Who is Harpe?

  • Published
  • By Airman John Day
  • 14th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. --  (Editors note: This is the first article in a series of articles on Columbus Air Force Base's heritage and history. Many of the names you will see in the upcoming weeks are all over the base- whether it is a building or street named after the honored individual)


Winfield S. Harpe. The name may not mean much by itself, but to the denizens of Columbus Air Force Base, it is a name to be remembered by all.

Major General Winfield "Scott" Harpe has his name etched into the history of Columbus AFB. The Scott Harpe Complex, also known as the 14th Flying Training Wing Headquarters and Harpe Boulevard were both named in honor of the former 14th FTW Commander.

Harpe earned a commission in July 1959 and attended primary flying training at Malden Air Base, Mo. and basic flying training at Craig Air Force Base, Ala.

He started out flying KC-135 Stratotankers at Beale AFB, Calif. and was later trained on the F-105 Thunderchief. His career thereafter was spent in fighter aircraft.

While assigned to the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing at Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, Harpe flew 100 combat missions over North Vietnam. As an instructor, he trained pilots for F-105 duty in combat, and also served an extended temporary tour of duty flying F-4 Phantoms at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz.

Harpe returned to Thailand and flew missions involving Linebacker II operations and missions over Cambodia, Laos and the Republic of Vietnam.

In 1978, he graduated from the Air War College and assumed command of the 14th FTW at Columbus AFB for two years. During his time as wing Commander, Harpe supervised the implementation of the T-38 training simulator.

He returned to Randolph AFB as Vice Commander of the Air Force Personnel Center and moved on to become Commander of the U.S. Air Force Recruiting Service. For the next four years at Randolph, he worked to eventually become Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel.
His assignment as the Commander of the Sixteenth Air Force, United States Air Forces in Europe would prove to be his last.

Harpe died Dec. 5, 1988, when his F-16 crashed during an attempted forced landing after a technical failure while on a training mission near Madrid, Spain. His grave at Arlington National Cemetery reads," A noble man. A knight of the skies."

The Scott Harpe Complex was dedicated on August 27, 1990, upon completion of the new headquarters building. A painting of Harpe in his flight suit hangs within the building. The piece was painted by Ahmed Ragheb, a former international pilot training student.

Harpe Boulevard was named after Harpe for his service as the wing Commander from July 1978 to July 1980.