| 302nd Fighter Squadron | |
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302nd Fighter Squadron Patch |
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| Active | 13 October 1942 - 6 March 1945 8 October 1956 - Present |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Type | Fighter |
| Part of | Air Force Reserve Command Tenth Air Force 477th Fighter Group |
| Garrison/HQ | Elmendorf Air Force Base |
| Decorations | AFOUA |
The 302nd Fighter Squadron (302 FS) is part of the 477th Fighter Group at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. It operates the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor conducting an air superiority mission.
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The 302nd Fighter Squadron trains in the fighter missions of offensive counter-air (OCA), defensive counter-air (DCA) and suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD)], as well as strategic attack and interdiction.
The 302nd was one of four African-American fighter squadrons to enter combat during World War II. It saw combat in the European Theater of Operations and Mediterranean Theater of Operations from 17 February 1944-20 February 1945.
The squadron trained in the Reserve for and performed search and rescue (SAR), in addition to some medical air evacuation missions, mainly in the southwestern United States, from 1956-1974.
In 1974, its mission changed to training for a combat SAR role, while continuing to perform some search and rescue. The squadron's mission changed again, in 1987, to a fighter role and trained for counterair, interdiction, and close air support missions. (The unit that had been the 302nd was reflagged with a new number, remained a special operations squadron, and physically relocated to Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ. Concurrently, a new AFRES fighter squadron was raised at Luke AFB and took over the 302nd lineage.) It deployed several times since late 1992 to Turkey to help enforce the no-fly zone over Iraq and to Italy to support UN air operations in the Balkans.[1]
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