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Altus AFB: evolution of a training base

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Nathan Clark
  • Altus Air Force Base Public Affairs
ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Dec. 7, 1941; a day that will live in infamy. The attack on Pearl Harbor plunged the United States into war. At the time the entire U.S. military had roughly 450,000 active duty members and the need for more troops was answered.

Fast forward two years and another call went out, this time not for people, but for land to train fresh troops for flight. A small farming community in Southwest Oklahoma was discovered and deemed a perfect environment for the needs, thus Altus Army Air Field was born.

With its flat terrain, steady winds and mild winters (for the most part), Altus was an ideal location for a training troop-transport and cargo pilots. It wouldn’t be until 1943 that the first planes would take to the skies. During their training in the World War II days, pilots spent about seven weeks learning to operate the twin-engine AT-10 before moving onto bombers and cargo aircraft.

One of the most notable graduates of Altus was 1st Lt. Bill Lawley. Upon graduating his initial training, Lawley went on to fly B-17 bombers in the European theater. During a mission, Lawley’s aircraft was attacked by German fighters, severely wounding the pilot and sending the plane in to a steep dive. Although wounded himself, Lawley was able to straighten out the aircraft with one hand while holding up his wounded comrade with the other. Upon landing, Lawley insisted on his crew being treated for injuries before he was. These noble and amazing actions earned him the nation’s highest decoration, the Medal of Honor.

By the close of the Second World War, Altus turned out more than 5,000 pilots during those crucial years. As the troops returned to the U.S. and dispersed to their respective homes, Altus served as the last stop for thousands of military aircraft that awaited salvaging. Finally, in 1946, Altus’ first chapter closed when it was no longer needed, but that was only the beginning.

Over the next 40 years Altus took on unique yet important missions. From the B-47 Stratojet Bomber and the B-52 Stratofortress, to the 12 ballistic missile sites surrounding Altus Air Force Base. It wasn’t until the C-141 Startlifter and the C-5 Galaxy’s arrival that Altus’ vision looked similar to what it does today.

While Altus has bid farewell to the C-141 and the C-5, it continues the tradition started in 1969 by producing airlift and air refueling crews to meet the nation’s needs. In other words “Forging Combat Mobility Forces and Deploying Airmen warriors.”

Squadrons were activated and deactivated, wars and missions came and went then the U.S. saw another day that would be burned in the mind of those old enough to understand. On Sept. 11, 2001, the terrorist attacks on the east coast grounded all aircraft and military bases were put on lockdown. One day later, Altus responded to the attacks the same way it did 60 years prior when the nations faced a crisis. The 97th Medical Group sent 13 members to New Jersey aboard a C-17 to provide medical support to victims of the attacks. The flight was one of very few aircraft allowed in the sky during that time.

Deployments rapidly increased military-wide with a new war beginning. Altus continued its training mission, but was also deploying its warriors and making sacrifices as all installations had done. In 2004 the first Altus Airman was injured during the war. Since then four other Airmen were injured in deployed locations and in November 2010 Altus suffered its first combat location death since the Vietnam War.

Altus doesn’t just send Airmen to combat zones, it also has had its fair share of humanitarian efforts. In 2005 Altus crews flew 43 missions in 41 days, delivering food, equipment and supplies to areas devastated by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma as well as evacuating 831 passengers to safe areas. In 2008 Altus C-17 crews supported pre-storm efforts for Hurricane Ike. In 2014 ten Airmen delivered humanitarian and medical supplies to Liberia during the Ebola outbreak.

With history to be made, the 56th Airlift Squadron was reactivated as the 56th Air Refueling Squadron in 2016 as the formal training unit the Air Force’s newest aircraft, the KC-46A Pegasus. What used to house the C-5 training, the 56th ARS will be leading Airmen to fly and operate one of the most technologically advanced in-flight refueling aircraft.

Throughout its history, Altus has worn many hats to serve the United States military. What started out as a training facility morphed into a troop carrier base. Still having a hand in training cargo aircraft crew members, Altus housed enough missile firepower to make known to all Soviet generals. During several wars and campaigns, its Airmen deployed, protecting our freedom. It has served as a pit stop for two space shuttles, and provided aid to several humanitarian missions all while continuing the training mission. Training aircrews is in its blood, but its accomplishments, roles, innovation and capabilities have proven that it’s not the ideal flying conditions that make Altus so great. The Airmen that have passed through here are what and will continue to make Altus a productive force to be reckoned with.

*Editor’s note-this article is part of a series focused on the roles AETC’s wings have played in the command’s first 75 years