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81-662: Nellis Air Force Base (" Nellis " colloq. ) is a United States Air Force installation in southern Nevada . Nellis hosts air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exercises such as Green Flag-West flown in " Military Operations Area (MOA) airspace ", associated with the nearby Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR). The base also has the Combined Air and Space Operations Center -Nellis. After World War I , Nevada and other western inland states were surveyed by Capt. Lowell H. Smith and Sgt. William B. Whitefield for landing sites, and by "mid-1925

162-448: A 9.5-hectare (23.4-acre) munitions response area (MRA XU741) which had World War II storage for small arms ammunition, pyrotechnics, and chemical bombs and that now includes 2 remaining World War II buildings (numbers 1039 & 1047), 5 modern igloos , and RV storage. Flying and notable non-flying units based at Nellis Air Force Base. Units marked GSU are Geographically Separate Units, which although based at Nellis, are subordinate to

243-450: A base for primary flight training with an eight-week course. The maximum student capacity was 300. In 1917, flight training occurred in two phases: primary and advanced. Primary training consisted of pilots learning basic flight skills under dual and solo instruction. After completion of their primary training at Mather, flight cadets were then transferred to another base for advanced training. Training units assigned to Mather Field: With

324-548: A considerable number of plants, mammals, birds and arthropods. Within the plant community are large numbers of native grass and forb species. One example of a native wildflower found here is the Yellow Mariposa Lily . Another example is the Vernal Pool Buttercup var. trisepalus . The vernal pools at Mather are also habitat to Ahart's Dwarf Rush var. ahartii , Boggs Lake hedgehyssop , and

405-651: A licensed pilot was commissioned with part of his class as a second lieutenant on 20 January 1918. He continued training to earn a Reserve Military Aviator rating and promotion to first lieutenant but was killed ten days later. The remainder of his class requested that Mills Field be renamed in Mather's honor. In January 1918, the Department of War sent a cadre of officers to the Sacramento, California area to survey sites for an aviation school. The group decided on

486-551: A location about 12 miles southeast of Sacramento called Mills Station. An agreement to lease the land to the Army was concluded, and the construction of some 50 buildings began on 15 March 1918. Mills Field, named after the local community was opened on 30 April 1918. It covered over 700 acres and could accommodate up to 1,000 personnel. Dozens of wooden buildings served as headquarters, maintenance, and officers' quarters. Enlisted men had to bivouac in tents. Mather Field's first commander

567-786: A parent unit based at another location. Air Combat Command Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) Air National Guard (ANG) United States Strategic Command Nellis AFB covers about 4,600 ha (11,300 acres) in the northeast corner of the Las Vegas Valley , an alluvial basin in the Basin and Range Province . Since World War II, Nellis has had areas added, such as Area II in 1969, but still has about 2,800 ha (7,000 acres) of undeveloped space. One World War II runway has been removed. The base has 3 areas (I, II, III). The United States Geological Survey names five different locations for

648-488: A peacetime economy, Mather Field were deemed unnecessary as a military training facility, and it was closed on 12 May 1923. The War Department ordered the small caretaker force at Mather Field to dismantle all remaining structures and to sell them as surplus. Throughout the remainder of the 1920s, the War Department leased the vacant land to local farmers and ranchers. Mather Field was reactivated on 1 April 1930 as

729-469: A squadron of KC-135 tankers. The 4134th Strategic Wing was discontinued on 1 February 1963. Det. 1 320 BW operated at the old bomber alert area at Mountain Home AFB , from 1969 until the spring of 1975 when it disbanded and the two bombers and two tankers returned to Mather. Concurrent with the inactivation of the 4134th, the 320th Bombardment Wing was activated and absorbed its assets. It operated as

810-483: A sub post of the Presidio of San Francisco and Hamilton Field during the 1930s, and of Stockton Field briefly in 1941. Mather, however, had to be refitted with new electrical, water, and telephone lines. Soon, Mather was again alive with activity, though the renovation process could not compare to the original base construction. Note: The airfield served only for aerial forest patrol, beginning 8 January 1919. It

891-521: A subinstallation of Williams AFB on 1 April, the 3595th Pilot Training Wing (Advanced Single-Engine) was established on 22 December 1948. Training began at Las Vegas AFB on 1 March 1949 with 5 squadrons using P-51 Mustangs for a 6-month course, with 3,000 USAF pilots trained by 1950. The 3525th Aircraft Gunnery Squadron activated on 11 February 1949, the base hosted the 1st USAF Gunnery Meet on 2 May, and ATC (air traffic control) opened its LVAFB Aircraft Gunnery School on 15 May 1949. Nellis Air Force Base

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972-571: A tenant unit from 1963 to 1989, initially with the B-52F Stratofortress before converting in 1968 to the B-52G. The 441st Bombardment Squadron replaced the 72d and the 904th Air Refueling Squadron was transferred from the 4134th to the 320th.. In addition to SAC nuclear alert, the 320th also conducted conventional operations, including maritime missions in support of the U.S. Navy with aerial mines and AGM-84 Harpoon missiles. The 320th

1053-510: Is a barrier to communication for those people unfamiliar with the respective field. Mather Army Airfield Download coordinates as: Mather Air Force Base (Mather AFB) was a United States Air Force Base, which was closed in 1993 pursuant to a post- Cold War BRAC decision. It was located 12 miles (19 km) east of Sacramento , on the south side of U.S. Route 50 in Sacramento County, California . Mather Field

1134-637: Is a group of southern Nevada military areas that are predominantly USAF and Bureau of Land Management areas outside of the base (e.g., controlled by military units at Nellis). The complex's land areas include Nellis AFB, the USAF Nevada Test and Training Range , the active portion of the Small Arms Range Annex north of the base, the annex's Formerly Used Defense Site of 2,337 hectares (5,775 acres) (cleared in March 1972, returned to

1215-418: Is labeled colloq. for "colloquial" in dictionaries when a different expression is preferred in formal usage, but this does not mean that the colloquial expression is necessarily slang or non-standard . Some colloquial language contains a great deal of slang, but some contains no slang at all. Slang is often used in colloquial speech, but this particular register is restricted to particular in-groups, and it

1296-423: Is most commonly used within specific occupations, industries, activities, or areas of interest. Colloquial language includes slang, along with abbreviations, contractions, idioms, turns-of-phrase, and other informal words and phrases known to most native speakers of a language or dialect. Jargon is terminology that is explicitly defined in relationship to a specific activity, profession, or group. The term refers to

1377-493: Is not a necessary element of colloquialism. Other examples of colloquial usage in English include contractions or profanity . "Colloquial" should also be distinguished from "non-standard". The difference between standard and non-standard is not necessarily connected to the difference between formal and colloquial. Formal, colloquial, and vulgar language are more a matter of stylistic variation and diction , rather than of

1458-431: Is ordinary natural language , as distinct from specialized forms used in logic or other areas of philosophy. In the field of logical atomism , meaning is evaluated in a different way than with more formal propositions . Colloquialisms are distinct from slang or jargon . Slang refers to words used only by specific social groups, such as demographics based on region, age, or socio-economic identity. In contrast, jargon

1539-633: Is the USAF Warfare Center , which coordinates training for composite strike forces involving aircraft types from across the USAF inventory , accompanied by air and ground units of the US Army , US Navy , US Marines , and aircraft from other NATO and allied nations. Training is delivered through a series of exercises which typically take place at the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR),

1620-839: Is the USAF authority for employment of tactical fighter weapons. The center has developed, refined, coordinated, validated and tested fighter concepts, doctrine, tactics, and procedures. The FWC also performed operational test and evaluation and prepared or monitored Air Force publications on employment tactics, aircrew training, and aircrew weapons delivery. It has supervised courses of the US Air Force Fighter Weapons School, adversary tactics training, and Wild Weasel training, and other combat and tactical schools. The FWC supervised Red Flag operational training and other continuing air exercises, such as Green Flag and Silver Flag Alpha. The center also directed operations of

1701-617: The 195th Wing , Air National Guard. Mather Air Force Base was named after Second Lieutenant Carl Spencer Mather , a 25-year-old army pilot killed in a mid-air collision while training at Ellington Field , Texas on 30 January 1918. Mather learned to fly in 1914 at the Curtiss Flying School in Hammondsport, New York , and became an instructor there at the age of 20. He enlisted as an aviation cadet in August 1917 and as

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1782-644: The 422d Test and Evaluation Squadron by July 2008). "Aggressor" training was reactivated under the 57th Operations Group in 2003 and in 2006 Nellis had the Air Ground Operations School. On 1 May 2007, the UAV reconnaissance elements assigned to the 57th Operations Group transferred to the 432nd Wing . Detachment 1 of the Space Warfare Center was established at Nellis in 1996 after the "Nellis Combined Air Operations Center ",

1863-521: The 57th Operations Group on 31 March 2020. On 1 June 2020 the 800th Rapid Engineer Deployable, Heavy Operational Repair Squadron, Engineer (RED HORSE) Group activated at Nellis, with the 820th Red Horse Squadron as a subordinate unit. Nellis Air Force Base is known by the USAF as the "Home of the Fighter Pilot" and is the Air Force's focus for advanced combat training. The main unit at Nellis

1944-585: The 64th and 65th Tactical Fighter Training Aggressor Squadrons and the 4440th TFTG were inactivated in 1990 at the end of the Cold War. In November 1991, the 57th implemented the USAF Objective Wing organization which was the most comprehensive USAF reorganization plan since 1947, activating the 57th Operations Group for Nellis airfield operations and establishing the 57th Test Group . Nellis transferred to Air Combat Command on 1 June 1992, at

2025-605: The 666th Radar Squadron performed subsequent operations until inactivated on 1 September 1966. The FAA operates the Mather radar site with an AN/FPS-91A of the Joint Surveillance System . On 1 April 1958, Strategic Air Command (SAC)'s 4134th Strategic Wing composed of the 72d Bombardment Squadron and 904th Air Refueling Squadron was assigned to Mather AFB, the latter flying the KC-135A Stratotanker . The Strategic Wings were formed in

2106-562: The Cold War , Mather AFB became the sole aerial navigation school for the United States Air Force (USAF) after its companion navigation schools at Harlingen AFB , Texas, and James Connally AFB , Texas, were closed and Ellington AFB was converted into a joint Air National Guard base, Coast Guard air station and NASA flight facility in the 1960s. The 3535th Navigator Training Wing of Air Training Command (ATC),

2187-586: The DoI ), 13 BLM areas of 2.3 ha (5.7 acres) each leased for Patriot Radar/Communications Exercises, and other BLM sites "under Military Operations Area (MOA) airspace". Nellis AFB also leases space at the former Las Vegas AFS , and environmental sites of the Tonopah Bombing Range (FUDS) are monitored by the EPA. Additional Formerly Used Defense Sites associated with the area's military operations are

2268-801: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and in 1961, the two height-finder radars were removed. The station became part of the San Francisco Air Defense Sector with the radars providing radar data to the Beale AFB DC-18 SAGE Direction Center via the Burroughs AN/FST-2 Coordinate Data Transmitting Set at Mill Valley Air Force Station (Z-28). The 668th was inactivated on 1 September 1961, and Detachment 2 of

2349-516: The Lockheed P-3 Orion , Lockheed EP-3 Aries and Lockheed EC-130 and Lockheed LC-130 Hercules aircraft. This resulted in the UNT course being redesignated as Interservice Undergraduate Navigator Training (IUNT). The Navy also activated Naval Air Training Unit (NAVAIRTU) Mather as the parent activity for Navy instructors, Navy students and NATO /Allied naval aviation students assigned to

2430-651: The Nye County Areas A, G, H, & I; the " Delamar Dry Lake Test Annex" and the "Sunrise Mountain Machine Gun Range". Colloquialism A specific instance of such language is termed a colloquialism. The most common term used in dictionaries to label such an expression is colloquial . Colloquialism or general parlance is distinct from formal speech or formal writing . It is the form of language that speakers typically use when they are relaxed and not especially self-conscious. An expression

2511-479: The United States House of Representatives passed an appropriations bill for $ 9.6 million for the purchase of additional land at military camps "which are to be made part of the permanent military establishment". Mather Field was allocated $ 78,000 of this amount. Mather was used by the aerial forestry patrol. It also was used intermittently to support small military units. However, with the return to

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2592-609: The Vietnam War , experienced combat pilots were used as Fighter Weapons instructors at Nellis. On 1 January 1966 the USAF Fighter Weapons School was activated at Nellis with F-100, F-4, and F-105 divisions and on 1 September 1966, Fighter Weapons School elements and the 4520th CCTW merged to activate the 4525th Fighter Weapons Wing. The USAF Tactical Fighter Weapons Center activated at Nellis AFB on 1 January 1966 (USAF Warfare Center after 15 November 2005)

2673-564: The 1930s for training flights. After the Invasion of Poland in 1939, the "western site board" had located a southern Nevada area "near Tonopah, Nev " by April 1940 for a military range, and in October 1940, Air Corps Major David Schlatter surveyed the southwest United States for a military airfield. "The 60 × 90 mile area at Tonopah was transferred to the War Department on 29 October 1940" by Executive Order 8578. Renamed to McCarran Field in

2754-762: The 323d at Mather. The Marine Aerial Navigation School also relocated to Mather in order to train enlisted United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard navigators for Marine Corps KC-130 and Coast Guard HC-130 aircraft. Cessna T-37 aircraft were added to the IUNT curriculum in the late 1970s for USAF students destined for high performance aircraft such as the F-4 Phantom II /RF-4, F-111 / FB-111 and B-1 Lancer . The 323d continued training USAF navigators, NFOs, NATO/Allied students, and conducting advanced training for radar navigator/bombardiers, electronic warfare officers and weapons systems operators until it

2835-649: The 428th and 429th Tactical Fighter Squadrons were reassigned to the wing with F-111As (transferred to Mountain Home AFB , Idaho, in August 1977) and the 474th Wing absorbed the F-4D Phantom II aircraft, crews, and resources of the inactivating provisional 474th Tactical Fighter Wing at Nellis in April 1977. The wing was inactivated in September 1989, and its F-16As transferred to Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve squadrons. The 57th Fighter Weapons Wing

2916-496: The 57th developing realistic combat training operations featuring adversary tactics, dissimilar air combat training, and electronic warfare . Nellis' 4477th Tactical Evaluation Flight ("Red Eagles") operated MiG-17s , MiG-21s and MiG-23s at the Tonopah Test Range Airport (late 1960s- c.  1990 ) to simulate combat against U.S. combat aircraft. Named Constant Peg in 1980, the operation assessed

2997-557: The 57th wing and the 66th, 414th and 433d Fighter Weapons Squadrons became its "A-10", "F-4E" and "F-15A" divisions (the 414th was the "Red Flag Training Squadron" in 1996). The 422d FWS aircraft and personnel became the "F-16 Division" and the squadron heraldry transferred to the 422d Test and Evaluation Squadron . The FWS mission expanded on 15 June 1993 to include all Air Combat Command weapons ( B-52 & B-1 Divisions) and in 1995, rescue helicopters ( HH-60 Division). RC-135 Rivet Joint and EC-130 Compass Call courses were also added to

3078-945: The 79th Air Base Group detachment (5 staff officers commanded by Lt. Col. Martinus Stenseth ), and a month later 5 administrative NCOs plus other support personnel arrived. WPA barracks in Las Vegas were used for enlisted men, and the motor pool with 6 vintage trucks and a semi-trailer was next to the WPA barracks. Vehicle parts were from local service stations and gasoline and oil from the Civilian Conservation Corps (the Block 16 brothels in Las Vegas were closed). Permanent construction for barracks to house 3,000 people began in mid-1941, and by 7 December , 10 AT-6 Texan advanced flight trainers and 17 Martin B-10 bombers were at

3159-585: The Air Service possessed information on nearly thirty-five hundred landing places, including more than twenty-eight hundred emergency landing areas, in the United States." The 1929 airfield (dirt runway, water well, and small operations shack) north of Las Vegas —operated by the 1925 Western Air Express for Contract Air Mail (CAM) Route #4, LA -to- SLC —was used by the Army Air Corps in

3240-590: The CCO Division in 1995, as well as a Space Division in 1996 (UAVs in 2008). In 1981, the Gunsmoke gunnery meet was first held and the 57th Fighter Weapons Wing was reorganized as part of the establishment of the Fighter Weapons School, e.g., the 422d Test and Evaluation Squadron for aircraft modifications was established on 30 December 1981 from the 422d Fighter Weapons Squadron. In 1990,

3321-586: The Computer and Computed Subsystem used to receive microwave signals from the NTTR Ground-Based per Station the Tracking and Communications Subsystem (TCS) for presentation on Nellis' Display and Debrief SubSystem (DDS). Nellis Area I has the airfield (2 runways and ramp space for up to 300 aircraft), recreation and shopping facilities, dormitories/temporary lodging, some family housing, "and most of

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3402-749: The F-111As departed Nellis for Vietnam on 15 March 1968 ( Combat Lancer ). Nellis provided replacements for 2 lost F-111s, and the F-111s returned to the USA in November 1968. The wing's 428th Tactical Fighter Squadron reached IOC in spring 1968 with F-111s, and the TFW was fully operational in July 1971. The Lake Mead Base , a 1953–6 United States Navy 's weapons storage area of 2,832 ha (6,999 acres), became Area II of

3483-502: The Nellis AFB complex in September 1969. The 430th TFS returned to the 474th TFW Nellis on 22 March 1973 assuming a replacement training unit mission, while the 428th and 429th were transferred to Mountain Home AFB on 30 July 1973. Post-war the 474th's mission was to train combat-ready force of aircrews and maintained a rapid-reaction capability to execute fighter attacks against enemy forces and facilities in time of crisis. In 1975,

3564-533: The Nellis fighter weapons school in late 1956 because of the almost total failure of the F-86 Sabre aircraft used at Nellis, and during 1958 ATC discontinued its Flying Training and Technical Training. Nellis AFB transferred to Tactical Air Command on 1 February 1958, and the Nellis mission transitioned from initial aircraft qualification and gunnery training to advanced, graduate-level weapons training. Soon after

3645-520: The Pacific in preparation for the expected transfer of large numbers of men and aircraft from Europe to the Pacific. During the summer of 1945, the 509th Composite Group was transferring from its Second Air Force training base at Wendover Army Air Field , Utah, the group landed at Mather prior to embarking on its trans-Pacific movement to Tinian (in the Marianas Island chain). During

3726-599: The Soviet technology and developed adversary tactics for dissimilar air combat training. After completion of training, the Aggressor pilots were assigned to the DACT squadrons , one of which was assigned to Nellis. During the 1970s, a site northwest of Nellis evaluated a Soviet "Barlock" search radar to develop techniques for countering Soviet air defense systems. The USAF Fighter Weapons School reactivated 30 December 1981 in

3807-786: The US Air Force Bomber and Tanker, Employment School since 1992 and the Air Rescue Center since 1993. The USAF Air Demonstration Squadron with the United States Air Force Thunderbirds moved from Arizona to Nellis AFB in June 1956. The 474th Tactical Fighter Wing was reassigned from New Mexico to Nellis AFB on 20 January 1968 and was the first USAF operational wing equipped with the General Dynamics F-111 —6 of

3888-582: The Warfare Center transferred Nellis Air Force Range control to the 98th Range Wing in 2001, and the annual Aviation Nation airshow began at Nellis in 2002. The Nellis Solar Power Plant constructed 23 April–December 2007 on Nellis' west side was visited by president Barack Obama on 27 May 2009. In 2010, the 505th Operations Squadron operated the Combined Air and Space Operations Center -Nellis. The 57th Adversary Tactics Group merged into

3969-538: The airfield. Las Vegas Army Airfield was both activated and began flying training on 20 December 1941. Gunnery training began in January 1942, with guntruck platforms being used in January and February.. Many pieces of the destroyed aerial drone targets litter the hillside north of the gunnery range, and can be seen in town when the sun reflects off them. The first B-17 Flying Fortresses arrived in 1942 and allowed training of 600 gunnery students and 215 co-pilots from

4050-462: The base switched to B-29 gunnery training which included the manipulation trainer on the ground with camera guns. The subsequent population peaked with nearly 11,000 officers and enlisted personnel including more than 4,700 students. Flexible gunnery training ended in September 1945, and the base became a demobilization center for soldiers' separation physicals and final pay. A course of navigator, bombardier, and radar operator training planned for LVAAF

4131-493: The base. The separate training squadrons were consolidated into a single Flying School detachment, because many of the personnel at Mather were being demobilized. Flight training activities finally ceased on 8 November 1919. With the end of World War I, in December 1919 Mather Field was closed as an active airfield. However, a small caretaker unit was assigned to the facility for administration. Nonetheless, on 13 December 1919,

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4212-665: The base: "Nellis Air Force Base", the airfield, the post office, a Community College of Southern Nevada campus, and the census-designated place (CDP). The Nellis Air Force Base CDP is an 8.0 km (3.1 sq mi) region defined by the United States Census Bureau as of the 2010 United States Census . The CDP area includes military family housing (e.g., in Nellis Areas I & III), dormitories, and lodging as for aircrew temporary quarters during Red Flag exercises. The Nellis Air Force Base Complex

4293-445: The closure of Mather AFB, the 940th relocated back to McClellan AFB in 1993. When McClellan closed in 1998 the wing then moved to its current station at Beale AFB . Parts of the airfield were listed on the National Priorities List as a Superfund site on 22 July 1987. The entire site was listed on 21 November 1989. On 30 September 1993, the 5,845 acres (23.7 km ), including 129 acres (0.52 km ) of easements, of Mather AFB

4374-415: The command and support structures", e.g., Suter Hall for Red Flag. Nellis Area II northeast of the main base "at the foot of Sunrise Mountain " (formerly the U.S. Navy's Lake Mead Base) has Nellis Gun Club and the 820th Red Horse Squadron. Nellis Area III is west of the main base with family housing, administration and industrial areas, and the Mike O'Callaghan Military Medical Center . Area III also includes

4455-425: The course, cadets were required to spend 100 hours navigating during both local and long-range flights. However, in 1943, Army Air Forces Training Command transferred the Navigator School from Mather Field to Ellington Field, near Houston, Texas. Mather became a twin-engine Advanced Flying School, training pilots on North American B-25 Mitchell medium bombers. In 1944–45 it became an aerial port of embarkation to

4536-470: The end of the Cold War when Tactical Air Command was inactivated. The 57th Wing was designated on 15 June 1993 from the 57th Operations Group in conjunction with the introduction of the RQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). The USAF Combat Rescue School was also established in 1993 for HH-60 Pave Hawk instructional flying. "In 1996, AETC moved the PJ Advanced Weapons Course from Nellis AFB to Kirtland AFB". The 98th Range Wing

4617-500: The field every five weeks at the height of the war. More than 45,000 B-17 gunners were trained; the USAAF training movie The Rear Gunner was filmed at the airfield in 1943. The 82d Flying Training Wing (Flexible Gunnery) was activated at the base as one of ten Army Air Forces Flying Training Command wings on 23 August 1943. By 1944, gunnery students utilized B-17, B-24 Liberator and B-40 Flying Fortress gunship aircraft (for example by firing at aircraft-towed targets). In March 1945,

4698-419: The language used by people who work in a particular area or who have a common interest. Similar to slang, it is shorthand used to express ideas, people, and things that are frequently discussed between members of a group. Unlike slang, it is often developed deliberately. While a standard term may be given a more precise or unique usage amongst practitioners of relevant disciplines, it is often reported that jargon

4779-500: The late 1950s as part of SAC's plan to disperse its heavy bombers over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for the Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike. The wing had one squadron of B-52 Stratofortresses with 15 aircraft. Four of the planes were maintained on 15-minute alert, fully fueled, armed, and ready for combat. The remaining planes were used for training in bombardment missions and air refueling operations. The wing also had

4860-413: The mid-1930s, there were "difficulties in securing the use" of the airfield north of Las Vegas for a Nevada World War II Army Airfield . McCarran Field was bought on 2 January 1941 by the City of Las Vegas , was leased to the Army on 5 January, and was "signed over" to the Quartermaster Corps on 25 January—Army construction began in March 1941. The city's Federal Building became the May 1941 location of

4941-499: The primary examples being Exercise Red Flag and Exercise Green Flag (West). As of October 2019, Nellis employed 9,500 military and civilian personnel. The total military population is more than 40,000, including family members and retired military personnel in the area. The base also supports operations at nearby Creech Air Force Base , Tonopah Test Range , and the Nevada National Security Site . Nellis ground systems for range operations (e.g., by callsign "Nellis Control") include

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5022-412: The standard and non-standard dichotomy. The term "colloquial" is also equated with "non-standard" at times, in certain contexts and terminological conventions. A colloquial name or familiar name is a name or term commonly used to identify a person or thing in non-specialist language, in place of another usually more formal or technical name. In the philosophy of language , "colloquial language"

5103-502: The sudden end of World War I in November 1918, the future operational status of Mather Field was unknown. Many local officials speculated that the U.S. government would keep the field open because of the outstanding combat record established by Mather-trained pilots in Europe. Locals also pointed to the optimal weather conditions in the Sacramento area for flight training. Cadets in flight training on 11 November 1918 were allowed to complete their training, however no new cadets were assigned to

5184-460: The transfer to TAC, the F-100C, F-100D, and tandem cockpit F-100F entered the school inventory. On 21 April 1958 an F-100F on a training flight out of Nellis was involved in a mid-air collision with United Airlines Flight 736 . All 47 aboard the airliner and both Air Force pilots in the fighter jet were killed. The 3595th wing assets were redesignated as the 4520th Combat Crew Training Group by TAC on 1 July 1958. The 4520th Combat Crew Training Wing

5265-406: Was one of 32 Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I in April 1917. The Mather AFB land has various post-military uses including Sacramento Mather Airport , established in 1995. Some of the land was included in the City of Rancho Cordova , when it was incorporated in 2003. Mather Field also now serves as home of the 149th Intelligence Squadron of

5346-412: Was 1st Lieutenant Sam P. Burman, who assumed command on 15 March 1918. The first unit stationed there was the 283d Aero Squadron, which was transferred from Rockwell Field , North Island, California. Only a few U.S. Army Air Service aircraft arrived with the 283d Aero Squadron, Most of the Curtiss JN-4 Jennys to be used for flight training were shipped in wooden crates by rail. Mather Field served as

5427-655: Was activated at Nellis on 15 October 1969 to replace the 4525th FWW (its Fighter Weapons Squadrons transferred to the 57th). The USAF Air Demonstration Squadron (the " Thunderbirds ") was assigned to the 57th in February 1974, and the wing incorporated intelligence training after March 1980. Redesignated the 57th Tactical Training Wing in 1977, the wing trained tactical fighter aircrews, conducted operational tests and evaluations, demonstrated tactical fighter weapon systems, and developed fighter tactics. The 57th's 4440th Tactical Fighter Training Group (Red Flag) assumed operational control of Red Flag exercises in October 1979; and

5508-406: Was activated at Nellis on 29 October 2001 for Nellis Air Force Range control (previous range control was by the FWC). After Detachment 13, 372d Training Squadron opened its F/A-22 maintenance training facility on 29 November 2001, on 14 January 2003 Nellis received the first production F-22A Raptor for the F-22 Force Development Evaluation program and Weapons School (12 Raptors had been assigned to

5589-478: Was decommissioned under the 1988 Base Realignment and Closure Commission . Most of the base was transferred to Sacramento County . Current sites of the former air force base include: Source for major commands and major units assigned: There are rare wetland vernal pools , which are unique to California, and numerous plant and animal species exist on the site that became Mather Air Force Base. The chiefly grassland ecological community continues to hold

5670-450: Was designated from the 4520th CCTG on 1 May 1961, and the Combat Crew training squadrons were renumbered. The 4537th Fighter Weapons Squadron had been assigned F-105D Thunderchiefs in March 1961, and the wing taught veteran pilots in all phases of fighter weapon employment: air-to-air gunnery, rocketry, conventional and nuclear bombing, aerial refueling, and combat navigation. The F-4 Phantom II Instructor Course began in mid-1965 and during

5751-440: Was designated on 1 January 1954 from the squadron when the Air Crew School graduated its last Combat Crew Training Class (the primary Weapons School mission was gunnery instructor training). In the mid-1950s for Operation Teapot nuclear testing, 1 of the 12 Zone Commanders was based at Nellis AFB for community liaison/public relations (weapons for other atomic tests were stored at Nellis). Air Training Command suspended training at

5832-418: Was established after a second stage of "additional Lashup stations and heavy radar equipment [was] authorized" in the fall of 1949. Site L-37 began operation with an AN/CPS-6 in June 1950, and the 668th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was assigned on 1 January 1951 . The station later converted to AN/FPS-20 A and AN/FPS-6 and AN/FPS-6B radars. By 1960 the station became a joint-use facility with

5913-460: Was expanded 1951–1954 with longer jet-capable runways, reconfigured taxiways and a larger aircraft parking ramp; and World War II wooden structures were replaced with concrete and steel structures (e.g., barracks and base housing for married personnel). The first Wherry houses were completed in 1954, with updated Capehart houses being completed in February 1960. The USAF Fighter Weapons School

5994-606: Was inactivated on 30 September 1989. The 940th Air Refueling Group , an Air Force Reserve unit, moved to Mather AFB from McClellan AFB in 1977, shortly after it transitioned to the KC-135A. Operationally-gained by SAC, the unit upgraded to the KC-135E in 1986. With SAC's inactivation in 1992, the unit was then gained by the Air Mobility Command and redesignated the 940th Air Refueling Wing in 1993. Following

6075-471: Was inactivated on 30 September 1993. Concurrent with the wing's inactivation, all USAF navigator and NFO maritime navigation pipeline training was moved to Randolph AFB , Texas and consolidated under the 12th Flying Training Wing , which up until that time trained and certified instructor pilots. Mather AFB had a late 1940s/early 1950s Radar Bomb Scoring detachment of the 3903rd Radar Bomb Scoring Squadron. The Mather AFB general surveillance radar station

6156-454: Was increased from 872 to 4,418 acres (17.88 km ) in June 1941. Sub-bases and auxiliary fields of Mather included: In 1941 Mather Field became the site for advanced navigator training. The Army Air Forces Navigator School began operating on 2 August 1941. Major new construction was completed 16 March 1942. The school consisted of a rigorous 18-week course consisting of instruction in celestial navigation and dead reckoning . To complete

6237-516: Was instead begun at Mather Army Airfield in June 1946. AAF Training Command closed LVAAF which went on caretaker status 28 August 1946 ("officially deactivated in January 1947"). During the planning for a separate air force, the Las Vegas AAF was reactivated "30 Aug 47 as a subinstallation of Mather", and it transferred to the USAF after the branch was created in September. Renamed Las Vegas Air Force Base on 13 January 1948 and assigned as

6318-1008: Was named on 30 April 1950, and the 20 May 1950 dedication was attended by Lieutenant Nellis ' family. By 1 July the Air Force had directed ATC to accelerate Korean War training for a new 95-wing Air Force. The first school opened at Nellis, and ATC redesignated the 3595th Pilot Training Wing (Advanced Single-Engine) as the 3595th Training Wing (Combat Crew). On 17 July 1950, Nellis began a replacement pilot training program to provide 115 FEAF F-51 Mustang pilots and 92 combat-ready F-80 Shooting Star pilots. Nellis' advanced single-engine pilot training transferred to Alabama on 1 September 1950. Nellis assumed fighter-bomber training, and ATC established its USAF Air Crew School (Fighter) on 14 November 1950, equipped with F-80s and early-model F-84C Thunderjets . On 1 October, Nellis AFB base management functions transferred from Williams AFB. In early 1951, ATC assigned recently graduated airplane and engine mechanics to Nellis to learn jet aircraft maintenance. The airfield

6399-504: Was placed on inactive status, 22 June 1922; and closed on 12 May 1923. The airfield was reactivated 1 April 1930; and placed in inactive status, 1 November 1932. It was designated a subpost of the Presidio of San Francisco, unk-13 May 1935; designated a subpost of Hamilton Field, 13 May 1935; designated a subpost of Stockton Field, 21 February 1941. The Field was reestablished as a separate post and activated on 13 May 1941. The field area

6480-618: Was replaced by the Boeing T-43 A (Boeing 737-200) aircraft. The 3535th was replaced by the 323d Flying Training Wing on 1 April 1973. In 1976, following the decommissioning of Training Squadron Twenty-Nine (VT-29) at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi , Texas, the 323d began training student Naval Flight Officers (NFO) in the Advanced Maritime Navigation training pipeline. U.S. Navy students in this pipeline were destined to fly land-based naval aircraft such as

6561-487: Was responsible for bombardier training beginning in 1946 and later transitioned to undergraduate navigator training (UNT), advanced navigator bombardier training, electronic warfare officer training and weapon systems officer training after the closure of the other navigator training bases. Renamed the 3535th Flying Training Wing, the wing initially flew the Convair T-29 for USAF navigator training until 1974, when it

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