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In July 1940, two Army Air Corps officers stepped off a plane
into the sweltering summer heat of north Texas.
Maj. Oscar
Beal and Capt. Joe Miller had been sent to evaluate nearby Call
Field, which had been a World War I flight training base, as a
potential location for a technical training school.
The
community responded immediately, acquiring options on suitable
tracts of land in the area, and at the same time setting the pattern
for what would become one of the best base-community partnerships in
the Air Force. Less than a year later, Sheppard Field -- named for
Texas Senator and military advocate Morris Sheppard -- was open for
business.
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Sheppard Air Force Base's airfield and hangars are shown under
construction in 1941. Some of these hangars are still in daily use
today, housing crew chief technical training courses for various
fighter and heavy aircraft. (U.S. Air Force courrtesy photo)
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Over the course of the next 75 years, Sheppard would deliver more
than 7 million trained Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and
international partners to support combat operations around the
world.
Today, Sheppard is home to two Air Education and
Training Command wings. The 82nd Training Wing serves as the host
wing and provides technical training to more than 60,000 students
per year in about 900 courses, including all aircraft maintenance
training, most civil engineering disciplines and also some logistics
and cyber courses.
The 80th Flying Training Wing operates the
Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program, which delivers trained
combat pilots in support of the NATO Alliance, more than 7,500 over
its 35-year history. Just as importantly, the unique nature of the
program has been instrumental in building the international
partnerships that have made the coalition air operations of the
modern age so effective.
Over the years, Sheppard's mission
has evolved, however its role in Air Education Training Command has
remained essential.
During World War II, the base played a
vital role in building the airpower so critical to defeating the
Axis powers, training more than 44,000 technical graduates and
445,000 basic military trainees by 1945.
After World War II,
Sheppard was briefly inactivated; but the growing Cold War and
looming conflict in Korea reignited the need for training
installations in the newly formed Air Force.
In August 1948,
the base reopened and provided basic military training, augmenting
the facility at Lackland Air Force Base. In 1949, Sheppard's
official mission switched from basic training to aircraft
maintenance. By 1953, Sheppard had delivered more than 80,000
trained aircraft maintainers and was home to 2 percent of all
Airmen.
Sheppard took a more central role in the Cold War as
the 1950s progressed. In 1955, Sheppard became the home of missile
maintenance training, a mission it retained until the 1980s, when it
was transferred to Vandenberg AFB, Calif. In 1959, Strategic Air
Command activated the 4245th Strategic Wing at Sheppard -- the only
operational mission Sheppard has hosted in its 75 years of service.
This included aerial refueling and bombardment squadrons with KC-97s
and B-52s. Crews trained and sat alert until SAC inactivated the
wing in April 1966.
Sheppard's history of international pilot
training began in 1965, when the 3630th Flying Training Wing was
activated to provide undergraduate pilot training to German Air
Force students -- just 20 years after the end of World War II. In
2016, Sheppard celebrated 50 years of partnership with the German
Air Force, and Sheppard continues to be Germany's only source for
trained fighter pilots. Many senior German officers have deep roots
in north Texas, including the current Chief of Staff of the German
Air Force, Lt. Gen. Karl M�llner.
In 1973, the 3630th became
the 80th Flying Training Wing, and training was expanded to include
students from Iran, El Salvador, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia and other
nations under the security assistance program.
In 1981, the
80th Flying Training Wing began the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot
Training Program with 13 partner nations: Belgium, Canada, Denmark,
Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain,
Turkey, United Kingdom, and United States. Partner nations share
program costs and provide students, instructor pilots and group and
squadron leadership. In addition to undergraduate pilot training,
ENJJPT provides Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals and Pilot
Instructor Training.
Throughout this period, technical
training remained a primary mission at Sheppard, with the Sheppard
Training Center providing medical, aircraft maintenance and other
training.
With the closure of Amarillo AFB in the 1960s,
Sheppard became the center of gravity for a unique aspect of
aircraft maintenance training -- field training. With roots in World
War II, field training brought formal, curriculum-driven
professional training directly to maintainers in the field. That
heritage continues today with the 982nd Training Group and its 50
field training detachments on three continents, which provide
aircraft maintenance, missile maintenance and combat communications
training to about 35,000 students each year.
Sheppard's
current role as home of all aircraft maintenance training was
solidified in 1991, when Chanute and Lowry Air Force Bases were
closed and their missions relocated here.
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The Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program launched at
Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, in 1981. Since then, the program has
delivered more than 7,000 combat pilots for its 13 partner nations
in support of the NATO Alliance. Just as importantly, the program
has fostered vital relationships between nations that have formed
the foundations for effective coalition air operations over the
ensuing decades. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Joshua Strang
- January 4, 2017)
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When the Air Force re-designated Air Training Command as
Air Education and Training Command (AETC) on July 1, 1993,
the Sheppard Training Center became 82d Training Wing. In
addition to the 982nd, the wing is home to the he 82nd and
782nd Training Groups, which offer resident technical
training in all aspects of aircraft maintenance and repair,
armament and munitions, civil engineering, logistics and
cyber/communications.
Today, Sheppard continues to
play a vital role in “The First Command's” mission to
Recruit, Train and Educate Airmen to Deliver Airpower for
America. Each year the base delivers nearly half of all
technical training graduates and serves as a primary pilot
training base, all while building vital international
relationships and partnerships. As the Air Force focuses on
building its end strength and delivering the world's
best-trained combat pilots, Sheppard will be at the heart of
that effort, fulfilling its mission to Train and Inspire
Warriors and living up to its motto: “Combat Capability
Starts Here!”
By U.S. Air Force David Finley and George Woodward
82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2017
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