Just before World War II, the Army Air Corps established a military base south of Selma to help supply a growing need for pilots.

The base brought hundreds into Dallas County, providing a boost to Dallas County’s economy, but a recent economic announcement could bring more pilots and jobs to an economy that frequently ranks among the lowest in Alabama.

Economic development officials announced a handshake agreement May 10 with Science and Engineering Services (SES) to bring a Kuwaiti pilot training program to Craig Field. The base currently functions as an industrial complex, but maintains an 8,000-foot runway and airport. When it was a military base, Craig Field trained 80 to 100 pilots per year, Craig Field director Menzo Driskell said.

If the deal with Science and Engineering Services is successful, economic development director Wayne Vardaman said the number of pilots trained would dwarf any previous activity.

“It’s going to be like setting up a small city at Craig,” Vardaman said during the May 10 announcement.

The program is expected to begin at 30 students per year and eventually reach 300. It would also bring about 150 instructors to the area, Driskell said. Pilot training would run continuously — 24 hours per day, Vardaman said.

During the announcement, other city and county officials addressed the potential of the Kuwaiti training.

“I think we just have a gold mine out there at Craig Field,” Selma Mayor George Evans said after the announcement. “It would be retapping that and certainly it’s going to change the quality of life for a lot of people in Selma and Dallas County.”

SES agreed to bring the pilot training to Craig if it wins a bid with the Kuwaiti government. The small country lies at the northern end of the Persian Gulf, in a region colloquially referred to as the Middle East.

As Vardaman and Driskell wait anxiously, both say they are working to supply SES with any necessary information.

“We are getting everything ready as if we win,” Vardaman said. “Our goal is just to outwork everybody else.”

SES is an engineering company with three different locations — Huntsville, Columbia, Md. and Warner Robbins, Ga. The company was established in 1988 and focuses partly on military contracts and aviation, according to its website. SES has more than 700 employees, Vardaman said.

Attempts to reach SES for comment on the pilot training announcement were unsuccessful, but Vardaman and other officials expressed confidence in the company’s ability to win the bid. Multiple other companies are competing to secure the Kuwaiti contract.

“This project is almost tailor-made for us,” Driskell said.

Vardaman said SES reached out to him and Driskell nearly four months ago about the potential of using Craig as its location. A Tuscaloosa native also recommended Craig to SES, Driskell said.

As they were touring Craig, Driskell said SES officials were pleasantly surprised by the airport’s facilities.

“One of them turned to their new business guy and said ‘Why didn’t we know about this place before; we have turned contracts down that we could have gone here,’” Driskell recalled.

Along with relatively low air traffic and a large runway, Vardaman said SES also picked Craig because the facilities within are in close proximity to one another.