Reese Technology Center is a research and business park located on the grounds of former Reese Air Force Base in western
Lubbock
Lubbock ( )
is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...
at the unincorporated community of
Reese Center.
History
Reese Technology Center began as the Lubbock
Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps:
* Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army
* Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941)
* United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...
Advanced Flying School in 1942.
It was renamed Lubbock Army Flying School in 1943 and then Lubbock Army Airfield later that same year. In 1949, it was renamed Reese Air Force Base in honor of a local
West Texas
West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the arid and semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Del Rio.
No consensus exists on the boundary betwee ...
pilot, Augustus F. Reese, Jr., who was killed in a bombing raid over Italy during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
[
Over the years, many milestones were accomplished at Reese Air Force Base, including a special pilot training program, the first ]flight simulator
A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they rea ...
used in a training program, and a joint pilot training program with the Navy. More than 25,000 pilots, who fought in every conflict since World War II, were trained at Reese.
In 1995, word reached the Lubbock
Lubbock ( )
is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...
community that Reese Air Force Base was on the Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...
’s list for base closures. In spite of much opposition from community members and leaders alike, the base closure was announced for September 30, 1997. The Lubbock Reese Redevelopment Committee (LRRC) was created in 1995, just two weeks after the base was recommended to be closed.[
The Lubbock Reese Redevelopment Committee was renamed the Redevelopment Authority (LRRA) and could now execute contracts for base property. This committee was composed of local government officials and area business people.
]
See also
* Llano Estacado
*West Texas
West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the arid and semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Del Rio.
No consensus exists on the boundary betwee ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
Official website
Education in Lubbock, Texas
Buildings and structures in Lubbock County, Texas
1942 establishments in Texas