❝I saw the smoke from my school building.❞ — Senior Airman Nicholas Figueroa, 71st Security Forces Squadron (SFS) member at Vance Air Force Base. He was 9 years old living in Manhattan when the Twin Towers fell.

Col. Eileen Collins graduated Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance in 1978. She was one of the first four women to go through the program and was the first female T-38 instructor pilot, according to a March 2021 interview between Collins and Taylor Watson with the Daedalians, a fellowship of military aviators.

To provide realism, audible “gunshots” may be heard twice Thursday in the Med Group — at approximately 7:10 a.m. and again at 1:30 p.m.

Twenty-four students received their wings Aug. 27 when Class 21-14 AU graduated from Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance Air Force Base.

From the first class of aviation cadets that arrived at Enid Army Air Field on Dec. 16, 1941, to the classes today, Undergraduate Pilot Training has seen changes to aircraft, simulators, syllabus and more.

Three women at Vance Air Force Base have embraced that equality, overcome adversity and achieved the highest enlisted rank — chief master sergeant.

❝That farm was their livelihood, and Ernest, as patriotic as he was, knew that selling it to the Army would mean ending the family tradition of running that farm.❞ — Chief Master Sgt. Kristy Earls, 71st FTW command chief

Maj. Floyd E. Welsh, as property officer, had the responsibility of evaluating property no longer needed by the military. An Enid Army Flying Field folder crossed his desk as one of the installations considered for permanent closure due to the decreased need for pilots. Welsh put the folder in his desk drawer where it remained for two years, according to Oklahoma Historical Society.

The airmen leading the charge on Undergraduate Pilot Training 2.5 for the 71st Flying Training Wing at Vance Air Force Base shared their success and challenges with more than 100 airmen, Guardians and soldiers during a summit hosted by the AFWERX Las Vegas Hub, June 22-25.

Maj. Steven Hatcher retired from active duty during a ceremony held at 1 p.m., Friday, July 23, in the 3rd Flying Training Squadron auditorium at Vance Air Force Base.

Vance Spouses' Club is putting out a vendor call for its Holiday Marketplace, as the annual event returns to Chisholm Trail Expo Center Nov. 13 following a virtual run due to COVID-19 in 2020.

Gone were the days of gazing skyward or smelling the air. I was trained to think of the atmosphere as a fluid, with flows and eddies comparable to the ocean. 

LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. — The 314th Airlift Wing hosted three first assignment instructor pilots (FAIPs) from Vance Air Force Base at Little Rock Air Force Base June 22 to highlight and share a new way forward in the pilot training process, which ultimately bridges the gap between Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) and the Formal Training Unit (FTU) at the 314th AW.

Vance Air Force Base is requiring everyone to wear masks indoors, following rules set out in a Department of Defense directive.

Last month, Lt. Col. Kenyatta Ruffin, past 71st Operations Support Squadron commander, helped honor his childhood role model, retired Brig. Gen. Charles E. McGee, one of the original Tuskegee Airmen.

Master Sgt. Angela Dewberry retired from active duty during a ceremony held June 29, in the Greven Crosswinds Club at Vance Air Force Base.

ENID, Okla. — Repair or replacement of aging dormitories at Vance Air Force Base is among the provisions authored by U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe and included in the fiscal year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act.

Col. Paul Miller assumed command of the 71st Mission Support Group from Col. Anthony Smith in a ceremony July 1 in Hangar 129.

Chaplain (Maj.) David Dziolek retired from active duty during a ceremony held June 4 in the Greven Crosswinds Club, at Vance Air Force Base.

Eighteen civic leaders from Air Mobility Command, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, visited Vance Air Force Base on June 16-18.

❝I grew up here in Enid, watching T-37s and T-6s fly, and it was always something that I thought was very cool, but never seemed realistic ... but I fell in love with it.❞ — 2nd Lt. Bartolozzi

Legislation has been introduced in Congress to provide $10 billion to help clean up contamination at the so-called “Filthy Fifty” military bases across the country.

Usually I write about our superstar pilots in the skies, but for a day, I got to live the life of one.

Col. Jay Johnson, 71st Flying Training Wing commander at Vance Air Force Base, will speak Friday at the graduation ceremony for Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training Class 21-11.

City of Enid CFO Erin Crawford said audited franchise providers would include ONG, OG&E, Suddenlink and various landline phone companies, while hotels would be any lodging locations paying lodging tax revenue to the city of Enid.

Guiding young Air Force officers through the year-long Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training curriculum allowed then-Capt. Olmstead to see the direct impact his leadership decisions had on the lives of those around him.

Gen. Jeffrey L. Harrigian is the graduation speaker during the first Class 21-10 ceremony of 18 students, set for 10 a.m. Thursday in the Base Auditorium. The second ceremony for AU students is set for 1 p.m.

The newly minted pilots of Undergraduate Pilot Training Class 21-08 AU pinned on their wings May 7 with a special guest.

The airmen of the 71st Security Forces Squadron commemorated all those who protect and serve May 11-15 during Team Vance’s Police Week celebrations, which included a 24-hour march.

Having been EPS’ honorary, non-voting school board member for the last two school years, Col. Anthony Smith will leave Enid at the end of June to take his new post at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. Starting July 1, Smith will begin his 13th assignment as comptroller for the base’s air mobility command.

Team Vance broke ground on the new community “Hero Garden” April 30 at the Youth Center in honor of Month of the Military Child.

Eighteen members of Undergraduate Pilot Training Class 21-09 at Vance Air Force Base will receive their wings Friday.

The city is proposing $170 million in budgeted total revenue and $179.5 million in total expenses — an increase by about $13 million in revenue and $16.6 million in expenses from the current fiscal year that ends June 30, the city's accounting manager said.

At no cost to the city, Scissortail would install, operate and maintain a system that would ideally reduce the landfill’s methane emissions, which have risen beyond state compliance in the last year.

Until recently there was one major hurdle Airmen at Vance Air Force Base face when reporting sexual assault — fear of losing their flying status.

During his visit, Inhofe, the ranking minority member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, said he believed national defense was at risk for being shortchanged under President Joe Biden’s administration.

Civilians attending professional military education is gaining momentum across Air Education & Training Command, according to Master Sgt. Clinton Collins, Altus ALS commandant, at Altus Air Force Base. To date, 13 civilians have attended the Altus ALS.

Eisenhower Elementary School was recognized as a “Purple Star School” for its support to students from military families.

A feature of the new vest that will be critical on the battlefield is a quick release tab. When that tab is pulled, the vest literally falls apart, said Dahmen, allowing quick access for treating injuries.

A new Diversity and Inclusion Council took shape at Vance Air Force Base on April 5, 2021, to help the 71st Flying Training Wing celebrate diverse cultures, experiences, perspectives and backgrounds.

Nineteen Class 21-08 students will graduate at 10 a.m. Friday in the Vance Air Force Base Auditorium.

Vance Spouses’ Club not only services the local and military communities but also builds strong relationships — within the communities and among its 40 members.

Student pilots here hit yet another milestone April 2 as the first 17 Undergraduate Pilot Training 2.5 graduates crossed the stage and received their wings.

VANCE AIR FORCE BASE — Team Vance leadership cut the ribbon on a new Sexual Assault Response Coordinator facility during a ceremony April 1 to kick off the base’s annual Sexual Assault Awareness Month campaign.