| 836th Air Division | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 1957–1961; 1962–1971; 1981–1992 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Command of tactical forces |
| Mottos | Ubique Semper (Latin for 'Always and Everywhere') |
| Decorations | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | GenRonald R. Fogleman Lt GenKenneth L. Tallman[b] |
| Insignia | |
| 836th Air Division emblem[c][1] |  |
| Patch with original 836th Air Division emblem[d][1] |  |
The836th Air Division is an inactiveUnited States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was withTactical Air Command (TAC) atDavis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, where it was inactivated on 1 May 1992. The division had been activated at Davis-Monthan in January 1981 to replace Tactical Training, Davis-Monthan. Its primary mission was training forFairchild A-10 Thunderbolt II andBGM-109G Gryphon crews. The 602d Tactical Control Wing moved to Davis-Monthan, and the division's training mission expanded to includeForward Air Controllers flying several aircraft. The BGM-109 mission ended with the signing of theIntermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. In 1989, division elements participated inOperation Just Cause. The division was inactivated with the implementation of the Objective Wing reorganization, which established a single wing on each Air Force Base.
Thedivision was first activated in 1957 atLangley Air Force Base, Virginia as the command headquarters for the405th Fighter-Bomber Wing and the345th Bombardment Wing, along with base support organizations assigned to its 836th Air Base Group. Divisionbombers deployed overseas in response to theLebanon Crisis of 1958 and theSecond Taiwan Strait Crisis. By 1961, the division's responsibilities had shifted with the inactivation of the 345th and 405th Wings, and it commanded the4505th Air Refueling Wing and4440th Aircraft Delivery Group, which had replaced them at Langley. With only a single wing remaining at Langley, the division was inactivated on 1 July 1961.
The division was again activated in 1962 atMacDill Air Force Base, Florida when TAC took over that base fromStrategic Air Command. The twotactical fighter wings at MacDill were initially equipped with obsolescentRepublic F-84F Thunderstreaks, but soon became the firstMcDonnell F-4 Phantom II wings in the Air Force. Beginning in 1964, division units began deploying for combat inSoutheast Asia, and eventually two entire wings moved toSouth Vietnam. Until the 836th inactivated in 1971, its remaining components acted primarily as training units for the Phantom II and, after 1968, for theTropic Moon B-57G. During thePueblo Crisis, the division deployed elements to reinforcePacific Air Forces units in Korea.
The836th Air Division was first organized in October 1957 atLangley Air Force Base, Virginia as the command headquarters for the405th Fighter-Bomber Wing, equipped withNorth American F-100 Super Sabre aircraft, and the newly activated345th Bombardment Wing flyingMartin B-57 Canberras, both of which were stationed at Langley.[1][3][4] The 405th Wing also had the429th Air Refueling Squadron withBoeing KB-50 Superfortresses attached to it.[4]
In July 1958, the 405th Wing at Langley was inactivated.[4] Although consideration had also been given in 1958 to inactivating the 345th Wing, international conditions delayed this action. In response to theLebanon Crisis of 1958,Tactical Air Command deployed Composite Air Strike Force Bravo toAdana Air Base, Turkey. The 836th was tasked to provide onesquadron of twelve B-57s to support this force. The B-57s, drawn from the 345th Wing's498th Bombardment Squadron, were the first strike aircraft of the force to depart for Adana.[5] Although the bombers returned to Langley in the fall, theTaiwan Strait Crisis of 1958 called for a detachment of Canberras to deploy to Okinawa. Once these planes had returned to Langley, the 345th began to prepare for inactivation in June 1959, leaving the division with onewing and onegroup assigned.[3][6]
At nearly the same time the 405th Wing inactivated, TAC formed the4505th Air Refueling Wing at Langley as a single headquarters for itsair refueling squadrons, which were located on several bases. The wing's squadrons flewBoeing KB-50J and KB-50H Stratofortresses, which added two jet engines to the B-50's original four reciprocating engines, and were designed to refuel three tactical aircraft at the same time. The 4505th also had a secondary mission of conductingantisubmarine warfare.[7] Although initially assigned directly to TAC headquarters, the wing was attached to the division in September 1958, then assigned in November and the division once again commanded two wings at Langley. One month after the 4505th Wing was added to the division's strength, the4440th Aircraft Delivery Group was added to the division. The 4440th supervised delivery of aircraft from manufacturers and modification centers to operational units after TAC took over the delivery mission from the 1708th Ferrying Wing ofMilitary Air Transport Service.[8] Tankers from the 4505th provided air refueling support for the delivery missions of the 4440th.[9]
When the division inactivated in July 1961, the 4440th Aircraft Delivery Group reported directly to TAC, while the 4505th Air Refueling Wing was reassigned toNinth Air Force.[1][10]
The 836th was activated a second time in July 1962 atMacDill Air Force Base, Florida, when TAC replacedStrategic Air Command as MacDill's host and the division's 836th Combat Support Group became the base's support organization.[11] The12th Tactical Fighter Wing, which moved to MacDill fromBergstrom Air Force Base, Texas was assigned to the 836th, along with the15th Tactical Fighter Wing, activated the same day as the division. Although these two wings were originally equipped withRepublic F-84F Thunderstreak aircraft, by 1964 they became the first twoMcDonnell F-4 Phantom II wings in the Air Force.[1][12][13]
Initially, the 15th Wing provided logistical support and trained crews for both wings. However, it reorganized as a mission capabletactical fighter wing for theCuban Missile Crisis in October.[13] Once the wings began to equip with the Phantom, the 15th Wing resumed the role of training crews on the new fighter.[13]
In October 1964 the division once again included the Super Sabre in its inventory, when the31st Tactical Fighter Wing atHomestead Air Force Base, Florida, was assigned. This assignment also marked the first time the division was responsible for a wing stationed at another base.[1][14] The division added the33d Tactical Fighter Wing when that wing activated atEglin Air Force Base, Florida in April 1965.[15] The 836th supervised tests for weapon systems, aircraftarmament andmunitions, and tactical procedures through the 33d Wing, which included a test support division until December 1967, when its test operations expanded to include a full squadron.[1][15]
The division's wings at MacDill began deployments of their Phantoms to the Pacific for combat operations, beginning in December 1964 with the555th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the 12th Wing. Continuing through most of 1965, either the 12th or 15th Wing had one of its squadrons detached for combat operations inSoutheast Asia.[1][12][13] In November 1965, the entire 12th Wing moved to the new base atCam Ranh Air Base, Vietnam. The wing's557th and559th Tactical Fighter Squadrons were briefly assigned directly to the division until they could join the wing at Cam Ranh.[16][17]
In 1966 the 31st Wing became the second division wing to open operations at a new base in Vietnam when it left Homestead with its F-100s forTuy Hoa Air Base.[14] Its personnel remaining at Homestead were reorganized into the 4531st Tactical Fighter Wing. The 4531st began equipping with the Phantom II to prepare for its new mission as an F-4 Replacement Training Unit, although its first replacement class did not start until June 1967 and it would be November 1967 before the wing was able to graduate its first class. The wing also operatedLockheed AT-33 T-Birds to conduct the air-to-air portion of replacement training and maintainedPiasecki H-21 helicopters to support TAC's Sea Survival School, which moved to Homestead.[18][19][20][21]
The division again deployed subordinate units to Southeast Asia for combat operations starting in 1967.[i] Its 33d Wing trained entire combat ready squadrons, which deployed to the Pacific, where they were reflagged and returned to Eglin to form once again. Its4th Tactical Fighter Squadron deployed in this manner once, while the16th and40th Tactical Fighter Squadrons each deployed two times between May 1967 and November 1968. In November 1969, the 40th deployed a third time, but did not return to reform.[1][15]
The 4531st Wing acted as the active duty air advisory unit for severalAir National Guard fighter and air refueling units.[22] As a result, in May 1968, when thePueblo Crisis occurred, two National Guard groups, the174th Tactical Fighter Group atMartin State Airport, Maryland and the175th Tactical Fighter Group atHancock Field, New York were activated and assigned to the division.[1] These two groups were soon transferred toCannon Air Force Base, where they reinforced the140th Tactical Fighter Wing. In addition, the 4531st Wing deployed twenty F-4s of its68th and560th Tactical Fighter Squadrons and supporting personnel toKunsan Air Base to expand the Air Force's presence in Korea.[23][24] The 15th Wing moved a squadron of its Phantoms toSeymour Johnson Air Force Base to temporarily replace some of the4th Tactical Fighter Wing planes that had also deployed to Korea.[13]
Later, in October 1968 the division began supervising B-57 bomber aircrew training, which moved fromClark Air Base, Philippines.[1][25] This now included training on theTropic Moon B-57G, which was modified with sensors to increase its efficiency as a night attack aircraft. The 836th organized the first operational B-57G squadron, the13th Bombardment Squadron.[26]
On 5 October 1969, a CubanMiG-17 landed at one of the division's Florida bases, Homestead Air Force Base.[27] The aircraft was not detected onradar as it entered United Statesairspace, and its pilot parked it next toAir Force One, which was on the Homestead ramp at the time.[28] Although improvements to air defense in the southern United States were directed as a result of this incident, they had little impact on the division, which was almost entirely devoted to training crews for the war in Vietnam.[29]
On 1 October 1970, the1st Tactical Fighter Wing absorbed the mission, personnel and equipment of the 15th Wing after moving on paper fromHamilton Air Force Base, California.[13] The division was inactivated in 1971 and its units reassigned to Ninth Air Force.[1][14][15][30]
The division was again activated atDavis Monthan Air Force Base in January 1981, when it replaced Tactical Training, Davis-Monthan and assumed its personnel and equipment.[31] The division's operational component was the355th Tactical Training Wing, flyingFairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, and the 836th Combat Support Group was assigned to provide support for all units at Davis-Monthan, includingThe Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center. The division was the Air Force focal point for A-10 aircraft tactics, training, employment and readiness. The division was also assigned the868th Tactical Missile Training Squadron, which trained Air Force personnel on theBGM-109G Gryphon.[1]
In September 1982, the 602d Tactical Air Control Wing moved to Davis-Monthan from Bergstrom Air Force Base and was assigned to the division.[1] The23d Tactical Air Support Squadron, assigned to the 602d Wing, conductedForward Air Controller training with theCessna OA-37 Dragonfly, and later theNorth American OV-10 Bronco and the OA-10 Thunderbolt II.[32][33] In 1989, elements of the 602d deployed to supportOperation Just Cause, the operation to removeManuel Noriega as ruler of Panama.[32]
In 1985, the 868th Tactical Missile Training Group was activated and assigned to the division as the headquarters for the 868th Tactical Missile Training Squadron. The 868th Group was inactivated in May 1990 as theIntermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was implemented and the Gryphon removed from the Air Force's inventory.[1][34] However, the training capability of the 868th proved useful duringOperation Desert Storm. The Air Force had determined to use ground launchedNorthrop BQM-74 Chukar drones as decoys to degrade the Iraqi air defense system. Taking advantage of the 868th's experience in operating ground launched missiles, the 4468th Tactical Group was formed from its former members in September 1990 and deployed to Saudi Arabia in October to operate two launch sites near the Iraqi border. On 17 January 1991, these decoys, together with Navy air-launched decoys were sent against Iraqi air defenses in Operation Scathe Mean. Iraqi radars engaging the decoys were then attacked by anti-radar missiles, degrading the air defenses of Baghdad. After the end of the war the 4468th was inactivated in 1992.[35]
The division was inactivated in May 1992 as the Air Force implemented the Objective Wing reorganization, which established a single wing as the headquarters for each base.[1] The 355th Fighter Wing was reassigned directly to Twelfth Air Force and the mission and personnel of the 836th Combat Support Group were transferred to the 355th Support Group.[36]
Wings
Groups
Squadrons
| Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1985 – 30 June 1987 | [1] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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