Tinker Air Force Base Fact Sheet

Tinker Air Force Base was named in honor of Major General Clarence L. Tinker of Pawhuska, Okla. General Tinker lost his life while leading a flight of LB-30 "Liberators" on a long-range strike against Japanese forces on Wake Island during the early months of World War II.

Tinker AFB's history began in 1940 when a group of Oklahoma City civic leaders and businessmen learned that the War Department was considering the central United States as a location for a maintenance and supply depot. On April 8, 1941, the order was officially signed awarding the depot to Oklahoma City.

During World War II, Tinker's industrial plant repaired B-24 and B-17 bombers and fitted B-29s for combat.

Throughout the Korean conflict, Tinker continued its output -- keeping planes flying and funneling supplies to the Far East.

The base also played an important role in the Berlin and the Cuban crises. During the Vietnam War, Tinker provided logistics and communications support to Air Force units in Southeast Asia.

Tinker and OC-ALC began the decade of the 1990s providing front-line support to the forces engaged in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

In 1999, Tinker was awarded the largest engine repair contract in the history of the Air Force valued at 10.2 billion dollars over 15 years.

In late 2011, the Air Force announced an initiative to restructure Air Force Material Command from its current 12 center configuration to a new five-center structure. Under this reorganization Tinker AFB became the host site for the Air Force Sustainment Center. The AFSC provides war-winning expeditionary capabilities to the warfighter through world-class depot maintenance, supply chain management and installation support. It consolidates oversight of the maintenance missions now performed at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex; Warner Robins ALC at Robins AFB; and Ogden ALC at Hill AFB. As well as assuming responsibility for supply chain management wings here and at Scott AFB. Current plans call for the AFSC to achieve Initial Operating Capability in October 2012.

Tinker's largest organization is the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex

. It is the largest of three depot repair complexes in the Air Force Materiel Command. It provides depot maintenance on the C/KC-135, B-1B, B-52 and E-3 aircraft, expanded phase maintenance on the Navy E-6 aircraft, and maintenance, repair and overhaul of F100, F101, F108, F110, F118, F119 and TF33 engines for the Air Force, Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard, Navy and foreign military sales. Additionally, the complex is responsible for the maintenance, repair and overhaul of a myriad of Air Force and Navy airborne accessory components, and the development and sustainment of a diverse portfolio of operational flight programs, test program sets, automatic test equipment, and industrial automation software.

More than 9,400 military and civilian employees work at the OC-ALC. The complex is headquartered out of historic Building 3001, which covers 62 acres and stretches for seven-tenths of a mile. Within its walls, workers perform a vast array of maintenance on aircraft, engines, components and accessories and perform a multitude of administrative tasks.

The 72nd Air Base Wing provides base installation and support services for the headquarters, Air Force Sustainment Center, the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex and 45 associate units assigned to six major commands, including the largest flying wing in Air Combat Command, the Navy's Strategic Communications Wing One and several defense agencies. More than 1,600 personnel and 1,343 contractors work within the 72nd Air Base Wing. The groups, directorates and direct reporting units within the wing include the 72nd Mission support Group, 72nd Medical Group, 72nd Communications Directorate, 72nd Civil Engineering Directorate, 72nd Operations Support Squadron, 72nd Comptroller Squadron, 72nd Logistics Readiness Squadron, Public Affairs, Chaplain and Plans Office.

Today, with more than 26,000 military and civilian employees, Tinker is the largest single-site employer in Oklahoma. The installation has an annual statewide economic impact of $3.51 billion, creating an estimated 33,000 secondary jobs. Tinker owns 4,048 acres, leases 810 acres and has 642 acres of easements. The total number of buildings including Bldg 9001 is 458.

Not only is total support of America's defense systems a priority, but protecting and enhancing the environment is a top concern as well. Through the use of aggressive and innovative technologies, Tinker has become a national leader in pollution prevention, earning multiple Department of Defense awards for environmental stewardship.

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

The 448th Supply Chain Management Wing Provides enterprise-wide planning and execution for depot line repairable and consumables materiel, maintenance and distribution, aircraft structural and intercontinental ballistic missile electronics/communication commodities management, and engineering. The 448th is one of two "virtual wings" in the USAF. The Wing manages the 848th and 948th Supply Chain Management Groups at Tinker AFB, Okla., with elements of the 948th SCMG at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. The Wing remotely manages two groups: the 638th Supply Chain Management Group at Robins AFB, Ga. and the 748th Supply Chain Management Group at Hill AFB, Utah.

The 552nd Air Control Wing flies the E-3 Sentry aircraft and is part of the Air Force's Air Combat Command mobile strike force. The E-3's radar and other sensors provide deep-look surveillance, warning, interception control and airborne battle management.

The Navy's Strategic Communications 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 507th Air Refueling Wing is 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.

The 3rd Combat Communications Group provides deployable communications, computer systems, navigational aids and air traffic control services anywhere in the world.
*Note: The 3rd Combat Communications Group is scheduled for inactivation in FY13.

The 38th Cyberspace Engineering Group has worldwide responsibility for engineering and installation of all communications and electronic facilities for the Air Force.

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 Defense Information Security Agency Defense Enterprise Computing Center, Oklahoma City, is the local organization of the Defense Information Systems Agency. DISA operates computer systems for the base and serves 172 other bases in all 50 states plus 92 foreign countries.

(Current as of July 2012)