Below here, for reference, is some information about the Sheppard Air Force Base:
The Sheppard Air Force Base (IATA: SPS, ICAO: KSPS, FAA LID: SPS) is a United States Air Force base located five miles (8 km) north of the central business district of Wichita Falls, in Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the largest training base and most diversified in Air Education and Training Command. The base is named in honor of Texas Senator John Morris Sheppard, a supporter of military preparations before World War II.The host unit at Sheppard is the 82d Training Wing (82 TRW), which provides specialized technical training and field training for officers, Airmen and civilians of all branches of the military, other DoD agencies and foreign nationals.
The 80th Flying Training Wing (80 FTW), also at Sheppard, conducts the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training (ENJJPT) program, a multi nationally manned and managed flying training program chartered to produce combat pilots for both USAF and NATO.
As of March 2017, Colonel Ronald E. Jolly is the commander of the 82d Training Wing and he concurrently serves as the installation commander of Sheppard AFB. Colonel Gregory S. Keeton is the commander of the 80th Flying Training Wing.
Sheppard AFB shares one runway with Wichita Falls Municipal Airport under a joint civil military arrangement.
History[edit]
The Sheppard Air Force Base is named in honor of Senator John Morris Sheppard of Texas (1875 - 1941), chairman of the Senate Military Affairs Committee from 1933 until his death on 9 April 1941. Senator Sheppard helped lead the fight for military preparedness before the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The base began as Sheppard Field on 300 acres (1.2 km²) just south of Kell Field, named for the businessman Frank Kell. A Texas cattleman, oilman, and philanthropist, Joseph Sterling Bridwell, sold the land to the U.S. Army for one dollar. It was officially opened as a United States Army Air Corps training center on 17 October 1941, following the arrival of the first military members on 14 June. As the Army Air Corps became the Army Air Forces, facilities were completed sufficiently to allow the first class of 22 aviation mechanics to enter training that October; the class graduated 23 February 1942.
During World War II, then Sheppard Field conducted basic training, and it also trained glider mechanics, technical and flying training instructors and B-29 Superfortress flight engineers. In addition to the basic flying training, the base also provided advanced pilot training.
Sheppard Field reached its peak strength of 46,340 people while serving as a separation center for troops being discharged following World War II from September through November 1945. Sheppard Field was deactivated 31 August 1946 and declared surplus to the War Department's needs. It was transferred to the jurisdiction of the United States Army Corps of Engineers 30 April 1947. Over the next two years the Texas National Guard used the base.
