[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 184 (Wednesday, October 20, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S7128]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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   SENATE RESOLUTION 424--COMMEMORATING THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 
 DEDICATION OF SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE AND THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 
       CREATION OF THE EURO-NATO JOINT JET PILOT TRAINING PROGRAM

  Mr. CORNYN (for himself and Mr. Cruz) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services:

                              S. Res. 424

       Whereas, in 1940, Major General Rush B. Lincoln, Commandant 
     of United States Army Air Corps Technical Schools, surveyed 
     the sites surrounding the city of Wichita Falls, Texas for a 
     future training school;
       Whereas, 80 years ago, Sheppard Air Force Base began as 
     Sheppard Field and opened as a United States Army Air Corps 
     training facility on 300 acres of land in Wichita Falls, 
     named after former United States Senator John Morris 
     Sheppard;
       Whereas, during World War II, Sheppard Field trained more 
     than 44,000 mechanics and 445,000 basic trainees, playing a 
     vital role in the development of airpower for defeating the 
     Axis powers;
       Whereas, after serving as an Army Air Force separation 
     center following the end of World War II, Sheppard Field was 
     inactivated in August of 1946;
       Whereas, on August 1, 1948, Sheppard Field was reactivated 
     by the Department of the Air Force to enhance basic training 
     and was dedicated as Sheppard Air Force Base;
       Whereas, by 1953, the base qualified more than 80,000 
     trained aircraft maintainers and served as the home for 2 
     percent of all airmen;
       Whereas Sheppard Air Force Base adapted and matured 
     alongside the United States Armed Forces by becoming the home 
     of missile maintenance training in 1955;
       Whereas, from 1959 to 1962, Sheppard Air Force Base hosted 
     the 4245th Strategic Wing and, from 1962 to 1966, the 494th 
     Bombardment Wing, directing aerial refueling and bombardment 
     squadrons;
       Whereas, in 1965, the 3630th Flying Training Wing was 
     activated and in 1966 began providing pilot training to 
     German Air Force students;
       Whereas, in 1968, Sheppard Air Force Base became the 
     epicenter for field training in the aircraft maintenance 
     training pipeline, carried on today by the 982d Training 
     Group, who deliver more than 35,000 trained students each 
     year;
       Whereas the 3630th Flying Training Wing became the 80th 
     Flying Training Wing, expanding its student radius in 1973 to 
     Iran, El Salvador, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, and other nations 
     under the security assistance program;
       Whereas, in 1973, Sheppard Air Force Base held the honor of 
     serving as a reception point for Operation Homecoming, 
     welcoming home Vietnam prisoners of war after years of 
     captivity;
       Whereas, in 1981, at Sheppard Air Force Base, the 80th 
     Flying Training Wing began the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot 
     Training Program with 11 other partner nations (Belgium, 
     Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, 
     Portugal, Turkey, and the United Kingdom), providing the 
     partner nations with several domains of pilot training;
       Whereas, on July 1, 1993, Sheppard Air Force Base became 
     the home of all aircraft maintenance training when the 
     Sheppard Training Center became the 82nd Training Wing;
       Whereas, in 2016, the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training 
     Program added Romania as its 14th partner and was extended 
     through 2026;
       Whereas the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program 
     remains the world's only internationally manned and managed 
     flying training program;
       Whereas, since 1981, the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training 
     Program has delivered more than 7,800 combat pilots for its 
     14 partner nations in support of NATO;
       Whereas the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program 
     trains 50 percent of all United States Air Force fighter 
     pilots and is the sole source of fighter pilots for the 
     partner nations of Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the 
     Netherlands, and Norway;
       Whereas the 80th Flying Training Wing launches 50,000 
     sorties per year and is recognized as the busiest joint-use 
     airfield in the Air Force;
       Whereas, in fiscal year 2019, Sheppard Air Force Base 
     created $4,600,000,000 in economic impact and served as the 
     region's largest employer, accounting for 1 in 8 jobs in 
     Wichita County;
       Whereas the 82nd Training Wing, stationed at Sheppard Air 
     Force Base, graduates more than 60,000 officer and enlisted 
     students each year;
       Whereas the 82nd Training Wing is the largest technical 
     training wing in the United States Air Force, teaching 6,000 
     students on a daily basis across the globe; and
       Whereas, over the course of 80 years, Sheppard Air Force 
     Base has delivered more than 7,000,000 trained Airmen, 
     Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and international partners and 
     pilots to support military interoperability around the world: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate commemorates the 80th anniversary 
     of the opening of Sheppard Air Force Base and the 40th 
     anniversary of the creation of the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot 
     Training Program.

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