64th Air Refueling Squadron | |
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Active | 1942–1946; 1947–1953; 1953–1997; 2003-2008; 2009–present |
Country | United States |
Branch | United States Air Force |
Role | Air refueling |
Part of | Air Mobility Command |
Engagements | World War II Battle of New Georgia Battle of Vella Lavella Battle of Bougainville Southwest Pacific Theater Korean War [1] Vietnam War |
Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Navy Unit Commendation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Philippine Presidential Unit Citation Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm [1] |
Commanders | |
Current commander | Lt. Col. Kevin Eley [2] |
Insignia | |
64th Air Refueling Squadron emblem (approved 28 June 1994) [1] | |
64th Troop Carrier Squadron emblem (approved 16 June 1943) [3] |
The 64th Air Refueling Squadron is a United States Air Force air-refueling squadron assigned to the 22d Operations Group at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas. As part of the Air Force's Total Force Initiative, the 64th is stationed at Pease Air National Guard Base, New Hampshire, where it is operationally controlled by the 157th Air Refueling Wing of the New Hampshire Air National Guard. The 64th is equipped with the KC-46 Pegasus.
The 64th was first constituted during World War II, providing transportation and evacuation in the Pacific Theater. From 1953 through 1997, the 64th provided airlift services, including during the Vietnam War. [4] Repurposed as a refueling squadron in 2002, the 64th was active in the Air Force Reserve from 2003 until 2007, and then reactivated in October 2009.
The squadron is part of the Total Force Initiative: [5]
This section needs additional citations for verification .(March 2019) |
The 64th flew aerial transportation and evacuation in the South and Southwest Pacific from 7 August 1943 until c. 14 August 1945. The squadron received a Navy Unit Commendation for its service at part of the South Pacific Combat Air Transport Command (SCAT) from August 1943 to July 1944. [6]
The 64th flew aerial transportation and evacuation between Japan and Korea from 19 May through 31 December 1952.
In 1957, the squadron moved on paper from Portland International Airport to Niagara Falls Municipal Airport, where is assumed the mission, personnel, and equipment of the 700th Troop Carrier Squadron. [7] The squadron trained and provided airlift services from, January 1953 to March 1997, including airlift to Vietnam during the late 1960s and to Southwest Asia in 1990–1991. It participated in various training exercises and airlift missions worldwide until inactivation on 31 March 1997. [1]
Redesignated as the 64th Air Refueling Squadron on 22 November 2002, the 64th was active in the Air Force Reserve from 1 April 2003 until 23 June 2007. During this time, it was part of the 939th Operations Group based at Portland Air Reserve Station in Oregon.
The 64th Air Refueling Squadron was activated at Pease Air National Guard Base, New Hampshire, on 2 October 2009 as part of the 22d Air Refueling Wing. It is part of the Total Force Initiative and works with the 157th Air Refueling Wing, New Hampshire Air National Guard. This was the first time that an active duty Air Force unit returned to Pease since the base was closed in 1991. On 9 January 2013, the Air Force announced that Pease would be in the running to host the first Boeing KC-46 Pegasus tankers as they entered service. In August 2014, Air Force leaders announced that the 157th would become the first Air National Guard unit to equip with the KC-46A. The Pegasus was scheduled to enter the Air Force inventory during fiscal year 2019; [8] the first KC-46A arrived at Pease on 8 August 2019. [9] The 12th and final KC-46A was delivered on 5 February 2021. [10]
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This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
Pease Air National Guard Base is a New Hampshire Air National Guard base located at Portsmouth International Airport at Pease in New Hampshire. It occupies a portion of what was once Pease Air Force Base, a former Strategic Air Command facility with a base-related population of 10,000 and which was home to the 509th Bomb Wing flying the General Dynamics FB-111A. Pease AFB was closed pursuant to 1991 Base Realignment and Closure Commission action, with the 509 BW transferring to Whiteman AFB, Missouri. In 1983, investigations had shown soil and water contamination with degreasers and JP-4 jet fuel, and in 1990 the base was put on the National Priorities List of superfund sites. As of 2015, after 25 years of the Pease Development Authority's work, Pease International Tradeport has 275 businesses employing close to 10,000 civilian workers.
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