During World War II, the US Army Air Corps saw the potential of Nebraska as a training center well away from the coastline to train aircrews. By mid-1942, Army Airfields had dotted the landscape. Many closed in 1945, however Grand Island, Kearney and the field at Offutt remained open. During the Cold War, Kearney experienced a very brief career as an Air Force Base while Lincoln served from 1954-1966 and Offutt remains to this day. During the same period, Air Force Stations in the form of radar installations were built north of Omaha, east of Hastings and were ultimately replaced by automated systems. Throughout the Cold War, Nebraska provided both the force and the communications assets behind much of the U.S. Air Force.