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Air Education and Training Command, with headquarters at Randolph
Air Force Base near San Antonio, Texas, was established July 1, 1993,
with the realignment of Air Training Command and Air University.
Mission
AETC recruits new people into the U.S. Air Force and provides them with
military, technical and flying training; and precommissioning, professional
military and continuing education. After receiving basic training and
prior to placement in Air Force jobs, enlisted people are trained in
a technical skill. More than 1,350 active technical courses offer a wide
variety of job skills for today's young adults. During their careers
in the Air Force, every officer and enlisted person receives education
and training administered by the command.
Personnel and Resources
The command includes two numbered air forces, the Air University, Air
Force Recruiting Service and Wilford Hall Medical Center. More than 43,000
active-duty members and 13,400 civilian personnel make up AETC. The command
has responsibility for approximately 1,600 aircraft.
 Organization
Air University
Air University, headquartered at Maxwell AFB, Ala., is responsible for
precommissioning education and training, professional military education,
professional continuing education, degree granting education, and citizenship
education and training.
AU students are primarily Air Force officers, airmen and selected Air
Force civilians. A number of personnel from other services and Department
of Defense activities also attend AU schools. In addition, international
officers from more than 100 countries have studied in AU schools.
Air Force Officer Accession and Training Schools. These schools
provides coordinated leadership and policy direction for the Air Force's
officer recruiting, training and commissioning programs at Officer Training
School and Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps detachments. The
organization's staff manages support and develops curriculum to train
tomorrow's Air Force officers. AFOATS also directs the Air Force's high
school citizenship training program -- Air Force Junior ROTC. Over the
years, OTS has functioned as a flexible commissioning program to meet
the constantly changing manning requirements of the Air Force. Additionally,
OTS formally trains medical service officers, chaplains and lawyers.
AFROTC, operating in partnership with more than 140 colleges and universities,
educates, trains and commissions qualified students in a diversified
college and university environment.
Professional Military Education. The PME schools of AU - Air
War College, Air Command and Staff College, Squadron Officer School and
the College for Enlisted Professional Military Education - prepare senior,
midcareer and junior commissioned and noncommissioned officers and civilians
for more responsible positions throughout the Air Force.
Professional Continuing Education. Several AU organizations provide
continuing education to meet Air Force needs. The College of Aerospace
Doctrine, Research and Education assists in the development of Air Force
doctrine and military strategy, conducts operational and educational
wargames, and conducts warplanning and warfighting courses. The Ira C.
Eaker College for Professional Development provides continuing education
through the U.S. Air Force Chaplain Service Institute, U.S. Air Force
First Sergeant Academy, Air Force Human Resource Management School, Air
Force Judge Advocate General School, Commanders' Professional Development
School and Professional Military Comptroller School. The Air Force Institute
of Technology (AFIT), located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio,
meets continuing education needs through its School of Systems and Logistics
and the School of Civil Engineering.
Degree Granting Education. AU awards both associate degrees and
graduate degrees. The Community College of the Air Force develops and
administers education programs leading to an associate degree in applied
science for Air Force active duty, Reserve and Air National Guard enlisted
personnel. The School for Advanced Airpower Studies awards master's degrees
to future airpower strategists. At AFIT, masters degrees are awarded
through the School of Logistics and Acquisitions Management. Both master's
and doctorate degrees are awarded through AFIT's School of Engineering.
AFIT also manages Air Force graduate and undergraduate degree programs
and continuing education programs at civilian institutions as well as
Air Force health care education programs and Education with Industry.
Citizenship. Citizenship is enhanced through AU oversight of
the Civil Air Patrol and its cadet program, and through the Air Force
Junior ROTC program that reaches into more than 600 high schools across
the U.S.
Academic Support. Air University's Office of Academic Support
(OAS) directs organizations which enhance the ability of AU's major schools
to accomplish their missions. The AU Library provides educational and
research library services and cartographic support to the headquarters,
schools, colleges and tenant units. The Academic Instructor School prepares
AU and other Air Force instructors for both resident and distance learning
education. The International Officer School prepares international students
to enter AU schools and courses. Other organizations under the OAS include:
Air University Television, which supports resident and distance learning
instruction; the Extension Course Institute, which publishes approximately
330 correspondence courses in specialized, career development and PME;
Air University Press, which acquires, edits and publishes books, monographs,
and journals on airpower topics; and Educational Technology.
Second Air Force
The 2nd Air Force, headquartered at Keesler AFB, Miss., was activated
July 1, 1993, and manages all operational aspects of basic and technical
training for AETC. Four training wings, including nine technical training
groups and basic military training, report to 2nd AF. Geographically
separated units are located at Vandenberg and Edwards Air Force bases
in California.
Basic Military Training. A basic military training course for
all new enlistees in the regular Air Force, Air Force Reserve and Air
National Guard is conducted at Lackland AFB, Texas. Training starts on
a Monday, with graduation on Friday six weeks later, followed by travel
to technical training. In addition to processing and counseling, courses
emphasize discipline, professional courtesy, physical fitness, teamwork
and academic instruction in Air Force organization, history, human relations
and quality Air Force principles.
Technical Training. Technical training in more than 250 technical
specialties is provided to men and women in all branches of service throughout
their careers. Technical training courses, many accredited through the
Community College of the Air Force, provide job qualification and advanced
training to Air Force people in support of their primary missions. Each
year more than 175,000 students graduate from AETC formal training courses.
Resident courses are conducted at Keesler AFB; Lackland, Sheppard, and
Goodfellow Air Force bases in Texas; and Vandenberg AFB, Calif.
Keesler AFB is host to 2nd Air Force's only flying mission. The 45th
Airlift Squadron conducts initial and upgrade training for C-12 and C-21
aircrews. The graduates are assigned to provide operational support airlift
for a variety of missions around the world.
Defense Language Institute English Language Center. International
military members and some civilians attend full-time English language
training at the Defense Language Institute English Language Center at
Lackland AFB. The center is a Department of Defense agency that reports
to AETC.
Inter-American Air Forces Academy. The Inter-American Air Forces
Academy provides Spanish-language technical and management training to
military forces and governmental agencies of Latin America and the Caribbean.
The school at Lackland AFB provides training in 70 different courses
for both officer and enlisted personnel.
Nineteenth Air Force
The 19th Air Force, headquartered at Randolph AFB, was activated July
1, 1993, and exercises operational control over 11 active duty units
and has operational oversight of three Air National Guard units. AETC
provides undergraduate and specialized pilot and navigator training,
initial fighter fundamental training, specific initial skills training,
upgrade and requalification aircraft training for combat crews and advanced
training for helicopter pilots.
Flying
Training
AETC conducts primary and advanced flight training
for pilots, navigators and enlisted crew members. Command training programs
produce mission-ready crew members. Pilot training begins with the flight
screening program conducted in the T-3 aircraft by the 3rd Flying Training
Squadron in Hondo, Texas, and the 557th Flying Training Squadron at the
U.S. Air Force Academy. Pilot training continues with an undergraduate
pilot training program and ends with combat crew training in specific
major weapons systems. Specialized undergraduate pilot training (SUPT) begins in either the
Air Force's T-37 or the Navy's T-34 if an Air Force pilot is initially
trained by the Navy. SUPT advanced training may occur in one of four
aircraft. Students designated for a bomber or fighter aircraft receive
advanced training in the T-38. Airlift and tanker pilots train in the
T-1A, and helicopter pilots train in the UH-1 in a joint training environment
at Fort Rucker, Ala. Air Force C-130-bound students train in the T-44
with the Navy at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas. Total SUPT
training includes between 193 flying hours for the airlift/tanker track
to 208 for the bomber/fighter track.
Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training is an international effort conducted
by the U.S. Air Force and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
allies. This program at Sheppard AFB, Texas, trains pilots from NATO
countries as well as some U.S. Air Force pilots. Primary training is
conducted in the T-37 and advanced training in the T-38. ENJJPT instructor
pilots are also trained at Sheppard AFB.
Students electing to fly fighters are given an introductory course in
fighter fundamentals. This training is conducted at Randolph, Columbus
and Sheppard Air Force bases. After this training, students bound for
training in the F-15 aircraft are trained at Tyndall AFB, Fla. At Tyndall,
different courses are offered for pilots who have never flown a fighter
aircraft, experienced pilots converting to or requalifying in the F-15,
and pilots selected to become F-15 instructor pilots. Similar training
is conducted at Luke AFB, Ariz., for F-16 pilots.
Airlift training for C-5, C-17, C-141 and KC-135 pilots and enlisted
aircrew members is conducted at Altus AFB, Okla. For C-130 aircrew members,
training is conducted at Little Rock AFB, Ark.
Special operations training for pilots and enlisted aircrew members
in the MC-130 aircraft, and the MH-53J and HH-60G helicopter, is conducted
along with UH-1 training at Kirtland AFB, N.M.
Navigator
Training
Joint undergraduate navigator training (JUNT)
begins at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., with a six-week Aviation
Preflight Indoctrination course. This course consists of aviation fundamentals
such as meteorology, aerodynamics, air navigation and aircraft systems;
physical fitness training; and water and land survival regimen. All students
then enter Primary Navigator/Naval Flight Officer flight training at
NAS Pensacola. Primary training is accomplished in the T-34, a tandem,
two-seat turboprop aircraft, and lasts 14 weeks. Follow-on training is
in four main tracks: airlift/tanker/maritime, strike/bomber, strike/fighter
and heavy electronic warfare officer. Approximately half of the students
from primary go to the airlift/tanker/maritime track at Randolph AFB.
This is a 24-week program training in the T-43 jet aircraft (a modified
B-737) with three to five weeks of follow-on training in theater operations.
Students selected for the strike/bomber, strike/fighter and heavy EWO
tracks proceed from primary into intermediate training and remain at
NAS Pensacola for the remainder of their training. Intermediate is a
14-week course flying T-34 and T-1 aircraft. Strike/bomber track students
move on to a 12-week course flying the T-39 and T-2 aircraft. Heavy EWO
track students graduate from intermediate and attend 13 weeks of academic
and simulator electronic warfare training at Corry Station, adjacent
to NAS Pensacola. Other
Training
AETC also conducts the Air Force combat survival
course at Fairchild AFB, Wash., where more than 4,000 aircrew members
receive training annually. Specialized courses are provided at NAS Pensacola
for water survival; and Eielson AFB, Alaska, for arctic survival. Training
for enlisted combat controllers and pararescuemen is conducted at Kirtland
AFB. Other Major Units
Air Force Recruiting Service. AETC is responsible for all personnel
accessions with the exception of the U.S. Air Force Academy, lawyers
and chaplains. Its mission is to recruit a high-quality volunteer force
reflective of a cross-section of America. It manages this through the
Air Force Recruiting Service, also headquartered at Randolph AFB. Recruiting
Service is divided into four recruiting groups with 28 squadrons and
about 3,000 highly motivated recruiters. The recruiting mission is accomplished
from more than 900 offices worldwide. Air Force personnel requirements
are given to Recruiting Service in the form of program goals for non-prior
service enlistees, line officers (Officer Training School), health care
professionals (physicians, nurses, etc.), applicants for Air Force Reserve
Officer Training Corps scholarships, and others as required.
Wilford Hall Medical Center. Wilford Hall Medical Center, located
at Lackland AFB, is one of America's national medical resources and home
of the 59th Medical Wing. The medical center's staff totals more than
4,900 personnel, officers, enlisted and civilians, a number which includes
almost 500 students. The 500-bed medical center serves as Lackland's
hospital, a specialized treatment center for the southern United States
and a referral center for patients evacuated from around the world. The
Wilford Hall commander also serves as lead agent for DOD TRICARE Region
VI, encompassing Arkansas, Oklahoma and most of Louisiana and Texas.
Wilford Hall admits almost 25,000 patients per year, sees more than one
million outpatients and serves an additional 12,000 patients per year
from worldwide locations. Wilford Hall provides unique services as the
DOD center for allogeneic bone marrow transplantation and liver transplantation
and the Air Force-HIV evaluation and treatment center. Wilford Hall's
medical outreach initiatives include training and fielding teams that
perform forward surgery with the equipment in their rucksacks, the only
Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenator (heart lung machine for babies) capable
of providing care to a patient in-flight, and the Critical Care Aeromedical
Transport Teams which provide in-flight medical care to patients during
air transport.The medical center has extensive education and research
programs, and operates the only certified Level-I trauma center in the
defense establishment.
Air Force Security Assistance Training Squadron. The Air Force Security
Assistance Training Squadron, Randolph AFB, is the executive agent for
all USAF-sponsored international training. It develops, integrates and
manages international training in support of U.S. national security objectives.
Nearly 5,000 students from 148 friendly and allied countries are trained
annually under USAF sponsorship.
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, La., during the
mid- and late-1940s. It was relocated to Scott AFB, Ill., in 1949, and
moved to Randolph AFB in 1957.
Point of Contact
Air Education and Training Command, Public
Affairs Office; 100 H Street, Suite 3; Randolph Air Force Base, Texas
78150-4330; DSN 487-3946 or (210) 652-3946.
Above Information Courtesy
of United States Air Force
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