:
See 354th Operations Group for additional history and lineage information Cold War Italy, 1960 Florida – Attached to 354th TFW at Kunsan AB South Korea – 1 April 1970. In 1980, this aircraft was sold to the Egyptian Air Force. On 19 November 1956, the Air Force redesignated the
342d Fighter Day Wing at
Myrtle Beach Air Force Base,
South Carolina as the 354th Fighter-Day Wing. The 342d Fighter-Day Group's fighter squadrons were redesignated the 353nd, 355th and the 356th Fighter-Day Squadrons. The non-flying support elements of the wing were consolidated into the 354th Air Base Group. The total manpower force of the 354th FDW at the time of its activation was 84 Officers, 3 Warrant Officers and 911 enlisted men. The history, battle honors and colors earned during World War II by the 354th Fighter Group were bestowed on the new Fighter Wing and subordinate groups and squadrons. On activation, the 354th had several
RF-80s and one
B-26 Invader aircraft for training. On 15 March 1957,
F-100D/F "Super Sabre" fighters were transferred to Myrtle Beach AFB from the 31st Fighter-Bomber Wing at
Turner AFB, Georgia. Squadron identification of the 354th's F-100 aircraft could be determined by the tail color of the aircraft. The 353rd was red, the 355th blue and the 356th was green. Each unit also adopted iconic designation; 353rd (red) was designated "Panther" section, the 355th (blue) "Falcon" section, and the 356th (green) "Demon" section. These monikers were incorporated into each unit's (flight, ops, and maintenance units) patches and logos. Those emblems were also emblazoned on each section's planes fuselage (right behind the cockpit, on the A-10A). 25 September 1957, a fourth fighter squadron, the
352 FDS was activated with the 354th FDW from F-100 aircraft drawn from the three existing squadrons. Aircraft of the 352nd had yellow tails. On 8 July 1958, the 354 FDW the wing's name changed to the 354th Tactical Fighter Wing as part of a worldwide USAF naming reorganization. On 1 October 1962, the 354th Air Base Group support element was renamed the 354th Combat Support Group. The 354th was committed to
NATO, and deployed often to Europe with its F-100s. After the
Lebanon Crisis, starting in July 1958,
Tactical Air Command began a rotation of combat squadrons to
Incirlik AB, Turkey and
Aviano AB, Italy in support of NATO alert commitments and Air Force weapons training deployments to the nearby Maniago Range. On 15 July 1958, the 355th TFS made the first deployment of the 354th TFW to Europe, deploying F-100D/Fs to Aviano AB, Italy for 100 days. The 352nd TFS deployed the next day (16 Jul 58) to stand by during a presidential overthrow in Lebanon. On 4 September 1961, eighteen F-100 jets from Myrtle Beach were deployed to
Hahn Air Base in West Germany during the crisis over Soviet construction of the Berlin Wall. NATO deployments were made by all four squadrons on a rotating basis until 1965. A deployment was also made by the 354th TFW to
Elmendorf AFB, Alaska during February–March 1963. During the
Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, elements of all four fighter squadrons were deployed to
McCoy AFB, FL. The 353rd deployed on 8 October; the 352nd, 355th and 356th deployed on 21 October. After the crisis ended, the 352nd, 355th and 356th returned to Myrtle Beach on 1 December, with the 353rd remaining at McCoy AFB until 20 January 1963. During the
Dominican Republic Crisis of April/May 1965, the 354th deployed the 353rd TFS and more than 400 people and 18 F-100s to
Ramey AFB,
Puerto Rico, and San Isidro AB,
Dominican Republic on 2 May. The squadron returned on 28 May. During the late 1970s, the 354th TFW's squadrons were part of a joint U.S. military force (along with Army and Marines) called the Rapid Deployment Force. Conceptually, RDF units could be deployed anywhere in the world within 24 hours or less. As part of the RDF, for a few weeks in late 1979 the 354 TFW's squadrons were placed on "alert" status for possible deployment in connection with the Iran Hostage Crisis, with departure within 12-hours of executive order.
Vietnam War The
Vietnam War drained the 354 TFW at Myrtle Beach, starting in 1965 with its flying squadrons and support personnel being deployed for several years to Spain, Japan, South Korea and
South Vietnam. The 354th's first assignments to Vietnam started in July 1965 with the deployment of a sentry dog unit. This practice of stripping away squadrons and aircraft from their home units and attaching them indefinitely to another wing was a common practice during the 1960s as squadrons (and replacement aircraft) were deployed to support Vietnam. • The 356th Tactical Fighter Squadron was deployed to
Misawa AB, Japan on 16 March 1965. At Misawa, it was attached to the 39th Air Division, whose mission was to support Misawa, Taegu AB and
Kunsan AB in South Korea which all had just been reactivated. • The 353d Tactical Fighter Squadron was deployed and permanently reassigned to the 401st Tactical Fighter Wing at
Torrejon Air Force Base, Spain on 27 April 1966. • The 352d Tactical Fighter Squadron was deployed and permanently reassigned to the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing at
Phan Rang Air Base, South Vietnam on 15 August 1966. • On 3 February 1968 the 355th Tactical Fighter Squadron was deployed to support the 37th Tactical Fighter Wing at
Phu Cat Air Base, South Vietnam on 3 February 1968. After having its fighter squadrons stripped away, the 354 TFW was reassigned on 1 July 1968 to Kunsan Air Base, South Korea. The 354th relieved the temporarily deployed 4th Tactical Fighter Wing. At Kunsan, the 354 TFW was a composite wing, consisting of the following operational fighter squadrons on rotating temporary duty deployments: Initially at Kunsan, the 354th supported two F-100C Air National Guard fighter squadrons which were deployed to replace the Regular Air Force units that had been rushed there in
Operation Combat Fox, the response to the
seizure of USS Pueblo. The 354th Combat Support Group at Kunsan consisted primarily of ANG and Air Force Reservists from other units, with these personnel being assigned to the headquarters, support, supply and maintenance squadrons. In some respects, the Air Guardsmen in South Korea had much more difficult assignments than their counterparts in South Vietnam. With the exception of personnel in the two fighter squadrons, most Air Guardsmen in South Korea were individuals who had been transferred from their original units after mobilization and reassigned to new organizations. This wholesale violation of unit integrity had a severe impact on morale and required time-consuming reorganization. Ironically, the ANG personnel assigned to the 354th at Kunsan had to rebuild the support service units that had been stripped from them in the United States after their mobilization. This caused many public complaints by disgruntled Air Guardsmen. Although these problems were gradually resolved, many Air Guardsmen believed that they could have been avoided if their original units had deployed overseas intact. The performance of the ANG units at Kunsan in 1968 – 69 suggested the prerequisites of effective air reserve programs and paved the way for adoption of the total force policy in 1970 which exists today. On 10 June 1969, the ANG squadrons returned to the United States after the crew of the
Pueblo were released, and for 10 days in South Korea the 354 TFW was again without tactical components. The experience of the F-100's in Korea showed the Air Force that the F-100C was not a good air defense aircraft. The F-100s were aging and clearly unsuited to the most pressing operational responsibilities in the event of an attack by the North Koreans. In addition, the F-100's were slow in attaining altitude and lacked an effective all-weather, air-to-air combat capability, essential in Korea. Consequently, the 354th transitioned from the F-100s of the ANG to F-4E Phantoms deploying from CONUS-based Regular USAF units. On 15 April 1969, a Navy
EC-121 reconnaissance plane was
shot down by North Koreans about southeast of the North Korean port of
Chongjin. U.S. radar tracked two
Korean People's Air Force (KPAF) MiGs before the aircraft was shot down. They attempted to warn the aircraft, but the MiGs caught up with the slow-flying aircraft. All of its 31 crew members were killed. The bodies of only two crew members were recovered. Error was blamed on a North Korean ground-to-air controller's command and control error to the pilot. As a result of the heightened tensions, on 23 April the 421 Tactical Fighter Squadron was established at Kunsan and attached to the 354 TFW. F-4Es from Eglin AFB were deployed to Kunsan and assigned to the 421st, with support personnel from the 4th TFS – deployed from Eglin to
Da Nang Air Base South Vietnam were sent TDY to Kunsan to support the 421st. At the end of tensions on 26 June 1969, the 421 TFS was inactivated at Kunsan, with the aircraft being sent to Da Nang as replacements along with the TDY personnel. On 14 June 1970, the 354 TFW at Kunsan was inactivated with the new
54th Tactical Fighter Wing being activated in place. The 16th and 478th TFSs were transferred and attached to the 54th.
A-7D Corsair II era , 1972 The 354th Tactical Fighter Wing was re-activated and transferred (without personnel or equipment) to Myrtle Beach AFB, SC on 15 June 1970, absorbing the resources of the 4554th TFW at Myrtle Beach AFB, SC. The 354 TFW was charged with combat crew training in T-33s and with becoming proficient in
A-7D aircraft, with the first aircraft arriving in November 1970 On 1 November 1970, the 355 TFS was reactivated and was reassigned to the 354 TFW, being the first Myrtle Beach squadron to be equipped with A-7D's. The 4456th Tactical Fighter Squadron was activated as placeholder unit on 15 January 1971 to receive new A-7D aircraft. On 15 May 1971, the 356 TFS returned from
Misawa AB Japan, and was reassigned to the 354 TFW, absorbing the assets of the 4556th TFS which was inactivated. On 15 July 1971, the 353 TFS returned from
Torrejon AB, Spain, and was reassigned to the 354 TFW, receiving its complement of A-7D's. The 511th TFS was inactivated and redesignated the 354th TFS at
Davis–Monthan AFB, Arizona as part of the 355th TFW's reactivation. Initially, separate
tail codes were assigned to the various squadrons of the wing. These were: 353 TFS "MR", 355 TFS "MB" and 356 TFS "MN". In 1972, the squadron tail codes were abolished and all 354 TFW standardized on "MB" for Myrtle Beach AFB. Squadrons were identified by a painted color stripe on the tail of the aircraft, red for the 353d, blue for the 355th and green for the 356th. On 15 May 1972 the 4554th Tactical Fighter Replacement Squadron was activated as a training squadron. The T-33's and T-29 were assigned for this mission. The 4554th was inactivated on 15 October 1975 and its aircraft sent to the
Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center. However, the 354 TFW did not remain long at Myrtle Beach AFB. In September 1972 the wing split into Rear and Advanced echelons. The 353 and 355 TFSs deployed 72 A-7D's to
Korat Royal Thai AFB, Thailand, while the 356 TFS remained at Myrtle Beach. This was the first combat deployment of the A-7D into
Southeast Asia. This operation was known as Constant Guard VI. The 354 TFW (Advanced) commenced combat operations from Korat on 16 October 1972. In addition to the deployment to Korat, a small number of personnel from the 354th were deployed to
Bien Hoa Air Base South Vietnam where they performed turnaround service on A-7Ds through 11 February 1973. From Korat, the 354th interdicted lines of communications to halt the flow of
North Vietnamese supplies to enemy units in South Vietnam, provided close air support to ground troops, and escorted surface ship convoys up the
Mekong River to
Phnom Penh,
Cambodia. In November 1972, the 354th took over the
Combat Search and Rescue role formerly assigned to the
A-1 "Sandy" aircraft, and during the
Linebacker II campaign assisted in 22 rescues of downed airmen while simultaneously flying over 4,000 combat sorties. The wing earned the
Presidential Unit Citation for its Vietnam war service from September 1972 through January 1973. In March 1973, A-7D aircraft drawn from the deployed Myrtle Beach squadrons were formed into the 3d Tactical Fighter Squadron and permanently assigned to the host 388 TFW at Korat. The 3 TFS's A-7D's were tail coded "JH" and remained at Korat until the base's closure. In May 1975, former Myrtle Beach A-7D's were used in the SS Mayaguez operation, the last combat action of the United States in Southeast Asia. In addition to its Myrtle Beach squadrons, the 354 TFW (Advanced) had the following temporary A-7D squadrons attached while at Korat: The 354 TFW (Advanced) flew combat operations in Vietnam until mid-January 1973, in
Laos until 22 February 1973, and in Cambodia until 15 August 1973. The last shot
fired in anger by United States military forces in Southeast Asia was fired by an A-7D of the deployed 353 TFS assigned to Korat RTAFB on 15 July 1973. In October the wing rotated personnel at Korat once again, but with the establishment of the 3 TFS in Thailand and the end of American combat in Southeast Asia, the mission of the 354th was ended. Some additional aircraft and equipment were transferred to the 388 TFW, and on 23 May 1974 the wing returned from
Thailand and the Advanced and Rear echelons were recombined at Myrtle Beach AFB. On 1 February 1974, the 354th began a 15-month deployment to
Howard AFB in the
Panama Canal Zone to support operation "Coronet Cove". This entailed rotating a contingent of aircraft, aircrews and maintenance technicians to
Panama on 45-day cycles to provide close air support for US Army training exercises for the air defense of the
Panama Canal. In April 1974, A-7D's were deployed from Myrtle Beach to
NAS Barbers Point, Hawaii for exercises with Army and Marine Corps units. Also T-33A aircraft were deployed to
McConnell AFB, Kansas, to support the USAF Tactical Air Weapons Center's comparative flight evaluation of the A-7D and the
A-10A aircraft. A phaseout of the A-7D at Myrtle Beach AFB started in the summer of 1974, with the A-7D's being transferred to
Air National Guard units. These transfers continued until 1978, when the last A-7D was sent to the South Carolina ANG. In addition, the
T-33's and
VT-29 of the inactivated 4554th were retired and sent to
AMARC in 1976. The former Myrtle Beach A-7D's continued service in the Air National Guard until the late 1980s, with the last at
Rickenbacker ANGB (Ohio), Des Moines (Iowa), Tulsa (Oklahoma) and Springfield (Ohio) being replaced by the
F-16 by mid-1993. By the end of 1998, all were disposed of by AMARC.
A-10A Thunderbolt II era On 22 March 1975, an agreement was made for joint civilian-military aviation activities at the base. Construction began of what is today known as
Myrtle Beach International Airport on the northeast side of the runway on 19 July 1975. On 20 April 1977 an agreement between the City of
Myrtle Beach and the
United States Department of Defense was signed which incorporated the area of Myrtle Beach International Airport into the city. The 354th converted to
A-10A aircraft in 1977, with the 354th being the first operational A-10A wing in the USAF, achieving initial combat readiness with the Thunderbolt II during the summer of 1978. With the A-10 aircraft, the 354th returned to its pre-Vietnam era
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) commitment, deploying aircraft and personnel to Europe supporting the COMET, CORONET and CRESTED CAP exercises. These deployments were designed to exercise CONUS-based Air Force squadrons on long-range deployment capabilities and to familiarize the personnel with the European theater of operations. During these NATO deployments, exercises with
Army infantry and
armored units were conducted to enhance the
Close Air Support role in Europe.
Desert Shield/Storm In 1980, the 354th was allocated to President
Jimmy Carter's
Rapid Deployment Force, formally known as the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force (RDJTF). In 1983 the RDJTF became a separate unified command known as the
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), focusing on the Middle East. Within CENTCOM, The 354th was assigned to the
United States Central Command Air Forces (USCENTAF). Starting in 1985, the 354th's A-10 aircraft and personnel were deployed to Cairo West AB, Egypt for BRIGHT STAR exercises. BRIGHT STAR deployments also occurred in 1987 and 1989 from Myrtle Beach AFB. With the outbreak of the
Kuwait crisis in August 1990, Myrtle Beach AFB deployed the 353 and 355 TFS on 15 August 1990 to
King Fahd International Airport, near
Dammam,
Saudi Arabia. At the time of the deployment, King Fhad was under construction. At King Fahd, the 354 TFW (Provisional) was formed. The 354 TFW was one of the first USAF units deployed to the
Persian Gulf for
Operation Desert Shield. During
Operation Desert Storm, aircraft assigned to the 354th initially flew against early-warning
radar and
Scud missile sites, as well as
search-and-rescue missions of downed coalition pilots. When the ground attack began in late February 1991, the 354th performed its ground support mission, inflicting heavy damage to Iraqi
armor and
artillery emplacements, as well as cutting off enemy supply lines. The 354 TFW (P) consisted of 131 A/OA-10A aircraft from the following bases: The 354th returned home from the Gulf on 25 March 1991 On 1 October 1991, the 354 TFW was redesignated the 354th Fighter Wing with the inactivation of
Tactical Air Command (TAC) and the wing's reassignment to the new
Air Combat Command (ACC).
Inactivation After the end of the
Cold War, reductions in defense spending led to the military reducing the size of the armed forces, and the number of facilities both in the United States as well as overseas. In July 1991, the
Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended the closure of Myrtle Beach Air Force Base and that the Air Force redistribute all aircraft to modernize other Active and Reserve Component units. The disposition of the A-10 aircraft was as follows: • 31 March 1992 – 355th Fighter Squadron inactivated. Aircraft sent to 21 TFS / 353 TFW
Shaw Air Force Base,
South Carolina. • 30 June 1992 – 356th Fighter Squadron inactivated. Aircraft sent to existing A-10
Air National Guard units. • 15 December 1992 – 353d Fighter Squadron inactivated. Aircraft sent to 75 FS / 23d Wing
Pope Air Force Base,
North Carolina. The 354th Fighter Wing and all supporting groups and squadrons were inactivated on 31 March 1993. Myrtle Beach AFB was closed as scheduled, ending military control over the facility.
Reactivation in Alaska On 20 August 1993, the 354th Fighter Wing was re-established at
Eielson AFB, Alaska, with a new mission and organization. No personnel or equipment were affected by the change. This change was part of a service-wide effort to preserve the lineage of the Air Force's most honored wings. The 353d and 355th Fighter Squadrons were also reactivated at Eielson. From 2000 to present, the wing trained for the defense of northwestern North America and for contingency operations worldwide. On 15 August 2007, as a result of
2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission action, the 354 FW was realigned to become strictly an
F-16-equipped organization. The wing's
355th Fighter Squadron (355 FS) was inactivated and all 355 FS
A-10 aircraft were redistributed to other A-10 units. The 18th Fighter Squadron was redesignated as the
18th Aggressor Squadron (18 AS) and remains equipped with the
F-16. New F-35s began arriving for the wing in April 2020.
Lineage , first wing commander, 354 FDW/TFW, Myrtle Beach AFB • Established as
354th Fighter-Day Wing on 26 September 1956 : Activated on 19 November 1956 replacing the
342d Fighter Day Wing* : Redesignated:
354th Tactical Fighter Wing on 1 July 1958 : Redesignated:
354th Fighter Wing on 1 October 1991 : Inactivated on 31 March 1993 • Activated on 20 August 1993.
Assignments •
Ninth Air Force, 19 November 1956 •
Twelfth Air Force, 1 July 1960 •
Ninth Air Force, l January 1962 •
833d Air Division, 1 October 1964 •
Fifth Air Force, 5 July 1968 : Attached to:
4th Tactical Fighter Wing, 5–24 July 1968 : Attached to: Detachment 1, HQ Fifth Air Force [Fifth Air Force ADVON], 25 July 1968 – 14 June 1970 •
Ninth Air Force, 15 June 1970 – 31 March 1993 : Attached to: (as HQ 354 TFW (Advanced))
Pacific Air Forces Thirteenth Air Force :: Further attached for control to
Seventh Air Force, 14 October 1972 – 18 May 1974. : Attached to: (as HQ 354 TFW (Provisional))
United States Central Command Air Forces, 15 August 1990 – 25 March 1991 •
Eleventh Air Force, 20 August 1993 – present
Components Groups •
354th Fighter-Day (later, 354th Operations): 19 November 1956 – 25 September 1957; 20 August 1993 – present •
455th Fighter-Day: attached 19 November 1956 – 1 July 1957.
Assigned Squadrons •
18th Fighter (later, 18th Aggressor): 20 August 1993 – present • 20th Helicopter: 16 July 1959 – 8 March 1960 • 127th Tactical Fighter: 5 July 1968 – 10 June 1969 •
166th Tactical Fighter: 5 July 1968 – 10 June 1969 •
352d Fighter-Day (later, 352d Tactical Fighter): 25 September 1957 – 15 August 1966 •
353d Fighter (later, 353d Fighter-Day; 353d Tactical Fighter; 353d Fighter; 353d Combat Training) : 15 November 1942 – 31 March 1946; 25 September 1957 – 27 April 1966; 15 July 1971 – 15 December 1992; 20 August 1993 – 4 September 2003; 1 October 2006 – present •
355th Fighter (later, 355th Fighter-Day; 355th Tactical Fighter; 355th Fighter) : 15 November 1942 – 31 March 1946; 25 September 1957 – 22 April 1968; 1 November 1970 – 31 March 1992; 20 August 1993 – 15 August 2007 •
356th Fighter (later, 356th Fighter-Day; 356th Tactical Fighter): 15 November 1942 – 31 March 1946; 25 September 1957 – 29 November 1965; 15 May 1971 – 30 June 1992 • 511th Tactical Fighter: 15 June 1970 – 15 July 1971. • 4430th Combat Crew Training: 15 June 1970 – 31 July 1972 • 4456th Tactical Fighter: 15 January – 15 May 1971 • 4554th Tactical Fighter Replacement: 15 May 1972 – 15 October 1975.
Stations assigned •
Myrtle Beach Air Force Base,
South Carolina (November 1956 – July 1968) : Major Deployments: :: Adana AB,
Turkey, 15 July – 26 October 1958 (
Lebanon Crisis, "Operation Double Trouble") ::
Aviano AB, Italy, 19 May – 17 September 1959; 10 September 1960 – 16 January 1961; 7 July – 14 October 1962; 15 June – 28 August 1964 and 2 July – 25 September 1965 ::
Hahn AB, West Germany, 5 September – 19 November 1961 (
Berlin Crisis) ::
McCoy AFB,
Florida, 21 October – 1 December 1962 (
Cuban Missile Crisis) :: Palam Afld, New Delhi, India, 7 – 18 May 1963 ::
Dhahran Airfield,
Saudi Arabia, 15 September – 16 December 1963 ::
Incirlik AB,
Turkey, 3 July – 17 September 1963; 4 December 1965 – 23 April 1966 :: Orland, Norway, 8–15 June 1964 :: San Isidro AB,
Dominican Republic, 2–28 May 1965 (
Dominican Crisis) ::
Ramey AFB,
Puerto Rico, 2–28 May 1965 (
Dominican Crisis) : Non-Operational, 22 April – 2 July 1968 •
Kunsan AB, South Korea, (2 July 1968 – 14 June 1970) •
Myrtle Beach AFB,
South Carolina (14 June 1970 – 31 March 1993) :: HQ 354 TFW (Advanced),
Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base,
Thailand, 14 October 1972 – 18 May 1974 :: HQ 354 TFW (Provisional),
King Fahd International Airport,
Saudi Arabia, 15 August 1990 – 25 March 1991 •
Eielson AFB, Alaska (20 August 1993 – present)
Major aircraft flown •
RF-80 Shooting Star, 1956 •
F-100 Super Sabre (1956–1969) •
F-4 Phantom II (1969–1970) •
A-7 Corsair II (1970–1978) •
A-10 Thunderbolt II (1977–2007) •
F-16 Fighting Falcon (1993 – present) •
F-35A Lightning II (2020 - present) ==Notes==