1

Cradle of Airpower Education 

 

 

 

 

 

A Short History of The Air University,

Maxwell AFB, and the 42nd Air Base Wing

by the

Air University Directorate of History

The Intellectual and Leadership Center 

of the 

U. S. Air Force 

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2

Cradle of Airpower Education 

 

A Short History of 

The Air University, 

Maxwell AFB, 

and 42nd Air Base Wing 

 

 

THE INTELLECTUAL AND LEADERSHIP CENTER 

OF THE 

US AIR FORCE 

 

By the 

 

Air University Directorate of History 

 

Table of Contents 

Origins and Early Development 3

The Air Corps Tactical School Period 3

Maxwell Field during World War II 4

Early Years of Air University 6

Air University during the Vietnam War 7

Air University after the Vietnam War 7

Air University in the Post-Cold War Era 8

Chronology of Key Events 11

Air University Commanders and Presidents 16

Maxwell Post/Base Commanders 17

Lineage and Honors: Air University 20

Lineage and Honors: 42nd Bombardment Wing 21

“We launch leaders of character educated to think 

critically, innovatively, strategically and jointly . . . 

to master and deliver superior Airpower in support of national 

security objectives.” 
3

Wright Flying School Hanger and 

Maintenance Workshop, 1910

2Lt Maxwell

Origins and Early Development

The history of Maxwell Air Force Base began with Orville 

and Wilbur Wright, who, wanting to take advantage of their 1903 

historic flight, decided in early 1910 to open a flying school to

teach civilians how to fly and to promote the sale of their airplane. 

Wilbur, after looking at locations in Florida, came to Montgomery, 

Alabama. After his initial visit in February, the Wright Brothers 

decided to open the nation’s first civilian flying school on an old 

cotton plantation near Montgomery that subsequently become

Maxwell Air Force Base (AFB). Unfortunately, the school closed 

after only a few months of operation.

After the United States entered World 

War I in April 1917, the Army Air Service established Aircraft and Engine 

Repair Depot No. 3 at the former Wright flying field. The depot operations 

continued until early 1919. In 1921, the 22nd (later Observation) Squadron 

became the first major operational unit at the depot. On 8 November 1922, the 

War Department named the depot Maxwell Field in honor of Second

Lieutenant William C. Maxwell. A native of Natchez, Alabama, Lieutenant 

Maxwell died on 12 August 1920 in the Philippines when his DH-4 aircraft 

struck a flagpole after swerving to avoid striking a group of children at play.

The 22nd Observation Squadron helped establish an airmail route 

between the Gulf Coast and northern Great Lakes area and the foundation of a 

permanent airmail service. After torrential rains caused severe flooding in 

southern Alabama in March 1929, Maj Walter Weaver, the Maxwell Field 

installation commander, ordered the squadron to fly daily airdrop missions to 

help the flood victims. Between 14 and 20 March, Maxwell pilots flew 346 sorties and covered 

approximately 60,000 miles, marking the first major operation in which US military forces 

airdropped relief supplies in a major civilian emergency.

The Air Corps Tactical School Period

The end of the flood relief mission marked the beginning of Maxwell‘s “Golden Age.” In 

1928, the War Department announced the relocation of the Air Corps Tactical School (ACTS) 

from Langley Field, Virginia, to Maxwell Field. US Congressman John Lister Hill, who had 

successfully removed Maxwell Field from the War Department’s list of installations for closure in 

1925, was instrumental in this historic decision. As a result, the number of personnel at the 

field grew from only 210 in the spring of 1931 to nearly 2,000 by September when the ACTS 

officially opened at Maxwell with 41 students.

The opening of the ACTS transformed Maxwell Field’s mission from aviation training to 

officer education and doctrine development. The school educated senior captains and majors in 

military education, developed airpower doctrine for the Air Corps, and prepared Air Corps officers 

for attendance at the U.S. Army’s Command and General Staff College. In the early years the 

school taught pursuit aviation as the most important airpower mission. However, by the 

mid-1930s, devotees of Colonel William “Billy” Mitchell had come to dominate the ACTS, and 
4

RAF cadets from Maxwell in Armistice 

Day parade, Montgomery AL, Nov 1941 

they developed the basic concepts of high altitude, daylight precision bombing of industrial targets 

that became the basis for the strategic bombing of Germany and Japan during World War II.

The ACTS also established one of the Air Corps’ first aerial acrobatics teams. In 

1934, then Captain Claire L. Chennault, the ACTS’ chief of pursuit aviation instruction, formed 

the “Three Men on a Flying Trapeze” to develop pursuit (fighter) tactics. In 1935, Chennault 

formed a second aerial demonstration team, the “Skylarks.” By 1936, when the ACTS disbanded 

the Skylarks, both teams had performed 50 plus shows to an estimated audience of 50,000 people.

Maxwell Field during World War II

After September 1939, with war raging in Europe, the Air Corps began transforming 

Maxwell Field from a peacetime to a wartime base. The War Department suspended instruction at 

the ACTS on 30 June 1940 and closed the school on 30 June 1942. In July 1940, the existing flying 

training center became the Southeast Air Corps Training Center (SEACTC) (Eastern Flying 

Training Command after 31 July 1943), which oversaw pilot, navigator, and bombardier training 

for cadets at flying schools in the Southeast United States.

In 1941, further plans called for an expansion of the flying training mission. As a result, the 

Air Corps established an advanced flying school at Maxwell and a basic school at Montgomery’s 

Municipal Airport. The Air Corps quickly obtained rights to the airport and renamed it Gunter 

Field to honor the recently deceased mayor of Montgomery, William A. Gunter. By the end of the 

war, these schools graduated more than 100,000 aviation cadets.

With the fall of France in June 1940, Britain stood 

alone against Nazi Germany, and after the battle of Britain, 

August-September 1940, turned to the United States for 

assistance. President Franklin Roosevelt and the US 

Congress responded with the Lend-Lease Act of 11 March 

1941. After Lieutenant General Henry “Hap” Arnold, Chief

of the Army Air Corps (AAC), returned from a visit to 

Britain in April 1941, the AAC established several 

programs to train Royal Air Force (RAF) flight cadets in the 

United States, funded by Lend-Lease. Between 7 June 1941 

and 17 March 1943, 4,360 of the 7,860 Britons who entered 

the SEACTC flight training program graduated, and 78 RAF 

pilot cadets died in training accidents. By November 1945, the SEACTC had trained over 8,000

flight cadets of the Free French, Chinese, and other allied air forces.

Austin Hall, Air Corps Tactical 

School, 1931, now Headquarters 

Air University
5

Cadets at Physical Training, Maxwell Field during 

World War II

Jacqueline Cochran, Chief of the WASP, 

inspects women pilots at Maxwell

On 6 September 1941, the Air Corps 

Replacement Center opened at the field. To meet 

the replacement center’s requirements, the 

government acquired another 60 acres and 100 

additional facilities. The center provided 

candidates for pilot, bombardier, and navigator 

training with classification and preflight 

instruction. In mid-1942, the center became the 

preflight school for pilots and later expanded to 

include preflight training for bombardier and 

navigator trainees.

In July 1943 the Army Air Forces (AAF) announced the opening of a specialized 

four-engine pilot school, initially to train air crews for the B-24 Liberator and, later, for the B-29 

Superfortress. The graduates of the latter program went on to advanced training and then to 

conduct the strategic bombing of Japan. When the program ended in the fall of 1945, 728 B-29 

crews had flown 46,554 hours and 112,809 sorties at Maxwell without a major accident.

Maxwell Field, like other AAF installations, had its own segregated African American 

unit, the 4th Aviation Squadron, established on 10 June 1941. Located near the Alabama River on 

the north edge of Maxwell Field, the present site of the federal prison camp, this segregated 

squadron had its own facilities. Although its official mission 

was stated as “security,” the squadron’s primary duties 

consisted of service as buglers, custodians, chauffeurs, 

drummers, foot messengers, hospital and mess hall 

attendants, military police, and truck drivers.

Women also played an important role at Maxwell 

during the war. In spring 1943, 156 women, assigned to 

the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) (the 

Women’s Army Corps [WAC] after September 1943) 

arrived at Maxwell to serve as clerks, stenographers, radio 

and telephone operators, and photographic technicians. 

Maxwell Field also had a number of civilian pilots of the 

Women’s Air Service Pilots (WASP) program who towed 

targets, assisted in the conduct of bombardment and 

navigation training, and transported personnel.

Early Years of Air University

With the defeat of the Axis powers, the War Department in November 1945 announced the 

inactivation of the Eastern Flying Training Command. To prepare Air Force personnel for the 

future, the AAF in 1946 (soon to be US Air Force) moved the AAF School from Orlando, Florida, 

to Maxwell Field (soon to be Air Force Base), renamed it the Air University (AU), and established 

it as a major command in Nov 1946.
6

Air Force ROTC Unit Practicing Drills

Maj Gen Fairchild, 2nd from right,

First Air University Commander

Unlike the founders of other military 

educational institutions, the founders of AU sought to 

break away from traditionalism, rigid thought and 

doctrine, and the formalization of instruction that had 

often characterized past military education. The 

founding fathers, many of whom were graduates of the 

ACTS, established a progressive, forward-looking 

institution. Maj Gen Muir S. Fairchild, the first AU 

commander, stated, “We must guard rigorously 

against . . . accepting answers from the past instead of 

digging them out of the future. This is not a post-war 

school system--it is a pre-war school.”

Considerable organizational growth marked AU’s first years. AU established the Air 

Command and Staff School (ACSS) on 12 Mar 1946; and the Air War College (AWC) on 22 

December 1948. In July 1949, the Air Force established the Human Resources Research Institute 

and the Extension Course Institute at Maxwell AFB and assigned the Institute of Technology (later 

Air Force Institute of Technology), Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, as subordinate AU units. By 

1950, AU had nearly doubled its size and number of subordinate units. 

The outbreak of the Korean War on 25 June 1950 interrupted AU’s growth and stability. 

Air Force commanders argued they needed the personnel attending AU for operational 

commitments and that the Air Force should close AU. However, Air Force leaders, rather than 

closing AU completely, decided to reduce its operations. As a result, the Air Force suspended the 

AWC and the Air Tactical School and reduced the length of the ACSS to less than four months.

On 1 August 1952, the Air Force Reserve Officer 

Training Corps (AFROTC) joined the AU family.

Overtime, AFROTC became the Air Force’s major 

source of new officers, providing approximately 35 

percent, from 145 detachments across the United States, 

including Detachment 9 at Yale University, activated in 

October 2011 after the closure of the original Yale 

detachment in 1957. In October 1993, the Air Force 

moved the Officer Training School, which provided 

another 40 percent of new officers, from Lackland AFB, 

Texas, to Maxwell AFB. In 2009, the Air National 

Guard’s Academy of Military Science relocated from 

Tyson-McGhee ANG Base, Tennessee. By 2013, AU oversaw three of the Air Force’s four 

commissioning programs, collectively producing 80 percent of its newly commissioned officers.

In 1954, AU upgraded the ACSS to the Air Command and Staff College, and the Air 

Tactical School became the Squadron Officer School. Later, the Air Force moved all of its 

professional continuing education courses, except for the comptroller and logistics courses, from 

Craig AFB, Alabama, to Maxwell AFB. A short time later, the Gunter AFB branch of the School 

of Aviation Medicine became a part of AU, and the 3870th Special Activities Group followed, later 

renamed the Research Studies Institute.
7

Chennault Circle in the 1970s with Air University 

Library in the Center

These changes placed a heavy strain on facilities at Maxwell. In early 1951, AU officials 

began planning for a modern, integrated academic center that would accommodate the command’s 

expanding educational, research, and doctrinal development requirements. Over time, Academic 

Circle, renamed Chennault Circle in May 1975, became home to the Squadron Officer College, the 

Air Command and Staff College, the Air War College, AU Library (now the Muir S. Fairchild 

Research and Information Center), Curtis LeMay Center for Doctrine Development and 

Education, and the Ira C. Eaker Center for Professional Development.

Air University during the Vietnam War

The Vietnam War era brought changes 

to the missions and activities at Air University. 

President John F. Kennedy requested that 

“various levels of instruction in 

counterinsurgency (COIN) be given to all 

military personnel.” As a result, the ACSC 

developed a two-week COIN course in 1962. 

By March 1963, AU transferred this course into 

the AU Warfare Systems School. As Air 

Force involvement in the Vietnam War grew in

the 1960s, AU in 1968 saw a 30 percent 

reduction in ACSC and SOS attendance.

In 1966, the Air Force conceived of a program to evaluate the use of airpower in Southeast 

Asia and, in March 1979, assigned responsibility for the overall conduct of the project to the AU 

commander. Students and faculty at AU’s schools produced numerous studies and reports for 

“Project Corona Harvest” on specific lessons learned in Southeast Asia from 1965 to 1968. Project 

Corona Harvest, phased out in October 1975, was the most ambitious effort ever undertaken by 

AU to study and develop airpower “lessons learned” from a conflict in progress.

With Vietnamization under President Richard M. Nixon, the US military began to draw 

down its forces in Southeast Asia, and the Air Force approved an increase in student enrollments 

for SOS, ACSC, and AWC to 60 percent or more of the pre-1964 input level. Similarly, the Air 

Force increased the schools’ faculties and staffs in direct proportion to the growing student 

population, marking a return to some degree of normalcy.

Air University after the Vietnam War

The post-Vietnam War era marked a significant turning point in the history of AU. The AU 

re-energized its mission of “educating and producing such planners and future leaders. . . 

[capable of designing] an Air Force so adequate that it need never be used.” To meet this need 

required major changes in the command’s educational system. Lt Gen Raymond B. Furlong, then 

AU commander, noted, “with a command motto of ‘Progress Unhindered by Tradition’ we had too 

often become traditionalist.” He concluded that the emphasis at AWC had drifted from how to 

fight an air war to high level policy and decision making and, as a result, launched a three-year 

campaign of curriculum review and overhaul in the mid-1970s that became known as “putting the 

‘war’ back into the war college.”
8

Planning a Civil Air Patrol Mission

Air Force SNCO Academy 

Seminar at Gunter Annex

During the 1970s, AU continued to grow. The Air Force established the Air Force 

Logistics Management Center (AFLMC) and assigned it to Air University on 1 October 1975. On 

that same day, the Leadership and Management Development Center (LMDC), HQ Civil Air 

Patrol-USAF, and the Air Force Judge Advocate General School joined the AU family. The 

following year, LMDC was merged with the AU Institute for Professional Development but 

retained its name.

Since the establishment of AU in 1946, the Air 

Force leaders had discussed at various times combining 

Air Training Command (ATC) and AU. On 1 July 1978, 

AU lost major command status and became subordinate 

to the Air Training Command. However, in 1983, the 

Air Force separated AU from Air Training Command 

and returned AU to major command status.

In the 1980s, AU grew again. To research and 

analyze current and future issues of concern to the Air 

Force and its major commands, the Air Force 

established the Center (later College) for Aerospace 

Doctrine, Research, and Education (CADRE). In 1983, the Air Force redesignated the Academic 

Instructor and Foreign Officer School as the Educational Development Center, and, in 1986, 

merged the LMDC with the Educational Development Center. In 1987, it redesignated the 

consolidated schools as the Ira C. Eaker Center for Professional Development.

Congressional review of PME indicated that the DOD PME schools were not up to the 

expected standard. The schools needed to improve the level of education in strategic thinking, 

emphasize “jointness” more, and upgrade their overall quality--particularly the faculties. In 

response, the Air Force quickly took steps to hire highly qualified civilian instructors and 

established a School of Advanced Air Power Studies (SAAS) as a one-year follow-up to ACSC for 

selected ACSC graduates.

Secretary of the Air Force Donald B. Rice and the Chief of 

Staff of the Air Force General Merrill A. McPeak created a vision of 

an Air Force office that would inculcate the principles of total 

quality management across the Air Force. This concept, later known 

as the Quality Air Force (QAF), led to the establishment of the Air 

Force Quality Center on 1 August 1991 under AU at Maxwell. The 

center provided the Air Force with the concepts, methods, tools, and 

advice to aid them in attaining a QAF culture, as well as QAF 

education programs, consulting services, training resource 

materials, and related research and analysis services.

Air University in the Post-Cold War Era

In 1993, the Air Force reassigned Air University to ATC again, subsequently redesignated 

as the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). As a part of the restructuring, the Air Force 

Reserve Officer Training Corps, the Officer Training School, the Community College of the Air 

Force, and the First Sergeant’s Academy all became AU subordinate organizations.
9

Lt Col Tadd Sholtis (r.) receives first Maxwell-based 

AU doctorate from Lt Gen David Fadok, AU 

Commander and President (l.), 18 Nov 2011, while

Tom Brokaw, renowned correspondent (m.), looks on.

Commissioning Ceremony 

at Officer Training School

In 1993, Gen Merrill A. McPeak placed Air University in the unique role as the “maverick 

thinkers” of the Air Force. That year, he directed AU to conduct SPACECAST 2020 and Air Force 

2025 to look at the Air Force’s ability to conduct warfare against future opponents while 

maintaining its “edge” to control the exploitation of air and space into the 21st century. 

SPACECAST 2020 energized the thinking and imagination of experts to produce a set of 

possibilities for the United States' dominance in space. Air Force 2025 identified concepts, 

capabilities, and technologies required to remain the dominant air and space force into the 2000s.

AU continued to grow both in size and stature and continually reorganized to keep abreast 

of new technology and to meet the educational needs of all Air Force members. In 1997, the Air 

Force activated the Air and Space Basic Course School, later the Aerospace Basic Course 

(ASBC), to inspire new lieutenants in comprehending their role as Airmen who exemplified the 

Air Force’s core values and advocated the success and abilities that airpower brings to joint 

operations. Because of decreasing budgets, the Air Force inactivated the ASBC in 2012.

Starting in the late 1990s, AU pursued 

degree granting authority and accreditation. In 

December 1999, SAASS received its 

accreditation from the Southern Association of 

Colleges and Schools (SACS) to award a 

master’s degree. In 2000, the AU commander 

received authority to confer the Master of 

Strategic Studies degree to resident graduates 

of the AWC and the Master of Military 

Operational Art and Science degree to resident 

graduates of the ACSC. In 2001, SACS placed 

AU as an institution that offered graduate 

degrees on an equal basis with other accredited 

academic institutions. In 2008, the AU 

Commander established a program to award

an honorary doctorate of letters or science to 

selected individuals who made significant contributions to the development of airpower or 

national defense. AU awarded its first honorary doctorate to Condelezza Rice, then Secretary of 

State and a recognized authority on international 

relations and national security. In 2010, AU 

established its first Maxwell-based doctoral 

program and awarded the first doctorate to Lt Col 

Tadd Sholtis in November 2011.

In 2006-2007, AU’s structure and program 

effectiveness underwent an in-depth review that 

led to major changes in AU’s structure. In 

April-July 2008, the Air Force activated the Carl 

Spaatz Center for Officer Education with AWC, 

ACSC, SOC and SAASS as subordinate units. It 

also redesignated the College of Enlisted 

Professional Military Education as the Thomas E. 
10

Barnes Center for Enlisted Education with the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF), the 

Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy, and the First Sergeants Academy as 

subordinate units. The Air Force Doctrine Development & Education Center became the Curtis 

LeMay Center for Doctrine Development & Education, and Air Force Officer Accessions and 

Training School became the Jeanne M. Holm Center for Officer Accession and Citizen 

Development. AU also created the Air Force Research Institute to provide independent analysis 

and scholarship in support of the Air Force’s mission and contribution to national security.

AU continued its efforts to utilize educational technology and the internet to provide 

Airmen with improved educational opportunities. In June 2007, CCAF announced its 

Associate-to-Baccalaureate Program and by which enlisted members could use distance-learning 

and general courses to complete their four-year degrees. AFIT first offered a master’s degree in 

systems engineering in March 2007, followed three months later by ACSC’s offering an on-line 

graduate degree. On 2 Mar 2009, the CCAF initiated the General Education Mobile program by 

which enlisted Air Force members could complete their general education requirements toward 

their associate’s degree through distance learning with selected colleges across the country. Since 

then, AU has migrated many other training and developmental education courses to the internet.

In spring 2011, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force General Norton Schwartz approved 

redesignating the title of the AU Commander to “Commander and President,” signifying AU’s 

growing stature as a noteworthy academic institution as well as a military education organization. 

Lt Gen David S. Fadok, formerly the Commander of the LeMay Center and AU Vice 

Commanmder, became the 29th Commander and the first President of AU on 12 August 2011. In 

early 2012, the US Congress authorized the conversion of the AFIT Commander, a general officer

position, to AFIT Chancellor, a senior civilian position, to provide leadership continuity for that 

organization. Dr. Todd Stewart, a retired Air Force major general, became the first civilian 

Chancellor of AFIT on 8 May 2012.

From mid-2011 and the present, the AU continued to feel the impact of decreasing national 

defense budgets. For example in June 2011, AU terminated the ASBC, partially as a cost-saving 

measure, and inactivated the ASBC School and SOS in July 2013. It also revised the SOS program 

to incorporate some ASBC objectives and shorten the course back to five weeks. Additionally, the 

AU leadership began a concerted effort to transform officer and enlisted professional military 

education programs through the use of new education technologies and methods, such as blended 

learning and internet platforms, to improve their quality while reducing costs. In summer 2013, the 

CSAF Gen Mark Welsh approved these changes, and AU leaders began to operationalize these 

revised programs throughout FY 2014.

In addition to its education, doctrine development, officer accessions, and citizen 

development missions, AU, the 42nd Air Base Wing, and several tenant units have deployed 

several hundred military and civilian personnel annually to worldwide locations, including health 

care providers to Latin America and a variety of personnel to support Air Force combat operations 

in Southwest and Central Asia.

The Air University continues to play an important role in formulating US Air Force

concepts, doctrines, and strategies for the employment of air power. Air University forms a vital 

link in the Air Force’s overall readiness chain, and it remains a key element in building and 

maintaining an Air Force that is second to none.
11

CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS

20 Feb 1910 Wilbur Wright came to Montgomery, Alabama, looking for a site for a 

temporary civilian flying school.

19 Mar28 May 1910The Wright brothers operated their flying school on 302 acres of land owned 

by Frank D. Kohn.

4 Apr 1918 Frank D. Kohn leased the same land, used by the Wright Brothers, to the US 

government for use as a military aviation repair depot.

Sep 1918 The US Army Air Service 

redesignated the Engine and 

Repair Depot as the Engine and 

Plane Repair Depot #3.

Mar 1919 The depot became the Aviation Repair Depot.

25 Jan 1921 The Aviation Repair Depot renamed as the Montgomery Air Intermediate 

Depot.

30 Nov 1921 The 2nd Observation Squadron and the 4th Photographic Section moved to 

Montgomery Air Intermediate Depot.

8 Nov 1922 The War Department redesignated the Montgomery Air Intermediate Depot 

as Maxwell Field.

Oct 1927 Construction of the first permanent buildings, a barracks (Building 836) and 

13 NCO quarters, began at Maxwell Field.

1928 The Army Air Corps announced the movement of the Air Corps Tactical 

School (ACTS) from Langley Field, Virginia, to Maxwell Field.

14-20 Mar 

1929

Maj Walter Weaver, post commander, authorized the units at Maxwell Field 

to provide flood aid to south Alabama.

15 Jul 1931 The ACTS formally opened at Maxwell Field.

8 Jul 1940 The War Department established the Southeast Air Corps Training Center 

(SEACTC), headquartered at Maxwell.

9 Sep 1940 The first basic flying training class of 120 flying cadets arrived at Maxwell. In 

early November, the school moved to the municipal airport (later Gunter 

Field).

Nov 1940 Advanced flying training began at Maxwell Field.

15 Jan 1941 The USAAF activated the 42nd Bombardment Group (Medium) at Ft. 

Douglas, Utah.

Aerial view, 1919, of Engine 

and Plane Repair Depot, #3
12

6 Sep 1941 The Air Corps Replacement Center opened.

9 Oct 1942 The ACTS formally closed because of the ongoing war.

23 Aug 1943 The War Department redesignated the SEATC as the Army Air Forces (AAF) 

Eastern Flying Training Command.

18 Feb 1944 General Hap Arnold conducted a meeting with many of his AAF generals at 

Maxwell Field. Although not called a Corona conference, the meeting was 

considered the first equivalent to the modern-day Corona meeting format.

29 Nov 1945 The AAF School transferred from Orlando, Florida, to Maxwell Field.

15 Dec 1945 The War Department inactivated the Eastern Flying Training Command.

12 Mar 1946 The War Department redesignated the AAF School as Air University (AU) and 

designated it as a major command.

1 Apr 1946 The Air University established the Air University Library (later named after 

Lt Gen Muir S. Fairchild, the first AU commander), which became the largest 

library in the Department of Defense and the largest federal government 

library outside of the District of Columbia.

10 May 1946 The USAAF inactivated the 42nd Bombardment Group (Medium).

14-15 Jul 1946 The Air University Board of Visitors, organized on 27 Mar 1946, held its first 

meeting.

17 Nov 1947 The 502nd Air University Wing activated as the host unit at Maxwell.

13 Jan 1948 Maxwell Field became Maxwell Air Force Base.

28 Jul 1948 AU replaced the 502nd Air University Wing with the 3800th Air University 

Wing.

Capt Glen Miller, renowned prewar big band 

leader, served at Maxwell Field during Dec 

1942 as a special services officer.
13

12 Sep 1949 The USAF Historical 

Division, today the Air 

Force Historical Research 

Agency, moved from 

Washington, D.C., to 

Maxwell AFB. The AFHRA 

is presently adjacent to the 

Air University Library in the 

center of Chennault Circle 

between the ACSC and AWC buildings.

1 Apr 1950 The Air Force reassigned the Institute of Technology (the Air Force Institute 

of Technology on 1 Jan 1962), Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, to Air 

University.

25 Feb 1953 The Air Force activated the 42nd Bombardment Wing at Loring AFB, Maine.

5 Feb 1954 A $5 million construction project began in the Academic Circle to 

accommodate Air University major schools and the library.

24-25 Nov 

1964

B-52s of the 42nd Bomb Wing participated in Operation Quick Kick, a flight 

around the perimeter of North America. The press hailed the operation as a 

warning to potential adversaries, particularly the Soviet Union.

17 Jan 1972 The Air Force established the Senior NCO Academy at Gunter Air Force 

Station (later Air Force Base) near Maxwell AFB, AL.

1 Apr 1972 The Air Force established the Community College of the Air Force which, 

since then, has become the largest community college in the world.

7 Mar 1975 Academic Circle renamed Chennault Circle in honor of Maj Gen Claire Lee 

Chennault.

1 Jul 1976 The Air Force reassigned the Civil Air Patrol–HQ US Air Force from 

Headquarters Command to Air University.

1 Jul 1978 AU lost major command status with its subordination to the Air Training 

Command.

1 Jul 1983 AU regained major command status.

31 Jan 1984 The Air Force consolidated the World War II 42nd Bombardment Group with 

the 42nd Bombardment Wing, established on 19 Feb 53.

4 May 1986 AU officials dedicated the Enlisted Heritage 

Hall at Gunter AFS (now Annex) to house 

the Enlisted Heritage exhibit, established in 

the SNCOA building in 1984.
14

30 Oct 1990 AU officials opened LeMay Plaza, Building 804, which now serves as the

42nd Air Base Wing headquarters (and named after Alabama Congressman J. 

Lister Hill, the “godfather of Maxwell,” on 15 Oct 1992).

1 Mar 1992 The Air Force redesignated Gunter AFB as Maxwell AFB/Gunter Annex.

1 Oct 1992 AU inactivated the 3800th Air Base Wing and replaced it with the newly 

activated 502nd Air Base Wing.

1 Jul 1993 AU became a subordinate component of Air Education and Training 

Command (AETC).

1 Sep 1993 Officer Training Squadron moved from the Medina Annex, Lackland AFB, 

Texas, to Maxwell AFB and became the Officer Training School (OTS).

Nov 1993 The Air Force created the College for Enlisted Professional Military 

Education (now the Barnes Center) to oversee the CONUS NCO academies 

and the SNCO Academy and write and standardize the curricula for all Air 

Force enlisted PME programs.

1 Oct 1994 The Air Force inactivated the 502nd Air Base Wing, redesignated the 42nd

Bombardment Wing (see lineage and honors statement below) as the 42nd Air 

Base Wing, and assigned the latter unit to Maxwell AFB.

17 Nov 2000 The $35 million Ambulatory Health Care Center, which replaced the 

1950s-era Maxwell Hospital (Bldg 50), opened.

29-30 Aug 

2005

After hurricane Katrina devastated New 

Orleans, Maxwell-Gunter served as an 

evacuation center for over 1,000 displaced

evacuees from the Gulf coast and as a 

Federal Emergency Management Agency 

staging area for relief convoys to the 

affected areas.

1 Oct 2006 The Air Force assigned the Air Force Doctrine Center, later renamed the 

Curtis E. LeMay Center for Doctrine Development and Education, to Air 

University.

Feb 2007 The AU began the pilot testing of the Associate-to-Baccalaureate 

Cooperative (AU-ABC) program in which AU and civilian higher education 

institutions partner to provide Air Force enlisted members with awarded AU 

associate degrees the opportunity to complete the requirements for their 

bachelor’s degree.

14 Apr 2008 AU awarded its first honorary doctoral degree to Condelezza Rice, then 

Secretary of State and a recognized authority on international relations and 

national security.

2 Mar 2009 The CCAF initiated the General Education Mobile program by which Air 

Force members could complete their general education requirements toward 

their associate’s degree through distance learning with selected community 
15

colleges across the United States.

1 Oct 2009 The Air Force realigned the National Security Space Institute, Peterson AFB, 

Colorado, under Air University and assigned it to the Eaker Center.

1 Oct 2009 The Air National Guard (ANG) relocated its officer accessions training 

program from McGhee-Tyson ANG Base, Tennessee, to Maxwell AFB, 

giving AU oversight of all of the Air Force’s officer accessions training 

programs except for the US Air Force Academy.

6 May 2010 The AU Commander Lt Gen Allen Peck dedicated the new Air Force 

Chaplains’ Corps College, formerly the US Air Force Chaplain’s Service 

Institute, relocated from Maxwell AFB to Fort Jackson, South Carolina, as 

part of the consolidation of the chaplain and religious education and training 

programs of all three military services into one facility, the Armed Forces 

Chaplaincy Center.

5 Aug 2011 At the beginning of the 2011-2012 school term, the Maxwell Elementary 

School became the Maxwell Middle School with the addition of the 7th and 8th

grades.

12 Aug 2011 Lt Gen David S. Fadok became the 29th commander of Air University and its 

first president.

9 Oct 2011 The Air Force activated AFROTC Detachment 9 at Yale University, its first 

AFROTC since the inactivation of the original detachment in 1957. On 21 

Sep 2012, the detachment began instruction for 38 cadets.

18 Nov 2011 AU awarded its first Maxwell-based doctoral degree to Lt Col Tadd Sholtis, 

the deputy director of public affairs at Headquarters Air Combat Command at 

Langley AFB, Virginia.

8 May 2012 Dr. Todd Stewart, a retired Air Force major general, became 

the first civilian Chancellor of AFIT.

Nov 2012 The Community College of the Air Force awarded its 400,000 degree to 

Senior Airman Emily Barchenger, assigned to Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota.

1 Jul 2013 The Air Force inactivated the ASBC School, the SOS, and two training 

squadrons associated with the inactivated schools. 

1 Dec 2013 The Air Force reactivated the 42nd Comptroller Squadron.
16

AIR UNIVERSITY COMMANDERS AND PRESIDENTS

Maj Gen Muir S. Fairchild 6 Feb 46

Maj Gen Robert W. Harper 17 May 48

Gen George C. Kenney 1 Nov 48

Lt Gen Idwal H. Edwards .1 Aug 51

Lt Gen Laurence S. Kuter 15 Apr 53

Lt Gen Dean G. Strother 14 May 55

Lt Gen Walter E. Todd 25 Aug 58

Lt Gen Troup Miller, Jr. 1 Aug 61

Lt Gen Ralph Swofford, Jr. 1 Jan 64

Lt Gen John W. Carpenter III 1 Aug 65

Lt Gen Albert P. Clark 1 Aug 68

Lt Gen Alvan C. Gillem II 1 Aug 70

Lt Gen Felix M. Rogers 1 Nov 73

Lt Gen Raymond B. Furlong 15 Aug 75

Lt Gen Stanley M. Umstead, Jr. 1 Jul 79

Lt Gen Charles G. Cleveland 1 Aug 81

Lt Gen Thomas C. Richards 1 Aug 84

Lt Gen Truman Spangrud 6 Nov 86

Lt Gen Ralph E. Havens 12 Jul 88

Maj Gen David C. Reed 7 Oct 89

Lt Gen Charles G. Boyd 4 Jan 90

Lt Gen Jay W. Kelley 29 Oct 92

Lt Gen Joseph R. Redden 1 Oct 96

Lt Gen Lance W. Lord 22 Jun 99

Lt Gen Donald A. Lamontagne 8 May 01

Lt Gen John R. Regni 8 Jul 04

Lt Gen Stephen R. Lorenz 12 Oct 05

Lt Gen Allen G. Peck 16 Jun 08

Lt Gen David S. Fadok (First AU President) 12 Aug 11
17

MAXWELL POST/BASE COMMANDERS

Pre-World War II Post Commanders

Maj Stiles M. Decker 7 Jul 18

Maj Louis R. Knight 14 Dec 18

Col William L. Patterson Unknown

Maj Louis R. Knight Unknown

Unknown Unknown

Maj Frank D. Lackland Feb 20

Maj William J. Fitzmaurice Apr 21

Maj Roy S. Brown May 22

Maj Harrison H. Richards 26 Jun 25

Maj Walter R. Weaver 1 Aug 27

Maj John F. Curry 11 Aug 31

Col Arthur G. Fisher 29 Aug 35

Brig Gen Henry C. Pratt 17 Mar 37

Col Albert L. Sneed 8 Aug 38

Col John H. Pirie 4 Oct 38

Col Douglas B. Netherwood 5 Feb 39

Col Walter R. Weaver 1 Apr 39

Lt Col Floyd E. Galloway 20 Aug 40

Col Albert L. Sneed 12 Feb 41

World War II Post Commanders, 8 Dec 1941 

Col Elmer J. Bowling 27 Jan 42

Col Robert E. Choate 14 Jul 44

Brig Gen William S. Gravely 29 Aug 44

Col Robert E. Choate 6 Dec 44

Col William E. Covington, Jr. 8 Oct 45

Col Richard H. Ballard 12 Nov 45

Col William E. Covington, Jr. 13 Jan 46

502nd Air University Wing, 17 Nov 1947

Col Sidney D. Grubbs, Jr. 17 Jun 48
18

3800th Air University/Air Base Wing, 28 Jul 48

Col Leslie G. Mulzer 8 Jan 49

Col Stoyte O. Ross 1 Nov 51

Col James P. Newberry 2 Jun 52

Col James G. Pratt 28 Mar 53

Col Mills S. Savage 1 Nov 55

Col Clyde C. Harris, Jr. 5 May 58

Col William J. Wrigglesworth 1 Jun 61

Col Wilson R. Wood 1 Aug 63

Col Rudolph B. Walters 12 Jan 67

Col Paul A. Jones 2 Apr 68

Col Lattie A. Ritter, Jr. 26 Jan 70

Col Charles G. Weber 16 Aug 70

Col Andrew J. Chapman 13 Nov 72

Col James H. Hiley 15 Jun 74

Col David T. Stockman 18 Aug 75

Col Robert D. Hartwig 1 Sep 78

Col Roger W. McLain 1 Jun 79

Col William D. Palmer 7 Jul 80

Col Donald F. Brackett 15 Apr 82

Col Vardaman F. Johnson 1 Jul 83

Col Mark J. Dierlam 25 Mar 85

Col David J. Vogl 20 Jun 88

Col Gerald R. Adams 18 Jun 91

502nd Air Base Wing, 1 Oct 92

Brig Gen Albert D. Jensen 4 Aug 93

Brig Gen Thomas C. Waskow 9 Aug 94

42nd Air Base Wing, 1 Oct 94

Col William S. Cole, Jr. 7 May 96

Col Albert A. Allenback 26 May 98

Col Frances C. Martin 12 Jul 01

Col John A. Neubauer 11 Jul 03
19

Col Peter A. Costello 19 Jul 05

Col Paul H. McGillicuddy 20 Mar 07

Col Kristin D. Beasley 29 Aug 08

Col Brian M. Killough 12 Jul 10

Col Trent H. Edwards 28 Jun 12

Col Andrea D. Tullos 30 May 14
20

LINEAGE AND HONORS

OF

The Air University

Lineage. Established as Field Officers School on 30 Oct 1920. Activated Nov 1920. 

Redesignated as: Air Service Field Officers’ School on 10 Feb 1921; Air Service Tactical School 

on 8 Nov 1922; Air Corps Tactical School on 18 Aug 1926. Discontinued on 9 Oct 1942. 

Consolidated (26 Apr 1944) with the Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics, which was 

established on 16 Oct 1943. Activated on 1 Nov 1943. Redesignated as Army Air Forces School 

on 1 Jun 1945. Redesignated as Air University on 12 Mar 1946, as a major command. Lost major

command status on 1 Jul 1978. Regained major command status on 1 Jul 1983. Lost major 

command status on 1 Jul 1993.

Assignments. Army Air Forces, 1920-9 Oct 1942. Army Air Forces Tactical Center (later, Army 

Air Forces Center), 1 Nov 1943; Army Air Forces, 29 Nov 1945; United States Air Force, 18 Sep 

1947; Air Training Command, 15 May 1978; United States Air Force, 1 Jul 1983; Air Education 

and Training Command, 1 Jul 1993-.

Stations. Langley Field, VA, 1920; Maxwell Field, AL, 15 Jul 1931-9 Oct 1942. Orlando, FL, 1 

Nov 1943; Maxwell Field (later, Maxwell AFB), AL, 29 Nov 1945.

Service Streamers. World War II American Theater.

Campaign Streamers. None.

Armed Forces Expeditionary Streamers. None.

Decorations. Air Force Organizational Excellence Awards: 1 Jul 1986-30 Jun 1988; 1 Jul 1990-30 

Jun 1992; 1 Jul 1992-30 Jun 1993; 1 Jul 1993-30 Jun 1995; 18 Mar 1997-30 Jun 1998; 1 Jul 

1998-30 Jun 2000; 1 Jul 2000-30 Jun 2002; 1 Jul 2002- 30 Jun 2004; 1 Jul 2004-30 Jun 2006; 1 Jul 

2006-30 Jun 2008; 1 Jul 2008-30 Jun 2010.

Emblem. Approved on 9 Dec 1929. Modified on 2 May 1999. 
21

LINEAGE AND HONORS

OF THE

42nd Air Base Wing

Lineage. Established as 42 Bombardment Group (Medium) on 20 Nov 1940. Activated on 15 Jan 

1941. Redesignated 42 Bombardment Group, Medium, on 6 Sep 1944. Inactivated on 10 May 

1946. Consolidated (31 Jan 1984) with the 42 Bombardment Wing, Heavy, which was established 

on 19 Feb 1953. Activated on 25 Feb 1953. Redesignated: 42 Wing on 1 Sep 1991; 42 Bomb Wing 

on 1 Jun 1992. Inactivated on 30 Sep 1994. Redesignated 42 Air Base Wing and activated on 1 Oct 

1994.

Assignments. Northwest Air District (later, Second Air Force), 16 Jan 1941 (attached to 20 

Bombardment Wing, 16 Jan–1 Sep 1941); 2 (later, II) Bomber Command, 5 Sep 1941; IV Bomber 

Command, 25 Jan 1942; XIII Bomber Command, 14 Mar 1943 (attached to 308 Bombardment 

Wing, Heavy, c. 24 Aug–2 Sep 1944; 310 Bombardment Wing, Medium, 3–c. 14 Sep 1944; 

Thirteenth Air Task Force, c. 15–30 Sep 1944; XIII Fighter Command, 1 Oct 1944–8 Jan 1945; 

XIII Bomber Command Rear Echelon, 9 Jan–21 Feb 1945; XIII Fighter Command, c. 22 Mar–c. 

Sep 1945); Fifth Air Force, 25 Dec 1945; 310 Bombardment Wing, Medium, 31 Jan 1946; V 

Fighter Command, 25 Mar–10 May 1946. Eighth Air Force, 25 Feb 1953; 45 Air Division, 8 Oct 

1954 (attached to 7 Air Division, 18 Oct–18 Nov 1955); Eighth Air Force, 18 Jan 1958; 45 Air 

Division, 1 Dec 1958; Eighth Air Force, 29 Mar 1989; Ninth Air Force, 1 Jun 1992–30 Sep 1994. 

Air University, 1 Oct 1994–.

Stations. Ft Douglas, UT, 15 Jan 1941; Gowen Field, ID, c. 3 Jun 1941; McChord Field, WA, c. 

18 Jan 1942–15 Mar 1943; Fiji Islands, 22 Apr 1943 (air echelon); Carney Field, Guadalcanal, 11 

May 1943 (ground echelon), 6 Jun 1943 (air echelon); Russell Islands, c. 21 Oct 1943; Stirling 

Island, 20 Jan 1944; Hollandia, Dutch New Guinea, 24 Aug 1944 (air echelon); Cape Sansapor, 

Dutch New Guinea, 24 Aug 1944 (ground echelon), c. 15 Sep 1944 (air echelon); Morotai, 

Philippines, 23 Feb 1945 (air echelon); Puerto Princesa, Palawan Island, Mar 1945; Itami Airfield, 

Japan, 31 Jan–10 May 1946. Limestone (later, Loring) AFB, ME, 25 Feb 1953–30 Sep 1994.

Maxwell AFB, AL, 1 Oct 1994–.

Aircraft. B–18, 1941–1942; B–26, 1941–1942, 1943; A–29, 1942–1943; B–25, 1942, 1943–

1945; A–26, 1946; A–20, 1946. B–36, 1953–1956; KC–97, 1955–1957; B–52, 1956–1993; KC–

135, 1957–1992.

Operations. Began training in B–26s, Oct 1941–Jan 1942. Patrolled the Northwest Pacific Coast 

and trained B–25 combat crews for the Alaskan Defense Command. Arrived in New Caledonia in 

Apr 1943. Entered combat in Jun 1943, operating from Guadalcanal, and later from other bases in 

the Solomon Islands. Attacked Japanese airfields, personnel areas, gun positions, and shipping. 

Jan–Jul 1944, engaged primarily in the neutralization of enemy airfields and harbor facilities on 

New Britain, but also supported ground forces on Bougainville and attacked shipping in the 

northern Solomon and the Bismarck Islands. Aug 1944–Jan 1945, bombed airfields and 

installations on New Guinea, Celebes, and Halmahera, and flew reconnaissance missions. Moved 

to the Philippines in Feb–Mar 1945. Attacked shipping along the China coast, struck targets in 

French Indochina, bombed airfields and installations in the Philippines, and supported ground 

operations on Mindanao. Also supported Australian forces on Borneo during May and Jun 1945. 
22

Received a Distinguished Unit Citation for its pre-invasion bombing of Balikpapan, 23–30 Jun 

1945. Ended combat service by attacking isolated Japanese units on Luzon, Jul–Aug 1945. 42 

Bombardment Wing activated at Limestone AFB in 1953 and began operational training in Apr. 

All squadrons were flying by Aug. In 1954 and 1955, portions of the wing twice deployed at Upper 

Heyford and Burtonwood, England, and the entire wing deployed to Upper Heyford, 18 Oct–18 

Nov 1955. Gained an air refueling mission in 1955 and B–52 bombers in 1956. Operated out of 

Ramey AFB, Puerto Rico (bombers), and Goose AB, Labrador (tankers), while runway repairs 

were made at Loring, 10 Jul–5 Oct 1959. Supported SAC’s bombardment and air refueling 

operations in Southeast Asia from the mid-1960s to mid-1975, furnishing aircraft, aircrews, and at 

times support personnel to other units. Participated in strategic and tactical exercises worldwide 

and supported USAF needs for air refueling after 1975. Won the Omaha Trophy as “the 

outstanding wing in SAC for 1977.” Deployed personnel, aircraft and equipment to Southwest 

Asia, 7 Aug 1990 – c. 12 Apr 1991. Began preparations for closure of Loring AFB in Oct 1991. 

Lost air refueling mission in Jun 1992. Last wing B-52 departed Loring on 18 Nov 1993. After 1 

Oct 1994, served as the host unit for Maxwell-Gunter AFB, providing personnel management, 

communications, financial services, logistics support, health care, safety and force protection, and 

maintenance and modernization of base facilities for Air University, the 908th Airlift Wing (Air 

Force Reserve); the Business and Enterprise Systems Directorate (Air Force Materiel Command); 

more than 30 tenant units; and over 10,000 military retirees in Central Alabama. Prepared Airmen 

to deploy in support of worldwide US military operations and deployed military and civilian 

members to a variety of operations, including Operations Northern Watch, Southern Watch, 

Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, across the globe. 

Service Streamers. None.

Campaign Streamers. World War II: Antisubmarine, American Theater; New Guinea; 

Northern Solomons; Bismarck Archipelago; Western Pacific; Leyte; Luzon; Southern Philippines; 

China Defensive; China Offensive. Southwest Asia: Defense of Saudi Arabia; Liberation and 

Defense of Kuwait.

Armed Forces Expeditionary Streamers. None.

Decorations. Distinguished Unit Citation: Balikpapan, Borneo, 23–30 Jun 1945. Air Force 

Outstanding Unit Award: 1 Jul 1986–30 Jun 1988; 1 Jun 1994-30 Jun 1995; 1 Jul 1995-30 Jun 

1996; 1 Jul 1996-30 Jun 1997; 1 Jul 1999-30 Jun 2000; 1 Jul 2001-30 Jun 2002; 1 Jul 2002-30 Jun 

2004; 1 Jul 2004-30 Jun 2006; 1 Jul 2006-30 Jun 2007; 1 Jul 2010-30 Jun 2011. Philippine 

Presidential Unit Citation.

Emblem. Approved on 11 Mar 1942; modified on 19 Mar 1997.
23

”

We produce the future. 

We launch leaders of character educated to think 

critically, innovatively, strategically and jointly . . . 

to master and deliver superior Airpower in support of national 

security objectives.”