Tactical Air Command Prompted by experience in the
Korean War, the Air Force decided to increase its
air support and
air interdiction capabilities to support ground forces. As part of this increase, it organized the
461st Bombardment Wing at
Hill Air Force Base, Utah, in December 1953. The wing was intended to be a
Martin B-57 Canberra unit, but these aircraft were not available, so it was initially equipped with
Douglas B-26 Invaders. The wing trained in
light bomber operations and participated in exercises, including simulated deployments. On 5 January 1955 the wing received its first B-57B, and was fully equipped by the end of the year. However, Hill's parking and hangar space was inadequate for the B-57s and even as they began to arrive, the unit anticipated a move to
Blytheville Air Force Base, Arkansas, which was being developed by the
Corps of Engineers for reopening in 1955. The wing's first operational squadron moved from Hill to Blytheville in October 1955. Its last squadron was in place on 1 March 1956, and it was joined by wing
headquarters and support units in April. The conversion to the Canberra brought a number of changes. The new aircraft was subject to several periods of grounding (the wing suffered four major accidents while converting to the Canberra), and faced shortfalls in the number of aircrew available. The wing's mission also underwent changes, with the delivery of tactical nuclear weapons taking priority over conventional weapons delivery, although conventional weapons remained as a secondary mission. The wing's operational squadrons and group inactivated in January 1958 as
Tactical Air Command, under budget pressures, prepared to transfer Blytheville to
Strategic Air Command (SAC). Wing headquarters and support elements inactivated on 1 April 1958, turning the base over to SAC's 4229th Air Base Squadron. as part of SAC's plan to disperse its
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress heavy bombers over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for the
Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike. The wing initially comprised three maintenance squadrons and a squadron to provide security for special weapons. On 1 July, the 58th Aviation Depot Squadron was activated to oversee the wing's special weapons and the wing was transferred to the
810th Air Division. The wing became operational on 1 February 1960 when the
718th Bombardment Squadron, consisting of 15 B-52s moved to Amarillo from
Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota where it had been one of the three squadrons of the
28th Bombardment Wing. One third of the wing's aircraft were maintained on fifteen-minute
alert, fully fueled, armed, and ready for combat. In 1962, this was increased to half the wing's aircraft. The 4128th (and later the 461st) continued to maintain an alert commitment until inactivated, except for periods when the wing's aircraft were deployed. On 1 July 1962 the 4128th Wing was reassigned to the
22d Air Division. Soon after detection of Soviet missiles in Cuba, On 20 October 1962, the 4128th Wing was directed to put two additional bombers on alert. Two days later 1/8 of SAC's B-52s were placed on airborne alert. On 24 October SAC went to
DEFCON 2, placing all its combat aircraft on alert. On 21 November tensions from the
Cuban Missile Crisis had eased, and SAC returned to normal airborne alert posture. Meanshile, because SAC Strategic Wings could not carry a permanent history or lineage SAC looked for a way to make its Strategic Wings permanent.
461st Bombardment Wing In 1962, in order to perpetuate the lineage of many currently inactive bombardment units with illustrious
World War II records, Headquarters SAC received authority from Headquarters USAF to discontinue its
Major Command controlled (MAJCON) strategic wings that were equipped with combat aircraft and to activate Air Force controlled (AFCON) units, most of which were inactive at the time, but which could carry a lineage and history. The wing trained with B-52s, maintained heavy bombardment proficiency and participated in numerous operational readiness inspections and
military exercises. In addition, in January 1968, announcement was made that Amarillo would close at the end of the year. The wing's last operational B-52 was transferred to another unit on 21 January 1968, and the wing inactivated on 25 March.
Air Combat Command The
116th Air Control Wing of the
Georgia Air National Guard operated as a composite
E-8 Joint STARS ground surveillance and battle management unit, with both Guardsmen and regulars assigned to the same unit. Joint STARS detected, located, classified, tracked and targeted ground movements on the battlefield, communicating real-time information through secure data links. But the composite Guard/regular arrangement proved to be problematic in areas such as
military justice jurisdiction, and in other areas. The Air Force separated the regular and guard units in 2011. The wing was redesignated as the
461st Air Control Wing and activated in October 2011 when the regular Air Force assumed associate responsibility to the 116th Air Control Wing for the JSTARS mission. Until the aircraft was retired in 2023, the 461st Air Control Wing was the only active duty Air Force
wing operating the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS). ==Lineage==