program to begin in January 1953. The host organization at Sampson was redesigned as the 3650th Military Training Wing, Air Training Command, in March 1953. The Air Force also built a runway and other facilities at Sampson and converted the base to its needs. By 1953, a single paved 5,000 foot north–south runway (Rwwy 17/35) was completed and a control tower, fire station and aircraft parking ramp was built on the west side, with B-25 Mitchell, C-47 Skytrain, and C-45 Expeditor aircraft assigned. With the end of the Korean War and cutbacks in the military budget afterwards, Air Training Command discontinued its basic training school at Sampson AFB on 1 July 1956. Shortly thereafter, ATC discontinued Sampson's 3650th Military Training Wing. By the time it was closed, over 300,000 airmen received basic training at Sampson AFB in preparation for service in the Korean War, as well as service in USAFE, Far East Air Force, and other United States Air Force major commands both in the United States and around the world. Three months later, on 1 October 1956, control of Sampson AFB was transferred to the Rome Air Force Depot, Air Materiel Command and the base was placed in standby status. The airfield was briefly served by Mohawk Airlines from 1954-1956. Post military use Starting in 1957 to 1960 the airfield and some officer housing on the lake shore (449 acres) were transferred to the Seneca Army Depot, the facility being renamed Sampson Army Airfield and used to support the depot. The former hospital area was operated as a state school. In 1971, the State of New York closed the School due to budget cuts and while empty, a fire destroyed most of the main hospital complex. Contaminated by asbestos, the site was cleaned and is still owned by the Department of Mental Hygiene when it burned down in 1989. In 1960 the State of New York purchased and assumed ownership of all tracts of land on the former base at a cost of $500,000. Most of the buildings were dismantled and materials were sold for re-usage throughout the Finger Lakes Region. One of the Drill Halls is now in use at Middlebury College, Vermont. Major roads and identification signs remain today on the base. At some point in the mid-1960s, the airfield was opened to civil use as North Star Seneca Airpark. The duration of the civilian use of