Randolph Air Force Base (IATA: RND, ICAO: KRND, FAA LID: RND) is a United States Air Force base located in Bexar County, Texas,[1] (14.8 miles (23.8 km) east-northeast of Downtown San Antonio).

The buildings, erected during World War I with a life expectancy of five years, had no suitable areas for ground training, and the living quarters were inadequate.

Maj. Gen. Mason Patrick, Chief of the Air Corps, visited San Antonio in December and recommended that an additional training field be built, and in April 1927 a board of officers appointed by Gen. Lahm approved an unusual circular layout.

Having trained as an architect prior to entering the military during World War I, Clark sketched ideas for a perfect "Air City" on the back of old dispatch sheets, aligning the runways with prevailing winds and placing facilities by function between the runways to keep planes from having to make landing approaches over hangars, as they were forced to do at Kelly.

In the meantime, after a dispute with a blue ribbon committee of senior Air Corps officers who did not favor the circular design, Clark's layout was approved, also on 16 August, and construction began on 1 November 1927.

"[6] Clark's design was submitted to and drawn upon by George B. Ford, a city planner and civilian advisor to the Construction Service of the Quartermaster Corps whose approval of all site plans for the Army was required between 1926 and 1930.

The 2001 National Park Service nomination for the Randolph Field Historic District as a National Historic Landmark commented on the architectural layout of the field: It appears that Clark's plan, submitted by the Air Corps Training Center, was one of the new layouts that George B. Ford, in his position as City Planning Adviser to the War Department, chose for extensive revisions.

Although barely half-completed, Randolph Field was dedicated 20 June 1930, with an estimated 15,000 people in attendance and a fly-by of 233 planes.

[8] Early in 1931, the School of Aviation Medicine from Brooks Field and the initial service squadron began relocating to Randolph.

On 1 October, the Air Corps Training Center moved its headquarters from Duncan Field to Randolph and the principal movement of personnel followed.

[9] Between October 1931 and March 1935, more than 2,000 candidates reported for pilot training at Randolph, which began a new class every fourth months.

Basic flying training at Randolph continued until March 1943, when the Army Air Forces Central Instructors School (CIS) was created.

Under coach Frank Tritico, the 1943 team achieved a 9–1 record and was invited to play in the 1944 Cotton Bowl Classic, where they battled the Texas Longhorns to a 7–7 tie.

In 1954, with the requirements for B-29 crewmen reduced, the CTAF instituted instrument training for four-engine transport crews using the Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar, and added Martin B-57 Canberra crew training to Randolph's activities, although a shortage of qualified instructors cut short the latter program after two years.

Shortly after, between 1 August and 30 September, the headquarters of ATC itself relocated to Randolph from Scott Air Force Base, Illinois.

The 3510th CCTW was redesignated the 3510th Flying Training Wing on 1 June 1958 with the primary mission of qualifying USAF jet pilots.

The PIT squadrons at Perrin and Tyndall both returned to Randolph in June 1971 and it became the only source of UPT instructor pilots for the USAF.

To preserve the lineage and histories of combat units, the Air Force directed ATC to replace its four-digit flying and pilot training wings with two-digit designations.

SUNT trained prospective USAF Navigators/Combat Systems Officers destined for the B-52 Stratofortress, E-3 Sentry, E-8 Joint STARS, RC-135, non-PACER CRAG KC-135 Stratotanker, and all C-130 Hercules variants, as well as prospective Naval Flight Officers enroute to fly land-based U.S. Navy P-3C Orion, EP-3 Aries and E-6 Mercury aircraft.

With the retirement of the T-37 from USAF service in 2009, the retirement of the T-43 in 2010, and the redesignation of USAF Navigators as Combat Systems Officers (CSO), SUNT was disestablished at Randolph AFB and replaced by Undergraduate Combat Systems Officer Training (UCSOT) under the 479th Flying Training Group (479 FTG), a geographically separated unit (GSU) of the 12 FTW located at NAS Pensacola, Florida.

The 12 FTW also operates an additional airfield for practice approaches and touch-and-go landings approximately 12 miles east-northeast of Randolph in Seguin, Texas.

Randolph offers Elementary through High School education for both the residents of the base and the children of former or active Air Force members.

[18] Randolph Air Force Base is a census-designated place (CDP) in Bexar County, Texas first appearing in the 2010 U.S.