Randolph Air Force Base (Randolph AFB) is a base An Air Force Base is a military airbase of any of a number of air forces, such as the United States Air Force (USAF) or South African Air Force (SAAF) of the United States Air Force The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare, space warfare, and cyberwarfare branch of the U.S. armed forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on 18 September 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947. It is the most recent branch located in Universal City Universal City is a city in Bexar and Guadalupe Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It borders San Antonio to the northeast, and is adjacent to Randolph Air Force Base. The population was 14,849 at the 2000 census. Through Universal City is Pat Booker Road, the commercial thoroughfare of the city. It is part of the San Antonio Metropolitan, Texas Houston is the largest city in Texas and the fourth-largest in the United States, while San Antonio is the second largest in the state and seventh largest in the United States. Dallas–Fort Worth and Greater Houston are the fourth and sixth largest United States metropolitan areas, respectively. Other major cities include El Paso and Austin—the, near San Antonio San Antonio is the second-largest city in the state of Texas and the seventh-largest city in the United States with a population of 1.3 million. The city is the seat of Bexar County. Located in the American Southwest and the northern part of South Texas, San Antonio is the center of Tejano culture and Texas tourism.[citation needed] The city is. Dedicated June 20, 1930, as a flying training base, it continues with that mission today.

The base is named after Captain William Millican Randolph, a native of Austin Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 15th-largest in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in the nation from 2000 to 2006. According to the 2008 U.S. Census, who was on the base naming committee at the time of his death in a crash. It serves as headquarters of the Air Education and Training Command Air Education and Training Command was established July 1, 1993, with the realignment of Air Training Command and Air University. It is one of the U.S. Air Force's ten major commands (MAJCOMs) and reports to Headquarters, United States Air Force (AETC) as well as the Air Force Personnel Center (AFPC) and is known as "the Showplace of the Air Force" because of the Spanish Colonial Revival Style architecture in which all structures including hangars were constructed. The symbol of the base is a large water tower atop Building 100, housing the headquarters for Randolph's major flying unit, the 12th Flying Training Wing The 12th Flying Training Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Education and Training Command Nineteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, where it is also the host unit (12 FTW). With its distinctive architecture, the wing's headquarters has come to be known throughout the Air Force as "the Taj Mahal," or simply "The Taj". Another AETC unit, the 502d Air Base Wing The 502d Air Base Wing is an United States Air Force wing that provides installation support for Joint Base San Antonio, the combination of Fort Sam Houston, Randolph Air Force Base, and Lackland Air Force Base and is subordinate to the Air Education and Training Command. It was activated on August 1st, 2009 and has three Mission Support Groups (502 ABW) is the host wing for Randolph. A recently established organization, the 502 ABW assumed host wing duties from the 12 FTW, allowing the latter to concentrate on flight operations and training.

Randolph AFB operates parallel runways on either side of its main installation facilities and conducts 24-hour-a-day flight training operations.

Tenant units of Randolph AFB also include the Air Force Personnel Center (AFPC), Air Force Manpower Agency, Air Force Office of Special Investigations Field Investigations Region 4 The Air Force Office of Special Investigations , is a Field Operating Agency (FOA) of the United States Air Force that provides professional investigative services to commanders throughout the Air Force. AFOSI identifies, investigates and neutralizes criminal, terrorist, and espionage threats to personnel and resources of the Air Force and and the Air Force Recruiting Service.

History

Early history

The idea for Randolph began soon after passage in the United States Congress The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C of the Air Corps Act of 1926, which changed the name of the Army Air Service The United States Army Air Service was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. It was established on May 24, 1918, after U.S. entry into World War I, replacing the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps which had been the nation's air force from 1914 to 1918 to the Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps was the predecessor of the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) from 1926-41, which in turn was the forerunner of today's U.S. Air Force (USAF), established in 1947. Although abolished as an organization in 1941, it existed as a branch subordinate to the USAAF from 1941-47, created two new brigadier general Brigadier General is a very senior rank in the Armed Forces. It is the lowest ranking General Officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of Colonel and Major General. A Brigadier General is typically in command of a Brigade consisting of around 3,000 troops positions and provided a five-year expansion program for the under-strength Air Corps. One of the new general officer positions was given to Frank P. Lahm, who was placed in charge of all flying training.

General Lahm established the Air Corps Training Center and set up its headquarters at Duncan Field, next to Kelly Field Port San Antonio and (Formerly Kelly Air Force Base) (IATA: SKF, ICAO: KSKF, FAA LID: SKF) is no longer a United States Air Force facility and is located in San Antonio, Texas. In 2001, the runway and land west of the runway became "Kelly Field Annex" and control of it was transferred to the adjacent Lackland Air Force Base, Texas Houston is the largest city in Texas and the fourth-largest in the United States, while San Antonio is the second largest in the state and seventh largest in the United States. Dallas–Fort Worth and Greater Houston are the fourth and sixth largest United States metropolitan areas, respectively. Other major cities include El Paso and Austin—the. He soon learned that the facilities at Kelly and Brooks Fields were not sufficient for proper training. The buildings, erected during World War I World War I was a military conflict that lasted from 1914 to 1918 and involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies and the Central Powers. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilized in one of the largest wars in history. More than 15 million people were with a life expectancy of five years, had no suitable areas for ground training, and the living quarters were inadequate. San Antonio's rapid growth was also beginning to interfere with flying training operations. The Air Corps soon decided that an additional training field was needed, and a site north of San Antonio San Antonio is the second-largest city in the American state of Texas and the seventh-largest city in the United States with a population of 1.4 million. The city is the seat of Bexar County. Located in the American Southwest and the northern part of South Texas, San Antonio is the center of Tejano culture and Texas tourism.[citation needed] The was chosen for the new field.

In 1926 and 1927, 1st Lt Harold Clark designed Randolph while assigned as dispatch officer in the Kelly Field motor pool, although the War Department The United States Department of War, also called the War Office, was the cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the US Army. It was also responsible for naval affairs until the establishment of the Navy Department in 1798, and for land-based air forces until the creation of the Department of the Air Force in received the land in 1928. Having trained as an architect prior to entering the military, Lieutenant Clark sketched his ideas of a perfect "Air City" on the back of old dispatch sheets. After learning a new field was to be built, Lieutenant Clark took his drawings to General Lahm, who was so impressed with the designs he appointed him to be the architect in charge of the Randolph Field project. It was, at the time, the largest construction project undertaken by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 34,600 civilian and 650 military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency. Although generally associated with dams, canals and flood protection in the United States, USACE is involved since the Panama Canal The Panama Canal is a 77 km ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Annual traffic has risen from about 1,000 ships in the canal's early days to 14,702 vessels in 2008, displacing a total 309.6 million Panama Canal/Universal Measurement System (PC/UMS) tons.

Once the site for the field was selected, a committee decided to name the base after Captain William Millican Randolph, a native of Austin Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 15th-largest in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in the nation from 2000 to 2006. According to the 2008 U.S. Census and graduate of Texas A&M Texas A&M University, often referred to as A&M or TAMU, is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas. It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The seventh-largest university in the United States, A&M enrolls over 48,000 students in ten academic colleges. Texas A&M's, who was killed on February 17, 1928, in the crash of an AT-4 on takeoff from Gorman Field, Texas. Ironically, Captain Randolph was serving on the committee to select a name for the new field at the time of his death. Captain Randolph is buried at Fort Sam Houston Fort Sam Houston is a U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas. Known colloquially as "Fort Sam," it is named for the first President of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston National Cemetery.

Randolph Field was dedicated June 20, 1930, with an estimated 15,000 people in attendance and a fly-by of 233 planes, possibly the largest assembly of military aircraft in the world.^{[citation needed]} Early in 1931, the School of Aviation Medicine from Brooks Field and the first cadets from the Air Corps Flying School at Duncan Field, then a part of Kelly AFB, began relocating to Randolph. By the autumn of 1931, Randolph was ready for business. On October 1, the Air Corps Training Center moved its headquarters from Duncan Field to Randolph. The flying school at Brooks Field transferred to Randolph on October 20, while the school at March Field transferred on October 25. The School of Aviation Medicine also transferred from Brooks Field during 1931.

The Air Corps Act of 1926 mandated that rated pilots comprise 90% of all commissioned officers of the Air Corps. Because of this requirement, nearly all officers of the Air Corps underwent Randolph's rigorous pilot training program and, in combination with the architectural beauty of the base, resulted in the unofficial nickname "West Point The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. Established in 1802, USMA is the oldest of the United States's five service academies. The military garrison at West Point was occupied in 1778 and played a key role in the Revolutionary War. The academy sits on of the Air" applied to Randolph Field. A 1935 Hollywood film, West Point of the Air, was filmed on location at Randolph.

1940s to 1970s

In June 1941, the Army Air Corps became the Army Air Forces. Basic flying training at Randolph continued until March 1943, when the central instructors school took over. For the next two years, training instructors for the Air Corps's ground training and primary, basic and advanced flying training was the main mission. Randolph produced 15,396 instructor graduates from this course before it moved to Waco Field in 1945. When the central instructors school moved to Waco Field it was replaced by the Army Air Forces pilot school, which specialized in transition training for B-29 The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber that was flown primarily by the United States in World War II and the Korean War. The B-29 remained in service in various roles throughout the 1950s. The British Royal Air Force flew the B-29, named the Washington in RAF service, and the Soviet Union produced an bomber pilots, copilots and engineers. Primary pilot training returned to Randolph from Goodfellow Field Goodfellow Air Force Base is a non-flying United States Air Force base located in San Angelo, Texas. As part of Air Education & Training Command , Goodfellow's main mission is cryptologic and intelligence training for the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps. Also, special instruments training and fire protection is taught here. It is the in December 1945.

Like many military installations during World War II Albania · Australia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Belarus · Belgium · Brazil · Bulgaria · Burma · Cambodia · Canada · Ceylon (Sri Lanka) · Channel Islands · China · Czechoslovakia · Denmark · Dutch East Indies · Egypt · Estonia · Finland · France · Germany · Gibraltar · Greece · Greenland · Hong Kong · Hungary · Iceland ·, Randolph fielded an intercollegiate football team, nicknamed the Ramblers. In 1943, under Coach Frank Tritico, the team achieved a 9-1-0 record, and was invited to play in the January 1, 1944 Cotton Bowl Classic, where they battled the University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin is a public research university located in Austin, Texas, United States, and is the flagship institution of The University of Texas System. The main campus is located approximately 0.25 miles (0.40 km) from the Texas State Capitol. Founded in 1883, the university has the fifth-largest single-campus enrollment in to a 7-7 tie.^[1] In the 1944 season, with such players as former All-American and National Football League The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing its name to the National Football League in 1922. The league currently consists of thirty-two teams from the United States. The league is divided Rookie of the Year Bill Dudley William McGarvey "Bullet Bill" Dudley is a former professional American football player in the National Football League for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Lions, and Washington Redskins. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966, as well as eight other former NFL players,^[2] the team went undefeated and untied in 11 games, and was voted #3 in the nation by the Associated Press The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists. Many newspapers and broadcasters outside the United States are AP subscribers, paying a fee to poll.^[3]

The Army Air Forces also planned to return basic pilot training to Randolph on February 1, 1946. Even though basic training transferred from Goodfellow Field in February 1946, the Army Air Forces suspended all pilot training when it found itself desperately short of maintenance personnel. The U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare, space warfare, and cyberwarfare service branch of the United States armed forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947. It is the became a separate service on September 18, 1947, and Randolph Field was officially renamed Randolph Air Force Base on January 13, 1948.

When the suspension was lifted in March 1948 and Randolph resumed its pilot training mission, the Air Force reshaped pilot training into two separate four-month phases. Primary pilot training moved on in December 1950. Basic pilot training changed over to nine new contract schools in July 1951.

Randolph became the Air Force's Instructor Pilot (IP) training base and had that as its primary mission until requirements for new pilots during the Vietnam War The Vietnam War [A 2] was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from November 1, 1955 [A 1], to April 30, 1975 when Saigon fell. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between the communist North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of South Vietnam, supported by the revived its basic training function.

From 1967-1971 1,269 pilots earned their wings at Randolph. Also, Randolph produced pilots in two unique classes. During World War II Albania · Australia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Belarus · Belgium · Brazil · Bulgaria · Burma · Cambodia · Canada · Ceylon (Sri Lanka) · Channel Islands · China · Czechoslovakia · Denmark · Dutch East Indies · Egypt · Estonia · Finland · France · Germany · Gibraltar · Greece · Greenland · Hong Kong · Hungary · Iceland ·, Class 42-X gave 235 pilots their wings in an experimental course. Class 62-FZ produced 25 pilots who completed their training in the new T-38A, then undergoing test and evaluation.

Before the current 502d Air Base Wing, the 12th Flying Training Wing The 12th Flying Training Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Education and Training Command Nineteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, where it is also the host unit, and the 3510th Flying Training Wing were the host units at Randolph. The 3510 FTW started out as the 3510th Basic Pilot Training Wing on August 28, 1948. This unit became the 3510th Combat Crew Training Wing on January 1, 1952 and then the 3510 FTW on June 11, 1952. The 12th Flying Training Wing (12 FTW) replaced the 3510 FTW on May 1, 1972.

Recent history

Today, the 12 FTW provides instructor pilot training and refresher/recurrency training in the T-6A Texan II, T-38C Talon The Northrop T-38 Talon is an American supersonic jet trainer. It was the world's first supersonic trainer and to date, is also the most produced. It remains in service as of 2009 in air forces throughout the world including the United States Air Force , which remains its largest user and T-1A Jayhawk. The wing also operates the T-1A and the T-43A in support of Specialized Undergraduate Navigator Training (SUNT), a mission it assumed following the Base Realignment and Closure Base Realignment and Closure is a process of the United States federal government directed at the administration and operation of the Armed Forces, used by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) and Congress to close excess military installations and realign the total asset inventory in order to save money on operations and maintenance, (BRAC) closure of Mather AFB, California and inactivation of the 323d Flying Training Wing. SUNT trains prospective USAF Navigators/Combat Systems Officers destined for the B-52 Stratofortress The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber operated by the United States Air Force since 1955, E-3 Sentry The Boeing E-3 Sentry is an American military airborne warning and control system aircraft that provides all-weather surveillance, command, control and communications, to the United States, United Kingdom, France, Saudi Arabia, and NATO air defense forces. Production ended in 1992 after 68 had been built, E-8 Joint STARS The E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System is a United States Air Force battle management and command and control aircraft that tracks ground vehicles and some aircraft, collects imagery, and relays tactical pictures to ground and air theater commanders, RC-135 The Boeing RC-135 is a large family of reconnaissance aircraft used by the United States Air Force to support theater and national level intelligence consumers with near real-time on-scene collection, analysis and dissemination capabilities. Based on the C-135 Stratolifter airframe, various types of RC-135s have been in service since 1961. Many, non-PACER CRAG KC-135 Stratotanker The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker was the first jet powered aerial refueling tanker of the US Air Force, replacing the KC-97 Stratotanker. Similar in design to the later and enlarged Boeing 707 airliner, it was initially tasked to refuel strategic bombers, but was used extensively in the Vietnam war and later conflicts such as Desert Storm to extend, and various models of the C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport aircraft. The versatile airframe has found uses in a (i.e., C-130 The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport aircraft. The versatile airframe has found uses in a, AC-130 The Lockheed AC-130 gunship is a heavily-armed ground-attack aircraft. The basic airframe is manufactured by Lockheed, and Boeing is responsible for the conversion into a gunship and for aircraft support. It is a variant of the C-130 Hercules transport plane. The AC-130A Gunship II superseded the AC-47 Gunship I in the Vietnam War, EC-130 The Lockheed EC-130 Commando Solo is a modified C-130 Hercules used to conduct psychological operations and civil affairs broadcast missions in the standard AM, FM, HF, TV and military communications bands. Missions are flown at the maximum altitudes possible to ensure optimum propagation patterns. The EC-130 flies during either day or night, HC-130, MC-130, etc.), as well as prospective Naval Flight Officers A Naval Flight Officer is an officer in the United States Navy or Marine Corps that specializes in airborne weapons and sensor systems. NFOs are not pilots (Naval Aviators), per se, but they may perform many "co-pilot" functions, depending on the type of aircraft. Until 1966, their duties were performed by officer and enlisted Naval en route to fly land-based U.S. Navy P-3C The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engine turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy introduced in the 1960s. It was developed by Lockheed based on their L-188 Electra commercial airliner. The aircraft is easily recognizable by its distinct tail stinger or "MAD Boom", used for the Orion, EP-3 A total of 12 P-3C aircraft were converted to replace older versions of the aircraft, which had been converted in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The aircraft are known by the acronym ARIES, or "Airborne Reconnaissance Integrated Electronic System" Aries and E-6 Mercury aircraft.

The 12 FTW also provides training to numerous NATO/Allied officer students via SUNT, as well as supporting Marine Corps and Coast Guard enlisted navigator training via the Marine Aerial Navigation School (MANS). The Marine Aerial Navigation School remained at Randolph until the school was decommissioned with the graduation of Class 04-01 on 31 July 2004. Advanced Electronic Warfare Officer (EWO) training is also conducted by the 12 FTW for those navigators/CSOs destined for eventual assignment as USAF EWOs.

The 12 FTW also operates an additional airfield for practice approaches and touch-and-go landings approximately 12 miles east-northeast of Randolph in Seguin, Texas. Known as Randolph AFB Auxiliary Field/Seguin Field, this airfield was originally constructed with three runways in 1941. Normally unattended, the airfield has a single active 8350-ft runway and is supported by a manned runway supervisor unit (RSU) and aircraft rescue and fire fighting (ARFF) vehicles when conducting flight operations.^[4]

Randolph has also completed major renovations to the Base Commissary as well as completely re-paving Harmon Drive, the main entrance to the base leading to "The Taj". Additional plans include construction of a new Base Exchange, which is managed by the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES).

Historic District

Randolph Field Historic District, located at the center of Randolph Air Force Base, is a National Historic Landmark. The district consists of 350 contributing buildings, 47 non-contributing buildings, and other features, most of which were built between 1929 and 1932, in an area of about 405 acres (1.6 km²). The historical society makes it very difficult for the base to plan improvements, constructions, and renovations. The old Hospital Building, a part of the Historic District is supposedly haunted among many other locations in the district.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Texas World War II Army Airfields
• Air Training Command

References

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ [2]
3. ^ Sports Illustrated 1999 Sports Almanac, Time Inc., 1998. ISBN 0-316-80694-3
4. ^ http://www.airnav.com/airport/SEQ

External links

• Media related to Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas at Wikimedia Commons
• Randolph AFB Home Page - official site.
• View Historic photos of Randolph Field from the 1930s hosted by the Portal to Texas History
• GlobalSecurity.org: Randolph AFB
• Aviation: From Sand Dunes to Sonic Booms, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary
• National Historic Landmark Nomination form
• Official press release of NHL designation

Coordinates: 29°31′47″N 98°16′44″W / 29.52972°N 98.27889°W

Categories: USAAF Gulf Coast Training Center | 1928 establishments | Bases of the United States Air Force | Facilities of the United States Air Force slated for realignment | Bexar County, Texas | Military in San Antonio, Texas | Military facilities in Texas | Spanish Revival architecture | Airfields of the United States Army Air Corps | September 1947 United States Air Force Installations | USAF Air Training Command Installations | Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Texas

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• Randolph Air Force Base: Encyclopedia

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