This is a list of wings in the United States Air Force , focusing on AFCON wings. Air Force active duty and civilian personnel strength now must be at 1,000 or more for wings.
This page currently focuses on one of the two historical categories of USAF wings: "AFCON" (Headquarters (US) Air Force CONtrolled) units or "permanent" units, which during the Cold War period were readily distinguished by having one, two or three digit designations, such as the 1st Fighter Wing, 60th Military Airlift Wing, 355th Fighter Wing, and could go through a series of inactivations and activations and still retain their lineage.
There were also MAJCOM (major air command controlled) wings, such as the Strategic Wings of the 50s and 60s, which, under the USAF organization and lineage system, are four-digit units, for example, the 4137th Strategic Wing, and whose lineage (histories, awards, and battle honors) ended with their discontinuance and could never be revived. MAJCOM wings are fundamentally "temporary", though many stayed in existence for a very long time, and then were revived with a different name but the same number. But under the USAF lineage system they cannot carry on the histories of the previous unit.
When the B-52 dispersal began in the fifties, the new Strategic Air Command units created to support this program were MAJCOM wings and given four-digit designations. Headquarters SAC was well aware of the historical significance of records and accomplishments of the strategic wings and the need to perpetuate this lineage as well as the lineage of many illustrious units that were no longer active.
In order to retain the lineage of the combat units and to perpetuate the lineage of many currently inactive units with illustrious World War II records, Headquarters SAC received authority from Headquarters USAF to discontinue its strategic wings that were equipped with combat aircraft and to activated AFCON units, most of which were inactive at the time.
The reorganization process, which took place from January to September 1963, was applied to 22 B-52 strategic wings, three air-refueling wings, and the 4321st Strategic Wing at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. "These units were discontinued and two and three-digit AFCON units were activated. In most cases, the bombardment squadron that had been assigned to the strategic wings were inactivated and bombardment squadrons that had previously been assigned to the newly-activated wings were activated. While these actions were almost tantamount to redesignation, they were not official redesignation. Therefore, the records, awards and achievements of the strategic wing could not be inherited by the bomb wings." [1]
During the Gulf War of 1990–91 MAJCOM wings, such as the 7440th Composite Wing (Provisional) at Incirlik AB, Turkey, served alongside Provisional Wings such as the 801st Bomb Wing (Provisional) at Morón Air Base, Spain, and other AFCON wings.
In the 1990s MAJCOM wings were mostly inactivated and replaced with AFCON wings. Perhaps the most well known example was the 4404th Wing in Saudi Arabia which was replaced by a three-digit AFCON wing, the 363rd Air Expeditionary Wing. It is not clear whether any MAJCOM wings still exist, or whether the system is still in use.
Kincheloe Air Force Base was a United States Air Force (USAF) base during the Cold War. Built in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in 1943 during World War II, the base was in service until 1977.
The 376th Air Expeditionary Wing is an inactive wing of the United States Air Force. It was last stationed at the Transit Center at Manas International Airport, Kyrgyz Republic, supporting U.S. and ISAF operations in Afghanistan.
The 499th Air Refueling Wing is an inactive United States Air Force (USAF) unit that was last active at Westover AFB, Massachusetts in June 1966.
The 497th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to Pacific Air Forces to activate or inactivate as needed.
The 320th Air Expeditionary Wing is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force District of Washington. It is stationed at Bolling AFB, District of Columbia. The 320 AEW may be activated or inactivated at any time.
The 484th Air Expeditionary Wing is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Combat Command. It may be activated or inactivated at any time. It was activated and attached to United States Air Forces Central for the invasion of Iraq in 2003. It was headquartered at Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia.
The 500th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force unit. Its last known assignment was at Christchurch, New Zealand, where it was activated for the summer 2005–2006 season.
The 462d Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional unit of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to Air Mobility Command to activate or inactivate as needed to meet operational requirements. Its last assignment was at Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory.
The 397th Bombardment Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit, last assigned to the 45th Air Division of Strategic Air Command at Dow Air Force Base, Maine, where it was inactivated on 25 April 1968.
The 454th Bombardment Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 42d Air Division of Strategic Air Command (SAC) at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi. It was inactivated on 25 July 1969.
The 465th Bombardment Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 57th Air Division of Strategic Air Command at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, where it was inactivated on 21 July 1968.
The 494th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force group assigned to Air Mobility Command (AMC) to activate or inactivate as needed. The group was activated in the events surrounding Operation Iraqi Freedom, the 2003 United States invasion of Iraq. Now-Lieutenant General Stayce D. Harris is listed by the USAF as commanding the 494th AEG at Moron Air Base, Spain, from July to October 2003. In addition, a patch published at USAF Patches.com implies that the group was active in Spain during "Iraqi Freedom."
The 820th Strategic Aerospace Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Strategic Air Command (SAC)'s Eighth Air Force at Plattsburgh Air Force Base, New York, where it was inactivated on 25 June 1965.
The 818th Strategic Aerospace Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Strategic Air Command at Lincoln Air Force Base, Nebraska, where it was inactivated on 25 March 1965.
The 385th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Mobility Command to activate or inactivate as needed. It was last known to be stationed at Incirlik AB, Turkey. It is currently a tenant unit of the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar.
The 781st Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was to the 465th Bombardment Wing, stationed at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It was inactivated on 25 July 1968.
The 307th Bomb Wing is an Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the Tenth Air Force of Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. If mobilized, the wing is gained by Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC).
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