JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas –
The 12th Flying Training Wing marked its 40th year at Randolph AFB, Texas, Tuesday, May 1.
The wing was redesignated in early 1972 from the 12th Tactical Fighter Wing to the 12th Flying Training Wing and activated here May 1 that year. Since then, the wing has been responsible for continuing Randolph's long-standing flying training legacy.
"We're proud of our wing's rich heritage and we're honored to have the responsibility of building on the foundation of success laid by those who wore our patch before us," said Col. Richard Murphy, 12th FTW commander.
The wing traces its lineage to the 12th Bombardment Group in World War II. The group patrolled the West Coast of the U.S. after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor before moving to North Africa in the summer of 1942. Once there, the unit flew B-25s in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations before moving to the China-Burma-India Theater to close out the war. The group was inactivated following the end of the war.
The Air Force activated the 12th as a fighter wing in 1950 at Turner AFB, Ga., and Bergstrom AFB, Texas, to provide fighter escort and air defense for Strategic Air Command bomber forces until 1957. The wing was redesignated the 12th Tactical Fighter Wing in 1962 and served in Southeast Asia from 1965 until it was once again inactivated November 17, 1971.
Upon arrival at Randolph, the 12th FTW began training instructor pilots for duty in the T-37 Tweety Bird and T-38A Talon. For the next 40 years, 12th FTW training missions would come, go, and in some cases come back again.
Today, the wing is Randolph's major mission partner and is the single-source pipeline for four aviation programs, including instructor pilot training, remotely piloted aircraft pilot indoctrination and basic sensor operator qualification, as well as combat systems officer training, which operates at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. The wing also hosts electronic warfare and introduction to fighter fundamentals training for the U.S. Air Force and multi-national forces.
"There is not a rated officer in the U.S. Air Force who hasn't been taught to fly by one of the instructor pilots we produced; with the gaining of the basic RPA training mission as well as the new CSO training program, we now directly and significantly impact nearly all rated aviation pipelines," said Colonel Murphy. "We are The Source of America's Airpower."
Until February 2010, the 12th FTW served as the host unit for Randolph AFB. In accordance with the Base Realignment and Closure Act of 2005, Randolph, Lackland AFB and Fort Sam Houston were consolidated into Joint Base San Antonio, hosted by the 502nd Air Base Wing. The 12th FTW maintained its flying and maintenance missions while the other support missions were realigned to other units.