93d Air Control Wing
Encyclopedia
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...
unit assigned to the Air Combat Command
Air Combat Command
Air Combat Command is a major command of the United States Air Force. ACC is one of ten major commands , reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force ....
Ninth Air Force
Ninth Air Force
The Ninth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina....
. It is stationed as a tenant unit at Moody AFB, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
.
The 93 AGOW provides highly trained ground combat forces capable of integrating air and space power into the ground scheme of fire and maneuver. The wing also conducts offensive and defensive ground combat operations worldwide to protect expeditionary aerospace forces anywhere, anytime. The 93rd AGOW provides the joint force commander airborne, air-mobile, air-land and over-land insertion capability, and remains the joint expert on integration of air power and combat weather support to ground forces.
Its 93d Operations Group
93d Operations Group
The 93d Operations Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 93d Air Control Wing, stationed at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia...
is a successor organization to the World War II 93d Bombardment Group. It was the first VIII Bomber Command
VIII Bomber Command
The VIII Bomber Command is an inactive United States Army Air Forces unit that is better known as the later appellation Eighth Air Force, as was popularized in post-World War II filmsand is frequently called the First Eighth Air Force by its veterans and successors in the services.The command was...
B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
heavy bombardment group to carry out strategic bombardment operations against targets in Occupied Europe and Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
from RAF Alconbury
RAF Alconbury
RAF Alconbury is an active Royal Air Force station in Cambridgeshire, England. The airfield is adjacent to the Stukeleys [Great and Little] and located about northwest of Huntingdon; about north of London....
, England on 9 October 1942. Active for over 60 years, the 93d Bombardment Wing was a component organization of Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
's deterrent force during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, as a strategic bombardment wing.
The 93d Air-Ground Operations Wing is commanded by Colonel John P. Horner. Its Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sergeant Thomas N. Vallely.
Overview
A non-flying wing, the 93d AGOW brings together and provides a new level of support to battlefield Airmen from the 3rd Air Support Operations Group at Fort Hood, Texas, the 18th ASOG at Pope Air Force Base, N.C., and the specialized force protection capabilities of the 820th Base Defense Group at Moody.Operating under the 93d AGOW, the 820th Base Defense Group is a Force Protection unit of 12 Air Force Specialty Codes with an airborne capability. At a moment's notice, the group can provide worldwide deployable, "first-in", fully integrated, multidisciplined capabilities.
Lineage
- Established as 93d Bombardment Wing, Very Heavy, on 28 July 1947
- Organized on 15 August 1947
- Redesignated: 93d Bombardment Wing, Medium, on 12 July 1948
- Redesignated: 93d Bombardment Wing, Heavy, on 1 February 1955
- Redesignated: 93d Wing on 1 September 1991
- Redesignated: 93d Bomb Wing on 1 June 1992
- Inactivated on 30 September 1995
- Redesignated 93d Air Control Wing on 15 January 1996
- Activated on 29 January 1996
- Inactivated on 1 October 2002
- Redesignated 93d Air Ground Operations Wing on 11 December 2007
- Activated on 25 January 2008.
Assignments
- Fifteenth Air ForceFifteenth Air ForceThe Fifteenth Expeditionary Mobility Task Force is one of two EMTFs assigned to the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command . It is headquartered at Travis Air Force Base, California....
, 15 August 1947
- Attached to 7th Air Division, 6 December 1951-6 March 1952
- 47 Air (later, 47 Strategic Aerospace; 47 Air) Division, 1 July 1959
- Second Air ForceSecond Air ForceThe Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....
, 30 June 1971 - Fifteenth Air ForceFifteenth Air ForceThe Fifteenth Expeditionary Mobility Task Force is one of two EMTFs assigned to the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command . It is headquartered at Travis Air Force Base, California....
, 15 February 1973
- 14th Air Division, 1 October 1976
- 12th Air Division, 1 October 1985
- Fifteenth Air ForceFifteenth Air ForceThe Fifteenth Expeditionary Mobility Task Force is one of two EMTFs assigned to the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command . It is headquartered at Travis Air Force Base, California....
, 15 July 1988 - Twelfth Air Force, 1 June 1992-30 September 1995
- Ninth Air ForceNinth Air ForceThe Ninth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina....
, 29 January 1996-1 October 2002; since 25 January 2008
Components
Groups- 3d Air Support Operations Group3d Air Support Operations GroupThe United States Air Force's 3d Air Support Operations Group is a combat support unit located at Fort Hood, Texas. The 3 ASOG provides Tactical Command and Control of air power assets to the Joint Forces Air Component Commander and Joint Forces Land Component Commander for combat...
(Fort Hood, TX): January 2008 –present - 18th Air Support Operations Group (Pope AFB, NC: January 2008 –present
- 93d Bombardment Group (later, 93d Operations Group93d Operations GroupThe 93d Operations Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 93d Air Control Wing, stationed at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia...
): 15 August 1947 – 16 June 1952); 1 September 1991 – 31 October 1994; 29 January 1996 – 1 October 2002. - 820th Base Defense Group January 2008 –
Squadrons
- 90th Air Refueling Squadron90th Air Refueling SquadronThe 90th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron is a provisional United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 385th Air Expeditionary Group and is currently stationed at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey....
: 18 January 1954 – 5 August 1955 (detached c. 3 April – 18 May 1954 and 1 April – 16 July 1955). - 93d Air Refueling Squadron93d Air Refueling SquadronThe 93d Air Refueling Squadron is part of the 92d Air Refueling Wing at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington. It operates the KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft conducting aerial refueling missions.-World War II:...
: attached 15 July 1950 – 30 January 1951; attached 10 February 1951 – 15 June 1952, assigned 16 June 1952 – 1 September 1991 (detached c. 1 April – 15 May 1954; 29 June – 14 August 1954; 19 January – c. 15 March 1955; 18 June – c. 3 July 1955; 2 November 1955 – 5 January 1956; and 27 September – c. 24 December 1956). - 328th Bombardment Squadron attached 10 February 1951 – 15 June 1952, assigned 16 June 1952 – 1 September 1991.
- 329th Bombardment Squadron (later, 329th Strategic Bombardment Training; 329th Combat Crew Training): attached 10 February 1951 – 15 June 1952, assigned 16 June 1952 – 30 September 1971; 1 July 1986 – 1 September 1991.
- 330th Bombardment Squadron330th Bombardment SquadronThe 330th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 93d Bombardment Wing. It was inactivated at Castle Air Force Base, California on 1 September 1991.-History:...
(later, 330th Combat Flight Instructor): attached 10 February 1951 – 15 June 1952, assigned 16 June 1952 – 15 September 1963; 24 August 1988 – 1 September 1991. - 340th Air Refueling Squadron340th Air Refueling SquadronThe 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron is a provisional United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 379th Air Expeditionary Operations Group, Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar....
: attached 20 October 1952 – 18 January 1954. - 341st Air Refueling Squadron341st Air Refueling SquadronThe 341st Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 397th Bombardment Wing, stationed at Dow AFB, Maine. It was inactivated on 1 February 1963...
: attached 11 June 1954 – 15 August 1955. - 924th Air Refueling Squadron924th Air Refueling SquadronThe 924th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 93d Operations Group, stationed at Castle AFB, California...
: 1 July 1959 – 1 September 1991. - 4017th Combat Crew Training Squadron 1955–1956.
Bases assigned
- Merced Army Airfield (Later Castle AFB), California, 15 August 1947-30 September 1995
- Robins AFB, GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, 29 January 1996-1 October 2002 - Moody AFB, GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, 29 January 2008
Weapons systems
- B-50B-50 SuperfortressThe Boeing B-50 Superfortress strategic bomber was a post-World War II revision of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, fitted with more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360 radial engines, stronger structure, a taller fin, and other improvements. It was the last piston-engined bomber designed by Boeing for...
(1947–1954) - KC-97 (1953–1957)
- B-47 (1954–1956)
- KC-135 (1957–1992)
- B-52B (1955–1965)
- B-52D (1956–1974)
- B-52E (1957–1970)
- B-52F (1958–1971)
- B-52G (1966–1994)
- B-52H (1974–1993)
- E-8 Joint STARSE-8 Joint STARSThe Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System is a battle management and command and control aircraft of the United States Air Force...
(1996–2002)
Strategic Air Command
In 1948, the entire wing deployed to Okinawa, making it the first SAC bomb wing to deploy to the Far East in full strength. The B-36 Peacemaker entered SAC's inventory in 1948 but was not assigned to the 93d. The huge plane dwarfed the earlier B-29 (and also B-50) bombers. As only the B-36 groups were "Heavy", the 93d, was redesignated the 93d Bombardment Wing (Medium)
In 1949, the wing received its first B-50 Superfortress
B-50 Superfortress
The Boeing B-50 Superfortress strategic bomber was a post-World War II revision of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, fitted with more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360 radial engines, stronger structure, a taller fin, and other improvements. It was the last piston-engined bomber designed by Boeing for...
aircraft, an improved version of the B-29. It struck up operations overseas with the deployment of its tactical force to RAF Mildenhall
RAF Mildenhall
RAF Mildenhall is a Royal Air Force station located at Mildenhall in Suffolk, England. Despite its status as an RAF station, it primarily supports United States Air Force operations and is currently the home of the 100th Air Refueling Wing...
, England (July 1950 – January 1951) in response to communist aggression on the Korean peninsula
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. Meanwhile, the 93d Air Refueling Squadron
93d Air Refueling Squadron
The 93d Air Refueling Squadron is part of the 92d Air Refueling Wing at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington. It operates the KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft conducting aerial refueling missions.-World War II:...
was activated on 1 March 1949, equipped with the KB-29P (a B-29 bomber modified with a refueling boom).
The 93d continued to move forward throughout the 1950s, replacing the propeller-driven B-50s with new B-47E Stratojet swept-wing medium bombers in 1954, capable of flying at high subsonic speeds and primarily designed for penetrating the airspace of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
Flew numerous training missions and participated in various SAC exercises and deployments with the Stratojet until 29 June 1955, when the wing received SAC’s first Boeing B-52B Stratofortress in June 1955 and the Boeing KC-135A Stratotanker in January 1957. making it the first SAC bomb wing to receive the new aircraft. It became SAC’s primary B-52 aircrew training organization in 1956. The wing was redesignated the 93d Bombardment Wing (Heavy) on 1 February 1955. The 93d retained some of its B-47s until 1956 for crew training purposes. It was one of the few wings to have operated both jet bombers simultaneously.
In 1956, the wings three bombardment squadrons – 328th, 329th and 330th began receiving the new B-52D. The following year, they began receiving the B-52E model, while some B-52Bs remained with the 93 BW until well into the 1960s.
On 24 and 25 November 1956, in a spectacular operation known as Quick Kick, four B-52Bs of the 93 BW joined four B-52Cs of the 42 BW
42d Air Base Wing
The 42nd Air Base Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Education and Training Command Air University. It is stationed at Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, Alabama...
for a nonstop flight around the perimeter of North America. Four in-flight refuelings by KC-97 tankers were required for the 13500 nautical miles (25,002 km) journey.
Three 93d B-52Bs flew the first non-stop jet (B-52s) around-the-world flight in January 1957. They flew via Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
, Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
, Dhahran
Dhahran
Dhahran is a city located in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, and is a major administrative center for the Saudi oil industry. Large oil reserves were first identified in the Dhahran area in 1931, and in 1935 Standard Oil of California drilled the first commercially viable oil well...
, Ceylon, the Malay Peninsula, Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
and Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
. Upon landing at March AFB, California, General Curtis LeMay
Curtis LeMay
Curtis Emerson LeMay was a general in the United States Air Force and the vice presidential running mate of American Independent Party candidate George Wallace in 1968....
, SAC Commander-in-Chief greeted the crews and presented them with the Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a medal awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself in support of operations by "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight, subsequent to November 11, 1918." The...
.
As SAC’s alert commitment grew during the late 1950s and early 1960s, the 93d provided a strong and capable force for deterrence. Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
tensions reached new heights during this time period with events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
in 1962.
Throughout the height of the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
(1968–1974) the wing operated a special B-52 aircrew replacement training unit to support SAC’s B-52 operations in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
.
The 93d recorded another first on 10 June 1982 when the first all female KC-135 crew, “Fair Force One,” flew a five-hour training sortie.
Finally in August 1990 the 93d found itself back at war. At home its support units operated an aerial port of embarkation for personnel and equipment deploying to Southwest Asia
Southwest Asia
Western Asia, West Asia, Southwest Asia or Southwestern Asia are terms that describe the westernmost portion of Asia. The terms are partly coterminous with the Middle East, which describes a geographical position in relation to Western Europe rather than its location within Asia...
(SWA). Overseas its KC-135s refueled planes and ferried personnel and equipment to the region, while its B-52s bombed the Iraqi Republican Guard and targeted Iraqi infrastructure throughout January and February 1991.
Modern era
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the 93d lost its air refueling commitment, (924th ARS), and its KC-135 aircrew training missions (329th CCTS). It also implemented the objective wing organization and was redesignated as the 93d Wing.
On 1 June 1992 the 93d was relieved from assignment to SAC and was reassigned to the newly-formed Air Combat Command
Air Combat Command
Air Combat Command is a major command of the United States Air Force. ACC is one of ten major commands , reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force ....
(ACC). It was then redesignated as the 93d Bomb Wing.
Shortly afterwards nationwide base closures (BRAC) targeted Castle AFB. The 322d Bomb Squadron was inactivated 3 May 1994, and the wing was placed on non-operational status. However, the 93d continued to supervise the closure of Castle AFB. It was inactivated on 30 September 1995 with the closure of the base.
This was not the end of the 93d however. Just four months later it was redesignated as the 93d Air Control Wing (93 ACW) and was reactivated at Robins AFB, Georgia on 29 January 1996. It was to be equipped with the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS)
E-8 Joint STARS
The Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System is a battle management and command and control aircraft of the United States Air Force...
and it accepted its first production aircraft on 11 June 1996.
From late October through December 1996, the wing deployed to Rhein-Main AB, Germany for operations JOINT ENDEAVOR and JOINT GUARD in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
. It provided “top cover” for United Nations (UN) peacekeeping forces and monitored the warring factions for violations of UN resolutions.
Marking an historic event for the wing, Air Combat Command declared the 93d ACW "Initial Operational Capable" on 18 December 1997.
As tensions mounted between Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and the UN in 1998, the 93d deployed an element to SWA to monitor Iraqi military movements. In February 1999 it deployed an aircraft to Europe to support NATO's monitoring of tensions between Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
and Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
. The new wing saw its first combat during operations in Kosovo, playing a major role in the destruction of enemy targets and compiling over 1,000 combat hours.
In November 2001 through April 2002 the wing deployed in response to the 11 September terrorist attacks against the United States in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM.
The 93 ACW inactivated at Robins AFB on 30 September 2002. Its mission and resources became a part of Air Force history on that day as the Georgia Air National Guard
Air National Guard
The Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...
’s 116th Bomb Wing (now redesignated the 116th Air Control Wing
116th Air Control Wing
The United States Air Force's 116th Air Control Wing is a joint active duty/Air National Guard air control wing located at Robins AFB, Georgia.-Mission:...
(116th ACW)) assumed command responsibility for the Joint STARS mission and the first ever “blended wing,” combining active-duty and Air National Guard personnel, aircraft, and facilities under one commander under the newly-activated 116th ACW.
93d Air Ground Operations Wing
The 93d Air Ground Operations Wing (93 AGOW) is a non-flying active support wing activated on 25 January 2008. The 93d's mission is to manage and providing combat-ready tactical air control party personnel, battlefield weather, and force protection assets for joint forces commanders. The wing is based at Moody AFB, Georgia.See also
- List of B-50 units of the United States Air Force
- List of B-47 units of the United States Air Force
- List of B-52 Units of the United States Air Force