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Downtown San Angelo skyline with its historic towers
Military

Goodfellow Air Force Base

San Angelo's Air Force base, where intelligence specialists and military firefighters from every service train.

Photo: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab)

About Goodfellow Air Force Base

Goodfellow Air Force Base is home to the 17th Training Wing, which trains cryptologic and intelligence specialists for the Air Force, Space Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps. It is also home to the Louis F. Garland Department of Defense Fire Academy, the military's main school for firefighters. For families, Goodfellow usually means one thing: a graduation weekend in San Angelo.

History

The base opened in early 1941 as the San Angelo Air Corps Basic Flying School and was renamed Goodfellow Field that June. More than 10,000 pilots trained here during World War II, and pilot training continued until 1958. Since then Goodfellow has become a center for intelligence and firefighter training.

Visiting the base

Goodfellow is a working military installation, not a public attraction. Visitors 16 and older need a visitor's pass, and visitors 10 and older receive a background check. If you're coming for a graduation, your graduate's unit will tell you what's needed.

Our Goodfellow graduation guide covers the visitor pass, hotels near the base and things to do with your graduate.

Plan your visit

  • Coming for a graduation? Start with our graduation guide.
  • Book hotels early for graduation weekends.
  • Always check current base access rules on goodfellow.af.mil.