Enid & Vance: Partners in the Sky
Welcome from Mayor Mason
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Military Personnel Benefits
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Benefits and Incentives
Chamber of Commerce Discounts List
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.
Employment for Vance Families
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.
Enid/Vance Scholarship
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.
Waiver of Utility Services Deposit
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.
Partnerships and Programs
Enid Woodring Regional Airport
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.
Honorary Commanders Program
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.
Partners in the Sky Program
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.
Vance Development Authority
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
Woodring Wall of Honor and Veterans Park, Inc.
Woodring Wall of Honor
Woodring Regional Airport is home to Oklahoma’s Official Vietnam Memorial. The memorial includes an 80% replica of the Vietnam Wall of Honor. The site also features an archive and a collection of military vehicles.
In addition to the memorial at the airport, the Woodring Wall of Honor operates a military museum at Oakwood Mall in Enid. Led by Executive Director Elaine Johns, the organization focuses on community education and helps veterans connect with benefits, mental health resources, and recognition programs.
In 2025, 102 year-old World War II veteran R.D. Lawrence was honored at the Oklahoma State Capitol and received the Oklahoma Cross of Valor—the first award of its kind since 1998. The video below, produced by KOCO, highlights that event.
Video: KOCO story on R.D. Lawrence receiving the Oklahoma Cross of Valor (2025)
Enid wins Altus Trophy for Community Support (2022)
Altus Chamber of Commerce officials have named the community of Enid the winner of the 2022 Altus Trophy for their support of Vance Air Force Base.
The award, presented in partnership with Air Education and Training Command, is given to a community that goes above and beyond to support an AETC wing or tenant unit.
“The partnership between Vance Air Force Base and the Enid community is strong and we’re very proud of that relationship,” Lt. Gen. Brian Robinson, commander of Air Education and Training Command, said. “We are grateful for the hard work and the dedication that make Enid and Vance’s community partnership thrive as we work to recruit, educate, and train today’s Airmen to be ready for tomorrow’s fight.”
The winning nomination package highlighted several partnerships that enrich both the community and Vance. For example, the number of mutual aid agreements between Enid and Vance, which provide services to include fire, medical and emergency management support, as well as educational services and team building through a local technical school.
“The partnership between Enid and Vance is a model example of how a community can support an Air Force Base,” said Dr. Joe Leverett, Altus Trophy committee chairman and Air and Space Forces civic leader. “Enid community leaders have a proven vehicle for supporting military construction; been an asset for facilitating local, state and federal partnerships; and make it a point to celebrate military families so they feel at home and thrive in the community.”
Vance is home to the 71st Flying Training Wing, which is responsible for training Air Force student pilots for worldwide deployment. About 1,400 active duty and reserve military members, plus more than 1,500 family members, work and live in Enid and are supported by the community.
AETC Community Support Award Packages
The Altus Trophy is awarded to the community with the closest ties to their base within AETC. Every year, communities who support AETC bases submit packages. Enid's submission packages are attached below.
2022 AETC Community Support Award(PDF, 30MB) (Winning Year)
Vance Air Force Base Origin and Purpose
Vance Air Force Base is named for Lt. Col. Leon R. Vance, an Enid native. The War Department established the installation Nov. 29, 1941. Vance AFB is Enid's largest employer. The economic impact on Enid and the surrounding area is reported to be $220 million.
The primary mission at Vance AFB is to train military pilots. More than 410 pilots are trained annually for the Air Force, Navy, Marines and our allies for worldwide deployment and Air Expeditionary Force support.
To accomplish its mission, Vance uses three different trainers. The T-6 Texan II is the first aircraft the students train in. The next aircraft selected for training will be either the needle-nosed T-38C Talon or the T-1A Jayhawk. The T-38C is a more sophisticated, supersonic jet. Students who fly this aircraft will go on to fly fighters or bombers. The twin-engine T-1A Jayhawk is used to train pilots who will be flying multi-engine aircraft, like transports or tankers. While the FAA has approved a 500 ft. ceiling for flights in sparsely congested areas, aircraft from Vance AFB maintain a minimum altitude of 1,000 ft. while flying over the City of Enid.
There are more than 2,600 military and civilian personnel working at Vance. CSC handles aircraft maintenance at the base, along with a variety of other jobs, including civil engineering and base support functions. The base also has other contractors, such as Trend Western, Lear-Siegler Services, Inc., and Boeing Aerospace Operations, Inc.
Form more information on Vance Air force Base, visit their website at www.vance.af.mil.