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For additional history and lineage, see 93d Operations Group Strategic Air Command: B-29s, B-50s, and B-47s On 28 July 1947, the
93d Bombardment Wing, (Very Heavy) was established and maintained combat readiness for global strategic bombardment, flying the
Boeing B-29 Superfortress. The wing was later redesignated as the
93d Bombardment Wing (Medium) as it was not chosen to be reequipped with the
Convair B-36 Peacemaker, but remained with the B-29. In 1949, the wing received its first
B-50 Superfortress aircraft, an improved version of the B-29. It began operations overseas with the deployment of its tactical force to
RAF Mildenhall, England (July 1950 – January 1951) in response to
communist aggression on the Korean peninsula. Meanwhile, the
93d Air Refueling Squadron was activated on 1 March 1949, equipped with the KB-29P (a B-29 bomber modified with a refueling boom). The wing continued to move forward throughout the 1950s, replacing the propeller-driven B-50s with new
B-47E Stratojet swept-wing medium bombers in 1954, capable of flying at high subsonic speeds and primarily designed for penetrating the airspace of the
Soviet Union. It flew numerous training missions and participated in various SAC exercises and deployments with the Stratojet
Strategic Air Command: B-52s SAC assigned its first
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress to the wing in June 1955. The wing was redesignated the
93d Bombardment Wing, Heavy on 1 February 1955 in anticipation of the arrival of the B-52. Less than two months later, in Operation Power Flight, three 93d B-52Bs flew the first non-stop jet around-the-world flight. Taking off on 16 January 1957, they flew via
Newfoundland,
Casablanca,
Dhahran,
Ceylon, the Malay Peninsula,
Manila and
Guam. Upon landing at
March Air Force Base, California on 18 January,
General Curtis LeMay, SAC Commander, greeted the crews and presented them with the
Distinguished Flying Cross. Operation Power Flight was recognized by the
National Aeronautical Association as the outstanding flight of 1957 and it awarded the wing the
Mackay Trophy. Throughout the height of the
Vietnam War (1968–1974) the wing operated a special B-52 aircrew replacement training unit to support SAC's B-52 operations in
Southeast Asia. The wing recorded another first on 10 June 1982 when the first all female KC-135 crew, "Fair Force One", flew a five-hour training sortie. Finally in August 1990 the wing found itself back at war. At home its support units operated an aerial port of embarkation for personnel and equipment deploying to
Saudi Arabia for
Operation Desert Shield. Overseas, its KC-135s refueled planes and ferried personnel and equipment to the region, while its B-52s bombed the Iraqi Republican Guard and targeted Iraqi infrastructure throughout January and February 1991. The Air Force underwent major restructuring after the Cold War ended. On 1 September 1991, the 93d lost its air refueling commitment, (924th ARS), and its KC-135 aircrew training missions (329th CCTS). It also implemented the objective wing organization and was redesignated as the
93d Wing. On 1 June 1992 the 93d was relieved from assignment to SAC and was reassigned to the newly formed
Air Combat Command (ACC). It was then redesignated as the
93d Bomb Wing. Shortly afterwards it was announced that Castle AFB would close, under the
Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) process. The 322d Bomb Squadron was inactivated 3 May 1994, and the wing became non-operational. The wing however continued to supervise the closure of Castle AFB, and was inactivated on 30 September 1995 with the closure of the base.
Strategic Air Command: B-52 crew training When the first B-52s began to be assigned to SAC in 1955,
Air Training Command had no school for the aircraft. Because of the need to get the bomber operational as soon as possible, SAC established the 4017th Combat Crew Training Squadron to conduct training on the Stratofortress. As the B-52 force expanded, the mission became too great for a single squadron and the wing's three bombardment squadrons took over the flight training program, while the 4017th conducted ground training and overall administration of the training program.
Joint STARS from 1996 While The 93d Wing had been inactivated in September 1995, the wing's history was too valuable, and Air Force leadership decided that it would rise in another guise. Just four months later it was redesignated as the
93d Air Control Wing (93 ACW), and was reactivated at
Robins AFB, Georgia, on 29 January 1996. It was to be equipped with the
Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint STARS (Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System), and it accepted its first production aircraft on 11 June 1996. From late October through December 1996, the wing deployed to
Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany for
Operation Joint Endeavor and
Operation Joint Guard, both in
Bosnia and Herzegovina. It provided "top cover" for United Nations (UN) peacekeeping forces and monitored the warring factions for violations of UN resolutions. This deployment actually occurred before the wing had been declared as "Initial Operational Capable" by Air Combat Command, which took place on 18 December 1997. As U.S. pressure on Iraq heightened in 1998, the 93d deployed an element to the Middle East to monitor Iraqi military movements. In February 1999 it deployed an aircraft to Europe to support NATO's monitoring of tensions between
Serbia and
Kosovo. The new wing saw its first combat during
Operation Allied Force over Kosovo and Serbia, playing a major role in the destruction of enemy targets and compiling over 1,000 combat hours. From November 2001 to April 2002, the wing deployed as part of
Operation Enduring Freedom after the
11 September terrorist attacks on the United States. The wing inactivated at
Robins AFB on 30 September 2002. Its mission and resources became a part of Air Force history on that day as the Georgia
Air National Guard's 116th Bomb Wing (now redesignated the
116th Air Control Wing (116th ACW)) assumed command responsibility for the Joint STARS mission and the first ever "blended wing", combining active-duty and Air National Guard personnel, aircraft, and facilities under one commander under the newly activated 116th ACW.
93d Air Ground Operations Wing The
93d Air Ground Operations Wing (93 AGOW) is a non-flying active support wing activated on 25 January 2008. The 93d's mission is to manage and providing combat-ready tactical air control party personnel,
battlefield weather, and force protection assets for joint forces commanders. The wing is based at
Moody AFB, Georgia. ==Lineage==