Aviation Recruit Training

[jf3]

Am researching my grandfather's WWI service, and would appreciate any info regarding Aviation Recruit Training.

After induction, he was assigned to 5th Aviation Recruit Training Squadron, Aviation Concentration Camp, Waco, TX, located at Rich Field. Cannot find any info on the length and subjects covered in this training, and his diary is rather sparse during this period. My impression is that this served as basic training for enlisted aviation personnel. [Just to be clear, the Aviation Recruit Training was separate from the pilot training school also located at Rich Fireld.]

Also, would appreciate any info on the process of forming new squadrons. After Recruit Training, he was assigned to the newly formed 373d Aero Squadron. The 373d was activated on 19 Jan 1918, and departed Waco for overseas just 5 weeks later (23 Feb 1918), so in-country organization and training of aviation sqaudrons must have been . . . scanty. Neither pilots nor aircraft were assigned to the squadron before oveseas movement. This seems to have been the norm, as later he joined the 278th Aero Squadron as it headed to the front, and it, too, received aircraft and pilots in France just a couple weeks before entering combat. (Well, sort of. It had only one mission before the Armistice.)

Appreciate any info on these subjects, or referrals to sources. Thanks!