Kelly Field Annex
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kelly Field Annex (formerly Kelly Air Force Base) (IATA: SKF, ICAO: KSKF, FAA LID: SKF) is a United States Air Force facility located in San Antonio, Texas. In 2001, pursuant to BRAC action, the former Kelly AFB runway and land west of the runway became "Kelly Field Annex" and control of this reduced size installation was transferred to the adjacent Lackland Air Force Base, part of Joint Base San Antonio. The base is under the jurisdiction of the 802d Mission Support Group, Air Education and Training Command (AETC).
Kelly Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I, being established on 27 March 1917. It was used as a flying field; primary flying school; school for adjutants, supply officers, engineers; mechanics school, and as an aviation general supply depot.
Kelly Air Force Base and its associated San Antonio Air Logistics Center of the Air Force Materiel Command (formerly Air Force Logistics Command) was closed as an independent installation and its assets realigned by the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission.
Current status
Kelly Field Annex supports flight operations of two tenant commands, the Air Force Reserve Command's 433d Airlift Wing, operating the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy and the Texas Air National Guard's 149th Fighter Wing, operating the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon.
The remaining 1,873 acres (7.58 ha) of land, including hangars and industrial facilities previously known as the San Antonio Air Logistics Center, is operated by the Greater Kelly Development Authority (a political subdivision of the State of Texas, now renamed the Port Authority of San Antonio) as the Port San Antonio business park. As of 2006, there are still some isolated USAF activities on Port San Antonio subordinate to Lackland, as well as a substantial tract of military family housing.
Several large warehouses on the grounds of Port San Antonio were cleared, cleaned and equipped with large mobile air conditioning units to house evacuees from Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. The first evacuees began to arrive on September 2, 2005.
History
Kelly Field Annex is named in honor of 2d Lieutenant George Edward Maurice Kelly. Lt. Kelly, who after a course of training at the Curtiss Aviation School, Rockwell Field, California, was ordered to Fort Sam Houston, near San Antonio. While attempting to land on 10 May 1911 in order to avoid running into a tent and thereby possibly injuring several others, died in a crash, falling into the ground.
Origins
In August 1913, U.S. Army Chief Signal Officer Brigadier General George P. Scriven testified before the U.S. House of Representatives concerning the establishment of a military aeronautical center in San Antonio, Texas. The center was to be built for the Aviation Section of the U.S. Army Signal Corps. General Scriven described San Antonio as “the most important strategic position of the South,” in response to the unrest resulting from the Mexican Revolution. In 1916, when Fort Sam Houston was the primary site of the Corps’ aerial equipment and personnel, The San Antonio Light predicted that the city would be “the most important military aviation center in the U.S.”
In November 1915, the newly created 1st Aero Squadron arrived at Fort Sam Houston after a cross-country flight from Fort Sill, Oklahoma. However, the squadron remained at the post only until March 1916, whereupon it left to join Brigadier General John J. Pershing’s Punitive Expedition against Pancho Villa on the U.S.-Mexico border. Problems experienced by the 1st Aero Squadron on that expedition and the ongoing war in Europe persuaded Congress to improve and expand the nation’s air arm.
It was quickly apparent that Fort Sam Houston had inadequate space for additional flying operations, especially with newer and more powerful aircraft. Major Benjamin Foulois, with the support of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, selected a site five miles southwest of the city for a new aviation airfield on 21 November 1916. Bordered by the Frio City Road on the northwest, the site was also adjacent to the Southern Pacific Railroad, providing easy access by road and rail. In addition, the new site was relatively flat, and thus suitable for flying operations. Initially, the site was called the South San Antonio Aviation Camp.
Closure
During Operation Just Cause, Kelly served as a transit point for more than 8,200 troops deploying to Panama and as a reception site for some 250 incoming wounded service members. Later, the base moved more than 10,000 short tons of material and 4,700 passengers and deployed 17 million pounds of munitions to Southwest Asia for Operation Desert Storm. During the 1990s, it supported US operations in Kosovo.
In 1992, a major defense reorganization had shifted ownership of most of Kelly's warehouse space from the Air Force to the new Defense Logistics Agency. The following year, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission added Kelly and three other logistics centers to the list of installations marked for closure. Local officials convinced the commissioners to spare the base, but it was only a temporary stay.
Kelly Air Force Base was closed because the Base Realignment and Closure Commission round of 1995 decided the base's workload should be consolidated with that of other Air Force depots. At the same time McClellan Air Force Base in Sacramento, California, was also closed. Instead of shifting all workloads, some were outsourced or privatized by the Clinton administration. Parts of the installation were shifted to Lackland Air Force Base, with a significant portion becoming Port San Antonio. Prior to the shutdown it was still a vital part of San Antonio, including but not limited to providing host to Air Force One's backup airplane in 1998.
The 37th Training Wing at Lackland AFB, Texas, assumed responsibility for the Kelly AFB flightline area and the area west of the runway on 1 April 2001, the area being designated Kelly Field Annex.
Port San Antonio (formerly known as KellyUSA) has now renamed the logistics center Port San Antonio in line with its business strategy of becoming the largest inland port in South Texas.