III 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 424 

Commemorating the 80th anniversary of the dedication of Sheppard Air 

Force Base and the 40th anniversary of the creation of the EuroNATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 20, 2021 

Mr. CORNYN (for himself and Mr. CRUZ) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

RESOLUTION 

Commemorating the 80th anniversary of the dedication of 

Sheppard Air Force Base and the 40th anniversary of 

the creation of the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training 

Program. 

Whereas, in 1940, Major General Rush B. Lincoln, Commandant of United States Army Air Corps Technical 

Schools, surveyed the sites surrounding the city of Wichita Falls, Texas for a future training school; 

Whereas, 80 years ago, Sheppard Air Force Base began as 

Sheppard Field and opened as a United States Army Air 

Corps training facility on 300 acres of land in Wichita 

Falls, named after former United States Senator John 

Morris Sheppard; 


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•SRES 424 IS 

Whereas, during World War II, Sheppard Field trained more 

than 44,000 mechanics and 445,000 basic trainees, playing a vital role in the development of airpower for defeating the Axis powers; 

Whereas, after serving as an Army Air Force separation center following the end of World War II, Sheppard Field 

was inactivated in August of 1946; 

Whereas, on August 1, 1948, Sheppard Field was reactivated 

by the Department of the Air Force to enhance basic 

training and was dedicated as Sheppard Air Force Base; 

Whereas, by 1953, the base qualified more than 80,000 

trained aircraft maintainers and served as the home for 

2 percent of all airmen; 

Whereas Sheppard Air Force Base adapted and matured 

alongside the United States Armed Forces by becoming 

the home of missile maintenance training in 1955; 

Whereas, from 1959 to 1962, Sheppard Air Force Base 

hosted the 4245th Strategic Wing and, from 1962 to 

1966, the 494th Bombardment Wing, directing aerial refueling and bombardment squadrons; 

Whereas, in 1965, the 3630th Flying Training Wing was activated and in 1966 began providing pilot training to 

German Air Force students; 

Whereas, in 1968, Sheppard Air Force Base became the epicenter for field training in the aircraft maintenance training pipeline, carried on today by the 982d Training 

Group, who deliver more than 35,000 trained students 

each year; 

Whereas the 3630th Flying Training Wing became the 80th 

Flying Training Wing, expanding its student radius in 


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•SRES 424 IS 

1973 to Iran, El Salvador, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, and 

other nations under the security assistance program; 

Whereas, in 1973, Sheppard Air Force Base held the honor 

of serving as a reception point for Operation Homecoming, welcoming home Vietnam prisoners of war after 

years of captivity; 

Whereas, in 1981, at Sheppard Air Force Base, the 80th 

Flying Training Wing began the Euro-NATO Joint Jet 

Pilot Training Program with 11 other partner nations 

(Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, 

Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Turkey, and the United 

Kingdom), providing the partner nations with several domains of pilot training; 

Whereas, on July 1, 1993, Sheppard Air Force Base became 

the home of all aircraft maintenance training when the 

Sheppard Training Center became the 82nd Training 

Wing; 

Whereas, in 2016, the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training 

Program added Romania as its 14th partner and was extended through 2026; 

Whereas the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program 

remains the world’s only internationally manned and 

managed flying training program; 

Whereas, since 1981, the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program has delivered more than 7,800 combat pilots 

for its 14 partner nations in support of NATO; 

Whereas the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program 

trains 50 percent of all United States Air Force fighter 

pilots and is the sole source of fighter pilots for the partner nations of Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and Norway; 


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•SRES 424 IS 

Whereas the 80th Flying Training Wing launches 50,000 sorties per year and is recognized as the busiest joint-use 

airfield in the Air Force; 

Whereas, in fiscal year 2019, Sheppard Air Force Base created $4,600,000,000 in economic impact and served as 

the region’s largest employer, accounting for 1 in 8 jobs 

in Wichita County; 

Whereas the 82nd Training Wing, stationed at Sheppard Air 

Force Base, graduates more than 60,000 officer and enlisted students each year; 

Whereas the 82nd Training Wing is the largest technical 

training wing in the United States Air Force, teaching 

6,000 students on a daily basis across the globe; and 

Whereas, over the course of 80 years, Sheppard Air Force 

Base has delivered more than 7,000,000 trained Airmen, 

Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and international partners and 

pilots to support military interoperability around the 

world: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate commemorates the 80th 

2 anniversary of the opening of Sheppard Air Force Base 

3 and the 40th anniversary of the creation of the Euro4 NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program. 

Æ 


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