Vance Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in southern Enid, Oklahoma, about north northwest of Oklahoma City. The base is named after local World War II hero and Medal of Honor recipient, Lieutenant Colonel Leon Vance.

The host unit at Vance is the 71st Flying Training Wing (71 FTW), which is a part of Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The commander of the 71 FTW is Colonel Charles D. Throckmorton IV. The vice-commander is Colonel Charles Schuck and the command chief is Chief Master Sergeant Brandon Smith.

History

World War II

thumb|left|Lieutenant Colonel Leon Vance, [[Medal of Honor recipient.]]

As the demand for pilots decreased with the end of the war in Europe, the Enid Army Flying Field began ramping down pilot production and deactivated on 31 January 1947, by which time 9,895 USAAF pilots had earned wings there.

Cold War

Reactivated as Enid Air Force Base, the installation became one of several pilot training bases within the Air Training Command (ATC). Its initial mission was to provide training for advanced students in multi-engine aircraft. On July 9, 1949, in keeping with the USAF tradition of naming bases for deceased flyers, the base was renamed for Lieutenant Colonel Leon Robert Vance Jr., USAAF, an Enid native who was awarded the Medal of Honor in World War II.

thumb|T-37s at Vance Air Force Base in 1971.|alt=|left

The first aircraft flown at Vance when it was still Enid AAF was the BT-13A, followed shortly by the BT-15. In 1944, advanced students flew the TB-25 and TB-26. Following the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate service in September 1947, Enid AFB-turned-Vance AFB began conducting training in the AT-6 Texan and eventually the T-33 Shooting Star. The T-37 Tweet first flew at Vance AFB beginning in 1961, and the T-38 Talon in 1964 with Class 65-A as the USAF transitioned to its Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) system.

Post Cold War

thumb|T-38A Talons of the 25th FTS at Vance AFB in November 1997.|alt=|left

The base's air park was moved to an area next to the main gate in 2010 to allow access to the public.

On April 23, 2026, a tornado passed through the southern perimeters of the base. Rated EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, the violent tornado went over runway 35L and runway 35C's ALS before crossing US 81, impacting a nearby subdivision of homes along Gray Ridge Road. Numerous people were injured, though no fatalities were reported. The base was temporarily closed due to the tornado, until the following day on April 24.

Major Commands

  • Gulf Coast Training Center (Air Corps), December 18, 1941 – January 23, 1942
  • Air Corps Flying Training Comd, January 23, 1942 – March 15, 1942
  • AAF Flying Training Comd, March 15, 1942 – July 31, 1943
  • Army Air Forces Training Command, July 31, 1943 – July 1, 1946
  • Air Training Command, July 1, 1946 – July 1, 1993
  • Air Education and Training Command, July 2, 1993 – present

Base operating units

  • 80th Air Base Sq, November 29, 1941 – June 13, 1942
  • 80th Base HQ and Air Base Sq, June 13, 1942 – May 1, 1944
  • 2518th AAF Base Unit (Pilot School, Basic), May 1, 1944 – February 4, 1945
  • 2518th AAF Base Unit [Pilot School, Advanced-2E], February 4, 1945 – September 26, 1947
  • 2518th AF Base Unit, September 26, 1947 – August 26, 1948
  • 3575th Air Base Gp, August 26, 1948 – November 1, 1972
  • 71st Air Base Gp, November 1, 1972 – present

thumb|Aircraft of the 71st Flying Training Wing. From left: A T-38 Talon, T-6A Texan II, and a T-1 Jayhawk are posed in front of the base control tower on the Vance flightline.

Major units assigned

  • 60th Air Base Group November 29, 1941 – December 20, 1942
  • 31st Flight Training Wing January 16, 1943 – May 15, 1945
  • 2518th Army Air Force/Air Force Base Unit May 1, 1944 – August 28, 1948
  • 3575 Pilot Training Wing August 26, 1948 – November 1, 1972
  • 8600 Pilot Training Wing June 27, 1949 – May 28, 1951
  • 71st Flying Training Wing November 1, 1972 – present
  • Enid Composite Squadron Civil Air Patrol

Mission

The 71st Flying Training Wing trains pilots for the United States Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and its allies.

Based units

Flying and notable non-flying units based at Vance Air Force Base.

United States Air Force

Air Education and Training Command (AETC)

  • Nineteenth Air Force
  • 71st Flying Training Wing (Host Wing)
  • Headquarters 71st Flying Training Wing
  • 71st Comptroller Squadron
  • 71st Operations Group
  • 3rd Flying Training Squadron – T-1A Jayhawk
  • 8th Flying Training Squadron – T-6A Texan II
  • 25th Flying Training Squadron – T-38C Talon
  • 33rd Flying Training Squadron – T-6A Texan II
  • 71st Operations Support Squadron
  • 71st Student Squadron
  • 71st Medical Group
  • 71st Healthcare Operations Squadron
  • 71st Operations Medical Readiness Squadron
  • 71st Medical Support Squadron
  • 71st Mission Support Group
  • 71st Installation Support Squadron
  • 71st Force Support Squadron
  • 71st Security Forces Squadron

Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC)

  • 12th Flying Training Wing
  • 340th Flying Training Group
  • 5th Flying Training Squadron (GSU) – T-1A Jayhawk, T-38C Talon, T-6A Texan II

Education

A facility of Enid Public Schools (EPS), Eisenhower Elementary School, is on-post. The majority of dependent children at the preschool and elementary level on-post attend this school. EPS was in the process of planning a new school building for Eisenhower ES.

Eisenhower Elementary feeds into Emerson Junior High School,

The facility does not have schools of the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA)<!--Source article refers to "DoDDS" which is DoDEA-->.