Moody Air Force Base

Moody Air Force Base
Part of Air Combat Command (ACC)
Located near: Valdosta, Georgia

Three A-10C Thunderbolt II aircraft from the 74th and 75th Fighter Squadrons out of Moody Air Force Base
Coordinates 30°58′4″N 83°11′34″W / 30.96778°N 83.19278°W / 30.96778; -83.19278 (Moody AFB)
Type Air Force Base
Site information
Controlled by  United States Air Force
Site history
Built 1941
In use 1941-Present
Garrison information
Garrison  23d Wing
Airfield information
IATA: VAD – ICAO: KVAD – FAA LID: VAD
Summary
Elevation AMSL 233 ft / 71 m
Coordinates 30°58′04″N 083°11′34″W / 30.96778°N 83.19278°W / 30.96778; -83.19278Coordinates: 30°58′04″N 083°11′34″W / 30.96778°N 83.19278°W / 30.96778; -83.19278
Website www.moody.af.mil
Map
KVAD

Location of Moody Air Force Base

Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
18L/36R 9,300 2,835 Concrete/Grooved
18R/36L 8,000 2,438 PEM/Grooved
Sources: official web site[1] and FAA[2]
Aircraft of Moody AFB. Shown are the HC-130P (top), A-10C Thunderbolt II(left and right), 820th SFG’s armored Humvee (bottom left), HH-60G (bottom center), and 822nd/823rd SFS. The HC-130 and HH-60G are used by the 347th Rescue Group, the A-10Cs are used by the 23rd Fighter Group
A HH-60G Pave Hawk from the 41st Rescue Squadron

Moody Air Force Base (IATA: VAD, ICAO: KVAD, FAA LID: VAD) is a United States Air Force installation located in Lowndes County and Lanier County, about 9 miles (14 km) northeast of Valdosta, Georgia, United States.

The host unit, the 23d Wing, carries out worldwide close air support, force protection, and combat search and rescue operations (CSAR).

Originally named Valdosta Airfield when it opened on 15 September 1941, the airfield was renamed Moody Army Airfield on 6 December 1941 in honor of Major George Putnam Moody (13 March 1908 – 5 May 1941), an early Air Force pioneer. Major Moody earned his military wings in 1930 and flew U.S. airmail as a member of the United States Army Air Corps in 1934. He was killed on 5 May 1941 while flight-testing a Beechcraft AT-10 Wichita advanced two-engine training aircraft at Wichita Army Airfield, Kansas. The AT-10 was later used extensively at Moody AAF during World War II.

Also located at the base is Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide: Moody Campus.[3]

History

Moody Army Airfield, about 1943
Trainees in front of AT-6s, 1942
After switchover to AT-10s, 1943. "MO" on fuselsage signififies Moody AAF aircraft.
Nightly retreat formation.
Technical area behind ramp and hangars, about 1943.

The base had its beginning in 1940 when a group of concerned Valdosta and Lowndes County citizens began searching for a way to assist the expanding defense program. A committee was formed to obtain a military airfield for their community. In October 1940, the committee sent a letter to Maxwell AAF inviting the Air Corps to consider the Valdosta area. When engineers arrived, they rejected the existing Valdosta Municipal Airport because of excessive grading costs and began looking for another site. The Air Corps found an acceptable site 11.5 miles NNE of Valdosta near the small settlement of Bemis. The site was located on the Lakeland Flatwoods Project, a 9,300 acres (38 km2) tract of sub-marginal land, not primarily suited for cultivation. The United States Department of Agriculture, which owned the land, was experimenting at that time with forest grazing at the project. The Air Corps approved to locate the base on the tract in March 1941. Two months later, on 14 May, the Department of Agriculture transferred ownership of the property to the War Department.

Construction got underway on 28 July 1941 for a twin-engine advanced training base with accommodations for 4,100 men. The $3.4 million project's 160 buildings included 72 barracks and 16 supply rooms. Also provided in the original contract were four 5,000-foot runways, two asphalt and two concrete, plus a spur of the Georgia and Florida Railroad.

World War II

Moody Army Airfield was activated on 26 June 1941. It was used by the Army Air Forces Flying Training Command, Southeast Training Center, with the 29th Flying Training Wing for primary (phase 1) flight training, in which flight cadets were taught basic flight using two-seater training aircraft.

Under the Southeast Training Center, Moody AAF controlled several auxiliary airfields

On 8 January 1943, the War Department constituted and activated the 29th Flying Training Wing (Advanced Twin-Engine) at Moody and assigned it to the AAF Eastern Flying Training Command. Advanced Twin Engine training (phase 3) was designed to train cadets to fly transports and bombers. One of the major problems encountered with the switchover from single-engine to two-engine training was the instructor's lack of experience with twin-engined aircraft. Most of the instructors were recent single-engine graduates with less than six months of flight experience, When the Curtiss AT-9, Beech AT-10 Wichita, and Cessna AT-17 arrived, the instructors had to be thoroughly checked out in these twin-engine trainers before they could instruct the students.

In September 1944, Moody began replacing the AT-10 with the TB-25 Mitchell. As a result of the demands of training with the B-25 and a lessened need for pilots, the Army extended the flight syllabus by an additional five weeks on 16 October 1944. The extended program added 30 additional flight hours and five more hours in the Link Trainer. Meanwhile, a Bombardier Navigator Replacement Pool had been established on 24 July 1943. The Army also built four additional runways at Moody during 1943 for a total of eight. in November 1943, 490 German POWs arrived at the base from Camp Blanding, Florida.

Due to reduced demands for new pilots during the early months of 1945, The Army Air Force announced that Moody would be transferred to the First Air Force on 30 April 1945. Under First Air Force, Moody trained replacement combat pilots as a Combat Crew Training Station for the Douglas A-26 Invader light bomber.

Following the end of the war, activity at Moody diminished to the point that 24 of the 93 A-26s had to be placed in flyable storage. The airfield was transferred back to Army Air Forces Training Command on 1 November 1945 after World War II ended. In August 1946, the AAF inactivated Moody placing it on standby status.

Postwar era

While on standby status, the airfield was redesignated as Moody Air Force Base on 13 January 1948. Moody was again transferred to Continental Air Command on 1 December 1948, then reactivated on 25 November 1949. Upon reactivation work was begun to modernize the airfield from its World War II wartime configuration into a permanent Air Force Base with modern facilities. Construction took almost two years, and finally on 1 April 1951 Moody Air Force Base was activated under the control of Strategic Air Command.

Under SAC, Moody was assigned to the Second Air Force and the 40th Air Division. The 4223d Base Services Squadron was activated to perform the base support mission, with the Federalized California Air National Guard's 146th Fighter-Bomber Group, flying F-51 Mustangs as the primary flying unit. Moody was programmed to become a SAC Strategic Fighter Wing base once the 9,000-foot jet runway was completed.

Air Training Command

Emblem of the 3550th Pilot Training Wing

Shortly after the Korean War began on 25 June 1950, Air Training Command took over most combat crew training, thereby relieving operational commands of much of their training burden and allowing them to concentrate on their combat mission. In order for ATC to accommodate this expansion of its training mission, HQ USAF directed SAC to consolidate its planned fighter-escort mission at Moody with its existing fighter mission at nearby Turner AFB, and Moody was assigned to ATC for the Crew Training mission.

On 1 September 1951, Moody was formally transferred from SAC to ATC. On the same day, Air Training Command established Crew Training Air Force (CTAF) at Moody by activating the 3550th Training Wing (Interceptor Aircrew) and assigning Air Defense Command interceptor weapons instructor training to the wing. On 11 June 1952, the 3550th Training Wing was redesignated as the 3550th Flying Training Wing as ATC reorganized its flying training program under Flying Training or Crew Training Air Forces. With the completion of flying facilities at Moody in 1953, F-89 Scorpion and F-94 Starfire interceptors were assigned to the 3550th for applied training.

Lockheed F-94C Starfire trainer of the 3550th Pilot Training Wing (Interceptor).
Northrop T-38A Talon supersonic jet trainer at Moody, about 1964

To inject more realism into the training, ATC made arrangements with Strategic Air Command to allow instructor pilots to fly intercept missions against SAC bombers with F-86D (later L) Sabre, With the addition of interceptor crew training and the acquisition of interceptor aircraft, HQ USAF decided effective 20 October 1953 to assign ATC responsibility for supporting Air Defense Command's interceptor forces. Moody's 3554th Fighter-Interceptor Training Squadron maintained two combat-ready aircraft and crews on five-minute active air alert as ADC augmentation forces.

With the arrival of the TF-102 Delta Dagger in Air Defense Command in 1960, Moody ended interceptor pilot and crew training and became one of ATC's new undergraduate pilot training (UPT) schools. The F-86Ls used at Moody were reassigned to be transferred to Perrin AFB, Texas. With the reassignment to UPT, the 3550th was redesignated as the 3550th Pilot Training Wing.

In 1961, Foreign Pilot Training was transferred to Moody from the closing of the Graham Air Base contract pilot school in Marianna, Florida. Graham AB's T-28 Trojans were also transferred. In early 1962, the number of South Vietnamese Air Force students entering this program began to increase sharply. As a result, the Air Force stopped disposal action on all T-28s stored at Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona. Twenty-six of those aircraft moved to Moody, plus the Navy transferred four from its own stocks. In September 1963, the supersonic-capable Northrop T-38 Talon jet trainer arrived at Moody to replace the first-generation T-33 jet trainers. Along with the T-38s, Air Training Command relocated the foreign pilot training from Moody to Randolph AFB.

In 1965, the Cessna T-41A training aircraft, based on the Cessna 172, arrived at Moody. It was used in the initial phases of student training. Students received about 30 hours of flight training in the T-41 before advancing to the T-37 primary jet trainer. The T-41 replaced the T-34A and the T-37 replaced the T-28, which had been previously used in similar roles.

Future U.S. President George W. Bush trained as an Air Force pilot at Moody AFB beginning on 25 November 1968 to 28 November 1969 (UPT Course #P-V4A-A Moody AFB, GA, 53 weeks, November 1969). After transitional training in the F-102 Delta Dagger at the former Perrin AFB, Texas, he was assigned to the 147th Fighter Interceptor Group (now 147th Reconnaissance Wing) of the Texas Air National Guard at Ellington Field Air National Guard Base, Texas.

On 1 December 1973, the 38th Flying Training Wing (38 FTW) replaced and absorbed the resources of the 3550th Pilot Training Wing at Moody. Air Training Command desired to restore the heritage and lineage of notable combat wings. Its predecessor unit, the 38th Bombardment Group had fought in the Battle of Midway and in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II.

Tactical Air Command

On 30 June 1975, it was announced that Moody would transfer from ATC to Tactical Air Command on 1 December 1975, the base to become host to a wing of McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II fighter aircraft. This change in Moody's mission would mark the first time in almost 25 years that Moody was not engaged in pilot or aircrew training. Training officials conducted the last UPT student flight at Moody on 4 November 1975, and the last undergraduate pilot training class (76-04) graduated on 21 November 1975. The transfer was completed as scheduled on 1 December 1975.

McDonnell Douglas F-4E-39-MC Phantom AF Serial No. 68-0447 of the 70th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 1984. This aircraft was retired to AMARC in 1991.
F-16Cs of the 347th Wing in formation.

On 1 December 1975, the 347th Tactical Fighter Wing (347 TFW), a unit of the Tactical Air Command (TAC), relocated to Moody from Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand. Control of Moody passed from ATC to TAC with the 347 TFW as the new host wing and the mission of the base changed from pilot training under ATC to an active tactical fighter base under TAC. Operational tactical fighter squadrons at Moody were:

The 347th flew the McDonnel-Douglas F-4E until 1988, when it upgraded to the Block 15 General Dynamics F-16A/B. In 1990, the wing upgraded again to the Block 40 F-16C/D. Moody won the Commander-in-Chief's Installation Excellence Award for 1991, and the 1994 Verne Orr Award, which is presented by the Air Force Association to the unit that most effectively uses human resources to accomplish its mission. In June 1997, the 347th TFW was awarded the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award for the eighth time in its illustrious history.

As part of the implementation of the Objective Wing concept, the 347th was redesignated as the 347th Fighter Wing on 1 October 1991.

Air Combat Command

The Air Force reorganized the MAJCOMs at the end of the Cold War, and on 1 June 1992 Moody was reassigned from the inactivating Tactical Air Command to the new Air Combat Command.

As a result of the August 1992 destruction of Homestead AFB, Florida by Hurricane Andrew, the 31st Fighter Wing's 307th and 308th Fighter Squadrons were initially evacuated to Moody AFB prior to the hurricane making landfall. With Homestead unusable for an extended period after the hurricane, on 20 November the squadrons were permanently assigned to the 347 TFW. On 1 April 1994, the 308 FS was moved without personnel or equipment to the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke AFB, Arizona, replacing the 311 FS. The squadron's Block 40 F-16s were sent to Aviano AB, Italy, where the 31 FW would later stand up as a United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) unit.

As part of the realignment of the post Cold-War Air Force, HQ ACC converted and realigned the 347th Fighter Wing to the 347th Wing (347 WG) on 1 July 1994, with a new mission being that of a force projection, air/land composite wing. Squadrons of the 347th Wing were:

The 307 FS was inactivated on 31 August 1995 when F-16 operations at Moody were reduced in size.

On 1 April 1997 the 347th Wing added a combat search and rescue (CSAR) component with the addition of the 41st Rescue Squadron (41 RQS) with HH-60G helicopters and the 71st Rescue Squadron (71 RQS) with specialized HC-130P aircraft, both units transferring from Patrick AFB, Florida. To make room for these squadrons, the 52d Airlift Squadron was inactivated, with its C-130s being transferred to the 71 RQS.

T-38Bs of the 479th Flying Training Group in formation
Aircraft of the 347th Rescue Wing, about 2002. Shown are the HC-130P (top), T-6 Texan II (left), T-38C (right), and HH-60G (bottom). The HC-130 and HH-60G were used by the 347th Rescue Group, the T-6 and T-38 by the 479th Flying Training Group

Forty-two years after Combat Crew training ended at Moody, HQ ACC returned that mission to Moody with the activation of the 479th Flying Training Group under Nineteenth Air Force. The group was activated at Moody on 1 October 2000 with the arrival of the 49th Flying Training Squadron (FTS) from Columbus AFB, Mississippi. The 49th FTS flew AT-38Bs and T-38Cs. The squadron taught Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals (IFF) training for new Undergraduate Pilot graduates destined for fighter aircraft.

On 2 April 2001, the 479th FTG expanded to a second squadron with the activation of the 3d Flying Training Squadron, flying the T-6A Texan II. The 435th Flying Training Squadron transferred from Randolph AFB Texas on 1 October 2001 to become the third training squadron, equipped with T-38Cs.

These aircraft all carried the Tail Code "MY". The 49 FTS and 435 FTS conducted an advanced pilot training and the Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals (IFF) course for recently winged USAF Navigator/Combat Systems Officers en route to Weapons System Officer (WSO) assignments in the F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft and recently winged pilots en route to the F-22 Raptor, F-15C/D Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, and A-10 Thunderbolt II. The 3d FTS provided basic pilot training.

The F-16s of the 347th Wing began to be transferred out as the "Composite Wing" concept ended at Moody. The 70 FS was inactivated on 30 June 2000, the 69 FS inactivated on 2 February 2001, and the 68 FS was inactivated on 1 April. The F-16s and A-10s/OA-10s were transferred to various active-duty, Air Force Reserve Command and Air National Guard squadrons both in CONUS as well as overseas. On 1 May 2001, the 347th Wing stood down as a composite wing and stood up as the 347th Rescue Wing (347 RQW), becoming the Air Force's only active-duty combat search and rescue wing.

On 1 October 2003, Moody was transferred from Air Combat Command to Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). With the change of assignment The 347th Rescue Wing was transferred from ACC to AFSOC. This was a short-lived experiment that temporarily placed all USAF air rescue assets (Active, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard) under AFSOC. On 1 October 2005, the 347 RQW returned to Air Combat Command control along with Moody AFB.

Twenty-first century

As a result of BRAC 2005, several changes occurred at Moody to accommodate the needs of the changing Air Force.

Today Moody is the home of the 23d Wing of Air Combat Command (ACC). The mission of the 23d Wing is to organize, train and employ combat-ready A-10, HC-130J Combat King II and HH-60 Pave Hawk aircraft and flight crews, as well as pararescuemen and force protection assets. Until 2015, the 23 WG also operated the HC-130P Combat King aircraft until it was replaced by the HC-130J. It consists of approximately 6,100 military and civilian personnel, including geographically separated units (GSU) at Nellis AFB, Nevada; Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona; MacDill AFB, Florida and Avon Park Air Force Range, Florida.

The 23d Wing comprises the following operational groups:

The 23d Fighter Group - The Flying Tigers - relocated from Pope Field, North Carolina in 2007. The group became part of the 23d Wing on 18 August 2006 in a ceremony held at Pope. A/OA-10Cs of the 23d Fighter Group are tail coded "FT" due to their Flying Tiger World War II heritage. The 23 FG is also responsible for two facilities in Florida, the Avon Park Air Force Range and the Deployed Unit Complex (DUC) at MacDill AFB. Assigned squadrons are:
74th Fighter Squadron
75th Fighter Squadron
23d Operations Support Squadron
598th Range Squadron ([MacDill AFB]] and Avon Park Air Force Range)
The 347th Rescue Group directs flying and readiness of one of two U.S. Air Force active duty Rescue Groups dedicated to Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR). Members assigned to the 347 RQG are responsible for training/readiness of 1,100 personnel, including a pararescue squadron, two flying squadrons (HC-130 and HH-60) and an operations support squadron. The group also deploys worldwide in support of National Command Authority taskings. Assigned squadrons are:
38th Rescue Squadron
41st Rescue Squadron
71st Rescue Squadron
347th Operations Support Squadron
The 563d Rescue Group directs flying operations as one of two rescue groups in the active duty Air Force dedicated to Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR). As a GSU of its parent wing, the 563 RQG is responsible for both training and readiness and aircraft maintenance of one HC-130 squadron and two HH-60 squadrons, as well as the training and readiness of two pararescue squadrons, two maintenance squadrons, and an operations support squadron operating from two geographically separated operating locations.
48th Rescue Squadron (Davis-Monthan AFB)
55th Rescue Squadron (Davis-Monthan AFB)
79th Rescue Squadron (Davis-Monthan AFB)
563d Operations Support Squadron (Davis-Monthan AFB)
58th Rescue Squadron (Nellis AFB)
66th Rescue Squadron (Nellis AFB)

93d Air Ground Operations Wing

The 93d Air Ground Operations Wing (93d AGOW) is a non-flying active support wing activated on 25 January 2008. The 93d's mission is to manage and providing combat-ready tactical air control party personnel, battlefield weather and force protection assets for joint forces commanders.

81st Fighter Squadron

In September 2014, the first of twenty A-29 Super Tucano aircraft arrived at Moody AFB in preparation for Afghan Air Force pilot and maintenance training.[4] This was followed by the reactivation of the 81st Fighter Squadron (81 FS) on 1 October 2014 to conduct such training as a GSU of the 14th Flying Training Wing (14 FTW), at Columbus AFB, Mississippi.[5] In this capacity, the 81 FS is a tenant Air Education and Training Command (AETC) activity at Moody AFB.

Major commands to which assigned

  • AAF Technical Training Command, 26 June 1941
  • Air Corps Flying Training Comd, 1 February 1942
Redesignated: AAF Flying Training Comd, 18 March 1942
Redesignated: AAF Training Comd, 31 July 1943
Redesignated: Air Training Command*, 1 July 1946

* Note: Field placed on reduced status, 1 July 1946. Inactivated 15 August 1946. Reactivated 1 April 1951. Base remained under Major Command jurisdiction while in inactive status.

Major units assigned

  • HQ, Air Corps Advanced Flying School, Valdosta GA, 17 June - 25 November 1941
  • 78th Air Base Group, 25 November 1941 - 1 May 1944
  • 29th Flying Training Wing, 26 December 1942 - 1 April 1945
  • 3103d Army Air Force Base Unit, 1 May 1944 - 1 April 1945
  • 140th Army Air Force Base Unit, 30 April 1945 - 31 October 1945
Redesignated 225th Army Air Force Base Unit, 1 November 1945 - 15 August 1946
  • Army Air Force Flight School, Basic, 1 November 1945 - 15 August 1946
  • 4409th Standby Base Squadron, 1 September 1947 - 25 November 1949
  • 146th Fighter-Bomber Group
(California Air National Guard), 10 May - 25 October 1951
  • 3350th Training Wing (Various Designations), 1 September 1951 - 1 December 1973
  • USAF Advanced Fighter-Interceptor School, 1 December 1951 - 1 January 1961
  • USAF Instrument Pilot Instructor School, 1 December 1951 - 1 March 1958
  • USAF Interceptor Weapons School, 1 July 1954 - 1 January 1960
Redesignated: 347th Fighter Wing, 1 June 1992 - 1 July 1994
Redesignated: 347th Wing, 1 July 1994 - 1 May 2001
Redesignated: 347th Rescue Wing, 1 May 2001 - 29 September 2006
Redesignated: 23d Wing, 29 September 2006
23d Fighter Group assigned as subordinate unit, 29 September 2006 - present
347th Rescue Group assigned as subordinate unit, 29 September 2006 - present

References for history summation major commands and major units[6][7]

Geography

Moody AFB is located at 30°58′48″N 83°12′51″W / 30.98000°N 83.21417°W / 30.98000; -83.21417 (30.980083, -83.214246).[8]

The residential area of the base is a census-designated place (CDP), with a population of 886[9] at the 2010 census.

As of the census[10] of 2000, there were 993 people, 275 households, and 270 families residing in the base. The population density was 2,452.6 people per square mile (958.5/km²). There were 330 housing units at an average density of 815.1/sq mi (318.5/km²). The racial makeup of the base was 69.49% White, 23.26% Black or African American, 0.10% Native American, 2.52% Asian, 0.40% Pacific Islander, 2.42% from other races, and 1.81% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.55% of the population.

There were 275 households out of which 85.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 89.5% were married couples living together, 5.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 1.8% were non-families. 1.1% of all households were made up of individuals and none had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.61 and the average family size was 3.63.

The median income for a household in the base was $36,058. The per capita income for the base was $11,452. About 2.8% of families and 2.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.1% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Moody Air Force Base, official web site
  2. ↑ FAA Airport Master Record for VAD (Form 5010 PDF), effective 2007-12-20
  3. ↑ http://worldwide.erau.edu/campuses-online/moody.html
  4. ↑ http://www.acc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123426297
  5. ↑ http://www.moody.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123436488
  6. ↑ Mueller, Robert (1989). Volume 1: Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982. USAF Reference Series, Office of Air Force History, United States Air Force, Washington, D.C. ISBN 0-912799-53-6, ISBN 0-16-002261-4
  7. ↑ Moody AFB Fact Sheet
  8. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  9. ↑ http://www.census.gov/popfinder/index.php?fl=1352556
  10. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

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