The Air Force said Wednesday it plans to move its training hub for airmen who direct airstrikes in combat to San Antonio.
The Tactical Air Control Party and the Air Liaison Officer training school are expected to begin operations at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland late next year.
Lackland was considered the more economical choice after the Air Force looked for a place that could graduate more airmen in a career field that long has been stressed by two wars.
Throughout the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, officers who command the close air-support teams have been in short supply and forced to
repeatedly deploy — one reason why the service wants to shift training to San Antonio, where graduates will rise by a third.
Now at Hurlburt Field in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., the 19-week TACP apprentice training course produces about 270 graduates a year, but the Air Force wants to increase that number by 100, said Collen McGee, Lackland spokeswoman.
The school also will have 65 instructors permanently assigned to the base.
The Air Force gave three reasons for moving the school. It said Lackland is preferred over Keesler AFB in Biloxi, Miss., because it has fewer “black flag” days, when training operations are suspended due to heat and humidity.
“There are shorter commute times to the training location here and the estimated bed-down costs are approximately $1 million less expensive,” McGee added.
An environmental assessment must be done before the action is final.
Col. Mark Camerer, commander of Lackland's 37th Training Wing, said Air Force leaders would hand down a final decision after the review is completed this fall.