[9]: 2–1  The city's Federal Building became the May 1941 location of the 79th Air Base Group detachment (5 staff officers commanded by Lt. Col. Martinus Stenseth), and a month later 5 administrative NCOs plus other support personnel arrived.

[10] Permanent construction for barracks to house 3,000 people began in mid-1941, and by 7 December, 10 AT-6 Texan advanced flight trainers and 17 Martin B-10 bombers were at the airfield.

[citation needed] Las Vegas Army Airfield was both activated and began flying training on 20 December 1941.

: 2–3 [6] Many pieces of the destroyed aerial drone targets litter the hillside north of the gunnery range, and can be seen in town when the sun reflects off them.

[citation needed] The first B-17 Flying Fortresses arrived in 1942 and allowed training of 600 gunnery students and 215 co-pilots from the field every five weeks at the height of the war.

[13]: 18  By 1944, gunnery students utilized B-17, B-24 Liberator and B-40 Flying Fortress gunship aircraft (for example by firing at aircraft-towed targets).

[citation needed] In March 1945, the base switched to B-29 gunnery training which included the manipulation trainer on the ground with camera guns.

Flexible gunnery training ended in September 1945,[9]: 2–3  and the base became a demobilization center for soldiers' separation physicals and final pay.

A course of navigator, bombardier, and radar operator training planned for LVAAF was instead begun at Mather Army Airfield in June 1946.

[11]: 43  AAF Training Command closed LVAAF which went on caretaker status 28 August 1946 ("officially deactivated in January 1947").

[9]: 2–3  During the planning for a separate air force, the Las Vegas AAF was reactivated "30 Aug 47 as a subinstallation of Mather",[14]: 350  and it transferred to the USAF after the branch was created in September.

[citation needed] Renamed Las Vegas Air Force Base on 13 January 1948[11]: 63  and assigned as a subinstallation of Williams AFB on 1 April,[14] the 3595th Pilot Training Wing (Advanced Single-Engine) was established on 22 December 1948.

Nellis assumed fighter-bomber training, and ATC established its USAF Air Crew School (Fighter) on 14 November 1950, equipped with F-80s and early-model F-84C Thunderjets.

[13] In early 1951, ATC assigned recently graduated airplane and engine mechanics to Nellis to learn jet aircraft maintenance.

[21] The center has developed, refined, coordinated, validated and tested fighter concepts, doctrine, tactics, and procedures.

[9] The 430th TFS returned to the 474th TFW Nellis on 22 March 1973 assuming a replacement training unit mission, while the 428th and 429th were transferred to Mountain Home AFB on 30 July 1973.

[15] The USAF Air Demonstration Squadron (the "Thunderbirds") was assigned to the 57th in February 1974, and the wing incorporated intelligence training after March 1980.

[23] Named Constant Peg in 1980, the operation assessed the Soviet technology and developed adversary tactics for dissimilar air combat training.

The 57th Wing was designated on 15 June 1993 from the 57th Operations Group in conjunction with the introduction of the RQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

[citation needed] After Detachment 13, 372d Training Squadron opened its F/A-22 maintenance training facility on 29 November 2001,[13]: 324  on 14 January 2003 Nellis received the first production F-22A Raptor for the F-22 Force Development Evaluation program and Weapons School (12 Raptors had been assigned to the 422d Test and Evaluation Squadron by July 2008).

The main unit at Nellis is the USAF Warfare Center, which coordinates training for composite strike forces involving aircraft types from across the USAF inventory, accompanied by air and ground units of the US Army, US Navy, US Marines, and aircraft from other NATO and allied nations.

[34] Nellis Area I has the airfield (2 runways and ramp space for up to 300 aircraft), recreation and shopping facilities, dormitories/temporary lodging, some family housing,[8] "and most of the command and support structures",[9] e.g., Suter Hall for Red Flag.

[8] Area III also includes a 9.5-hectare (23.4-acre) munitions response area (MRA XU741) which had World War II storage for small arms ammunition, pyrotechnics, and chemical bombs and that now includes 2 remaining World War II buildings (numbers 1039 & 1047), 5 modern igloos, and RV storage.

[3] Nellis AFB also leases space at the former Las Vegas AFS,[citation needed] and environmental sites of the Tonopah Bombing Range (FUDS) are monitored by the EPA.