Air Education and Training Command

Air Education and Training Command, with headquarters at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas, was established and activated in January 1942, making it the second oldest major command in the Air Force. AETC’s training mission makes it the first command to touch the lives of nearly every Air Force member. AETC was formed in 1942 as the Army Air Corps Flying Training Command with headquarters in Washington, D.C. Less than a year later, the headquarters moved to Fort Worth, Texas. During World War II the command provided technical and flying training at more than 600 installations, factories and institutions of higher learning. The headquarters moved to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, in 1946, to Scott AFB, Illinois, in 1949, and finally to Randolph AFB in 1957. In July 1993, Air Training Command and Air University merged to form AETC. This redesignation allowed the command to retain all of its previous heritage and honors. The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure plan renamed Randolph Air Force Base, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph. Over the years, more than 25 million students have graduated from AETC training and education programs. MISSION Recruit, train and educate Airmen to deliver 21st Century airpower. We take America’s sons and daughters – young men and women who have volunteered to serve their country in a time of war – and develop them into Airmen. Develop denotes more than educating or training them – it implies bringing them to embrace our culture, teaching them (by our example) our core values of integrity, service before self and excellence in all we do. VISION Inspire and Develop MACH-21 Airmen. HISTORY Air Education and Training Command (AETC) predates the establishment of the Air Force. The War Department activated AETC as the Air Corps Flying Training Command on 23 Jan 1942, redesignated it as the Army Air Forces (AAF) Flying Training Command in Mar 1942, added technical training to its mission in 1943 and redesignated the command as Army Air Forces Training Command on 31 Jul 1943. By the end of World War II, AAF Training Command had produced about 200,000 pilots, 48,000 navigators and air crew, 1.9 million technical training graduates, and a staggering 2.8 million basic military training graduates. On 1 Jul 1946, AAF Training Command became Air Training Command (ATC). Air University merged with ATC on 1 Jul 1993, and the command took its present designation of Air Education and Training Command. "The First Command," AETC is responsible for recruiting, technical training, flying training, and the continuing education of each generation of Airmen. Inspired Airmen are ready to perform the mission anywhere, anytime thanks to the dedicated professionals of AETC. The mission of the AETC History and Research Office is to inspire and inform Airmen to win any fight using our shared Air Force heritage and history. Their vision is to fortify resiliency in all airmen by providing history and heritage expertise and products