Vance Air Force Base

Vance Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in southern Enid, Oklahoma, about north northwest of Oklahoma City. The base is named after local World War II hero and Medal of Honor recipient, Lieutenant Colonel Leon Vance.

The host unit at Vance is the 71st Flying Training Wing (71 FTW), which is a part of Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The commander of the 71 FTW is Colonel Charles D. Throckmorton IV. The vice-commander is Colonel Charles Schuck and the command chief is Chief Master Sergeant Brandon Smith.

History World War II

Construction began on 12 July 1941 for a cost of $4,034,583. United States Army Air Corps project officer, Major Henry W. Dorr supervised the construction and developed the basic pilot training base. 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. The mission of the school was to train aviation cadets to become aircraft pilots and commissioned officers in the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF).

It was not until 1942 that the base was officially named Enid Army Flying School, also known as Woodring Field. It was officially activated on 11 February 1942. On 8 January 1943, the War Department constituted and activated the 31st Flying Training Wing (Primary) at Enid and assigned it to the USAAF Central Flying Training Command. For the duration of the war, the basic phase of training graduated 8,169 students, while the advanced phase of training graduated 826.

As the demand for pilots decreased with the end of the war in Europe, the Enid Army Flying Field began ramping down pilot production and deactivated on 31 January 1947, by which time 9,895 USAAF pilots had earned wings there.

Cold War

Reactivated as Enid Air Force Base, the installation became one of several pilot training bases within the Air Training Command (ATC). Its initial mission was to provide training for advanced students in multi-engine aircraft. On July 9, 1949, in keeping with the USAF tradition of naming bases for deceased flyers, the base was renamed for Lieutenant Colonel Leon Robert Vance Jr., USAAF, an Enid native who was awarded the Medal of Honor in World War II.

The first aircraft flown at Vance when it was still Enid AAF was the BT-13A, followed shortly by the BT-15. In 1944, advanced students flew the TB-25 and TB-26. Following the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate service in September 1947, Enid AFB-turned-Vance AFB began conducting training in the AT-6 Texan and eventually the T-33 Shooting Star. The T-37 Tweet first flew at Vance AFB beginning in 1961, and the T-38 Talon in 1964 with Class 65-A as the USAF transitioned to its Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) system.

Post Cold War

The base's air park was moved to an area next to the main gate in 2010 to allow access to the public.

On April 23, 2026, a tornado passed through the southern perimeters of the base. Rated EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, the violent tornado went over runway 35L and runway 35C's ALS before crossing US 81, impacting a nearby subdivision of homes along Gray Ridge Road. Numerous people were injured, though no fatalities were reported. The base was temporarily closed due to the tornado, until the following day on April 24.

Major Commands

Gulf Coast Training Center (Air Corps), December 18, 1941 – January 23, 1942 Air Corps Flying Training Comd, January 23, 1942 – March 15, 1942 AAF Flying Training Comd, March 15, 1942 – July 31, 1943 Army Air Forces Training Command, July 31, 1943 – July 1, 1946 Air Training Command, July 1, 1946 – July 1, 1993 Air Education and Training Command, July 2, 1993 – present

Base operating units

80th Air Base Sq, November 29, 1941 – June 13, 1942 80th Base HQ and Air Base Sq, June 13, 1942 – May 1, 1944 2518th AAF Base Unit (Pilot School, Basic), May 1, 1944 – February 4, 1945 2518th AAF Base Unit [Pilot School, Advanced-2E], February 4, 1945 – September 26, 1947 2518th AF Base Unit, September 26, 1947 – August 26, 1948 3575th Air Base Gp, August 26, 1948 – November 1, 1972 71st Air Base Gp, November 1, 1972 – present

Major units assigned

60th Air Base Group November 29, 1941 – December 20, 1942 31st Flight Training Wing January 16, 1943 – May 15, 1945 2518th Army Air Force/Air Force Base Unit May 1, 1944 – August 28, 1948 3575 Pilot Training Wing August 26, 1948 – November 1, 1972 8600 Pilot Training Wing June 27, 1949 – May 28, 1951 71st Flying Training Wing November 1, 1972 – present Enid Composite Squadron Civil Air Patrol

Mission

The 71st Flying Training Wing trains pilots for the United States Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and its allies.

Based units Flying and notable non-flying units based at Vance Air Force Base.

United States Air Force

Air Education and Training Command (AETC) Nineteenth Air Force 71st Flying Training Wing (Host Wing) Headquarters 71st Flying Training Wing 71st Comptroller Squadron 71st Operations Group 3rd Flying Training Squadron – T-1A Jayhawk 8th Flying Training Squadron – T-6A Texan II 25th Flying Training Squadron – T-38C Talon 33rd Flying Training Squadron – T-6A Texan II 71st Operations Support Squadron 71st Student Squadron 71st Medical Group 71st Healthcare Operations Squadron 71st Operations Medical Readiness Squadron 71st Medical Support Squadron 71st Mission Support Group 71st Installation Support Squadron 71st Force Support Squadron 71st Security Forces Squadron

Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) 12th Flying Training Wing 340th Flying Training Group 5th Flying Training Squadron (GSU) – T-1A Jayhawk, T-38C Talon, T-6A Texan II

Education A facility of Enid Public Schools (EPS), Eisenhower Elementary School, is on-post. The majority of dependent children at the preschool and elementary level on-post attend this school. EPS was in the process of planning a new school building for Eisenhower ES.

Eisenhower Elementary feeds into Emerson Junior High School,

The facility does not have schools of the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA).

Vance Air Force Base

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