64th Flying Training Wing


The 64th Flying Training Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last active at Reese Air Force Base, Texas, where it conducted pilot training for twenty-five years before it was inactivated in September 1997.
The wing was first activated in as the 64th Troop Carrier Wing in 1952 at Donaldson Air Force Base, South Carolina, but was inactivated within two years. It was again active twice as an airlift unit in the 1960s. In 1972, Air Training Command replaced its four digit Major Command controlled flying training units with units whose heritage could be continued and the wing was activated at Reese, where it conducted pilot training until it was inactivated.

History

Airlift

The 64th performed airlift and airdrop/airlanding of troops and cargo, routinely and during frequent maneuvers, 1952–1953. It began phasing down for inactivation in mid-October 1953, at which time tactical operations passed to 63d Troop Carrier Wing. In February 1954, however, the wing began building up again in preparation for an overseas movement, but was inactivated instead.
The 64th was activated at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas in February 1961 with a troop carrier/airlift mission, plus resupply of Distant Early Warning Line sites on the Greenland ice cap. The wing was again inactivated on 1 January 1963.
It was reactivated and replaced Troop Carrier Wing Provisional, 4413th, in July 1966 at Sewart Air Force Base, Tennessee. The wing provided global airlift and aeromedical evacuation, July 1966 – May 1971. It also provided Lockheed C-130 Hercules combat crew training for other units from, 1 July 1966 – 6 March 1970, with this being the wing’s primary activity from 9 August 1968 to 6 March 1970. It was replaced at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, in May 1971 by 314th Tactical Airlift Wing.

Flying training

The 64th was renamed the 64th Flying Training Wing and replaced the 3500th Pilot Training Wing in October 1972, assuming the mission of undergraduate pilot training and operation and maintenance of Reese Air Force Base, Texas. It also supported Strategic Air Command's Accelerated Co-Pilot Enrichment Program through operating locations at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota; Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota; and Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota from 1976 until 1991.
The 64th began specialized undergraduate pilot training in July 1992, using T–1A Jayhawk to prepare students for airlift tanker/transport training and the Northrop T-38 Talon aircraft for students in fighter/bomber track. Air Education and Training Command inactivated the wing on 30 September 1997 with the closure of Reese Air Force Base pursuant to Base Realignment and Closure Commission action.

Lineage

Groups
Squadrons