Gulfport Combat Readiness Training Center

The Gulfport Combat Readiness Training Center (CRTC) is a United States Air Force training center located at Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport in Mississippi, approximately 5 miles north-northeast of Gulfport. Established in 1942 as Gulfport Army Airfield by the United States Army Air Forces, it initially served as a training base for the Air Corps Flying Training Command, conducting technical and basic training. During World War II, it was used for replacement training for heavy bomber units (B-17, B-24) and B-29 Superfortress aircrew transition training. After the war, it was placed in reserve status in 1946 and conveyed to the City of Gulfport in 1949 for civil airport use.

Due to the Cold War expansion, the Air Force reactivated it as Gulfport Air Force Base in 1951, operating as a joint-use civil/military facility and serving as the headquarters for the Air Training Command's Technical Training Air Force. In 1958, Gulfport AFB was closed as an active Air Force installation, and its military facilities were transferred to the Mississippi Air National Guard. Since 1953, the Mississippi Air National Guard has developed a training activity that evolved into the Combat Readiness Training Center Gulfport, one of four such CRTCs nationally. It hosts regular deployments of Air National Guard units, training over 20,000 Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command flight personnel annually. The center utilizes instrumented offshore airspace and nearby Camp Shelby for air-to-air and air-to-ground training scenarios, supported by a $26 million Air Combat Training System (ACTS).

Current tenant units include the 255th Air Control Squadron, activated in 1971 and converted to an Air Control role in 1998, providing Ground Control Intercept capability. The 209th Civil Engineer Squadron, formed in 1969, provides a mobile emergency engineering force for base damage recovery and rapid runway repair training. The 1108 Theater Aviation Sustainment Maintenance Group of the Mississippi Army National Guard is also co-located at the airport, operating as an Army aviation maintenance depot. The base features two runways: 14/32, measuring 2,743.8 meters with an asphalt/concrete surface, and 18/36, measuring 1,504.1 meters with an asphalt surface. The facility remains operational and is controlled by the Mississippi Air National Guard under the Department of Defense.