482nd Fighter Wing

482nd Fighter Wing

General Dynamics F-16C Block 30H Fighting Falcon 87-290 of the 482nd Fighter Wing
Active 14 June 1952–present
Country  United States
Branch  United States Air Force
Type Wing
Role Fighter
Size 1,600 personnel
Part of   Air Force Reserve Command
Garrison/HQ Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida
Tail Code "FM"
Decorations DUC
AFOUA
Insignia
482nd Fighter Wing emblem
Aircraft flown
Fighter F-16C Fighting Falcon

The 482nd Fighter Wing (482 FW) is an Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the Tenth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida. If mobilized, the Wing is gained by the Air Combat Command.

Mission

The 482nd Fighter Wing (482 FW), Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC), maintains and operates Homestead Air Reserve Base, located near the southern end of the Florida peninsula, about 25 miles south of Miami. It is a fully combat-ready unit capable of providing F-16C and F-16D multi-purpose fighter aircraft, along with mission ready pilots and support personnel, for short-notice worldwide deployment. The wing has approximately 1,600 members, including more than 1,200 reservists, of which 260 are full-time reservists, in addition to 325 full-time civilians.[1]

In addition to its flying mission, the 482 FW also provides the Department of Defense with an efficient, cost effective air base, with ready access to a strategic staging location on the rim of the Caribbean Basin, to support contingency and training operations associated with both the United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) areas of responsibility.

Units

414th Fighter Group (414 FG)

482nd Operations Group (482 OG)

482nd Mission Support Group (482 MSG)

482nd Maintenance Group (482 MXG)

482nd Medical Squadron (482 MDS)

History

For additional history and lineage, see 482nd Operations Group

The wing stood up and trained as a troop carrier wing from, June–December 1952; and as a fighter-bomber wing flying various fighter and trainer aircraft, May 1955-November 1957 and received brief training in C-119 aircraft during October 1957. The 482nd was then inactivated.

It was reactivated and replaced the 915th Tactical Fighter Group in April 1981 and trained to maintain tactical fighter combat readiness. The wing controlled two like-equipped tactical fighter groups at Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas (1981–1982) and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio (1982–1994). Following massive damage caused to Homestead Air Force Base by Hurricane Andrew in August 1992, the wing's flying operations were conducted from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, September–December 1992 and from MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, February 1993- March 1994.

The 482nd became host wing at Homestead on 1 April and provided weapons training support for air force units beginning in October 1994. From 1997, the 482 FW periodically deployed personnel and aircraft to Turkey to help enforce the no-fly zone over Northern Iraq.

Lineage

Activated in the Reserve on 14 June 1952
Inactivated on 1 December 1952
Activated in the Reserve on 18 May 1955
Inactivated on 16 November 1957
Activated in the Reserve on 1 April 1981
Redesignated 482nd Fighter Wing on 1 February 1992

Assignments

Components

Group

Squadrons

Stations

Temporarily assigned to: Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, September–December 1992
Temporarily assigned to MacDill AFB, Florida, February 1993-March 1994

Aircraft

  • C-46, 1952
  • F-80, 1955
  • F-84, 1955–1957
  • T-28, 1955–1957
  • T-33, 1955–1957
  • F-86, 1957
  • C-119, 1957
  • F-4, 1981–1989
  • F-16, 1989–present

References

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

  1. ↑ http://www.homestead.afrc.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=3399

External links