82d Training Wing
Encyclopedia
The 82d Training Wing is a United States Air Force
unit assigned to the Air Education and Training Command
Second Air Force
. It is stationed at Sheppard Air Force Base
, Texas
where it also is the host unit.
The wing conducts all ground-based technical training at the base. The primary training is medical, maintenance and support training conducted by the four assigned training groups. It also hosts the 80th Flying Training Wing
. It also conducts technical and health-care training for men and women of the U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps, as well as several allied nations.
The units' history goes back to the 82d Fighter Group, which was a Twelfth and Fifteenth Air Force
combat unit that fought in North Africa
and Italy
during World War II
. During the early years of the Cold War
, the 82d Fighter Wing was a Strategic Air Command
unit that trained in fighter escort and tactical fighter operations in the postwar era.
The commander of the 82d Training Wing is Brig. Gen. Darryl W. Burke. The Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sergeant Kenneth W. Sallinger.
and is the most diversified in scope of training. The 82d, 782d, and 882d Training Groups conduct training at Sheppard and at geographically separated locations around the country. The 982d Training Group conducts training at locations worldwide.
82d Training Group (82 TRG)
782d Training Group (782 TRG)
882d Training Group (882 TRG) (Located at Fort Sam Houston, Texas)
982d Training Group (982 TRG)
82d Mission Support Group (82 MSG)
82d Medical Group (82 MDG)
Additionally, the 82d Comptroller Squadron (82 CPTS) reports directly to the 82 TRW.
, the 82d Flying Training Wing (Flexible Gunnery) instructed thousands of aerial gunners the skill of air-to-air combat using .50 caliber machine guns.
Among the training devices used in this instruction was the manipulation trainer—12 towers arranged to resemble a formation of planes. The towers ranged in height from 10 to 40 feet, each equipped with 2 nose, 2 tail, 2 ring sighting, and 4 blister positions. As students in these positions faced simulated attacks from PT-13 and PT-17 aircraft, they "fired" camera guns at the attacking fighters.
fighrer wing on 28 July 1947 at Grenier Air Force Base
, New Hampshire
. It was part of SAC's Fifteenth Air Force
. The 82d Fighter Wing was established in accordance with the Hobson Plan which established a controlling wing at each Air Force Base that commanding all groups and support units on the facility. However, the Air Force did not organize (assign personnel) to the wing until 15 August 1947
The operational flying component of the wing was the 82d Fighter Group, composed of the 95th; 96th and 97th Fighter Squadrons and were equipped with P-51H Mustang aircraft. Most officers that arrived were rated pilots that had recently returned to military life. Many had World War II combat experience. Many officers and enlisted men arrived at Grenier from 62nd Fighter Squadron, a unit that had just returned from a winter test in Alaska
.
The wing was relieved of its responsibilities to the Fifteenth Air Force on 22 August 1949 and was inactivated. Its component 82d Fighter Group was redesignated as the 82d Fighter Group (Air Defense), and was activated on 18 August 1955 and assigned to Air Defense Command (ADC) at New Castle County Airport, Delaware
.
and assumed undergraduate pilot training operations in T-37 and T-38 aircraft.
Assigned to the wing were the 96th and 97th Flying Training Squadrons.
On 19 September 1976, the first women entered undergraduate pilot training. Ten female students were in Class 77-08. First Lieutenant Christine E. Schott became the first woman to solo in the T-38. On 2 September 1977, Class 77-08 graduated. The ten women received their wings along with 36 male classmates. In March 1978, the 82d’s first female instructor pilot, Capt Connie Engel, was assigned to the 97th Fighter Training Squadron to instruct T-38 students.
Air Training Command activated the 98th and the 99th Flying Training Squadrons on 1 June 1988 to test a four-squadron organization. The test showed the wing needed a fifth squadron to provide operational support. On 1 September 1989, ATC activated the 100th Flying Training Squadron.
In 1991 Congress approved the second round of base closures, as identified by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission. On that list was Williams AFB. The base was to cease operation as of 30 September 1993. With Williams AFB, Arizona, scheduled to close, ATC decided to move part of that base’s T-38 fleet to Sheppard during 1992.
HQ USAF redesignated the 82d Flying Training Wing as the 82d Training Wing and assigned the designation to Air Education and Training Command on 1 July 1993. The 82d was inactivated at Williams and HQ AETC activated the 82d Training Wing at Sheppard AFB and assigned it to Second Air Force. The 82d’s new mission was to conduct ground technical training. The 82d also became the host unit at Shepphard AFB.
The 782d Training Group was activated on 23 March 1994 and assigned it to the 82d Training Wing. At the same time, the 396th Technical Training Group changed its name to the 82d Training Group, the 82d Medical Group became the 882d Training Group, and the 82d Field Training Group became the 982d Training Group. On 30 March, the wing began providing mission ready technician training, first in the C-141 crew chief course and, a day later, in the F-16 crew chief course. The C-141 program graduated its first class in August, followed in September by the F-16 class.
Squadrons
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare 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...
unit assigned to the Air Education and Training Command
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 and reports to Headquarters, United States Air Force....
Second Air Force
Second Air Force
The Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....
. It is stationed at Sheppard Air Force Base
Sheppard Air Force Base
Sheppard Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located five miles 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...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
where it also is the host unit.
The wing conducts all ground-based technical training at the base. The primary training is medical, maintenance and support training conducted by the four assigned training groups. It also hosts the 80th Flying Training Wing
80th Flying Training Wing
The 80th Flying Training Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force based out of Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas.-Mission:...
. It also conducts technical and health-care training for men and women of the U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps, as well as several allied nations.
The units' history goes back to the 82d Fighter Group, which was a Twelfth and Fifteenth Air Force
Fifteenth Air Force
The Fifteenth Expeditionary Mobility Task Force is one of two EMTFs assigned to the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command . It is headquartered at Travis Air Force Base, California....
combat unit that fought in North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. During the early years of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, the 82d Fighter Wing was a Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
unit that trained in fighter escort and tactical fighter operations in the postwar era.
The commander of the 82d Training Wing is Brig. Gen. Darryl W. Burke. The Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sergeant Kenneth W. Sallinger.
Units
The 82 TW is the largest of four technical training wings in Air Education and Training CommandAir 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 and reports to Headquarters, United States Air Force....
and is the most diversified in scope of training. The 82d, 782d, and 882d Training Groups conduct training at Sheppard and at geographically separated locations around the country. The 982d Training Group conducts training at locations worldwide.
82d Training Group (82 TRG)
- 360th Training Squadron (360 TRS)
- 361st Training Squadron (361 TRS)
- 362nd Training Squadron (362 TRS)
- 363rd Training Squadron (363 TRS)
- AIRCRAFT AND MUNITIONS MAINTENANCE OFFICER COURSES (AMMOC)
782d Training Group (782 TRG)
- 364th Training Squadron (364 TRS)
- 365th Training Squadron (365 TRS)
- 366th Training Squadron (366 TRS)
- 367th Training Squadron (367 TRS)
882d Training Group (882 TRG) (Located at Fort Sam Houston, Texas)
- 381st Training Squadron (381 TRS)
- 382d Training Squadron (382 TRS)
- 383rd Training Squadron (383 TRS)
- 882d Training Support Squadron (882 TRSS)
982d Training Group (982 TRG)
- 372nd Training Squadron (372 TRS)
- 373rd Training Squadron (373 TRS)
- 982d Maintenance Squadron (982 MXS)
82d Mission Support Group (82 MSG)
- 82d Communications Squadron (82 CS)
- 82d Security Forces Squadron (82 SFS)
- 82d Mission Support Squadron (82 MSS)
- 82d Civil Engineer Squadron (82 CES)
- 82d Logistics Readiness Squadron (82 LRS)
- 82d Contracting Squadron (82 CONS)
- 82d Services Division
- 82d Organized Maintenance Squadron (82 OMS)
82d Medical Group (82 MDG)
- 82d Medical Operations Squadron (82 MDOS)
- 82d Dental Squadron (82 DS)
- 82d Aerospace Medical Squadron (82 AMDS)
- 82d Medical Support Squadron (82 MDSS)
Additionally, the 82d Comptroller Squadron (82 CPTS) reports directly to the 82 TRW.
World War II
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the 82d Flying Training Wing (Flexible Gunnery) instructed thousands of aerial gunners the skill of air-to-air combat using .50 caliber machine guns.
Among the training devices used in this instruction was the manipulation trainer—12 towers arranged to resemble a formation of planes. The towers ranged in height from 10 to 40 feet, each equipped with 2 nose, 2 tail, 2 ring sighting, and 4 blister positions. As students in these positions faced simulated attacks from PT-13 and PT-17 aircraft, they "fired" camera guns at the attacking fighters.
Strategic Air Command
The 82d was established as a Strategic Air CommandStrategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
fighrer wing on 28 July 1947 at Grenier Air Force Base
Grenier Air Force Base
Grenier Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base located three miles south of the central business district of Manchester, New Hampshire on the county line of Hillsborough and Rockingham counties...
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
. It was part of SAC's Fifteenth Air Force
Fifteenth Air Force
The Fifteenth Expeditionary Mobility Task Force is one of two EMTFs assigned to the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command . It is headquartered at Travis Air Force Base, California....
. The 82d Fighter Wing was established in accordance with the Hobson Plan which established a controlling wing at each Air Force Base that commanding all groups and support units on the facility. However, the Air Force did not organize (assign personnel) to the wing until 15 August 1947
The operational flying component of the wing was the 82d Fighter Group, composed of the 95th; 96th and 97th Fighter Squadrons and were equipped with P-51H Mustang aircraft. Most officers that arrived were rated pilots that had recently returned to military life. Many had World War II combat experience. Many officers and enlisted men arrived at Grenier from 62nd Fighter Squadron, a unit that had just returned from a winter test in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
.
The wing was relieved of its responsibilities to the Fifteenth Air Force on 22 August 1949 and was inactivated. Its component 82d Fighter Group was redesignated as the 82d Fighter Group (Air Defense), and was activated on 18 August 1955 and assigned to Air Defense Command (ADC) at New Castle County Airport, Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
.
Air Training Command
The 82d replaced and absorbed resources of the 3525th Pilot Training Wing in February 1973 at Williams AFB, ArizonaArizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
and assumed undergraduate pilot training operations in T-37 and T-38 aircraft.
Assigned to the wing were the 96th and 97th Flying Training Squadrons.
On 19 September 1976, the first women entered undergraduate pilot training. Ten female students were in Class 77-08. First Lieutenant Christine E. Schott became the first woman to solo in the T-38. On 2 September 1977, Class 77-08 graduated. The ten women received their wings along with 36 male classmates. In March 1978, the 82d’s first female instructor pilot, Capt Connie Engel, was assigned to the 97th Fighter Training Squadron to instruct T-38 students.
Air Training Command activated the 98th and the 99th Flying Training Squadrons on 1 June 1988 to test a four-squadron organization. The test showed the wing needed a fifth squadron to provide operational support. On 1 September 1989, ATC activated the 100th Flying Training Squadron.
In 1991 Congress approved the second round of base closures, as identified by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission. On that list was Williams AFB. The base was to cease operation as of 30 September 1993. With Williams AFB, Arizona, scheduled to close, ATC decided to move part of that base’s T-38 fleet to Sheppard during 1992.
HQ USAF redesignated the 82d Flying Training Wing as the 82d Training Wing and assigned the designation to Air Education and Training Command on 1 July 1993. The 82d was inactivated at Williams and HQ AETC activated the 82d Training Wing at Sheppard AFB and assigned it to Second Air Force. The 82d’s new mission was to conduct ground technical training. The 82d also became the host unit at Shepphard AFB.
The 782d Training Group was activated on 23 March 1994 and assigned it to the 82d Training Wing. At the same time, the 396th Technical Training Group changed its name to the 82d Training Group, the 82d Medical Group became the 882d Training Group, and the 82d Field Training Group became the 982d Training Group. On 30 March, the wing began providing mission ready technician training, first in the C-141 crew chief course and, a day later, in the F-16 crew chief course. The C-141 program graduated its first class in August, followed in September by the F-16 class.
Lineage
- Established as 82d Flying Training Wing (Flexible Gunnery), 25 August 1943
- Inactivated and disestablished, 16 June 1946
- Established as 82 Fighter Wing on 28 July 1947
- Organized on 15 August 1947
- Inactivated on 2 October 1949
- Redesignated 82 Flying Training Wing on 22 June 1972
- Activated on 1 February 1973
- Inactivated on 31 March 1993
- Redesignated 82 Training Wing, and activated, on 1 July 1993.
Assignments
- Western Flying Training Command, 25 August 1943-16 June 1946
- Strategic Air CommandStrategic Air CommandThe Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
, 15 August 1947
- Attached to 307 Bombardment Wing, 15 August 1947-15 December 1948
- Fifteenth Air ForceFifteenth Air ForceThe Fifteenth Expeditionary Mobility Task Force is one of two EMTFs assigned to the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command . It is headquartered at Travis Air Force Base, California....
, 16 December 1948 - First Air ForceFirst Air ForceThe First Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida....
, 22 August-2 October 1949 - Air Training CommandAir Training CommandAir Training Command is a former major command of the United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force. ATC came into being as a redesignation of the Army Air Forces Training Command on July 1, 1946...
, 1 February 1973-31 March 1993 - Second Air ForceSecond Air ForceThe Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....
, 1 July 1993–present
- Fifteenth Air Force
Components
Groups- 82d Fighter (later, 82d Operations): August 15, 1947 – October 2, 1949 (detached April 4 – June 29, 1948); December 15, 1991 – March 31, 1993.
Squadrons
- 96th Flying Training Squadron96th Flying Training SquadronThe 96th Flying Training Squadron is part of the 340th Flying Training Group and is the Reserve associate to the 47th Flying Training Wing based at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas...
1 February 1973-15 December 1991 - 97th Flying Training Squadron97th Flying Training SquadronThe 97th Flying Training Squadron is part of the 340th Flying Training Group and is the Reserve associate to the 80th Flying Training Wing based at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas...
1 February 1973-15 December 1991 - 98th Flying Training Squadron 1 February 1973-15 December 1991
- 99th Flying Training Squadron99th Flying Training SquadronThe 99th Flying Training Squadron is part of the 12th Flying Training Wing based at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. It operates T-1 Jayhawk aircraft conducting flight training. The squadron was formed during World War II as the first flying unit for African Americans. Known as the Tuskegee Airmen...
1 February 1973-15 December 1991
Stations assigned
- Las Vegas Army Airfield, NevadaNevadaNevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, 25 August 1943-16 June 1946 - Grenier Army Airfield (later, AFB), New HampshireNew HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, 15 August 1947-2 October 1949 - Williams AFB, ArizonaArizonaArizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, 1 February 1973-31 March 1993 - Sheppard AFB, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, 1 July 1993–present
Aircraft Operated
- P/F-51 MustangP-51 MustangThe North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
(1947–1949) - T-37 TweetCessna T-37The Cessna T-37 Tweet is a small, economical twin-engine jet trainer-attack type aircraft which flew for decades as a primary trainer for the United States Air Force and in the air forces of several other nations...
(1973–1992) - T-38 TalonT-38 TalonThe Northrop T-38 Talon is a twin-engine supersonic jet trainer. It was the world's first supersonic trainer and is also the most produced. The T-38 remains in service as of 2011 in air forces throughout the world....
(1973–1993)