| 354th Operations Group | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1942–1957; 1993–present |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Garrison/HQ | Eielson AFB |
| Engagements |
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| Decorations |
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The 354th Operations Group (354 OG) is a component of the 354th Fighter Wing, assigned to the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces. The group is stationed at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska.
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The 354th Operations Group provides air-bridge support and realistic combat flying training in support of 354th Fighter Wing, Air Force and national objectives.
The Group's major mission is RED FLAG-Alaska, 10-day air combat training exercise held up to four times a year. Each exercise is a multi-service, multi-platform coordinated, combat operations exercise and corresponds to the designed operational capability of participating units. In other words, exercises often involve several units whose military mission may differ significantly from that of other participating units.
RED FLAG-Alaska planners take those factors into consideration when designing exercises so participants get the maximum training possible without being placed at an unfair advantage during simulated combat scenarios.
The 354 OG (Tail Code: AK) is the flying component of the 354th Fighter Wing. Its component units are:
Flying more than 3,200 hours with 142 support personnel and ten aircraft for a grand total of 790 sorties. During that time, the 18 FS flew missions in support of Operation Anaconda, including one in the Shah-I-Kot valley on 2 March (some sources say 4 March) when US forces, engaged in a firefight with Taliban and Al Qaeda forces, called for aerial assistance. A number of 18th FS aircraft responded, dropping bombs on the opposing forces. Two pilots of the 18th FS received Distinguished Flying Crosses for their work performed over Afghanistan.
Until the group's realignment in 2007, 354th Operations personnel and aircraft were engaged in the Global War on Terrorism, deploying to support Air Expeditionary units worldwide.
The 354th Fighter Group was constituted on 12 November 1942 and activated on 15 November. Trained with Bell P-39 Airacobras and served as part of the Western Air Defense Force. Operational squadrons of the group were the 353d (FT), 355th (GQ) and 356th (AJ) Fighter Squadrons.
On 4 November 1943 the group arrived from Portland AAF, Oregon and they were informed they were to fly the North American P-51B Mustang. This was a change of equipment for the group. The Mustang was a far more capable aircraft, with excellent performance that was required to escort the heavy bomb groups of the Eighth Air Force.
The 354th FG stayed at Greenham Common for only a few days, being transferred to RAF Boxted in Essex on 13 November.
At Boxted, the 354th provided long-range escort for US heavy bombers and received a Distinguished Unit Citation for its activities up to mid-May 1944 during which the 354th was instrumental in the development of the P-51 for use in long-range missions to escort heavy bombers on raids deep into enemy territory. As a result, priority for the Mustang was shifted from the Ninth to the Eighth Air Force, which converted 14 of its 15 fighter groups to the P-51. The 354th also gained the distinction of destroying more enemy aircraft in aerial combat than any other USAAF fighter group (701).
During that same period Colonel James H. Howard won the Medal of Honor for his single-handed efforts to defend a bomber formation that was attacked by a large force of enemy planes while on a mission to Oschersleben, Germany on 11 January 1944. Colonel Howard attacked a formation of thirty German aircraft. Pressing home the attack for more than thirty minutes he destroyed three aircraft and. even when he was low on fuel and his ammunition was exhausted, he continued his aggressive tactics to protect the bombers.
In mid-April 1944, the 354th flew south to RAF Lashenden in Kent prior to moving to the Continent after the invasion of Normandy.
Although assigned to Ninth Air Force, the 354th was under the operational control of the Eighth Fighter Command and many missions flown by the 354th in April and May were long-range escorts of Eighth Air Force heavy B-17 and B-24 bombers. It was on these occasions that the group displayed its expertise in air fighting.
On 25 April on an escort to Mannheim. the group returned to Lashenden with claims of 18 destroyed, five probably destroyed and 31 damaged. all for the loss of two Mustangs. On 11 May, claims of 11 Luftwaffe aircraft destroyed on another long-range escort included the 354th's 100th victory. Yet another high score resulted from an air battle near Magdeburg an 28 May when 19½ enemy aircraft were credited as shot down.
An increasing number of dive-bombing missions were flown during the weeks prior to the invasion, each Mustang carrying two 250 or 500 pound bombs on wing racks, the targets being frequently rail installations.
When D-Day arrived, the 354th's pilots were disappointed to he kept on the ground until 21:00 hours, when they took off to escort Douglas C-47 Skytrains towing gliders for a landing on the Cotentin Peninsula near Cherbourg. Following the invasion. the group's Mustangs found their primary task was to be patrols over the battlefield areas. These were often uneventful as far as contact with enemy aircraft was concerned.
The 354th group headquarters had learned that they would probably be one of the first Ninth Air Force flying units to move to one of the advanced landing strips being prepared in the Normandy bridgehead, and the advance party left Lashenden for Criqueville, France (ALG A-2) on 13 June. The main party moved on 17 June, although the group's P-51s continued to return to Lashenden throughout the following week.
During its stay at Lashenden, the 354th lost 23 aircraft but was credited with destroying 68 of the enemy. The group's operations from France assisted the Allied drive across France by flying close-support, armed-reconnaissance, fighter-sweep, dive-bombing, strafing, and escort missions. The 354th Fighter Group received a Distinguished Unit Citation for a series of fighter sweeps in which the group destroyed a large number of enemy aircraft in the air and on the ground on 25 August.
The unit flew missions to support the airborne attack on Holland in September, and it attacked and destroyed many enemy barges, locomotives, vehicles, buildings, and troops to assist the Allied assault on the Siegfried Line.
The group participated in the Battle of the Bulge by supporting ground forces and by conducting armed reconnaissance operations to destroy enemy troops, tank artillery, and rail lines. Assisted ground forces in their advance to and across the Rhine and was based at Herzogenaurach, Germany (ALG R-29) when V-E Day arrived.
By war's end, the 354th FG was officially credited by USAAF Command with the highest number of air-to-air combat victories (701 confirmed kills) of any U.S. fighter group in the ETO during World War II.[1] After hostilities ended, the 354th Fighter Group served with United States Air Forces in Europe army of occupation until February 1946, being returned to the United States and inactivated on 31 March 1946.
On 19 November 1956 the Air Force redesignated the 342d Fighter Day Wing at Myrtle Beach AFB, South Carolina as the 354th Fighter-Day Wing. The 342d Fighter-Day Group's fighter squadrons (33d, 572d and 573d) were redesignated the 353d, 355th and the 356th Fighter-Day Squadrons and assigned to the 354th Fighter-Day Group. In addition, the 352d Fighter-Day Squadron was activated and assigned to the Group.
Upon activation the new group was attached to the wing, as well as bestowing the history, lineage and honors of the 354th Fighter Group to the wing.
The group was active for a brief period training in fighter operations. It was inactivated on 25 September 1957 and its components assigned directly the wing when the Air Force reorganized its wings into the tri-deputate system.
On 20 August 1993, the 354th Operations Group was activated as part of the 354th Fighter Wing's activation at Eielson AFB, Alaska, replacing the organization and components of the 343d Wing. This change was part of a service-wide effort to preserve the lineage of the Air Force’s most honored wings. Upon activation, the 354th OG was bestowed the history, lineage and honors of the 354th Fighter Group from the 354 FW. The 353d and 355th Fighter Squadrons were also reactivated at Eielson and assigned to the 354 OG under the objective wing structure. The group trained for close air support, battlefield air interdiction, and anti-maritime operations.
In 1994, the 353d was redesignated as a Combat Training Squadron. It's assigned mission was to coordinate and direct PACAF's premier training exercise, COPE THUNDER. Additionally, it was given oversight and management of the largest air training complex in the world, the 67,000-square-mile (170,000 km2) Pacific Alaska Range Complex. Though the exercise has been renamed RED FLAG-Alaska, the 353 CTS mission remains unchanged. In 2003 it was reassigned to the 3d Wing at Elmendorf AFB.
Under BRAC 2005 the 354th OG's 355th Fighter Squadron was inactivated on 24 August 2007, and its A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft sent to Moody AFB, Georgia, becoming part of the 23d Fighter Group. The same day, the 18th Fighter Squadron was realigned to become the 18th Aggressor Squadron (18 AGRS) and reequipped with Block 30 General Dynamics F-16C/D aircraft, sending its newer Block 40s to Kunsan AB, South Korea and becoming part of Red Flag - Alaska.
The 18 AGRS prepares Combat Air Force, joint and allied aircrews for tomorrow's victories through challenging, realistic threat replication, training, test support, academics and feedback. The Aggressors job is to know, teach and replicate the threat better than any other squadron.
*Notes: The redesignation and the allotment were revoked and nullified on 26 September 1956. Thus the current Alabama ANG 117th Air Refueling Wing is not related in any way to the 354th Operations Group. ** Became subordinate unit of 354th Fighter-Day Wing, 19 November 1956, absorbing all personnel and equipment of the 342d Fighter-Day Group at Myrtle Beach AFB, South Carolina.
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This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
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