57th Wing

57th Wing

57th Wing Shield
Active November 20, 1940 – present
Country United States
Branch Air Force
Type Operational Test and Evaluation
Part of Air Combat Command
Garrison/HQ Nellis Air Force Base
Decorations DUC
AFOUA
Commanders
Current
commander
Brigadier General Terrence J. O'Shaughnessy
Notable
commanders
John Jumper
Michael Moseley
Joseph Ashy

The 57th Wing (57 WG) is an operational unit of the United States Air Force Warfare Center, stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.

The 57 WG's mission is to provide well trained and well equipped combat forces ready to deploy into a combat arena to conduct integrated combat operations.

Contents

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Mission

The 57 WG is home to one of the most demanding advanced air combat training mission in the world. The wing provides training for composite strike forces which include every type of aircraft in the Air Force inventory. Training is conducted in conjunction with air and ground units of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and air forces from US allied nations. The crews do not come to learn how to fly, but instead learn how to be combat aviators.

Units

The wing was reorganized in 2005 to reflect its current structure. It consists of four groups and two direct reporting units to the wing:

A non-flying unit, the 57 OG provides direct oversight of the Nellis flying mission through the 57th Operations Support Squadron
Established in July 2005, the 57th ATG consists of Aggressor squadrons that replicate adversary threat tactics while training combat air forces aircrews.
64th Aggressor Squadron: 15 Sep 2005-Present
65th Aggressor Squadron: 15 Sep 2005-Present
527th Space Aggressor Squadron: 14 Apr 2006-Present
57th Adversary Tactics Support Squadron
57th Information Aggressor Squadron
507th Air Defense Aggressor Squadron
547th Intelligence Squadron
Composed of 16 squadrons, the U.S. Air Force Weapons School teaches graduate-level instructor courses that provide the world's most advanced training in weapons and tactics employment to officers of the combat air forces.
"America's Ambassadors in Blue," the Thunderbirds have performed for more than 300 million people in all 50 states and 60 countries around the world.
Provides on- and off-equipment maintenance for 120 assigned A-10, F-15, F-16, and F-22A aircraft to support 15 flying programs plus AFSOC
Provides graduate-level instruction to maintenance and munitions officers in the USAF distinctive capability of Agile Combat Support (ACS).

The Thunderbirds and the USAF Advanced Maintenance and Munitions Officer School report directly to the 57th Wing commander.

History

See 57th Operations Group for complete lineage and timeline information.
See 57th Adversary Tactics Group and USAF Weapons School for the flying components of the 57th Wing.
See USAF Air Demonstration Squadron for the United States Air Force Thunderbirds.

Established on 15 March 1948, the 57th Fighter Wing replaced 57th Fighter Wing (Provisional) in April 1948. It operated Elmendorf AFB, Alaska , and several satellite bases, and provided air defense of Alaska, April 1948-December 1950. In addition, the wing provided intra-theater troop carrier and airlift support, 1948–1950, using several attached troop carrier squadrons. In January 1951, it was replaced by 39th Air Depot Wing.

The 57th moved to Nevada and replaced the 4525th Fighter Weapons Wing at Nellis Air Force Base, in October 1969. At Nellis, it trained tactical fighter aircrews, conducted operational tests and evaluations, demonstrated tactical fighter weapon systems, and developed fighter tactics and from February 1970 to October 1979 and operated Nellis AFB for all base tenants. The USAF Air Demonstration Squadron (the "Thunderbirds") was assigned to the wing in February 1974 and has remained an integral part of the wing to present. The 57th assumed operational control of "Red Flag" exercises in October 1979; developing realistic combat training operations featuring adversary tactics, dissimilar air combat training, and electronic warfare. It incorporated intelligence training after March 1980. In 1990 the aggressor mission transferred to 4440th TFTG and later to the 414th CTS. The wing added instruction in hunter/killer counter electronic warfare tactics until 1996.

Modern era

From 1992–1999, the wing operated detachments at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico, Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, and Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana that flew and tested the F-111, B-1, and B-52 respectively. It added the 66th Rescue Squadron, equipped with HH-60 helicopters, on February 1, 1993 while the squadron was deployed in Southwest Asia. From 1991 to present, the 57th provided combat aircrew capabilities, operating the USAF Weapons and the USAF Combat Rescue Schools, developing techniques and procedures and conducting operational test and evaluation on all major aircraft in the AF inventory.

With the reactivation of the 432d Wing at Creech Air Force Base on May 1, 2007, the elements that comprised the 57th Operations Group, were transferred to the 432nd Wing.

Lineage

Organized on 20 April 1948
Redesignated 57th Fighter-Interceptor Wing on 20 January 1950
Inactivated on 1 January 1951
Activated on 15 October 1969 by redesignation of 4525th Fighter Weapons Wing
Redesignated: 57th Tactical Training Wing on 1 April 1977
Redesignated: 57th Fighter Weapons Wing on 1 March 1980
Redesignated: 57th Fighter Wing on 1 October 1991
Redesignated: 57th Wing on 15 June 1993.

*Note: The 57th Fighter Wing (Provisional) was established on 16 April 1947 at Fort Richardson, Alaska as one of the "Base-Wing" concept provisional Table of Distribution (T/D) organizations. The provisional wing was inactivated and replaced by the 57th Fighter Wing in March 1948 (exact date unknown).

Assignments

Components

Groups

April 20, 1948 – January 1, 1951 (detached December 10, 1950 – January 1, 1951)
November 1, 1991 –
Attached October 1, 1979 – February 28, 1980
Assigned March 1, 1980 – November 1, 1991

Squadrons

Schools

Stations

Aircraft Operated

References

United States Air Force portal
Military of the United States portal

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

External links