JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, TEXAS –
A festive crowd of Airmen, civilians and public officials were on hand as the centennial celebration for Kelly Field officially kicked off at Port San Antonio headquarters Jan 18.
Kelly Field, formerly part of Kelly Air Force Base, was founded in 1917 and served as the oldest military airstrip in the nation until Kelly AFB closed in July 2001. After its closure, the airfield was redeveloped into Port San Antonio – a sprawling public-private partnership that currently hosts major aerospace and high-tech commercial players, Boeing and Lockheed-Martin, that employs thousands of civilian and military workers.
“Kelly has always been one of the birthplaces of aviation,” said Brig. Gen. Heather Pringle, 502nd Air Base Wing and Joint Base San Antonio commander. “Even though the people have changed, it’s more of a civilian partnership now with Port SA. These bonds between the airfield and the military will always be here.”
Port San Antonio will continue the Kelly Field centennial festivities with a series of commemorative events throughout the 2017 year, culminating in an air show in November, Pringle added.
“We’re really hoping everyone can make it out to that,” she said.
While these events will explore the future of Kelly Field, speakers at the celebration made a point to look back at its history.
U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) lauded Kelly Field and Port San Antonio for being a major economic driver in turning around the fortunes of San Antonio’s economically disadvantaged south side. The diverse crowd on hand for the centennial celebration was a fitting testament to the unique makeup of Port San Antonio, said Castro.
“This is a very special place in the history of San Antonio,” Castro said. “This was a place that ushered in thousands of families into the middle class … and allowed them to dream bigger for their children, send their kids off to college … and to provide for their families.”
From its humble beginnings as a small, flat parcel of ranch land, southwest of San Antonio, Kelly Field served the U.S. Army Air Corps and the U.S. Air Force as a hub for aircraft maintenance and repair throughout the wars of the 20th century, according to Port SA officials. For the more than 15,000 employees, to include 1,600 Airmen, who faced transfer or unemployment due to its closure in 2001, the Port San Antonio redevelopment allowed many of them to find new jobs and remain in San Antonio, Castro noted.
“Port San Antonio represented a real transition in San Antonio’s economy,” Castro explained. “You remember the shock – to think what it meant for San Antonio for Kelly to be closed. But, there’s been the silver lining that we know now as (Port San Antonio). In these past two decades … our economic base that was centered around tourism and the military has expanded incredibly.”
Ret. Gen. Robert Murdoch, last commander at Kelly AFB, was also in attendance. As the final commander, Murdoch had the difficult task of orchestrating and overseeing the closure of the base in 2001.
“All the military members that have gone through here had an impact,” he explained. “The workload we had – repairing engines and overhauling all sorts of different aircraft – was just superb. We really provided the war fighters, especially during some contentious times in our Air Force history, with the superb planes the needed to fight those wars.”
This legacy continues on with Port San Antonio, Murdoch noted.
“Kelly had such a great history, especially with the economic impact it’s had on the city of San Antonio,” Murdoch said. “The thousands of civilian workers here truly provided a middle class to the South Side of town.”
At the celebration, Port San Antonio officials also unveiled plans for more than $100 million worth of future development. These plans include aerospace building improvements, road upgrades, expanded rail port capability, storage silos, and a host of other infrastructure projects.
“We’re looking forward to another 100 years here,” said Roland Mower, Port San Antonio CEO.