Shot of new USAF student dormitories taken from south side of base Hwy 87. These barracks are located in what used to be vacant jack rabbit retreat across from the old runway.
Shot from same location as the previous picture, but looking back toward the front gate (about 1/4 mile east of where it used to be). The B-25 is the same one that was once on a pedastal in front of the Service Club in San Angelo.
New commissary; the new BX is to its left. They are located on what was once runway. Notice the top of the old Cactus Hotel in downtown San Angelo is still visible from the base.
Another shot of the new commissary and the new student dorm area.
Goodfellow NCO Academy (same location as USAF/ESC NCO Academy), but reclad and expanded. When I took this picture I was standing where the old housing office used to stand near the old Main Gate. Now there's a covered picnic area in that location. You can see part of the cover at the top of the picture.
Vacant lot where the HQ Building once stood. It was still there in the late 1980s when I retired. The circle where the base flagpole stood is still there.
More student dorms. These are located north on what was once the main street of the base. They're positioned approximately where the base hospital stood long ago. As you may know, Goodfellow became the training center for all Air Force Intelligence during the 80s, not just cryptologic training. I failed to mention that in my article. The intelligence training formerly conducted at Lowry AFB, CO, and some other locations was moved to GAFB.
The new Western Winds Dining Hall is located near the middle of the base, very close to where its predecessor was situated.
More new student dorms. I'm pretty sure these belong exclusively to Army students. There's even a sign in the area that reads "Fort Goodfellow."
The new Housing Office is located on the opposite side of the street from where the old one was located near the old main gate. It's also at the north end of the base.
Mig-23 Flogger
I didn't get the story on these C-130s. I'm not sure if they're there for training purposes or if they're used to support deployment of the base engineers in times of emergency. They're parked close to the fire-fighter training area, which is visible in the background at the extreme left in the photo.
The new HQ Building was named for the great lady who commanded the 3480th Technical Training Wing during the 70s, before she was promoted to brigadier general. I was fortunate enough to know her. Remember all this grassy area was once the old runway.
Close up of previous picture.
The school building on the left was one of two school buildings when I arrived at GAFB in 1982. The second was an old warehouse that had been converted into a language training facility. A third building, not visible in this picture, was under construction for maintenance training. The other school buildings shown here were built around 1984-87. This picture was taken from the new main street of the base. It's located where the old runway was located and runs north-south across the base. The new HQ Building was visible from this vantage point, about 70 degrees to the left.
Another shot of the new school buildings. Be sure to notice the secure facilities are no longer surrounded by the tall security fences. When I retired, there was a plan for changing to electronic security devices and eliminating the fences. That apparently came to pass.
This building is what we once knew as "transient barracks." Casual students awaiting clearances and class dates stay here along with vistors to the base. The facilities are as nice as can be found in most modern hotels, including maid service. I stayed in one of the CMSgt suites in 2002. Quite impressive.
This is one of the original hangars that was renovated. I'm not sure what the function of a "field house" is. The plan had been to tear these old hangars down. I took my boss, Col. Carr, on a tour of them right after he arrived. He agreed with me, and determined that two of them should be preserved. They're not made of iron, but of heavy wood beams from the WWII days. The masterful carpentry is truly something of historic significance and will probably last forever if properly cared for. The second one looks about the same and is used as the deployment preparation center for the engineers when they are alerted to deploy for exercises or emergency situations.
The B-25 outside the Main Gate. It used to sit in front of the downtown Service Center.
