937th Training Group

The 937th Training Group is a United States Air Force unit based at Fort Sam Houston within Joint Base San Antonio, Texas. It is assigned to the 37th Training Wing and provides specialized medical education for Air Force personnel. In its present role, the group trains enlisted personnel in 16 medical specialties and officers in three medical specialties. Its instructional network includes four squadrons and 39 geographically separated locations, with more than 68 formal courses. The group works with the Medical Education and Training Campus and the Air Education and Training Command Surgeon to provide advanced and supplemental instruction, internships, fellowship opportunities, symposia, and degree-related education. The organization has been described as supporting the development of roughly 12,500 students annually. The unit has an earlier and substantially different history as a reserve airlift group. It was established at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, in response to a Continental Air Command effort to improve the mobilization of dispersed reserve troop-carrier squadrons. Under the Detached Squadron Concept, flying squadrons were distributed among numerous military and civilian airfields while their support organizations remained at wing headquarters. Experience during the 1961 Berlin Crisis showed that this arrangement could make partial mobilization difficult. The Air Force therefore created separately organized groups with headquarters, support, materiel, and medical elements capable of supporting individual flying squadrons. The group was organized on 17 January 1963 as the 937th Troop Carrier Group, with the 305th Troop Carrier Squadron as its principal flying component. It operated Douglas C-124 Globemaster II aircraft and was initially associated with the 442d Troop Carrier Wing. During the 1960s it was successively redesignated as an air transport and military airlift group and undertook overseas missions, including operations supporting the Far East and Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War period. It was inactivated on 20 May 1972 as the C-124 fleet was retired. Its Tinker Air Force Base position was taken by the 507th Tactical Fighter Group, and many former personnel transitioned into the successor fighter organization. The designation returned to active use in the medical-training system in 2011, when Air Force training activities at Fort Sam Houston moved from the 82d Training Wing to the 37th Training Wing. The 937th Training Group replaced the 882d Training Group and became the Air Force's dedicated medical training group. It was inactivated on 20 January 2016 and replaced by the 59th Training Group under the 59th Medical Wing. The group was activated again on 30 April 2025 and resumed its medical-training responsibilities. Because it is a military organization rather than a commercial brand, it has no public stock listing, commercial product portfolio, or conventional consumer-market positioning.

The 937th Training Group traces its lineage to the Air Force Reserve reorganization that followed difficulties with the Detached Squadron Concept. After 1959, reserve troop-carrier squadrons were distributed among many Air Force, Navy, and civilian airfields rather than being colocated with their parent wings. This arrangement aided recruiting and community relations, but concentrated support personnel at wing headquarters. The partial mobilization associated with the 1961 Berlin Crisis exposed the difficulty of mobilizing a single dispersed squadron together with the support elements it required. Continental Air Command responded by creating group headquarters and associated support organizations for reserve flying squadrons. The 937th Troop Carrier Group was established on 28 December 1962, although it was not organized on that date. It was organized at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, on 17 January 1963 as the headquarters for the 305th Troop Carrier Squadron. The new group included a combat support squadron, a materiel squadron, and a tactical infirmary. It operated Douglas C-124 Globemaster II aircraft in support of Tactical Air Command airlift requirements and was one of three C-124 groups assigned to the 442d Troop Carrier Wing. The other two were the 935th and 936th Troop Carrier Groups, located at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base, Missouri. The group's airlift period included overseas missions to the Far East and Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War era. Its formal designations changed as the Air Force reorganized its air transport structure: it became the 937th Air Transport Group, Heavy, on 1 December 1965 and the 937th Military Airlift Group on 1 January 1966. Its assignments included the 442d and 512th wings before returning to the 442d Military Airlift Wing, later known as the 442d Tactical Airlift Wing. The group was inactivated on 20 May 1972, one of the final Air Force units associated with the C-124. The 507th Tactical Fighter Group replaced it at Tinker, operating Republic F-105 Thunderchiefs, and some former 937th personnel transferred into the new formation. The designation was revived decades later for a medical-training mission. In 2011, Air Force training activities at Fort Sam Houston transferred from the 82d Training Wing to the 37th Training Wing. The 937th Training Group was redesignated and activated on 15 September 2011, replacing the 882d Training Group. It became the Air Force's only medical training group and delivered basic and advanced instruction through the 381st, 382d, and 383d Training Squadrons and the 937th Training Support Squadron. The group supported approximately 6,000 graduates annually during this period. The group was inactivated on 20 January 2016 and replaced by the 59th Training Group under the 59th Medical Wing. It was activated again on 30 April 2025 and returned to the 37th Training Wing. Its current mission encompasses medical instruction for 16 enlisted specialties and three officer specialties, more than 68 formal courses, and a geographically distributed education system. The group also partners with the Medical Education and Training Campus and the Air Education and Training Command Surgeon to provide advanced courses, internships, fellowships, symposia, and degree-related opportunities. Current mission descriptions indicate an annual educational throughput of approximately 12,500 students.

• 2025

  Group reactivated

  [1]937th Training Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The 937th Training Group was activated again on 30 April 2025 under the 37th Training Wing.

• 2016

  Medical-training group inactivated

  [1]937th Training Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group was inactivated on 20 January and replaced by the 59th Training Group under the 59th Medical Wing.

• 2011

  Medical-training identity activated

  [1]937th Training Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The 937th Training Group was redesignated on 31 August and activated on 15 September as part of the transfer of Air Force training activities at Fort Sam Houston to the 37th Training Wing.

• 1972

  Airlift group inactivated

  [1]937th Training Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The organization was inactivated on 20 May 1972 during the retirement of the C-124 Globemaster II.

• 1966

  Redesignated as a military airlift group

  [1]937th Training Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group adopted the designation 937th Military Airlift Group on 1 January 1966.

• 1965

  Redesignated as an air transport group

  [1]937th Training Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The organization became the 937th Air Transport Group, Heavy, on 1 December 1965.

• 1963

  Reserve troop-carrier group organized

  [1]937th Training Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group was organized at Tinker Air Force Base on 17 January 1963 to support the 305th Troop Carrier Squadron and improve mobilization of dispersed reserve airlift forces.

• 1962

  Lineage established

  [1]937th Training Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The 937th Troop Carrier Group was established on 28 December 1962, initially without being organized.

A United States Air Force professional training organization focused on producing qualified medical personnel and supporting operational readiness.

• Military education · 2011

  Medical specialty training

  The group's principal current offering is formal medical education for Air Force personnel. Its curriculum covers 16 enlisted medical specialties and three officer specialties, combining basic, advanced, supplemental, and geographically distributed instruction.

• Military airlift · 1963

  C-124 Globemaster II airlift operations

  During its earlier reserve formation, the group operated Douglas C-124 Globemaster II aircraft for Tactical Air Command airlift missions. Its assignments included overseas support to the Far East and Southeast Asia before the aircraft type and group were retired from service.

• 2025

  Reactivation for medical educationStrategy

  Background

  The Air Force restored the 937th Training Group designation within the 37th Training Wing.

  Action taken

  The group was activated on 30 April 2025 and resumed its medical-training mission.

  Aftermath

  The organization again supports distributed medical instruction, formal courses, and related professional education.

  Source

• 2016

  Reorganization of medical-training responsibilitiesStrategy

  Background

  The Air Force changed the organizational structure responsible for medical training at Fort Sam Houston.

  Action taken

  The 937th Training Group was inactivated and its role was replaced by the 59th Training Group under the 59th Medical Wing.

  Aftermath

  The 937th designation temporarily left active service until its 2025 reactivation.

  Source

• 2011

  Transfer into the Air Force medical-training structureStrategy

  Background

  Air Force training activities at Fort Sam Houston were transferred from the 82d Training Wing to the 37th Training Wing.

  Action taken

  The 937th Training Group replaced the 882d Training Group and assumed responsibility for specialized medical education.

  Aftermath

  The group became the Air Force's dedicated medical training group and supported thousands of graduates each year.

  Source

• 1972

  Retirement of the C-124 fleetGeneration change

  Background

  The Douglas C-124 Globemaster II was reaching the end of its Air Force service life.

  Action taken

  The 937th Military Airlift Group was inactivated on 20 May 1972, while a tactical fighter group took its place at Tinker Air Force Base.

  Aftermath

  The group's airlift lineage ended, although many personnel moved into the succeeding fighter organization.

  Source

• 1962

  Creation of reserve support groupsStrategy

  Background

  The dispersed reserve-squadron system made partial mobilization difficult because support organizations were concentrated at wing headquarters.

  Action taken

  Continental Air Command established groups such as the 937th with headquarters and support elements aligned to individual flying squadrons.

  Aftermath

  The new structure was intended to make combinations of dispersed reserve units easier to mobilize.

  Source

• 2025

  937th Training Group reactivated for Air Force medical training[1]937th Training Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Leadership change · Other

  The group was activated again at Joint Base San Antonio on 30 April 2025 under the 37th Training Wing, returning to its medical-training mission after its 2016 inactivation.

• 2016

  937th Training Group inactivated and replaced in the medical-training structure[1]937th Training Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The medical-training group was inactivated on 20 January 2016, with the 59th Training Group under the 59th Medical Wing taking its place.

• 2011

  937th Training Group established at Fort Sam Houston[1]937th Training Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The designation was revived in September 2011 when Air Force training activities at Fort Sam Houston transferred to the 37th Training Wing and the group replaced the 882d Training Group.

• 1972

  937th airlift group inactivated as the C-124 era ended[1]937th Training Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Product generation · Other

  The former 937th Military Airlift Group was inactivated on 20 May 1972 during the retirement of the Douglas C-124 Globemaster II from Air Force service.

1. 1937th Training Groupen.wikipedia.org