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.

VANCE AIR FORCE BASE — Student pilots at Vance hit yet another milestone as the first 17 Undergraduate Pilot Training 2.5 graduates crossed the stage and received their wings last week.

2nd Lt. Max Atkinson, a student pilot in the 71st Student Squadron at Vance AFB, used rapid response and quick thinking to resuscitate a motorcyclist after he was thrown from his motorcycle in an accident on the highway.

Deputy chief of staff for operations Lt. Gen. Joseph T. Guastella visited Vance Air Force Base on March 26 to speak to graduating Specialized Undergraduate Training Class 21-07.

Col. Jay Johnson assumed command of the 71st Flying Training Wing in an assumption-of-command ceremony March 25 at Hanger 199.

A B-2 Stealth Bomber flies over Vance Air Force Base Friday, March 26, 2021. The plane approached from the north and made a couple of passes over the base before continuing. Viewers lined the roads around the base to catch sight of the bomber.

Capt. Tina Bowen, a student pilot in the 71st Flying Training Wing, has another ball to juggle. In addition to her day-to-day duties in the classroom and in the air, she’s mother to a 2-year-old daughter, Scarlett Grace.

The Oakwood Mall vaccination clinic is preparing for Phase 4 as Oklahoma State Department of Health announced earlier this week that COVID-19 vaccinations will be available to anyone older than 16 starting next week.

CREECH AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. — The 556th Test and Evaluation Squadron recently completed the first Air Combat Command test of the Automatic Takeoff and Landing Capability (ATLC) for the MQ-9 Reaper at Creech AFB.

ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE (AFNS) — airmen from the 97th Air Mobility Wing welcomed Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force JoAnne Bass during a visit to Altus Air Force Base earlier this month.

More than 50% of Vance Air Force Base’s fleet of T-1A Jayhawks, T-6A Texan IIs and T-38 Talons were relocated Thursday to airfields in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas in anticipation of severe weather forecast to hit Oklahoma on Friday.

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas (AFNS) — Air Education and Training Command, in partnership with the 19th Air Force, recently hosted the Flying Training Virtual Industry Days at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph.

NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. (AFNS) — Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., and his wife, Sharene Brown, visited Nellis Air Force Base, March 2-4.

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas — Diversity and winning the next great power competition go hand-in-hand. Recognizing the value of having and developing agile thinkers at all levels of the Air Force who have diverse backgrounds and experiences, Air Education and Training Command leaders have taken deliberate actions focused on diversity and inclusion for both recruits and current airmen and guardians, members of Space Force.

VANCE AIR FORCE BASE — A severe winter storm froze Team Vance training sorties, buried the base under 11 inches of snow, and stranded hundreds without water, heat or power Feb. 13-17.

Concerns about the former commander of the 71st Flying Training Wing at Vance Air Force Base were raised “within the last 30 days” before he was relieved of command last week.

Col. Timothy Danielson has been relieved as 71st Flying Training Wing commander at Vance Air Force Base, the Air Force announced Friday.

BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. (AFNS) — A team of Air Force Global Strike Command Airmen launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile equipped with a test reentry vehicle at 11:47 p.m. Pacific Time Feb. 24 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

VANCE AIR FORCE BASE — Volunteers at Team Vance’s Retiree Activities Office have been helping local retirees schedule COVID-19 vaccination appointments since the vaccine became available to Oklahomans in January.

Despite the challenges of COVID-19, Vance Air Force Base continued its record of being the most productive pilot training base in the Air Force in 2020, and it is moving forward by implementing new training processes and major upgrades to base infrastructure.

Due to record low temperatures, poor driving conditions and more snow on the way, Vance Air Force Base will be closed Tuesday.

Keston Cook studied a lot of different aspects of airport management during his time at Oklahoma State University, but few young airport managers could anticipate taking the helm of a busy regional airport, with an active role in supporting military flight operations, at the height of a global pandemic.

Local veterans, military personnel and their families can help tell the story of the U.S. military with a new exhibit at the Public Library of Enid and Garfield County.

VANCE AIR FORCE BASE – Team Vance vaccinated its first airmen against the coronavirus Jan. 14 after receiving more than 200 doses.

VANCE AIR FORCE BASE — Contractors began a $320,000 renovation to the Vance Exchange gas station Jan. 18 that is scheduled for completion by March 31.

Two Enid brothers are among the Oklahoma soldiers and airmen returning from Washington, D.C., where they helped provide security for the nation’s 59th presidential inauguration on Wednesday.

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. — Leaders from across the 375th Air Mobility Wing stepped into a virtual reality-inspired test phase Jan. 12 for a new training effort targeted to help airmen feel more comfortable about engaging with others to prevent suicide.

Contractors ripped up the Vance kiddie pool beginning Jan. 4 as part of a planned $248,000 renovation that should be complete before April.

Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training Class 21-04 and T-1 students from Class 21-05 will graduate in a ceremony, 10 a.m. Friday at the Vance Air Force Base Auditorium.

Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training Class 21-03 will graduate 29 junior officers in a 10 a.m. ceremony today at the Vance Air Force Base Auditorium.

Vance Helping Hands, an independent, airman-led volunteer group from Vance Air Force Base, will be handing out hygiene kits for homeless people and those in need, 6 p.m. Saturday at Salvation Army of Enid, 518 N. Independence.