WEBVTT 00:14.140 --> 00:16.140 blocks . The Mississippi was a very 00:16.140 --> 00:18.550 different place nearly a century ago . 00:18.740 --> 00:20.962 In the late 30s , the average household 00:20.962 --> 00:23.184 income was right around $1,000 annually 00:23.184 --> 00:25.296 and most were lucky to have made that 00:25.296 --> 00:27.407 after the last decade of depression , 00:27.407 --> 00:29.720 Dust bowls and prohibition biloxi fared 00:29.720 --> 00:31.942 well during these times . Thanks to its 00:31.942 --> 00:34.053 seafood industry , which shielded the 00:34.053 --> 00:36.053 coast from the worst effects of the 00:36.053 --> 00:38.164 Great Depression . By the mid to late 00:38.164 --> 00:40.220 thirties , even the seafood industry 00:40.220 --> 00:42.053 had slowed to a crawl and Galaxy 00:42.053 --> 00:44.220 desperately needed an economic shot in 00:44.220 --> 00:46.400 the arm with the nation gearing up for 00:46.400 --> 00:48.511 war . Local and state government were 00:48.511 --> 00:50.233 able to convince Washington to 00:50.233 --> 00:52.122 designate a new training base and 00:52.122 --> 00:53.956 galaxy what had been a makeshift 00:53.956 --> 00:55.900 airport , a navy shipyard , a golf 00:55.900 --> 00:58.122 course and private land totaling 40% of 00:58.122 --> 01:00.344 Galaxies , Landmass was sold to the U . 01:00.344 --> 01:02.511 S . Government to form what became the 01:02.511 --> 01:04.622 Army Air Corps station number eight . 01:04.622 --> 01:08.520 In 1941 the streets were either just 01:08.520 --> 01:12.010 sad or those that were 01:12.020 --> 01:15.160 built up for the heavy foot traffic 01:15.840 --> 01:19.070 was covered with fresh oyster shells 01:19.110 --> 01:22.060 from the oyster plants in biloxi . 01:22.840 --> 01:26.080 And in the morning 01:26.640 --> 01:29.600 we might get a little shower and in the 01:29.600 --> 01:32.420 afternoon when the hot 90° Sun came 01:32.420 --> 01:35.070 out , the stench from those oyster 01:35.070 --> 01:39.000 shells were sickening . We didn't look 01:39.000 --> 01:41.000 forward to that at all , especially 01:41.000 --> 01:43.167 when you were going to the mess hall . 01:43.167 --> 01:45.333 By the time you got to the mess hall , 01:45.333 --> 01:48.650 Why You've lost your appetite . In the 01:48.650 --> 01:50.539 early days , buildings were being 01:50.539 --> 01:52.761 constructed . An Army Air Corps station 01:52.761 --> 01:56.480 # eight was growing fast By August 1941 . 01:56.490 --> 01:58.712 The first group of recruits arrived for 01:58.712 --> 02:00.712 basic training and by September the 02:00.712 --> 02:02.712 Airplane and Mechanics School began 02:02.712 --> 02:06.040 operation the school didn't have 02:06.040 --> 02:08.262 classrooms yet . The hangars were under 02:08.262 --> 02:11.560 construction and the 02:11.940 --> 02:15.710 uh class was held intense . In fact , I 02:15.710 --> 02:17.821 remember one large tent that they had 02:17.821 --> 02:20.780 commandeered from a circus I think and 02:20.790 --> 02:23.590 the classrooms renting , I was in a 02:23.590 --> 02:26.160 smaller tent with my group of people 02:26.540 --> 02:30.400 and it was on the uh where 02:30.400 --> 02:33.860 the marina is now , no grass , strictly 02:33.860 --> 02:37.800 sand , very few trees . And 02:37.810 --> 02:40.770 if we lost a tool during the day when 02:40.770 --> 02:43.220 we inventoried our toolbox to turn back 02:43.220 --> 02:45.410 into the tool crib in the evening , we 02:45.410 --> 02:47.577 had to dig around in the sand and stay 02:47.577 --> 02:49.410 there until we found that tool . 02:49.540 --> 02:53.430 Otherwise uh we would answer 02:53.430 --> 02:55.460 to somebody for losing for losing a 02:55.460 --> 02:59.350 tool . Army Air 02:59.350 --> 03:01.072 Corps station number eight was 03:01.072 --> 03:03.128 designated Kessler Field in honor of 03:03.128 --> 03:05.350 Second Lieutenant Samuel Reeves Kessler 03:05.350 --> 03:08.450 Jr , a Mississippi World war hero 03:08.740 --> 03:10.351 kessler grew up in greenwood 03:10.351 --> 03:12.518 Mississippi and fought in World War as 03:12.518 --> 03:14.462 an aerial observer in the Army Air 03:14.462 --> 03:17.090 Service . He was killed in 1918 after 03:17.090 --> 03:19.312 his plane crashed behind german lines . 03:19.312 --> 03:21.700 It was customary to name bases after a 03:21.700 --> 03:23.811 fallen war hero and Second Lieutenant 03:23.811 --> 03:26.020 Samuel Reeves Keesler JR was a perfect 03:26.020 --> 03:29.630 fit . Shortly 03:29.630 --> 03:31.574 afterwards , the United States was 03:31.574 --> 03:33.519 thrust into World War Two with the 03:33.519 --> 03:35.463 bombing of Pearl Harbor throughout 03:35.463 --> 03:37.408 World War two , kessler turned out 03:37.408 --> 03:39.241 mechanics and technicians by the 03:39.241 --> 03:41.297 thousands to help in the massive air 03:41.297 --> 03:43.408 presence turned the foreign campaigns 03:43.408 --> 03:45.700 in europe and beyond . Kessler was 03:45.700 --> 03:47.867 directly responsible for the growth of 03:47.867 --> 03:50.033 air power during that era . Since many 03:50.033 --> 03:51.978 of those graduates went right into 03:51.978 --> 03:54.144 teaching with the air force , becoming 03:54.144 --> 03:56.144 its own branch of the military . In 03:56.144 --> 03:58.311 late 1947 , Kessler transitioned to an 03:58.311 --> 04:00.580 air force base in January 1948 . 04:00.590 --> 04:03.760 Shortly after Kessler was designated an 04:03.770 --> 04:06.060 air training command installation . 04:06.440 --> 04:08.384 After the war , Kessler had proven 04:08.384 --> 04:10.384 itself as a training Mecca and took 04:10.384 --> 04:12.551 charge over the radar school and radio 04:12.551 --> 04:14.440 operations . By the early 1950s , 04:14.440 --> 04:16.440 Kessler shifted its focus away from 04:16.440 --> 04:18.384 airplane and mechanics courses and 04:18.384 --> 04:21.350 focused more on training and technology . 04:21.640 --> 04:23.630 I was greeted to open Bay barracks 04:23.630 --> 04:26.560 which we had at basic military training 04:26.740 --> 04:28.684 because they had not completed two 04:28.684 --> 04:31.450 Triangle at that time . So we did what 04:31.460 --> 04:33.571 they called in those days back locked 04:33.571 --> 04:35.404 for about three weeks . That was 04:35.404 --> 04:37.404 additional duties , everything from 04:37.404 --> 04:39.182 Ship Island , one week building 04:39.182 --> 04:41.404 everything to anything on the base that 04:41.404 --> 04:43.238 they needed because we were self 04:43.238 --> 04:45.404 contained . There was no contractors . 04:45.404 --> 04:47.627 We had to do it all cleaned the yards , 04:47.627 --> 04:50.420 pull K . P . Fi do all of that . So 04:50.420 --> 04:52.587 that was the big difference . And then 04:52.587 --> 04:54.642 later we got moved into the triangle 04:54.642 --> 04:56.531 area where it was a little more a 04:56.531 --> 04:59.530 little more comfortable . The growth 04:59.530 --> 05:01.570 when kessler was impressive . Large 05:01.570 --> 05:03.570 building projects like the Triangle 05:03.570 --> 05:05.403 housing project were solidifying 05:05.403 --> 05:07.980 kessler's place in the Air Force By now . 05:07.990 --> 05:10.101 Galaxy had embraced Kessler and began 05:10.101 --> 05:12.323 to feel the positive economic impact it 05:12.323 --> 05:14.610 had on the community . This was a 05:14.610 --> 05:18.400 raucous raucous area . I'm telling you 05:18.410 --> 05:20.800 they had a lot going on in biloxi . 05:20.800 --> 05:23.030 They had nightclubs , they had uh 05:23.040 --> 05:25.390 joints outside the gate . We always had 05:25.390 --> 05:27.560 to go in uniform and have a , have a 05:27.570 --> 05:30.140 pass and had to check in on time . But 05:30.150 --> 05:32.760 uh there was a lot going on in biloxi 05:32.760 --> 05:35.710 at uh you ride the buses and uh it was 05:35.710 --> 05:37.932 more or less segregated , you sometimes 05:37.932 --> 05:40.099 in the front , sometimes in the back . 05:40.099 --> 05:42.154 But it was a totally different thing 05:42.154 --> 05:45.270 And Kessler was a mainstay for Biloxi . 05:45.280 --> 05:46.490 A mainstay 05:46.500 --> 05:50.360 with control tower and 05:50.360 --> 05:52.570 radio operator courses in the late 50s 05:52.680 --> 05:54.847 and the major edition of personnel and 05:54.847 --> 05:56.847 administration courses in the 60s , 05:56.847 --> 05:59.069 Kessler had its highest student load to 05:59.069 --> 06:01.760 date . By the mid sixties , Hitler had 06:01.760 --> 06:03.871 become known as the electronic hub of 06:03.871 --> 06:06.560 the Air Force . No matter who you are 06:06.570 --> 06:08.403 from , where you may have come , 06:08.403 --> 06:10.570 whether officer , airman , civilian or 06:10.570 --> 06:12.848 representative of a foreign government . 06:12.848 --> 06:15.014 As you travel along Mississippi's gulf 06:15.014 --> 06:16.848 coast past the historic velocity 06:16.848 --> 06:18.792 lighthouse , you have one thing in 06:18.792 --> 06:21.014 common . You are nearing the electronic 06:21.014 --> 06:23.060 center of the Air Force Keesler Air 06:23.060 --> 06:25.560 Force base . To join the students rank 06:27.140 --> 06:29.362 from basic training . You remember test 06:29.640 --> 06:32.100 hundreds of questions and interview and 06:32.100 --> 06:33.878 the results showed you have the 06:33.878 --> 06:35.711 attitude to become an electronic 06:35.711 --> 06:39.630 technician . Mm hmm . Thanks in 06:39.630 --> 06:41.630 large part to the space race of the 06:41.630 --> 06:43.408 sixties , Kessler was utilizing 06:43.408 --> 06:45.574 technology and techniques that require 06:45.574 --> 06:47.630 significant computing power and safe 06:47.630 --> 06:49.630 air conditioned structures to house 06:49.630 --> 06:52.340 them . Cody brian jones Hughes and 06:52.340 --> 06:54.229 multi halls were state of the art 06:54.229 --> 06:56.451 training facilities erected at the time 06:56.451 --> 06:58.562 to replace the many smaller World War 06:58.562 --> 07:00.729 two era buildings that dot at the base 07:00.729 --> 07:03.550 as the lengthy campaign in Vietnam was 07:03.550 --> 07:05.606 winding down , Kessler offered ample 07:05.606 --> 07:07.717 opportunities for the large number of 07:07.717 --> 07:09.939 troops coming home to lead young airmen 07:09.939 --> 07:12.272 and trained the future of the Air force . 07:12.272 --> 07:14.450 I bought a car , Oliver's over there . 07:14.840 --> 07:18.350 Sedation wang over where in Vietnam 07:18.840 --> 07:20.896 uh , you know , you could buy it and 07:20.896 --> 07:23.210 it's waiting for in san Francisco . Of 07:23.210 --> 07:25.620 course that was good because I got off 07:25.630 --> 07:29.050 the airplane , got the car and drove 07:29.050 --> 07:31.272 out . So I didn't have anybody throwing 07:31.272 --> 07:33.910 stuff at me or anything because those 07:33.910 --> 07:36.750 were still the years we were bad guys 07:37.540 --> 07:40.120 by Alexey was very welcoming to its 07:40.120 --> 07:42.231 returning war heroes due to kessler's 07:42.231 --> 07:44.398 tight integration into the community , 07:44.398 --> 07:46.509 a large military retirement home of a 07:46.509 --> 07:48.231 hospital and all the continued 07:48.231 --> 07:50.231 community services they offered you 07:50.231 --> 07:52.287 quickly learned that it really was a 07:52.287 --> 07:55.560 pleasure to be here and that the people 07:56.040 --> 07:59.610 um accepted you and 07:59.610 --> 08:01.960 helped you , especially if you've never 08:01.960 --> 08:05.080 had a desk job before . Soon after 08:05.080 --> 08:07.136 Vietnam , Kessler house tenants from 08:07.136 --> 08:09.191 the first aerospace cartographic and 08:09.191 --> 08:11.710 geodetic Squadron 9/20 Tactical Airlift 08:11.710 --> 08:14.100 Group , the 53rd weather reconnaissance 08:14.100 --> 08:15.989 squadron and the seventh Airborne 08:15.989 --> 08:18.180 Command and Control Squadron enhancing 08:18.180 --> 08:20.236 kessler's image as a training center 08:20.236 --> 08:22.013 for technology This time in the 08:22.013 --> 08:24.069 seventies also ushered in the iconic 08:24.069 --> 08:25.958 era of the C one thirties , which 08:25.958 --> 08:27.902 kessler is still known for today . 08:27.902 --> 08:30.069 Throughout the eighties , Keisler kept 08:30.069 --> 08:32.291 up with the rapid pace of technology by 08:32.291 --> 08:34.013 creating prototype interactive 08:34.013 --> 08:36.013 videodiscs I . V . D . Technology , 08:36.013 --> 08:38.236 which eventually spread government wide 08:38.236 --> 08:41.230 as a standard teaching aid . As 80s 08:41.230 --> 08:43.286 came to a close , so did the decades 08:43.290 --> 08:45.660 old threat of global nuclear war with 08:45.660 --> 08:47.549 the collapse of communism and the 08:47.549 --> 08:49.950 iconic dismantling of the Berlin Wall . 08:51.040 --> 08:53.262 As a result of the air forces draw down 08:53.262 --> 08:55.420 after the Cold War , Kessler was able 08:55.420 --> 08:57.087 to absorb courses and weather 08:57.087 --> 08:59.630 forecasting , meteorology and precision 08:59.630 --> 09:01.686 maintenance , electronics laboratory 09:01.686 --> 09:04.530 training . At the same time , the 81st 09:04.530 --> 09:06.880 Tactical Fighter Wing , redesignated 09:06.880 --> 09:09.400 the 81st Training wing was relocated to 09:09.400 --> 09:11.490 Kiss there and became the basis host 09:11.500 --> 09:13.611 organization . The dormitory life was 09:13.611 --> 09:17.170 new to me so I didn't think good or bad 09:17.170 --> 09:19.980 of it , but it was a very large 09:19.980 --> 09:23.420 horseshoe like facility . Three stories 09:24.140 --> 09:27.680 multiple entry points , just bear tile 09:27.680 --> 09:29.513 floors that we had to polish and 09:29.513 --> 09:31.624 everything had to stay clean and tidy 09:31.950 --> 09:35.240 courtyards to just kind of mull around 09:35.240 --> 09:38.730 in or do PT N . But it was not a 09:38.740 --> 09:42.490 very high tech on inspiring . You're in 09:42.490 --> 09:44.212 the greatest Air Force type of 09:44.212 --> 09:46.680 environment with so much emphasis on 09:46.680 --> 09:48.890 classrooms and technology , dormitory 09:48.890 --> 09:50.890 housing had gone unchanged for over 09:50.890 --> 09:53.170 four decades . The Triangle Vision 09:53.170 --> 09:55.281 project was implemented to update and 09:55.281 --> 09:57.170 condense the fifties era training 09:57.170 --> 09:59.170 dormitories to the modern age . The 09:59.170 --> 10:01.003 resulting buildings are modern , 10:01.003 --> 10:03.760 spacious and secure . Mm . 10:05.140 --> 10:09.110 Mhm . Early in 10:09.110 --> 10:11.166 the 21st century , the United States 10:11.166 --> 10:13.720 was attacked on September 11 , 2001 . 10:13.730 --> 10:15.680 Changing the course of history . 10:15.690 --> 10:17.910 Patriotism grew afterwards and 10:17.910 --> 10:19.966 enlistment into the armed forces was 10:19.966 --> 10:22.640 revived . Kessler stood ready to train 10:22.640 --> 10:24.807 the future airmen to go out and defend 10:24.807 --> 10:26.696 our country from the ever growing 10:26.696 --> 10:29.510 threat of terrorism . Well , Katrina 10:29.510 --> 10:31.510 was absolutely the most devastating 10:31.510 --> 10:34.010 storm I've ever seen . I've been in 23 10:34.010 --> 10:36.700 years of military two wars , 38 10:36.700 --> 10:39.400 countries and probably a dozen 10:39.400 --> 10:41.456 hurricanes and typhoons . I've never 10:41.456 --> 10:44.270 seen anything like this guy's a caddy , 10:44.280 --> 10:47.230 get this over now , 10:54.040 --> 10:56.096 Kessler and the whole gulf coast was 10:56.096 --> 10:58.151 right to its core in august 2000 and 10:58.151 --> 11:00.970 five by Hurricane Katrina . While 11:00.970 --> 11:03.192 kessler had fared well in the storms of 11:03.192 --> 11:05.414 the last century , Katrina caused close 11:05.414 --> 11:07.470 to $1 billion in damages to the base 11:07.470 --> 11:11.100 alone . Even with such a heavy blow to 11:11.100 --> 11:13.240 the base , airman poured into local 11:13.240 --> 11:15.407 communities to help the coast that had 11:15.407 --> 11:16.573 embraced them for so 11:16.573 --> 11:20.590 long , 11:20.600 --> 11:23.010 Kessler bounced back . Following the 11:23.010 --> 11:25.010 devastation of Hurricane Katrina . 11:25.020 --> 11:26.909 Major renovations to almost every 11:26.909 --> 11:29.710 structure were completed . Kessler now 11:29.710 --> 11:32.160 has study new on and off base housing 11:32.340 --> 11:34.451 and a new state of the art commissary 11:34.451 --> 11:36.550 and base exchange , new dorms and a 11:36.550 --> 11:39.470 luxurious bay breeze events center just 11:39.470 --> 11:41.470 a few years after its devastation . 11:41.470 --> 11:44.230 Kesler won the coveted 2013 Air Force 11:44.240 --> 11:46.130 installation excellence award and 11:46.130 --> 11:48.352 received a million dollars for standard 11:48.352 --> 11:50.880 of living upgrades . Today's facilities 11:50.880 --> 11:52.824 are amazing when I came back after 11:52.824 --> 11:55.300 Katrina and saw the kind of dorms are 11:55.310 --> 11:57.199 airmen are living in , I couldn't 11:57.199 --> 11:59.480 believe it . We have entry control . 11:59.490 --> 12:02.410 Everybody is internal to the facilities . 12:02.420 --> 12:04.587 You don't have to worry about external 12:04.587 --> 12:06.698 threats . Everything is just modern . 12:06.698 --> 12:09.210 We have cameras now , we have alarm 12:09.210 --> 12:11.390 systems , we have all kinds of things 12:11.390 --> 12:13.720 to ensure their safety so they can just 12:13.720 --> 12:15.720 focus on their airmanship and their 12:15.720 --> 12:19.590 technical training . The outbreak of 12:19.590 --> 12:21.720 the covid 19 pandemic brought new and 12:21.720 --> 12:23.887 unique challenges to kessler . The Air 12:23.887 --> 12:26.270 Force and the nation Kessler once again 12:26.270 --> 12:28.381 stepped up to meet these challenges . 12:28.381 --> 12:30.720 The 81st medical group led the response 12:30.730 --> 12:33.350 first by establishing a drive up covid 12:33.350 --> 12:35.517 clinic and providing rapid testing for 12:35.517 --> 12:37.017 all kessler Medical Center 12:37.017 --> 12:39.400 Beneficiaries , the Air Force Genetic 12:39.400 --> 12:41.622 Center of Excellence contributed to the 12:41.622 --> 12:43.733 research effort by conducting genetic 12:43.733 --> 12:45.844 sequencing of the covid 19 virus from 12:45.844 --> 12:47.970 positive cases . Once vaccines were 12:47.970 --> 12:50.350 developed and authorized members of 12:50.360 --> 12:52.220 81st medical group began the 12:52.220 --> 12:54.331 vaccination effort to mitigate future 12:54.331 --> 12:56.680 spread of the virus . Kessler also 12:56.680 --> 12:58.680 hosted basic military training . In 12:58.680 --> 13:00.847 order to better protect the health and 13:00.847 --> 13:02.847 safety of the trainees and military 13:02.847 --> 13:04.624 training instructors while also 13:04.624 --> 13:06.791 providing relief to lackland Air Force 13:06.791 --> 13:09.010 Base is train infrastructure . The 13:09.010 --> 13:11.066 training marked the first time since 13:11.066 --> 13:13.232 World War II that Kessler had seen the 13:13.232 --> 13:15.399 stand up of a basic training concept , 13:15.399 --> 13:18.230 a total of 18 flights . At 939 airmen 13:18.240 --> 13:20.296 graduated throughout the duration of 13:20.296 --> 13:23.690 the training . The future of Kessler is 13:23.690 --> 13:25.990 bright technology and innovation 13:26.000 --> 13:28.056 continued to be cornerstones for the 13:28.056 --> 13:30.278 Air Force , and Kessler stands ready to 13:30.278 --> 13:32.444 teach and train the next generation of 13:32.444 --> 13:32.650 airmen .