1

Cradle of Airpower Education 

 

 

 

A Short History of The Air University,

Maxwell AFB, and the 42nd Air Base Wing

Air University Directorate of History

March 2016 

 
2

 

Cradle of Airpower Education 

 

A Short History of 

The Air University, 

Maxwell AFB, 

and 42nd Air Base Wing 

 

 

THE INTELLECTUAL AND LEADERSHIP 

DEVELOPMENT CENTER 

OF THE 

US AIR FORCE 

 

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

“Be the intellectual and leadership-development center of the Air Force 

Develop leaders, enrich minds, advance airpower, build relationships, 

and inspire service.” 
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 in Feb 1910. 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 ten weeks

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. In Mar 1929, torrential 

rains caused severe flooding in southern Alabama, and Maj Walter Weaver, 

the Maxwell Field post commander, ordered the squadron to fly daily 

missions to help the flood victims. Between 14 and 20 Mar, it flew 346 sorties 

and covered about 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 late 1920s began 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 with the assistance of Alabama US Congressman John Lister Hill, who had successfully 

removed Maxwell Field from the War Department’s installation closure list in 1925. 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 provided field grade officers with 

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

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

taught pursuit aviation as the most important airpower mission, but, by the mid-1930s, devotees of 

Colonel William “Billy” Mitchell had come to dominate the ACTS. This “bomber mafia”
4

RAF cadets from Maxwell in Armistice 

Day parade, Montgomery AL, Nov 1941 

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 Sep 1939, with war raging in Europe and Asia, 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 Jul 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 over 100 flying schools in the Southeast United States.

In 1941, the War Department expanded Maxwell’s flying training mission. The Air Corps 

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

Airport, became 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, 

Augt-Sep 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 Nov 1945, the SEACTC had 

trained over 8,000 flight cadets of the Free French, Chinese, and other allied air forces.

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 

Austin Hall, Air Corps Tactical 

School, 1931, now Headquarters 

Air University
5

Jacqueline Cochran, Chief of the WASP, 

inspects women pilots at Maxwell

Maj Gen Fairchild, 2nd from right,

First Air University Commander

Physical fitness exercises for flight cadets at Maxwell 

Field during World War II 

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) 

opeed 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. By the end of the war, 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 Jun 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 of 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 also had 

several civilian Women’s Air Service Pilots (WASP) who 

towed targets, assisted in the conduct of bombardment and 

navigation training, and transported personnel.

Early Years of Air University

Soon after the war’s end, the War Department 

inactivated the Eastern Flying Training Command. To 

prepare Air Force personnel for the future, the AAF (soon 

to be US Air Force) in 1946 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.

Unlike the founders of other military educational 

institutions, the founders of AU sought to break away 

from traditionalism, rigid thought and doctrine, and the 
6

Chennault Circle in the 1970s with Air 

University Library in the Center

Air Force ROTC Unit Practicing Drills

formalization of instruction that had often characterized past military education. They, many of 

whom were ACTS’ graduates, 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 Jun 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, reduced its operations, suspended the AWC and the Air Tactical School, and reduced

the length of the ACSS to less than four months.

On 1 Aug 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. 

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, and allowed AU to develop a total force 

commissioning program for Regular Air Force, Air Force Reserve, and ANG officer trainees.

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

Air Tactical School became the Squadron Officer School. Later, the Air Force moved the majority

of its professional continuing education courses to 

Maxwell AFB. Meanwhile, 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.

These changes placed a heavy strain on facilities 

at Maxwell. In early 1951, AU officials began planning 

for a modern, integrated academic campus for the 

command’s expanding educational, research, and 

doctrinal development requirements. Over time, 

Academic Circle, renamed Chennault Circle in May 
7

Planning a Civil Air Patrol Mission

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 established a program to evaluate the use of airpower in Southeast 

Asia and, in March 1979, assigned 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. Phased out in October 

1975, it 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 AU’s schools 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 another significant turning point in AU’s history. 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.” 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.”

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 AU’s establishment in 1946, Air Force leaders had discussed several times 
8

Air Force SNCO Academy 

Seminar at Gunter Annex

combining Air Training Command (ATC) and AU. On 1 Jul 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, the Air Force

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) (later School of Advanced Air And 

Space Studies) 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

Following the end of the 1990-91 Gulf War in Feb 1993, the Air Force reassigned Air 

University to ATC again and subsequently redesignated the command as the Air Education and 

Training Command (AETC). 

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, reorganize as needed to keep abreast of 

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

activated the Air and Space Basic Course School which taught a five-week orientation course to 

inspire new lieutenants who could exemplify the Air Force’s core values and advocate the 

contributions of airpower to joint operations. 
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

Starting in the late 1990s, AU pursued degree granting authority and accreditation. In Dec 

1999, SAASS received its accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools 

(SACS) to award a master’s degree. In 2000, the AU 

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 2008, the 

AU Commander established an honorary doctorate of 

letters or science program for 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. 

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.
10

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 LeMay Center Commander and AU Vice Commanmder, 

became the 29th Commander and the first AU President on 12 Aug 2011. In early 2012, Congress 

authorized the conversion of the AFIT Commander, a general officer position, to Chancellor, a 

senior civilian position, to provide leadership continuity for AFIT. Dr. Todd Stewart, a retired Air 

Force major general, became the first AFIT Chancellor on 8 May 2012.

From mid-2011, AU felt the continuing impact of decreasing national defense budgets and 

changes in the conduct of armed conflict. In Jul 2013, AU inactivated the ASBC School and SOS 

and shortened the SOS program 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, reduce costs, and increase global access to these programs. In summer 2013, 

CSAF Gen Mark Welsh approved these changes. During FY 2014 and FY 2015 AU 

operationalized these revised programs, and AU leaders began transforming AU’s infrastructure 

and faculty to become more responsive to the needs of the Airmen who will lead tomorrow’s Air 

Force.

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.

Improving upon its heritage and Gen Fairchild’s original vision, AU continues to evolve to 

meet current and emerging challenges and ensure a secure environment for the United States, its 

people and its global partners. Its goal is to deliver the leaders, ideas and solutions, and doctrine the 

US Air Force needs to fly, fight and win in the face of any challenge and against any adversary and 

remain the preeminent air force for the foreseeable future. As AU celebrates its 70th anniversary, 

Mar 2016, it continues to play an important role in formulating USAF concepts, doctrines, and 

strategies for the employment of air power, form a vital link in the Air Force’s overall readiness in 

today’s world, and remain a key element in building, maintaining, and preparing leaders to lead a 

first-class Air Force into the future..
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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

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.

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.

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 Air Force Institute of Technology,

Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, on 1 Jan 1962, to Air University.

Capt Glen Miller, renowned prewar big band 

leader, served at Maxwell Field during 

Nov-Dec 1942 as a special services officer.
13

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. AU renamed 

Academic Circle Chennault Circle in honor of Maj Gen Claire Lee Chennault 

on 7 May 1975.t

24-25 Nov 

1964

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

around the perimeter of North America.

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 has 

become the largest community college in the world.

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.

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.
14

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.
15

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. 

Oct 2013 The LeMay Center for Doctrine Development and Education (LeMay Center) 

launched its Doctrine Next website.

Apr 2014 Lt Gen David S. Fadok, AU/CC, approved a new 47-day Officer Training 

School Basic Officer Training program for active duty and Air Force Reserve 

officer cadets.

28 May 2014 Colonel Trent Edwards, 42 ABW/CC, officially opened Freedom Park in a 

ribbon-cutting ceremony, a joint Maxwell-Montgomery area community 

project.

19 Aug 2014 The Officer Training School graduated its first Total Force class, consisting 

of active duty, Reserve, and Air National Guard officer cadets.

29 Aug 2014 The 42nd ABW Public Affairs published the last issue of the print base 

newspaper, the Maxwell-Gunter Dispatch.

1 Oct 2014 The Air Force Lessons Learned Program transferred from HQ US Air Force 

to the LeMay Center for Doctrine Development and Education.

Feb 2015 Lt Gen Steven L. Kwast, AU commander, established the positon of Air 

University Provost with Dr. Grant Hammond as the first provost.

2 Jun 2015 Lt Gen Steven L. Kwast, the AU commander, announced plans to develop a 

Cyber College at Air University where students could study together and 

develop innovative solutions to the cyber challenges of today’s world.

12 Mar 2016 Air University celebrated its 70th anniversary as the Air Force intellectual and 

leadership development center.
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

Lt Gen Steven L. Kwast 10 Nov 14
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. 

Allsquadrons 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

Be the intellectual and leadership-development center of the Air Force 

Develop leaders, enrich minds, advance airpower, build relationships, 

and inspire service.”