History of the Combat Readiness Training Center - Special Warfare Airmen Center
Army Air Forces Training Command established Gulfport Field in 1941 as a technical school and basic training center. The base trained a steady stream of airplane mechanics to specialize in servicing transport and cargo planes. In 1954, the Air National Guard Field Training Site was established at the Gulfport-Biloxi Airport. It was renamed the Combat Readiness Training Center (CRTC) in 1990.