Enid & Vance: Partners in the Sky

The Enid Chamber of Commerce is proud to provide a detailed list of Enid Businesses that provide our service men and women with discounts on products and services.

To see the most updated list of discounts, view the Enid Chamber's Military Discount List webpage.

Renowned for its diversity and experience, the Enid community recognized that military families bring a unique perspective, work ethic, and talent to its local workforce.

Working jointly, the City and Vance AFB Airmen and Family Readiness Center work with local businesses to advertise and fill open positions with these talented individuals.

A weekly employment newsletter is sent out to those seeking employment, and also those who want to volunteer and attend workshops.

In 1995, the Enid Economic Development Authority (EEDA), in conjunction with the Vance Development Authority (VDA) created a scholarship program named the Vance Higher Education and Vocational/Technical Training Scholarship. The explicit purpose is to provide educational opportunities for Vance personnel, their spouses and dependents and Department of Defense civilians.

The program encourages participation by the student and/or the federal government in the provision of the necessary funds to pay the cost of the education or training. The scholarships are paid to participating higher entities on behalf of qualifying applicants. To date, the program has provided over $1 million in scholarships and textbooks to Vance members. The funding for the program is generated from Enid tax dollars and the city budgets $30,000 annually for the program.

The City of Enid, Water, Trash, and Sewer Department offers a waiver of $100 deposit. For more information please call (580) 616-7170 or visit City Hall to pick up an application.

The partnership between Enid Woodring Regional Airport and Vance AFB is like no other! In the last few years we have partnered on a variety of projects to integrate operations and provide the Airmen of Vance AFB a location for all of their training needs.

We built a Joint Use Hangar that is most often used by the T-38s, T-1s and T-6s from Vance AFB during inclement weather. It also serves as an alternate maintenance location for Vance AFB when aircraft need to be repaired. Along with the Joint Use Hangar, we built a Joint Use Ramp that expanded our capability to house Vance AFB aircraft during weekday and weekend operations.

Additionally, due to all these improvements, we were able to provide a “deployed” location for 10+ T-1s for 4 months during 2019. During this time, Vance AFB was working on a Runway project that would have reduced their training capability by 1/3rd. However, because we were able to open Woodring Airport for their daily operations, they were able continue their mission without impact to their pilot production!

Recently, we just finished construction of a brand-new Terminal Building. The newly upgraded facilities, with an improved restaurant and dining area, provide a great midday location for Vance pilots to stop, grab lunch, debrief, and prepare for their next mission.

Our Joint Planning Room in our new Terminal Facility is often filled with Vance AFB Instructors and Students between sorties. Designed specifically with Vance AFB training sorties in mind, we included two individual briefing rooms complete with white boards and enough space for two flight crews.

The Vance AFB Honorary Commander Program was established in 2000 with the specific purpose of increasing awareness between Vance Commanders, their personnel and local business and community leaders.

The year-long partnership provides civic leaders an opportunity to learn more about the Air Force and Vance AFB, as it aligns the civic business leaders with the leadership of the squadrons, groups, and wing. The result of this partnership is a more well-informed group of community leaders who are better able to serve Vance AFB and its personnel as a result of their experiences.

This program was created in 1996 by former Vance AFB Wing Commander, retired Maj. Gen Edward "Buster" Ellis as a way to officially recognize individuals from the Enid community who have gone above and beyond in their support of the mission and Airmen of Vance AFB. Since its inception, only 17 recipients have been bestowed this prestigious lifetime honor.

Appointed by the current wing commander, only the most dedicated members of the Enid community become members of this elite group, who continually put the needs of Vance AFB above their own. This year, the current Partners in the Sky have continued to elevate the needs of the base to state and local delegations. The result is a further strengthened relationship between the base leadership and civic leaders from the Enid community.

A Public Trust, the Vance Development Authority was created to support and undertake all reasonable efforts to maintain and improve the relationship between the citizens of Enid and Northwest Oklahoma and the military and civilian personnel engaged in the military mission(s) at Vance Air Force Base and:

• To continue all reasonable efforts to maintain and expand quality facilities at Vance Air Force Base by engaging in an ongoing program to ascertain the needs of the military at Vance and by obtaining public and private funding necessary to meet those needs
• To undertake all reasonable efforts to expand the mission of the military at Vance by ascertaining and obtaining military, business and industrial opportunities that have or will become available as a result of the implementation of BRAC recommendations
• To do all things reasonable and necessary to comply with the purposes of the Vance Development Authority as set out in its Trust Indenture