Naval Air Station Whiting Field

Naval Air Station Whiting Field is located near Milton, Florida, in Santa Rosa County. Commissioned on July 16, 1943, by Rear Admiral George D. Murray, the station is named for Captain Kenneth Whiting, the 16th designated Naval Aviator and a pioneer in aircraft carrier development. During its initial construction, the site housed a prisoner of war camp. Jet training operations began at the facility in August 1949 with the arrival of TO-1 Shooting Stars, and the base served as the headquarters for the Blue Angels starting in 1955.

The base is operated by the United States Navy under Navy Region Southeast. It serves as a primary pilot training installation for the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Air Force, as well as several allied nations. The station hosts Training Air Wing Five (TRAWING 5), which comprises fixed-wing training squadrons VT-2, VT-3, and VT-6, and rotary-wing training squadrons HT-8, HT-18, and HT-28.

The infrastructure consists of two separate airfields, North Whiting Field and South Whiting Field, which share a central support complex. North Field is utilized for fixed-wing primary flight training using the Beechcraft T-6 Texan II. South Field is dedicated to advanced helicopter training, operating the Leonardo TH-73A Thrasher. To support these operations, the base manages a network of Naval Outlying Landing Fields across Florida and Alabama, including NOLF Barin, Brewton, Choctaw, Evergreen, Summerdale, Spencer, Santa Rosa, Pace, Site X, and Harold. Upon completion of the advanced helicopter syllabus at South Field, students are designated as Naval Aviators and assigned to Fleet Replacement Squadrons or the Coast Guard Aviation Training Center.