71st Flying Training Wing The 71st Flying Training Wing ( 71 FTW ) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Education and Training Command Nineteenth Air Force . It is stationed at Vance Air Force Base , Oklahoma where it also is the host unit . The mission of the Wing is threefold : Produce pilots for U . S . Air Force , U . S . Navy , U . S . Marine Corps , and allied nations as directed . Second , prepare forces to support mobility taskings and deploy when directed . Third , provide support to , and execute mission directives . The 71 FTW is the only Air Force unit to conduct joint specialized undergraduate pilot training for officers of the Air Force , Navy , Marine Corps , Air Force Reserve , Air National Guard and the air forces of several allied countries . The unit has a long and decorated history . The group ' s World War II predecessor unit , the 71st Reconnaissance Group operated primarily in the Southwest Pacific Theater flying reconnaissance missions . It was awarded the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for its role in the liberation of the Philippines during 1944 – 1945 . During the Cold War , the 71st Strategic Reconnaissance Wing ( Fighter ) was a part of Strategic Air Command . The wing performed strategic reconnaissance and also tested a technique for launching small RBF - 84 aircraft from GRB - 36 bombers to extend the range of photographic reconnaissance and fighter escort . The testing ended in 1956 , but the wing continued strategic reconnaissance until inactivated on 1 July 1957 . Units . Additionally , the 71st Comptroller Squadron ( 71 CPTS ) reports directly to the 71 FTW . History . The 71st Flying Training Wing ' s heritage begins on 18 August 1948 when it was activated as the 71st Tactical Reconnaissance Wing , assigned to the Far East Air Forces 1st Air Division at Kadena Air Base , Okinawa . It was assigned R B - 17 Flying Fortress and RB - 29 Superfortress long range reconnaissance aircraft . With its tactical group detached , the wing had but a single reconnaissance squadron attached from 18 – 24 Aug 1948 to perform photographic reconnaissance . When it lost the attached squadron , the Wing was not operational , and became attached to the 32d Composite Wing . Budget shortfalls led to its activation on 25 October 1948 . Strategic Air Command . On 4 November 1954 , HQ USAF redesignated the wing as the 71st Strategic Reconnaissance Wing ( Fighter ) . Then , on 24 January 1955 , the wing was activated , assigned to Fifteenth Air Force , and stationed at Larson AFB , Washington . The wing performed strategic reconnaissance with the RF - 84F Thunderflash fighter , primarily with the 92d Bombardment Wing at Fairchild AFB , doubling as an escort squadron with RF - 84K variant reconnaissance and nuclear strike fighters At the time , jet aircraft possessed relatively short range and aerial refueling was not yet proven . The wing ' s 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron ( SRS ) tested what was known as a " parasite " fighter , with the B - 36 carrying the RF - 84K . This testing , known as the FICON ( FIghter CONveyer ) project , called for the recon aircraft or attack fighter to leave the carrier aircraft ( a modified GR - 36 bomber ) upon reaching hostile territory , make a dash to the target and perform its mission . The aircraft then returned to the waiting carrier , hooked up underneath it and was carried back to a base . Beginning in 1952 , as the 91st SRS tested two F - 84 FICON prototypes , the USAF ordered 25 RF - 84Ks and began modifying 10 B - 36s into GRB - 36 FICON carriers . The RF - 84K design was a modification of the RF - 84F , the USAF ' s most numerous and advanced tactical reconnaissance aircraft at the time . The only major differences were the RF - 84K ' s retractable hook in the upper part of the nose , rods on either side behind the cockpit , and downward angled horizontal stabilizers ( to fit inside the GRB - 36 ' s bomb bay ) . The RF - 84K entered service with the 91st SRS in 1955 . For the next year , pilots of the 91st SRS successfully flew their RF - 84Ks , but they experienced many near disasters while separating or hooking back up to the GRB - 36 carrier aircraft . By 1957 , the development of more capable strategic reconnaissance aircraft , along with greater range provided by dependable aerial refueling , made the parasite aircraft concept obsolete . The 91st SRS ' s RF - 84Ks were transferred to other units flying RF - 84Fs and thereafter flew conventional missions from runways . The Wing inactivated on 1 July 1957 . Air Defense Command . After a period of inactivation , the 71st Strategic Reconnaissance Wing was redesignated the 71st Surveillance Wing , Ballistic Missile Early Warning System and activated on 6 December 1961 . On 1 January 1962 , it was organized and assigned to the 9th Aerospace Defense Division , Ent AFB , Colorado . The wing operated and maintained the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System ( BMEWS ) at Ent , its primary mission being to provide NORAD with Tactical Warning / Attack Assessment ( TW / AA ) data on all ICBMs and SLBMs penetrating the system ' s coverage . The secondary mission was to provide NORAD with Launch and Impact ( L & I ) predictions for attack assessment by NORAD . From its headquarters , it monitored BWEMS sites at Clear AFS , Alaska , RAF Fylingdales , United Kingdom , and Thule AB , Greenland . On 1 January 1967 , HQ USAF re - designated the wing as the 71st Missile Warning Wing . In 1968 it moved to McGuire AFB , New Jersey . There the wing operated the sea - launched ballistic missile detection and warning system to detect Submarine - launched ballistic missile ( SLBM ) launches , supported the USAF United States Space Surveillance Network ( SPACETRACK ) , and monitored the Over - the - horizon radar ( OTH ) system until the wing inactivated on 30 April 1971 . Air Training Command . Following a brief period of inactivation , HQ USAF redesignated the wing as the 71st Flying Training Wing on 14 April 1972 . It was assigned to Air Training Command and activated at Vance on 1 November 1972 . At the same time , Air Training Command also activated the 8th and 25th Flying Training Squadrons and assigned them to the wing . When Air Training Command activated the 71st Flying Training Wing , the wing not only became the host unit at Vance , but it also absorbed the resources of the 3575th Pilot Training Wing , which ATC had discontinued at the same time . The mission of the 71st became providing Undergraduate Pilot Training ( UPT ) for the US Air Force , Air National Guard , Air Force Reserve , and selected foreign allies , using T - 37 and T - 38 aircraft . Modern era . Throughout the early 1990s , the wing underwent several organizational changes . Headquarters Air Training Command directed a significant organizational change in its undergraduate pilot training wings in 1990 . The 71st Flying Training Wing reorganized into five flying training squadrons , adding the 5th , 7th and 26th Flying Training Squadrons to the already existing operational squadrons , the 8th and 25th . Air Training Command activated the 7th and 26th Flying Training Squadrons on 19 January 1990 and the 5th Flying Training Squadron on 16 February 1990 . Also on this date , the wing inactivated the 71st Student Squadron , and the 5th gained the responsibility for the ACE program and fixed - wing qualification training . The 7th and 8th squadrons trained students during the T - 37 aircraft phase of undergraduate pilot training and the 25th and 26th during the T - 38 aircraft phase . The wing reorganized under the concept of " One Base , One Boss , One Wing , " in order to bring all the tools of the base under one commander . This restructure directed that Vance ' s 71st Air Base Group be redesignated as the 71st Support Group , and the 71st Flying Training Wing Clinic became the 71st Medical Squadron . The reorganization order also directed the activation of the 71st Operations Group , the 71st Operations Support Squadron , and the 71st Logistics Squadron . The 71st Operations Support Squadron replaced the 5th Flying Training Squadron , which HQ ATC had inactivated on the same date . After an organizational review of the flying training squadrons , ATC consolidated the T - 37 squadrons and T - 38 squadrons into one squadron per aircraft system at each UPT base . This action was a result of the drastic decrease in pilot production . Vance held ceremonies on 1 October 1992 to inactivate the 7th and 26th Flying Training Squadrons . The 8th and 25th Flying Training Squadrons remained as the T - 37 and T - 38 flying squadrons . The ATC , now known as Air Education and Training Command , directed the activation of the 26th Flying Training Squadron ( Provisional ) on 1 October 1994 as the wing ' s T - 1A squadron . Plans called for the provisional squadron to inactivate and the 26th Flying Training squadron to activate in June 1995 . It would provide Phase III tanker - transport training for the specialized undergraduate training program beginning with Class 96 - 04 in September 1995 . The wing received its first T - 1A " Jayhawk " on 8 December 1994 . It was used as a maintenance trainer . The 71st estimated it would receive three aircraft per month until it had its total complement of 41 . On 1 June 1995 , AETC inactivated the 26th ( Provisional ) and , instead , activated the 32d Flying Training Squadron , a unit with a history more attuned to the current mission . In 1996 , the Air Force increased pilot production because of shortages . A downsizing of the total force plus a high operations tempo was squeezing Air Force resources . Air Force surveys indicated that pilots were leaving the service in increasing numbers because of a high operations tempo , impact of frequent moving on families , and a ready market for their flying skills . By the year 2000 , pilot production at Vance more than doubled from 1996 levels — 165 pilots produced in fiscal year 1996 compared to 347 in fiscal year 2000 . To increase the span of control for students in the T - 37 phase of training , the 33rd Flying Training Squadron was reactivated on 1 October 1998 . The wing once again had five flying training squadrons ; the 5th FTS , 8th FTS , 25th FTS , 32nd FTS , and 33rd FTS . Components . Groups Squadrons