Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, which is commonly called Truax Field, is located about 6 miles from the central point of Corpus Christi, Texas. The base is currently commanded by Captain Randolph F. Pierson, and is used primarily as a training station for navy pilots. Due to the complexity of today’s navy aircrafts, the training program at NAS Corpus Christi has been extended to 18 months. There are approximately 400 new recruits who join the training program at Corpus Christi each year.
The base was originally built in 1941, and commissioned on March 12 of the same year. The base started as a very small training operation, but grew very quickly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. After the end of World War 2, more than 35,000 pilots had been processed by NAS Corpus Christi. In 1944, NAS Corpus Christi was also the largest naval aviation training center in the entire world. It had nearly a thousand buildings, most of which were hangers and barracks. Corpus Christi also spanned about 20,000 acres. Today, the NAS continues to train young pilots, primarily through Training Wing FOUR.