March 1994, she became the last active duty basic 

trainee to go directly from basic training to her first 

duty assignment without going through a technical 

training program. New policy now required all BMT 

graduates to attend in-residence technical training to 

earn their 3-level certification before reporting to 

their first duty assignments. 

EDUCATION 

SAAS Degrees Awarded 

Congress granted the Air University commander 

authority to award a master’s degree to graduates of 

the School of Advanced Airpower Studies. 

A student at Air University’s School of Advanced 

Airpower Studies hits the books. 

Non-Resident PME Requirements 

The USAF reduced the maximum time students could 

take to complete the Air Command and Staff College 

nonresident course from 4 years to 18 months, and 

the Squadron Officer School correspondence course 

from 3 years to 18 months 
1994 

294

MISSION READY TECHNICIAN 

One of AETC’s key missions was to produce 

technical training graduates who were mission ready 

or as nearly mission ready as possible. The 

command increasingly moved away from lecturebased training towards more experiential learning 

and more student-focused learning. The Mission 

Ready Technician (MRT) and Mission Ready 

Airman (MRA) programs, developed in the mid1990s, sought to prepare course graduates to become 

contributing members of their units on day one of 

their arrival. On the one hand, the MRT program 

concentrated on training that required formal task 

certification, typically aircraft maintenance. On the 

other hand, the MRA program dealt with career 

fields in which airmen had to demonstrate an 

aptitude or skill that was not precisely measurable, 

such as customer service, mission support, and 

administrative Air Force Specialty Codes. 

The military reduced the size of its active duty 

force at the end of the Cold War. The Air Force 

consequently had excess front line aircraft and 

equipment available for transfer to AETC for 

training purposes. The transfer of Luke, Tyndall, and 

Altus AFB to AETC gave the command bases that 

could be used for realistic operational training. If 

AETC could employ the new equipment and 

facilities to produce a task-certified or more mission 

ready apprentice, operational units could reduce the 

amount of on-the-job training provided to new 

airmen. 

In early June 1993, General Henry Viccellio, Jr., 

the ATC commander, told the Air Staff Director of 

Logistics and the Air Combat Command and Air 

Mobility Command commanders that he would test 

a Mission Ready Training concept with a C-141 

apprentice crew chief course. The 82d Training 

Wing would conduct the course, supported by the 

97th Air Mobility Wing at Altus AFB. The first C141 MRT class graduated on 16 August 1994. Even 

before the test was complete, AETC planned 

additional courses, with the enthusiastic support of 

the MAJCOMs. The program, however, faced 

several hurdles. 

Mission Ready Technician training required a 

great deal of funding for instructors and student 

man-years. Training was the command’s mission, 

and General Viccellio was adamant that AETC 

would pay the bill. The command used a series of 

temporary fixes to come up with the manpower necessary to implement the first MRT courses, but by fall 

1995, it was obvious that AETC could not fund more 

than 61 percent of the 2,649 authorizations necessary to 

implement all 74 desired courses. General Boles asked 

the other MAJCOMs for help, but they did not have the 

authorizations to give up. Command training managers 

also tried, unsuccessfully, to gain resources through the 

program objective memorandum (POM) process. 

The term “Mission Ready Airman” evolved to 

include both MRT and MRA programs. At the same 

time, the acronym “MRT” came to signify “Mission 

Readiness Training” in common usage instead of 

mission ready technician. In December 2001, 

responsibility for the program transferred from HQ 

Second Air Force to HQ AETC. In 2000, HQ AETC 

gave up its quest for the hundreds of manpower 

authorizations and the tens of millions of dollars 

needed to convert approximately 50 more 3-levelawarding courses to an MRA format. Instead, at the 

June 2000 CORONA, the Air Force leadership decided 

that the candidate courses should undergo their normal 

utilization and training workshop review and that the 

career field managers and the other MAJCOMs should 

program money to accommodate the requested career 

field changes. 

Overall, AETC’s senior leadership was very pleased 

with the feedback it had gotten from the field. Funding 

problems had delayed the implementation of additional 

courses, but overall the program was successful in its 

goal of better preparing airman for their first duty 

assignments. 

A student in Tyndall’s Mission Ready Technician 

program marshals out an F-15. 
295

1995

The command reached an important milestone in the upgrade of aircraft for undergraduate flying 

training with the announcement that Beech Aircraft Corporation was selected to develop and deliver the 

Joint Primary Aircraft Training System, which comprised an aircraft later designated the T-6A Texan II 

along with associated simulators, equipment, courseware, and data management systems. The JPATS system 

would replace the venerable T-37 and represented a joint venture between the Air Force and Navy. Technical 

training continued to evolve in the wake of the creation of AETC, as the drawdown in the Field Training 

Program was put on hold. The Base Realignment and Closure commission announced the closure of Reese 

AFB and the realignment of Kelly AFB, as Congress and the Department of Defense sought to reduce the cost 

of maintaining unnecessary infrastructure. An increasingly challenging recruiting environment, created in 

part by a strong economy and the sense that military service in the wake of the post-Cold War drawdown 

provided fewer opportunities than previously, prompted the command to bolster recruiting programs. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of December 1995) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 13 

Alabama--Maxwell; Arizona--Luke; Florida--Tyndall; Mississippi--

Columbus and Keesler; Oklahoma--Altus and Vance; Texas--

Goodfellow, Lackland, Laughlin, Randolph, Reese, and Sheppard 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 58,085 (9,998 officers; 34,558 enlisted; 13,529 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,536 (AT-38, C-5, C-12, C-21, C-141, F-15, F-16, HC-130P, KC-135, 

MC-130H, MH-53J, MH-60G, T-1, T-3, T-37, T-38, T-43, TH-53A, 

UH-1N) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

4 numbered air force and equivalent units: 

AIR UNIVERSITY, Maxwell AFB AL: (including 

15 major subordinate units) 

42d Air Base Wing, Maxwell AFB AL 

Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB 

AL 

Air Force Institute of Technology, WrightPatterson AFB OH 

Air Force Quality Institute, Maxwell AFB AL 

Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, 

Maxwell AFB AL 

Air Force Senior NCO Academy, Gunter Annex, 

Maxwell AFB AL 

Air University Library, Maxwell AFB AL 

Air War College, Maxwell AFB AL 

College of Aerospace Doctrine, Research, and 

Education, Maxwell AFB AL 

College for Enlisted Professional Military 

Education, Maxwell AFB AL 

Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

Ira C. Eaker College for Professional 

Development, Maxwell AFB AL 

Officer Training School, Maxwell AFB AL 

Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB AL 

USAF Civil Air Patrol, Maxwell AFB AL 

SECOND AIR FORCE, Keesler AFB MS: 

(including 4 wings, 1 independent group, and 1 

independent squadron) 

17th Training Wing, Goodfellow AFB TX 

37th Training Wing, Lackland AFB TX 

81st Training Wing, Keesler AFB MS 

82d Training Wing, Sheppard AFB TX 

381st Training Group, Vandenberg AFB CA 

602d Training Support Squadron, Edwards AFB 

CA 

NINETEENTH AIR FORCE, Randolph AFB TX: 

(including 10 wings, 1 independent group, and 1 

independent squadron) 

12th Flying Training Wing, Randolph AFB TX 

14th Flying Training Wing, Columbus AFB MS 
1995 

296

47th Flying Training Wing, Laughlin AFB TX 

56th Fighter Wing, Luke AFB AZ 

58th Special Operations Wing, Kirtland AFB NM 

64th Flying Training Wing, Reese AFB TX 

71st Flying Training Wing, Vance AFB OK 

80th Flying Training Wing, Sheppard AFB TX 

97th Air Mobility Wing, Altus AFB OK 

325th Fighter Wing, Tyndall AFB FL 

336th Crew Training Group, Fairchild AFB WA 

619th Training Support Squadron, Randolph AFB 

TX 

HQ AIR FORCE RECRUITING SERVICE, 

Randolph AFB TX: (including 4 groups) 

360th Recruiting Group, Hanscom AFB MA 

367th Recruiting Group, Robins AFB GA 

369th Recruiting Group, Lackland AFB TX 

372d Recruiting Group, Hill AFB UT 

2 independent units: 

59th Medical Wing, Lackland AFB TX 

Air Force Security Assistance Squadron, 

Randolph AFB TX 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

General 

Billy J. Boles 

 On 20 June 1995, General Billy J. Boles assumed 

command of AETC from General Henry Viccellio, 

Jr., who became the new Air Force Materiel 

Command commander. General Boles had replaced 

Lt Gen Eugene E. Habiger temporarily as vice 

commander on 23 April 1995, before he, in turn, was 

The Louis F. Garland Department of Defense Fire 

Academy was located at Goodfellow AFB, Texas. 

replaced by Lt Gen John C. Griffith, formerly the 

Second Air Force commander. General Boles had 

been the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel at 

Headquarters Air Force before coming to AETC. 

General Habiger left AETC for that same Air Staff 

position. 

ORGANIZATION 

Extension Course Institute 

On 15 February 1995, AETC inactivated the 

Extension Course Institute, and Air University 

transferred its mission to the College of Aerospace 

Doctrine, Research, and Education. 

Inspector General 

In the spring of 1995, HQ USAF decided the wings 

needed a separate Inspector General function rather 

than using the wing vice commanders to fulfill this 

role. By the end of the year, 13 wings within AETC, 

as well as the Air Force Recruiting Service, had 

established dedicated Inspector General functions. 

Comptroller 

In 1994, the Air Staff shortened the title of its 

financial management and comptroller organization 

to the older and simpler title of comptroller. AETC 

made the title change on 13 December 1994. 

However, it wasn’t until February 1995 that the Air 

Force Chief of Staff agreed to establish numbered 

comptroller flights or squadrons, depending on the 

number of authorizations on the unit manning 

document. In May 1995, AETC activated four 

comptroller squadrons and six flights, ending with 

the stand up of the squadron at the 12th Flying 

Training Wing in January 1996. 

Director of Staff 

In March 1995, the Air Force Chief of Staff approved 

establishing a Director of Staff position at each of the 

major command headquarters. HQ AETC already had 

a Director of Executive Services, which the commander chose to rename as the Director of Staff, 

effective 1 April 1995. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

Joint Pilot Training 

On 15 April 1993, Secretary of Defense Les Aspin 

announced his decision that all services would 

consolidate fixed-wing aircraft training, beginning 

with the Air Force and Navy. The changes took years 

to implement, and it was not until 27 January 1995 
1995 

297

that the Air Force graduated its first Joint Specialized 

Undergraduate Pilot Training class, which included 

two Navy officers, at Reese AFB. 

Joint Navigator Training

Immediately after the 1993 decision to consolidate 

pilot training, the Air Force and Navy began to study 

the possibility of training their navigators in a 

common course. On 1 October 1995, all Air Force 

and Navy students entered navigator training at NAS 

Pensacola and followed a common syllabus. 

F-15E Training

The last operational F-15E training class at Luke 

graduated on 23 February 1995. Less than a month 

later, on 21 March, the final F-15E departed for 

Seymour Johnson AFB, transferring the F-15E 

training program to Air Combat Command. 

JPATS

On 22 June 1995, the Secretary of the Air Force 

announced the selection of Beech Aircraft 

Corporation to develop and deliver the Joint Primary 

Aircraft Training System. The Air Force would 

receive 372 of the new trainers and the Navy 339. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Fire Protection Training 

Goodfellow AFB dedicated its new, $44 million fire 

training complex on 19 January 1995. The facility 

housed all classrooms, instructor offices, and vehicle 

and trainer maintenance facilities, providing DOD 

with mission ready, nationally certified graduates. 

The 17th Training Wing graduated its first class of 

fire protection apprentices using the mission ready 

technician approach on 31 March 1995. 

FTD Drawdown on Hold 

On 26 January 1995, at the request of the DoD 

Inspector General, AETC put the field training 

detachment drawdown on hold. The command 

developed a new FTD regionalization concept to 

which the MAJCOM commanders agreed. 

Air Base Ground Defense 

Lackland’s Security Police Academy conducted Air 

Base Ground Defense training at Camp Bullis from 

1966 to 1985, at which time the USAF and Army 

agreed the latter service would conduct ground 

training jointly. The Air Force regained the ABGD 

training mission after the Army retired the former 

school at Fort Dix, New Jersey. The first Air Force 

students started at Lackland/Camp Bullis in August 

1995, and the final class completed their training at 

Fort Dix in October. 

MILITARY TRAINING 

Recruiter Manning

General Viccellio authorized 80 additional manpower 

slots and $2.5 million to pay for advertising in order 

to help AFRS meet recruiting goals. Between July 

and December 1995, these additional recruiters filled 

critical vacancies in the areas of health professional 

recruiting and Officer Training School. 

Retirees as Recruiters 

AFRS started an initiative using retirees in October 

1995 to supplement active-duty recruiters. These 

"Retirees as Recruiters" volunteered in recruiting 

offices and assisted recruiters in getting the message 

out in their local communities. 

BMT Attrition 

In FY95 the rate of attrition of BMT recruits reached 

10 percent, up from an average of 7 percent from 

FY85 to FY92. Medical disqualifications accounted 

for 70 percent of those eliminated. Physicians more 

quickly eliminated trainees with potentially chronic 

illnesses, such as asthma, which had been the 

principle medical cause for return from Operation 

Desert Storm deployment. 

AETC briefly

conducted F-15E 

crew training after 

gaining Luke AFB 

in 1993. Training

returned to ACC in 

1995. 
1995 

298

EDUCATION 

First Interservice CCAF Graduates

On 18 April 1995, the Community College of the Air 

Force graduated its first Army, Navy, and Marine 

Corps students. In September, however, Congress 

restricted eligibility to Air Force members only. 

However, those students from other services who 

were currently enrolled in CCAF could complete 

their degree programs. 

Foreign Job Exchange

On 1 July 1995, SMSgt Christopher Bryans departed 

the U.S. to serve as the first enlisted member in 

USAF history to participate in a formal job exchange 

with a foreign country. He served as an instructor at a 

German NCO school. CMSgt Peter Bothstede, from 

the German Air Force, performed similar duties at the 

Air Force Senior NCO Academy. 

TOPCAT Program

In April 1995 AETC kicked off the TOPCAT 

Program to create a “below-the-zone” type of 

promotion system for the command’s superstar 

instructors. Brig Gen Karen S. Rankin, AETC’s 

Director of Technical Training, later decided to 

discontinue the program because the envisioned 

opportunities never materialized. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

BRAC Announcement 

The Base Realignment and Closure Commission 

announced its decision to close Reese AFB in 1997. 

It also recommended realigning the Kelly AFB 

runway and the portion of land west of the runway to 

adjoining Lackland AFB in 2001. 

PILOT PRODUCTION 

Several new AETC initiatives helped the Air Force 

to solve a critical shortage of pilots in the 1990s. The 

end of the Cold War precipitated a military drawdown, and the Air Force inactivated units so quickly 

that the reduced force structure could not absorb 

many new pilots. In 1995 AETC turned out the fewest 

number of new active duty pilots the command had 

graduated since 1947. Under such volatile conditions, 

it came as no surprise that Air Staff planners 

projected a reversal of the downward trend and called 

for an increase in annual production to 1,100 pilots by 

FY02. Pilot retention problems exacerbated the 

projected training shortfall. The robust airline 

industry offered excellent employment opportunities, 

and their demand for new pilots was more than 

double the number reaching the end of their initial 

active duty service commitment each year. High 

operations tempos in support of contingency support 

operations degraded pilots’ quality of life, persuading 

many pilots to leave for those jobs. For every three 

pilots who left, only two entered the force. The 

retention problem became so acute that in early FY98 

the Air Staff shortened the period of time to double 

pilot production by two years. 

The closure of Williams AFB in 1993 and Reese 

AFB in 1997 limited AETC’s capacity to increase 

pilot production easily, so the command focused on 

other initiatives. The command changed the emphasis 

of training from rigorous evaluation to tailoring 

instruction to meet student needs without lowering 

standards, and attrition rates declined from a peak of 

37 percent in FY87 to 23 percent by FY90. Enhanced 

Flight Screening aimed at further reducing attrition. 

AETC also counted heavily on the Air Force Reserve 

Command (AFRC) and the Air National Guard 

(ANG) to complement its active duty instructor pilot 

force. Under the innovative Instructor Pilot Associate 

Program, nearly 500 Air Reserve Component 

instructor pilots served at six AETC pilot training 

bases. By the summer of 2001, Reserve associate 

squadrons were in place to support flying training. 

Because of SUPT, AETC no longer produced 

universally assignable pilots and therefore had to pay 

close attention to the requirements of fighter, 

transport, tanker, and helicopter units. As production 

increased and attrition fell, students not only faced 

delays while awaiting limited SUPT spaces, but also 

faced delays from one phase of training to the next. 

AETC reduced the numbers of entering students to 

better manage the pipeline. 

To improve retention, senior Air Force leadership 

reduced the number of rated positions at headquarters 

staffs, to free more pilots for flying assignments. The 

length of the initial active duty service commitment 

for pilots increased from 8 to 10 years, and the Air 

Force increased retention bonuses. 

In just four years, Air Education and Training 

Command doubled the number of active duty pilots it 

produced. From a baseline of 523 new pilots in FY96, 

the command increased production to 1,078 graduates 

in FY00. 
299

1996

The second half of the decade was a time of greater stability for the Air Force and for AETC. 

Modernization, recruiting, and retention replaced downsizing and reorganization as primary concerns. Pilot 

production began to expand after FY06, which saw the smallest number of officers complete Undergraduate 

Pilot Training since 1947. The command continued updating flying training programs and equipment. 

Columbus AFB became the last wing to receive the T-1A Jayhawk, which marked the end of AETC's 

transition to Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training that began in 1992. The Air Force awarded three 

contracts to McDonnell Douglas Aerospace Corporation to upgrade T-38 avionics systems. 

Shown is a view of C-17 Loadmaster training at Altus AFB. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of December 1996) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 13 

Alabama--Maxwell; Arizona--Luke; Florida--Tyndall; 

Mississippi--Columbus and Keesler; Oklahoma--Altus and 

Vance; Texas--Goodfellow, Lackland, Laughlin, Randolph, 

Reese, and Sheppard 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 56,828 (9,112 officers; 32,997 enlisted; 14,719 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,569 (AT-38, C-5, C-17, C-21, C-130, C-141, F-15, F-16, KC135, MC-130H, MC-130P, MH-53J, HH-60G, T-1, T-3, T-37, T38, T-43, TH-53A, UH-1N) 
1996 

300

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

4 numbered air force and equivalent units: 

AIR UNIVERSITY, Maxwell AFB AL: (including 

15 major subordinate units) 

42d Air Base Wing, Maxwell AFB AL 

Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB 

AL 

Air Force Institute of Technology, WrightPatterson AFB OH 

Air Force Quality Institute, Maxwell AFB AL 

Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, 

Maxwell AFB AL 

Air Force Senior NCO Academy, Gunter Annex, 

Maxwell AFB AL 

Air University Office of Academic Support 

Air War College, Maxwell AFB AL 

College of Aerospace Doctrine, Research, and 

Education, Maxwell AFB AL 

College for Enlisted 

Professional Military Education, 

Maxwell AFB AL 

Community College of the 

Air Force, Maxwell AFB AL 

Ira C. Eaker College for 

Professional Development, 

Maxwell AFB AL 

Officer Training School, 

Maxwell AFB AL 

Squadron Officer School, 

Maxwell AFB AL 

USAF Civil Air Patrol, 

Maxwell AFB AL 

SECOND AIR FORCE, 

Keesler AFB MS: (including 4 

wings, 1 independent group, and 

1 independent squadron) 

17th Training Wing, 

Goodfellow AFB TX 

37th Training Wing, Lackland 

AFB TX 

81st Training Wing, Keesler 

AFB MS 

82d Training Wing, Sheppard 

AFB TX 

381st Training Group, 

Vandenberg AFB CA 

602d Training Support 

Squadron, Edwards AFB CA 

NINETEENTH AIR FORCE, 

Randolph AFB TX: (including 

10 wings, 1 independent group, 

and 1 independent squadron) 

12th Flying Training Wing, 

Randolph AFB TX 

14th Flying Training Wing, Columbus AFB MS 

47th Flying Training Wing, Laughlin AFB TX 

56th Fighter Wing, Luke AFB AZ 

58th Special Operations Wing, Kirtland AFB NM 

64th Flying Training Wing, Reese AFB TX 

71st Flying Training Wing, Vance AFB OK 

80th Flying Training Wing, Sheppard AFB TX 

97th Air Mobility Wing, Altus AFB OK 

325th Fighter Wing, Tyndall AFB FL 

336th Training Group, Fairchild AFB WA 

619th Training Support Squadron, Randolph AFB 

TX 

HQ AIR FORCE RECRUITING SERVICE, 

Randolph AFB TX: (including 4 groups) 

360th Recruiting Group, Hanscom AFB MA 

367th Recruiting Group, Robins AFB GA 

Two 97th Airlift Wing C-17s practice air-dropping cargo pallets at a 

training range near Altus AFB, Oklahoma. 
1996 

301

369th Recruiting Group, Lackland AFB TX 

372d Recruiting Group, Hill AFB UT 

2 independent units: 

59th Medical Wing, Lackland AFB TX 

Air Force Security Assistance Squadron, 

Randolph AFB TX 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

General Billy J. Boles continued as the AETC 

commander, and Lt Gen John C. Griffith remained 

vice commander. 

ORGANIZATION 

HEADQUARTERS 

Directorate of Communications and 

Information 

On 20 December 1995, the Secretary of the Air Force 

approved the integration of command, control, 

communications, and computers with information 

management. Organizational changes within the 

command began in April 1996 when the 81st 

Training Wing combined its information 

management flight in the mission support squadron 

with the communications squadron. The merger 

command wide was completed early in 1997. 

Earlier, HQ AETC created its Directorate of Communications and Information on 29 August 1996. 

SUBORDINATE ORGANIZATIONS 

Air University Office of Academic Support 

On 1 October 1996, AETC activated the Academic 

Support Office, which consolidated all of Air 

University’s education support activities. This action 

realigned the Air University Library (which 

inactivated on the same date); the Education Services 

Division from the College of Aerospace Doctrine, 

Research, and Education; the Academic Instructor 

School; and the International Officer School. On 2 

December 1996, HQ AETC redesignated the office 

as the Air University Office of Academic Support. 

Pararescue and Combat Control Training 

General Viccellio approved moving the PJ/CCT 

school from Nineteenth Air Force to Second Air 

Force. On 1 April 1996, both schools, along with the 

advanced weapons course at Nellis AFB, Nevada, 

were reassigned from the 58th Special Operations 

Wing to the 37th Training Wing’s 342d Training 

Squadron at Lackland AFB. 

563rd Flying Training Squadron Inactivated 

As part of an Air Force and Navy decision to 

consolidate some training, AETC inactivated the 563 

FTS at Randolph AFB on 3 June 1996. AETC 

transferred its electronic warfare officer training from 

Randolph to Corry Station, Florida, when the 

command moved portions of the navigator training to 

NAS Pensacola. 

21st Fighter Squadron Activated 

On 8 August 1996, the Air Force activated the 21st 

Fighter Squadron as a combined unit with the Taiwan 

Air Force at Luke AFB. The Americans provided 

F-16 flight training and maintenance for the 

Taiwanese. 

Quality and Management Innovation Flight 

In the fall of 1995, the Air Force Chief of Staff 

announced it was time for the Air Force to 

"operationalize quality." To do this, he decided to 

integrate manpower and quality functions. On 

12 December 1996, HQ USAF redesigned the AETC 

Management Engineering Flight as the AETC 

Quality and Management Innovation Flight. The 

wings had the option of creating a Manpower and 

Quality Office. 

T-1A Jayhawk assigned to the 14th Flying 

Training Wing at Columbus AFB. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training 

The 14th Flying Training Wing at Columbus AFB 

received its first T-1A Jayhawk on 25 January 1996, 

the last SUPT wing to do so. This delivery marked 

the end of the transition to SUPT that began in 1992. 

T-38 Avionics Upgrade Program 

On 31 July 1996, the Air Force awarded three 

contracts to McDonnell Douglas Aerospace 
1996 

302

Corporation for the $750 million, T-38 Avionics 

Upgrade Program. The upgrades included improved 

avionics systems, new aircrew training devices, and 

contractor logistics support. Crucial to the SUPT 

program, the upgrades would extend the service life 

of the T-38. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Student Housing 

In February 1996, General Billy Boles outlined a 

5-year, $123 million initiative to replace Korean 

War-era dormitories at Keesler AFB. The issue of 

dorms, both permanent party and student, received so 

much attention Air Force-wide that the Air Staff 

developed a Dormitory Master Plan in August 1997. 

The new standard envisioned two people living in 

single rooms sharing a kitchen area and a bathroom. 

AETC prioritized student dorms at Keesler, 

Sheppard, and Lackland, which had been neglected in 

the past. 

This new student dormitory at Keesler AFB was 

built to the new standards adopted in the 

Dormitory Master Plan. 

MILITARY TRAINING 

Recruiting 

The Air Force Recruiting Service opened its new 

recruiting site at www.airforce.com on the World 

Wide Web in February 1996. From the beginning, 

AFRS got the reaction to the web page they wanted: 

in October 1996, for example, about 22,000 people 

visited the site, producing about 1,200 leads for 

recruiters nation-wide. Numbers grew dramatically 

over time. 

Diamondback Ridge 

In August 1996, the 737th Training Group at 

Lackland AFB began a month-long test of a field 

training exercise for basic trainees at “Diamondback 

Ridge,” a simulated bare base located on Medina 

Annex. The overnight exercise became fully 

operational on 15 November 1996. 

EDUCATION 

Squadron Officer School Opportunities 

On 1 January 1996, following on the heels of an 

expanded class in late 1995, the USAF enacted a 

policy providing active duty line officers a 100 

percent opportunity to attend Squadron Officer 

School (SOS) in residence. Between 15 July and 

10 August 1996, Air University conducted a 4-week 

SOS Total Force Prototype Course in order to 

increase the opportunity for Air Force Reserve and 

Air National Guard officers to complete this training. 

Company-grade officers solve a training problem 

during Squadron Officer School, at Maxwell AFB. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Khobar Towers 

On 25 June 1996, a terrorist attack killed 19 airmen 

and wounded hundreds more at Khobar Towers at 

King Abul Aziz Air Base, Saudi Arabia. The Air 

Force responded, in part, by combing law 

enforcement and security training while increasing 

the trained personnel requirements for security 

forces. 
303

1997

In 1997 the Air Force celebrated its golden anniversary. Secretary of the Air Force Dr Shelia E. Widnall 

said the service had traveled a great distance in the past 50 years, “from the grease board to computers, out 

of the atmosphere and into space.” However, she noted, “the most impressive story in the development of the 

Air Force is the story of our people’s willingness and eagerness to step up to change.” That change included a 

new strategic vision, “Global Engagement: A Vision for the 21st Century Air Force,” which led to the 

establishment of the Air and Space Basic Course at Maxwell AFB. In other matters, national attention 

focused on the issue of women’s role in the military, and gender-integrated training came under scrutiny. The 

Air Force realigned all US-based theater airlift assets to Air Mobility Command, which also assigned 

responsibility for C-130 training to AETC. To carry out this task, the command gained the 314th Airlift Wing 

at Little Rock AFB, Arkansas. Finally, the deaths of 19 airmen in Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia 

spotlighted the continued instability in the Middle East and led to restructuring in the security police career 

field. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of December 1997) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 13 

Alabama--Maxwell; Arkansas--Little Rock; Arizona--Luke; Florida--Tyndall; 

Mississippi--Columbus and Keesler; Oklahoma--Altus and Vance; Texas--

Goodfellow, Lackland, Laughlin, Randolph, and Sheppard 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 58,066 (9,224 officers; 33,855 enlisted; 14,987 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,544 (AT-38, C-5, C-17, C-21, C-130, C-141, F-15, F-16, KC-135, 

MC-130H, MC-130P, MH-53J, HH-60G, T-1, T-3, T-37, T-38, T-43, TH-53A, 

UH-1N) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

4 numbered air force and equivalent units: 

AIR UNIVERSITY, Maxwell AFB AL: (including 

14 major subordinate units) 

42d Air Base Wing, Maxwell AFB AL 

Air and Space Basic Course School, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB 

AL 

Air Force Institute of Technology, WrightPatterson AFB OH 

Air Force Officer Accession and Training 

Schools, Maxwell AFB AL 

Air Force Senior NCO Academy, Gunter Annex, 

Maxwell AFB AL 

Air University Office of Academic Support 

Air War College, Maxwell AFB AL 

College of Aerospace Doctrine, Research, and 

Education, Maxwell AFB AL 

College for Enlisted Professional Military 

Education, Maxwell AFB AL 

Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

Ira C. Eaker College for Professional 

Development, Maxwell AFB AL 

Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB AL 

USAF Civil Air Patrol, Maxwell AFB AL 

SECOND AIR FORCE, Keesler AFB MS: 

(including 4 wings and 1 independent group) 

17th Training Wing, Goodfellow AFB TX 

37th Training Wing, Lackland AFB TX 

81st Training Wing, Keesler AFB MS 

82d Training Wing, Sheppard AFB TX 

381st Training Group, Vandenberg AFB CA 

NINETEENTH AIR FORCE, Randolph AFB TX: 

(including 11 wings and 1 independent group) 

12th Flying Training Wing, Randolph AFB TX 

14th Flying Training Wing, Columbus AFB MS 

47th Flying Training Wing, Laughlin AFB TX 

56th Fighter Wing, Luke AFB AZ 
1997 

304

58th Special Operations Wing, Kirtland AFB NM 

64th Flying Training Wing, Reese AFB TX 

71st Flying Training Wing, Vance AFB OK 

80th Flying Training Wing, Sheppard AFB TX 

97th Air Mobility Wing, Altus AFB OK 

314th Airlift Wing 

325th Fighter Wing, Tyndall AFB FL 

336th Training Group, Fairchild AFB WA 

HQ AIR FORCE RECRUITING SERVICE, 

Randolph AFB TX: (including 4 groups) 

360th Recruiting Group, Hanscom AFB MA 

367th Recruiting Group, Robins AFB GA 

369th Recruiting Group, Lackland AFB TX 

372d Recruiting Group, Hill AFB UT 

2 independent units: 

59th Medical Wing, Lackland AFB TX 

Air Force Security Assistance Squadron, 

Randolph AFB TX 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

General 

Lloyd W. Newton 

 On 17 March 1997, General Lloyd W. Newton 

replaced General Billy J. Boles as AETC 

commander. General Boles retired on 1 April. Just 

before assuming command, General Newton served 

as the Assistance Vice Chief of Staff at HQ USAF. Lt 

Gen John C. Griffith remained vice commander. 

ORGANIZATION 

Two New Directorates at HQ AETC 

On 1 January 1997, HQ AETC established two new 

directorates. For the first time since 1958, and only 

the second time in the command’s history, the 

command had a single manager in charge of both 

flying and technical training, the Directorate of 

Operations. Also, the headquarters consolidated 

plans, programs, and requirements under a single 

organization, the Directorate of Plans and Programs. 

An instructor pilot and civilian maintainer 

complete a preflight checklist. In addition to 

contract maintenance, AETC used USAF Reserve 

instructor pilots to augment its active-duty force. 

AETC Field Operating Agencies 

On 1 January 1997, the AETC Air Operations 

Squadron assumed flying-related support functions 

like life support, weather, and air traffic control from 

the AETC Training Support Squadron (TRSS) at Hill 

AFB, Utah. On 1 April, the command moved the 

AETC TRSS, in name only, from Hill to Randolph to 

assume the mission of the 619th TRSS, which it 

inactivated on the same day. AETC also activated the 

367th TRSS at Sheppard AFB on 1 April and 

inactivated the detachments at Keesler AFB, 

Mississippi, and Lackland AFB, Texas. In addition, 

AETC inactivated the 602d Training Support 

Squadron at Edwards AFB, California, on 1 April 

and moved its mission, equipment, and personnel into 

the AETC Studies and Analysis Flight, redesignating 

it as the AETC Studies and Analysis Squadron the 

same day. 

Systems Acquisition School 

Effective 18 February 1997, Air Force Materiel 

Command transferred its 70th Training Squadron at 

Brooks AFB, Texas, to the Air Force Institute of 

Technology. HQ USAF redesignated the squadron as 

the Systems Acquisition School. With its 

reassignment, the school provided Air Force 

acquisition personnel with instruction on developing 

and implementing acquisition policies and processes. 

Air Force Officer Accession and Training 

Schools

The AU Board of Visitors met in 1995 to discuss the 

AU commander’s increased span of control. One 

recommendation was to put Air University’s 

accessioning programs, Air Force Reserve Officer 

Training Corps and the Officer Training School, into 

one organization, which the Air Force Chief of Staff 

approved 6 January 1997. AETC activated the Air 
1997 

305

Force Officer Accession and Training Schools on 14 

February 1997. At the same time, AETC reassigned 

AFROTC and OTS from HQ Air University to the 

new school. 

Air Force Quality Institute 

As part of the Air Force Chief of Staff’s continued 

push to “operationalize quality,” AETC inactivated 

the Air Force Quality Institute at Maxwell on 31 

March 1997, transferring its resources from Air 

University to the recently redesignated Air Force 

Center of Quality and Management Innovation at 

Randolph AFB. 

Band of the West 

Effective 1 May 1997, HQ USAF redesignated the 

Band of the West as the Air Force Band of the West, 

but left the band organizationally a part of the 37th 

Training Wing at Lackland AFB, Texas. 

Security Forces 

As part of its response to the terrorist attack on 

Khobar Towers in June 1996, HQ USAF changed the 

name of all Air Force security police organizations to 

security forces. 

Air and Space Basic School 

On 12 September 1997, the Air and Space Basic 

School activated at Air University under a direct 

mandate from the Air Force Chief of Staff. The 

school would conduct a new course, the Air and 

Space Basic Course, for all new Air Force 

lieutenants. 

INSTALLATIONS 

Reese AFB Closed 

A casualty of the fifth round of base closure in the 

post-Cold War period, Reese AFB, Texas, closed on 

1 October 1997. AETC inactivated its host unit, the 

64th Flying Training Wing on 30 September 1997. 

Reese’s flying training mission was divided among 

the remaining three undergraduate pilot training 

bases. 

Little Rock AFB 

On 1 April 1997, as part of an Air Force-wide move 

that realigned all continental US-based theater airlift 

assets to Air Mobility Command, AETC gained 

responsibility for C-130 training. Along with the new 

training requirement, the command acquired Little 

Rock AFB, Arkansas, and its host organization, the 

314th Airlift Wing. 

C-130s of the 314th Airlift Wing prepare to take 

off from Little Rock AFB, Arkansas. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

Air Reserve Component Instructor Pilots 

AETC needed to double pilot production from 525 in 

FY96 to 1100 a year by FY02. On 1 May 1997, two 

Reserve instructor pilots (IPs) assigned to the 5th

Flying Training Flight at Vance AFB, Oklahoma, 

became the first associate IPs to train student pilots 

on a T-38 sortie. The idea behind the program was to 

get help from the Air Force Reserve and Air National 

Guard in getting the right number and mix of IPs. 

Suspension of T-3A Flying 

AETC Commander, General Lloyd W. Newton, 

suspended all T-3A flights on 25 July 1997 and 

ordered a Broad Area Review of the Enhanced Flight 

Screening Program. His decisions followed three 

T-3A crashes at the Air Force Academy that killed 

both the instructor pilot and student in each incident. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Training Consolidations 

During 1997, the Interservice Training Review 

Organization managers consolidated several training 

courses. At Sheppard AFB, the Basic and Advanced 

Biomedical Equipment Technician training programs 

consolidated, as did the Dental Assistant basic and 

advanced laboratory training. The Air Force and 

Marine Corps consolidated enlisted aircrew 
1997 

306

loadmaster basic, initial, and mission qualification 

training at Little Rock AFB. 

MILITARY TRAINING 

Gender Integrated Training 

At the behest of the AETC commander, basic 

military training (BMT) took one more step in 

integrating training. The 737th Training Group began 

to combine flights from adjacent dormitories in all 

bays of the recruit housing and training facilities, 

creating peer gender integrated flights. After several 

high-profile scandals, integrated training became a 

national issue. The DoD created a Federal Advisory 

Committee on Gender-Integrated Training and 

Related Issues, which came to be known as the 

Kassabaum-Baker Commission, to review current 

training issues. The commission recommended 

against gender-integrated training. Before the 

Kassabaum-Baker Commission could issue its 

findings, Congress established a second commission, 

known as the Blair Commission, which on 17 March 

1999 recommended continuing current genderintegrated training. The Air Force continued to train 

gender-integrated BMT flights. 

EDUCATION 

Air Force Institute of Technology 

Early in FY97, the Secretary of the Air Force decided 

to close Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) 

resident graduate schools, directing that students 

pursue advanced degrees only through a program that 

funded Air Force officers to earn advanced degrees at 

civilian institutions. The Ohio Congressional 

delegation protested the plan and blocked the move 

with legislation. Consequently, AFIT continued a 

resident program but reduced the number of students 

and staff through reorganization and downsizing. 

Professional Reading Guide 

The Air Force commenced a formal reading program 

by implementing the CSAF Professional Reading 

Program on 1 March 1997. Air University 

incorporated the reading list into its own Air 

University Professional Reading Guide. 

COMPETITIVE SOURCING AND PRIVATIZATION 

In the 1990s, the military sought to reduce personnel 

costs through competitive sourcing. The Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) Circular number A-76 

governed a process which determined whether a 

government entity, deemed a "most efficient 

organization (MEO)," or a private contractor should 

provide a particular service. AETC had a long history of 

contracted services, and contractors and MEOs handled 

15 percent of the command's workload. Manpower 

savings achieved through noncompetitive processes, 

such as restructuring organizations or adopting more 

efficient practices, complemented A-76 studies. 

In 1996, the Air Staff initiated Project Jump Start to 

accelerate competitive sourcing and privatization. 

Because AETC found that larger studies yielded greater 

manpower savings, the command chose to focus ITS 

efforts at an entire base in a process known as “Pick-aBase.” By August 1997, AETC had identified five bases 

at which to conduct Pick-a-Base studies--Maxwell, 

Lackland, Keesler, Sheppard, and Randolph. Maxwell 

volunteered to go first, and with the Kelly closure 

scheduled for July 2001, AETC decided Lackland 

should be second. 

Critical issues caused the Maxwell and Lackland 

Pick-a-Base initiatives to lag behind their programmed 

milestones. In both cases, appeals by the losing side 

undermined the process. After nearly two years of study, 

AETC announced on 27 November 2000 that an inhouse MEO had won the Maxwell support services 

contract. The competing contractor appealed the 

decision, but the appeals board reaffirmed the decision 

to convert to an MEO. The contractor then appealed to 

the Government Accounting Office, which upheld the 

protest. The appeals delayed the start of work eight 

months. Similarly, after Lackland’s MEO team lost an 

appeal of Lackland’s August 2000 decision to award the 

work to a contractor, six members of the Texas 

Congressional delegation asked Secretary of the Air 

Force F. Whitten Peters to delay the conversion. A few 

days later, the DoD Inspector General agreed to conduct 

a review of the process. The workers union at Lackland 

independently filed suit, and the U.S. District Court 

issued a restraining order barring the Air Force from 

entering into any agreement with either an MEO or a 

private company. 

By the end of 2001, the Pick-a-Base effort had 

significantly changed direction. The DoD Inspector 

General concluded that the Air Force had not reached 

supportable results. The command leadership and the 

Inspector General study team concluded that although no 

one had acted in bad faith, the procedures used were not 

adequately covered in published guidance. Headquarters 

AETC cancelled the Lackland study and placed the other 

studies on hold, with a view to restarting them again 

from the beginning of the process. 
307

1998

The tempo of Air Force operations remained high after the end of the Gulf War. Deployments in support 

of military operations worldwide had strained resources and left personnel anxious as to whether they would 

have to leave home on short notice. The Air Force introduced the concept of Aerospace Expeditionary Forces 

to give its personnel a measure of stability and predictability. The Air Force grouped its combat and support 

forces into ten Air Expeditionary Forces (AEF) and assigned Airmen to both a home unit and an AEF. 

Airmen knew they could deploy at any time during a three-month window, but normally did not have to 

worry about deployments for the remainder of a fifteen-month cycle. This reduced the strain of deployments 

on family life and unit training. In 1998 General Lloyd Newton spoke about AETC’s role in the 

implementation of the Expeditionary Air Force: “We’re laying the groundwork: providing airmen the 

knowledge, experience and skills necessary to flourish in an expeditionary environment... one that requires 

‘light, lean and lethal’ forces poised for deployment.” 

Aircraft designated as numbered Air Force, wing, 

operations group, and flying squadron commanders' 

aircraft at the unit’s option are called Commanders' 

Aircraft (Flagships). Each base is authorized to 

designate one flagship per authorized commander. 

Bases and units with more than one mission design 

series assigned will select only one aircraft for the 

wing and operations group flagships. Each flying 

squadron commander may select one aircraft for 

designation as a flagship. Shown are the flagship 

markings for the 49th Flying Training Squadron on 

an AT-38B aircraft at Columbus AFB, Mississippi. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of December 1998) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 13 

Alabama--Maxwell; Arkansas--Little Rock; Arizona--Luke; Florida--

Tyndall; Mississippi--Columbus and Keesler; Oklahoma--Altus and 

Vance; Texas--Goodfellow, Lackland, Laughlin, Randolph, and 

Sheppard 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 56,680 (9,240 officers; 32,520 enlisted; 14,920 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,544 (AT-38, C-5, C-17, C-21, C-130, C-141, F-15, F-16, KC-135, 

MC-130H, MC-130P, MH-53J, HH-60G, T-1, T-3, T-37, T-38, T-43, 

TH-53A, UH-1N) 
1998 

308

WARRIOR WEEK 

Basic trainees negotiate a water obstacle during a Warrior Week march. 

Warrior Week, the biggest change to Air Force 

basic military training (BMT) in over 50 years, was 

designed to instill in new airmen a warrior mindset by 

exposing recruits to the field encampments they 

would likely experience on deployments. The 

program expanded gradually. Military Training 

Instructors (MTIs) in 1996 created a simulated bare 

base location on Lackland AFB’s Medina Annex, 

initially named “Diamondback Ridge.” Trainees 

marched to the site after completion of M-16 training 

and spent one night in hard-back tents. While at 

Diamondback Ridge, MTIs taught self-aid and buddy 

care and the code of conduct. After a month-long test, 

the new field experience was fully operational by 15 

November 1996. The exercise was met with such 

enthusiasm that officials wanted to expand the 

program. 

Included in the new Warrior Week curriculum 

were several items previously required during initial 

certification training. By performing this training 

during BMT, new airmen would arrive at their first 

duty stations closer to being a mission-ready member 

of the Air Force. This initial certification training 

included law of armed conflict, code of conduct, selfaid and buddy care, M-16 training, computer and 

operational security training, and chemical warfare 

training. Other training oriented the new airmen to 

deployments. This training included processing 

through a mobility line, an Expeditionary Aerospace 

Force posture briefing, field hygiene, anti-terrorism 

measures, unexploded ordnance, basic field tactics 

and field security, tent set up, defensive fighting 

positions, and basic field communications and 

notifications. Providing this training at BMT would save 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

4 numbered air force and equivalent units: 

AIR UNIVERSITY, Maxwell AFB AL: (including 

14 major subordinate units) 

42d Air Base Wing, Maxwell AFB AL 

Air and Space Basic Course School, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB 

AL 

Air Force Institute of Technology, WrightPatterson AFB OH 

Air Force Officer Accession and Training 

Schools, Maxwell AFB AL 
1998 

309

wings time and money. These savings allowed the 

Air Force to invest in BMT, and on 1 October 

1999 the overnight field training experience 

expanded to a full week. 

Recruits spent part of Warrior Week, their fifth 

week of training, in a tent encampment adjacent to 

Lackland’s confidence course and the remainder 

at an austere forward deployment site at Medina 

Annex. The encampment facilities included 40 airconditioned sleeping tents, latrines and showers, a 

dining facility, a cadre office, and ten academic 

tents where MTIs taught much of the academic 

portion of the training. Recruits trained for several 

days at the main encampment. Toward the end of 

the week, they received M-16 familiarization at the 

shooting range. From there, they marched to the 

field training exercise (FTX) area, whose 

nickname changed to the Scorpion’s Nest, which 

simulated a forward deployment location with no 

air conditioning, no running water, and no 

showers. In fact, during the FTX recruits learned 

how to erect tents. Warrior Week course designers 

built the FTX around an actual mission defending 

the base from enemy infiltration. At the end of the 

exercise, recruits marched the 5 miles back to the 

main encampment. 

During 2000 and 2001, the 737th Training 

Group continued to improve Warrior Week. 

Instructors reorganized the training scenarios to 

build steadily in intensity, culminating in exercises 

that tested trainees in camp security, challenge and 

reporting procedures, and airbase defense. Smoke 

and ground burst simulators enhanced the realism 

of the exercise. Instructors also included 

intelligence reports, constructive debriefings, and 

leadership reaction exercises to the week’s 

curriculum, which became increasingly important 

when Airmen deployed in support of contingency 

operations in the Balkans and Middle East. 

Air Force Senior NCO Academy, Gunter Annex, 

Maxwell AFB AL 

Air University Office of Academic Support 

Air War College, Maxwell AFB AL 

College of Aerospace Doctrine, Research, and 

Education, Maxwell AFB AL 

College for Enlisted Professional Military 

Education, Maxwell AFB AL 

Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

Ira C. Eaker College for Professional Development, Maxwell AFB AL 

Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB AL 

USAF Civil Air Patrol, Maxwell AFB AL 

SECOND AIR FORCE, Keesler AFB MS: 

(including 4 wings and 1 independent group) 

17th Training Wing, Goodfellow AFB TX 

37th Training Wing, Lackland AFB TX 

81st Training Wing, Keesler AFB MS 

82d Training Wing, Sheppard AFB TX 

381st Training Group, Vandenberg AFB CA 

NINETEENTH AIR FORCE, Randolph AFB TX: 

(including 10 wings and 1 independent group) 

12th Flying Training Wing, Randolph AFB TX 

14th Flying Training Wing, Columbus AFB MS 

47th Flying Training Wing, Laughlin AFB TX 

56th Fighter Wing, Luke AFB AZ 

58th Special Operations Wing, Kirtland AFB NM 

71st Flying Training Wing, Vance AFB OK 

80th Flying Training Wing, Sheppard AFB TX 

97th Air Mobility Wing, Altus AFB OK 

314th Airlift Wing, Little Rock AFB AR 

325th Fighter Wing, Tyndall AFB FL 

336th Training Group, Fairchild AFB WA 

HQ AIR FORCE RECRUITING SERVICE, 

Randolph AFB TX: (including 4 groups) 

360th Recruiting Group, Hanscom AFB MA 

367th Recruiting Group, Robins AFB GA 

369th Recruiting Group, Lackland AFB TX 

372d Recruiting Group, Hill AFB UT 

2 independent units: 

59th Medical Wing, Lackland AFB TX 

Air Force Security Assistance Squadron, 

Randolph AFB TX 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

General Lloyd W. Newton continued as AETC 

Commander. On 12 March 1998, Lt Gen David W. 

McIlvoy replaced Lt Gen John C. Griffith as vice 

commander. General Griffith retired. 

ORGANIZATION 

Command Chief Master Sergeant 

On 1 November 1998, the title of each of the major 

command’s Senior Enlisted Advisor changed to 

Command Chief Master Sergeant, a move designed 
1998 

310

to make the Air Force designation more in line with 

the other services. 

Activation of AFRC units 

On 1 April 1998, HQ AFRC activated the 340th 

Flying Training Group at Randolph and three 

squadrons to manage the expanded reserve instructor 

program within AETC, including the 96th Flying 

Training Squadron at Laughlin AFB, the 97th Flying 

Training Squadron at Sheppard AFB, and the 100th 

Flying Training Squadron at Randolph. 

IFF Training at Randolph 

On 14 May 1998, AETC activated the 435th Flying 

Training Squadron to conduct Introduction to Fighter 

Fundamentals training at Randolph. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

Introductory Flight Training 

In late October 1998, the US Air Force Academy 

implemented the Introductory Flight Training as a 

replacement for the suspended Enhanced Flight 

Screening Program. AFROTC followed suit in midNovember. In this interim program, prospective Air 

Force pilots attended civilian flying schools to earn a 

private pilot’s license before entering SUPT. 

Electronic Warfare Training at Randolph 

In October 1998, the 12th Flying Training Wing 

conducted its first electronic warfare officer 

instructor training class as AETC began to move this 

and navigator training back to Randolph. At the end 

of November, the last group of Air Force officers 

entered training at NAS Pensacola. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

End of EMT Training at Kirtland 

Kirtland AFB’s medical training program closed with 

the last graduating emergency medical technician 

class at the facility on 24 June 1998. This action 

marked the transfer of pararescue training to the Joint 

Special Operations Medical Training Center 

paramedic courses at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. 

EDUCATION 

Air and Space Basic Course Begins 

On 6 July 1998, Air University began a 7-week test 

class for the new Air and Space Basic Course. The 

purpose of course was to inspire new USAF officers 

to recognize their role as airmen and warriors, to 

embrace USAF core values, and to be able to 

articulate the contributions of air and space power to 

a military campaign. 

Master’s Degrees Awarded 

On 7 December 1998 the US Department of 

Education approved the award of master’s degrees to 

graduates of the resident Air War College and Air 

Command and Staff College. 

Distance Learning 

On 10 April 1998, approximately 150 Air Force 

courses converted to a distance learning format, 

which employed web-based technology to provide 

greater access to training. 

New Officer Training School Complex 

A groundbreaking ceremony on 5 March 1998 

marked the official construction start of the OTS 

complex at Maxwell AFB. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Weather-related Damage 

Severe flooding delayed flying training at Laughlin 

AFB after remnants of Tropical Storm Charlie struck 

Del Rio, Texas, 23-24 August 1998. The 47th 

Training Wing aided the town by assisting with 

rescue, relief, and support functions. On 25 

September 1998, Hurricane George made landfall 

near Biloxi, Mississippi, damaging several USAF 

installations. Keesler AFB suffered damages 

estimated at about $26 million. Heavy rainfall in the 

Schertz and Universal City area caused flooding 

around Randolph AFB, Texas, on 17-18 October 

1998. Base personnel provided rescue services, 

volunteers for local agencies and shelters, cleanup 

assistance, and transported displaced civilians to 

nearby shelters. 

An instructor and a student pilot wade through 

floodwaters at Laughlin AFB, Texas. The 47th 

Flying Training Wing experienced heavy rain 

from Tropical Storm Charlie. 
311

1999

At the end of the 1990s, AETC found itself involved in reengineering, an effort by the entire Air Force to 

identify personnel savings in the support commands, so that authorizations could be applied to wartime 

requirements. Though Air Force Recruiting Service missed its recruiting goal for the first time in 20 years, 

several innovations were improving recruiter prospects--increased advertising, more bonuses, and more 

recruiter authorizations. AETC finished the century on a high note. The command accepted its first T-6A, the 

aircraft that would replace the T-37, as part of the JPATS system. 

A C-130J assigned to the Air Force Reserve Command’s 53d Weather Reconnaissance 

Squadron at Keesler AFB, Mississippi, where the unit conducted an operational test and 

evaluation of the aircraft.

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of December 1999) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 13 

Alabama--Maxwell; Arkansas--Little Rock; Arizona--Luke; Florida--

Tyndall; Mississippi--Columbus and Keesler; Oklahoma--Altus and 

Vance; Texas--Goodfellow, Lackland, Laughlin, Randolph, and Sheppard 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 55,221 (8,569 officers; 32,229 enlisted; 14,423 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,540 (AT-38, C-5A, C-17, C-21A, C-130, C-141B, F-15, F-16, 

MC-130P, KC-135, MC-130H, MH-53J, HH-60G, T-1A, T-3, T-37, T-38, 

T-43, TH-53A, UH-1N) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

4 numbered air force and equivalent units: 

AIR UNIVERSITY, Maxwell AFB AL: (including 

15 major subordinate units) 

42d Air Base Wing, Maxwell AFB AL 

Aerospace Basic Course School, Maxwell AFB 

AL 

Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB 

AL 

Air Force Institute of Technology, WrightPatterson AFB OH 

Air Force Officer Accession and Training 

Schools, Maxwell AFB AL 
1999 

312

US Air Force personnel assigned to the Aircraft Generation Squadron (AGS), 149th Fighter 

Wing, Texas Air National Guard, secure an AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air 

Missile (AMRAAM) onto an F-16 using a MJ-1 weapons loader at Kelly Field Annex, Lackland 

AFB, Texas. 

Air Force Senior NCO Academy, Gunter Annex, 

Maxwell AFB AL 

Air University Office of Academic Support 

Air War College, Maxwell AFB AL 

College of Aerospace Doctrine, Research, and 

Education, Maxwell AFB AL 

College for Enlisted Professional Military 

Education, Maxwell AFB AL 

Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

Ira C. Eaker College for Professional Development, Maxwell AFB AL 

School of Advanced Airpower Studies, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB AL 

USAF Civil Air Patrol, Maxwell AFB AL 

SECOND AIR FORCE, Keesler AFB MS: 

(including 4 wings and 1 independent group) 

17th Training Wing, Goodfellow AFB TX 

37th Training Wing, Lackland AFB TX 

81st Training Wing, Keesler AFB MS 

82d Training Wing, Sheppard AFB TX 

381st Training Group, Vandenberg AFB CA 

NINETEENTH AIR FORCE, Randolph AFB TX: 

(including 10 wings and 1 independent group) 

12th Flying Training Wing, Randolph AFB TX 

14th Flying Training Wing, Columbus AFB MS 

47th Flying Training Wing, Laughlin AFB TX 

56th Fighter Wing, Luke AFB AZ 

58th Special Operations Wing, Kirtland AFB NM 

71st Flying Training Wing, Vance AFB OK 

80th Flying Training Wing, Sheppard AFB TX 

97th Air Mobility Wing, Altus AFB OK 

314th Airlift Wing, Little Rock AFB AR 

325th Fighter Wing, Tyndall AFB FL 

336th Training Group, Fairchild AFB WA 

HQ AIR FORCE RECRUITING SERVICE, 

Randolph AFB TX: (including 4 groups) 

360th Recruiting Group, Hanscom AFB MA 

367th Recruiting Group, Robins AFB GA 

369th Recruiting Group, Lackland AFB TX 

372d Recruiting Group, Hill AFB UT 
1999 

313

2 independent units: 

59th Medical Wing, Lackland AFB TX 

Air Force Security Assistance Squadron, 

Randolph AFB TX 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

General Lloyd W. Newton continued as AETC 

Commander and, Lt Gen David W. McIlvoy 

remained as vice commander. 

ORGANIZATION 

Headquarters Changes 

On 1 September 1999, HQ AETC redesignated its 

AETC Quality and Management Innovation Flight as 

the AETC Manpower and Innovation Flight. This 

reorganization followed the decision by Air Force 

Chief of Staff General Fogleman to redefine 

manpower to include the quality function. 

Air National Guard Units Transfer 

On 1 April 1999 AETC gained command of the 

149th Fighter Wing at Kelly AFB, Texas, and the 

178th Fighter Wing at Springfield ANGB, Ohio,

from Air Combat Command. These units became 

F-16 FTUs to reduce the overburdened 56th Fighter 

Wing workload. 

School of Advanced Airpower Studies 

AETC activated the School of Advanced Airpower 

Studies on 15 September 1999 and assigned it to Air 

University. It served as the Air Force graduate school 

of air and space power strategists, awarding a 

master’s degree in airpower arts and science upon 

successful completion of the program. 

C-12 and C-21 Training 

The 81st Training Wing at Keesler AFB, Mississippi, 

lost C-12 and C-21 training. On 1 October 1999 the 

C-12 training program transferred to Fort Rucker, 

Alabama, under the control of the 23d Flying 

Training Flight, a unit that reported to the 58th 

Special Operations Wing located at Kirtland AFB. 

The C-21 training transferred to the 314th Airlift 

Wing at Little Rock AFB. 

94th Airlift Wing 

The Nineteenth Air Force and AETC gained a 

reserve unit, the 94th Airlift Wing stationed at 

Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia, on 1 October 

1999, which was responsible for training C-130H 

pilots. 

Students learn to maintain a C-130H at the 94th 

Airlift Wing, Dobbins AFB, Georgia. 

563d Flying Training Squadron Activated 

On 30 April 1999, AETC activated the 563d Flying 

Training Squadron to run the electronic warfare 

courses that had moved from Corry Station, Florida, 

to Randolph AFB. The first students entered the 

newly fashioned primary navigator training at 

Randolph on 5 April, while the last Air Force 

students graduated from training at Corry Station on 

18 June 1999. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

F-16 Mishaps at Luke AFB 

On 20 September 1999, an F-16D crashed at Luke 

AFB, marking the 56th Fighter Wing’s seventh Class 

A mishap in FY99. In all cases, the pilots ejected 

safely. Engine problems caused most of the mishaps. 

The 56th Fighter Wing commander, Brig Gen John 

Barry, grounded the wing’s F-16s after the second 

mishap. Maintenance personnel discovered that 

engine augmentor ducts had failed in both cases. 

They developed a new inspection procedure to 

identify cracks, which was subsequently used 

throughout the Air Force. A manufacturing defect in 

turbine blades was responsible for many of the 

mishaps, and General Barry grounded the fleet a 

second time to allow maintainers to upgrade the 

turbine blades, which improved safety. 
1999 

314

A1C Danny Zickafoose clears jets for takeoff at the notional Canyon AFB, a virtual runway created by a 

simulator in the air traffic control schoolhouse at Keesler. 

C-130J Evaluation 

Keesler’s first C-130Js arrived at the 53rd Weather 

Reconnaissance Squadron on 17-18 February 1999, 

and the operational test and evaluation process began 

in the fall. 

Air National Guard Instructor Pilots 

ANG IPs started flying at Tyndall AFB on 1 October 

1999 as part of a program to alleviate fighter pilot 

shortages and increase major weapons system 

experience in AETC’s instructor pilot force. 

T-3A Grounded 

On 8 October 1999, AETC announced a permanent 

end to T-3A flying operations and expansion of the 

Introductory Flight Training program in its place. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

New Air Traffic Controller Program 

The Department of Defense and Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA) initiated the Phoenix 

Controller Program on 1 October 1999 to promote 

Air Traffic Controller (ATC) retention and keep 

experienced personnel in the Air Force. The program 

allowed Air Force ATCs to move into FAA positions 

after 20 years of military service. 

New AFSAT Course 

The Air Force Security Assistance Training Squadron 

(AFSAT) was instrumental in establishing a new 

course in 1999. After Hurricane Mitch devastated 

much of Central America in October 1998, AFSAT 

proposed a new in-country mobile education team 

(MET) course, “Leadership Program in Disaster 

Response and Trauma System Management.” The 

first MET course was held in El Salvador between 30 

August and 5 September 1999. Ecuador, Nicaragua, 

and the Dominican Republic also hosted the course. 
1999 

315

Members of the 37th Security Forces Squadron from Lackland AFB, Texas, deployed to the 3rd 

Expeditionary Security Force Squadron at Rinas Airport in Tirana, Albania, prepare their equipment bags to 

send home. They had been serving in Albania in support of Operation Allied Force. 

Students take a break in front of the language building

at Lackland AFB, Texas. Students from over 70 

countries were immersed in American culture and 

language study at the English Language Center's 

college-like campus. 

Intelligence Training 

After moving Rivet Joint training to Offutt AFB, 

Nebraska, in 1996 to collocate AETC language 

training programs at the same base as Rivet Joint 

aircraft, the command decided in 1999 to re-locate 

training to Goodfellow. The operational mission of 

the Rivet Joint aircraft was to monitor foreign 

military activity using electronics intelligence 

monitoring and analysis equipment. 

EDUCATION 

Air and Space Basic Course Renamed 

During a speech at the first ASBC graduation 

ceremony on 20 August 1999, Air Force Chief of 

Staff General Michael E. Ryan referred to the course 

as the Aerospace Basic Course, and the Air Staff 

approved the new name on 6 December 1999. The 

program continued to inspire new officers to 

understand their role as Airman. 
1999 

316

MILITARY TRAINING 

Warrior Week 

Warrior Week officially began on 1 October 1999. 

The new program for basic trainees expanded the 

previous field training exercise to a full week, which 

now included M-16 qualification, self-aid/buddy 

care, chemical warfare training, Law of Armed 

Conflict training, and mobility processing. The goal 

of Warrior Week was to provide airmen ready for the 

challenges of the Air Expeditionary Force upon 

arrival at their first operational unit. 

Basic Trainees prepare for the Expeditionary Air 

Force during Warrior Week at Lackland AFB. 

Recruiting Goal Unmet 

For the first time in 20 years, the Air Force in FY99 

failed to meet its goal of non-prior service recruits. 

Although AFRS set records for the highest number of 

non-prior service recruits since FY92, the Air Force 

had increased the requirement by 14 percent from the 

initial FY98 goal. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Environmental Issues 

In the mid-1990s, AETC converted most of its small 

arms ranges from an outdoor to an indoor or trap 

design, inadvertently creating a potential health risk 

caused by airborne lead dust. AETC established a 

tiger team comprised of security forces, civil 

engineering, and bioenvironmental personnel, which 

recommended the substitution of commercially 

available lead-free ammunition, a plan the HQ USAF 

Munitions Safety Board approved in 1999. Solving 

the range problem showed HQ AETC the value of 

having a cross-functional environmental, safety, and 

occupational health committee. The approach 

allowed the command to progress beyond merely 

reacting to environmental problems to adopting 

measures proactively to avoid or minimize violations 

of environmental regulations in the first place. 

RECRUITING SHORTFALL 

For the first time in 20 years, the Air Force failed 

to meet its goal of non-prior service recruits. The 

booming economy of the late 1990s produced recordlow unemployment, which meant the military 

competed with abundant civilian sector opportunities 

for high school graduates. Furthermore, the 

percentage of graduates going on to college had 

increased from 53 percent in 1983 to 65 percent by 

1999, and financial assistance for college students 

approached the level of educational benefits the 

military offered. Despite the difficult recruiting 

environment, moreover, the Air Force raised its midyear goal for new recruits from 30,000 to 31,300, and 

in September 1998, increased the FY99 goal by 

another 2,800 recruits. Therefore, though AFRS set 

records for the highest number of non-prior service 

recruits since FY92, the Air Force fell 5 percent short 

of the increased goal for FY99. 

The Air Force spent more on advertising and 

increased recruiter manning levels to make up the 

shortfall. AFRS’s advertising budget jumped from 

$16.6 million in FY98 to $74 million in FY99, 

mainly to pay for commercial television advertising. 

Previously, the service had relied on a public service 

advertising program, which provided about $22 

million of free airtime in 1998. In addition, the Air 

Force started new marketing incentives. The WEAR 

program (We Are All Recruiters) sponsored active 

duty members to address high school students and 

community groups. Over the next two years, 

recruiters also relied on the Air Force Experience, 

Recruiting Outreach Vehicles, kiosks, and advertising 

at National Association of Stock Car Racing 

(NASCAR) events to attract recruits. Recruiting 

Service supplied its front-line team with new displays 

and upgraded office furniture that reflected favorably 

on the Air Force. The new recruiting slogan “No One 

Comes Close” replaced “Aim High,” and the Air 

Force began a new recruiting advertisement 

campaign themed: “Cross into the Blue.” 

Recruiter manning in FY98 was 20 percent below 

authorized levels, despite several mid-1990s 

initiatives to provide cell phones, lap top computers, 

and a centralized database; improve recruiters’ 

quality of life; and reopen the career field to E-4s. 

The Air Force allowed volunteers from career fields 

that also faced manpower challenges, especially 

security forces, to become recruiters. In early 2000, 

the Air Force added 550 new recruiters under the 

“Plus-Up” program. These initiatives allowed AFRS 

to cope with new recruiting challenges. 
317

2000

As the century ended, AETC continued to face challenges of modernization. Reengineering efforts 

continued, and labor unrest marred the success of outsourcing at Vance AFB. The year 2000 brought 

closure to the troubled T-3 saga. AETC inactivated the 3d Flying Training Squadron at Hondo Municipal 

Airport, Texas, where the command had conducted the Enhanced Flight Screening Program, and retired 

the Firefly. On the technical training side, the command implemented measures to increase production in 

Pararescue, Combat Control, and Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape career fields, while planning a 

curriculum for a new career field, the Combat Rescue Officer. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 2000) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 13

Alabama--Maxwell; Arkansas--Little Rock; 

Arizona--Luke; Florida--Tyndall; Mississippi--

Columbus and Keesler; Oklahoma--Altus and 

Vance; Texas--Goodfellow, Lackland, 

Laughlin, Randolph, and Sheppard 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 

54,867 (8,394 officers; 31,859 enlisted; 14,614 

civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 

1,571 (AT-38, C-5, C-17, C-21, C-130E, 

C-141, F-15, F-16, KC-135R, MC-130H, 

HC/MC-130P, MH-53J, HH-60G, T-1, T-3, 

T-37, T-38, T-43, TH-53A, UH-1N) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

4 numbered air force and equivalent units: 

AIR UNIVERSITY, Maxwell AFB AL: 

(including 15 major subordinate units) 

42d Air Base Wing, Maxwell AFB AL 

Academic Instructor School, Maxwell AFB 

AL 

Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

Air Force Institute for Advanced Distributed 

Learning, Maxwell AFB AL 

Air Force Institute of Technology, WrightPatterson AFB OH 

The new Combat Rescue Officer career field required the 

same training as the enlisted pararescue speciality, with 

additional training in the leadership and management of 

combat search and rescue missions.

Air Force Officer Accession and Training 

Schools, Maxwell AFB AL 

Air University Library, Maxwell AFB AL 

Air War College, Maxwell AFB AL 

College of Aerospace Doctrine, Research, and 

Education, Maxwell AFB AL 

College for Enlisted Professional Military 

Education, Maxwell AFB AL 

Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

Ira C. Eaker College for Professional Development, Maxwell AFB AL 
2000 

318

School of Advanced Airpower Studies, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

Squadron Officer College, Maxwell AFB AL 

USAF Civil Air Patrol, Maxwell AFB AL 

SECOND AIR FORCE, Keesler AFB MS: 

(including 4 wings and 1 independent group) 

17th Training Wing, Goodfellow AFB TX 

37th Training Wing, Lackland AFB TX 

81st Training Wing, Keesler AFB MS 

82d Training Wing, Sheppard AFB TX 

381st Training Group, Vandenberg AFB CA 

NINETEENTH AIR FORCE, Randolph AFB TX: 

(including 10 wings and 2 independent groups) 

12th Flying Training Wing, Randolph AFB TX 

14th Flying Training Wing, Columbus AFB MS 

47th Flying Training Wing, Laughlin AFB TX 

56th Fighter Wing, Luke AFB AZ 

58th Special Operations Wing, Kirtland AFB NM 

71st Flying Training Wing, Vance AFB OK 

80th Flying Training Wing, Sheppard AFB TX 

97th Air Mobility Wing, Altus AFB OK 

314th Airlift Wing, Little Rock AFB AR 

325th Fighter Wing, Tyndall AFB FL 

336th Training Group, Fairchild AFB WA 

479th Flying Training Group, Moody AFB GA 

HQ AIR FORCE RECRUITING SERVICE, 

Randolph AFB TX: (including 4 groups) 

360th Recruiting Group, Hanscom AFB MA 

367th Recruiting Group, Robins AFB GA 

369th Recruiting Group, Lackland AFB TX 

372d Recruiting Group, Hill AFB UT 

2 independent units: 

59th Medical Wing, Lackland AFB TX 

Air Force Security Assistance Squadron, 

Randolph AFB TX 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

General 

Hal M. Hornburg 

On 21 June 2000, 

General Hal M. Hornburg assumed command of 

AETC from General Lloyd W. Newton, who retired. 

Upon the retirement of Lt Gen David W. McIlvoy, Lt 

Gen John D. Hopper, Jr., became the new AETC vice 

commander on 20 October 2000. 

ORGANIZATION 

Changes at Air University 

The Air Force Institute of Advanced Distributed 

Learning (AFIADL) was activated on 1 February 

2000 at Maxwell AFB, Gunter Annex, Alabama, 

when the Extension Course Institute merged with the 

Air Force Distance Learning Office. AETC activated 

the Squadron Officer College at Maxwell AFB on 8 

February 2000, reassigning the Aerospace Basic 

Course School and Squadron Officer School from Air 

University to the new college. 

Enhanced Flight Screening Program 

On 8 April 2000, AETC inactivated the 3d Flying 

Training Squadron at Hondo Municipal Airport, 

Texas, where the command had conducted the 

Enhanced Flight Screening Program with the T-3A. 

479th Flying Training Group Activates 

On 31 July 2000, AETC reactivated the 479th Flying 

Training Group at Moody AFB, Georgia. The new 

unit assumed responsibility for Introduction to 

Fighter Fundamentals (IFF) and a part of the 

Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training missions. 

Fourteen students began IFF training at Moody AFB 

on 8 November 2000, the first flying training class to 

be taught at the Georgia base since Air Training 

Command left 25 years earlier. 

557th Flying Training Squadron 

The Air Force reassigned the 557th Flying Training 

Squadron, located at the US Air Force Academy in 

Colorado Springs, Colorado, from the 12th Flying 

Training Wing to the Academy on 1 October 2000. 

The 479th Flying Training Group motto,

"Protectores Libertatis," translates to 

Defenders of Liberty. 
2000 

319

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

Milestones 

When 1st Lt Joshua Padgett completed the F-16 basic 

course on 8 March 2000, he became the 50,000th 

fighter pilot to graduate from Luke AFB, Arizona, 

since the Army Air Forces started training there in 

July 1941. 

T-6A Texan II 

The 12th Flying Training Wing at Randolph AFB, 

Texas, received its first operational T-6A Texan II, 

the Air Force’s new primary trainer, on 23 May 2000. 

The Air Force Operation Test and Evaluation Center 

(AFOTEC) began the air vehicle assessment phase of 

the T-6A Texan II Multi-Service Operational Test 

and Evaluation (MOT&E) at Randolph on 6 June 

2000. This phase of the test ended 29 November 

2000. 

IFF Ends at Columbus 

The 14th Flying Training Wing flew its last AT-38B 

sortie on 6 December 2000, bringing an end to the 

IFF mission at Columbus AFB, Mississippi. The 

aircraft moved to the 479th Flying Training Group at 

Moody AFB, Georgia. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Combat Rescue Officer 

In October 2000 the Chief of Staff of the Air Force 

announced the creation of the Combat Rescue Officer 

(CRO) AFSC. The training for this specialty included

A T-6A Texan II taxis into position 

for takeoff at Randolph AFB, Texas. 

AT-38Bs from the newly-activated 479th Flying Training Group fly in formation near Moody AFB.
2000 

320

PARARESCUE, COMBAT CONTROL, AND 

SURVIVAL, EVASION, RESISTANCE, AND ESCAPE TRAINING

In the 1990s and beyond, AETC struggled to meet 

student production goals in several of its most 

strenuous training programs, namely Pararescue (PJ), 

combat control (CCT), and survival, evasion, 

resistance, and escape (SERE) training. Measures to 

improve career field manning implemented in the 

mid-1990s, which included increased bonuses and a 

promotion for graduates of PJ and CCT courses as 

well as efforts to recruit students in basic training, 

failed to solve the problem. In 2002 program 

managers removed combat diver qualification and 

basic military freefall training from the AFSCawarding curriculum and postponed them to the 5-

level training course, which reduced the pipeline from 

52 to 35 weeks and reduced attrition from nearly 80 

percent to 20 percent. The CCT apprentice course 

would reach full capacity in 2003. Finally, in 2001 the 

command planed for a new CCT schoolhouse just 

outside of Pope AFB. 

pipeline remained low--only 16 students received the 

PJ AFSC in FY02. 

In addition to modifying the training curriculum, 

the command changed the PJ training locations 

several times. In 1996, AETC moved the PJ 

Advanced Weapons Course from Nellis AFB to 

Kirtland AFB, and in 2002, the command returned the 

Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic course to 

Kirtland. These moves reduced the student awaiting 

training time as well as the stress of repeated moves 

for the trainees and their families in a complicated 

training pipeline that stretched over 18 months and 

sent students to four temporary duty (TDY) locations 

and required two permanent change of station moves. 

Beyond the indoctrination course, many students 

in both the CCT and PJ training programs experienced 

a significant delay in getting into Army-sponsored 

TSgt Kyle Standbro, a combat 

controller liaison at Keesler AFB 

in 1999, directs SrA Jesse Fleener 

and a group of combat control 

hopefuls during one of their twice 

daily physical fitness workouts.

Similarly, AETC looked for ways to improve 

course production for the PJ career field. A new 

physical abilities and stamina test replaced the passfail system and allowed students to overcome a 

weakness in one area with a satisfactory aggregate 

test score, which significantly increased the pool of 

candidates. During 2002, AETC established an 

optional, 2-week preparatory course to prepare 

students for the rigorous, 10-week indoctrination 

course. Although this change slightly reduced attrition 

in the indoctrination course from the historical rate of 

85 percent, completion of the full, 3-level awarding 

training. The Air Force sent a proportional number of 

instructors and students to the military free fall 

schoolhouse. As more Air Force students entered the 

career fields in FY02, the service experienced a 

shortfall in qualified personnel it could add to the 

instructional staff, and AETC temporarily hired four 

civilians during FY03. Conversely, physical 

limitations at the training facility limited the number 

of combat dive courses available in Key West, 

Florida. As student numbers grew to meet Air Force 

requirements, AETC utilized every available class 

seat and scrupulously filled last-second vacancies. 
2000 

321

After miles of marching and carrying a 70 pound 

pack in the Texas heat, Airmen help each other 

finish a march at Lackland. This 10-week Special 

Operations course, which took place in 1998 and 

included both pararescue and combat controller 

participants, started out with 76 students, of which 

only 11 finished. 

The SERE career field, like PJ and CCT, was 

physically and mentally demanding, as students 

learned survival skills, how to evade capture by 

enemy forces, escape tactics in the event of capture, 

and how to resist revealing sensitive or classified 

information during interrogation while a prisoner of 

war. Following technical training trends across the 

command, the 336th Training Group instructors 

increasingly employed computer-based training and 

simulators in the curriculum. In February 2003, a new 

laboratory allowed students to participate in simulated 

survival scenarios involving jungle, desert, and arctic 

environments, which reduced students’ time in the 

field and cut TDY costs. More importantly, students 

retained more of the information learned in the lab 

than in a traditional classroom. 

As the command implemented these changes to 

correct shortfalls in training production, the Chief of 

Staff of the Air Force in October 2000 announced the 

creation of the Combat Rescue Officer (CRO) AFSC. 

The new CROs would become leaders and advocates 

for both PJ and SERE personnel, which previously 

had been enlisted airmen only. Operationally, CROs 

would deploy as command staff members, advising 

commanders on personnel recovery operations and 

sometimes participating in the operations themselves. 

The training for this new specialty included the same 

courses PJs took, with additional training in 

leadership and the management of combat search and 

rescue missions, and an advanced SERE course 

scheduled to begin at Fairchild in 2003. Planners 

expected only 100 active duty and 66 guard and 

reserve officers to enter the career field by 2007. 

taking the same courses as pararescue (PJ) personnel, 

with additional training in leadership and the 

management of combat search and rescue missions 

(CSAR). Prior to this time, only enlisted personnel 

entered the pararescue career field, and Air Force 

leaders expected the new CROs to become leaders 

and advocates for both PJ and Survival, Evasion, 

Resistance, and Escape (SERE) personnel. Operationally, CROs would provide an officer’s presence 

on battle staffs, providing advice on personnel 

recovery operations and sometimes participating in 

the operations themselves. The advanced SERE 

course for CROs was scheduled to come on-line at 

Fairchild AFB in 2003. 

A competitor in the pistol competition is evaluated 

on accuracy during Defender Challenge 2000 at 

Lackland AFB on October 31, 2000. Defender 

Challenge was the annual Air Force-wide 

competition sponsored by Air Force Security 

Forces. This competition showcased the talents 

and capabilities of 13 international Security 

Forces teams in seven physical fitness, base 

defense, and policing skills events over six days. 
2000 

322

Secretary of the Air Force F. Witten Peters observes appendix removal training in the 

simulated operating room, building 1900, Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, on 27 September 

2000. 

Milestones 

SrA Jeanette Todd, a cardiopulmonary journeyman 

assigned to the 81st Medical Operations Squadron, 

became the Community College of the Air Force’s 

200,000th graduate on 19 October 2000 at Keesler 

AFB, Mississippi. 

Training Policies Consolidated 

In April 2000, the Air Force published an overhauled 

version of AFI 36-2201, “Developing, Managing, and 

Conducting Training,” consolidating many disparate 

training policies into one comprehensive publication. 

EDUCATION 

New Officer Training School Complex 

A ribbon-cutting ceremony at Maxwell AFB on 27 

January 2000 marked the opening of the academic 

facility and the fitness center for OTS use. These 

were the first two buildings to open in the $52 

million complex, which would also include a quartermile track, three Basic Officer Training dormitories, 

a Commissioned Officer Training dormitory, a dining 

hall/activity center, and an addition to the academic 

facility. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Expeditionary Air Force 

AETC personnel regularly deployed in support of 

contingency operations in the 1990s. The USAF 

maintained combat air patrols over Iraq in Operations 

Northern and Southern Watch to enforce United 

Nations sanctions against Saddam Hussein. Forces 

deployed to the region, including Desert Fox in 1998, 

during times of heightened tension. Moreover, the 

Air Force deployed in support of NATO operations 

in the Baltic region, including Operation Allied Force 

in 1999. Terrorist attacks on the Khobar Towers in 

1996 and on American embassies in Kenya and 

Tanzania in 1998, as well as against the USS Cole in 

2000, culminated in the hijackings in the United 

States in 2001. The already high operations tempo 

would increase further as forces deployed for 

Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom. 
323

2001

The response to the terrorist strike on New York City and the Pentagon on 11 September swept AETC 

into national security events immediately and precipitated a new era of change. Immediately after the attack, 

HQ AETC activated the command’s Crisis Action Team, and fighters and tankers from AETC wings 

provided combat air patrols over American airspace as part of Operation NOBLE EAGLE. The crisis 

affected the command in other ways as well. Flight cancellations delayed recruits attempting to report to 

BMT. As the nation went on a war footing, the importance of training new airman became as clear as it had 

in previous national emergencies. In one example, the demand for military working dogs to search for 

explosives skyrocketed, and further change in training courses was certain to begin the following year. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 2001) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 13 

Alabama--Maxwell; Arkansas--Little Rock; Arizona--Luke; Florida--

Tyndall; Mississippi--Columbus and Keesler; Oklahoma--Altus and 

Vance; Texas--Goodfellow, Lackland, Laughlin, Randolph, and 

Sheppard 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 56,003 (8,377 officers; 32,398 enlisted; 15,228 civilians) 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 1,591 (AT-38, C-5, C-17, C-21, C-130E, C-141, F-15, F-16, KC-135R, 

MC-130H, HC/MC-130P, MH-53J, HH-60G, T-1, T-3, T-6, T-37, 

T-38, T-43, TH-53A, UH-1N) 

Emergency crews stand by to aid those injured by 

the crash of a hijacked commercial airliner into 

the Pentagon. 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

4 numbered air force and equivalent units: 

AIR UNIVERSITY, Maxwell AFB AL: (including 

15 major subordinate units) 

42d Air Base Wing, Maxwell AFB AL 

Academic Instructor School, Maxwell AFB AL 

Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB 

AL 

Air Force Institute for Advanced Distributed 

Learning, Maxwell AFB AL

Air Force Institute of Technology, WrightPatterson AFB OH 

Air Force Officer Accession and Training 

Schools, Maxwell AFB AL 

Air University Library, Maxwell AFB AL 

Air War College, Maxwell AFB AL 

College of Aerospace Doctrine, Research, and 

Education, Maxwell AFB AL 

College for Enlisted Professional Military 

Education, Maxwell AFB AL 

Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

Ira C. Eaker College for Professional Development, Maxwell AFB AL 
2001 

324

School of Advanced Airpower Studies, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

Squadron Officer College, Maxwell AFB AL 

USAF Civil Air Patrol, Maxwell AFB AL

SECOND AIR FORCE, Keesler AFB MS: 

(including 4 wings and 1 independent group) 

17th Training Wing, Goodfellow AFB TX 

37th Training Wing, Lackland AFB TX 

81st Training Wing, Keesler AFB MS 

82d Training Wing, Sheppard AFB TX 

381st Training Group, Vandenberg AFB CA

NINETEENTH AIR FORCE, Randolph AFB TX: 

(including 10 wings and 2 independent groups) 

12th Flying Training Wing, Randolph AFB TX 

14th Flying Training Wing, Columbus AFB MS 

47th Flying Training Wing, Laughlin AFB TX 

56th Fighter Wing, Luke AFB AZ 

58th Special Operations Wing, Kirtland AFB NM 

71st Flying Training Wing, Vance AFB OK 

80th Flying Training Wing, Sheppard AFB TX 

97th Air Mobility Wing, Altus AFB OK 

314th Airlift Wing, Little Rock AFB AR 

325th Fighter Wing, Tyndall AFB FL 

336th Training Group, Fairchild AFB WA 

479th Flying Training Group, Moody AFB GA 

HQ AIR FORCE RECRUITING SERVICE, 

Randolph AFB TX: (including 4 groups) 

360th Recruiting Group, Hanscom AFB MA 

367th Recruiting Group, Robins AFB GA 

369th Recruiting Group, Lackland AFB TX 

372d Recruiting Group, Hill AFB UT 

2 independent units: 

59th Medical Wing, Lackland AFB TX 

Air Force Security Assistance Training Squadron, 

Randolph AFB TX 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

General 

Donald G. Cook 

 General Hal M. Hornburg left AETC on 

9 November 2001 to assume command of Air 

Combat Command. General Donald G. Cook 

assumed command of AETC on 15 December 2001. 

Lt Gen John D. Hopper, Jr., the vice commander, 

temporarily took over the helm of AETC from 9 

November 2001 until 15 December 2001, while 

General Cook awaited Senate confirmation. Maj Gen 

Marvin J. Barry served as vice commander during 

this period. 

ORGANIZATION 

Headquarters Changes 

In preparation for the direct conversion to contract 

support for undergraduate flying training courseware 

development, the command inactivated the AETC 

Training Support Squadron on 3 January 2001. The 

AETC Air Operations Squadron was inactivated on 

22 January 2001. The command inactivated the 

AETC Manpower and Innovation Flight on 

26 January 2001. 

Moody AFB 

On 2 April 2001 the Air Force Reserve Command 

activated the 39th Flying Training Squadron at 

Moody AFB, Georgia, and assigned it to AETC. Its 

instructor pilots would support both the IFF and 

SUPT missions. AETC simultaneously reactivated 

the 3d Flying Training Squadron at Moody to provide 

Joint SUPT with the command’s first T-6s used for 

student training. The 479th Flying Training Group at 

A 58th Special Operations Wing TH-53A flies a 

training mission. The TH-53A was the first model 

of the H-53 helicopter students learned to fly

before progressing to the more advanced MH-53J 

Pave Low IIIE. 
2001 

325

Moody AFB received its first operational T-6A 

Texan II on 1 May 2001. 

944th Fighter Wing 

On 1 July 2001 AETC was designated the gaining 

command for the Air Reserve Component’s 944th 

Fighter Wing, which conducted F-16 training at Luke 

AFB, Arizona. 

57th Airlift Squadron 

On 28 July 2001 AETC inactivated the 57th Airlift 

Squadron at Altus AFB, Oklahoma, which at that 

time was the Air Force’s sole source for initial 

qualification and upgrade training for the C-141. An 

Air Force Reserve Command unit would assume 

responsibility for this mission in the future. 

TH-53A Helicopters Retire 

On 3 August 2001, during a commemorative event at 

Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, the 58th Special 

Operations Wing retired the last four TH-53A 

helicopters from active service in the Air Force. 

314th Logistics Readiness Squadron (Prov) 

As part of the test of the reorganization resulting 

from the Chief’s Logistics Review, AETC designated 

and activated the 314th Logistics Readiness 

Squadron (Provisional) on 13 August 2001. 

435th Flying Training Squadron 

On 1 October 2001 AETC assigned the 435th Flying 

Training Squadron from the 12th Flying Training 

Wing at Randolph AFB, Texas, to Moody AFB, 

Georgia, to complete the 479th Flying Training 

Group. 

INSTALLATIONS 

Kelly AFB Closure 

The 37th Training Wing at Lackland AFB, Texas, 

assumed responsibility for Kelly field and the area 

west of the runway on 1 April 2001. 

F/A-22 Maintenance Facility 

On 29 November 2001, Detachment 13 of the 372d 

Training Squadron at Nellis AFB, Nevada, officially 

opened its first F/A-22 maintenance training facility 

to prepare for the introduction of the new F/A-22 

aircraft into the Air Force inventory. 

Barry M. Goldwater Range 

The jurisdiction of the range transferred to DOD in 

2001 under the Military Lands Withdrawal Act of 

1999, which renewed military use of 1.7 million 

acres in the area for 25 years. The Air Force assumed 

management responsibility over the eastern half of 

the range and delegated it to the 56th Fighter Wing. 

The Department of the Interior, however, retained 

jurisdiction of the Cabeza Prieta NWR; and the 

military turned over jurisdiction of an additional 

83,000 acres in the Sand Tank Mountains, on the 

northeast corner of the range, to the Department of 

the Interior to form a portion of the Sonoran Desert 

National Monument. The military continued to fly 

through the airspace above the refuge and maintained 

four ground sites for electronic equipment. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

Next Generation Navigator Training 

At the Rated Summit in June 2001, HQ USAF 

announced substantial changes were in the offing in 

the Navigator/Electronic Warfare Officer career field. 

AETC began to plan for new training as the role of 

Detachment 13 provided technical maintenance 

training in the F/A-22 using classroom and handson practical instruction. The detachment also 

offered training for National Guard, Air Force 

Reserve, and students enroute to PACAF. 

The Barry B. Goldwater Range was not only a 

premier training facility to practice air combat, but 

also the largest remaining, well-preserved tract of 

the Sonoran Desert. 
2001 

326

the traditional navigator changed. Each new navigator, tentatively labeled an Air Warfare Officer, 

would receive electronic warfare training and more 

robust flight training that would promote more air 

leadership and decision-making capability (the title 

Combat Systems Officer later came into use). This 

approach was designed to create a more versatile 

crewmember as the force structure continued to 

decline. 

IFF Training Consolidates at Moody AFB 

The transition of the 435th Flying Training Squadron 

from Randolph to Moody completed the plan 

approved almost five years earlier to consolidate 

Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals training at the 

South Georgia base. AETC’s first operational T-38C, 

which would enhance IFF training by providing an 

advanced avionics suite, arrived at Moody on 9 April 

2001. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Explosive Detector Dog Teams 

AETC was the executive agent within DOD for 

military working dogs. Already operating at a high 

tempo to meet expanding AEF requirements, after the 

events of 11 September 2001, the demand for EDD 

teams increased dramatically. 

EDUCATION 

NCO Leadership Conference 

More than 40 junior noncommissioned officers from 

throughout the Air Force attended the first junior 

NCO leadership conference, which was held from 

17-20 July 2001 at Randolph AFB, Texas. AETC 

Commander Gen Hal M. Hornburg initiated the 

“Torch Bearer” conference to facilitate an open 

leadership forum between the attendees and the 

AETC senior staff. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Base Housing Privatization 

In 1996, Congress passed legislation creating a fiveyear experimental program that enabled the services 

to upgrade inadequate on-base family housing and to 

increase the number of units if necessary by allowing 

private contractors to build housing units. AETC 

received approval in February 1997 to begin a 

privatized housing project at Lackland AFB, and the 

Lackland Military Housing Corporation won the 

contract and began construction in March 1999. A 

99-unit base housing development, known as Frank 

Tejeda East, opened in November 2001. 

AETC RESPONSE TO 

TERRORIST ATTACKS 

Shortly after the second hijacked aircraft struck 

the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001, Col 

John A. Neubauer, the command’s Assistant Director 

of Operations, activated the command’s Crisis Action 

Team. Within a matter of hours, AETC adopted an 

elevated Force Protection Condition and implemented increased security measures across the 

command. On that first day, AETC also suspended 

routine flying training operations, as the Federal 

Aviation Administration shut down the nation’s 

airways to all but select military flights. 

The next day, AETC dispatched medical teams 

and equipment from Wilford Hall Medical Center at 

Lackland AFB, Texas, and the hospital at Keesler 

AFB to assist emergency workers in New York City 

and Washington, D.C. Also, the 56th Fighter Wing at 

Luke (F-16s), the 325th Fighter Wing at Tyndall 

(F-15s), and one of the Air National Guard units 

aligned with AETC--the 162th Fighter Wing at 

Tucson, Arizona (F-16s)--flew combat air patrols in 

support of Operation Noble Eagle. The 97th Air 

Mobility Wing at Altus provided KC-135s to fly air 

refueling missions and provided aircraft to augment 

the AMC fleet for worldwide missions in support of 

Operation Enduring Freedom. 

The command, which was not geared toward 

operating in a heightened state of alert for long 

periods of time, responded with ad hoc solutions to 

solve unfamiliar problems. The command staff 

augmented communications and security to create a 

facility for the Crisis Action Team, and logisticians 

created a Movement Control Center to expedite the 

mobilization and deployment of personnel and cargo. 

Throughout the crisis, training continued. Even 

the wings that maintained alert aircraft for air defense 

resumed their normal training mission. Turning out 

newly trained personnel was essential to maintaining 

the force structure to support the war against terror. 

During past conflicts, when combatant commands 

conducted crew training, the exigencies of war 

curtailed crew training. Moving so-called “grey jet” 

training to AETC allowed the combat commands to 

focus on warfighting, while AETC continued to train 

new personnel. 
327

2002

Air Education and Training Command faced the unique challenges of the Global War on Terror while 

continuing to prepare new airmen for duty and providing continuing education and training throughout their 

careers. In the 1990s the Air Force transitioned from a Cold War, fixed-base, garrison force structure, 

toward an Air and Space Expeditionary Force (AEF) model. The concept was originally called the 

Expeditionary Air Force, a term that was changed to Air and Space Expeditionary Force by 2002. Forces 

from geographically separated units were organized into standing Air and Space Expeditionary Forces, or 

AEFs, which could deploy for contingency operations on short notice and be quickly available to an area 

Commander in Chief for combat or humanitarian operations. Operations in the 1990s regularly called for a 

smaller USAF to deploy tailored forces to enforce UN sanctions against Iraq, to exert American power in 

regional conflicts, and to support peacekeeping operations worldwide. The events of 11 September 2001 

accelerated the transition to an AEF model. As the command responsible for recruiting, training, and 

educating airmen, AETC not only reacted to the transformation of the Air Force, but also played a central 

role in fostering this cultural change. Over 6,400 AETC personnel deployed in support of contingencies and 

named exercises in Fiscal Year 2002, an increase of nearly three times compared to the previous year when 

measured in man-days. Nearly all of this effort supported Operations Enduring Freedom, Noble Eagle, 

Northern Watch, and Southern Watch. 

ASSIGNED RESOURCES 

(as of 31 December 2002) 

PRIMARY INSTALLATIONS: 13 

Alabama--Maxwell; Arkansas--Little Rock; Arizona--Luke; 

Florida--Tyndall; Mississippi--Columbus and Keesler; 

Oklahoma--Altus and Vance; Texas--Goodfellow, 

Lackland, Laughlin, Randolph, and Sheppard 

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED: 

57,033 (8,847 officers; 33,495 enlisted; 14,691 civilians) 

Airmen from the 366th Air Expeditionary Group 

pick up and move a mobile kitchen tent to its new 

resting place at a remote base during Operation 

Enduring Freedom. 

AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED: 

1,510 (C-5A, C-17A, C-21A, C-130E, F-15C/D, F-16C/D, 

KC-135R, MC-130H, HC/MC-130P, MH-53J, HH-60G, 

T-1A, T-6A, T-37B, T-38A, T-38C, T-43, TH-53A, 

UH-1N) 

MAJOR SUBORDINATE UNITS: 

4 numbered air force and equivalent units: 

AIR UNIVERSITY, Maxwell AFB AL: (including 

15 major subordinate units) 

42d Air Base Wing, Maxwell AFB AL 

Academic Instructor School, Maxwell AFB AL 

Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB 

AL 

Air Force Institute for Advanced Distributed 

Learning, Maxwell AFB AL

Air Force Institute of Technology, WrightPatterson AFB OH 

Air Force Officer Accession and Training 

Schools, Maxwell AFB AL 

Air University Library, Maxwell AFB AL 

Air War College, Maxwell AFB AL 

College of Aerospace Doctrine, Research, and 

Education, Maxwell AFB AL 

College for Enlisted Professional Military 

Education, Maxwell AFB AL 

Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

Ira C. Eaker College for Professional Development, Maxwell AFB AL 
2002 

328

School of Advanced Airpower Studies, Maxwell 

AFB AL 

Squadron Officer College, Maxwell AFB AL 

USAF Civil Air Patrol, Maxwell AFB AL

SECOND AIR FORCE, Keesler AFB MS: 

(including 4 wings and 1 independent group) 

17th Training Wing, Goodfellow AFB TX 

37th Training Wing, Lackland AFB TX 

81st Training Wing, Keesler AFB MS 

82d Training Wing, Sheppard AFB TX 

381st Training Group, Vandenberg AFB CA

NINETEENTH AIR FORCE, Randolph AFB TX: 

(including 10 wings and 2 independent groups) 

12th Flying Training Wing, Randolph AFB TX 

14th Flying Training Wing, Columbus AFB MS 

47th Flying Training Wing, Laughlin AFB TX 

56th Fighter Wing, Luke AFB AZ 

58th Special Operations Wing, Kirtland AFB NM 

71st Flying Training Wing, Vance AFB OK 

80th Flying Training Wing, Sheppard AFB TX 

97th Air Mobility Wing, Altus AFB OK 

314th Airlift Wing, Little Rock AFB AR 

325th Fighter Wing, Tyndall AFB FL 

336th Training Group, Fairchild AFB WA 

479th Flying Training Group, Moody AFB GA 

HQ AIR FORCE RECRUITING SERVICE, 

Randolph AFB TX: (including 4 groups) 

360th Recruiting Group, Hanscom AFB MA 

367th Recruiting Group, Robins AFB GA 

369th Recruiting Group, Lackland AFB TX 

372d Recruiting Group, Hill AFB UT

2 independent units: 

59th Medical Wing, Lackland AFB TX 

Air Force Security Assistance Training 

Squadron, Randolph AFB TX 

COMMAND LEADERSHIP 

General Donald G. Cook continued to serve as 

commander of AETC and Lt Gen John D. 

Hopper, Jr., continued as vice commander. 

ORGANIZATION 

Technical Training Division 

The command realigned responsibilities for 

technical training management between HQ 

AETC and Second Air Force in 2002. The 

headquarters Technical Training Division assumed 

responsibility from Second Air Force for the 

reclassification and prior service functions and the 

programming of non-resident training. 

Combat Wing Organization 

As the AEF concept matured, lessons learned in 

contingency operations led to a new wing structure 

for logistics and support functions throughout the Air 

Force. These changes originated in 1999 with the 

Chief of Staff of the Air Force Logistics Review. The 

overall objectives of the Combat Wing Organization 

were to standardize the wing structure across the Air 

Force, enhance expeditionary capabilities, and 

enhance the way the Air Force delivered air and 

space power. Specifically, the new organization 

merged supply and transportation squadrons and 

logistics plans into a Logistics Readiness Squadron, 

assigned them to a new Mission Support Group 

(which also included the former Support Groups, 

Contracting Squadron, and Aerial Port Squadron). 

The new structure also established a Maintenance 

Group, which included all maintainers currently in 

the Operations Group or Logistics Group, and created 

a Logistics Readiness Officer career field, whose 

members were responsible for supply, transportation, 

and logistics plans. 

Field Training Detachments 

In January 2002 the 82d Training Wing began to 

examine whether the wing’s FTDs might be 

Airman Vanessa Dobos of the 58th Training Squadron at 

Kirtland AFB became the Air Force’s first female aerial 

gunner after graduating from her technical school in 2002. 

As a gunner and member of a search and rescue crew on 

the H-60 helicopter, she would perform a combat duty that 

was formerly closed to women in the Air Force. 
2002 

329

combined with co-located aircraft maintenance 

training Operating Locations. As a preliminary step, 

HQ AETC activated the 360th Training Squadron at 

Sheppard, effective 1 March, relieving the 362d 

Training Squadron of a significant portion of its 

workload. This move allowed the command to 

realign technical training operating locations at Little 

Rock AFB; New River, North Carolina; and Dover 

AFB, Delaware, from the 362nd to the new squadron, 

as well as the FTD at Fort Eustis, Virginia. These 

moves reduced the scope of operations for the 362nd 

and allowed better management of field training. 

Air and Space Redesignations 

In 2002, Air University redesignated the School of 

Advanced Airpower Studies as the School of 

Advanced Air and Space Studies, and the Aerospace 

Basic Course School became the Air and Space Basic 

Course School, in order to reflect the increasing 

emphasis of the space component of the Air Force 

mission. 

INSTALLATIONS 

Land Acquisition at Luke AFB 

In 2002 the 56th Fighter Wing, responsible for F-16 

training at Luke AFB and the nearby Barry M. 

Goldwater Training Range, became concerned that 

urban development near the base would curtail flying 

training if left unchecked. In addition, the Munitions 

Storage Area (MSA) stood outside of the base 

compound, adding a burden to the Security Forces 

Squadron. In October 2002, Senator John McCain of 

Arizona shepherded a MILCON funding insert of $13 

million to purchase 273 acres needed to incorporate 

the MSA into the base perimeter and to acquire 

additional land in order to preserve access to the 

Goldwater Range. 

General Donald Cook at the 43d Fighter 

Squadron activation ceremony on 25 October 2002 

at Tyndall AFB, Florida. 

TRAINING 

FLYING TRAINING 

T-6A 

In 2002 the USAF and Navy initiated the JPATS 

multi-service operational test and evaluation of the 

full system at Moody AFB, completing the study at 

the end of January 2003. The services concluded that 

JPATS effectively trained students and that the 

system performed well, with one exception: the 

Training Integration Management System (TIMS), 

designed to manage undergraduate flying training, 

experienced several software problems. The 3rd 

Flying Training Squadron at Moody tested the 

software operationally and helped to identify 

shortfalls. AETC planned to implement an improved 

TIMS at Moody, Randolph, Laughlin, Columbus, and 

Vance in 2003, and at Sheppard in January 2004. 

The differences between the analog displays of the 

T-38A and the modern instrumentation of the 

T-38C are apparent from these photographs. 

T-38C 

AETC introduced an essentially new advanced 

trainer, the T-38C, in the bomber-fighter track of 

specialized undergraduate pilot training (SUPT). 

Through the T-38 Avionics Upgrade Program, the 

command intended to modernize its entire fleet of 

T-38s, both the -A models used in the SUPT program 

and the AT-38Bs used in the Introduction to Fighter 

Fundamentals program. The glass cockpit upgrade 

was designed to eliminate the technology gap 

between the 40-year old T-38s and operational 

fighters and bombers. In addition, the Propulsion 

Modernization Program would extend the service life 

of the engines as well as improve their performance. 

F/A-22 Training 

In 2002 AETC was completing preparations for 

standing up the F/A-22 FTU. The first pilot selection 

board met in July 2002 and chose seven instructor 

pilots with recent FTU experience from the F-15 and 

F-16 communities. On 25 October 2002, AETC stood 

up its first F/A-22 squadron, reactivating the 43rd 

Fighter Squadron, assigned to the 325th Fighter Wing 

at Tyndall AFB. The first aircraft to be delivered to 
2002 

330

the 325th Fighter Wing was scheduled to arrive at 

Tyndall in 2003. 

Air Operations Center FTU 

Air Force experience in the 10 years between 

Operations Desert Storm and Enduring Freedom 

proved the validity of the Air Operations Center 

(AOC) concept as the nerve center for air operations. 

The AOC comprised the personnel and equipment 

necessary to integrate air operations, weather, 

intelligence, space, and other functions to command 

and control all aerospace missions throughout its 

assigned region. The Air Force had made much 

progress in standardizing and using AOCs. Air Force 

Chief of Staff General Michael E. Ryan announced 

that the AOC would be considered a weapons system, 

which precipitated the creation of a separate funding 

and training pipeline for the AOC. Air Combat 

Command, which had been conducting ad hoc 

training, and AETC discussed creating an AOC 

Formal Training Unit (FTU) under AETC control. In 

December 2002, however, General Hal M. Hornburg, 

ACC commander, decided that the FTU would 

remain in ACC. 

A UH-60 assigned to the 512th Rescue Squadron. 

Helicopter Training 

Late in 2001, the Army announced its intention to 

retire its aged UH-1Hs and to replace them with the 

newer TH-67. AETC’s Undergraduate Helicopter 

Training students had filled surplus slots at the Army 

Aviation Center at Fort Rucker, AL, since the 1970s, 

and so the Army’s announcement precipitated a 

major change in helicopter training for Air Force 

pilots. After studying the issue, AETC concluded that 

it preferred to convert a portion of the UH-1Hs into 

Huey IIs and to conduct training independently of the 

Army, which had implemented a new training 

program that did not meet Air Force requirements. 

EDUCATION 

Air Command and Staff College 

Starting in November 2002, Air University began to 

overhaul the Air Command and Staff College 

curriculum to better prepare students for career 

broadening assignments and expeditionary employment. A new modular approach accommodated the 

AEF rotation cycle, and the third of three modules 

emphasized one of eight broad categories of air and 

space power employment, depending on a student’s 

likely career path. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING 

Centers of Excellence 

In 2002 AETC announced a plan to realign its 

technical training courses and associated resources in 

order to conduct all training of a given functional 

area in one location. Consequently, the Enlisted 

Aircrew Undergraduate Course moved from 

Sheppard to Lackland, comptroller training and 

Education and Training courses relocated from 

Sheppard to Keesler, the Basic Loadmaster course 

moved from Sheppard to the airlift wings at Altus 

and Little Rock, and the Electronic Principles course 

moved from Lackland to Keesler. 

MILITARY TRAINING 

Recruiting 

Recruiting fared well in 2002, though AFRS 

continued to have difficulty recruiting hard-to-fill 

specialties, such as the demanding enlisted career 

fields of Combat Controller, Pararescue, and Air 

Traffic Controller, as well as the perennially difficult 

officer career fields of engineering, computer science, 

and health professions. AFRS not only targeted these 

AFSCs specifically, but also continued to advertise 

Air Force opportunities to the general population. In 

2002, AFRS expanded its sponsorship of the popular 

National Association of Stock Car Automobile 

Racing (NASCAR) events. 

Lt Gen David McIlvoy, AETC vice commander in 

October 2000, climbs into the Air Force-sponsored 

Wood Brothers Racing #21 at Concord Motor 

Speedway, where Elliott Sadler gave him an 

orientation ride. The Air Force announced in 

October 2000 that it would advertise on #21 for 

the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup season. 
2002 

331

MILITARY PERSONNEL DATA SYSTEM CHALLENGES 

The Air Force’s new Military Personnel Data 

System (MilPDS) became the system of record for all 

Air Force military personnel data on 1 June 2001. 

Unfortunately, MiLPDS and AETC’s Technical 

Training Management System (TTMS)--which 

allowed the command to manage the students in its 

courses, program resources, and evaluate its training 

programs--did not interface as well as expected. By 

the end of August 2001, registrars at the schoolhouses 

were weeks behind in entering student transactions 

into MilPDS, and the technical training centers shifted 

personnel and work schedules to try to meet the 

burgeoning backlog. A Tiger Team convened in 

December 2001 to review MilPDS and concluded that 

while the problem would be difficult and expensive to 

fix, several short-term fixes were possible. Moreover, 

the team noted, all the military services were working 

toward a single personnel system, the Defense 

Integrated Military Human Resources System 

(DIMHRS), expected to be operational in FY07. The 

team therefore proposed the development of a new 

data system, the Student Registration and Record 

System (SRRS), to reduce the command’s 

dependence on MilPDS and the future DIMHRS. 

Instead of the schoolhouses relying on a series of 

interactions with MilPDS and the flow through of 

information into TTMS, SRRS would allow the 

command to capture the data it needed in the 

command data management system, with the flow of 

information out to MilPDS. Instead of 17 system 

interfaces between AETC and AFPC, there would be 

one. SRRS would provide a master student record, 

including basic student information, training and 

education data, eligibility status, and training status; a 

master school and course catalog that provided course 

listings and schedules, course availability data, 

enrollment information, and funding data; and the 

ability to track students through the various pipeline 

training programs. Another significant benefit would 

be the accumulation of data in a single system that 

AETC training managers and leadership could access 

easily. 

By May 2002 significant progress had been made 

in resolving interface problems, and data had begun to 

flow from MilPDS to TTMS. Nevertheless, AETC 

reported to the Air Staff in June 2002 that despite this 

progress, the personnel data system problems were 

the greatest impediment to the command’s training 

and education programs. 

At the end of August 2002, General Hopper 

approved the creation of a SRRS project team to 

implement a prototype, define changes in command 

processes to posture AETC for the coming DIMHRS 

implementation, and develop a funding and implementation plan to deploy TTMS to Basic Military 

Training and to Officer Training School, if 

appropriate. Altogether, the command expected it 

would take about five years to fully implement SRRS. 

Because of the long-range implications, the prototype 

was seen as a relatively inexpensive way to see if the 

command could decrease its dependence on AFPC. In 

the meantime, the command continued to refine the 

existing command data systems and MilPDS. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Force Shaping 

Fiscal year 2002 marked the first increase in USAF’s 

end strength in fifteen years, reversing a downward 

trend that began in 1987. Nevertheless, the Air Force 

began to correct two manpower problems. The 

aggressive recruiting efforts in the late 1990s and a 

high retention rate in 2002 resulted in the Air Force 

exceeding authorized active-duty end strength. The 

budget could not support the extra people in the 

workforce, and so reducing the workforce size 

became necessary. At the same time, the active duty 

force was unbalanced. A high deployment tempo had 

placed great demands on military members, and the 

service faced unanticipated shortages of trained 

personnel in many career fields. The Air Force could 

not simply add military or civilian authorizations in 

order to perform new missions required in the war on 

terror, and thus had to reduce manpower while 

moving authorizations between career fields to 

remedy the force balance problem. One of the first 

steps taken to balance the stress measures in the 

career fields was to give priority in recruiting for 

those expressing an interest in the most stressed 

AFSCs. AETC realigned 1,000 accessions in FY02 to 

the stressed career fields. 

Luke AFB Removed from Superfund List 

Luke was placed on the National Priorities List, often 

called the Superfund list, in 1990, and on 22 April 

2002 became the first Air Force base to be removed 

from the list, after satisfying the requirement to 

remove pollution dating back as far as World War II. 

The command lauded the action as it worked to 

resolve past issues and to prevent new pollution. 
2002 

332

Global War on Terror 

Airmen from AETC deployed as members of Air and 

Space Expeditionary Forces in support of operations 

in the Global War on Terror. A total of 6,429 AETC 

personnel deployed in support of contingencies and 

named exercises in FY02, which represented an 

increase of 62 percent over FY01. These deployments totaled 448,796 man-days, nearly three times 

the level of effort in FY01. Contingencies 

represented 95 percent of the total man-days, nearly 

all in support of Operations Enduring Freedom, 

Noble Eagle, Northern Watch, and Southern Watch. 

In addition to deploying personnel, several AETC 

units directly supported operations from their home 

base. From Goodfellow AFB, some language instructors deployed to the U.S. Central Command 

(USCENTCOM) Area of Responsibility (AOR), and 

others translated captured documents while continuing their training responsibilities stateside. The 

58th Special Operations Wing trained 126 personnel 

(21 crews) in high-altitude operations and landing in 

dusty conditions for missions in Afghanistan. AETC 

also provided approximately a third of the medical 

personnel deployed to the USCENTCOM AOR. 

Finally, headquarters AETC maintained a Crisis 

Action Team on heightened alert throughout 2002. A security forces installation patrolman from the 

455th Air Expeditionary Group, mans an entry 

control point at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan.

Capt Cynthia Warwick (right) and SSgt Chad Smith (left), both from the 81st Medical Surgical 

Squadron at Keesler AFB, prepare a syringe with local anesthesia while deployed with the 28th 

Medical Group in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. 
333

APPENDIX A 

COMMANDERS 

Army Air Corps Flying Training Command 

(Established 23 January 1942) 

Lt Gen Barton K. Yount ................................................................................................................. 28 Jan 42 – 

Army Air Forces Flying Training Command 

(Redesignated ca. 15 March 1942) 

Lt Gen Barton K. Yount .................................................................................................................................... 

Army Air Forces Training Command 

(Redesignated 7 July 1943) 

Lt Gen Barton K. Yount .................................................................................................................– 26 Sep 45 

Maj Gen James P. Hodges.............................................................................................27 Sep 45 – 12 Apr 46 

Lt Gen John K. Cannon..................................................................................................................13 Apr 46 – 

Air Training Command 

(Redesignated 1 July 1946) 

Lt Gen John K. Cannon.................................................................................................................. – 13 Oct 48 

Lt Gen Robert W. Harper ...............................................................................................14 Oct 48 – 30 Jun 54 

Maj Gen Glenn O. Barcus ..................................................................................................1 Jul 54 – 25 Jul 54 

Lt Gen Charles T. Myers..................................................................................................26 Jul 54 – 31 Jul 58 

Lt Gen Frederic H. Smith, Jr. .......................................................................................... 1 Aug 58 – 31 Jul 59 

Lt Gen James E. Briggs................................................................................................... 1 Aug 59 – 31 Jul 63 

Lt Gen Robert W. Burns................................................................................................ 1 Aug 63 – 10 Aug 64 

Lt Gen William W. Momyer ........................................................................................ 11 Aug 64 – 30 Jun 66 

Lt Gen San Maddux, Jr.................................................................................................... 1 Jul 66 – 31 Aug 70 

Lt Gen George B. Simler...................................................................................................1 Sep 70 – 9 Sep 72 

Lt Gen William V. McBride........................................................................................... 9 Sep 72 – 31 Aug 74 

Lt Gen George H. McKee .............................................................................................. 1 Sep 74 – 28 Aug 75 

General John W. Roberts............................................................................................. 29 Aug 75 – 31 Mar 79 

General Bennie L. Davis .................................................................................................. 1 Apr 79 – 28 Jul 81 

General Thomas M. Ryan, Jr...........................................................................................29 Jul 81 – 22 Jun 83 

General Andrew P. Iosue.............................................................................................. 23 Jun 83 – 27 Aug 86 

Lt Gen John A. Shaud .................................................................................................... 28 Aug 86 – 5 Jun 88 

Lt Gen Robert C. Oaks .....................................................................................................6 Jun 88 – 24 Jun 90 

Lt Gen Joseph W. Ashy...................................................................................................25 Jun 90 – 9 Dec 02 

General Henry Viccellio, Jr........................................................................................................... 10 Dec 92 – 

Air Education and Training Command 

(Redesignated 1 July 1993) 

General Henry Viccellio, Jr............................................................................................................ – 19 Jun 95 

General Billy J. Boles ...................................................................................................20 Jun 95 – 16 Mar 97 

General Lloyd W. Newton ..........................................................................................17 Mar 97 – 21 Jun 00 

General Hal M. Hornburg ............................................................................................. 22 Jun 00 – 9 Nov 01 

Lt Gen John D. Hopper, Jr. ..........................................................................................10 Nov 01 – 14 Dec 01 

General Donald G. Cook ..................................................................................................15 Dec 01 – present 
334
335 

APPENDIX B 

TRAINING PRODUCTIONa

FY UPT UNTb TECHc

TRNG 

FIELD 

TRNG BMT OCS/OTSd

 AFROTCe

1942 14,279 1,762 105,000 N/A 273,000 23,000 N/A 

1943 46,832 8,422 576,000 70,000 1,400,000 47,342 N/A 

1944 87,283 17,915 417,000 144,063 968,000 27,927 N/A 

1945 41,062 20,088 267,000 321,004 112,533 9,755 N/A 

1946 4,925 1,953 32,289 49,000 148,165 2,411 N/A 

1947 369 18 62,704 14,000 51,227 351 N/A 

1948 701 91 31,220 22,000 68,961 363 1,472 

1949 813 438 48,325 28,500 122,267 486 2,960 

1950 2,100 147 82,141 42,907 112,429 276 4,395 

1951 2,031 1,574 143,541 39,938 225,240 3,029 7,031 

 

a

Does not include foreign students, except UNT, FY42-FY61.

b

Only previously rated USAF officers entered training from FY47-FY49. Figures from FY47-48 are aerial observer 

bombardment course graduates. Figure from FY49 includes graduates of both aerial observer bombardment and 

navigator-bombardier course courses. Figures from FY50-87 are UNT for USAF personnel. See also note h.

c

Includes flexible gunnery production for FY42-FY45, which was considered flying rather than technical training.

d

Includes aviation cadets, officer candidate school, officer basic military school, officer training school, and all 

indoctrination courses for new professional officers. OTS began 15 November 1959; OCS closed 1 July 1963.

e

Congress authorized AFROTC in 1946, but the first graduates did not enter active duty until 1948.

SOURCES: All undergraduate pilot training (UPT) and undergraduate navigator training (UNT) production from 

ATC Historical Reference Papers, “Major Changes in Undergraduate Pilot Training 1939-1990,” 1 Dec 90; “Major 

Changes in Undergraduate Navigator Training, 1940-1990,” Oct 91; and ATC and AETC histories. Field and mobile 

training production from ATC monograph, Thomas A. Manning, The World Is Our Classroom: A Brief History of 

the Air Force Field Training Program, n.d., and AETC histories. Technical training (TECH TRNG), basic military 

training (BMT), officer candidate school (OCS) and officer training school (OTS), and Air Force Reserve Officer 

Training Corps (AFROTC) production from ATC and AETC histories. Production figures for 1942 are estimated. 

Field Training figure for FY42 is total number of students at BMT centers January-June 1942, and figure for FY43 

is total number of students at BMT centers July 1942-June 1943. The length of training varied. Mobile training 

began in July 1942, in FY43. Source: Army Air Forces Statistical Digest: World War II (Dec 45). 
Appendix B 

336

FY UPT UNT 

TECH 

TRNG 

FIELD 

TRNG BMT OCS/OTS AFROTC 

1952 2,718 1,954 387,523 52,468 216,040 4,899 8,244 

1953 5,265 3,471 263,531 69,801 147,660 16,261 11,259 

1954 4,754 4,480 156,230 84,061 87,065 11,589 13,717 

1955 6,159 5,360 143,312 96,979 165,246 11,638 12,186 

1956 6,053 3,367 147,305 107,407 149,755 10,154 10,535 

1957 5,726 3,203 137,390 111,294 150,100 6,473 5,743 

1958 3,980 2,564 94,559 163,464 62,305 5,636 4,234 

1959 2,483 1,889 81,357 206,594 77,411 6,923 3,782 

1960 2,185 1,756 94,109 191,153 95,439 4,360 3,495 

1961 1,842 2,465 111,583 200,295 126,683 1,333 3,270 

1962 1,362 1,268 128,344 209,773 116,857 3,775 3,402 

1963 1,491 1,177 130,893 281,191 108,871 6,605 3,392 

1964 1,790 1,031 115,873 324,249 101,927 4,721 3,962 

1965 2,118 1,081 104,422 376,452 94,599 3,582 4,509 

1966 2,066 913 133,659 394,001 161,653 2,736 4,790 

1967 2,838 845 167,766 404,693 108,584 7,961 5,896 

1968 3,256 863 156,930 484,832 100,186 6,658 5,708 

1969 3,483 891 311,242 391,732 123,092 4,850 4,936 

1970 3,846 999 262,475 325,841 92,214 5,472 4,524 

1971 3,525 1,076 163,240 247,381 105,323 4,224 4,415 

1972 3,495 1,257 188,776 186,995 98,593 3,930 4,165 

1973 3,173 1,386 279,287 203,897 99,758 3,203 3,893 
Appendix B 

337

FY UPT UNT 

TECH 

TRNG 

FIELD 

TRNG BMT OCS/OTS AFROTC 

1974 2,275 1,384 240,962 162,007 78,232 2,331 3,489 

1975 2,106 1,261 224,127 142,222 82,026 1,678 3,615 

1976 1,688 1,048 173,110 150,287 94,723 723 2,550 

1977f

1,741 523 103,146 142,194 73,715 888 2512 

1978 1,125 502 127,316 157,416 69,360 1,556 2,556 

1979 1,081 674 117,584 156,421 61,786 3,991 2,504 

1980 1,582 677 116,570 155,848 74,653 4,595 2,716 

1981 1,729 749 137,663 159,301 79,047 2,899 3,149 

1982 1,957 972 148,883 172,134 65,800 2,734 3,485 

1983 1,904 1,019 148,608 147,677 64,171 2,824 3,550 

1984 2,044 909 148,180 186,248 67,636 2,574 3,284 

1985 1,934 837 131,583 188,159 65,189 3,094 3,265 

1986 1,786 717 170,533 171,342 67,708 2,621 3,297 

1987g 1,505 666 179,361 175,363 58,554 1,594 2,885 

1988 1,603 639 167,039 194,108 46,740 943 2,768 

1989 1,724 536 152,797 178,389 44,098 1,137 2,773 

1990 1,694 654 148,971 121,277 40,841 596 1,895 

1991 1,671 450 128,718 104,048 32,133 627 2,184 

1992 1,125 197 113,506 93,310 36,841 437 1,825 

1993 869 151 75,641 11,929 28,063 367 2,206 

 

f

Includes production during the three-month transition period (July-September 1976) when the federal government 

moved the start of the fiscal year from 1 July to 1 October.

g FY87 figure includes graduates of UNT and SUNT.
Appendix B 

338

FY UPT UNTh TECHiTRNG 

FIELDj

TRNG BMT OCS/OTS AFROTC 

1994 647 45 69,115 10,134 29,075 623 1,785 

1995 538 119 76,647 10,618 30,309 801 1,692 

1996 601 94 97,901 50,762 30,924 620 1,522 

1997 703 214 107,898 44,135 32,005 477 1,737 

1998 908 252 105,780 41,667 31,524 1,987 2,020 

1999 1,080 279 123,049 38,510 32,961 2,239 1,997 

2000 1,180 155 121,709 38,003 36,542 2,546 2,118 

2001 1,183 152 115,146 33,902 37,981 3,246 2,230 

2002 1,256 175 118,892 38,059 40,143 3,208 2,502 

TOTAL 315,242 111,754 9,415,461 9,121,435 7,603,963 305,879 220,026 

 

h

Figures for FY97-01 include USAF graduates of Airlift/Tanker/Marine and both USAF and US Navy graduates of 

Strike and Strike Fighter courses. Figure for FY02 includes USAF and USN graduates of Joint Electronic Warfare 

Officer, Strike, and Strike Fighter courses. There were no USAF graduates of Airlift/Tanker/Marine in FY00-02.

i

Figures for FY93-95 are the production figures for Type 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 training for USAF military, civilian, and 

Reserve/Guard from the AETC command histories, Appendix Q. Figures for FY96-02 are the production figures for 

all personnel completing Type 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 training for all personnel from the AETC command histories, 

Appendix Q.

j

Figures for FY93-95 are the production figures for Type 4 training for USAF military, civilian, and Reserve/Guard 

from the AETC command histories, Appendix Q. Figures for FY96-02 are the production figures for all personnel 

completing Type 4 training from the AETC command histories, Appendix Q.
339 

APPENDIX C 

TRAINING INSTALLATIONS 

The Air Corps or Army Air Forces activated many of the training bases listed prior to the activation of the Army 

Air Forces Training Command (AAFTC) on 7 July 1943. Those bases came under AAFTC control on that date. 

Abbreviations are: AB—air base; AETC—Air Education and Training Command; AFB—Air Force base; AFS—Air 

Force station; AAB—Army air base; AAC—Army air center; AAF—Army air field; ANG—Air National Guard; 

ATC—Air Training Command. 

ADAMS FIELD, Little Rock, Arkansas. Leased 

then activated 15 Aug 42. Conducted flying training 

until inactivated Oct 44. 

AJO AAF, Ajo, Arizona. Activated as Ajo Field 

22 Aug 41. Redesignated Ajo AAF prior to activation 

of AAFTC. Conducted flying training until 

inactivated on 7 Oct 46. 

ALBANY, GEORGIA (See Turner Field) 

ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO (See also 

Kirtland Field) 

ALOE AAF, Victoria, Texas. Activated 27 Oct 

42. Conducted flying training until inactivated 31 Oct 

45. 

ALTUS AFB, Altus, Oklahoma. Activated as 

Army Air Forces Advanced Flying School, 17 Jun 

42. Redesignated Altus AAF 8 Apr 43. Conducted 

flying training until inactivated 15 May 45. 

Redesignated Altus AFB, activated 8 Jan 53, and 

assigned to Tactical Air Command. Reassigned to 

Strategic Air Command 21 Jun 1954 and to Military 

Airlift Command 1 Jul 68. Reassigned to Air 

Education and Training Command 1 Jul 93. 

AMARILLO AFB, Amarillo, Texas. Activated 

as Amarillo AAF 20 Apr 42. Conducted technical 

training until inactivated 30 Jun 46. Activated as 

Amarillo AFB 1 Mar 51. Conducted technical 

training until 27 Aug 68 and basic training until 11 

Dec 68. Inactivated 1 Jan 69 and passed to Sheppard 

AFB, Texas, until disposal action completed when it 

transferred to civilian control on 16 Feb 71. 

AMERICUS, GEORGIA (See Souther Field) 

ANNISTON AAF, Eastoboga, Alabama. 

Activated 19 Oct 42. Conducted flying training until 

inactivated 30 Jun 45. Activated 1 Jul 49. 

Conducted flying training until transferred to Air 

Materiel Command 1 Aug 50. 

APALACHICOLA AAF, Apalachicola, Florida. 

Activated 21 Feb 42. Conducted flexible gunnery 

training until transferred to Army Division Engineers 

2 Feb 47. 

ARCADIA, FLORIDA (See Carlstrom Field and 

Dorr Field) 

ARLEDGE FIELD, Stamford, Texas. Activated 

1 Apr 41. Conducted contract flying training until 

inactivated 8 Sep 44. 

ATLANTIC CITY CENTER, Atlantic City, New 

Jersey. Activated 29 Jun 42. Conducted basic military 

training for officers and enlisted and was a 

classification center until inactivated 5 Jan 44. 

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA (See Bush Field) 

AUTAUGAVILLE FIELD, Autaugaville, 

Alabama. Activated 17 Mar 41. Conducted flying 

training until inactivated 10 Dec 45. 

AVENGER FIELD, Sweetwater, Texas. 

Activated 30 Jul 42. Conducted contract flying 

training for Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) 

until inactivated 9 Dec 44. 

AVON PARK AIRPORT, Avon Park, Florida. 

Activated 4 Oct 41. Conducted contract flying 

training until inactivated 16 Oct 44. 

AZTEC, ARIZONA (See Datelan AAF) 

During World War II, large hotels were used in 

several cities for the housing and training of 

troops. This is the Congress Hotel in Chicago, 

Illinois. 
Appendix C 

340

BAINBRIDGE AB, Bainbridge, Georgia. 

Activated as Bainbridge AAF 7 Aug 42. Conducted 

flying training and contract flying training until 

inactivated 15 Dec 45. Redesignated Bainbridge AB 

and activated 11 Jul 51. Conducted contract flying 

training until inactivated 31 Mar 61. 

BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA (See Minter 

Field) 

BALLINGER, TEXAS (See Bruce Field) 

BARKSDALE AFB, Bossier City, Louisiana. 

Activated as Barksdale Field 18 Nov 30 and assigned 

to the Army Fourth Corps Area. Transferred to 

GHQAF 1 Mar 35 and to Southeastern Air Corps 

Training Center 15 Oct 40. First Air Corps navigator 

school established 1 Nov 40. Transferred to Air 

Force Combat Command 6 Dec 41, Third Air Force 

10 Feb 42, and then Continental Air Forces 6 Jun 45. 

Transferred to Army Air Forces Training Command 

1 Nov 45. Conducted flying training and was HQ 

AAFTC location from 25 Feb 46 until 17 Oct 49. 

Redesignated Barksdale AFB 13 Jan 48. Transferred 

to Strategic Air Command 30 Sep 49. 

BARTOW AB, Bartow, Florida. Conducted 

medium bombardment crew training under Third Air 

Force during World War II until inactivated 28 Dec 

45. Activated 1 May 51. Conducted contract flying 

training until inactivated 19 May 61. 

BEALE AFB, Marysville, California. Activated 

as Camp Beale 1 Oct 42. Declared surplus by War 

Department 31 May 47. Activated 10 Feb 48 and 

assigned to ATC. Redesignated Beale Bombing and 

Gunnery Range 7 Oct 49. Not an active base, but 

used as bombing and gunnery range. Activated and 

transferred to Continental Air Command 1 Apr 51. 

Redesignated Beale AFB 1 Dec 51. Transferred to 

Stategic Air Command 1 Jul 56. 

BELLEVILLE, ILLINOIS (See Scott AFB) 

BENNETTSVILLE AIRPORT, Bennettsville, 

South Carolina. Activated 6 Oct 41. Conducted 

contract flying training until inactivated 16 Oct 44. 

BIG SPRING AAF, Big Spring, Texas. (See 

Webb AFB) 

BLACKLAND AAF, Waco, Texas. Activated 

2 Jul 42. Conducted advanced 2-engine flying 

training until 4 Feb 45. Became a subpost of Waco 

AAF until inactivated 31 Oct 45. 

BLYTHE FIELD, Blythe, California. Activated 

29 Jun 42. Conducted contract flying training until 

inactivated 4 Aug 44. 

BLYTHEVILLE AFB, Blytheville, Arkansas. 

Activated as Blytheville AAF 10 Jun 42. Conducted 

flying training until transferred to Continental Air 

Forces on 16 Jun 45. Redesignated Blytheville AFB 

10 Jun 53. 

A gunnery student from Buckingham Field, Florida, practices air-to-air firing with a 30-caliber machine 

gun from the rear seat of an AT-6. 
Appendix C 

341

BOCA RATON AAF, Boca Raton, Florida. 

Activated 1 Jun 42 as a radar school. Overseas 

replacement depot established 8 Nov 43 for radar 

personnel. Conducted technical training until 5 May 

47. Between Sep-Nov 47 radar school moved to 

Keesler. Transferred to the Corps of Engineers 1 

Mar 48. 

BONHAM, TEXAS (See Jones Field) 

BRADY, TEXAS (See Curtis Field) 

BROOKS AFB, San Antonio, Texas. Activated 

as Brooks AAF 16 Feb 1918. Conducted balloon and 

airship training, flying training and observation 

training until transferred to Continental Air Forces on 

30 Nov 45. Redesignated Brooks AFB on 24 Jun 48. 

Transferred to ATC on 1 Oct 59. Conducted flying 

training and technical training until 1 Nov 61, when it 

transferred to Air Force Systems Command. 

BRUCE FIELD, Ballinger, Texas. Activated 

4 Oct 41. Conducted contract flying training until 

inactivated 16 Oct 44. 

BRYAN AFB, Bryan, Texas. Activated as Bryan 

AAF 26 Jun 42. Conducted flying training until 

inactivated in Feb 47. Activated as Bryan AFB 1 Jul 

51. Conducted flying training until 12 Jun 58 and 

then inactivated 1 Oct 58. Transferred to Air 

Materiel Command 1 Apr 60. 

BUCKINGHAM AAF, Fort Myers, Florida. 

Activated 5 Jul 42. Conducted flying training and 

flexible gunnery training until inactivated 30 Sep 45. 

BUCKLEY FIELD, Denver, Colorado. Activated 

1 Jul 42. Conducted technical training and basic 

training until 1 Jan 45 when it became a subpost of 

Lowry Field. Transferred to the Navy and 

redesignated Buckley Naval Air Station. 

Redesignated Buckley Air National Guard Base 

13 May 59 and transferred from Navy to Air Force 

and assigned to ATC. Transferred to Continental Air 

Command 1 Aug 63. 

BUSH FIELD, Augusta, Georgia. Activated 

25 Aug 41. Conducted contract flying training until 

inactivated 8 Sep 44. 

CAMDEN, ARKANSAS (See Harrell Field) 

CAMDEN, SOUTH CAROLINA (See also 

Woodward Field) 

CAMPBELL AAF, Clarksville, Tennessee. 

Activated 1 Jun 42. Conducted flying training until 

inactivated 31 Oct 45. Transferred to Tactical Air 

Command 31 Mar 46. 

CAPE GIRARDEAU AIRPORT, Cape 

Girardeau, Missouri. Activated 25 Dec 42. 

Conducted contract flying training until inactivated 

24 Mar 44. 

CARLSBAD FIELD, Carlsbad, New Mexico. 

Activated 12 Oct 42. Conducted contract flying 

training and bombardier training until inactivated 30 

Sep 45. Transferred to Corps of engineers 15 Jul 46. 

CARLSTROM FIELD, Arcadia, Florida. 

Activated 22 Mar 41. Conducted contract flying 

training until inactivated 30 Jun 45. 

CHANDLER, ARIZONA (See Higley Field) 

CHANUTE AFB, Rantoul, Illinois. Activated as 

Chanute Field May 1917. Conducted flying training 

in World War I and converted to technical training in 

1921, retaining that mission to the present. Also 

conducted specialized four-engine flying training 

between Sep 43 and Sep 44. Redesignated Chanute 

AFB on 13 Jan 48. Closed 1 Oct 93. 

CHEYENNE, WYOMING (See Francis E. 

Warren AFB) 

CHICKASHA, OKLAHOMA (See WilsonBonfils Field) 

CHICO AAF, Chico, California. Activated 6 Jan 

41. Conducted flying training until transferred to 

Fourth Air Force 25 Apr 44. 

CHILDRESS AAF, Childress, Texas. Activated 

20 Jan 43. Conducted bombardier and flying training 

until inactivated 30 Nov 45. 

An instructor uses a mock-up instrument trainer 

controls to make a point at the Instructor Pilot 

Instrument School at Bryan Field, Texas. 
Appendix C 

342

Aircraft mechanics work on L-4 aircraft at 

Denton Texas, in October 1943. 

CIMARRON FIELD, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 

Activated 1 Apr 41. Conducted contract flying 

training until inactivated 27 Jun 44. 

CLARKSDALE FIELD, Clarksdale, Mississippi. 

Activated 5 Jul 42. Conducted contract flying 

training until inactivated 16 Oct 44. 

CLEWISTON, FLORIDA (See Riddle Field) 

CLOVIS AFB, Clovis, New Mexico. Activated 

as Clovis AAB 25 Sep 1942 and assigned to 

Contential Air Forces (which became Strategic Air 

Command on 21 Mar 46). Redesignated Clovis AAF 

8 Apr 43 and Clovis AFB 13 Jan 48. Transferred to 

ATC from Strategic Air Command 1 Apr 50. 

Conducted contract flying training. Transferred to 

Tactical Air Command 23 Jul 51. Redesignated 

Cannon AFB 8 Jun 57. 

COCHRAN FIELD, Macon, Georgia. Activated 

5 Aug 41. Conducted contract flying training until 

inactivated in Mar 45. 

COFFEYVILLE AAF, Coffeyville, Kansas. 

Activated 11 Nov 42. Conducted flying training until 

transferred to Third Air Force 31 May 44. 

COLEMAN AIRPORT, Coleman, Texas. 

Activated Oct 41. Conducted contract flying training 

until inactivated 16 Oct 44. 

COLUMBUS AFB, Columbus, Mississippi. 

Activated 23 Jul 41 as Columbus AAF. Conducted 

flying training and contract flying training until 

transferred to Air Technical Service Command on 6 

Jun 45. Reassigned to Air Training Command on 23 

Nov 45. Conducted flying training. Redesignated 

Columbus AFB on 24 Jun 48. Conducted contract 

flying training from 20 Dec 50 until transferred to 

Strategic Air Command on 1 Apr 55. Reassigned to 

Air Training Command on 1 Jul 69. Conducted 

flying training until the present. 

COLUMBUS, OHIO (See Lockbourne AAF) 

CONNALLY AFB, Waco, Texas. (See James 

Connally AFB) 

COOLIDGE AAF, Coolidge, Arizona. Activated 

26 Sep 41. Conducted advanced two-engine flying 

training. Transferred to Air Transport Command 15 

May 44. AAF Training Command continued to use 

the field until 28 Aug 46. 

CORAL GABLES AIRPORT, Coral Gables, 

Florida. Activated 15 Aug 40. Conducted contract 

navigation training until inactivated 31 Oct 44. 

CORDELE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, Cordele, 

Georgia. Activated 12 Aug 40. Conducted advanced 

two-engine contract flying training until inactivated 

28 Dec 44. Transferred to the Corps of Engineers 30 

Jan 46. 

CORSICANA FIELD, Corsicana, Texas. 

Activated 1 Apr 41. Conducted contract flying 

training until inactivated 16 Oct 44. 

COURTLAND AAF, Courtland, Alabama. 

Activated 19 Oct 42. Conducted flying training until 

inactivated 30 Jun 45. 

CRAIG AFB, Selma, Alabama. Activated as 

Craig Field 27 Aug 40 and designated as advanced 

single-engine school 31 Dec 40. Conducted flying 

training until inactivated 31 Dec 45 and transferred to 

Air University 1 Feb 46. Transferred from Air 

University as Craig AFB 1 Sep 50. Conducted flying 

training until inactivated and closed 31 Aug 77. 

CUERO MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, Cuero, Texas. 

Activated 1 Apr 41. Conducted contract flying 

training until inactivated 4 Aug 44. 

CURTIS FIELD, Brady, Texas. Activated 15 Dec 

42. Conducted contract flying training until 

inactivated 30 Sep 45. 

DATELAN AAF, Aztec, Arizona. Activated 

15 Dec 42. Conducted flying training until 

transferred as a subpost of Williams Field 1 Oct 46. 

DECATUR AIRPORT, Decatur, Alabama. 

Activated 5 Oct 41. Conducted contract flying 

training until inactivated 28 Dec 44. 

DEL RIO, TEXAS (See Laughlin AFB) 

DEMING AAF, Deming, New Mexico. 

Activated 15 Nov 42. Conducted bombardier 

training until transferred to Second Air Force 31 Dec 

44. 
Appendix C 

343

DENTON AIRPORT, Denton, Texas. Activated 

10 Jun 42. Conducted contract liaison pilot training 

until inactivated 3 Dec 43. 

DENVER, COLORADO (See Lowry AFB and 

Fort Logan Field) 

DESOTO PARISH AIRPORT, Mansfield, 

Louisiana. Leased and activated 3 Jun 46. 

Conducted flying training until lease canceled and 

returned to owner 1 Oct 49. 

DODGE CITY AAF, Dodge City, Kansas. 

Activated 11 Dec 42. Conducted flying training until 

inactivated 31 Jul 45. 

DORR FIELD, Arcadia, Florida. Activated 4 Oct 

41. Conducted contract flying training until 

inactivated 16 Oct 44. 

DOS PALOS AIRPORT, Dos Palos, California. 

Activated 24 Jun 43. Conducted contract flying 

training until inactivated 28 Dec 44. 

DOTHAN, ALABAMA (See Napier Field) 

DOUGLAS AAF, Douglas, Arizona. Activated 

2 Nov 42. Conducted flying training until inactivated 

31 Oct 45. 

DOUGLAS AIRPORT, Douglas, Georgia. 

Activated 4 Oct 41. Conducted contract flying 

training until inactivated 28 Dec 44. 

EAGLE PASS AAF, Eagle Pass, Texas. 

Activated 30 Jun 42. Conducted flying training until 

inactivated 1 May 45. 

EAST ST LOUIS, ILLINOIS (See also Parks 

Airport) 

EDWARD GARY AFB, San Marcos, Texas. 

Activated as San Marcos Field 15 Dec 42. 

Conducted navigator training until 30 Nov 45. 

Placed in inactive status. Activated in May 46. 

Conducted liaison and helicopter flying and technical 

training until 1 Mar 49 when it became an auxiliary 

field to Randolph AFB. Inactivated 31 Mar 49. 

Placed on active status 15 Jan 51 and redesignated 

San Marcos AFB 1 Feb 51. Conducted flying 

training. Redesignated Gary AFB on 10 May 53. 

Redesignated Edward Gary AFB 1 Sep 55. 

Conducted flying training until inactivated 14 Dec 

56. Transferred to the Department of the Army on 

15 Dec 56. 

ELLINGTON AFB, Houston, Texas. Established 

1 Nov 17 as Ellington Field. Provided bombing 

instruction during World War I. Inactive 1922-1940. 

Activated 17 Aug 40. Conducted advanced twinengine, navigator, and bombardment training until 

inactivated 15 Apr 46. Transferred to Air Defense 

Command 10 Apr 47. Reassigned as Ellington AFB 

31 Mar 49. Conducted navigator training until 

transferred to Continental Air Command on 1 Apr 58. 

EL RENO, OKLAHOMA (See Mustang Field) 

ENID FIELD, Enid, Oklahoma. (See Vance 

AFB). 

FALCON FIELD, Mesa, Arizona. Activated 

12 Nov 42. Conducted contract flying training for 

the British until inactivated in Aug 45. 

FORT BROWN, Brownsville, Texas. 

Transferred to AAF Training Command 7 Jul 43. 

Conducted flexible gunnery training until inactivated 

1 Feb 46. Transferred to the Corps of Engineers 25 

Apr 46. 

 B-26s sit on a snow-covered apron at the advanced twin-engine school at Dodge City AAF, Kansas.
Appendix C 

344

FORT GEORGE E. WRIGHT FIELD, Spokane, 

Washington. Transferred to AAF Training 

Command 14 Dec 46. Processing center for officers 

pending discharge. Transferred to Strategic Air 

Command 16 Jul 47. 

FORT LOGAN FIELD, Denver, Colorado. 

Transferred to AAF and established Clerical School 

#1 and Administrative Inspector's School 1 Jul 42. 

Conducted technical training until transferred to Air 

Service Command 15 Apr 44 

FORT MYERS, FLORIDA (See Buckingham 

AAF) 

FORT STOCKTON FIELD, Fort Stockton, 

Texas. Activated 1 Jun 42. Conducted contract 

flying training until inactivated 12 Mar 44. 

FORT SUMNER AAF, Fort Sumner, New 

Mexico. Activated 6 Jun 42. Conducted flying 

training until transferred to Second Air Force 16 Aug 

44. 

FORT WORTH AAF, Fort Worth, Texas. 

Activated 30 Jun 42 as Tarrant AAF. Redesignated 

Fort Worth AAF 29 Jul 42. Conducted four-engine 

flying training until transferred to Second Air Force 

21 Nov 45. Redesignated Carswell AFB 29 Jan 48. 

FORT WORTH, TEXAS (See Hicks Field) 

FOSTER AFB, Victoria, Texas. Activated as 

Foster Field 15 May 41. Conducted flying training 

until inactivated 31 Oct 45. Redesignated Foster 

AFB and activated on 1 Sep 52. Conducted flying 

training until transferred to Tactical Air Command 1 

Jul 54. 

FRANCIS E. WARREN AFB, Cheyenne, 

Wyoming. Activated as Fort Francis E. Warren 1 Jan 

30. Transferred from the Department of Army on 1 

Jun 47 and assigned to ATC. Redesignated Francis 

E. Warren AFB 7 Oct 49. Conducted technical 

training until transferred to Strategic Air Command 1 

Feb 58. 

FREDERICK AAF, Frederick, Oklahoma. 

Activated 23 Sep 42. Conducted flying training until 

inactivated 31 Oct 45. Transferred to the Corps of 

Engineers 21 Sep 46. 

FREEMAN AAF, Seymour, Indiana. Activated 1 

Dec 42. Conducted flying training and helicopter 

training until inactivated 30 Apr 44. 

FRESNO FIELD, Fresno, California. Activated 

29 October 42. Conducted basic military training 

until 1 Sep 43 when it inactivated and training 

transferred to Buckley AAF. 

GAINESVILLE AAF, Gainesville, Texas. 

Activated 20 Sep 41. Conducted flying training until 

inactivated 31 Oct 46. Transferred to the Corps of 

Engineers 16 Aug 47. 

GARDEN CITY AAF, Garden City, Kansas. 

Activated 6 Feb 43. Conducted flying training until 

transferred to Air Service Command 15 Dec 44. 

GARDNER FIELD, Taft, California. Activated 

2 Jun 41. Conducted contract flying training until 

inactivated 28 Feb 45. 

GARNER FIELD, Uvalde, Texas. Activated 4 

Oct 41. Conducted contract flying training until 

inactivated 30 Jun 45. 

GARY AFB, San Marcos, Texas. (See Edward 

Gary AFB) 

GEIGER FIELD, Spokane, Washington. 

Transferred to AAF Training Command 9 May 46. 

Conducted aviation engineer training until 15 May 

47. Transferred to Strategic Air Command 15 Sep 

47. 

GENEVA, NEW YORK (See Sampson AFB) 

GEORGE FIELD, Lawrenceville, Illinois. 

Activated 10 Aug 42. Conducted two-engine flying 

training until transferred to Troop Carrier Command 

15 Aug 44. Placed in standby status 1 Sep 44 

GILA BEND AAF, Gila Bend, Arizona. 

Activated 22 Aug 41. Conducted fixed gunnery 

training until transferred to a subpost of Williams 

Field 15 Oct 46. Transferred to the Corps of 

Engineers 31 Jan 47. 

Women Airforce Service Pilots towed targets at 

Eagle Pass AAF, Texas, in 1944. 
Appendix C 

345

GLENDALE, ARIZONA (See Thunderbird Field 

#1) 

GOLDSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA (See also 

Seymour Johnson Field) 

GOODFELLOW AFB, San Angelo, Texas. 

Activated as the San Angelo Air Corps Basic Flying 

School 17 Aug 40. Redesignated Goodfellow Field 

11 Jun 41. Conducted flying training until 

inactivated 1 May 47. Activated 1 Dec 47. 

Redesignated Goodfellow AFB 13 Jan 48. 

Conducted flying training until transferred to USAF 

Security Service 1 Oct 58. Reassigned to ATC 1 Jul 

78. Conducted technical training until the present. 

GOODWIN AIR FIELD, El Dorado, Arkansas. 

Leased and activated 15 Mar 48. Conducted flying 

training until lease canceled and returned to owner 1 

Oct 49. 

GRAHAM AB, Marianna, Florida. Activated as 

Marianna AAF 8 Aug 42. Conducted flying training 

and contract flying training until transferred to Third 

Air Force 12 Oct 44. Redesignated as Graham AB 

and activated 27 Jan 53. Conducted flying training 

and contract flying training until inactivated and 

returned to civilian control on 31 Aug 61. 

GREENSBORO CENTER, Greensboro, North 

Carolina. Activated 1 Mar 43. Conducted basic 

military training until Apr 44. Became overseas 

replacement depot until transferred to AAF Personnel 

Distribution Command 1 Jul 44. Transferred from 

Strategic Air Command to Air Training Command 30 

Apr 46. Continued as an overseas replacement depot 

until transferred to Air Defense Command 15 Aug 

46. 

GREENVILLE AFB, Greenville, Mississippi. 

Activated as Greenville AAF 23 Jun 41. Conducted 

contract flying training until inactivated in Mar 45. 

Redesignated Greenville AFB and activated 1 Dec 

50. Conducted contract flying training until mid-Oct 

60 and technical training from Nov 60 until 

inactivated 1 Apr 65. Base returned to civilian 

control 27 Oct 66. 

GREENVILLE, TEXAS (See Majors AAF) 

GREENWOOD AAF, Greenwood, Mississippi. 

Activated 1 Oct 42. Conducted flying training until 

Transferred to Air Transport Command 18 Jan 45. 

GRIDER FIELD, Pine Bluff, Arkansas. 

Activated 1 Apr 41. Conducted contract flying 

training until inactivated 16 Oct 44. 

GULF COAST MILITARY ACADEMY, 

Gulfport, Mississippi. Activated as an Air Force 

installation 16 Jul 51. Headquarters, Technical 

Training Air Force until unit inactivated 1 Jun 58. 

Base transferred to Keesler AFB as Keesler Training 

Annex #3. Transferred to US Navy 31 Dec 72. 

GULFPORT AAF, Gulfport, Mississippi. 

Activated 7 Jul 42. Conducted technical training and 

basic training until transferred to Third Air Force 31 

Mar 44 with joint use by Technical Training 

Command for marine training of Emergency Rescue 

School located at Keesler. Activated 16 Jul 51. 

Conducted flying training until transferred to the Air 

National Guard 1 Feb 54. 

GUNTER AFS, Montgomery, Alabama. 

Activated as Army Air Corps Basic Flying School 27 

Aug 40. Redesignated Gunter Field 10 Feb 41. 

Conducted flying training until transferred to AAF 

School (later Air University) 13 Dec 45. 

Redesignated Gunter AFS 1 Jul 73. Reassigned, 

along with Air University, to ATC 15 May 78. 

Reassigned to Air University when it became a 

separate major command 1 Jul 83. Redesignated as 

Maxwell AFB, Gunter Annex 10 Mar 92. 

Reassigned along with Air University to AETC 1 Jul 

93. 

HAMPTON, VIRGINA (See Langley Field) 

HARRELL FIELD, Camden, Arkansas. 

Activated 7 Aug 42. Conducted contract flying 

training until inactivated 15 Apr 44. 

HARLINGEN AFB, Harlingen, Texas. Activated 

as Harlingen AAF 16 Jun 41. Conducted flexible 

gunnery training until 1 Oct 45. Redesiganted as a 

basic training center 1 Nov 45 and conducted basic 

training until inactivated 1 Feb 46. Activated as 

Harlingen AFB 17 Mar 52. Conducted flying 

training and navigator/observer training until 

inactivated 1 Jul 62. 

HARVEY PARKS AIRPORT, Sikeston, 

Missouri. Activated 14 Sep 40. Conducted contract 

flying training until inactivated 16 Oct 44. 

HATBOX FIELD, Muskogee, Oklahoma. 

Activated 16 Sep 40. Conducted contract flying 

training until inactivated 27 Jun 44. 

HELENA, ARKANSAS (See also ThompsonRobbins Field) 

HEMET AIRPORT, Hemet, California. 

Activated 14 Sep 40. Conducted contract flying 

training until inactivated 28 Dec 44. 
Appendix C 

346

HENDRICKS FIELD, Sebring, Florida. 

Activated 23 Mar 42. Conducted four-engine 

flying and combat crew training until 

inactivated 31 Dec 45. 

HEREFORD AAF, Hereford, Arizona. 

Activated 2 Nov 42. Conducted flying 

training until inactivated 15 May 45. 

Transferred to Corps of Engineers 5 Oct 46. 

HICKS FIELD, Fort Worth, Texas. 

Activated 16 Aug 40. Conducted contract 

flying training until inactivated 27 Jun 44. 

HIGLEY FIELD, Chandler, Arizona. (See 

Williams AFB) 

HOBBS AAF, Hobbs, New Mexico. 

Activated 2 Nov 42. Conducted flying training until 

inactivated 30 Oct 45. 

HONDO AB, Hondo, Texas. Activated as Hondo 

Army air field 4 Jul 42. Conducted navigator, flying, 

and contract flying training until inactivated 31 Dec 

45. Redesignated Hondo AB and activated 5 Jun 51. 

Conducted contract flying training until inactivated 

and returned to civilian control 31 Oct 58. 

HOUSTON, TEXAS (See Ellington AFB) 

IMMOKALEE AAF, Immokalee, Florida. 

Activated 5 Jul 42. Conducted flying training and 

flexible gunnery training until inactivated 30 Sep 45. 

INDEPENDENCE AAF, Independence, Kansas. 

Activated 12 Oct 42. Conducted flying training until 

inactivated 1 Nov 45. 

JACKSON AAB, Jackson, Mississippi. 

Activated 1 May 42. Conducted specialized flying 

training for the Netherlands East Indies until 

transferred to Third Air Force 1 Jul 44. 

JACKSON AIRPORT, Jackson, Tennessee. 

Activated 5 Jul 42. Conducted contract flying 

training until inactivated 27 Jun 44. 

JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI (See Robbins Field) 

JAMES CONNALLY AFB, Waco, Texas. 

Activated as Waco AAF 16 Sep 41. Conducted 

flying training until inactivated 15 Dec 45. 

Redesignated Waco AFB and activated 1 Aug 48. 

Redesignated Connally AFB 10 Jun 49. 

Redesignated James Connally AFB 8 Jan 51. 

Conducted flying training until transferred to Tactical 

Air Command 1 Jan 66. 

JEFFERSON BARRACKS, St Louis, Missouri. 

Activated 3 Sep 40. Conducted basic military 

training until Nov 43. Overseas replacement depot 

established 8 Nov 43. Transferred to Seventh Service 

Command 30 Apr 44. 

JONES FIELD, Bonham, Texas. Activated 4 Oct 

41. Conducted contract flying training until 

inactivated 16 Oct 44. 

KAUFMAN MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, Terrell, 

Texas. Activated 12 Nov 42. Conducted contract 

A stone gate marks the entrance to administrative and school 

buildings at Harvey Parks Airport near Sikeston, Missouri. 

Basic trainees use a structure known as a 

“Jacob’s Ladder” as a part of physical 

training at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. 
Appendix C 

347

flying training until 30 Sep 45. 

KEARNS CENTER, Kearns, Utah. Activated 

1 May 42. Conducted basic military training and 

technical training until 30 Sep 43. Overseas 

replacement depot established 8 Nov 43. Transferred 

to AAF Personnel Distribution Command 1 Jul 44. 

Transferred from Strategic Air Command to Air 

Training Command 30 Apr 46. Continued as an 

overseas replacement depot until inactivated 15 Aug 

46. 

KEESLER AFB, Biloxi, Mississippi. Activated 

12 Jun 41 as Army Air Corps Station No. 8. 

Redesignated Keesler Field 25 Aug 41. 

Redesignated Keesler AFB 13 Jan 48. Conducted 

technical and flying training to the present. 

KELLY AFB, San Antonio, Texas. Activated as 

Camp Kelly 7 May 1917. Redesignated Kelly Field 

30 Jul 1917. Conducted Air Service mechanics 

training and pursuit, bomber, and observation flying 

training until transferred to Air Service Command 11 

Mar 43. Redesignated Kelly AFB 29 Jan 48. 

KING CITY, CALIFORNIA (See also Palo Alto 

Airport) 

KINGMAN AAF, Kingman, Arizona. Activated 

16 Jan 43. Conducted flying training until 

inactivated 1 Aug 45. 

KINSTON AIR FIELD, Kinston, North Carolina. 

(See Stallings AB) 

KIRTLAND AFB, Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

Activated as Albuquerque AAF 8 Mar 41. 

Transferred to Army Air Forces Flying Training 

Command 6 Dec 41. Redesignated Kirtland Field 24 

Feb 42. Conducted flying and bombardier training 

until transferred to Second Air Force 1 Mar 45. 

Redesignated Kirtland AFB 13 Jan 48. 

KNOLLWOOD FIELD, Knollwood, North 

Carolina. Transferred to Army Air Forces Technical 

Training Command on 10 Mar 42. Housed 

Headquarters, Technical Training Command until 

transferred to Air Technical Service Command 

10 Aug 43. 

LACKLAND AFB, San Antonio Texas. 

Activated as the San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center, 

26 Jun 42 and classification center and preflight 

school established. Transferred to AAF Personnel 

Distribution Command 30 Jun 45. Redesignated San 

Antonio District, AAF Personnel Distribution 

Command, 1 Jul 45. Returned to Army Air Forces 

Training Command and redesignated AAF Military 

Training Center, 1 Feb 46. Redesignated 

Indoctrination Division, Air Training Command, 

16 Oct 46; Lackland AB, 11 Jul 47; and Lackland 

AFB, 13 Jan 48. Conducted basic military training 

for both officer and enlisted personnel, as well as, 

technical training--a mission that continues to the 

present. 

LAFAYETTE AIRPORT, Lafayette, Louisiana. 

Activated 5 Jul 42. Conducted contract flying 

training until inactivated 24 Mar 44. 

LA JUNTA AAF, La Junta, Colorado. Activated 

2 Nov 42. Conducted flying training until inactivated 

30 Jul 45. 

LAKELAND MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, 

Lakeland, Florida. Activated 14 Sep 40. Conducted 

contract flying training until inactivated 1 Oct 45. 

LAMESA AIRPORT, Lamesa, Texas. Activated 

10 Jun 42. Conducted basic glider training and 

contract liaison pilot training until inactivated 26 Feb 

44. 

LANCASTER AIRPORT, Lancaster, California. 

Activated 28 Jul 42. Conducted contract basic pilot 

training. Replaced by Oxnard's primary school 

which moved to Lancaster 27 Jun 44. Conducted 

contract flying training until inactivated 1 Nov 45. 

LANCASTER, CALIFORNIA (See War Eagle 

Field) 

LANGLEY FIELD, Hampton, Virginia. 

Transferred from First Air Force to Army Air Forces 

Training Command 15 Sep 44. Conducted radar 

observer school until transferred to Army Airways 

A retreat ceremony takes place outside the Pine 

Needles Hotel at Knollwood, North Carolina, the 

AAF Technical Training Command headquarters. 
Appendix C 

348

Communications System 1 Dec 45. Later 

redesignated Langley AFB. 

LAREDO AFB, Laredo, Texas. Activated as 

Laredo AAF 1 May 42. Conducted flexible gunnery 

and flying training until inactivated 15 Dec 45. 

Redesignated Laredo AFB and activated 2 Jun 52. 

Conducted flying training until inactivated 30 Sep 73. 

LAS VEGAS FIELD, Las Vegas, Nevada. (See 

Nellis AFB) 

LAUGHLIN AFB, Del Rio, Texas. Activated on 

26 Sep 42 as advanced flying school. Redesignated 

as bombardier school but never held that training. 

Established B-26 transition school 10 Nov 42 and 

designated Laughlin AAF 3 Mar 43. Redesignated 

Laughlin Field 11 Nov 43. Conducted flying training 

until transferred to Air Materiel Command 30 Oct 45 

and placed in inactive status. Transferred to ATC 10 

Oct 51. Activated and redesignated as Laughlin AFB 

1 May 52. Conducted flying training until transferred 

to Strategic Air Command 1 Apr 57. Reassigned to 

ATC 1 Apr 62. Conducted flying training to the 

present. 

LAWRENCEVILLE, ILLINOIS (See George 

Field) 

LEMOORE AAF, Lemoore, California. 

Activated 20 Dec 41. Conducted flying training until 

transferred to Fourth Air force 1 Jun 44. 

LIBERAL AAF, Liberal, Kansas. Activated 

1 Jun 41. Transferred to AAF Training Command 

25 Apr 43. Conducted flying training and specialized 

four-engine flying training until inactivated 30 Sep 

45. Transferred to the Corps of Engineers 6 Oct 46. 

LINCOLN AAF, Lincoln, Nebraska. Activated 

in Jul 39. Conducted flying training, basic military 

training and technical training until transferred to 

Second Air Force 15 Apr 44. Transferred to AAF 

Training Command 15 Mar 45. Became a combat 

crew processing center until inactivated 15 Dec 45. 

Transferred to Corps of Engineers 23 Nov 46. 

LITTLE ROCK AFB, Little Rock, Arkansas (See 

also Adams Field). Activated Oct 85. Transferred to 

AETC on 1 Apr 97. Conducted flying training until 

the present. 

LOCKBOURNE AAF, Columbus, Ohio. 

Activated 23 Dec 42. Conducted flying training until 

inactivated 2 Sep 45. 

LOVE FIELD, Dallas, Texas. Activated Jul 39. 

Conducted flying and technical training until 

inactivated in May 45. 

LOWRY AFB, Denver Colorado. Activated 

27 Aug 37 as Denver Branch, Air Corps Technical 

School. Redesignated Lowry Field 11 Mar 38. 

Redesignated Lowry AFB 24 Jun 48. Conducted 

technical training until the present. Closed 1 Oct 94. 

LUBBOCK, TEXAS (See Reese AFB and South 

Plains AAF) 

LUKE AFB, Phoenix, Arizona. Activated as 

Litchfield Park Air Base 15 Feb 41. Redesignated 

Luke Field 6 Jun 41. Conducted flying training until 

inactivated 31 Oct 46. Transferred to the Corps of 

Engineers 1 Sep 47. Reassigned as a subinstallation 

of Williams Field 3 Dec 46-5 Mar 51. Redesignated 

Troops pass in review on the flight line at Liberal AAF, Kansas, between rows of B-24 “Liberators.” 
Appendix C 

349

Luke AFB 10 Jun 49. Activated and assigned to Air 

Training Command 1 Jan 51. Conducted combat 

crew training until transferred to Tactical Air 

Command 1 Jul 58. Transferred to AETC on 1 Jul 93. 

MACON, GEORGIA (See Cochran Field) 

MADISON, WISCONSIN (See Truax AAF) 

MAJORS AAF, Greenville, Texas. Activated 26 

Jun 42. Conducted flying training until transferred to 

Second Air Force 30 Nov 44. 

MALDEN AB, Malden, Missouri. Activated as 

Malden AAF 6 Jan 43. Conducted contract flying 

training and flying training until transferred to Troop 

Carrier Command 15 Jun 44. Activated as Malden 

AB 11 Jul 51. Conducted contract flying training 

until inactivated 1 Sep 60. 

MARANA AB, Marana, Arizona. Activated as 

Marana AAF 29 Aug 42. Conducted contract flying 

training and flying training until inactivated 12 Sep 

45. Activated as Marana AB 1 Sep 51. Conducted 

contract flying training until inactivated 22 Oct 57. 

MARFA AAF, Marfa, Texas. Activated 5 Dec 

42. Conducted flying training until inactivated 1 Aug 

45. 

MARIANNA AAF, Marianna, Florida. (See 

Graham AB) 

MATAGORDA ISLAND, Texas. Activated 15 

May 41. Gunnery range for bases in southern Texas 

until inactivated 31 Oct 45. 

MATAGORDA PENINSULA, Texas. Activated 

15 May 41. Bombing range for bases in southern 

Texas until inactivated 31 Oct 45. 

MATHER AFB, Sacramento, California. 

Activated as Mather Field 21 Feb 1918. Transferred 

from Air Force Combat Command to Army Air 

Forces Flying Training Command 23 Jan 42. 

Conducted navigation and flying training until 

transferred to Air Transport Command 1 Oct 44. 

Reassigned to Army Air Forces Training Command 

20 Dec 45. Redesignated Mather AFB 13 Jan 48. 

Conducted navigation and flying training to the 

present. Closed 1 Oct 93. 

Matagorda Island, off the Texas gulf coast, was home for a pursuit gunnery school in the early 1940s. 
Appendix C 

350

MAXWELL AFB, Montgomery, Alabama. 

Activated 9 Apr 1918 as Engine and Plane Repair 

Depot #3. Redesignated Maxwell Field 8 Nov 1922. 

Transferred from the Air Corps Tactical School to 

Southeast Air Corps Training Center 15 Jul 31, which 

later became AAF Training Command. Conducted 

flying training until transferred to AAF School (later 

redesignated Air University) 29 Nov 45. 

Redesignated Maxwell AFB 13 Jan 48. Transferred 

to ATC 15 May 78. Conducted professional military 

education until Air University again became a 

separate major command on 1 Jul 83. Transferred to 

Air Education and Training Command 1 Jul 93 when 

Air University became a subordinate of this 

command. Conducted professional military education 

until the present. 

McBRIDE AIRPORT, McBride, Missouri. 

Activated 28 Jan 42. Conducted contract flying 

training until inactivated 24 Mar 44. 

McCONNELL AFB, Wichita, Kansas. 

Designated Wichita AFB and activated 7 Jun 51. 

Redesignated McConnell AFB on 12 Apr 54. 

Conducted B-47 combat crew training until 

transferred to Strategic Air Command on 1 Jul 58. 

McCOY AFB, Orlando, Florida. (See Pinecastle 

AFB) 

MERCED AAF, Merced, California. Activated 

as Merced Army Flying School 20 Sep 41. 

Redesignated Merced AAF on 8 May 43. Conducted 

flying training and advanced flying training for 

Women Airforce Service Pilots until transferred to 

Continental Air Forces on 1 Jul 45. Redesignated 

Castle AFB 13 Jan 48. 

MESA AB, Chandler, Arizona. (See Williams 

AFB) 

MESA, ARIZONA (See Falcon Field) 

MIAMI AIRPORT, Miami, Oklahoma. Activated 

12 Nov 42. Conducted contract flying training for 

the British until inactivated 30 Sep 45. 

MIAMI BEACH BASIC TRAINING CENTER, 

Miami Beach, Florida. Activated 27 Mar 42. 

Conducted basic military until 1 Jul 44 and officer 

candidate training until inactivated 20 Aug 44. 

MIDLAND AAF, Midland, Texas. Activated 

2 Aug 41. Conducted multi-engine flying training 

bombardier training until Sep 42 when it became a 

bombardier school only. Conducted bombardier 

training until inactivated 1 Jun 46. 

MINTER FIELD, Bakersfield, California. 

Activated 5 Jun 41. Conducted flying training until 

inactivated 31 Jan 46. Transferred to the Corps of 

Engineers 21 Dec 46. 

MISSION, TEXAS (See Moore AB) 

MONROE, LOUISANA (See Selman Field) 

MOODY AFB, Valdosta, Georgia. Activated as 

Moody AAF 26 Jun 41. Conducted flying training 

Austin Hall housed Headquarters, Army Air Forces Eastern Flying Training Command at Maxwell Field, 

Alabama, in 1941. 
Appendix C 

351

until transferred to First Air Force 1 May 45. 

Transferred to Army Air Forces Training Command 

1 Nov 45. Conducted flying training until transferred 

to Tactical Air Command 1 Sep 47. Redesignated 

Moody AFB 13 Jan 48. Transferred to Continental 

Air Command 1 Dec 48. Transferred to Strategic Air 

Command 1 Apr 51. Transferred to ATC 1 Sep 51. 

Conducted combat crew and flying training until 

transferred to Tactical Air Command 1 Dec 75. 

MOORE AB, Mission, Texas. Activated as 

Moore Field 20 Sep 41. Conducted flying and 

technical training until inactivated 31 Oct 45. 

Activated 22 Jan 54. Redesignated Moore AB 1 Jul 

55. Conducted contract flying training until 

inactivated 31 Mar 61. Returned to civilian control 

15 Jul 63. 

MOTON FIELD, Tuskegee, Alabama. Activated 

23 Aug 41. Conducted contract flying training until 

inactivated 31 Dec 45. 

MOULTRIE, GEORGIA (See Spence AB) 

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA (See Hatbox Field) 

MUSTANG FIELD, El Reno, Oklahoma. 

Activated 16 Jan 43. Conducted flying training until 

inactivated 28 Dec 44. 

NAPIER FIELD, Dothan, Alabama. Activated 

20 Dec 41. Conducted flying training until 

inactivated 1 Nov 45. 

NAPLES AAF, Naples, Florida. Activated 5 Jul 

42. Conducted flying training and flexible gunnery 

training until inactivated 30 Sep 45. 

NASHVILLE AAC, Nashville, Tennessee. 

Activated 1 Jun 42. Functioned as a AAF 

Classification Center until inactivated 1 Apr 44. 

NELLIS AFB, Las Vegas, Nevada. Activated as 

Las Vegas AAF 20 Dec 41. Conducted flying 

training until inactivated 31 Dec 46. Activated 

30 Aug 47 as a subinstallation of Mather AFB. 

Assigned as a subinstallation of Williams AAF 1 Apr 

48 to provide advanced training for fighter pilots. 

Redesignated Nellis AFB and activated 30 Apr 50. 

Conducted flying and combat crew training until 

transferred to Tactical Air Command 1 Jul 58. 

NEWBURGH, NEW YORK (See Stewart Field) 

NEW ORLEANS AIRPORT, New Orleans, 

Louisiana. Activated 18 Mar 45. Conducted AAF 

Tropical Weather School until transferred to AAF 

Weather Service 1 Nov 45. 

NEWPORT AAF, Newport, Arkansas. Activated 

1 Nov 42. Conducted flying training until transferred 

to the Navy Department 19 Aug 44. 

NOBLE AAF, Perry, Oklahoma. Activated 

11 Feb 42. Conducted flying training until transferred 

to the Corps of Engineers 28 Oct 46. 

OCALA FIELD, Ocala, Florida. Activated in 

Nov 41. Conducted contract flying training until 

inactivated 8 Sep 44. 

OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA (See also 

Cimarron Field) 

ONTARIO AIRPORT, Ontario, California. 

Activated 14 Sep 40. Conducted contract flying 

training until inactivated in Dec 43. Activated Jun 44. 

Conducted contract flying training until inactivated 

16 Oct 44. 

ORANGEBURG MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, 

Orangeburg, South Carolina. Activated 4 Oct 41. 

Conducted contract flying training until inactivated 

1 Sep 45. 

ORLANDO, FLORIDA (See Pinecastle AFB) 

OXNARD AIRPORT, Oxnard, California. 

Activated 12 Sep 40. Conducted contract flying 

training until inactivated 27 Jun 44. 

PALO ALTO AIRPORT, King City, California. 

Activated 22 Mar 41. Conducted contract flying 

training until inactivated 16 Oct 44. 

PAMPA AAF, Pampa, Texas. Activated 3 Aug 

42. Conducted flying training until transferred as a 

subpost of Liberal, Kansas, on 28 Dec 44. 

The Air Corps turned to civilian vocational schools 

in 1939 to help train airplane mechanics. Parks 

Air College in East St Louis, Illinois, was one of 

seven such schools under contract to the Air Corps 

for that purpose. 
Appendix C 

352

Inactivated 30 Sep 45. Transferred to the Corps of 

Engineers 29 Jan 47. 

PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA (See Tyndall AFB) 

PARKS AFB, Pleasanton, California. Originally 

designated as Camp Parks. Redesignated Parks AFB 

and activated on 1 Aug 51. Conducted basic training 

and air base ground defense training until transferred 

to Continental Air Command 1 Jan 57. 

PARKS AIRPORT, East St Louis, Illinois. 

Activated on 1 Aug 39. Conducted contract flying 

training until inactivated 12 Mar 44. 

PECOS AAF, Pecos, Texas. Activated 28 Aug 

42. Conducted flying training until inactivated 31 

May 45. 

PERRIN AFB, Sherman, Texas. Activated as 

Perrin AAF 20 Sep 41. Conducted flying training 

until inactivated 31 Oct 46. Redesignated Perrin 

AFB and activated 1 Apr 48. Conducted combat 

crew and flying training until transferred to Air 

Defense Command 1 Jul 62. 

PHOENIX, ARIZONA (See Luke AFB) 

PINE BLUFF, ARKANSAS (See Grider Field) 

PINECASTLE AFB, Orlando, Florida. Activate 

10 Sep 51. Conducted combat crew training until 

transferred to Strategic Air Command 1 Jan 54. 

Later redesignated McCoy AFB. 

PITTSBURG AIRPORT, Pittsburg, Kansas. 

Activated 25 May 42. Conducted contract liaison 

pilot training until inactivated 20 Oct 44. 

PLEASONTON, CALIFORNIA (See also Parks 

AFB) 

PONCA CITY AIRPORT, Ponca City, 

Oklahoma. Activated 12 Nov 42. Conducted contract 

flying training for the British until inactivated 15 Apr 

45. 

RANDOLPH AFB, San Antonio, Texas. 

Activated as Aviation Field, San Antonio, 18 Aug 

1928. Redesignated Randolph Field 27 Sep 28. 

Redesignated Randolph AFB 13 Jan 48. Conducted 

flying training, combat crew training, navigator 

training, and flying instructor training until the 

present. 

RANTOUL, ILLINOIS (See Chanute AFB) 

REESE AFB, Lubbock, Texas. Established on 

26 Jun 41. Named Air Corps Advanced Flying 

School, Lubbock, 11 Aug 41. Redesignated Lubbock 

Army Flying School 6 Feb 42; Lubbock AAF 26 Apr 

43; and Lubbock AFB 13 Jan 48. Conducted flying 

training until inactivated 31 Dec 45. Activated 1 Aug 

49. Redesignated Reese AFB 19 Nov 49. Conducted 

flying training until inactivated 1 Oct 97. 

RIDDLE FIELD, Clewiston, Florida. Activated 

12 Nov 42. Conducted contract flying training until 

 MacFarland Flying Service School provided advanced liaison training at Pittsburg, Kansas, in 1944. 
Appendix C 

353

inactivated 31 Dec 45. 

ROBBINS FIELD, Jackson, Mississippi. 

Activated 14 Sep 40. Conducted contract flying 

training until inactivated 15 Apr 44. 

ROSWELL AAF, Roswell, New Mexico. 

Activated 20 Sep 41. Conducted flying and 

bombardier training until transferred to Second Air 

Force 1 Nov 45. Later redesignated Walker AFB. 

SAMPSON AFB, Geneva, New York. Activated 

15 Nov 50. Conducted basic military training until 

transferred on inactive status to Air Materiel 

Command 1 Oct 56. 

SAN ANGELO AAF, San Angelo, Texas. 

Activated 1 Jun 42. Conducted bombardier and 

specialized two- and four-engine pilot training until 

inactivated 30 Nov 45. Transferred to the Corps of 

Engineers 30 Jun 46. 

SAN ANGELO, TEXAS (See Goodfellow AFB) 

SAN ANTONIO AVIATION CADET 

CENTER, San Antonio, Texas (See Lackland AFB) 

SAN MARCOS AFB, San Marcos, Texas. (See 

Edward Gary AFB) 

SANTA ANA AAF, Santa Ana, California. 

Activated 1 Jan 42. Conducted aircrew classification 

and preflight training until inactivated 2 Sep 45. 

SANTA MARIA AIRPORT, Santa Maria, 

California. Activated 14 Sep 40. Conducted contract 

flying training until inactivated 27 Jun 44. 

SCOTT AFB, Belleville, Illinois. Activated as 

Scott Field 20 Sep 1917. Transferred from Air Corps 

Technical Service 26 Mar 41. Conducted technical 

training until Oct 57. Redesignated Scott AFB 13 

Jan 48. Headquarters Air Training Command from 

17 Oct 49 until transferred to Military Air Transport 

Service 1 Oct 57. 

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA (See Thunderbird 

Field #2) 

SEBRING, FLORIDA (See Hendricks Field) 

SELMA, ALABAMA (See Craig AFB) 

SELMAN FIELD, Monroe, Louisiana. Activated 

14 Aug 42. Conducted preflight, navigation, and 

navigation instructor training until inactivated 31 

May 46. Transferred to the Corps of Engineers 31 

Jul 46. 

SEQUOIA FIELD, Visalia, California. Activated 

4 Oct 41. Conducted contract flying training until 

inactivated in Oct 44. 

SEYMOUR, INDIANA (See Freeman AAF) 

SEYMOUR JOHNSON AFB, Goldsboro, North 

Carolina. Activated as Seymour Johnson Field 12 

Jun 42. Conducted basic military and technical 

training until transferred to First Air Force 30 Apr 44. 

Overseas replacement depot established 8 Nov 43. 

Aviation cadet pre-technical school continued to 

operate until Jun 44. Redesignated Seymour Johnson 

AFB 1 Jan 53. 

SHAW AFB, Sumter, South Carolina. Activated 

as Shaw Field 14 Aug 41. Conducted flying training 

until transferred to First Air Force 1 Apr 45. 

Redesignated Shaw AFB 13 Jan 48. 

SHEPPARD AFB, Wichita Falls, Texas. 

Activated as Technical School at Wichita Falls 11 

Feb 41. Redesignated Sheppard Field 15 Apr 41. 

Conducted basic military training, technical training, 

flying training, glider pilot training, and was a 

replacement training center until inactivated 31 Aug 

46. Redesignated Sheppard AFB and activated 1 

Aug 48. Conducted basic training 1948-49, technical 

training from 1949 to present, and flying training 

1966 to the present. 

SHERMAN, TEXAS (See Perrin AFB) 

SIKESTON, MISSOURI (See Harvey Parks 

Airport) 

SIOUX FALLS AAF, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. 

Activated 11 Jul 42. Conducted technical training 

until inactivated 1 Aug 45. 

R-4 and R-6 helicopters fly together at Sheppard 

Field, Texas, in June 1945. 
Appendix C 

354

SMYRNA AAF, Smyrna, Tennessee. Activated 

1 Jun 42. Conducted flying training until inactivated 

31 Oct 45. Transferred to Tactical Air Command 31 

Mar 46. 

SOUTH PLAINS AAF, Lubbock, Texas. 

Activated 11 Sep 42. Conducted advanced glider 

training until inactivated and transferred to Air 

Service Command 1 May 45. 

SOUTHER FIELD, Americus, Georgia. 

Activated 21 Mar 41. Conducted contract flying 

training until inactivated 16 Oct 44. 

SPENCE AB, Moultrie, Georgia. Activated as 

Spence Field 12 Jul 41. Conducted contract flying 

training and flying training until inactivated 15 Dec 

45. Redesignated Spence AB and activated 15 May 

51. Conducted contract flying training until 

inactivated and returned to civilian control 31 Mar 

61. 

SPOKANE, WASHINGTON (See Fort George 

Wright Field and Geiger Field) 

STALLINGS AB, Kinston, North Carolina. A 

US Navy pilot training base during World War II. 

Activated as Kinston Air Field on 17 Oct 51. 

Redesignated Stallings AB 28 Jun 53. Conducted 

flying training and contract flying training until 

inactivated 27 Nov 57. 

ST LOUIS, MISSOURI (See Jefferson Barracks) 

ST PETERSBURG AIRPORT, St. Petersburg, 

Florida. Activated 27 Jun 42. Conducted flying 

training until inactivated 31 Jul 43. 

STAMFORD, TEXAS (See Arledge Field) 

STEAD AFB, Reno, Nevada. Stead ANG Base 

redesignated Stead AFB 1 Aug 51. Transferred to 

ATC from Strategic Air Command 1 Sep 54. 

Conducted helicopter and liaison flying training and 

survival training until 15 Jun 66 when the base 

inactivated. Returned to civilian control 6 Nov 69. 

STEWART FIELD, Newburgh, New York. 

Activated and established basic-advanced flying 

school 22 May 42. Conducted flying training and 

specialized flying training for US Military Academy 

cadets until inactivated 1 Jul 46. While the flying 

program was under the technical control of the 

Commanding General Training Command, the field 

belonged to the United States Military Academy, 

West Point, New York. 

STOCKTON FIELD, Stockton, California. 

Activated 4 Jan 41. Conducted flying training until 

inactivated 1 Nov 45. 

STROTHER AAF, Winfield, Kansas. Activated 

12 Nov 42. Conducted flying training until 

transferred to Second Air Force 31 May 44. 

STUTTGART AAF, Stuttgart, Arkansas. 

Activated 15 Aug 42. Conducted flying training until 

transferred to Third Air Force 31 Jan 45. 

SWEETWATER, TEXAS (See Avenger Field) 

TAFT, CALIFORNIA (See Gardner Field) 

TARRANT AAF, Fort Worth, Texas. (See Fort 

Worth AAF) 

TEMPLE AAF, Temple Texas. Activated 2 Jul 

42. Conducted flying training until inactivated 

31 Oct 45. 

TERRELL, TEXAS (See Kaufman Municipal 

Airport) 

THOMPSON-ROBBINS FIELD, Helena, 

Arkansas. Activated 4 Oct 41. Conducted contract 

flying training until inactivated 4 Aug 44. 

THUNDERBIRD FIELD #1, Glendale, Arizona. 

Activated 12 Jul 41. Conducted contract flying 

training until inactivated 30 Jun 45. 

THUNDERBIRD FIELD #2, Scottsdale, 

Arizona. Activated 26 Jun 42. Conducted contract 

flying training until inactivated 16 Oct 44. 

TIFTON AAF, Tifton, Georgia. Activated 

12 August 40. Conducted advanced two-engine 

flying training until inactivated 28 Dec 44. 

Transferred to the Corps of Engineers 21 Sep 46. 

TOMAH AAF TECHNICAL SCHOOL, Tomah, 

Wisconsin. Activated 30 Nov 42. Conducted 

technical training until transferred to Air Service 

Command 30 Apr 44. 

TROY MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, Troy, Alabama. 

Activated 11 Jan 42. Conducted flying training until 

transferred to the Corps of Engineers 1 Apr 46. 

TRUAX AAF, Madison, Wisconsin. Activated 

7 Dec 41. Conducted technical training until 

inactivated 15 Dec 45. 
Appendix C 

355

TUCSON AIRPORT, Tucson, Arizona. 

Activated 25 Jun 42. Conducted contract flying 

training until inactivated in Sep 44. 

TULARE AIRPORT, Tulare, California. 

Activated 22 Mar 41. Conducted contract flying 

training until inactivated 1 Aug 45. 

TULSA MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, Tulsa, 

Oklahoma. Activated 1 Aug 39. Conducted contract 

flying and technical training until inactivated 4 Aug 

44. 

TURNER FIELD, Albany, Georgia. Activated 

12 Aug 40. Conducted navigator and advanced twoengine flying training until inactivated 15 Aug 46. 

TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA (See Van de 

Graaff Field) 

TUSKEGEE, ALABAMA (See Moton Field) 

TUSKEGEE AAF, Tuskegee, Alabama. 

Activated 11 Jan 42. Conducted flying training until 

transferred to the Corps of Engineers 14 Apr 46. 

TWENTY NINE PALMS AIRPORT, Twenty 

Nine Palms, California. Activated 1 Jan 42. 

Conducted contract glider training until 16 Feb 43. 

Conducted contract flying training from Mar 43 until 

inactivated 19 Apr 44. 

TYNDALL AFB, Panama City, Florida. 

Established as Tyndall Field 16 Jun 41. Conducted 

flexible gunnery and flying training until transferred 

to Continental Air Forces 28 Feb 46. Transferred to 

Tactical Air Command 21 Mar 46 and to Air 

University 15 May 46. Redesignated Tyndall AFB 

13 Jan 48. Transferred to ATC 1 Sep 50. Conducted 

combat crew training and flying training until 

transferred to Air Defense Command 1 Jul 57. 

Transferred to Air Education and Training Command 

1 Jul 93. 

UNION CITY AIRPORT, Union City, 

Tennessee. Activated 5 Jul 42. Conducted contract 

flying training until inactivated 15 Apr 44. 

UVALDE, TEXAS (See Garner Field) 

VAL VERDE COUNTY AIRPORT, Del Rio, 

Texas. Activated 26 Sep 42. Conducted flying 

training until transferred to the Corps of Engineers 11 

Jan 46. 

VALDOSTA, GEORGIA (See Moody AFB) 

VANCE AFB, Enid, Oklahoma. Activated as Air 

Corps Basic Flying School, Enid, 20 Sep 41. 

Redesignated Enid Army Flying School 11 Feb 42; 

and Enid AAF 7 May 43. Conducted flying training 

until inactivated 31 Jan 47. Redesignated Enid AFB 

and activated 1 Aug 48. Redesignated Vance AFB 9 

Jul 49. Conducted flying training until the present. 

VAN DE GRAAFF FIELD, Tuscaloosa, 

Alabama. Activated 1 Sep 40. Conducted contract 

flying training until inactivated 8 Sep 44. 

VERNON AIRPORT, Vernon, Texas. Activated 

23 Sep 42. Conducted flying training until 

inactivated 31 Mar 45. Transferred to Corps of 

Engineers 5 May 45. 

VERNON, TEXAS (See Victory Field) 

VICTORIA, TEXAS (See Aloe AAF and Foster 

AFB) 

VICTORVILLE ARMY FLYING SCHOOL, 

Victorville, California. Activated 26 Jun 41. 

Redesignated Victorville AAF on 23 Apr 43. 

Conducted specialized single-engine flying training, 

bombardier training, and beginning in 1945, radar 

aircrew training until transferred to Air Service 

Command on 1 Nov 45. Redesignated George AFB 

2 Jun 50. 

VICTORY FIELD, Vernon, Texas. Activated 

4 Oct 41. Conducted contract flying training until 

inactivated 4 Aug 44. 

VIDALIA-LYONS AIRFIELD, Vidalia, Georgia. 

Activated 12 Aug 40. Conducted advanced twoengine flying training until inactivated 28 Dec 44. 

Transferred to Tactical Air Command 1 Sep 47. 

VISALIA, CALIFORNIA (See Sequoia Field) 

WACO AAF, Waco, Texas. (See also James 

Connally AFB) 

The AT-7 was used as a navigator trainer at 

Turner Field, Georgia, during World War II. 
Appendix C 

356

WACO, TEXAS. Air Training Command 

established HQ Flying Training Air Force 1 May 51. 

Served as headquarters until transferred to Tactical 

Air Command and the facilities used for HQ 

Eighteenth Air Force 13 Aug 57. (See also 

Blackland AAF and James Connelly AFB) 

WALNUT RIDGE AAF, Walnut Ridge, 

Arkansas. Activated 15 Aug 42. Conducted flying 

training until transferred to the Department of Navy 

20 Jul 44. 

WAR EAGLE FIELD, Lancaster, California. 

Activated 28 Jul 42. Conducted contract flying 

training until inactivated 1 Oct 45. 

WEBB AFB, Big Spring, Texas. Activated as 

Big Spring AAF 26 Jun 42. Conducted bombardier, 

flying training, and glider training until inactivated 

30 Nov 45. Also trained Free French cadets during 

World War II. Activated as Big Spring AFB on 1 Jan 

52. Redesignated as Webb AFB 18 May 52. 

Conducted flying training until inactivated 30 Sep 77. 

WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS (See Sheppard AFB) 

WICHITA, KANSAS (See McConnell AFB) 

WICKENBURG FIELD, Wickenburg, Arizona. 

Activated 3 Jun 42. Conducted contract flying 

training until inactivated 19 Apr 44. 

WILLIAMS AFB, Chandler, Arizona. Activated 

as Mesa Military Airport, 19 Jun 41. Redesignated 

Higley Field Oct 41 and Williams Field 24 Feb 42. 

Conducted flying training, flexible gunnery training, 

and radar observer training. Redesignated Williams 

AFB 13 Jan 48. Conducted flying training until 

transferred to Tactical Air Command 1 Jul 58. 

Transferred to ATC 1 Oct 60. Conducted flying 

training until the present. Closed 1 Oct 93. 

WILSON-BONFILS FIELD, Chickasha, 

Oklahoma. Activated 4 Oct 41. Conducted contract 

flying training until inactivated 1 May 45. 

WINFIELD, KANSAS (See Strother AAF) 

WOODRING FIELD, Enid, Oklahoma. 

Activated 11 Feb 42. Conducted flying training until 

transferred to the Corps of Engineers 2 Jul 46. 

WOODWARD FIELD, Camden, South Carolina. 

Activated 22 Mar 41. Conducted flying training until 

inactivated 4Aug 44. 

YUCCA AAF, Yucca, Arizona. Activated 1 Dec 

41. Conducted flexible gunnery training until 

transferred to Army Division Engineers 23 Dec 45. 

YUMA AAF, Yuma, Arizona. Activated 15 Dec 

42. Conducted contract flying training, flexible 

gunnery training, and radar observer training for the 

last few months of operation until inactivated 1 Nov 

45. 

P-40s await salvage at Walnut Ridge Army Air Field, Arkansas. 
357 

APPENDIX D 

HQ Air Education and Training Command Official Wing Emblems 
Appendix D 

358

 

 
Appendix D 

359
Appendix D 

360