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Tinker Air Force Base
IATA: TIK ICAO: KTIK
Summary
Airport type	Military
Operator	United States Air Force
Location	Oklaholma City, Oklahoma
Elevation AMSL	1,291 ft / 393.5 m
Coordinates	35°24′52.8″N 97°23′12.0″W / 35.414667°N 97.386667°W / 35.414667; -97.386667
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 17/35 11,100 3,383 PEM 12/30 10,000 3,048 PEM

Tinker Air Force Base (IATA: TIK, ICAO: KTIK) is a major U.S. Air Force base located in Oklahoma City, near the suburb of Midwest City, Oklahoma. The base has more than 26,000 military and civilian employees and is the largest single-site employer in Oklahoma. The installation covers 5033 acres (20.368 km²) (7.864 m²) and has 760 buildings with a building floor space of over 15.2 million square feet.

The host unit at Tinker is the 72d Air Base Wing (72 ABW) which provides services and support for the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center and its tenant organizations. The wing commander is Colonel Mark Correll.

Tinker is the home of the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center (OC-ALG) (FHZ), the largest of three ALCs in the Air Force Materiel Command and provides depot maintenance, product support, services and supply chain management, as well as information support for 31 weapon systems, 10 commands, 93 Air Force bases and 46 foreign nations.

Tinker AFB is home to seven major Department of Defense, Air Force and Navy activities with critical national defense missions.

• The 552d Air Control Wing (ACW) Tail Code: "OK"
  Flies the E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft and is part of the Air Force’s Air Combat Command major command. The E-3’s radar and other sensors provide deep-look surveillance, warning, interception control and airborne battle management. The 552 ACW encompasses 3 groups:
  • 552d Operations Group
    • 960th Airborne Air Control Squadron
    • 963d Airborne Air Control Squadron "Blue Knights" (E-3)
    • 964th Airborne Air Control Squadron (E-3)
    • 965th Airborne Air Control Squadron (E-3)
    • 966th Airborne Air Control Squadron (E-3, Boeing 707)
    • 970th Airborne Air Control Squadron (Reserve)
    • 552d Training Squadron
  • 552d Maintenance Group
  • 552d Communications Group
    • 752d Communication Squadron
    • 552d Computer Systems Squadron
• 507th Air Refueling Wing
  An Air Force Reserve flying unit. OC-ALC is the primary source of depot maintenance for the wing’s KC-135R aircraft and engines. The Wing also supports U.S. Military and NATO aircraft with aerial refueling and Airborne Warning and Control System missions world-wide.
• 76th Maintenance Wing
  Provides maintenance support for the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center.
• 327th Aircraft Sustainment Wing
• 448th Combat Sustainment Wing
• 507th Air Refueling Wing
• 38th Engineering Installation Group
  Has worldwide responsibility for engineering and installation of all communications and electronic facilities for the Air Force.
• Defense Mega Center Oklahoma City
  Is the local branch of the Defense Information Systems Agency. The Mega center operates computer systems for the base and serves 110 other bases in 46 states.
• The Navy’s Strategic Communications (STRATCOM)
  Wing ONE is a one-of-a kind unit in the Navy. This Wing provides a vital, secure communications link to the submerged fleet of ballistic missile submarines. OC-ALC airframe artisans perform depot work on the Navy’s E-6 Mercury airplanes while sailors perform field level work.
• The Defense Distribution Depot Oklahoma
  Provides the receipt, storage, issue, inspection and shipment of material, including material quality control, preservation and packaging, inventory, transportation functions and pick up and delivery services in support of OC-ALC and other Tinker-based organizations.
• The 3rd Combat Communications Group (colloquially known as the "Third Herd")
  Provides deployable communications, computer systems, navigational aids and air traffic control services anywhere in the world.
• 654th Combat Logistic Support Squadron

Tinker Air Force Base is named in honor of Major General Clarence Leonard Tinker (1887-1942).

From from Pawhuska, Oklahoma and part Osage Indian, General Tinker received his wings in 1921. General Tinker was a graduate of Wentworth Military Academy who went on to become the first Major General of American Indian descent in U.S. Army history.

In 1926 he was awarded the Soldiers Medal for returning to his blazing aircraft to rescue a fellow officer. On 7 June 1942 he led a flight of B-24 Liberators on a long-range strike against Japanese forces on Wake Island during World War II. General Tinker was killed when his aircraft presumably crashed into the sea. At the time of his death, General Tinker was commander of the Hawaii-based Seventh Air Force.

The base was renamed in his honor on 13 January 1948.

• Air Service Comd, 1 Mar 1942 - 17 Jul 1944
• AAF Materiel and Services, 17 Jul 1944 - 31 Aug 1944
• AAF Technical Service Comd, 31 Aug 1944 - 1 Jul 1945
• Air Technical Service Comd, 1 Jul 1945 - 9 Mar 1946
• Air Materiel Comd, 9 Mar 1946 - 1 Apr 1961
• Air Force Logistics Command, 1 Apr 1961 - 1 Jul 1992
• Air Force Materiel Command , 1 Jul 1992 - Present

• OCAD (Oklahoma City Air Depot) Liaison Staff, 1 Mar 1942 - 15 Feb 1943
• 497th Base HQ and Base HQ Sq, 15 Feb 1943 - 1 Apr 1944
• 4136th AAF Base Unit, 1 Apr 1944 - 26 Sep 1947
• 4136th AF Base Unit, 26 Sep 1947 - 28 Aug 1948
• 2919th Area Supply Gp, 28 Aug 1948 - 15 Mar 1951
• 2944th Depot Training Wg, 15 Mar 1951 - 15 Jul 1953
• 2854th Air Base Wg, 15 Jul 1953 - 16 Oct 1964
• 2854th Air Base Gp, 16 Oct 1964 - 1 Oct 1994
• 72 Air Base Wing, 1 Oct 1994 - Present

• OK City Air Depot 1 Mar 1942 - 3 Jan 1955
• 323d Bomb Group 9 Sep 1947 - 17 Mar 1951
• 456th Bomb Group 26 Sep 1947 - 17 Mar 1951
• 323d Bomb Wing 27 Jun 1949 - 28 Mar 1951
• 506th Strategic Fighter Wing 20 Mar 1955 - 1 Apr 1959
• 1707 Air Transport Wing 1 Jun 1959 - 8 Jan 1966
• 443d Military Airlift Wing 8 Jan 1966 - 5 May 1969

In 1940, the War Department was considering the central United States as a location for a supply and maintenance depot. Oklahoma City leaders offered a 480 acre (1.94 km²) site and acquired an option for 960 additional acres (3.89 km²) of land. On April 8, 1941, the order was officially signed awarding the depot to Oklahoma City.

Tinker Field was the site of a Douglas Aircraft factory producing approximately half of the C-47 Skytrains used in World War II. The site also produced a number of A-20 Havocs. Production ceased in 1945.

The first successful tornado forecast in history was issued on March 25, 1948 from Tinker, about three hours before the tornado hit the southeast corner of the base. A granite marker in the Heritage Airpark on the base commemorates the event.

On September 29, 1957, Buddy Holly and The Crickets recorded "An Empty Cup", "Rock Me My Baby", "You've Got Love", and "Maybe Baby" in the Tinker Air Force Base Officer's Club.[1]

On November 14, 1984, a massive fire that burned for two days destroyed or damaged over 700,000 square feet in Building 3001. The resulting repairs cost $63.5 million.

During much of the 1990s, Tinker was home to the Automated Weather Network switching facility, which consolidated all U.S. military weather data worldwide. Originally based at Carswell Air Force Base, this unit was later moved to an Air Force Weather Agency facility at Offutt Air Force Base.

On May 3, 1999, a deadly tornado caused extensive damage to the northwest corner of the base and surrounding communities.¹ For many days afterwards, Tinker personnel helped by providing shelters, search and rescue, and clean-up efforts.

In July 2005, Tinker hosted the US Air Force Thunderbirds as part of their Star Spangled Salute, the base's annual Independence Day celebration. This was the first time the Thunderbirds had performed in Oklahoma in almost 20 years.

Tinker celebrated the 30-year anniversary of the E-3 Sentry from June 29 to July 1 2007. Past and present airmen were invited to swap stories and learn about the latest upgrades.^[1]

• Oklahoma World War II Army Airfields

Much of this text in an early version of this article was taken from pages on the Tinker Air Force Base Website, which as a work of the U.S. Government is presumed to be a public domain resource. That information was supplemented by:

• Mueller, Robert (1989). Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982. USAF Reference Series, Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-53-6
• Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947-1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0912799129.

• Tinker AFB Public Web Site
• Tinker Takeoff
• Tinker OC-ALC
• Tinker AFB (from Globalsecurity.org)

Several Transformational efforts are under work at Tinker AFB, including 5S, 6 Sigma, Lean, and Balanced Score Card.