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Bryan Air Force Base

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Coordinates: 30°38′16″N 96°28′43″W / 30.63778°N 96.47861°W / 30.63778; -96.47861
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Bryan Air Force Base
Bryan Army Airfield
Part of Air Training Command (ATC)
Brazos County, near Bryan, Texas
2006 USGS Airphoto
Bryan AFB is located in Texas
Bryan AFB
Bryan AFB
Coordinates30°38′16″N 96°28′43″W / 30.63778°N 96.47861°W / 30.63778; -96.47861
TypeAir Force Base
Site history
Built1942
In use1942–1947; 1951–1958; 1960–1961

Bryan Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base in unincorporated Brazos County, Texas, located west of Bryan. Today, the location houses The Texas A&M University System RELLIS Campus (stands for Texas A&M's six core values: Respect, Excellence, Leadership, Loyalty, Integrity, Selfless Service). It was also formerly named the Texas A&M University-Riverside Campus.

Bryan Air Force Base was originally activated in 1943 as a U.S. Army Air Forces installation known as Bryan Army Air Field. The base housed a flight instructors' school and was assigned the task of developing a standardized system of instrument flight training. The Full Panel Attitude System developed at the base was one of the most significant contributions the base made to pilot training. The instrument training school at Bryan AAF was the only one of its kind in the United States Army Air Forces.[1]

With the end of World War II (WWII), the base was inactivated. The installation became Bryan Air Force Base upon the establishment of the U.S. Air Force (USAF) as a separate service in September 1947.[2]

Following WWII, enrollment at the nearby Texas A&M College (later renamed Texas A&M University) soared due to the G.I. Bill. Housing was in short supply, so between 1946 and 1950, an estimated 5,500 students lived, studied, ate, and attended classes at what became known as the Annex, located in buildings the USAF was not using. Former students lived and studied in cramped, cheaply built and already-dilapidated WWII buildings without heating, air conditioning or indoor plumbing, and described having to hitchhike to and from the remote site if they did not have their own cars.[3]

In 1951, with the outbreak of the Korean War, the base was reactivated for USAF pilot training and the runways were extended.[2] Assigned to the Air Training Command, it conducted advanced flight training in the T-33 Shooting Star.[citation needed] In 1955, after combat in Korea had wound down, the USAF began reducing operations at the base, and in 1957, it announced that the base would be inactivated again in 1958.[2] The USAF fully vacated the base in May 1961.[4][2]

In 1962, the land and buildings were leased for twenty years to Texas A&M under an arrangement that allowed the General Services Administration to reclaim the base in the event of a national emergency, but with the eventual "purchase price" of the facility being reduced by five percent each year of the lease.[5] Texas A&M continued to renew the lease, and in 1988, full ownership of the former base was transferred to Texas A&M at virtually no cost.[5][failed verification]

RELLIS Campus

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Several state agencies and higher education facilities occupy space at the RELLIS Campus as of 2024, including:

Bush Combat Development Complex

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The George H.W. Bush Combat Development Complex is a $200 million military research center that opened in 2022 on the RELLIS Campus. Retired USAF Maj. Gen. Tim Green is director of the site for "national defense innovation" in weapons and technology which will bring together military, academic and private-sector researchers, according to local reporting.

The complex includes the Research Integration Center; Innovation Proving Ground; and Ballistic, Aero-optics and Materials Range, where weapons are tested. Raytheon tested a high-energy laser test there in 2023, the first open-air usage in the state of Texas.

The complex was initially funded by the state of Texas ($50 million), Texas A&M ($80 million) and the U.S. Army Futures Command ($96 million).[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "TSHA | Bryan Air Force Base".
  2. ^ a b c d "Bryan Air Force Base". rellisrecollections.org. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
  3. ^ Gillentine, Kristy (March 11, 2007). "Aggies recall days at Annex". The Bryan-College Station Eagle. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved June 23, 2008.
  4. ^ Leatherwood, Art (November 1, 1994). "Bryan Air Force Base". Retrieved August 21, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Research Annex". rellisrecollections.org. Retrieved August 22, 2024.
  6. ^ Alex Miller (November 3, 2023). "Bush Combat Development Complex officials look forward to what's next". The Eagle. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  • Manning, Thomas A. (2005), History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas OCLC 71006954, 29991467
  • Shaw, Frederick J. (2004), Locating Air Force Base Sites, History’s Legacy, Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington DC. OCLC 57007862, 1050653629
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Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

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