 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "12th Flying Training Wing" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(December 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
12th Flying Training Wing | |
|---|---|
 12th Flying Training WingT-6A Texan II[note 1] | |
| Active | 1950–1958; 1962–1971; 1972–present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Flying Training |
| Part of | Air Education and Training Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Randolph Air Force Base |
| Engagements | Vietnam War |
| Decorations | Presidential Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award withCombat "V" Device Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm[1] |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Col. Peter J.S. Lee |
| Deputy commander | Col. Jeffrey S. Cameron |
| Command Chief | CCM Ismael R. Rosa JR |
| Notable commanders | Nicholas Kehoe Lloyd W. Newton |
| Insignia | |
| 12th Flying Training Wing emblem[note 2][1] |  |
The12th Flying Training Wing is aUnited States Air Force unit assigned toAir Education and Training Command'sNineteenth Air Force. It is headquartered atJoint Base San Antonio, Texas. The wing is the parent organization for the479th Flying Training Group, located atNAS Pensacola, Florida and the306th Flying Training Group, at TheUnited States Air Force Academy, Colorado. The 12th Wing is the only unit in the Air Force conducting both pilot instructor training and combat systems officer training.
Thewing fought in combat as the12th Tactical Fighter Wing during theVietnam War and was the host unit at two major air bases inSouth Vietnam. ItsMcDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II aircraft flew thousands of combat missions between 1965 and 1971 before being withdrawn as part of the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam and Southeast Asia.
The current Commander of the 12th Flying Training Wing is Colonel Peter J.S. Lee. The current Vice Commander is Colonel Daniel E. Rueth. The current Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sergeant Daniel J. Cain.
The wing consists of three flying groups and a maintenance directorate spanning more than 1,600 miles from JBSA-Randolph, Texas to Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, toPueblo Memorial Airport and theU.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado.[citation needed]
The12th Operations Group controls all Instructor Pilot Training and airfield operations at Randolph AFB and Randolph AFB Auxiliary Field/Seguin Field.
The479th Flying Training Group is a geographically separated unit located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida and conducts Undergraduate Combat Systems Officer Training.
The306th Flying Training Group is a geographically separated unit located at the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado. The 306 FTG conducts powered flight training, soaring, and parachute training for Air Force Academy cadets.
|
The wing was first organized atTurner Air Force Base, Georgia on 1 November 1950 as the12th Fighter-Escort Wing, but moved a month later toBergstrom Air Force Base, Texas.[1]
The wing was reactivated as the12th Tactical Fighter Wing and organized in April 1962 atMacDill Air Force Base, Florida.[1] It then fought in Vietnam during theAmerican War with theSeventh Air Force.
On 8 November 1965 the wing was assigned toCam Ranh Bay Air Base,South Vietnam.[2]: 27 The 12th TFW was the first permanently assignedF-4 Phantom II wing assigned to Southeast Asia. Operational squadrons of the wing at Cam Ranh were:
From Cam Ranh Bay AB the wing carried out close air support, interdiction and combat air patrol activities over South Vietnam,North Vietnam andLaos.[3]: 87
On 31 March 1970, as part of theVietnamization process the wing was reassigned without personnel or equipment toPhù Cát Air Base taking over the assets of the inactivated37th Tactical Fighter Wing.[2]: 65 On 17 November 1971 the 12th TFW was inactivated.[2]: 27
The wing was redesignated the12th Flying Training Wing and activated on 1 May 1972, when the personnel, mission and equipment of the 3510th Flying Training Wing were assumed by the wing, while the 3510th was simultaneously inactivated[1]
In 1992, due to the impending closure ofMather Air Force Base, California, the 12 FTW also assumed responsibility for UndergraduateNavigator Training (UNT) and Interservice Undergraduate Navigator Training (IUNT) from the323d Flying Training Wing (323 FTW) at Mather when that organization inactivated, with mostT-43A aircraft and some of the 323 FTW squadrons reforming at Randolph AFB under the 12 FTW. In 2009, with the transition of UNT to undergraduateCombat Systems Officer training (UCSOT) and pursuant to earlierBase Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) directives, the 12 FTW established a new organization, the 479th Flying Training Group (479 FTG), with two new flying training squadrons and an operations support squadron, as a GSU at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. Although NAS Pensacola is the principal base for studentNaval Flight Officer (SNFO) training for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, the 479 FTG operates independently of this program with its own USAF T-6 Texan II and T-1 Jayhawk aircraft. Upon establishment of the 479 FTG at NAS Pensacola, the remaining "legacy" navigator training squadrons that had relocated from the former Mather AFB to Randolph AFB in 1992 were inactivated.
In the second decade of the 21st century, the wing's mission is to provide instructor pilot training in the Raytheon-BeechT-6A Texan II, the NorthropT-38 Talon and the BeechT-1A Jayhawk jet trainers.[citation needed] Previously, the wing also conducted Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals (IFF) in the Northrop AT-38 Talon, a role now performed with T-38s.[citation needed]
Until late 2010, the wing also conducted Joint Specialized Undergraduate Navigator Training (JSUNT) and electronic warfare officer (EWO) training in theT-1A Jayhawk andBoeing T-43A medium-range turbofan jet at Randolph AFB. With the retirement of the T-43 in September 2010, this training merged with extant USAF weapons systems officer (WSO) training that had been conducted jointly with theU.S. Navy andU.S. Marine Corps atNaval Air Station Pensacola, Florida since 1990. The navigator, EWO and WSO training tracks were then merged and all three specialties (which wear the same type of uniform insignia wings upon completion of flight training) became known as Combat Systems Officer (CSO). This updated CSO training is now conducted by the479th Flying Training Group as a Geographically Separated Unit (GSU) of the 12 FTW at NAS Pensacola utilizing T-6 Texan II and T-1A Jayhawk aircraft.[4]
The wing is responsible for numerous aviation training programs. These programs include Pilot Instructor Training, Combat Systems Officer Training, Remotely Piloted Aircraft Pilot Indoctrination, Basic Sensor Operator Qualification, Airmanship programs for U.S. Air Force Academy cadets, and Introductory Flight Screening.
Squadrons
School
|
|
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
| Leadership |  | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structure |
| ||||||||||
| Personnel and training | |||||||||||
| Uniforms and equipment | |||||||||||
| History and traditions |
| ||||||||||
| Air Forces | | |
|---|---|---|
| Bases | ||
| Wings | ||
| Groups | ||
