Goodfellow Air Force Base is a nonflying

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

base located in

San Angelo, Texas San Angelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tom Green County, Texas, United States. Its location is in the Concho Valley, a region of West Texas between the Permian Basin to the northwest, Chihuahuan Desert to the southwest, Osage Plai ...

, United States. As part of

Air Education and Training Command Air Education and Training Command (AETC) is one of the nine Major Commands (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF), reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force. It was established 1 July 1993, with the realignment of Air Training ...

, Goodfellow's main mission is

cryptologic Cryptologic Limited was a Dublin, Ireland-based software application service provider (formerly Toronto, Ontario, Canada), one of the oldest established in the online gambling industry. It was acquired by the Amaya Gaming Group in 2012 and has si ...

and

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...

training for the Air Force,

Space Force A space force is a military branch of a nation's armed forces that conducts military operations in outer space and space warfare. The world's first space force was the Russian Space Forces, established in 1992 as an independent military service. ...

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

, and

Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

. Military firefighters are also trained here as part of the 312th Training Squadron. It is the home of the 17th Training Wing. The base is named for

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

John J. Goodfellow Jr.

History

Goodfellow's history traces to the days before the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

, but its name registered the valor and sacrifice of an earlier conflict. On 14 September 1918, First Lieutenant John J. Goodfellow Jr., of San Angelo, Texas, boarded his

Salmson 2 The Salmson 2 A.2, (often shortened to Salmson 2) was a French biplane reconnaissance aircraft developed and produced by Salmson to a 1916 requirement. Along with the Breguet 14, it was the main reconnaissance aircraft of the French army in 1918 ...

observation plane A surveillance aircraft is an aircraft used for surveillance. They are operated by military forces and other government agencies in roles such as intelligence gathering, battlefield surveillance, airspace surveillance, reconnaissance, observ ...

at Gondreville Airfield in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

to conduct visual reconnaissance behind enemy lines. The mission was part of a larger undertaking just underway, a major American offensive intended to reduce the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

salient near

Saint-Mihiel Saint-Mihiel () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Geography Saint-Mihiel lies on the banks of the river Meuse. History A Benedictine abbey was established here in 708 or 709 by Count Wulfoalde and his wif ...

. Unfortunately, adverse weather permitted observation only at a low altitude that exposed the lumbering Salmson to enemy pursuit. Three days later, the

offensive Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

a success, the young pilot's remains were recovered from his ruined craft and interred at the St. Mihiel American Cemetery and Memorial near

Nancy, Meurthe-et-Moselle Nancy ; Lorraine Franconian: ''Nanzisch'' is the prefecture of the northeastern French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle. It was the capital of the Duchy of Lorraine, which was annexed by France under King Louis XV in 1766 and replaced by a provi ...

World War II

The peace that arrived two months later endured a mere two decades more. Constrained by neutrality legislation, but witness to the aggression across Europe, Africa, and Asia,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

began a program of preparedness that included the construction of facilities dedicated to advanced air training. Several such bases were envisioned for

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and one, specifically, for the

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

- Midland-San Angelo triangle. Civic leaders from San Angelo immediately commended their community to the

U.S. War Department The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, a ...

. A generous offer of sewage and electrical service, a railroad spur, and a 50-year lease on at one dollar per year easily decided the issue. Construction of the new San Angelo Air Corps Basic Flying School began at once. Officially established on 17 August 1940, the base was ready for occupancy by 21 January 1941, and the first classes of students soon arrived. On 11 June 1941, in dedication to a young hero and in tribute to the community that shaped him, the base was officially renamed Goodfellow Field. In the next four years, more than 10,000 trained pilots were graduated, and many were decorated for outstanding heroism in action against

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

United States Air Force

The

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...

collapse did not remove the need for the Goodfellow training. Pilots continued to be trained there, primarily for large, multiengine

piston A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors, hydraulic cylinders and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-tig ...

and

turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. Fuel ...

aircraft, first on the

AT-6 Texan The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and other air forces ...

, the

T-28 Trojan The North American Aviation T-28 Trojan is a radial-engine military trainer aircraft manufactured by North American Aviation and used by the United States Air Force and United States Navy beginning in the 1950s. Besides its use as a trainer, ...

, and then, beginning in 1954, on the twin-engine TB-25 and

B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...

. The 3545th Basic Pilot Training Wing gave pilot instruction from 1948. On 3 September 1958, with nearly 20,000 aviators to its credit, Goodfellow graduated its last class of pilots.

Air Training Command Air Training Command (ATC) is a former United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command designation. It was headquartered at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, but was initially formed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. It was re-designated as Ai ...

(ATC) was transitioning to new

Cessna T-37 Tweet The Cessna T-37 Tweet (designated Model 318 by Cessna) is a small, economical twin-engined jet trainer type which flew for decades as a primary trainer for the United States Air Force (USAF) and in the air forces of several other nations. The T ...

and

Northrop T-38 Talon The Northrop T-38 Talon is a two-seat, twinjet supersonic jet trainer. It was the world's first, and the most produced, supersonic trainer. The T-38 remains in service in several air forces. The United States Air Force (USAF) operates the most ...

aircraft for

Undergraduate Pilot Training Air Education and Training Command (AETC) is one of the nine Major Commands (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF), reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force. It was established 1 July 1993, with the realignment of Air Training ...

that required minimum 8000-ft (2400-m)

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...

lengths, far longer than Goodfellow's 5500-ft primary runways. With the transfer of the base from ATC to the

U.S. Air Force Security Service Initially established as the Air Force (USAF) Security Group in June, 1948, the USAF Security Service (USAFSS) was activated as a major command on Oct 20, 1948 (For redesignations, see Successor units.) The USAFSS was a secretive branch of the ...

(USAFSS), Goodfellow's mission became the training of Air Force personnel in the advanced cryptologic skills that the Security Service required. After the changeover, the 6940th Air Base Wing administered the base and later, after a name change, provided decryption training. Eight years later, in 1966, the mission expanded further to include joint-service training in these same skills for U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Marine Corps personnel. Although flight operations at Goodfellow decreased dramatically after 1958, minimal activities continued with both transient aircraft and locally based Cessna U-3 Administrators (1958–1971), DeHavilland U-6 Beavers (1960–1966), Piasecki H-21, CH-21, and HH-21 Workhorse

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

s (1958–1966), and

Cessna O-2 Skymaster The Cessna O-2 Skymaster (nicknamed "Oscar Deuce") is a military version of the Cessna 337 Super Skymaster, used for forward air control (FAC) and psychological operations (PSYOPS) by the US military between 1967 and 2010. Design and developm ...

s (1972–1975). Goodfellow's runways were permanently closed in March 1975. After 38 years of pilot and then intelligence training, Goodfellow's mission had apparently come to a close with the announcement in 1978 that the base would revert to ATC and was a candidate for closure. Since it was a single-mission facility, its mission could perhaps be executed more economically elsewhere. Nevertheless, the 3480th Technical Training Wing of Air Training Command was activated at the base on 1 July 1978. On 3 January 1984 the wing gained the suffix USAF Cryptological Training Center. By then, senior intelligence personnel had already begun seriously to contemplate the consolidation of all Air Force-managed intelligence training at one location. The site selected for intelligence training consolidation was Goodfellow, and the base was designated a technical training center on 1 March 1985. The Goodfellow Technical Training Center continued to supervise the 3480th Technical Training Wing. During the next three years, intelligence training consolidation brought to Goodfellow advanced imagery training from

Offutt Air Force Base Offutt Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force base south of Omaha, adjacent to Bellevue in Sarpy County, Nebraska. It is the headquarters of the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), the 557th Weather Wing, and the 55th Wing (55 WG) of the Air ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

;

electronic intelligence Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ( ...

operations training from

Keesler Air Force Base Keesler Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Biloxi, a city along the Gulf Coast in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. The base is named in honor of aviator 2d Lt Samuel Reeves Keesler Jr., a Mississippi nati ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

; and targeting, intelligence applications, and general intelligence training from

Lowry Air Force Base Lowry Air Force Base (Lowry Field in 1938–1948) is a former United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) training base during World War II and a United States Air Force (USAF) training base during the Cold War, serving as the initial 1955–1958 si ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, as a result of Lowry's identification for closure under

Base Realignment and Closure Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) is a process by a United States federal government commission to increase United States Department of Defense efficiency by coordinating the realignment and closure of military installations following the end o ...

(BRAC). The successful completion of intelligence training consolidation on 30 June 1988 further facilitated the development of intelligence training integration, a multidisciplinary approach to the training of intelligence professionals. In 1992, as part of Air Force size reductions, ATC was inactivated, replaced by the

, which became base's "parent" major command. The 3480 Technical Training Wing was reduced to the 3480 Technical Training Group on 1 February 1992 and then redesignated as the 391 Technical Training Group on 15 September 1992. On 1 July 1993, the 17th Training Wing was activated on Goodfellow AFB. With the change in name came a marked diversification and increase in Goodfellow's mission.

rounds one and two transferred special instruments training from the former Lowry AFB and fire protection training from the former

Chanute Air Force Base Chanute Air Force Base is a decommissioned United States Air Force facility, located in Champaign County, Illinois, south of and adjacent to Rantoul, Illinois, about south of Chicago. Its primary mission throughout its existence was Air Force t ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, to Goodfellow. To support the increased training load, Goodfellow underwent extensive modernization and growth. With new training facilities, dormitories, dining halls, a

commissary A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop. In many countries, the term is used as an administrative or police title. It often c ...

, a youth center, and a physical fitness center. On February 18, 1995 Louis Jones Jr., kidnapped Private Tracie McBride from Goodfellow AFB before raping and murdering her.Court upholds death penalty in Jones' murder conviction
" ''

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal ''Lubbock Avalanche-Journal'' is a newspaper based in Lubbock, Texas, United States. It is owned by Gannett. History ''The Lubbock Avalanche'' was founded in 1900 by John James Dillard and Thad Tubbs. According to Dillard, the name "Avalanche" ...

''. Wednesday, June 23, 1999. Retrieved on July 17, 2016.

Based units

These flying and notable nonflying units are based at Goodfellow Air Force Base. Units marked GSU are geographically separate units, which although based at Goodfellow, are subordinate to a parent unit based at another location.

United States Air Force

Air Education and Training Command (AETC) *

Second Air Force The Second Air Force (2 AF; ''2d Air Force'' in 1942) is a USAF numbered air force responsible for conducting basic military and technical training for Air Force enlisted members and non-flying officers. In World War II the CONUS unit defended ...

** 17th Training Wing (host wing) *** 17th Comptroller Squadron *** 17th Training Group **** 17th Training Support Squadron **** 312th Training Squadron **** 313th Training Squadron **** 315th Training Squadron **** 316th Training Squadron *** 17th Medical Group **** 17th Medical Operations Squadron **** 17th Medical Support Squadron *** 17th Mission Support Group **** 17th Civil Engineer Squadron **** 17th Communications Squadron **** 17th Contracting Squadron **** 17th Logistics Readiness Squadron **** 17th Security Forces Squadron **** 17th Force Support Squadron

United States Army

Training and Doctrine Command *

111th Military Intelligence Brigade The 111th Military Intelligence Brigade is a training brigade of the U.S. Army's Intelligence Center of Excellence under U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command located at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. The brigade has overall responsibility for four ...

344th Military Intelligence Battalion The 344th Military Intelligence Battalion (MI Bn) is located in San Angelo, Texas at Goodfellow Air Force Base. The 344th's mission is to train, develop, and educate soldiers to become signals intelligence and firefighting professionals for th ...

(GSU) *** Alpha Company *** Bravo Company *** Charlie Company *

U.S. Army Engineer School The United States Army Engineer School (USAES) is located at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. It was founded as a School of Engineering by General Headquarters Orders, Valley Forge on 9 June 1778. The U.S. Army Engineer School provides training that ...

** 1st Engineer Brigade ***

169th Engineer Battalion The battalion is currently part of the U.S. Army Engineer School, headquartered at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and is a subordinate unit to the 1st Engineer Brigade. The battalion mainly conducts advanced individual training for engineering ve ...

**** Fire-fighter Detachment (GSU)

United States Marine Corps

* Marine Corps Detachment

United States Navy

Naval Education and Training Command The Naval Education and Training Command (NETC) is an enterprise level shore command of the United States Navy with more than 19,000 military and staff personnel at more than 1,640 subordinate activities, sites, districts, stations, and detachmen ...

Center for Information Warfare Training The United States Navy's Center for Information Warfare Training (CIWT) is one of the learning centers of Naval Education and Training Command, headquartered on Naval Air Station Pensacola Corry Station in Escambia County, Florida. It is respons ...

(GSU)

Facilities

These are some of the facilities at Goodfellow AFB: * Dining facilities : Western Winds : Cressman * Recreation facilities : Gymnasiums (2) : Swimming pools (2) : Bowling alley : Movie theater : Base library * Several dormitories
Goodfellow AFB Library
* Crossroads Chapel fellowship center * Army, Navy, and Marine Corps tenant units * Angelo Inn billeting * Louis F. Garland Fire Academy * Lakeside Recreation Center at

Lake Nasworthy Lake Nasworthy is a small municipal lake located in San Angelo, Texas. The lake is named for John R. Nasworthy, who sold the land where the lake is located to the city. The lake was built by West Texas Utilities Company in 1930 to provide municipal ...

* Ross Medical Clinic

Miscellaneous

In April 1951,

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

's parents met for the first time when they attended the wedding of her maternal uncle, Sgt. Dale Fortin, at the airbase chapel.Madonna by Andrew Morton
/ref>

References

* * Manning, Thomas A. (2005), ''History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002''. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas * Shaw, Frederick J. (2004), ''Locating Air Force Base Sites, History’s Legacy'', Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington DC. *

External links

*
Go Goodfellow
– Base force support squadron * * * {{Authority control Installations of the United States Air Force in Texas Buildings and structures in San Angelo, Texas Initial United States Air Force installations USAF Air Training Command Installations Military airbases established in 1940 1940 establishments in Texas

History

World War II

United States Air Force

Based units

United States Air Force

United States Army

United States Marine Corps

United States Navy

Facilities

Miscellaneous

See also

References

External links