Air Education and Training Command, with headquarters at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas, was established and activated in January 1942, making it the oldest major command in the Air Force. AETC’s training mission makes it the first command to touch the lives of nearly every Air Force member. AETC was formed in 1942 as the Army Air Corps Flying Training Command with headquarters in Washington, D.C. Less than a year later, the headquarters moved to Fort Worth, Texas. During World War II the command provided technical and flying training at more than 600 installations, factories and institutions of higher learning. The headquarters moved to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, in 1946, to Scott AFB, Illinois, in 1949, and finally to Randolph AFB in 1957. In July 1993, Air Training Command and Air University merged to form AETC. This redesignation allowed the command to retain all of its previous heritage and honors. The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure plan renamed Randolph Air Force Base, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph. Over the years, more than 25 million students have graduated from AETC training and education programs.

Mission 
Find, recruit, train and educate the Airmen the nation needs.

We take America’s sons and daughters – young men and women who have volunteered to serve their country in a time of war – and develop them into Airmen. Develop denotes more than educating or training them – it implies bringing them to embrace our culture, teaching them (by our example) our core values of integrity, service before self and excellence in all we do. 

Vision 
Develop Airmen with the competencies to win the high-end competition. 

Lines of effort

1. Family readiness and quality of life

2. Transition AETC to Airman Development Command

3. Enterprise learning ecosystem optimization 

4. Build the foundation for “One Air Force” 

Personnel and Resources 
More than 29,000 active-duty members, 6,000 Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve personnel, and 15,000 civilian personnel make up AETC. The command also has more than 11,000 contractors assigned. AETC flies approximately 1,300 aircraft. 

Organization 
Air Education and Training Command comprises the Air Force Accessions Center, Second Air Force, Nineteenth Air Force, and the Air University, operating 11 major installations, with numerous tenant and geographically separated units across the globe. Its active‑duty wings include the 17th TRW (Goodfellow AFB), 37th TRW (JBSA–Lackland), 42nd ABW (Maxwell AFB), 47th FTW (Laughlin AFB), 56th FW (Luke AFB), 58th SOW (Kirtland AFB), 59th MDW (JBSA–Lackland), 71st FTW (Vance AFB), 80th FTW (Sheppard AFB), 81st TRW (Keesler AFB), 82nd TRW (Sheppard AFB), and 97th AMW (Altus AFB). AETC also partners with Guard and Reserve training wings—including the 149th FW (JBSA–Lackland), 150th SOW (Kirtland AFB), 162nd WG (Morris ANGB), 163rd ATKW (March ARB), 173rd FW (Kingsley Field ANGB), 174th Attack Wing (Hancock Field ANGB), 189 AW (Little Rock AFB) 908th FTW (Maxwell-Gunter AFB) and 944th FW (Luke AFB)—to deliver recruiting, basic military training, technical training, flying training, medical training, and professional military education across a nationwide network.

AETC Installations: 

• Altus AFB, Oklahoma
• Goodfellow AFB, Texas
• Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas
• JBSA Fort Sam Houston, Texas
• JBSA-Randolph, Texas 
• Luke AFB, Arizona 
• Columbus AFB, Mississippi
• Keesler AFB, Mississippi
• Laughlin AFB, Texas
• Maxwell AFB, Alabama
• Sheppard AFB, Texas
• Holloman AFB, New Mexico
• Vance AFB, Oklahoma    

Point of Contact 

Air Education and Training Command, Public Affairs Office: 100 H Street, Ste 4; Randolph AFB, Texas 78150-4331; (210) 652-4400;  Click here to email us.  

(Current as of October 2025)