65th Air Base Wing
Encyclopedia
The 65th Air Base Wing (65 ABW) is a wing
of the United States Air Force
based out of Lajes Air Base, Azores
, Portugal.
, allied nations and other authorized aircraft in transit, including those from the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Colombia, Germany, Venezuela and Great Britain.
65th Medical Group (65 MDG)
The 65th conducted reserve training toward proficiency with troop carrier aircraft from 1952–1953. However, the wing was never fully manned or equipped.
It has provided enroute support for aircraft transiting Lajes Air Base from 1982 to the present. The wing also provided base support to elements of the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy in the area. The 65th supported deployment of personnel and equipment through Lajes during operations in the Persian Gulf
from August 1990 – April 1991 and in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom since 2001 and 2003 respectively.
Wing (air force unit)
Wing is a term used by different military aviation forces for a unit of command. The terms wing, group or Staffel are used for different-sized units from one country or service to another....
of the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
based out of Lajes Air Base, Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
, Portugal.
Mission
The wing provides base and en route support for Department of DefenseUnited States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
, allied nations and other authorized aircraft in transit, including those from the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Colombia, Germany, Venezuela and Great Britain.
Subordinate Organizations
65th Mission Support Group (65 MSG)- 65th Contracting Squadron (65 CONS)
- 65th Communications Squadron (65 CS)
- 65th Civil Engineering Squadron (65 CES)
- 65th Force Support Squadron (65 FSS)
- 65th Logistics Readiness Squadron (65 LRS)
- 65th Operations Support Squadron (65 OSS)
- 65th Security Forces Squadron (65 SFS)
65th Medical Group (65 MDG)
- 65th Medical Operations Squadron (65 MDOS)
- 65th Medical Support Squadron (65 MDSS)
Lineage
- Constituted as 65th Observation Group on 21 Aug 1941
- Activated on 1 Sep 1941.
- Inactivated on 18 Oct 1942
- Activated on 1 Mar 1943
- Redesignated 65th Reconnaissance Group in Apr 1943
- Disbanded on 15 Aug 1943
- Reconstituted, allotted to the reserve, and activated, on 27 Dec 1946
- Inactivated on 27 Jun 1949
- Redesignated 65th Troop Carrier Group (Medium) and allotted to the reserve
- Activated on 14 Jun 1952
- Established as 65th Troop Carrier Wing, Medium, on 26 May 1952
- Activated in the Reserve on 14 Jun 1952
- 65th Troop Carrier Group assigned as subordinate unit upon activation
- Inactivated on 1 Apr 1953
- Redesignated 65th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, Medium, on 1 Apr 1953
- Consolidated (1 Jan 1992) with the 1605th Military Airlift Support Wing, which was established, and activated, on 1 Jan 1982
- Redesignated: 65th Support Wing on 27 Jan 1992
- Redesignated: 65th Air Base Wing on 1 Oct 1993.
Assignments
- Southeast Air District (later Third Air Force)First Air ForceThe First Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida....
, 1 Sep 1941 – 18 Oct 1942; 1 Mar – 15 Aug 1943 - Continental Air Forces, 27 Dec 1946
- 90 Air Division, Reconnaissance90th Air DivisionThe 90th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with First Air Force, based at Niagara Falls Airport, New York...
, 17 Oct 1947 – 27 Jun 1949 - First Air ForceFirst Air ForceThe First Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida....
, 14 Jun 1952 – 1 Apr 1953 - Twenty-First Air ForceTwenty-First Air ForceThe 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force is one of two EMTFs assigned to the Air Force’s Air Mobility Command. It is headquartered at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey$3...
1 Jan 1982 - Eighth Air ForceEighth Air ForceThe Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
, 1 Oct 1993 - Third Air ForceThird Air ForceThe Third Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe . It is headquartered at Ramstein Air Base, Germany....
, 1 Oct 2002 – present
Components
- 65th Troop Carrier Group, 14 Jun 1952 – 1 Apr 1953
- 2d Reconnaissance (later Troop Carrier) Squadron2d Troop Carrier SquadronThe 2d Troop Carrier Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 65th Troop Carrier Group. It was inactivated at Mitchel Air Force Base, New York on 1 April 1953.-History:...
, 1947–1949; 1952–1953 - 13th Reconnaissance (later Troop Carrier) Squadron, 1947–1949; 1952–1953
- 14th Reconnaissance (later Troop Carrier) Squadron, 1947–1949; 1952–1953
- 18th Observation (later Reconnaissance) Squadron, 1942; 1943
- 105th Observation Squadron, 1941–1942
- 112th Observation Squadron, 1941–1942
- 121st Observation Squadron, 1941–1942
- 1605 Military Airlift (later, 65 Airlift) Support Squadron: 1 Jan 1982 – 1 Oct 1993.
Stations
- Lexington County Airport, South CarolinaSouth CarolinaSouth Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, 1 Sep 1941 - Langley Field, VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, Dec 1941-18 Oct 1942 - Columbia AAB, South CarolinaSouth CarolinaSouth Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, 1 Mar 1943 - Florence AAF, South CarolinaSouth CarolinaSouth Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, c. 15 Apr – 15 Aug 1943. - Rome AAF, New York, 27 Dec 1946 – 27 Jun 1949
- Mitchel AFB, New York, 14 Jun 1952 – 1 Apr 1953
- Lajes FieldLajes FieldLajes Field or Lajes Air Base , officially designated Air Base No. 4 , is a multi-use air field, home to the Portuguese Air Force Base Aérea Nº4 and Azores Air Zone Command , a United States Air Force detachment , and a regional air passenger terminal located near Lajes...
, AzoresAzoresThe Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
, 1 Jan 1982–
Operations
Supported ground units during the Carolina Maneuvers in the fall and winter of 1941. Flew antisubmarine patrols off the east coast after Pearl Harbor in 1941–42. Served as a training organization for crews that changed from observation aircraft to B-25's, 1943.The 65th conducted reserve training toward proficiency with troop carrier aircraft from 1952–1953. However, the wing was never fully manned or equipped.
It has provided enroute support for aircraft transiting Lajes Air Base from 1982 to the present. The wing also provided base support to elements of the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy in the area. The 65th supported deployment of personnel and equipment through Lajes during operations in the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
from August 1990 – April 1991 and in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom since 2001 and 2003 respectively.