Will Rogers Air National Guard Base

Will Rogers Air National Guard Base is a facility of the United States Air Force located at Will Rogers World Airport as part of the Oklahoma Air National Guard.

History

World War II

During World War II Will Rogers Field was a major training facility for the United States Army Air Forces; many fighter and bomber units were activated and received initial training there.

Known USAAF groups stationed at Will Rogers Field were:

After completion of their initial training, these units were reassigned to other airfields for secondary training before deployment overseas.

Modern era

Until 2008, the Oklahoma Air National Guard's 137th Airlift Wing (137 AW) and its C-130 Hercules aircraft were located at the airport's Will Rogers Air National Guard Base. As part of the 2005 round of Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) recommendations, the majority of the maintenance unit (excluding the munitions flight) was relocated to nearby Tinker Air Force Base, where the wing transitioned to the KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft and became the 137th Air Refueling Wing (137 ARW), an "Associate" unit of the 507th Air Refueling Wing (507 ARW).[1] The unit then shared KC-135 aircraft with the Air Force Reserve Command's 507th Air Refueling Wing in a joint operations and maintenance program. On 30 Jun 2015, the 137 ARW / 507 ARW partnership at Tinker AFB officially ended. The 137th will transition to Air Force Special Operations Command and will redesignate as the 137th Special Operations Wing (137 SOW) operating the MC-12 Liberty for the Oklahoma Air National Guard, marking a return of ANG flight operations to Will Rogers.[2][3] ←

Will Rogers Air National Guard Base also continues to be the home of the unit's Expeditionary Support Group headquarters, operations and support, as well as the Oklahoma ANG's 146th Air Support Operations Squadron.[4][5] The base has also seen joint association with the Oklahoma Army National Guard, which maintains a helicopter maintenance program at the location.

See also

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

Coordinates: 35°24′25″N 97°36′40″W / 35.407°N 97.611°W / 35.407; -97.611

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