Air Education and Training Command
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Air Education and Training Command (AETC), with headquarters at Randolph AFB near San Antonio, Texas, was established July 1, 1993, with the realignment of Air Training Command and Air University. AETC's mission is to train airmen in the Air Force. More than 48,000 active-duty members and 14,000 civilian personnel make up AETC. The command has responsibility for approximately 1,600 aircraft.
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[edit] Recruiting
AETC's mission begins with the Air Force Recruiting Service, with headquarters at Randolph AFB, Texas. AFRS is comprised of four regional groups and 28 squadrons with more than 1,400 recruiters assigned throughout the United States, England, Germany, Japan, Puerto Rico and Guam. Recruiters in more than 1,000 offices worldwide recruit the young men and women needed to meet the demands of the U.S. Air Force.
[edit] Basic Military and Technical Training
Second Air Force, with headquarters at Keesler AFB, Mississippi, is responsible for conducting basic military and technical training for Air Force enlisted members and support officers. The first stop for all Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command enlisted people is basic military training at Lackland AFB, Texas. More than 36,000 new airmen will complete this soon to be eight-and-a-half-week program a year.
After completing BMT, airmen begin technical training in their career field specialties, primarily at five installations: Goodfellow AFB, Lackland AFB, and Sheppard AFB in Texas; Keesler AFB, Miss.; and Vandenberg AFB, Calif. and there are also cross-service schools such as Defense Language Institute, Calif. Each base is responsible for a specific portion of formal technical training airmen require to accomplish the Air Force mission. Instructors conduct technical training in specialties such as aircraft maintenance, electronic principles, air transportation, civil engineering, medical services, computer systems, security forces, air traffic control, personnel, intelligence, fire fighting, and space and missile operations.
Commissioned officers attend technical training courses for similar career fields at the same locations.
Second Air Force also conducts specialized training for military working dogs and dog handlers at Lackland AFB, Texas, for the Department of Defense and the Federal Aviation Administration. Additionally, the Inter-American Air Forces Academy at Lackland AFB, Texas, hosts more than 160 courses in aviation specialties, taught in Spanish, to students from 19 Western hemisphere countries.
[edit] Flying Training
Nineteenth Air Force, with headquarters at Randolph AFB, Texas, conducts AETC's flying training.
Air Force pilot candidates begin with Initial Flight Training(IFT). In IFT, civilian instructors provide up to 25 hours of flight instruction to pilot candidates.
Pilot candidates then attend either Euro-NATO joint jet pilot training (ENJJPT) or joint specialized undergraduate pilot training (JSUPT).
ENJJPT is located at Sheppard AFB, Texas. The entire course lasts about 54 weeks. Students learn with, and are taught by, U.S. Air Force officers and officers from various air forces of our European allies. Student pilots first fly the T-37 mastering contact, instrument, low-level and formation flying. Next, they strap on the supersonic T-38 Talon and continue building the skills necessary to become a fighter pilot.
JSUPT students accomplish primary training in the T-6 Texan II at one of three Air Force bases -- Columbus AFB, Miss., Laughlin AFB, Texas, or Vance AFB, Okla; or in the T-34C Turbomentor at Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Fla. Joint training is conducted at Vance AFB, Okla., and NAS Whiting Field for students from the Air Force and Navy.
During the primary phase of JSUPT, students learn basic flight skills common to all military pilots.
As of 2006, most JSUPT students use the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System during the primary training phase. The aircraft portion of JPATS is the T-6 Texan II, which is being phased in as the primary trainer replacing the Air Force's T-37 and the Navy's T-34C.
After the primary phase of JSUPT, student pilots elect one of several advanced training tracks based on their class standing.
Prospective airlift and tanker pilots are assigned to the airlift/tanker track and train in the T-1A Jayhawk at Columbus AFB, Miss., Laughlin AFB, Texas, or Vance AFB, Okla. Student pilots headed for bomber or fighter assignments are assigned to the bomber/fighter track and train in the T-38 Talon at Columbus, Laughlin or Vance. Students assigned to the multi-engine turboprop track fly the T-44 turboprop trainers or TC-12B trainers at NAS Corpus Christi, Texas, and will eventually fly the C-130 Hercules. A small number may also be selected to fly a C-12 at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska.
Those students selected to fly helicopters are assigned to the helicopter track and fly the UH-1 Huey at Fort Rucker, Ala.
Nineteenth Air Force also provides follow-on training for most Air Force pilots in their assigned aircraft. Pilots assigned to fighter aircraft complete the introduction to fighter fundamentals course at Randolph AFB or Sheppard AFB, Texas, or Moody AFB, Ga., flying the AT-38B, and then move on to train in either the F-15 Eagle at Tyndall AFB, Fla., or the F-16 Fighting Falcon at Luke AFB, Ariz. Altus AFB, Okla., hosts training for pilots assigned to C-5 Galaxy, C-141 Starlifter, KC-135 Stratotanker or C-17 Globemaster III aircraft. Aircrews assigned to fly the C-130 train at Little Rock AFB, Ark., and pilots assigned to fly MC-130 Combat Talon, HC-130 aircraft, UH-1N, MH-53 Pave Low or HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters receive their training at Kirtland AFB, N.M. Keesler AFB, Miss., provides training for pilots assigned to the C-21, and the Army at Fort Rucker, Ala., provides training in the C-12 Super King Air.
In addition to pilot training, Nineteenth Air Force provides Combat Systems Officer and Weapons Systems Officer training. CSO and WSO training are conducted at Randolph AFB and NAS Pensacola, Fla., respectively, and provide training for Air Force, Navy and international student navigators. Students at Randolph complete primary and intermediate training in the T-43A and T45 simulator, then track select as either panel navigators or Electronic Warfare Officers. CSO graduates of Advanced Navigation then move to follow-on assignments in various aircraft, including the C-130, MC-130, AC-130, HC-130, EC-130, B-52 Stratofortress, RC-135, AWACS and JSTARS. There are limited opportunities for KC-135 Stratotanker navigators, as these positions are being phased out. Those who graduate as Electronic Warfare Officers will go to follow-on assignments in the MC-130, AC-130, EC-130, RC-135 or B-52 Stratofortress.
Weapons Systems Officer students at NAS Pensacola, Fla., complete primary and intermediate training in the T-6A and T-1 aircraft, advanced training in the T-39 Sabreliner and then enter one of two tracks in the next phase. Students in the strike track will serve in the B-1B Lancer after attending the Electronic Warfare Officers course at Randolph AFB. Students in the fighter track will receive follow-on assignments in the F-15E Strike Eagle or EA-6B Prowler and attend special training in the Intro to Fighter Fundamentals (IFF) course.
AETC also provides enlisted aircrew training for a wide variety of aircrew specialties including flight engineers, air-to-air refueling boom operators, loadmasters, aerial gunners, airborne communications specialists and weapons directors. Flight engineers and boom operators train at Altus AFB, Okla., loadmasters train at Sheppard AFB, Texas, helicopter flight engineers and aerial gunners train at Kirtland AFB, N.M., airborne communications specialists train at Keesler AFB, Miss., and weapons directors train at Tyndall AFB, Fla.
[edit] Air University
Air University, headquartered at Maxwell AFB, Ala., conducts professional military education (PME), graduate education and professional continuing education for officers, enlisted members and civilians throughout their careers. Air University also has responsibility for Air Force officer accession and training, including the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps and Officer Training School.
Air University's professional military education schools prepare students from the Air Force, its sister services and U.S.-allied nations as they progress through their careers. Emphasis in these programs includes leadership, military doctrine and aerospace power.
Air University also oversees the Air Force's citizenship programs. The Civil Air Patrol is a private, non-profit organization providing aerospace education, a cadet program, and emergency services. The Air Force Junior ROTC program is for high school students at more than 600 locations worldwide.
Other academic support services at Air University include Academic Instructor School, the Air Force Institute for Advanced Distributed Learning, Air Force Public Affairs Center of Excellence, Air University Library (encompassing Air University Press), and the International Officer School.
[edit] Medical Services
The Air Force's two largest medical facilities belong to AETC. Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland AFB, Texas, and Keesler Medical Center, Keesler AFB, Miss., provide most of the Air Force's graduate medical and dental education, as well as enlisted medical training.
[edit] History
AETC's predecessor, Air Training Command, was formed in 1942 and trained more than 13 million people. ATC installations between 1942 and 1993 ranged from a peak of more than 600 installations during World War II, to a low of 13 when it was redesignated July 1, 1993. Command headquarters was located in Fort Worth, Texas, and Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, during the mid- and late-1940s. It was relocated to Scott AFB, Illinois, in 1949, and moved to Randolph AFB in 1957.
[edit] Lineage
Established as Air Corps Flying Training Command on January 23, 1942. Redesignated Army Air Forces Flying Training Command about March 15, 1942; Army Air Forces Training Command on July 31, 1943; Air Training Command on July 1, 1946; Air Education and Training Command on July 1, 1993.
