Point. Third Air Force The AAFTC training mission ended in late June 1944, when Cross City was officially reassigned to III Fighter Command. With the transfer, Cross City was assigned to Third Air Force and became a sub-base of Alachua Army Airfield, near Gainesville, assigned to the Commando Squadron Fighter Training School. A different mission of sorts was ordered by III Fighter Command, the training of Air Commando fighter units for the China Burma India Theater and the invasion of Burma. Cross City AAF was initially assigned squadrons of the 2d and 3d Air Commando Groups training with North American P-51 Mustang fighters. However, it was decided by Third Air Force to consolidate the Commando fighter squadron training at Alachua AAF. Instead, the liaison squadrons of the 2d Air Commando Group were moved to Cross City AAF from Lakeland Army Airfield in late June. Through the summer and early fall of 1944, six liaison squadrons were trained at the airfield. Equipped with Piper L-4 Grasshopper and Stinson L-5 Sentinel liaison planes and Noorduyn and Aeronca C-64 Norseman utility cargo aircraft, the pilots were schooled in low level flying, short field landings, tactical reconnaissance, and supply missions. Closure With the Air Commando units moving out at the end of 1944, the flying mission wound down at Cross City AAF and it was used as an auxiliary airfield of the Air Technical Service Command facilities at Alachua AAF. The airfield remained open, mostly seeing transient training aircraft from various training bases in Florida and South Georgia. The number of personnel was also reduced, being reassigned to other bases. In January 1945, Third Air Force sent down orders to close the facility, and it was placed on inactive status on 1 February 1945. Jurisdiction of the airfield was transferred to Air Technical Service Command (ATSC), whose mission was the transfer of any useful military equipment to other bases around the country. Under ATSC, buildings and equipment were sold and any useful military equipment was transferred to other military bases across the United States. The base was declared as surplus in 1946 and was turned over to the War Assets Administration (WAA) for disposal and return to civil use. After the war, the airfield was returned to civil control and the Cross City Airport was re-established. World War II units assigned Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics / Army Air Forces Tactical Center