 | The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(October 2015) |
For military personnel, a tour of duty is usually a period of time spent in combat or in a hostile environment. In an army, for instance, soldiers on active duty serve 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the length of their service commitment. Soldiers in World War II were deployed for the entire war and could be in active service for 4–5 years. [1]
In World War II, Royal Air Force doctors had started to notice symptoms of battle fatigue in their pilots. Before 1942, there was no official limit for an operational tour. Some pilots had been flying over 200 missions with only a short break. The Senior Medical Officer of the RAF station Biggin Hill intervened, after learning that a flight sergeant had flown 200 missions over two years. A tour system was then adopted; the length of it varied, depending on the period, theatre, and operational requirements of the time. [2] In Western Europe, it was set at 200 hours operational flying. In 1944 in South East Asia, the day fighter pilot's tour was 300 hours or 12 months. In Bomber Command, the tour length was exceptionally based on the number of successful combat sorties (missions). The first tour was 30 sorties, and the second was 20 sorties. In Coastal Command, the maximum length of a tour depended on tasks and varied from 200 hours for fighter and strike squadrons to 800 hours for flying boats and four-engine land-plane crews. [2]
The tour of duty for B-52 crewmen is four to six months. [3]
During WWII in the USAAF bomber command, a tour of duty was 25 missions, and the first bomber B-17 crew to achieve this is that of the Memphis Belle. [4] The first B-24 crew to achieve this was Hot Stuff, but they ended up flying five more missions before returning to the USA to sell war bonds. [4]
In navies, a tour of duty is a period of time spent performing operational duties at sea, including combat, performing patrol or fleet duties, or assigned to service in a foreign country; a tour of duty is part of a rotation, where the ship may spend a six-month tour of duty, then spend one month in home port for maintenance, then a period of time on exercises, then return to her tour of duty.[ citation needed ] In 2018, most overseas tours for military personnel in the US Navy have been capped at two or three years. For US Navy sailors assigned to Japan, tour lengths might increase to four years. [5] This would also include tours to Guam and Spain. Sailors extending their tours by at least 12 months will receive preferential consideration for announced billets. [6]
In the Royal Navy (UK), operational tours last approximately nine months, although with the Royal Navy Reserves, the duration is only six months. [7] A junior doctor may be on board a ship for a seven-month stint. [8]
A general tour of duty for soldiers comprises service that can last from half a year to four years. Generally, duties that last longer than two years are eligible to receive medals of merit related to their service. Tours of duty can also be extended involuntarily for service members, such as in September 2006, when the tour of duty was extended for 4,000 US military personnel in Iraq. [9] They were increased up to 15 months for tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. [10] As of 2018, typical tours are 6-9 or even 12 months' deployment depending upon the needs of the military and branch of service. Soldiers are eligible for two weeks of leave after six months of deployment. [1]
In the UK, tours of duty are usually 6 months. [11] In 2014, British Army tours in Afghanistan were extended to 8 months. [12] Army doctors accompany their regiments on tours of duty for up to six months every two to three years. [8]
The Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System is a retired United States Air Force (USAF) airborne ground surveillance, battle management and command and control aircraft. It tracked ground vehicles and some aircraft, collects imagery, and relayed tactical pictures to ground and air theater commanders. The aircraft was operated by both active duty USAF and Air National Guard units and also carried specially trained U.S. Army personnel as additional flight crew until its retirement in 2023.
The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.
A Sea Service Ribbon is an award of the United States Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Army, and the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps which recognizes those service members who have performed military duty while stationed on a United States Navy, Coast Guard, Army, or NOAA vessel at sea and/or members of the Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard who have been forward-deployed with their home unit.
Barksdale Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, in northwest Louisiana. Much of the base is within the city limits of Bossier City, Louisiana, along the base's western and northwestern edge. Barksdale AFB occupies more than 22,000 acres (89 km2) east of Bossier City and along the southern edge of Interstate 20. More than 15,000 active-duty and Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) members serve at Barksdale.
Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth includes Carswell Field, a military airbase located 5 nautical miles west of the central business district of Fort Worth, in Tarrant County, Texas, United States. This military airfield is operated by the United States Navy Reserve. It is located in the cities of Fort Worth, Westworth Village, and White Settlement in the western part of the Fort Worth urban area.
The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Selected Reserve (SELRES), the Training and Administration of the Reserve (TAR), the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), or the Retired Reserve.
The 123rd Airlift Wing is a unit of the Kentucky Air National Guard, stationed at Louisville International Airport, Kentucky. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command.
The 134th Air Refueling Wing is a unit of the Tennessee Air National Guard, stationed at McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, Knoxville, Tennessee. If activated for federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command. The 134th Air Refueling Wing's KC-135 mission is to provide air refueling and airlift, as directed by the Secretary of Defense. It has been stationed at McGhee Tyson Airport since December 1957, though the ANG facility at the airport has been redesignated several times. Their radio callsign is "Soda".
The 146th Airlift Wing is a unit of the California Air National Guard, stationed at Channel Islands Air National Guard Station, Oxnard, California. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command.
The 157th Air Refueling Wing is a unit of the New Hampshire Air National Guard, stationed at Pease Air National Guard Base, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command.
The 171st Air Refueling Wing is a unit of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, located at Pittsburgh International Airport in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command.
The 165th Airlift Squadron is a unit of the Kentucky Air National Guard 123d Airlift Wing located at Louisville Air National Guard Base, Kentucky. The 165th is equipped with the C-130J Super Hercules.
The 115th Airlift Squadron is a unit of the California Air National Guard 146th Airlift Wing located at Channel Islands Air National Guard Station, Oxnard, California. The 115th is equipped with the C-130J Hercules.
The 183rd Airlift Squadron is a unit of the 172nd Airlift Wing of the Mississippi Air National Guard, stationed at Allen C. Thompson Field Air National Guard Base, Mississippi. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command.
The VP-26 Tridents are a United States Navy aircraft squadron based at Naval Air Station Jacksonville in Florida. The squadron flies Boeing P-8A patrol aircraft. It was established as Bombing Squadron 114 (VB-114) on 26 August 1943 and renamed Patrol Bombing Squadron 114 (VPB-114) on 1 October 1944; Patrol Squadron 114 (VP-114) on 15 May 1946; Heavy Patrol Squadron (Landplane) 6 (VP-HL-6) on 15 November 1946, and Patrol Squadron 26 (VP-26) on 1 September 1948. The Tridents are the third squadron to be designated VP-26; the first VP-26 was renamed VP-102 on 16 December 1940, and the second VP-26 was renamed VP-14 on 1 July 1941.
The 133rd Air Refueling Squadron is a unit of the New Hampshire Air National Guard 157th Air Refueling Wing located at Pease Air National Guard Base, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States. The 133rd, which previously operated the KC-135 Stratotanker, received its first KC-46A Pegasus tanker on 8 August 2019.
The 162nd Attack Squadron is a unit of the Ohio Air National Guard 178th Wing located at Springfield Air National Guard Base, Springfield, Ohio. The 162nd is equipped with the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper UAV.
The 421st Fighter Squadron is part of the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. It operates the Lockheed Martin F-35A aircraft conducting air superiority missions. The squadron is one of the most decorated fighter squadrons in the United States Air Force, being awarded three Presidential Unit Citations and seven Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards for Valor in Combat.
Patrol Squadron 47 (VP-47), also known as "The Golden Swordsmen", is a maritime patrol squadron of the United States Navy based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington (USA), attached to Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 10. The squadron currently flies the Boeing P-8A Poseidon.
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).