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81-573: When the base closed, the air station became Subic Bay International Airport and is still operating today. However, the IATA airport code was changed from NCP to SFS , as part of the transition. During the Korean War , Admiral Arthur W. Radford , Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet saw the need for a naval air station at Cubi Point. It was a rugged and jungle-covered finger of land 3 miles (4.8 km) from Subic Naval Base. Radford believed

162-714: A Superfund site needing environmental cleanup. The air station also hosts the Naval Education and Training Command (NETC) and the Naval Aerospace Medical Institute (NAMI), the latter of which provides training for all naval flight surgeons , aviation physiologists, and aerospace experimental psychologists. With the closure of Naval Air Station Memphis in Millington, Tennessee , and the transition of that facility to Naval Support Activity Mid-South , NAS Pensacola also became home to

243-798: A GSU of the 12th Flying Training Wing (12 FTW) at Randolph AFB , Texas. The 479 FTG operates USAF T-6A Texan II and T-1A Jayhawk aircraft. Other tenant activities include the United States Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels , flying F/A-18 Super Hornets and a single USMC C-130T Hercules ; and the 2nd German Air Force Training Squadron USA ( German : 2. Deutsche Luftwaffenausbildungsstaffel USA  – abbreviated "2. DtLwAusbStff"). A total of 131 aircraft operate out of Sherman Field, generating 110,000 flight operations each year. The National Naval Aviation Museum (formerly known as

324-650: A National Historic Site (NHL) in 1960, control of the site was transferred to the National Park Service in 1971. After extensive restoration during 1971–1980, Fort Barrancas was opened to the public. It has a visitor's center. Realizing the advantages of the Pensacola harbor and the large timber reserves nearby for shipbuilding, in 1825 President John Quincy Adams and Secretary of the Navy Samuel Southard made arrangements to build

405-493: A Naval Air Rework Facility and directed to report to the commander of the Naval Air Systems Command instead of the air station commanding officer. Former seaplane hangars along the south edge of the air station, as well as a large structure at Chevalier Field were utilized for aircraft overhauls, and Pensacola was a designated as an A-4 Skyhawk rework site. In 1987 the name Naval Aviation Depot replaced

486-621: A Navy Yard on the southern tip of Escambia County , where the air station is today. Navy captains William Bainbridge , Lewis Warrington , and James Biddle selected the site on Pensacola Bay . Civilian employment began in April 1826, with the construction of the first buildings at the Pensacola Navy Yard, also known as the Warrington Navy Yard. Pensacola would later become one of the best equipped naval stations in

567-649: A Spanish word for bluff , the natural terrain feature that makes this location ideal for the fortress. Pensacola was taken by General Andrew Jackson in November 1814 during the War of 1812 between Great Britain and the United States. British forces destroyed Fort San Carlos as they swept through the area. The Spanish remained in control of the region until 1821, when the Adams-Onís Treaty confirmed

648-423: A USAF officer. This previous track for USAF navigators was termed Joint Undergraduate Navigator Training (JUNT). Today, all USAF Undergraduate CSO Training (UCSOT) for all USAF aircraft is consolidated at NAS Pensacola as a strictly USAF organization and operation under the 479th Flying Training Group (479 FTG), an Air Education and Training Command (AETC) unit. The 479 FTG is a tenant activity at NAS Pensacola and

729-710: A colony on Santa Rosa Island, considered the first European settlement of the Pensacola area. The Spanish built the wooden Fort San Carlos de Austria on this bluff in 1697–1698. Although besieged by Indians in 1707 , the fort was not taken. Spain was competing in North America with the French, who settled lower Louisiana and the Illinois Country and areas to the North. The French destroyed this fort when they captured Pensacola in 1719. After Great Britain defeated

810-469: A few reserve officers and enlisted men also graduated. Naval Air Station Pensacola became known as the "Annapolis of the Air". Station Field was created on the north side of the navy yard in 1922. Enlarged, it was renamed Chevalier Field in 1935 for Lt. Cdr. Godfrey DeCourcelles Chevalier , a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in 1910, and an early Naval Air Pilot, designated as No. 7 on 7 November 1915. With

891-450: A majority of the employees at the shipyard. They performed nearly every task required including ship construction and repair, carpentry, blacksmithing, bricklaying and general labor." While not explicitly stated in Pensacola Navy Yard log entries, enslaved black workers were listed as "laborers" while white workers were categorized as belonging to "the ordinary" (see thumbnail: station log entries, 1 July 1836). Slavery remained integral to

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972-399: A mile down the air station beach. In the years following World War I, aviation training slowed down. An average of 100 pilots were graduating annually from the 12-month flight course. This was before the category of aviation cadets was established; officers were accepted for the flight training program only after at least two years of sea duty. The majority were Annapolis graduates, although

1053-662: A naval base in the Western Pacific to enhance Seventh Fleet capabilities. The Korean War began and the Navy realized it had a need for an air station in the region. Cubi Point in the Philippines was selected, and civilian contractors were initially approached for the project. After seeing the Zambales Mountains and the surrounding jungle , they claimed it could not be done. The U.S. Navy then turned to

1134-772: A new forward operating base will host the maritime patrol assets for territorial disputes in the South China Sea operations, including joint warfare in line with the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept (CADC). Situated along the former Naval Air Station Cubi Point at Naval Base Subic Bay edge, the project will enhance its surveillance aircraft and power projection around the South China Sea . Philippine Air Force documents reveal that it will be established at Subic Bay International Airport, especially since

1215-563: A new treaty were soon abandoned and the United States was informed that it was to withdraw within one year. U.S. forces withdrew in November 1992, turning over the facility with its airport to the Philippine government. Initially some 8,000 volunteers guarded the facility and prevented looters from damaging the facilities. The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) was created to manage the facility by virtue of Republic Act No. 7227 after intense lobbying of then-Mayor Richard Gordon . He

1296-716: A status report. His account covers the period of March to November 1828 and details the 66 sailors and marines admitted, their names and rank, diagnosis or the nature of their injury, and the date of their discharge or death. Mortality at Pensacola would remain high due to the prevalence of yellow fever and malaria . Many naval officers and men considered the Navy Yard an unhealthy and potentially lethal assignment. For example, Naval Constructor Samuel Keep, writing to his brother in July 1826, stated emphatically, "I shall not remain here unless I am obliged to do so." Despite heroic efforts by

1377-419: A third field, Ellyson Field , named after CDR Theodore G. "Spuds" Ellyson , the Navy's first aviator, was added. With the start of World War II , NAS Pensacola once again became the hub of air training activities. NAS Pensacola expanded again, training 1,100 cadets a month, 11 times the number trained annually in the 1920s. The growth of NAS Pensacola from 10 tents to the world's greatest naval aviation center

1458-404: A total of around 100,000 commercial passengers. The airport was expected to handle 110,000 passengers in 1996. In 1997, SBIA topped the 100,000 annual passenger count. For the year 1998, the airport handled a total of around 1,000 international and 6,000 domestic flights, and almost 100,000 inbound and outbound passengers. By 2007 the number of recorded passengers had dropped to 17,648, but due to

1539-735: A true navy yard." This was followed by the sloop USS  Seminole that same year. In its early years, the garrison of the West Indies Squadron dealt mainly with the suppression of the African slave trade and piracy in the Gulf and Caribbean . The US and Great Britain had outlawed the international slave trade effective 1808, but smuggling continued for decades, especially as Cuba and certain South American nations continued with slavery. On 12 January 1861, just prior to

1620-542: Is Naval Aviation Schools Command (NAVAVSCOLSCOM). This command has the following subordinate schools: NAVAVSCOLSCOM also previously oversaw Aviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS) until that program's disestablishment and merger into Officer Candidate School (OCS) under Officer Training Command at NETC Newport, Rhode Island in 2007. The Pensacola Naval Complex in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties employs more than 16,000 military and 7,400 civilian personnel. During

1701-504: Is a United States Navy base located next to Warrington, Florida , a community southwest of the Pensacola city limits. It is best known as the initial primary training base for all U.S. Navy , Marine Corps and Coast Guard officers pursuing designation as naval aviators and naval flight officers , the advanced training base for most naval flight officers, and as the home base for the United States Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron,

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1782-485: Is now under 45 feet (14 m) of earth. The next, and biggest, issue was cutting a mountain in half and moving soil to fill in Subic Bay and create a 10,000-foot-long (3,000 m) runway. The Seabees blasted coral to fill a section of Subic Bay , filled swampland , removed trees as large as 150 feet (46 m) tall and 6 to 8 feet (1.8 to 2.4 m) in diameter. It was one of the largest earthmoving projects in

1863-464: Is part of the 12th Flying Training Wing at Randolph AFB , Texas, but student information and files are handled through Tyndall AFB , Florida while they train at NAS Pensacola. With the divestment of Specialized Undergraduate Navigator Training (SUNT) and the retirement of the T-43 Bobcat from the 12th Flying Training Wing main operation at Randolph AFB , the 479 FTG assumed responsibility for

1944-464: Is the 359th Training Squadron located at nearby Eglin AFB . Detachment 1 trains over 1,100 airmen annually in three structural maintenance disciplines: low observable, non-destructive inspection, and aircraft structural maintenance. NAS Pensacola contains Forrest Sherman Field, home of Training Air Wing SIX (TRAWING 6), providing undergraduate flight training for all prospective naval flight officers for

2025-455: The 336th Training Group 's Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) school at Fairchild Air Force Base ) was located here at NAS Pensacola, dedicated to aircrew parachute water survival training, but relocated to Fairchild AFB in August 2015. On 20 February 1939, a squadron of twelve U.S. Navy aircraft, described as "fast combat ships", were returning to NAS Pensacola , Florida, from

2106-679: The Armed Forces of the Philippines chose SBIA for “Joint Air-Sea-Land Operations,” which can support both attack aircraft and reconnaissance aircraft . In 2022, the government established Naval Operating Base Subic , the 100- hectare northern yard of which is occupied by the Philippine Navy . FedEx Express closed its hub at Subic Bay on 6 February 2009; this was the first hub to be closed in FedEx's history. The hub operation

2187-474: The CCP Complex . In 2018, Razon Group acquired Aviation Concepts Technical Services, Inc. (ACTSI) and signed a 25-year lease agreement (as well as a 25-year option) with the local government that will see the airport transformed into a regional business aviation hub, with a fifty plus years potential. The company is refurbishing its 1.8-acre (7,300 m ) facility and targeting to its premiere upgrade in

2268-765: The National Museum of Naval Aviation ), the Pensacola Naval Air Station Historic District , the National Park Service -administered Fort Barrancas and its associated Advance Redoubt , and the Pensacola Lighthouse and Museum are all located at NAS Pensacola, as is the Barrancas National Cemetery . The site now occupied by NAS Pensacola has been controlled by varying nations. In 1559, Spanish explorer Don Tristan de Luna founded

2349-529: The Seabees and was told this would not be a problem. The first Seabees to arrive were surveyors of Construction Battalion Detachment 1802. Mobile Construction Battalion 3 arrived on 2 October 1951 to get the project going and was joined by MCB 5 in November. Over the next five years, MCBs 2, 7, 9, 11 and CBD 1803 also contributed to the effort. They leveled a mountain to make way for a nearly 2-mile long (3.2 km) runway. NAS Cubi Point turned out to be one of

2430-508: The 2005 round of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), people in Florida and the Navy feared that NAS Pensacola might be closed, despite its naval hub status, due to extensive damage by Hurricane Ivan in late 2004. Nearly every building on the installation had suffered heavy damage, with near total destruction of the air station's southeastern complex. The main barracks, Chevalier Hall , did not reopen until late January 2005, four months after

2511-650: The French in the Seven Years' War and exchanging some territory with Spain, British colonists took over this site and West Florida in 1763. In 1781, as an ally of the American rebels during the American Revolutionary War, the Spanish captured Pensacola . Britain ceded West Florida to Spain following the war. The Spanish completed the fort San Carlos de Barrancas in 1797. Barranca is

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2592-542: The May 1829 list of navy yard employees. To allay slaveholder concerns, Commandant William Compton Bolton advertised that enslaved workers would have the benefit of medical attention at no charge at the shipyard hospital. Pensacola was not the first to use enslaved labor; Washington Navy Yard , established in 1799, and soon after, Gosport Navy Yard in Virginia, both employed enslaved labor. The enslaved quickly "constituted

2673-582: The Naval Air Technical Training Center (NATTC) Memphis, which relocated to Pensacola and was renamed NATTC Pensacola. NATTC provides technical training schools for nearly all enlisted aircraft maintenance and enlisted aircrew specialties in the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard. The NATTC facility at NAS Pensacola is also home to the USAF Detachment 1, a geographically separated unit (GSU) whose home unit

2754-620: The Naval Appropriation Act enacted in 1911–12 a provision for aeronautical development. Chambers was ordered to devote all of his time to naval aviation. In October 1913, Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels , appointed a board, with Captain Chambers as chairman, to make a survey of aeronautical needs and to establish a policy to guide future development. One of the board's most important recommendations

2835-596: The Navy Yard, and improving connections to the city of Pensacola. The company was incorporated by a special act of the State of Florida on 12 February 1870 to improve infrastructure, and was granted an easement by Congress to run through the federal Navy Yard reservation on 30 January 1871. The Navy Department awakened to the possibilities of naval aviation through the efforts of Captain Washington Irving Chambers ; he prevailed upon Congress to include in

2916-539: The Navy's largest carriers. After decades of use by American forces, Mount Pinatubo erupted in 1991, burying Cubi Point in 18–36 inches (45–90 cm) of ash . Despite this, the American government wished to keep the Subic Naval Base and signed a treaty with the Philippine government. The treaty was not ratified, however, failing by a slim margin in the Philippine Senate . Attempts to negotiate

2997-468: The Pensacola Navy Yard workforce throughout the antebellum period. As late as June 1855, the navy yard payroll listed 155 slaves. Scholar Ernest Dibble concludes his study of the military presence in Pensacola with this coda: "In Pensacola the military was not just the most important single force creating the local economy, but also the most important single influence to the spread of the slaveocracy in Pensacola." The civilian payrolls of Pensacola reveal that

3078-779: The Philippines-United States Mutual Defense Treaty. Eventually, NAS Cubi Point served as the primary maintenance, repair and supply center for the 400 carrier-based aircraft of the Seventh Fleet 's carrier force. During the Vietnam War , its jet engine shop turned out two jet engines per day to keep pace with demand. NAS Cubi Point and Naval Base Subic Bay were also prominently used during Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield . On June 15, 1991, Mount Pinatubo , only 20 miles (32 km) from Subic Bay, erupted and blanketed

3159-697: The U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, and flight officers/navigators for other NATO/Allied/Coalition partners. TRAWING SIX consists of the Training Squadron 4 (VT-4) "Warbucks", Training Squadron 10 (VT-10) "Wildcats" and Training Squadron 86 (VT-86) "Sabrehawks," flying the T-45C Goshawk and T-6A Texan II . A select number of prospective U.S. Air Force navigator/combat systems officers , destined for certain fighter/bomber or heavy aircraft, were previously trained via TRAWING SIX, under VT-4 or VT-10, with command of VT-10 rotating periodically to

3240-655: The U.S. in any substantive way, pilot training in 1968 produced 2,552 graduates. From the earliest days of naval aviation at Pensacola, an aircraft maintenance facility operated at the air station. Initially known as the Construction and Repair Department, in 1923 it was redesignated an Assembly and Repair Department, and in 1948 to the Overhaul and Repair Department. In 1967, the status of the facility at NAS Pensacola and at five other Navy and one Marine Corps air stations were changed to that of separate commands, each called

3321-525: The United States using the airport. This flight also proved the capabilities of the airport as the President arrived aboard the delivery flight of Philippine Airlines ' first Boeing 747-400 . Construction of the present runway by Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Philippines began in 1993 and was completed in April 1995, in time for the inaugural landing of FedEx Express MD-11 and

Naval Air Station Cubi Point - Misplaced Pages Continue

3402-535: The advent of jet aviation, its 3,100-foot runway was too short for new aircraft entering service. Forrest Sherman Field was opened in 1954 for most fixed-wing operations. With the inauguration in 1935 of the cadet training program, activity at Pensacola again expanded. When Pensacola's training facilities could no longer accommodate the ever-increasing number of cadets accepted by the Navy, two more naval air stations were created—one in Jacksonville, Florida , and

3483-451: The air station would be a vital link for the U.S. Navy in the Philippines. In spite of the magnitude of the job and the tremendous difficulties the construction involved, the project was approved by The Pentagon . Civilian contractors were initially contracted to fulfill the project, but after seeing the forbidding Zambales Mountains and the maze of jungle at Cubi Point, they claimed it could not be done. The Navy's Seabees were then given

3564-676: The airspeed. This meant that the plane landed at too high a speed. Upon landing at Subic Bay's runway 07, the plane continued on onto runway 25, hitting a concrete post and slamming into a wire fence before plunging into the bay. All of the plane was submerged except the cockpit. The crew were safe apart from minor injuries but the aircraft was no longer usable. NAS Pensacola Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola ( IATA : NPA , ICAO : KNPA , FAA LID : NPA ) (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport , to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation",

3645-667: The area to a logistics hub in January 2010. In December 2010, Guam -based Aviation Concepts Inc. set up fixed-base operations at the airport, refurbishing a 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m ) hangar to international standards, with the aim of eventually establishing a full-service aviation center. In 2016, the airport began to once again be used for daily commercial passenger flights, with Air Juan flying their nine-seater amphibious aircraft to and from their private seaplane base in Manila South Harbor , located north of

3726-459: The commencement of the Civil War , the Warrington Navy Yard surrendered to secessionists . When Union forces captured New Orleans in 1862, Confederate troops, fearing attack from the west, retreated from the Navy Yard and reduced most of the facilities to rubble. At the time, they also abandoned Fort Barrancas and Fort McRee. After the war, the ruins at the yard were cleared away and work

3807-516: The controls. Upon the entry of the United States into World War I on 6 April 1917, Pensacola, still the only naval air station, had 38 naval aviators , 163 enlisted men trained in aviation support, and 54 fixed-wing aircraft . Two years later, by the signing of the armistice in November 1918, the air station, with 438 officers and 5,538 enlisted men, had trained 1,000 naval aviators. At war's end, seaplanes , dirigibles , and free kite balloons were housed in steel and wooden hangars stretching

3888-423: The country, but the early navy yard was beset with recruitment and labor problems. Skilled workers were simply unavailable locally, housing limited, and living conditions in Pensacola rough. At first, skilled tradesmen were recruited from Boston and other northern naval bases. Many of these new civilian employees were dissatisfied with local conditions and especially their wages and hours. As a result, on 14 March 1827

3969-404: The facility in ash 1 foot (30 cm) deep. Dependents were evacuated and the Navy began an intense clean-up effort to return the station to normal operations. Within two weeks, they returned the station back to limited operations. Within four weeks, the Navy had restored almost all services to most of the family housing. By September, most dependents had returned to Subic Bay and Cubi Point, but in

4050-426: The formal opening of FedEx's AsiaOne hub. The newly renamed Subic Bay International Airport was formally opened on 30 September 1996. The new US$ 12.6-million passenger terminal, with a capacity to handle 6 million passengers per year, and built by Summa Kumagai Inc. (a joint Filipino-Japanese venture) was inaugurated on 4 November 1996, in time for the 4th APEC Leaders' Summit . Between 1992 and 1995 SBIA welcomed

4131-771: The immediate area of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone , the provinces of Bataan and Zambales , and the general area of Olongapo in the Philippines . The airport was known as the Naval Air Station Cubi Point , part of the Subic Naval Base of the United States Navy before its closure. In 1950, Admiral Arthur W. Radford , Commander-in-Chief of the United States Pacific Fleet, envisioned

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4212-482: The largest earth-moving projects in the world, equivalent to the construction of the Panama Canal . Seabees there moved 20 million cubic yards (15 million cubic metres) of dry fill plus another 15 million that was hydraulic fill . The $ 100 million-facility (equivalent to $ 859 million in 2023) was commissioned on 25 July 1956, and comprised an air station with an adjacent pier capable of docking

4293-477: The launch. For his efforts, Lt. Miller is considered an honorary member of the Raider group. During the Korean War , the military was caught in the midst of transition from propellers to jets . The air station had to revise its courses and training techniques. NAS Pensacola produced 6,000 aviators from 1950 to 1953. Forrest Sherman Field was opened in 1954 on the western side of NAS Pensacola. This jet airfield

4374-529: The medical community, yellow fever would revisit the navy yard intermittently, e.g. in 1835, 1874, 1882, etc., the disease only coming under control with the work of Major Walter Reed in 1901. From its foundation until the Civil War, enslaved labor was extensively utilized at Pensacola Navy Yard. In May 1829, the monthly Pensacola Navy Yard list of mechanics and laborers enumerates a total of 87 employees, of whom 37 were enslaved laborers. Pensacola Navy Yard

4455-413: The name Naval Air Rework Facility to more accurately reflect the range of their activities. Three Naval Aviation Depots were closed under the 1993 BRAC Committee recommendations including that at NAS Pensacola, and most of the buildings on the air station involved in these tasks razed. The Naval Photography School was located at base. Howard Zieff learned photography there and the monthly inspection at

4536-568: The navy yard leased slaves from prominent members of Pensacola society. Enslaved labor continued on at the Pensacola Navy Yard until the American Civil War . On 13 August 1859, Commandant James K. McIntosh wrote to the secretary of the Navy Isaac Toucey , "I have the honor to report that the steam sloop of war USS  Pensacola was successfully launched ..." with this "launching the Pensacola naval facility became

4617-682: The other in Corpus Christi, Texas . (During this period, the Southern Democratic block exerted considerable influence in Congress, as the South was a one-party region. Democrats occupied key committee chairman positions by seniority and directed many projects to their region.) In August 1940, a larger auxiliary base, Saufley Field , named for LT R.C. Saufley , Naval Aviator 14, was added to Pensacola's activities. In October 1941,

4698-566: The precision-flying team known as the Blue Angels . The station is listed as the Pensacola Station Census Designated Place (CDP) under the 2020 census and had a resident population of 5,532. It is part of the Pensacola— Ferry Pass — Brent, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . Because of contamination by heavy metals and other hazardous materials during its history, it is designated as

4779-603: The presence of the FedEx AsiaOne Hub the airport still handled 115,108 flights. The FedEx hub lasted until February 2009, when all operations were moved to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in Guangzhou , China . Due to this departure, as well as the planned expansion of nearby Clark International Airport , Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Administrator and CEO Armand C. Arreza expressed interest in closing Subic Bay International Airport in favor of converting

4860-444: The project in 1951. The first Seabees to arrive were MCB-3 on October 2, 1951; the second, MCB-5, arrived on November 5, 1951; the third, MCB-2 arrived early in 1952. MCBs 9 and 11 followed later. The first problem encountered was moving the fishing village of Banicain, which occupied a portion of the site for the new airfield. The town and its residents were moved to Olongapo , which became New Banicain. The former village of Banicain

4941-404: The purchase of Spanish Florida by the United States, and Spain ceded this territory to the US. In 1825, the US designated this area for the Pensacola Navy Yard and Congress appropriated $ 6,000 for a lighthouse. Operational that year, it "is said to be haunted by a light keeper murdered by his wife." Fort Barrancas was rebuilt, 1839–1844, the U.S. Army deactivating it on 15 April 1947. Designated

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5022-778: The renamed Undergraduate Combat Systems Officer Training (UCSOT) for all prospective USAF CSOs. The 479 FTG operates USAF T-6 Texan II and T-1 Jayhawk aircraft at NAS Pensacola. NAS Pensacola is also home to AETC's Detachment 1, 359th Training Squadron (359 TRS). A geographically separated unit of the 359 TRS at Eglin AFB , Florida, and falls under the 82nd Training Wing (82 TRW) at Sheppard AFB , Texas. This school provides enlisted technical training for all USAF Aircraft Structural Maintenance (ASM), Low Observable (LO) Aircraft Structural Maintenance, and Non-Destructive Inspections (NDI) students. The 359 TRS, Det 1, graduates approximately 1200 students annually. The USAF's Detachment 2, 66th Training Squadron (a geographically separated part of

5103-410: The same month the Senate of the Philippines voted to require the United States to withdraw from all of its facilities in the Philippines. The withdrawal was completed in November 1992 and shortly after NAS Cubi Point became Cubi Point International Airport, later renamed Subic Bay International Airport . Upon closure, the vast collection of squadron memorabilia displayed in the Cubi Point Officers' Club

5184-399: The school was photographed by Joseph Janney Steinmetz in 1944. The Naval Photographic School trained Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard students in basic (A School), advanced (B and C Schools), and special curriculum (Reconnaissance, Photojournalism, etc.) It was housed in BlDG 1500, now the base headquarters, and a small museum has a variety of items from the school. In 1971, NAS Pensacola

5265-426: The seventh APEC Summit in 1996. They included a chartered Royal Brunei Airlines Airbus A340-200 , Japanese Air Force One , and the Air Force One , among others. On October 18, 1999, FedEx Express Flight 87, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11F , suffered an accident. The plane was arriving from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport ; during the flight there was moderate turbulence and the crew failed to see an error in

5346-422: The storm. When the list was released on 13 May 2005, NAS Pensacola and other military bases hit by Ivan in Northwest Florida were not on the BRAC list. Their facilities were rebuilt. In May 2006, Navy construction crews unearthed a Spanish ship during an archeological excavation. It may date to the mid-16th century. The ship remains were discovered during the rebuilding of the base's rescue swimmer school, which

5427-530: The third quarter of 2019. In July 2021, the airport was used again for repatriation flights of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) which were facilitated by Philippine Airlines . The activity led to the revival of a commercial flight schedule for the first time since 2011 despite the COVID-19 pandemic . Repatriation flights to the airport ended on 22 February 2022 after capacity restrictions at Ninoy Aquino International Airport were eased. The restoration of Subic Bay Airfield ( U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay ) with

5508-408: The world, equivalent to the construction of the Panama Canal . The construction project took five years and an estimated 20 million man-hours . The $ 100-million facility (equivalent to $ 859 million in 2023) was commissioned on July 25, 1956 and comprised an air station and an adjacent pier that was capable of docking the Navy's largest carriers. On December 21, 1972, Naval Air Station Cubi Point

5589-416: Was appointed its first Chairman and Administrator. Twenty days after the departure of American forces, the airport ushered in its first commercial flight from Taiwan via Makung . In February 1993, NAS Cubi Point was converted to Cubi Point International Airport. To herald its designation as an international airport , President Fidel V. Ramos chose to arrive in November 1993 from an official visit to

5670-415: Was begun to rebuild the base. Many of the present structures on the air station were built during this period, including the stately two- and three-story houses on North Avenue. In 1906, many of these newly rebuilt structures were destroyed by a great hurricane and storm surge . The Pensacola and Fort Barrancas Railroad was constructed in 1870 during the Reconstruction era , bringing rail service aboard

5751-553: Was built with enslaved labor. Captain Lewis Warrington , the first commandant of the Pensacola Navy Yard, complained to the Board of Navy Commissioners , "neither laborers nor mechanics are to be obtained here." As early as April 1826, Warrington had requested and received permission to hire enslaved labor, "for I would recommend the employment of black laborers in preference to white, as they suit this climate better, are less liable to change, more easily controlled, more temperate, and more will actually do more work." Even after Warrington

5832-716: Was destroyed by Hurricane Ivan. On March 3, 2010 the commander of the base, Captain William Reavey Jr. , was relieved of command after a Navy investigation into alleged improper conduct. Reavey was replaced by Captain Christopher Plummer. NAS Pensacola is host to the 479th Flying Training Group (479 FTG) of the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The 479 FTG is composed of the 451st Flying Training Squadron , 455th Flying Training Squadron and 479th Operations Support Squadron. The 479 FTG

5913-525: Was emphasized by then- Senator Owen Brewster 's statement: "The growth of naval aviation during World War II is one of the wonders of the modern world." Naval aviators from NAS Pensacola were called upon to train the Doolittle Raiders at Eglin Field in 1942 for carrier take-offs in their B-25 Mitchell bombers. Navy Lt. Henry Miller supervised their takeoff training and accompanied the crews to

5994-469: Was finally able to get skilled white journeymen mechanics from Norfolk, he asked for and received permission to continue utilizing enslaved labor, since due to the unhealthy conditions and poor pay white laborers simply would not remain at the new naval station. As a consequence, Pensacola Navy agent Samuel R. Overton advertised for 38 enslaved workers, promising local slaveholders "17 dollars per month with common Navy Rations." The bondsmen's names are found on

6075-407: Was named after the late Admiral Forrest P. Sherman , a former chief of naval operations. Shortly thereafter the United States Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels , relocated from NAS Corpus Christi, Texas . Pilot training requirements shifted upward to meet the demands for the Vietnam War , which occupied much of the 1960s and 1970s. From a low of 1,413 in 1962, before the entry of

6156-530: Was picked as the headquarters site for CNET (Chief of Naval Education and Training), a new command which combined direction and control of all Navy education and training activities and organizations. The Naval Air Basic Training Command was absorbed by the Naval Air Training Command, which moved to NAS Corpus Christi , Texas. In 2003, CNET was replaced by the Naval Education and Training Command (NETC). Also located on board NAS Pensacola

6237-560: Was relocated to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in China and while ground and technical operations were transferred to Clark International Airport in Clark Freeport Zone . FedEx's support company, Corporate Air , ceased all operations after the hub closure. The airport is also a base of a flight school Aeroflite Aviation Corp since 2006. Subic Bay International Airport hosted a number of wide-bodied aircraft during

6318-531: Was renamed to honor Admiral Arthur W. Radford . Radford had the unusual honor of personally dedicating the facility. A plaque memorializing the occasion reads: Dedicated in honor of Admiral Arthur W. Radford, whose foresight in founding U.S. Naval Air Station Cubi Point has enabled the United States Navy to provide invaluable support to the Seventh Fleet and to carry out its obligations under

6399-724: Was shipped to the National Museum of Naval Aviation at NAS Pensacola , Florida, and now forms the decor of the Cubi Bar Café, which opened in 1996 as the museum's restaurant. [REDACTED] Media related to Naval Air Station Cubi Point at Wikimedia Commons Subic Bay International Airport Subic Bay International Airport ( IATA : SFS , ICAO : RPLB ) serves as a secondary and diversion airport for Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Metro Manila and Clark International Airport in Pampanga . It also serves

6480-664: Was the establishment of an aviation training station in Pensacola. On 20 January 1914, LCdr. Henry C. Mustin , Naval Aviator No. 11, and Lt. John H. Towers , Naval Aviator No. 3, and Lt. Patrick N. L. Bellinger , Naval Aviator No. 8, arrived in Pensacola on the former battleship USS Mississippi with the men and aircraft from the Naval Aviation Camp at Annapolis , Maryland. "The aviation unit consisted of nine officers, 23 enlisted men, and seven aircraft." The first flight occurred on 2 February 1914, with Lt. Towers and Ens. Godfrey deC. Chevalier , Naval Aviator No. 7, at

6561-649: Was the first labor strike. Captain Melancthon Taylor Woolsey was able to make sufficient adjustments to the workday that the men returned to work after a couple of days. One factor that inhibited both military and civilian workers from remaining in Pensacola was the lack of an adequate hospital. On 3 November 1828, naval surgeon Isaac Hulse , physician in charge of the Naval Hospital in Barrancas, wrote Commodore Melanchthon Taylor Woolsey

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