Great Plains Joint Training Center | |
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Part of Kansas National Guard | |
10 Miles west of Salina, Kansas | |
Coordinates | 37°42′03″N097°50′03″W / 37.70083°N 97.83417°W |
Type | National Guard Base |
Site information | |
Owner | State of Kansas |
Controlled by | Kansas Adjutant General |
Site history | |
Built | 1942 (as Smoky Hill Bombing Range) 2009 (as GPJTC) |
Built by | McPherson Contractors, Inc (Topeka) |
In use | 2009 – present [1] |
Garrison information | |
Garrison | 284th Air Support Operations Squadron (ANG) Kansas Regional Training Institute Smoky Hill Weapons Range |
The Great Plains Joint Training Center is an Army National Guard facility owned and operated by the state of Kansas Adjutant General's Office. It is located on the site of the Smoky Hill Bombing Range, part of the former Schilling Air Force Base near Salina, Kansas. The bombing range is now known as the Smoky Hill Weapons Range and is one of the most active National Guard bombing ranges in the United States. It was opened in 2009 and is also home to the Kansas Air National Guard's 284th Air Support Operations Squadron and the Kansas Regional Training Institute. [2]
While not officially part of the GPJTC (but located on a portion of the weapons range) Crisis City is a training facility to simulate real-world disaster and crisis operations. [3]
Kirtland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in the southeast quadrant of the Albuquerque, New Mexico urban area, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport. The base was named for the early Army aviator Col. Roy C. Kirtland. The military and the international airport share the same runways, making ABQ a joint civil-military airport.
MacDill Air Force Base is an active United States Air Force installation located 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida.
Little Rock Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force base located approximately 17 miles (27 km) northeast of Little Rock, Arkansas.
Buckley Space Force Base is a United States Space Force base in Aurora, Colorado named after United States Army Air Service First Lieutenant John Harold Buckley. The base is run by Buckley Garrison, with major units including the U.S. Space Force's Space Delta 4,, the Colorado Air National Guard's 140th Wing, the Denver Naval Operations Support Center, and the NRO's Aerospace Data Facility-Colorado.
The 39th Air Base Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Third Air Force. It is stationed at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. The wing is also the host unit at Incirlik.
The 97th Air Mobility Wing is a United States Air Force (USAF) unit assigned to Nineteenth Air Force of Air Education and Training Command. It is stationed at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma. The wing is also the host unit at Altus. It plans and executes McDonnell Douglas C-17 Globemaster III, Boeing KC-46, and Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker pilot and aircrew training, providing formal school initial and advanced specialty training programs for up to 3,000 students annually. The training is done in a three-phase approach: Academic Phase, Simulator Phase, and Flying Phase.
The Georgia National Guard is the National Guard of the U.S. state of Georgia, and consists of the Georgia Army National Guard and the Georgia Air National Guard. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal and state missions. The state functions range from limited actions during non-emergency situations to full scale law enforcement of martial law when local law enforcement officials can no longer maintain civil control.
The Nevada National Guard is the component of the United States National Guard in Nevada. The governor of Nevada may call individuals or units of the Nevada National Guard into state service. The Constitution of the United States charges the National Guard of each state to support its dual federal and state missions.
The Wyoming Military Department is part of the Government of Wyoming. Its primary components are the Wyoming Army National Guard, and the Wyoming Air National Guard.
The 184th Wing is a unit of the Kansas Air National Guard, stationed at McConnell Air Force Base, Wichita, Kansas. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Sixteenth Air Force.
The New Mexico Air National Guard is the aerial militia of the State of New Mexico, United States of America. It is, along with the New Mexico Army National Guard, an element of the New Mexico National Guard.
The United States Air Force's 114th Space Control Squadron (SPCS) is a Florida Air National Guard unit located at Patrick Space Force Base and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. It is operationally gained by the United States Space Force.
The United States Air Force's 293rd Combat Communications Squadron is a combat communications unit located at the Pacific Missile Range Facility and Hickam AFB, Hawaii.
During World War II, Kansas was a major United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) training center for pilots and aircrews of USAAF fighters and bombers. Kansas was favored because it has excellent, year-round flying conditions. The sparsely populated land made ideal locations for gunnery, bombing, and training ranges.
Walker Army Airfield is an abandoned airfield located north of Interstate 70 in Ellis County, 1 mile northwest of Walker, Kansas or 3 miles northeast of Victoria, Kansas.
The 127th Command and Control Squadron was a unit of the Kansas Air National Guard 184th Intelligence Wing stationed at McConnell Air Force Base, Wichita, Kansas. The 127th was a non-flying squadron operating the Distributed Common Ground System. The unit was inactivated on 29 September 2014.
The 829th Bombardment Squadron was a squadron of the United States Army Air Forces. It was active during World War II in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations as a Consolidated B-24 Liberator unit, where it earned a Distinguished Unit Citation. Following V-E Day, the squadron returned to the United States and began training with the Boeing B-29 Superfortress at Smoky Hill Army Air Field, Kansas, before inactivating in August 1946.
The 828th Bombardment Squadron was a squadron of the United States Army Air Forces. It was active during World War II in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations as a Consolidated B-24 Liberator unit, where it earned a Distinguished Unit Citation. Following V-E Day, the squadron returned to the United States and began training with the Boeing B-29 Superfortress at Smoky Hill Army Air Field, Kansas, before inactivating in August 1946 ans transferring its personnel to another unit that was activated in its place.
Joint Region Marianas' mission is to provide installation management support to all Department of Defense components and tenants through assigned regional installations on Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands in support of training in the Marianas; to act as the interface between the Department of Defense and the civilian community; to ensure compliance with all environmental laws and regulations, safety procedures, and equal opportunity policy; and perform other functions and tasks as may be assigned.
Lieutenant General Leon Scott Rice is the former director of the Air National Guard. He previously served as The Adjutant General (TAG) and Commander of the Massachusetts National Guard and as an assistant to Gen Mark A. Welsh III, former commander of the United States Air Forces in Europe. Rice has also served as commander of USAF Forces deployed for United States Central Command in the Middle East Area of Operations. He is a Boeing 777 first officer flying for United Airlines in Washington Dulles International Airport. On 3 April 2012 he was appointed by Governor Deval Patrick as The Adjutant General (TAG) of the Massachusetts National Guard and reappointed as The Adjutant General by Governor Charles Baker on 12 May 2015. Rice retired from the U.S. Air Force on 1 August 2020 after over 40 years of service.