[3] He was a graduate of Wentworth Military Academy who went on to become the first major general of Native American descent in U.S. Army history.

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.

The creation of the base in Oklahoma City was in large part due to lobbying efforts by Stanley Draper.

Furthermore, Tinker is located in a community that supports expansion; Oklahoma County voters approved a 2008 measure to purchase the former General Motors Oklahoma City Assembly plant (located adjacent to the base) and lease it to Tinker for future expansion.

The depot was the site of a Douglas Aircraft factory producing approximately half of the C-47 Skytrains used in World War II.

[10] The base hosted the Space Shuttle Columbia and its carrier 747 on April 27, 1981, after its first mission (STS-1) during its journey back to Cape Canaveral.

[11] On 14 November 1984, a massive fire that burned for two days destroyed or damaged over 700,000 square feet (65,000 m2) in the Air Logistics Center, Building 3001.

A 50-year lease-purchase agreement was executed in September 2008 between Oklahoma County and the Air Force, covering the 3.8 million square foot (353,000 m2) facility and surrounding acreage.

Oklahoma County officials paid $55 million to buy the plant from General Motors, which is now called the Tinker Aerospace Complex.

[16] Two large tornadoes struck Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, damaging or destroying a large number of aircraft including at least two Douglas C-54 Skymasters, a Douglas C-47 Skytrain, and many Boeing B-29 Superfortresses stored from World War II.

Combined, these groups provide depot-level maintenance, repair and overhaul of KC-135, B-52, E-3, E-6, and B-1 aircraft, as well as engines, components, support equipment, and associated software for the US Air Force and US Navy.

Oklahoma Wing Civil Air Patrol Headquarters is located at the base ops building and provides state-level support to the 17 units across the state.

The E-3's radar and other sensors provide deep-look surveillance, warning, interception control and airborne battle management.

[19] The United States Navy's Strategic Communications Wing One consists of three squadrons and a wing staff, and employs over 1,300 active-duty sailors and 100 contractors to provide maintenance, security, operations, administration, training and logistic support for the E-6 Mercury aircraft fleet.

The E-6B Mercury enables the president of the United States and the Secretary of Defense to directly contact submarines, bombers and missile silos enforcing the country's national security through nuclear deterrence.

The wing also operates alert facilities for E-6B aircraft at Travis AFB, California and Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland.

The MROTC[25] is a 370-acre (1.5 km2) MRO facility, on the southeast side of Tinker AFB, sharing runways and security with the base.

[26] The second of the public-private partnerships is Building 9001, originally known as the Tinker Aerospace Complex[27] housed in the former General Motors Oklahoma City Assembly Plant located west of the runway on the south side of the base, north of I-240.

A 50-year lease-purchase agreement was executed in September 2008 between Oklahoma County and the Air Force, covering the 2.5 million square foot (353,000 m2) facility and 407-acre (1.65 km2).

Work being transferred to the complex is currently being done at 69 separate facilities on base, many of which are World War II-era temporary buildings located in runway clear zones.

In 2014 Oklahoma County agreed to issue $10 million in bonds to help finance the purchase of a 156-acre (0.63 km2) BNSF Railway marshaling yard, just north of the TAC building.

[28] In addition to providing space for the work of the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, the Tinker Aerospace Complex can also be used to house public/private business partnerships.

[30] Finally, the Enhanced Use Lease requires Congressional approval and full fair market value rent for underutilized Air Force assets(governed by 10 USC 2667).