US Air Force Military Training - Yearbook (Lackland, TX)

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Twenfy-Tour hours a day There is a sTeacly flow of Traffic in and ouT of repair hangars as ships of all Types are serv- iced by skilled mechanics of The Air Service Com- mancl. Puddle- iumpers, Trainers, cargo ships and bombers receive equal and care- ful aTTenTion from The home TronT soldiers in over- alls who Keep 'Em Flying, l-lere, in summary, is whaT The Air Service Command does: l. IT Turnishes supplies Tor all Army Air Force airplanes ThrOughOuT The world. 2. lT repairs, Overhauls or rebuilds These same planes. here and Overseas. 3. lT Trains The personnel required Tor The supply and mainTenance iobs. 4. IT processes lprepares Tor shipmenTl all American and Lend-Lease planes Tor shipmenT Overseas. 5. lT gives Tinal inspecTiOn To and makes any needed changes or repairs On all American planes Tlown overseas. 6. IT makes Tinal inspecTion OT Lend-Lease planes con- signed To SouTh and CenTral American counTries and Turnishes supplies, rouTes and OTher assisTance Tor The TlighT Trom This cOunTry TO each plane's desTinaTiOn. The hearT OT The Air Service Command is iTs supply sysTem Through which our Tliers and planes all Over The world geT The supplies They need. BolTs and bombers, bulleTs and bombs, Tuel and lubricanTs, Tlying suiTs and jungle kiTs, radio seTs and medical supplies-all are made available by Air Service Command To Our Air Force combaT uniTs wherever They are Tound. The minuTe an Air Force plane leaves The TacTory iT belongs TO The Air Service Command-ThaT is, Trom Then on iT is The iob OT ASC To keep iT in Tuel, bulleTs and bombs, and repair. The TuncTiOn OT The lvlainTenance Division is TO keep planes in combaT cOndiTiOn. The lives OT our Tliers and The eTTecTiveness OT Our planes depend in large measure on how well The lvlainTenance Division OT The Air Service Command does iTs job. We are The garage mechanics OT The Army Air Forces, said Major General ClemenTs lvlclvlullen, ChieT OT The Division. WiThouT The services OT our men and machinery, a plane could OperaTe only so long as noThing serious wenT wrong wiTh iT. ln combaT, ThaT wOuldn'T be very long. Air Service Command mechanics nOT only resTOre damaged planes To Their original cOndiTiOnp They also make improvemenTs on Them. This is called mOdiTicaTiOn, and consisTs OT alTering a plane as a resulT OT combaT experience. lvlodiTicaTiOns are inTended TO Till The gap beTween The Time The Army Air Force decides On an alTeraTion and The Time The TacTOry can puT The change inTO eTTecT. Perhaps a secTion OT plane is Tound To be Too vulnerable To enemy Tire: ThaT is cOrrecTed by in- sTalling guns in a cerTain spoT. Or The armamenT al- ready There may be OT insuTTicienT sTriking power so The machine gun is replaced by a cannon. Again a cerTain use l

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HISTUHY lll THE lllll Sllllllll UHMMA ll Air Service Command is fhe largesf of fhe nine com- mands in fhe Army Air Forces, and righffully so because H is fackling fhe largesf job in fhe paHern of Vicfory. Air Service Comrruand's mission is fo supply and main- fain Unifed Sfafes milifary airplanes wherever fhey are in use fhe world over fo Keep 'Em Flying. Predecessor of Air Service Command was fhe Field Services Secfion of fhe Engineering Division of fhe Air Corps, organized in I9l9. The Commands formal his- fory began wHh fhe formafion of fhe Provisional Air Corps Mainfenance Command, under Hue lvlaferiel Di- vision, oru March IS, I94-l. On April 29, I94-I, fhis name was changed fo Air Corps lvlainfenance Command and Hue unH remained under Hue iurisdicfion of lvlaferiel Di- vision. On Ocfober I7, l94I, Hue rapidly expanding ouffif was given Hue name of Air Service Command-Hs almosf unlimifed scope of service fhus appropriafely recognized. As a separafe command, ASC became a componenf of Army Air Forces in fhe Army reorganizafion of March 9, I942. 'From such humble beginnings, Hue Air Service Com- mand has grown 'ro Hs presenf size wherein H exceeds America's largesf indusfrial corporafion in volume of business done, in number of employees, and in Hue amounf of space required fo perform Hs operafions. The world sfruggle for air supremacy, on which vicfory hinges, has broughf abouf fhis milifary reorganizafion unique in fhe annals of Hue Unifed Sfafes Army. Firsf Commanding General of ASC was lvlaior General Henry J. F. Miller, who was fransferred fo Hue European Theafer 'of Operafions in November, I942, and replaced by lvlaior General Walfer I-I. Frank, who organized Air Service Command funcfions in fhe combaf zone during fhe period July-November, I942. General Frank's assumpfion of command broughf far- reaching sfreamlining of Air Service Command opera- fions, characferized nofably by Hue applicafion of proved American indusfrial-managemenf mefhods fo Hue opera- fion of Air Supply and air mainfenance dufies. Air Service Command accomplishes Hs mission fhrough Hue medium of ll Area Commands in Hue confi- nenfal UnHed Sfafes, and fhrough mobile organizafions known as Air Depof Groups, Service Cenfers, and Service Groups in Hue overseas fheafers of operafions. Each Area Command is defermined by Hue loca- fion of a confrol clepof, and in furn Huis confrol depof has a nefwork of specialized depofs in Hs geographical iurisdicfion. The confrol depof cifies are: Rome, New York: lvliddlefown, Pennsylvania: Fairfield, Ohio: Warner Robins, Georgia: Oklahoma CHy, Oklahoma: San An- fonio, Texas: Ogden, Ufahg Spokane, Washingfong Sacra- menfo, California: and San Bernardino, California. H also provides Air Force Technical Supplies fo a maze of AAF Base Supply and lvlainfenance Secfions, formerly known as sub-depofs. This modern building houses Hue head and brains of Hue Air Service Command. From Hs busy offices go direcfions and plans for fhe successful operafion of depofs and sub-depofs sei up al' sfrafegic poinfs across Hue counfry and in Hueafers of operafion overseas. Here, fhe men and women soldiers-in-mufii do Hueir perl in Hue big business of Keeping 'Em Flying.

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Type of plane, such as a P-38, is Tound ideal Tor phoTo- graphic missions, whereupon machine guns are removed Trom a cerTain secTion oT The plane and cameras are in- sTalled in Their place. Thanks To These rnodiTicaTions, The enemy TrequenTly is caughT oTT guard. While The daring deeds oT our Tliers have been Told over The radio and in The press, very liTTle is known ouT- side The Air Service Command's own ranks oT The long hours of Toil and hardship puT in by The men on The ground in order ThaT The men in The air may carry ouT Their mission in Top-condiTioned planes. IT is The job oT The Personnel and Training Division To supply and Train The men and women who operaTe The Supply and MainTenance Divisions and The oTher acTiviTies of The Air Service Command. The enlisTed men and oTTicers consTiTuTing The miliTary personnel oT ASC are Turnished Through SelecTive Service and The War DeparTmenT. ConsequenTly, supplying ThaT parT oT ASC's personnel presenTs no diTTiculTy. Air Service Command's Training program Talls inTo Two broad classes-Tor iTs civilian and iTs miliTary personnel. Civilians are Trained Tor work in This counTry: The miliTary Tor work in combaT zones. The Two groups are Trained separaTely, and Their Training is diTTerenT. The soldier-mechanic in a combaT zone isn'T likely To be working in a large concreTe or sTeel repair shop where supplies and equipmenT are abundanT, where The plane To be worked on is broughT righT To The worker, and where The worker has only his single special iob To per- Torm. As likely as noT, The overseas soldier-mechanic may have To help locaTe a plane ThaT crashed noT Tar behind The enemy line. When he Tinds iT he musT be careTul ThaT booby Traps have noT been planTed in iT. He musT geT The plane aboard a wrecker and hauled To where iT can be worked on, aT The same Time he keeps on The alerT Tor snipers and enemy acTion. l-le may have To make repairs in a Truck hidden under a Tree. IT no Trees can be Tound, he may have To help puT up camouflage To proTecT The plane, Truck and squadron during repairs. Our Army operaTes on The very sound premise ThaT if a man cannoT do his iob in Training, he cerTainly will noT be able To do iT in combaT. To prepare personnel Tor Their baTTle Tasks, Then, soldiers oT ASC undergo a rigorous six-monTh Training program. Only Then are They ready Tor The obiecTive Toward which all miliTary acTiviTy is aimed-direcT operaTions againsT The enemy. There are Two periods oT This Training: The acTivaTion and uniT Training period and The combined Training period. During The TirsT period a cadre oT experienced oT- Ticers and men is assembled aT a base uniT oT The ASC. IT received special Training in how To build The new organizaTion aT The Air Service Command school, WRASC, Warner Robins, Ga., aTTer which IT proceeds g.. W! A To The Tield where The new uniT will be acTivaTed. Here The organizaTion is broughT To Tull sTrengTh in accordance wiTh The appropriaTe Table oT organizaTion, by The addiTion oT personnel processed Through ASC ReplacemenT DepoTs. To supplemenT basic miliTary Training received upon enTrance inTo The Army, The en- lisTed men undergo brush-up courses. There is in- sTrucTion in how To live in The open, how To build a laTrine, how To proTecT oneselT againsT gas aTTack, how To use small arms, and many relaTed subiecTs. Men compleTe necessary medical and denTal TreaTmenT. Those disqualiTied Tor duTy overseas are weeded ouT and replaced. Courses oT insTrucTion, begun in various Technical schools in such subiecTs as mechanics, para- chuTe repair, welding, and oTher subiecTs, are conTinued. AT The conclusion oT This period, The uniT will have suTTicienT Training so ThaT iT can be selT-suTTicienT and is able To conducT iTs primary mission as a well- inTegraTed organizaTion. During The combined Training period, The uniT works wiTh a combaT organizaTion and learns precisely whaT iT musT do To service This ouTTiT. This is done under simulaTed baTTle condiTions, wiTh emphasis on camou- Tlage, dispersion, concealmenT, bivouac, and movemenT. The organizaTion is molded inTo a compacT, Thoroughly schooled ouTTiT, rarin' To go. Thus, our mechanics, when The Time comes, know precisely how To geT Their planes in Tip-Top shape Tor combaT missions, wheTher bombing Torays or TighTer escorT duTy or low sTraTing aTTacks on enemy Troops. To Teach officers how To seT up shop in TheaTers of operaTions overseas The Air Service Command conducTs a posTgraduaTe course aT The Warner Robins depoT, Macon, Georgia. A large sand Table shows The layouT of a compleTe ASC seT-up in a TheaTer of operaTions. When The shove oTT order acTualIy comes, each uniT commander knows how To handle The Thousand and one Things necessary To move men, supplies and equipmenT To a disTanT posT.