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.