Editing Williams Air Force Base (section)

===82d Flying Training Wing===
[[File:82d Flying Training Wing Northrop T-38A-50-NO Talon 63-8221.jpg|thumb|Northrop T-38A-50-NO Talon, AF Ser. No. 63-8221, 1986]]

In 1972 and 1973, ATC inactivated its four digit flying wings and replaced them with two-digit and three-digit wings. All of the newly activated units then had a combat lineage.  At Williams the 3525th PTW was re-designated the [[82d Flying Training Wing]] on 1 February.  Squadrons were re-designated as follows:
* 3525th Pilot Training Squadron --> [[96th Flying Training Squadron]] (T-37 Tweet)
* 3526th Pilot Training Squadron --> [[97th Flying Training Squadron]] (T-38 Talon)

One of the most dominant features on the ATC landscape in 1974 was the serious jet fuel shortage the command had to contend with for much of the year. The shortage arose when the [[Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries]] (OPEC) sent oil prices skyrocketing by [[1973 oil crisis|proclaiming an oil embargo]] in response to the United States' support for Israel during the 1973 [[Yom Kippur War]]. Almost overnight, the price of aviation fuel tripled. To conserve fuel, ATC made numerous adjustments to the Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) syllabus, including a reduction in the number of sorties and flying hours and an increased reliance on the use of synthetic trainers.

In other efforts to cope with the crisis, the USAF initiated base closure and flying training wing inactivation actions at [[Craig AFB]], Alabama and [[Webb AFB]], Texas.  ATC also cut overall pilot production goals by 18 percent, with USAF [[Officer Training School]] (OTS) not accepting any pilot or navigator applicants for FY 75, 76 or 77, and the [[Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps]] ([[AFROTC]]) initiating a Reduction in Force (RIF) program, rescinding previously promised pilot training and navigator training slots for approximately 75% of those AFROTC cadets in commissioning Year Groups 75, 76 and 77 originally slated for flight training, re-directing them into non-aeronautically rated career fields or offering them opportunities to resign and transfer to officer flight training programs of the [[U.S. Navy|Navy]], [[U.S. Marine Corps|Marine Corps]], [[U.S. Coast Guard|Coast Guard]] or [[U.S. Army|Army]]. Unaffected by the reductions, [[USAF Academy]] ([[USAFA]]) cadets/graduates of the same period continued to maintain their guaranteed allotment of approximately 75% of USAFA graduates assigned to UPT, 15% assigned to undergraduate navigator training, and the remaining 10% assigned to non-flying duties.

[[File:The first ten female officers to graduate from the Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training Program pose for a group photo in front of a T-38 training aircraft, Williams Air Force Base, AZ DF-ST-84-00864.jpg|thumb|Female members of UPT Class 77-08 of Williams Air Force Base, May 1977]]

In September 1976,<ref>First reference gives the date:<br>"26 September 1976".<br>Second reference states:<br>"...Class 77-08, which entered on 19 September 1976."<br>1) [https://www.wai.org/pioneers/2016/upt-class-77-08 UPT Class 77-08] (Women in Aviation International, Pioneer Hall of Fame, 2016 inductees)<br>2) [https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/2-1977/ This Day In Aviation: 2 May 1977]</ref> [[UPT Class 77-08|UPT class 77-08 at Williams]] became the first UPT class to include female student pilots.  All were serving USAF officers at the rank of 2nd Lt, 1st Lt and Capt who had been previously performing non-flying duties in the Air Force.  All were [[Officer Training School|OTS]] and [[AFROTC]] graduates; none were [[USAFA]] graduates, since USAFA had only begun accepting females in June of that same year.  On 30 November 1976, Capt Connie J. Engle became the first female UPT student to solo in a jet aircraft when she took off in her T-37.<ref>{{cite news|title=First Woman Solos in Jet; Williams AFB, Ariz. (AFNS)|agency=Reese Roundup|publisher=Reese AFB|date=10 December 1976}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Williams|first1=Rudi|title=Women Aviators Finally Fill Cockpits of Military Aircraft|url=https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/id/29276/|website=Defense.gov|publisher=U.S. Department of Defense|access-date=29 April 2015}}</ref>

In 1988, each UPT wing had two flying training squadrons one for T-37s and the other for T-38s, plus a student squadron. Air Training Command wanted to find out whether training could be
conducted more effectively if student squadrons were eliminated. Instead, all training and administrative duties would be placed in the wings' two T-37 and two T-38 flying training squadrons. Officials at ATC chose the 82d Flying Training Wing at Williams as the test unit.

Air Training Command activated two additional squadrons at Williams the [[98th Flying Training Squadron]] (T-37) and [[99th Flying Training Squadron]] (T-38) on 1 June 1988. That gave the 82d a total of four flying training squadrons. However, by year's end, the test had shown that a fifth squadron was needed to provide operational support. The 82d became the first ATC wing to have five flying training squadrons when, on 1 September 1989, the command activated the [[100th Flying Training Squadron]] (T-37).

However, it did not last long. In December 1990 ATC implemented the objective wing organization. The command's UPT wings kept four flying training squadrons each, two for T-37s and two for T-38s.
The fifth squadron was redesignated as an operations support squadron, but fulfilled essentially
the same functions as the old student squadron.