Keesler Air Force Base, located in Biloxi, Mississippi, United States, is a United States Air Force installation. It was built in 1941 and remains operational. The base is named in honor of aviator 2d Lt Samuel Reeves Keesler Jr., who was killed in France during the First World War. Keesler AFB is home to Headquarters, Second Air Force (2 AF) and the 81st Training Wing (81 TW) of the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The base has specialized in ground trade training since its opening during World War II, serving as an Aviation Mechanics School and later a basic training center. It trained Tuskegee Airmen and expanded its curricula to include radar, radio operations, and air traffic service technicians. During the Cold War, Keesler provided ground support training for the Atlas missile and continued as a major training base, despite damage from Hurricane Camille in 1969. Post-Cold War, it absorbed training programs from other closed bases, such as weather forecasting and meteorology. The base sustained damage from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Currently, the 81st Training Wing provides technical training in electronics, meteorology, radar operations, air traffic control, and cryptography. The 81st Medical Group operates the second-largest medical center in the Air Force. The Air Force Reserve Command's 403rd Wing, an Air Mobility Command-gained composite unit, is also stationed at Keesler, including the 815th Airlift Squadron and the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, known as the "Hurricane Hunters." Additionally, CNATTU Keesler provides training for U.S. Navy and Marine Corps enlisted personnel, and the 533rd Training Squadron Detachment 2 represents the U.S. Space Force.