93d Air-Ground Operations Wing

93d Air Ground Operations Wing

93 AGOW
Active 1947-1948; 1948-1995; 1996-2002; 2008-present
Country  United States
Branch  United States Air Force
Part of Air Combat Command
Garrison/HQ Moody Air Force Base, Georgia
Motto(s) Defend, Attack, Defeat!
Decorations Distinguished Unit Citation
Air Force Outstanding Unit
Meritorious Unit Citation
Battle honours World War II:
Antisubmarine American Theater
Egypt-Libya
Tunisia
Sicily
Naples-Foggia
Air Offensive Europe
Normandy
Northern France
Rhineland
Ardennes-Alsace
Central Europe
Air Combat
EAME Theater
Commanders
Current
commander		 Col Jeffery D. Valenzia
Notable
commanders		 Brig Gen Michael A. Longoria
Insignia
93d Air Ground Operations Wing emblem (approved 4 September 1953)[1]

The 93d Air Ground Operations Wing (93d AGOW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Combat Command, Ninth Air Force. It is stationed as a tenant unit at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia.

The 93d AGOW provides highly trained ground combat forces capable of integrating air and space power into the ground scheme of fire and maneuver. The wing also conducts offensive and defensive ground combat operations worldwide to protect expeditionary aerospace forces anywhere, anytime. The 93d AGOW provides the joint force commander airborne, air-mobile, air-land and over-land insertion capability, and remains the joint expert on integration of air power and combat weather support to ground forces.

Its 93d Operations Group is a successor organization to the World War II 93d Bombardment Group. It was the first VIII Bomber Command B-24 Liberator heavy bombardment group to carry out strategic bombardment operations against targets in Occupied Europe and Nazi Germany from RAF Alconbury, England on 9 October 1942. Active for over 60 years, the 93d Bombardment Wing was a component organization of Strategic Air Command's deterrent force during the Cold War, as a strategic bombardment wing.

Overview

A non-flying wing, the 93d AGOW consolidates and provides a new level of support to battlefield Airmen from the 3d Air Support Operations Group (3d ASOG) at Fort Hood, Texas (supporting III Corps), 18th Air Support Operations Group (18th ASOG) at Pope Field, North Carolina (supporting XVIII Airborne Corps of Fort Bragg), and the Integrated Base Defense capabilities of the 820th Base Defense Group (820th BDG) at Moody AFB, Georgia. The 820th BDG is a Force Protection unit composed of 12 Air Force Specialty Codes with an airborne capability, who, at a moment's notice, can provide worldwide deployable, "first-in", fully integrated, multidisciplined capabilities.

History

For additional history and lineage, see 93d Operations Group

Strategic Air Command

Emblem of the 93d Bombardment Wing

Medium Bombardment

On 28 July 1947, the 93d Bombardment Wing, (Very Heavy) was established and maintained combat readiness for global strategic bombardment.

In 1948, the entire wing deployed to Okinawa, making it the first SAC bomb wing to deploy to the Far East in full strength. The B-36 Peacemaker entered SAC's inventory in 1948 but was not assigned to the 93d. The huge plane dwarfed the earlier B-29 (and also B-50) bombers. As only the B-36 groups were "Heavy", the 93d, was redesignated the 93d Bombardment Wing (Medium)

In 1949, the wing received its first B-50 Superfortress aircraft, an improved version of the B-29. It struck up operations overseas with the deployment of its tactical force to RAF Mildenhall, England (July 1950 – January 1951) in response to communist aggression on the Korean peninsula. Meanwhile, the 93d Air Refueling Squadron was activated on 1 March 1949, equipped with the KB-29P (a B-29 bomber modified with a refueling boom).

The 93d continued to move forward throughout the 1950s, replacing the propeller-driven B-50s with new B-47E Stratojet swept-wing medium bombers in 1954, capable of flying at high subsonic speeds and primarily designed for penetrating the airspace of the Soviet Union.

Flew numerous training missions and participated in various SAC exercises and deployments with the Stratojet until the wing received SAC’s first B-52s. The 93d retained some of its B-47s until 1956 for crew training purposes. It was one of the few wings to have operated both jet bombers simultaneously.

Heavy Bombardment

Three B-52Bs of the 93d Bomb Wing prepare to depart Castle Air Force Base, Calif., for their record-setting round-the-world flight in 1957
A B-52D drops 500 pound bombs

SAC assigned its first Boeing B-52 Stratofortress to the wing in June 1955.[2][a 1] The wing was redesignated the 93d Bombardment Wing, Heavy on 1 February 1955 in anticipation of the arrival of the B-52.[1] Its B-52Bs were initially used for crew training. The wing was declared combat ready with the B-52 on 12 March 1956, but became nonoperational two months later when a second squadron began to equip with Stratofortresses. It became operational again on 26 June 1957, when its mission became primarily crew training.[2]

In 1956, the wing's three bombardment squadrons – 328th, 329th and 330th began receiving the new B-52D. The following year, they began receiving the B-52E model, while some B-52Bs remained with the 93 BW until well into the 1960s.

On 24 and 25 November 1956, in an operation known as Quick Kick, four B-52Bs of the 93d joined four B-52Cs of the 42d Bombardment Wing for a nonstop flight around the perimeter of North America. Four in-flight refuelings by Boeing KC-97 Stratotankers were required for the 13,500-nautical-mile (25,000 km) journey.[a 2] Less than two months later, in Operation Power Flight, three 93d B-52Bs flew the first non-stop jet around-the-world flight. Taking off on 16 January 1957,[3] they flew via Newfoundland, Casablanca, Dhahran, Ceylon, the Malay Peninsula, Manila and Guam. Upon landing at March Air Force Base, California on 18 January, General Curtis LeMay, SAC Commander, greeted the crews and presented them with the Distinguished Flying Cross. Operation Power Flight was recognized by the National Aeronautical Association as the outstanding flight of 1957 and it awarded the wing the Mackay Trophy.[3]

It was assigned the Boeing KC-135A Stratotanker in January 1957. making it the first SAC bomb wing to receive the new aircraft. In June 1958, the wing received six B-52Fs, making it the first to fly this series of the Stratofortress.[4]

As SAC’s alert commitment grew during the late 1950s and early 1960s, the 93d provided a strong and capable force for deterrence. Cold War tensions reached new heights during this time period with events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

Throughout the height of the Vietnam War (1968–1974) the wing operated a special B-52 aircrew replacement training unit to support SAC’s B-52 operations in Southeast Asia.

The 93d recorded another first on 10 June 1982 when the first all female KC-135 crew, “Fair Force One,” flew a five-hour training sortie.

Finally in August 1990 the 93d found itself back at war. At home its support units operated an aerial port of embarkation for personnel and equipment deploying to Southwest Asia (SWA). Overseas its KC-135s refueled planes and ferried personnel and equipment to the region, while its B-52s bombed the Iraqi Republican Guard and targeted Iraqi infrastructure throughout January and February 1991.

Crew training

When the first B-52s began to be assigned to SAC in 1955, Air Training Command had no school for the aircraft. Because of the need to get the bomber operational as soon as possible, SAC established the 4017th Combat Crew Training Squadron to conduct training on the Stratofortress. As the B-52 force expanded, the mission became too great for a single squadron and the wing's three bombardment squadrons took over the flight training program, while the 4017th conducted ground training and overall administration of the training program.[2] As SAC's involvement in the Vietnam War increased, on 15 April 1968, SAC established a replacement training unit within the 4017th. This unit was established to qualify aircrews flying B-52E, B-52F, B-52G and B-52H bombers to fly the B-52D, which (with its Big Belly modification) was SAC's conventional bomber in Southeast Asia. After two weeks of training, the crews augmented the cadre unit in the Pacific. This training enabled SAC to meet its commitments, while at the same time spreading the burden of deployment more equitably among its entire force of B-52 crews.[5]

Modern era

93d Air Surveillance and Air Control Wing emblem
An E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System from the 93d Air Control Wing flies a refueling mission over the skies of Georgia.

The Air Force underwent major restructuring after the Cold War ended. On 1 September 1991, the 93d lost its air refueling commitment, (924th ARS), and its KC-135 aircrew training missions (329th CCTS). It also implemented the objective wing organization and was redesignated as the 93d Wing.

On 1 June 1992 the 93d was relieved from assignment to SAC and was reassigned to the newly formed Air Combat Command (ACC). It was then redesignated as the 93d Bomb Wing.

Shortly afterwards nationwide base closures (BRAC) targeted Castle AFB. The 322d Bomb Squadron was inactivated 3 May 1994, and the wing was placed on non-operational status. However, the 93d continued to supervise the closure of Castle AFB. It was inactivated on 30 September 1995 with the closure of the base.

This was not the end of the 93d however. Just four months later it was redesignated as the 93d Air Control Wing (93 ACW) and was reactivated at Robins AFB, Georgia on 29 January 1996. It was to be equipped with the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) and it accepted its first production aircraft on 11 June 1996.

From late October through December 1996, the wing deployed to Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany for operations JOINT ENDEAVOR and JOINT GUARD in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It provided “top cover” for United Nations (UN) peacekeeping forces and monitored the warring factions for violations of UN resolutions.

Marking an historic event for the wing, Air Combat Command declared the 93d ACW "Initial Operational Capable" on 18 December 1997.

As tensions mounted between Iraq and the UN in 1998, the 93d deployed an element to SWA to monitor Iraqi military movements. In February 1999 it deployed an aircraft to Europe to support NATO's monitoring of tensions between Serbia and Kosovo. The new wing saw its first combat during operations in Kosovo, playing a major role in the destruction of enemy targets and compiling over 1,000 combat hours.

In November 2001 through April 2002 the wing deployed in response to the 11 September terrorist attacks against the United States in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM.

The 93 ACW inactivated at Robins AFB on 30 September 2002. Its mission and resources became a part of Air Force history on that day as the Georgia Air National Guard’s 116th Bomb Wing (now redesignated the 116th Air Control Wing (116th ACW)) assumed command responsibility for the Joint STARS mission and the first ever “blended wing,” combining active-duty and Air National Guard personnel, aircraft, and facilities under one commander under the newly activated 116th ACW.

93d Air Ground Operations Wing

The 93d Air Ground Operations Wing (93 AGOW) is a non-flying active support wing activated on 25 January 2008. The 93d's mission is to manage and providing combat-ready tactical air control party personnel, battlefield weather, and force protection assets for joint forces commanders. The wing is based at Moody AFB, Georgia.

Lineage

Organized on 15 August 1947
Redesignated 93d Bombardment Wing, Medium on 12 July 1948
Redesignated 93d Bombardment Wing, Heavy on 1 February 1955
Redesignated 93d Wing on 1 September 1991
Redesignated 93d Bomb Wing on 1 June 1992
Inactivated on 30 September 1995
Activated on 29 January 1996
Inactivated on 1 October 2002
Activated on 25 January 2008

Assignments

Attached to 7th Air Division, 6 December 1951 – 6 March 1952
  • 47th Air Division (later 47 Strategic Aerospace Division, 47 Air Division), 1 July 1959
  • Second Air Force, 30 June 1971
  • Fifteenth Air Force, 15 February 1973
  • 14th Air Division, 1 October 1976
  • [[12th Air Division, 1 October 1985 * Fifteenth Air Force]], 15 July 1988
  • Twelfth Air Force, 1 June 1992 – 30 September 1995
  • Ninth Air Force, 29 January 1996 – 1 October 2002
  • Ninth Air Force, 25 January 2008 – present

Components

Groups

Squadrons

Bases

Aircraft

See also

References

Notes

Explanatory Notes

  1. ↑ This aircraft, serial 52-8711 was retired in 1965 and put on display at the Aerospace Museum at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. Knaack, p. 243
  2. ↑ SAC was quick to point out that five to six hours could have been shaved off the flight time, if it had jet KC-135 Stratotankers instead of propellor driven KC-97s to refuel the bombers. Knaack, p. 244.

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 Robertson, Patsy (August 15, 2012). "Factsheet 93 Air Ground Operations Wing (ACC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Knaack, p. 237
  3. 1 2 Knaack, p. 244
  4. ↑ Knaack, p. 266
  5. ↑ Knaack, p. 256

Bibliography

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

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