Altus Air Force Base Altus Air Force Base ( AFB ) is a United States Air Force base located approximately east - northeast of Altus , Oklahoma . The host unit at Altus AFB is the 97th Air Mobility Wing ( 97 AMW ) , assigned to the Nineteenth Air Force ( 19 AF ) of the Air Education and Training Command ( AETC ) . The wing ' s mission is to provide C - 17 Globemaster III and KC - 135 Stratotanker formal initial and advanced specialty training programs for up to 3000 flight crew and aircraft maintenance students annually . Altus AFB was established in 1943 as Altus Army Airfield ( AAF ) . The 97 AMW commander is Colonel Anthony B . " Tony " Krawietz . The Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sergeant David Fish . Overview . Altus AFB , through its host 97 AMW , provides quality training to produce the finest combat - ready aircrew members for the United States Air Force . The wing in conjunction with its training mission , maintains its instructor force maintain operational currency so that they , as highly qualified combat - ready aircrew members , can deploy to augment world - wide contingencies . The 97th maintains approximately 500 mobility personnel ready to deploy all over the world in a moments notice in support of national interests . Altus AFB supports about 2 , 000 permanent military personnel . Furthermore , about 3 , 000 military personnel and their families live on base and a large number of military personnel and their families live off base . The surrounding community has about 1 , 000 military retirees who depend on base facilities . The base provides direct employment for about 2 , 500 civilian personnel . Units . The 97 AMW consists of the following major units : History . Postwar era . Between 1945 and 1953 Altus would serve as a scrap yard for hundreds of World War II era military aircraft . In 1945 the famous B - 17 F " Memphis Belle " was discovered at Altus awaiting disposal . The aircraft was saved and transferred to the city of Memphis , Tennessee where it was displayed until 2005 , when it was relocated to the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright - Patterson AFB Ohio . Cold War . The base would only sit idle for a few years . The onset of the Korean War in June 1950 created the need for more men to fly and service aircraft . During the early years of the conflict , many World War II airfields were examined for reactivation . On 1 August 1953 , Altus Air Force Base was reactivated as a training base for transport aircraft . The C - 47 " Skytrain " and the C - 45 " Expediter " were the main aircraft assigned to the base , run briefly by the 63d Troop Carrier Wing from 8 January until 15 October 1953 under the watch of the Tactical Air Command ( TAC ) . During the 1950s , the base would undergo many changes and would change hands from TAC to the Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) . Later that year , on 18 November , the 96th Bombardment Wing , Medium , ( 96 BMW ) would arrive and begin operations with three bomber squadrons and one air refueling squadron . The squadrons eventually flew the first all jet - engined bomber , the B - 47 Stratojet and the KC - 97 Stratotanker , a dual - purpose cargo and air - refueling aircraft . By the end of the decade , both of these aircraft would be replaced by aircraft still in the Air Force inventory , the KC - 135 Stratotanker and the B - 52 Stratofortress . The KC - 135 was the first all jet - engined air - refueling aircraft and the B - 52 still remains the backbone of the USAF bomber fleet . When the 96th BW moved to Dyess AFB , Texas , the 11th Bombardment Wing ( Heavy ) activated and stood on alert during the Cold War . As the base moved into the 1960s , more changes would occur . June 1961 witnessed the activation of twelve Atlas “ F ” intercontinental ballistic missile sites within a 40 - mile radius of the base . Controlled by the 577th Strategic Missile Squadron , the missiles sat inside a silo , constructed underground with a launch facility , and manned around the clock . The missile silos became operational on 10 October 1962 , but the activation would be short - lived . By April 1965 , the Atlas missile would be outdated and was phased out of the national strategic defense plan . In August 1966 , the 4th Mobile Communications Group transferred from Hunter AFB , Georgia to Altus . The unit ' s mission consisted of providing mobile and transportable communication services , aiding navigation and air traffic control throughout the world . In 1967 , the Air Force began searching for a base that could handle the training for its strategic airlift fleet , the C - 141 Starlifter and its newest and largest transport aircraft , the C - 5 Galaxy . Again , Oklahoma proved to be well suited for the mission . The Military Airlift Command ( MAC ) assumed command of the base from SAC and activated the 443d Military Airlift Wing ( 443 MAW ) , Training , to assume host wing responsibilities and to fly alongside the SAC aircraft that would become a tenant command at Altus . By the start of the 1970s , Altus AFB would have three aircraft type / models assigned : KC - 135s , C - 141s , and C - 5s . For the KC - 135 aircraft at Altus still under SAC ' s control , the USAF activated the 340th Air Refueling Wing , which continued to operate the base ' s KC - 135s . Modern era . The post Cold War environment would bring many changes to Altus AFB . On 1 June 1992 , the Air Force reorganized and the Military Airlift Command ( MAC ) disestablished . In its place was the new Air Mobility Command ( AMC ) which placed MAC ' s strategic and tactical airlift aircraft and SAC ' s aerial refueling aircraft under a single command . Second , the 443d Airlift Wing and the 340th Air Refueling Wing were inactivated , with the latter ' s aircraft transferred to the 19th Air Refueling Wing ( 19 ARW ) at Robins AFB , Georgia . On 1 October , the first Air Mobility Wing ( AMW ) , the 97th Air Mobility Wing ( 97 AMW ) , arrived at Altus without personnel or equipment , having formerly been designated as SAC ' s 97th Bombardment Wing and being transferred from the deactivating Eaker AFB , Arkansas as a result of Base Realignment and Closure ( BRAC ) action . The 97 AMW was tasked with flight crew formal training unit ( FTU ) responsibilities for the C - 141 and C - 5 aircrew , and with the closure of Castle AFB , California due to BRAC action , concurrently assumed FTU responsibilities for KC - 135E / R / T flight crews . On 1 July 1993 , the 97th was transferred from AMC to the newly established Air Education and Training Command ( AETC ) as part of a USAF initiative to move most FTU activities to AETC . More changes were on the horizon . In 1996 , the latest addition to Altus AFB , the new C - 17 Globemaster III , arrived . Even before its arrival , the base began training pilots and loadmasters to operate and fly the aircraft . In August 2002 , the mission of the wing grew when the Air Force moved the basic loadmaster course from Sheppard AFB , Texas to Altus . This initiative combined similar training programs to reduce the number of moves required by trainees while cutting overall costs . Additionally , during that same month , the wing reorganized as a " combat wing " : the 97th Support Group became the 97th Mission Support Group , gaining the new 97th Logistics Readiness Squadron ( comprising the former 97th Supply Squadron , 97th Transportation Squadron and logistics plans flight ) and the 97th Contracting Squadron . Also , the 97th Logistics Group inactivated and the 97th Maintenance Directorate was activated . The directorate comprises civil - service personnel , who are responsible for the care and maintenance of all three airframes at the base . The 97 AMW discontinued FTU responsibilities for the C - 141 concurrent with that aircraft ' s retirement from the USAF inventory in 2006 . On 1 July 2007 , the Air Force Reserve Command ' s ( AFRC ) 433d Airlift Wing ( 433 AW ) at Lackland AFB / Kelly Field assumed responsibility for all flying training and academic training for the C - 5 aircraft for all Regular Air Force , Air Force Reserve Command and Air National Guard ( ANG ) aircrews , leaving the 97 AMW and Altus to concentrate on C - 17 and KC - 135 training for AMC , AFRC and ANG aircrews . SM - 65F Atlas Missile Sites . The 577th Strategic Missile Squadron operated twelve missile sites , of one missile at each site . Note : * The missile at this site exploded in May 1964