Randolph Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base located in Universal City, Texas which is near San Antonio. The base was established in June of 1930 when several aviation schools were moved to Randolph from bases across the country. The Air Corps Act of 1926 stated that 90 percent of all commissioned officers in the Air Corps be rated pilots. The base was named after Captain William Millican Randolph who was a native of Austin. Captain Randolph was on the base naming committee at the time of his death in a plane crash. Randolph Air Force Base is also home to the headquarters of the Air Education and Training Command as well as the Air Force Personnel Center. The architecture on the base has designated Randolph as the “Showplace of the Air Force”. Randolph became the Air Force’s Instructor Pilot training base, and its primary mission changed once the Vietnam War started, and the training function had to be reactivated. Today, the base runs parallel runways on either side of the main installation and provides flight training operations 24 hours a day.

Weather in the Randolph Air Force Base area tends to be hot in the summer with temperatures in the 80s and cool in the winter with the temperatures in the 50s. Annual rainfall in the area is 32 inches with the wettest month being May. August is the warmest month, and January is the coldest. Local housing options are available nearby in cities such as San Antonio, Garden Ridge, and Converse. Today, Randolph Air Force Base provides instructor pilot training and refresher courses in such aircraft as the T-6A Texans II, the T-38C Talon, and the T-1A Jayhawk. The base also provides training to numerous NATO/ Allied students and supports the Marine Corps and Coast Guard as well.