| 332d Air Expeditionary Wing | |
|---|---|
332d Air Expeditionary Wing emblem |
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| Active | 1941–1946 since 2002 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Type | Expeditionary Wing |
| Garrison/HQ | Joint Base Balad, Iraq |
| Motto | Combat Power for America – Right Here, Right Now Tuskegee Airmen...The Legend Continues |
| Colors | Air Force Blue and Yellow |
| Engagements | World War II War in Iraq |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Brigadier General Kurt F. Neubauer |
| Notable commanders |
Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. Burton M. Field |
The United States Air Force's 332d Air Expeditionary Wing (332 AEW) is an Air Expeditionary unit located at Joint Base Balad, Iraq.
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The 332 AEW conducts a number of missions. The F-16 aircraft are responsible for maintaining air supremacy in the skies over Iraq. Additionally, the A-10 and F-16 aircraft perform close air support missions as required. The C-130 contingent provides required airlift within Iraq and to other US Central Command bases as necessary. The HH-60 Pave Hawks perform combat search and rescue missions. Finally, the MQ-1 Predators and MC-12W Liberty aircraft provide tactical surveillance and reconnaissance within Iraq. Additionally, the unit operates the Air Force Theater Hospital and serves as the Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility.
The 332d Air Expeditionary Wing's heritage is tied to the famous 332d Fighter Group led by the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II. Its mission and traditions are being carried out by the current generation of US Air Force airmen at Joint Base Balad, Iraq. With the rallying cry "Tuskegee Airmen...The Legend Continues," the wing has pioneered modern warfare tactics using advanced weapons systems such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon, A-10 Thunderbolt II, and the MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for close air support and traditional and non-traditional intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions.
The 332d Air Expeditionary Wing’s lineage dates back to 4 July 1942, when it was first established as the 332d Fighter Group, at Tuskegee Army Airfield, Alabama, and became active on 13 October 1942.
Tuskegee was slated to train African-American pilots, mechanics and other support personnel who would eventually be assigned to the 332d. The first 5 cadets, out of a class of 13, graduated and earned their wings in 1942, (eventually, 992 pilots would follow in their footsteps) and were assigned to the 99th Fighter Squadron. The squadron deployed to French Morocco, in April 1943, and flew P-40 Warhawk aircraft while serving under Twelfth Air Force.
By 1944, the 332d had three full squadrons of Tuskegee Airmen, and in May of that year, the 99th Fighter Squadron became the fourth squadron to join the group’s 100th, 301st and 302d Fighter Squadrons. The group’s commander was a former squadron commander and the most famous Tuskegee Airman, Colonel Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. {A 2nd Lt Instructor for the 99th F.S. pilots was Daniel James, Jr.}. The 332d Fighter Group’s Tuskegee Airmen became the only African-American pilots in combat in the Army Air Forces during World War II. Immediately after the arrival of the 99FS, the group received a new mission—escorting B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator bombers against strategic targets in southern and central Europe.
By the end of May 1944, the group transitioned from P-40s to P-47 Thunderbolt fighters, and settled at Ramitelli Airfield, Italy as part of the Fifteenth Air Force 306th Fighter Wing. During the Summer of 1944, the group began flying P-51 Mustangs, which were much faster and more maneuverable—the Tuskegee Airmen proudly painted their aircraft tails crimson red to distinguish them from fighters of other groups.
With the P-51s, the group flew long-range bomber escort missions against targets such as oil refineries, airfields, and marshalling yards. As the war progressed, the 332 FG established an enviable combat record. Highlights of which occurred on 11 July 1944, when they shot down 18 enemy fighters in one day while flying a bomber escort mission; and on 24 March 1945, while escorting B-17s during a raid on a tank factory in Berlin, the 332 FG’s P-51s downed three German jet fighters. For their accomplishments, the group earned the Distinguished Unit Citation.
With the end of hostilities in Europe in May 1945, the 332d was reassigned to the 305th Bombardment Wing, to prepare for a move to the Pacific Theater and engage in combat against Japan. With the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the end of the war, this became unnecessary and the 332d eventually returned to the United States and was assigned to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, where it inactivated on 19 October 1945. On 28 July 1947, the unit again activated, this time at the wing level, as the 332d Fighter Wing. Two years later, at Lockbourne Army Airfield, Ohio, on 1 July 1949, the wing inactivated and remained dormant for the next 49 years. The Tuskegee Airmen can proudly claim a prestigious and honorable record of flying 1,578 missions, 15,533 sorties, achieving 109 aerial kills and 152 aircraft destroyed on the ground. During its existence, 66 of the unit's Airmen were killed in action and 32 became prisoners of war.
The 332d Air Expeditionary Group, “The Tip of the Spear,” was activated at Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base, Kuwait in November 1998, replacing the 4406th Operations Group (Provisional). But since then, its mission has evolved and grown to reflect the Aerospace Expeditionary Force (AEF) concept of a consolidated force in a forward location. The package previously included F-15Es and A-10s. That mix of aircraft, including HH-60 rescue helicopters, gave the 332d the ability to conduct any Operation Southern Watch mission.
The Group's population turned over almost completely every 120 days with a population of 1,400 people constantly rotating, a need existed for continuity to guide the base and its mission. The US compound at Al Jaber was a sandy “fortress” of less than a mile's circumference. Most people lived in dorms—Airmen doing 12 month rotations had their own rooms; the base had far more comforts than expected in a deployed location.
Beginning in 2001, the 332d Air Expeditionary Group participated in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. The Group's F-15Es, F-16s and later A-10s played a critical role in the defeat of the Taliban and later provided key air support for the provisional government in Afghanistan.
From Kuwait, the wing relocated to Tallil Air Base, Iraq, and participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom, in 2003. In another strategic move, to better position airpower within the theater of operations, the 332 AEW stood up at Balad AB, Iraq, in February 2004. In June 2008, the base was officially renamed Joint Base Balad. The new name was indicative of the joint nature of operations by all branches of service at the base.
Today, the 332d Air Expeditionary Wing comprises nine groups, including four geographically separated units—the 407th, 447th, 438th Air Expeditionary Group and 506th Air Expeditionary Groups located respectively at Ali, Sather, Al Asad, and Kirkuk Air Bases. The wing operates two F-16 fighter squadrons, a Predator UAV squadron, a C-130 squadron, a combat search and rescue squadron (HH-60s), a MC-12 Liberty squadron, and a Control and Reporting Center.
The 332 AEW consists of over 8,000 personnel, including 1,800 Airmen of the 732d Air Expeditionary Group (732 AEG), which provides oversight for Airmen who are operationally assigned to U.S. Army units at over 60 forward operating locations throughout Iraq.
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