On the recordSeptember 22, 2021
on Friday, September 17, 2021, Vance Air Force Base celebrated its 80th anniversary. On this day, we honored the community, leadership, cadre of instructors, and over 35,000 pilots Vance has trained since 1941. Vance AFB is the top pilot-producing base for 2 years running and enables our Nation to provide and defend global power projection. Vance Air Force Base's history dates back to 1941, originally founded as Air Corps Basic Flying School in Enid, OK. After World War II, the base reopened as a permanent facility on August 26, 1948, and became Vance AFB on July 9, 1949. The base is named in honor of Lt Col Leon Robert Vance, Jr., a native of Enid, who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for gallantry in action over France on June 5, 1944. For 80 years, Vance has served as the model for empowering the future of the U.S. Air Force through innovation and focuses on supporting flight operations everyday. The 71st Flying Training Wing operates over 200 aircraft, conducting more than 50,000 sorties annually, and logging more than 74,000 flight hours in the T-1A Jayhawk, T-6A Texan II, and T-38C Talon. Soon, Vance will add the T-7 Red Hawk to its training aircraft fleet. The base graduates 370 exceptional U.S. Air Force and allied student pilots from pilot training each year. Vance is lucky because it benefits from outstanding community support and partnerships.…
