U.S. Air Force Fact Sheet

23RD FLYING TRAINING SQUADRON

 

23rd Flying Training Squadron


 Mission Statement
Training Tomorrows Warriors

Unit History
Lineage: Constituted as the 76th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 20 Nov 1940 and activated on 15 Jan 1941. It was re-designated as the 23d Antisubmarine Squadron (Heavy) on 3 Mar 1943 and disbanded on 6 Feb 1944. Reconstituted as the 23d Troop Carrier Squadron on 11 Nov 1944, the unit transported cargo and personnel throughout the European Theater of Operation until its inactivation on 7 Sep 1946. The Air Force revived the unit on 9 Jul 1956 as the 23d Helicopter Squadron at Stewart AFB, Tennessee where they served at Phalsbourg France, RAF Wethersfield UK, and Wheelus AB Libya until their inactivation on 8 Jan 1958.

The Vietnam War saw the unit's reconstitution as the 23d Tactical Air Support Squadron operating from Nakhon Phanom Royal Thailand Air Force Base (RTAFB), Thailand, from 15 April 1966 to 22 Sep 1975. They inactivated on 22 Sep 1975 only to be reactivated on 30 Nov 1975 at Bergstrom AFB, Texas to train forward air controllers. They then moved to Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona on 1 Jul 1980 until their deactivation on 1 Nov 1991.

Finally, on 15 Jan 1994, the Air Force reactivated the unit as the 23rd Flying Training Squadron at Fort Rucker, Alabama to train future helicopter pilots in the UH-1H "Huey".



Assignments:
1 Apr 1994 to Present - 58th Operations Group

Stations:
15 Jan 1994 to Present -Fort Rucker, AL

Aircraft Flown:
1994 to Present - UH-1H Huey

Operational Missions:
Jan 1994 to Present - Helicopter training with US Army and C-12 training for DoD
To contact the 23rd FTS, call DSN: 558-3018, Commercial (334) 255-1207, or

 

23d_Flying_Training_Squadron_UH-1.jpg

Designated as the 23d Flying Training Flight on 22 December 1993, it was reactivated on 15 January 1994 performing helicopter training at Fort Rucker AIN, Alabama.  Reassigned to the 58th Operations Group on 1 April 1994, it was redesignated as the 23d Flying Training Squadron on 21 December 1999.

Since January 1994, the 23d Flying Training Squadron is the United States Air Force’s primary source of helicopter pilots for special operations, combat search and rescue, missile support, and distinguished visitor airlift missions. Its mission is providing Air Force helicopter flight training for all undergraduate pilots proceeding to flying careers in the Air Force’s UH-1N Huey, HH-60G Pave Hawk or CV-22 Osprey fleets. Tactical training includes alternate insertion and extraction (AIEs) but specialized training like hoists and gunnery is saved for type-qualification in post-graduate flight training at 58th Special Operations Wing (SOW), Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, to smooth their transition in more complicated aircraft and missions. USAF rotary wing students receive their wings when their Fort Rucker pilot training class is completed.

 

While still a tenant of Fort Rucker, the Air Force has developed its own independent training syllabus, separate from the Army's new flight school model.

Air Force helicopter students start off with six months of fixed-wing aircraft training at either Air Force or Navy bases. Once they get to Fort Rucker, they already have six months of flying under their belt,

The Air Force trains 66 students a year at Fort Rucker. It conducts 11 classes with six students in a class. Pilots spend 25 weeks there, after which they move to Kirtland to train on the MH-53, the HH-60 and UH-1N. Depending on the airframe, that portion takes four to nine months of training. (see 1550th)