- Vance Air Force Base
Infobox Airport
name = Vance Air Force Base
nativename = Part of Air Education and Training Command (AETC)
nativename-a =
nativename-r =
image-width = 300
caption = Vance AFB, 19 February 1995
image2-width = 200
caption2 = Location of Vance Air Force Base
IATA = END
ICAO = KEND
type = Military
owner =
operator = United States Air Force
city-served =
location = Enid, Oklahoma
elevation-f = 1,307
elevation-m = 398.4
coordinates = coord|36|20|21|N|97|54|59|W|type:airport
website =
metric-elev =
metric-rwy =
r1-number = 17L/35R
r1-length-f = 5,024
r1-length-m = 1,531
r1-surface =Concrete
r2-number = 17C/35C
r2-length-f = 9,202
r2-length-m = 2,805
r2-surface =Concrete
r3-number = 17R/35L
r3-length-f = 9,202
r3-length-m = 2,805
r3-surface =Concrete Vance Air Force Base Airport codes|END|KEND is a
United States Air Force base located 4 miles south of Enid,Oklahoma , about 65 miles north northwest ofOklahoma City .The host unit at Vance is the
71st Flying Training Wing (71 FTW), which is a part ofAir Education and Training Command 's (AETC )Nineteenth Air Force (19 AF). The commander of the 71 FTW is [http://www.vance.af.mil/library/biographies/bio.asp?id=11365 Colonel Mark C. Nowland] . The vice-commander is [http://www.vance.af.mil/library/biographies/bio.asp?id=11268 Colonel Richard M. Murphy] and the command chief is [http://www.vance.af.mil/library/biographies/bio.asp?id=10582 Chief Master Sergeant Ruben Gonzalez] .Mission
The mission of the 71 FTW is training professional airman to sustain combat capability of American Airpower with the next generation of Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps Warriors ... Meeting taskings of the Combatant Commanders.
Units
The 71st Flying Training Wing consists of three subordinate groups:
* 71st Operations Group (71 OG) Tail Code "VN"
T-38 Talon ,T-1 Jayhawk ,T-6 Texan II
** 3rd Fighter Training Squadron, AT-38C
** 5th Flying Training Squadron, T-38C, T-6, T-1A
** 8th Flying Training Squadron, T-6
** 25th Flying Training Squadron, T-38C
** 32nd Flying Training Squadron, T-1A
** 33rd Flying Training Squadron, T-6
** 71st Operations Support Squadron* 71st Mission Support Group
* 71st Medical GroupHistory
Major Commands
* Gulf Coast Air Corps Training Cen, 18 Dec 1941 - 23 Jan 1942
* Air Corps Flying Training Comd, 23 Jan 1942 - 15 Mar 1942
* AAF Flying Training Comd, 15 Mar 1942 - 31 Jul 1943
* AAF Training Comd, 31 Jul 1943 - 1 Jul 1946
*Air Training Command , 1 Jul 1946 - 1 Jul 1993
*Air Education and Training Command , 1 Jul 1993 - PresentBase Operating Units
* 80th Air Base Sq, 29 Nov 1941 - 13 Jun 1942
* 80th Base HQ and Air Base Sq, 13 Jun 1942 - 1 May 1944
* 2518th AAF Base Unit (Pilot School, Basic), 1 May 1944 - 4 Feb 1945
* 2518th AAF Base Unit [Pilot School, Advanced-2E] , 4 Feb 1945 - 26 Sep 1947
* 2518th AF Base Unit, 26 Sep 1947 - 26 Aug 1948
* 3575th Air Base Gp, 26 Aug 1948 - 1 Nov 1972
* 71st Air Base Gp, 1 Nov 1972 - PresentMajor Units Assigned
* 60th Air Base Group 29 Nov 41 - 20 Dec 42
* 31st Flight Training Wing 16 Jan 43 - 15 May 45
* 2518th Army Air Force/Air Force Base Unit 1 May 1944 - 28 Aug 48
* 3575 Pilot Training Wing 26 Aug 48 - 1 Nov 72
* 8600 Pilot Training Wing 27 Jun 49 - 28 May 51
* 71st Flying Training Wing 1 Nov 72 - PresentOperational History
World War II
In
1941 , for the sum of $1 a year, this land was leased from the city of Enid to the federal government as a site for a pilot training field, and on November 21 the base was officially activated. The installation was without a name but was generally referred to as Air Corps Basic Flying School. It was not until1942 , that the base was officially named Enid Army Flying School. The mission of the school was to train aviation cadets to become aircraft pilots and commissioned officers in theUnited States Army Air Corps . DuringWorld War II , the basic phase of training graduated 8,169 students, while the advanced phase of training graduated 826. As the demand for pilots decreased after the war, the Enid Army Flying Field (as it was named in1943 ) closed in1947 .Cold War
The base was reactivated, and its name changed to Enid Air Force Base in
1948 , as one of the pilot training bases within theAir Training Command (ATC). Its mission was to provide training for advanced students in multi-engine aircraft.In keeping with the Air Force tradition of naming bases for deceased Air Force flyers, on July 9,
1949 , the base was renamed after a local World War II hero andMedal of Honor recipient, Lt Col Leon Robert Vance, Jr.The first aircraft flown at Vance was the BT-13A, followed shortly by the
BT-15 . In1944 advanced students flew theTB-25 andTB-26 . Following the establishment of U.S. Air Force as a separate service in September1947 , Vance began training in the AT-6 and eventually theT-33 . TheT-37 Tweet flew at Vance beginning in1961 , and theT-38 Talon in1963 .Post Cold War
In
1995 Air Force officials announced that Vance would transition to theSpecialized Undergraduate Pilot Training curriculum. Under SUPT, Vance students begin their training in the T-37 Tweet, followed by theT-1A Jayhawk ,T-38 Talon , or other trainer aircraft at separate military flight training bases. With the introduction of the Joint Primary Pilot Training Syllabus (JPATS) to Vance in2005 , the 71st FTW began transitioning from the T-37 to the newerT-6 Texan II . Joint training with theUnited States Navy began at Vance in1996 .Interesting facts
* Vance is located only 5 miles from the third largest free standing grain elevator in the United States.
* Students practice basic patterns and landings at Kegelman Air Force Auxiliary Field located nearCherokee, Oklahoma .
* Vance is considered the second busiestRAPCON facility in the United States, behindNellis AFB . The only reason is because Nellis is open 24 hours, but Vance has more traffic per hour.ee also
*
Oklahoma World War II Army Airfields
*Air Training Command References
Much of this text in an early version of this article was taken from pages on the [http://www.vance.af.mil Vance Air Force Base Website] , which as a work of the U.S. Government is presumed to be a
public domain resource . That information was supplemented by:* Mueller, Robert (1989). Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982. USAF Reference Series, Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-53-6
* Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947-1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0912799129.External links
* [http://www.vance.af.mil/ Vance AFB Website]
* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/vance.htm Vance AFB on GlobalSecurity.org]
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