Columbus Air Force Base is a

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...

base located in Columbus, Mississippi. The host unit at Columbus AFB is the

14th Flying Training Wing The 14th Flying Training Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force based out of Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi. The 14th Operations Group and its six squadrons are responsible for the 52-week Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training ( ...

(14 FTW), which is a part of

Air Education and Training Command Air Education and Training Command (AETC) is one of the nine Major Commands (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF), reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force. It was established 1 July 1993, with the realignment of Air Trainin ...

(AETC). The residential portion of the base is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, su ...

, with a population of 1,604 at the 2020 census.

Base history

Columbus Air Force Base (AFB) was established in 1941, after the US War Department authorized a pilot training base in Columbus, Mississippi. It was originally named Kaye Field, after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

Samuel Kaye Jr., but confusion with nearby Key Field in

Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the seventh largest city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 41,148 at the 2010 census and an estimated population in 2018 of 36,347. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County and the principal city of the Meri ...

led to it being renamed as Columbus Army Flying School. The base was deactivated after the end of

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, but was reactivated four years later with the beginning of the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...

. In 1955, Columbus AFB was transferred to

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile c ...

(SAC) and was occupied by the 4228th Strategic Wing, which later became the

454th Bombardment Wing The 454th Bombardment Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 42d Air Division of Strategic Air Command (SAC) at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi. It was inactivated on 25 July 1969. The wing's predece ...

. In 1969, Columbus AFB was transferred back to Air Training Command, and was occupied by the 3650th Pilot Training Wing, which became the

in 1972.

Based units

Flying and notable non-flying units based at Columbus Air Force Base. Units marked GSU are Geographically Separate Units, which although based at Columbus, are subordinate to a parent unit based at another location.

United States Air Force

(AETC) *

Nineteenth Air Force The Nineteenth Air Force (19 AF) is an active Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force. During the Cold War it was a component of Tactical Air Command, with a mission of command and control over deployed USAF forces in support of Unit ...

***14th Comptroller Squadron ***

14th Operations Group The 14th Operations Group is the flying component of the 14th Flying Training Wing, assigned to the United States Air Force's Air Education and Training Command. The group is stationed at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi. The group was fir ...

****14th Operations Support Squadron **** 14th Student Squadron **** 37th Flying Training Squadron – T-6A Texan II ****

41st Flying Training Squadron The 41st Flying Training Squadron is part of the 14th Flying Training Wing based at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi. It operates Beechcraft T-6 Texan II aircraft conducting flight training. The squadron's mission is to train future Air ...

– T-6A Texan II ****

43rd Flying Training Squadron The 43d Flying Training Squadron is part of the 340th Flying Training Group and is the reserve associate to the 14th Flying Training Wing based at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi. It operates Raytheon T-1 Jayhawk, Beechcraft T-6 Texan II ...

****

48th Flying Training Squadron The 48th Flying Training Squadron is part of the 14th Flying Training Wing based at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi. It operates T-1 Jayhawk aircraft conducting flight training. The squadron is one of the oldest in the Air Force, being form ...

– T-1A Jayhawk ****

49th Fighter Training Squadron The 49th Fighter Training Squadron is part of the 14th Flying Training Wing based at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi. It operates T-38 Talon aircraft conducting flight training. The squadron was first activated as the 49th Pursuit Squadr ...

– T-38C Talon ****

50th Flying Training Squadron The 50th Flying Training Squadron is part of the 14th Flying Training Wing based at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi. It operates Northrop T-38C Talon aircraft conducting flight training. Mission Training Combat Pilots for America The ad ...

– T-38C Talon *** 14th Mission Support Group **** 14th Civil Engineering Squadron **** 14th Communications Squadron **** 14th Contracting Squadron **** 14th Force Support Squadron **** 14th Logistics Readiness Squadron **** 14th Security Forces Squadron *** 14th Medical Group **** 14th Medical Operations Squadron **** 14th Medical Support Squadron

Air Force Reserve Command The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commi ...

(AFRC) *

Tenth Air Force The Tenth Air Force (10 AF) is a unit of the U.S. Air Force, specifically a numbered air force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). 10 AF is headquartered at Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base/Carswell Field (formerly Carswell ...

** 340th Flying Training Group ***

(GSU) – T-1A Jayhawk, T-6A Texan II

References

External links

* {{Authority control Airports in Mississippi Installations of the United States Air Force in Mississippi Military in Mississippi Census-designated places in Mississippi Census-designated places in Lowndes County, Mississippi

Base history

Based units

United States Air Force

See also

References

External links