T-1A Jayhawk Takes Final Flight from NAS Pensacola
By Capt. Cory Siedler (USAF), 479th Flying Training Group Public Affairs
PENSACOLA, Fla. – One of the U.S. Air Force’s (USAF) training fleet platforms took its final flight from Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola July 28. The T-1A Jayhawk, a mainstay of the USAF training fleet, flew to Davis-Monthan (KDMA) Air Force Base (AFB), the location of the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) in Tucson, Arizona. Here, the retired aircraft will continue service through the cannibalization of parts.
The USAF 479th Flying Training Group Commander Col. Shane Muscato flew the aircraft on its final mission to KDMA, saying the importance of the aircraft to the thousands of Combat Systems Officers (CSO) trained during its nearly 15-year stay at the ‘Cradle of Naval Aviation’ could not be understated.
“The T-1A has been central to our mission and our legacy here in Pensacola,” Muscato said. “It trained thousands of aviators and shaped the future of airpower. This final flight honors that legacy while pointing toward the future of simulation-based training.”
The aircraft’s final flight comes on the heels of a June 6 Sunset Party hosted at the USAF 451st FTS hangar, featuring speeches, static displays and an aircraft signing.
The T 1A has been instrumental in CSO training since 2011, producing 3,872 CSOs, flying 70,167 sorties, and logging 112,719 hours in service. Its versatility—twin-engine medium-range jet, enhanced with avionics to simulate air-to-air, air-to-ground, navigation, and electronic warfare training—cemented its reputation as a cornerstone of advanced CSO education.
The aircraft’s retirement is part of the Air Force’s larger transition toward a fully modernized CSO training environment. While the T-6A Texan II will continue to support primary instruction, the Jayhawk is being replaced with an advanced simulator program designed to meet evolving mission demands.
PENSACOLA, Fla. -- The last T-1A Jayhawk onboard Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola bears a signature from 479th Flying Training Group (FTG) Commander Col. Shane 'Shamus' Muscato before its final flight July 28. The aircraft’s retirement is part of the Air Force’s larger transition toward a fully modernized CSO training environment.
PENSACOLA, Fla. -- The last T-1A Jayhawk onboard Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola taxis before its final flight July 28. The aircraft’s retirement is part of the Air Force’s larger transition toward a fully modernized CSO training environment.
NAS Pensacola Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society Rededicates Historic Building
By Janett Siler, Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola Public Affairs
PENSACOLA, Fla. – One of the oldest structures onboard Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola served as the site for a building rededication ceremony July 24.
After extensive repairs, Bldg. 191's current tenants the Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society (NMCRS) celebrated completion of the structure’s refurbishment with a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring descendants of the building’s namesake – Chief Musician (MUC) Arthur L. Symington.
“Naval Air Station Pensacola is replete with history, and being part of a ceremony celebrating the rich heritage we share with our community is truly an honor,” said Capt. Chandra ‘Mamasan’ Newman, the NAS Pensacola commanding officer. “As we prepare to celebrate the air station’s bicentennial next year, ensuring we keep our history alive for generations to come is a priority, and knowing this building has been part of this great installation’s storied legacy from its inception is a unique part of not only NAS Pensacola but the community.”
Newman was joined by Judy Symington, Cindy Symington, Kandy Bellanova and Sandra Helm – daughters of MUC Arthur Symington – as well as NAS Pensacola Cultural Resources Officer Carrie Williams-Hannah and CCI General Contractors, in cutting a ribbon, signifying rededicating the structure after eight months of extensive renovations.
“Our historic Building 191 has stood strong through history and stood strong through hurricanes. We are thankful to NAS Pensacola and CCI General Contractors for ensuring our building has been restored to the stature it deserves,” said NMCRS Director Joy Barnes. “NMCRS is honored to work in this historic building on this storied base, and we are pleased to help preserve the legacy of MUC Arthur L. Symington.”
Repairs on the structure included all new windows and shutters, restoring the balconies with their historic decorative iron work and a fresh paint of coat matched with historic accuracy.
The Symington building – one of the only surviving structures from the original Warrington community after the U.S. Navy acquired it – has been used for various functions over the past century, including as a music room and the installation’s Public Affairs Office (PAO), and currently serves as NMCRS Pensacola office spaces.
After Pensacola Navy Yard was established in 1825, two villages, Warrington and Woolsey, were established outside the Navy Yard to provide adequate housing for the masons, joiners, coopers, blacksmiths and others recruited to work in the Navy Yard, according to Williams-Hannah. She added that one of the stores supporting the Warrington community was Bauer’s Store, now Navy Bldg. 191, the Symington Building. The two-story, rectangular brick structure was built sometime before 1884.
According to a document written by Rear Adm. Lucien Young, commandant of the Navy Yard in 1911, Warrington appeared a vibrant community through which the early bonds of the significant relationship the area shares with the U.S. Navy could have stemmed.
“…Warrington was a very promising village and in many ways excelled Pensacola, especially from a social standpoint,” Young wrote in 1910. “Some of the most sociable, cultivated and exclusive families of Florida, such as the Chase and Strong families, resided at the mouth of the lagoon, and they added greatly to the societies of the officers and their families stationed at Fort Barrancas and the Navy Yard. The elite of Pensacola were frequent visitors to Warrington to join in the gayeties of the place. Dallas Street then was the fashionable promenade along which a broad board walk extended from the Western gate of the Navy Yard past the Naval Hospital and terminating at Fort Barrancas. This street was also embellished by the imposing Catholic and beautiful Episcopal Churches, large stores, and attractive residences and many pretty cottages, with a lovely bathing beach close by.”
Following the closure of the Pensacola Navy Yard in 1911, the installation was reopened in 1914 as NAS Pensacola, ushering in a new phase of sea power – naval aviation. Building 191 served in a variety of capacities over the years, eventually serving as the office and rehearsal spaces for the Naval Air Training Command Choir, started by then Chief Musician Arthur L. Symington, for whom the building is named.
NAS Pensacola, referred to as the "Cradle of Naval Aviation," is designed to support operational and training missions of tenant commands, including Naval Air Technical Training Center (NATTC), Naval Aviation Schools Command (NASC), the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training (CNATT), Marine Aviation Training Support Groups (MATSG) 21 and 23 and is the headquarters for Naval Education and Training Command (NETC). Along with an active runway, the air station also maintains a deepwater port, directly supporting U.S. Coast Guard missions.
Credits:
Bruce Cummins, NAS Pensacola Public Affairs Officer; Garrett Dipuma, NAS Pensacola Public Affairs Office;