Tyndall Air Force Base Tyndall Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base located east of Panama City , Florida . The base was named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lt Frank Benjamin Tyndall . The base operating unit and host wing is the 325th Fighter Wing ( 325 FW ) of the Air Combat Command ( ACC ) . The base is delineated as a census - designated place and had a resident population of 2 , 994 at the 2010 census . Major units . 325th Fighter Wing ( 325 FW ) . The 325th Fighter Wing ’ s primary mission is to provide air dominance training for F - 22A Raptor pilots and maintenance personnel and air battle managers to support the combat Air Force . Training for F - 22 pilots is performed in the 43rd Fighter Squadron . The 325th Air Control Squadron trains air battle managers for assignment to combat Air Force units . Additionally , wing personnel manage the southeastern air combat maneuvering instrumentation range and provide mission - ready F - 15 , F - 16 and F - 22 air dominance forces in support of the Commander , North American Aerospace Defense Command ( NORAD ) and the Commander , First Air Force ( 1 AF ) / Air Forces Northern ( AFNORTH ) contingency plans . From 1983 until 2010 , training for F - 15C / D Eagle pilots was performed at Tyndall AFB by the now inactive 1st , 2nd , and 95th Fighter Squadrons . The 1 FS inactivated in 2006 , while the 2 FS and 95 FS inactivated in May and September 2010 , respectively . During this time , Tyndall also hosted training for F - 15C / D maintenance personnel and intelligence officers assigned to F - 15C / D units . The 325th Fighter Wing is host to more than 30 tenant organizations located at Tyndall Air Force Base , Florida . The wing consists of the 325th Operations Group , 325th Maintenance Group , 325th Mission Support Group and 325th Medical Group . First Air Force ( 1 AF ) . Headquarters , First Air Force at Tyndall is part of the Air Combat Command ( ACC ) , ensuring the air sovereignty and air defense of the continental United States . As the CONUS geographical component of the bi - national North American Aerospace Defense Command and air component of United States Northern Command ( USNORTHCOM ) , 1 AF also provides airspace surveillance and control and directs all air sovereignty activities for the continental United States . 1 AF primarily consists of Active Guard and Reserve ( AGR ) and Air Reserve Technician ( ART ) personnel of the Air National Guard ( ANG ) , augmented by additional part - time " traditional " Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve personnel . Operationally - gained by ACC , 1 AF is the only Numbered Air Force in the Air National Guard and is responsible for all Air National Guard F - 15 and F - 16 fighter units . 53d Weapons Evaluation Group . The 53d Weapons Evaluation Group ( 53 WEG ) , is an Air Combat Command tenant organization that reports to the 53d Wing ( 53 WG ) at nearby Eglin Air Force Base . Among its subordinate squadrons at Tyndall , the 53 WEG manages offshore weapons ranges over the Gulf of Mexico , manages target drone programs ranging from sub - scale target drones to a fleet of QF - 4 Phantom II Full - Scale Aerial Targets ( FSAT ) , most of which are converted F - 4E and F - 4G aircraft . The 53 WEG will also have management of QF - 16 as older F - 16A and F - 16C aircraft are converted to FSATs . The 53 WEG also serves as primary manager for " William Tell , " the annual U . S . Air Force Air - to - Air Weapons Meet and competition . Additionally , all of the Air Force ' s Air Battle Manager s are initially trained at Tyndall prior to proceeding to Tinker AFB , Oklahoma for actual positional training in the E - 3 Sentry AWACS aircraft . The Air Force Civil Engineer Center is also headquartered at Tyndall and a branch of the Air Force Research Laboratory ' s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate also has facilities at the base . History . Tyndall Field was opened on 13 January 1941 as a gunnery range . The airfield was named in honor of 1st Lt Frank Benjamin Tyndall ( 1894 – 1930 ) . Lieutenant Tyndall was a World War I pilot , Silver Star recipient , and commander of the 22d Aero Squadron . Lieutenant Tyndall shot down six enemy airplanes in combat over France during World War I . He was killed on 15 July 1930 near Mooresville , North Carolina , in the crash of a Curtiss P - 1 Hawk . With the establishment of the United States Air Force in 1947 , the facility was renamed " Tyndall Air Force Base " on 13 January 1948 . World War II . In December 1940 , a site board determined that Flexible Gunnery School No . 9 would be located southeast of Panama City , Florida on East Peninsula . On 6 May 1941 , Army and local dignitaries held an official ground breaking for the school . Panama City ' s mayor , Harry Fannin , dug the first spade full of sand , and Colonel Warren Maxwell , Tyndall ' s first commander , wielded the first ax on the stubborn palmetto plants , so common on the East Peninsula . The site was covered with pine and palmetto trees , scrub brush , and swamps . Bulldozers worked around the clock to clear the brush and fill in swamps . Although construction was well underway , the base lacked a name . Congressman Bob Sikes suggested naming the school in memory of Lieutenant Francis B . Tyndall . A native of Sewall ' s Point , Florida . Lieutenant Tyndall was a fighter pilot during World War I and was credited with shooting down six German planes well behind enemy lines in 1918 . While inspecting Army fields near Mooresville , North Carolina on 15 July 1930 , Tyndall ' s plane , Curtiss P - 1F Hawk , " 28 – 61 " , crashed , killing him instantly . On 13 June 1941 , the War Department officially named the new installation Tyndall Field . On 7 December 1941 , the first of 2 , 000 troops arrived at Tyndall Field . The first class of gunnery students began in February 1942 . Although construction was incomplete , instructors and students began preparing for the first class . The first class of 40 gunnery students began on 23 February 1942 . Of the thousands of students passing through the Tyndall gates , the most famous was actor Clark Gable , a student here during 1943 . Foreign student training began at Tyndall in 1943 with French Air Force gunnery students being the first and Chinese students following later that year . Today , foreign students attend weapons controller training at Tyndall . Cold War . When World War II ended , Tyndall Field was demobilized . The base fell under the control of the Tactical Air Command ( TAC ) in 1946 , but this only lasted three months , as Tyndall became part of the Air University ( AU ) . Tyndall Field was subsequently renamed as Tyndall Air Force Base when the U . S . Air Force became a separate service in 1947 . In September 1950 , Tyndall became an Air Training Command ( ATC ) installation , designated as the USAF Pilot Instructor School . The base also trained Ground Controlled Intercept ( GCI ) operators as well as interceptor pilots & flight crews for the Air Defense Command . Under the auspices of this training system , GCI trainees would direct TF - 51H Mustangs against " enemy " A - 26 Invader s . In late 1952 , both aircraft were replaced by Lockheed T - 33 Shooting Star jet trainers . Airborne radar operator students would begin their training aboard radar - equipped TB - 25 Mitchells , then transition to either Lockheed F - 94 Starfire or Northrop F - 89 Scorpion aircraft . North American F - 86F and F - 86D s were eventually added to the training program as Air Defense Command ( ADC ) units were equipped with them . In September 1957 , Tyndall became an Air Defense Command , later Aerospace Defense Command , base until October 1979 when ADC was inactivated and all its bases and units transferred to Tactical Air Command . Tyndall was headquarters of the ADC 73d Air Division in the late 1950s , and the NORAD Southeast Air Defense Sector from 1960 to 1979 . Also the ADC 20th Air Division was based at Tyndall , which was responsible for the air defense of virtually all of the southeastern United States during the 1960s and 1970s . The ADC 23d Air Division , also based at Tyndall , was responsible for air defense forces in the upper midwest and south central United States . Fighter - Interceptor base . In the late 1950s into the 1960s , the base transitioned into the F - 100 Super Sabre , F - 101 B , F - 102 A and TF - 102B , F - 104 Starfighter , and the F - 106 A and B aircraft , training interceptor pilots for ADC assignments . The base served as a stopover and refueling point for ADC aircraft deployed to Florida during the Cuban Missile Crisis , to be redeployed to other bases in the southeast shortly thereafter . The base maintained an alert facility from which the F - 101 Voodoo and F - 102 Delta Dagger interceptors were scrambled to intercept unknown aircraft . Tyndall shared training for the F - 102 aircraft with Perrin AFB , Texas until Perrin AFB ' s closure in mid - 1971 . Radar station . On 1 July 1956 Tyndall AFB became the station operating for the third phase of the ADC mobile radar program , being designated as TM - 198 . Activated by the 678th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron , Tyndall became operational to support the CIM - 10 Bomarc surface - to - air missile program at Hurlburt Field . In 1958 the site was operating with an AN / FPS - 20 search radar and a pair of AN / FPS - 6 height - finder sets to support the 4751st Air Defense Missile Squadron . In 1962 the search radar was upgraded and re - designated as an AN / FPS - 64 . On 31 July 1963 , the site was redesignated as NORAD ID Z - 198 . During 1965 Tyndall AFB joined the Semi Automatic Ground Environment ( SAGE ) system , feeding data to DC - 09 at Gunter AFB , Alabama . After joining , the squadron was re - designated as the 678th Radar Squadron ( SAGE ) on 1 June 1965 . Also in 1965 , Tyndall became a joint - use facility with the Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) . It also received a Back - Up Interceptor Control ( BUIC ) II , and later BUIC III , capability to perform command and control functions . Tyndall retained this function until the 1980s . On 1 March 1970 , the 678th was redesignated as the 678th Air Defense Group . In addition to the main facility , Tyndall operated two AN / FPS - 14 Gap Filler sites : On 1 October 1979 , this site came under Tactical Air Command jurisdiction with the inactivation of Aerospace Defense Command and the formation of ADTAC . On 1 March 1983 the 678th Air Defense Group was inactivated and Tyndall became the home of the NORAD 23rd ADS ( Air Defense Squadron ) and operated the Southeast Regional Operations Control Center ( SE ROCC ) , later renamed Sector Operations Control Center ( SOCC ) . The height - finder radar , modified as an AN / FPS - 116 c . 1977 , was removed c . 1988 . In 1995 an AN / FPS - 64 A was performing search duties . The site now operates an ARSR - 4 search radar under FAA control as part of the Joint Surveillance System ( JSS ) as site " J - 11 " . Modern era . In 1991 , Tyndall underwent a reorganization in response to the Department of Defense efforts to streamline defense management . Headquarters , First Air Force , what had predominantly been the Numbered Air Force for the Air National Guard , moved from Langley AFB , Virginia , to Tyndall . With the disestablishment of Tactical Air Command ( TAC ) in 1992 , Tyndall was temporarily transferred to the Air Combat Command ( ACC ) and then to the Air Education and Training Command ( AETC ) in July 1993 . The 21st century proved to be momentous for Tyndall AFB . The base was selected as the first home of the Air Force ' s newest aircraft , the F - 22 Raptor . 2002 brought more change as the Chief of Staff of the Air Force changed the organizational structure of the 325th Fighter Wing , from an objective type wing to a combat organization . This organization moved all maintenance activities under the 325th Maintenance Group and all support activities under the 325th Mission Support Group . Today , Tyndall is the home of the 325th Fighter Wing , providing training for all F - 22A Raptor pilots . In 2012 , with the gaining of a combat - coded F - 22 squadron , Tyndall AFB returned to Air Combat Command , after a 19 - year tenure in AETC . Geography . According to the United States Census Bureau , the base has a total area of . of it is land , and of it ( 0 . 44 % ) is water . Demographics . As of the census of 2000 , there were 2 , 757 people , 663 households , and 653 families residing on the base . The population density was 73 . 1 / km² ( 189 . 2 / mi² ) . There were 663 housing units at an average density of 17 . 6 / km² ( 45 . 5 / mi² ) . The racial makeup of the base was 77 . 8 % White , 14 . 2 % Black or African American , 0 . 5 % Native American , 3 . 1 % Asian , < 0 . 1 % Pacific Islander , 2 . 8 % from other races , and 4 . 6 % from two or more races . Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8 . 3 % of the population . There were 663 households out of which 81 . 0 % had children under the age of 18 living with them , 90 . 8 % were married couples living together , 5 . 1 % had a female householder with no husband present , and 1 . 4 % were non - families . 1 . 2 % of all households were made up of individuals and 0 . 2 % had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older . The average household size was 3 . 57 and the average family size was 3 . 59 . In the base the population was spread out with 37 . 9 % under the age of 18 , 17 . 5 % from 18 to 24 , 42 . 4 % from 25 to 44 , 2 . 1 % from 45 to 64 , and 0 . 1 % who were 65 years of age or older . The median age was 22 years . For every 100 females there were 121 . 1 males . For every 100 females age 18 and over , there were 130 . 7 males . The median income for a household in the base was $ 34 , 191 , and the median income for a family was $ 33 , 897 . Males had a median income of $ 25 , 857 versus $ 19 , 821 for females . The per capita income for the base was $ 11 , 281 . About 3 . 8 % of families and 3 . 6 % of the population were below the poverty line , including 5 . 3 % of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over .