The largest single site employer in the State of Oklahoma is Tinker Air Force Base, which stretches out over 5,020 acres, with a total authorized manpower of 21,031, an annual payroll of $775.1 million and an economic impact of $1.78 billion.

Tinker was established when a group of Oklahoma City civic leaders lobbied the War Department in 1940 to locate the maintenance and supply depot here and was successful. An order was signed on April 8, 1941 officially awarding the depot to Oklahoma City. It was named in honor of Maj. Gen. Clarence L. Tinker of Pawhuska, OK. He was killed leading a strike against Japanese forces on Wake Island during the early part of World War II.

During WWII, Tinker repaired the B-17, B-24 and B-29 bombers and also the cargo planes C-49 and C-54. They also overhauled radial engines and other engines that powered the various war planes. After the war, the depot grew, acquiring the Douglas Aircraft Plant, and the Army declared Tinker a permanent base in 1945. It was named the Oklahoma City Air Materiel Area (OCAMA). In 1974 OCAMA became the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center (OC ALC) and Tinker assumed management responsibility for the E-3 “Sentry.”  A year later the 552nd Airborne Warning and Control Wing (AWAC) was activated at Tinker AFB.

The OC ALC is the worldwide manager for a wide range of aircraft, engines, missiles, software and avionics and accessories components. The center manages an inventory of 2,261 aircraft which includes the B-1, B-2, B-52, C/KC-135, E-3, VC-25, VC-137 and 25 other Contractor Logistics Support Aircraft. The Center also manages an inventory of nearly 23,000 jet engines that range from the Korean conflict vintage J-33s (T33) to state of the art B-2 engines such as the F-118. Missile systems managed by the Center include the Air Launched Cruise Missile, Conventional Air Launched Cruise Missile, Harpoon and Advanced Cruise Missiles. Airborne accessories management includes responsibility for some 24,000 different avionics and accessories components.

In addition to the OC ALC, Tinker is also home to many unique, one-of-a-kind operational missions. They include the Air Combat Command's 552nd Air Control Wing and 3rd Combat Communications Group, the Navy's Strategic Communications Wing ONE, the 38th Engineering Installation Group, and the Air Force Reserve's 507th Air Refueling Wing. The 72nd Air Base Wing provides crucial support to all of these military units, as well as several Department of Defense agencies, including the Defense Information Systems Agency and Defense Logistics Agency.

In 1992, the Navy's Strategic Communications Wing ONE completed its move to Tinker AFB, the first time a Navy wing relocated to an Air Force Base. After the arrival of the Navy, Tinker became one of the Department of Defense's premiere interservicing facilities.

Tinker has provided vital support to the country's war and security efforts over the years. During WWII, Tinker repaired B-24 and B-17 bombers and fitted B-29s for combat.

Throughout the Korean conflict, Tinker continued its output of keeping planes flying and funneling supplies to the Far East.

The base also played an important role in the Berlin and the Cuban crises. During the Vietnam War, Tinker provided logistics and communications support to Air Force units in Southeast Asia.

Tinker and OC-ALC began the decade of the '90s providing front-line support to the forces engaged in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

Tinker also provided round the clock support for relief efforts at the destroyed Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City in April 1995. On May 3, 1999, when a tornado destroyed homes and businesses throughout central Oklahoma along with the northwest section of the base, Tinker again provided support efforts.

When terrorists attacked on September 11, 2001 by hijacking airliners and destroying the World Trade Center towers in New York and severely damaging one wing of the Pentagon and killing thousands of civilians, Tinker responded immediately by providing support to U.S. troops at home and abroad ranging from continuous maintenance support to E-3 aircraft patrolling the skies over the homeland and overseas.

Today, with the war in Iraq and the war on terrorism, total support of America's defense systems remain a priority and Tinker remains at the forefront.

Source: www.tinker-af.org