NAS WHITING IS 75 YEARS OLD

Naval Air Station Whiting Field, in Santa Rosa County, celebrated its 75th anniversary this week. Currently, Whiting Field trains nearly 1,200 pilots each year in the basics of flying – 600 in fixed-wing aircraft, 500 in helicopters, and an additional 100 pilots in tilt-rotor aircraft. Commanding Officer Captain Paul Bowdich, said the base is busiest naval air station in the world. By way of comparison Hartsfield-Atlanta International Airport had about 879,000 flight operations while Whiting Field had over 1.1 million. Established in 1943 as a Naval Auxiliary Air Station, the base is named for Captain Kenneth Whiting, a Navy aviator who was the final aviator trained by Orville Wright. The Air Station also has 12 outlying fields in Northwest Florida and Alabama.