Tinker Air Force Base

Tinker AFB is located right in the middle of Oklahoma, close to Midwest City. It is among the military facilities of high importance due to the US Navy tenants and the multiple missions of the Department of Defense. With all these, the place is operated by the US Air Force. Its name comes from the well known General Clarence L. Tinker, the first native American who managed to become a major general. Tinker joined the US Navy in 1921. He passed away in 1942. More of the base gates are named after historical personalities with connections to Oklahoma, such as the Eaker Gate or the Turnbull Gate.

History

Prior to World War II, the War Department was looking after a proper spot in the middle of the country to host a huge depot. The Oklahoma City authorities decided to provide the War Department with 480 acres and the option to purchase 960 more acres if needed. In 1941, the agreement was signed and the construction could begin. During World War II, the base was mostly used to produce the famous C 47 Skytrains. It also dealt with the production of A 20 Havocs. The factories were closed as the tensions were relieved in 1945. The place is also famous for forecasting the first tornado in the history. Luckily for the inhabitants, it was forecast about 3 hours before hitting the base, therefore it caught everyone ready and waiting. Unfortunately for the authorities, they could not forecast and present a fire that hit the place and burnt continuously for two whole days, destroying a large part of the camp. The repair costs were evaluated to over $60M.

Tinker AFB is well known among musicians for songs like “Rock Me My Baby” or You’ve Got Love”, recorded by The Crickets and Buddy Holly in 1957, in the local club. During the latest decades of the 20-th century, the base was mostly used by the Automated Weather Network, a unit that helped the US troops from all over the world with the precise information. In 1992. the place saw the first real connection between the US Air Force and the US Navy, when the US Air Force fully integrated a US Navy wing – TACAMO (Take Change and Move Out).

Units

Tinker AFB is the home of the 76-th Maintenance Group, with its 5 subdivisions. The group provides a workplace for almost 7500 individuals, both civilian and military experts. The base also hosts the 72-nd Air Base Wing and the 448-th Supply Chain Management Wing. Although they have completely different tasks to deal with, all of these units work together in a tight and solid collaboration. Other than these names, there are a few tenant and associate units inhabiting the place.

Housing

The housing facilities at Tinker AFB are not among the most modern ones in the world. Almost 40% of the facilities require improvements. The on site housing system implies an application and a few months for the process to complete. You might want to start it early, before you get there. For the off site accommodation, you can just rely on the privatized system.