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| Goodfellow Air Force Base | |
|---|---|
| San Angelo,Texas in United States of America | |
.jpg) Airmen from the 312th Training Squadron extinguish a fire on a training module to demonstrate an aircraft incident at Goodfellow AFB. | |
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| Site information | |
| Type | U.S. Air Force Base |
| Owner | Department of Defense |
| Operator | US Air Force |
| Controlled by | Air Education and Training Command (AETC) |
| Condition | Operational |
| Website | www.goodfellow.af.mil |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 31°25′47″N100°23′57″W / 31.42972°N 100.39917°W /31.42972; -100.39917 |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1940 (1940) |
| In use | 1940 – present |
| Garrison information | |
| Current commander | Colonel Angelina Maguinness |
| Garrison | 17th Training Wing |
Goodfellow Air Force Base is a nonflyingUnited States Air Force base located inSan Angelo, Texas, United States. As part ofAir Education and Training Command, Goodfellow's main mission iscryptologic andintelligence training for the Air Force,Space Force,Army,Coast Guard,Navy, andMarine Corps. Military firefighters are also trained here as part of the 312th Training Squadron. It is the home of the17th Training Wing. The base is named forWorld War IaviatorFirst Lieutenant John J. Goodfellow Jr.
Goodfellow's history traces to the days before theattack on Pearl Harbor, but its name registered the valor and sacrifice of an earlier conflict. On 14 September 1918, First Lieutenant John J. Goodfellow Jr., of San Angelo, Texas, boarded hisSalmson 2A2observation plane atGondreville Airfield inFrance to conduct visual reconnaissance behind enemy lines. The mission was part of a larger undertaking just underway, a major American offensive intended to reduce theGermansalient nearSaint-Mihiel. Unfortunately, adverse weather permitted observation only at a low altitude that exposed the lumbering Salmson to enemy pursuit. Three days later, theoffensive a success, the young pilot's remains were recovered from his ruined craft and interred at theSt. Mihiel American Cemetery and Memorial nearNancy, Meurthe-et-Moselle.
The peace that arrived two months later endured a mere two decades more. Constrained by neutrality legislation, but witness to the aggression across Europe, Africa, and Asia,PresidentFranklin Delano Roosevelt began a program of preparedness that included the construction of facilities dedicated to advanced air training. Several such bases were envisioned forTexas and one, specifically, for theFort Worth-Midland-San Angelo triangle. Civic leaders from San Angelo immediately commended their community to theU.S. War Department. A generous offer of sewage and electrical service, a railroad spur, and a 50-year lease on 640 acres (260 ha) at one dollar per year easily decided the issue.
Construction of the new San Angelo Air Corps Basic Flying School began at once. Officially established on 17 August 1940, the base was ready for occupancy by 21 January 1941, and the first classes of students soon arrived. On 11 June 1941, in dedication to a young hero and in tribute to the community that shaped him, the base was officially renamed Goodfellow Field.
In the next four years, more than 10,000 trained pilots were graduated, and many were decorated for outstanding heroism in action againstGermany,Italy, andJapan.
TheAxis collapse did not remove the need for the Goodfellow training. Pilots continued to be trained there, primarily for large, multienginepiston andturboprop aircraft, first on theAT-6 Texan, theT-28 Trojan, and then, beginning in 1954, on the twin-engine TB-25 andB-25 Mitchell. The 3545th Basic Pilot Training Wing gave pilot instruction from 1948.[1] On 3 September 1958, with nearly 20,000 aviators to its credit, Goodfellow graduated its last class of pilots.Air Training Command (ATC) was transitioning to newCessna T-37 Tweet andNorthrop T-38 Talon aircraft forUndergraduate Pilot Training that required minimum 8000-ft (2400-m)runway lengths, far longer than Goodfellow's 5500-ft primary runways.
With the transfer of the base from ATC to theU.S. Air Force Security Service (USAFSS), Goodfellow's mission became the training of Air Force personnel in the advanced cryptologic skills that the Security Service required. After the changeover, the 6940th Air Base Wing administered the base and later, after a name change, provided decryption training.[1] Eight years later, in 1966, the mission expanded further to include joint-service training in these same skills for U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Marine Corps personnel.
Although flight operations at Goodfellow decreased dramatically after 1958, minimal activities continued with both transient aircraft and locally basedCessna U-3 Administrators (1958–1971),DeHavilland U-6 Beavers (1960–1966),Piasecki H-21, CH-21, and HH-21 Workhorsehelicopters (1958–1966), andCessna O-2 Skymasters (1972–1975). Goodfellow's runways were permanently closed in March 1975.[2]
After 38 years of pilot and then intelligence training, Goodfellow's mission had apparently come to a close with the announcement in 1978 that the base would revert to ATC and was a candidate for closure. Since it was a single-mission facility, its mission could perhaps be executed more economically elsewhere. Nevertheless, the 3480th Technical Training Wing of Air Training Command was activated at the base on 1 July 1978.[3] On 3 January 1984 the wing gained the suffix USAF Cryptological Training Center.
By then, senior intelligence personnel had already begun seriously to contemplate the consolidation of all Air Force-managed intelligence training at one location. The site selected for intelligence training consolidation was Goodfellow, and the base was designated a technical training center on 1 March 1985. The Goodfellow Technical Training Center continued to supervise the 3480th Technical Training Wing.
During the next three years, intelligence training consolidation brought to Goodfellow advanced imagery training fromOffutt Air Force Base,Nebraska;electronic intelligence operations training fromKeesler Air Force Base,Mississippi; and targeting, intelligence applications, and general intelligence training fromLowry Air Force Base,Colorado, as a result of Lowry's identification for closure underBase Realignment and Closure (BRAC). The successful completion of intelligence training consolidation on 30 June 1988 further facilitated the development of intelligence training integration, a multidisciplinary approach to the training of intelligence professionals.
In 1992, as part of Air Force size reductions, ATC was inactivated, replaced by theAir Education and Training Command, which became base's "parent" major command. The 3480 Technical Training Wing was reduced to the 3480 Technical Training Group on 1 February 1992 and then redesignated as the 391 Technical Training Group on 15 September 1992.[4]
On 1 July 1993, the 17th Training Wing was activated on Goodfellow AFB. With the change in name came a marked diversification and increase in Goodfellow's mission.Base Realignment and Closure rounds one and two transferred special instruments training from the former Lowry AFB and fire protection training from the formerChanute Air Force Base,Illinois, to Goodfellow. To support the increased training load, Goodfellow underwent extensive modernization and growth. With new training facilities, dormitories, dining halls, acommissary,[5] a youth center, and a physical fitness center.
On February 18, 1995, U.S. Army veteran Louis Jones Jr. kidnappedPrivate Tracie McBride from Goodfellow AFB before raping and murdering her.[6]
These flying and notable nonflying units are based at Goodfellow Air Force Base.[7]
Units marked GSU are geographically separate units, which although based at Goodfellow, are subordinate to a parent unit based at another location.
Air Education and Training Command (AETC)
The U.S. Army maintains a significant presence at Goodfellow Air Force Base, primarily supporting intelligence and firefighting training under theTraining and Doctrine Command (TRADOC).
Naval Education and Training Command
Space Training and Readiness Command
Goodfellow Air Force Base hosts a wide variety of facilities designed to support training, quality of life, and joint-service cooperation for military personnel.
Goodfellow AFB maintains two primary dining halls for enlisted personnel and students:
Recreational and fitness amenities are available to promote wellness and morale:
The USCode of Federal Regulations specifies thatamateur radio operators within 200 kilometers of Goodfellow must not transmit with more than 50 watts of power on the70-centimeter band.[20]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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