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| 57th Wing | |
|---|---|
 57th Wing Shield | |
| Active | 20 November 1940 – present |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | Air Force |
| Type | Operational Test and Evaluation |
| Part of | Air Combat Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Nellis Air Force Base |
| Decorations |  DUC AFOUA |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Brig GenRichard Goodman |
| Notable commanders | John P. Jumper T. Michael Moseley Joseph Ashy Jeannie Leavitt |
The57th Wing (57 WG) is an operational unit of theUnited States Air Force (USAF)Warfare Center, stationed atNellis Air Force Base,Nevada.
The 57 WG's mission is to provide well trained and well equipped combat forces ready to deploy into a combat arena to conduct integrated combat operations.
The 57 WG is home to advancedair combat training. The wing provides training for composite strike forces which include every type ofaircraft in the USAF inventory. Training is conducted in conjunction with air and ground units of theU.S. Army,U.S. Navy,U.S. Marine Corps and air forces from US allied nations. The crews do not come to learn how to fly, but instead learn how to be combat aviators.
The wing was reorganized in 2005 to reflect its current structure.
The Thunderbirds and the USAF Advanced Maintenance and Munitions Operations School report directly to the 57th Wing commander.
Established on 15 March 1948, the 57th Fighter Wing replaced 57th Fighter Wing (Provisional) in April 1948. It operatedElmendorf AFB, Alaska, and several satellite bases, and provided air defense ofAlaska, April 1948-December 1950. In addition, the wing provided intra-theater troop carrier and airlift support, 1948–1950, using several attached troop carrier squadrons. In January 1951, it was replaced by 39th Air Depot Wing.
The 57th moved toNevada and replaced the 4525th Fighter Weapons Wing atNellis Air Force Base, in October 1969. At Nellis, it trainedtacticalfighter aircrews, conducted operational tests and evaluations, demonstrated tactical fighter weapon systems, and developed fighter tactics and from February 1970 to October 1979 and operated Nellis AFB for all base tenants. The USAF Air Demonstration Squadron (the "Thunderbirds") was assigned to the wing in February 1974 and has remained an integral part of the wing to present. The 57th assumed operational control of "Red Flag" exercises in October 1979; developing realistic combat training operations featuring adversary tactics, dissimilar air combat training, andelectronic warfare. It incorporatedintelligence training after March 1980. In 1990 the aggressor mission transferred to 4440th TFTG and later to the 414th CTS. The wing added instruction in hunter/killer counter electronic warfare tactics until 1996.
From 1992–1999, the wing operated detachments atCannon AFB,New Mexico,Ellsworth AFB,South Dakota, andBarksdale AFB,Louisiana, that flew and tested theF-111 Aardvark,B-1B Lancer andB-52 Stratofortress respectively. It added the 66th Rescue Squadron, equipped withHH-60 helicopters, on 1 February 1993, while the squadron was deployed inSouthwest Asia. From 1991 to present, the 57th provided combat aircrew capabilities, operating theUSAF Weapons and the USAF Combat Rescue Schools, developing techniques and procedures and conducting operational test and evaluation on all major aircraft in the AF inventory.
With the reactivation of the432d Wing atCreech Air Force Base on 1 May 2007, the elements that comprised the57th Operations Group, were transferred to the 432nd Wing.
The57th Adversary Tactics Group, which was established in 2005, merged into the57th Operations Group on 31 March 2020.[1]
*Note: The57th Fighter Wing (Provisional) was established on 16 April 1947 atFort Richardson, Alaska, as one of the "Base-Wing" concept provisional Table of Distribution (T/D) organizations. The provisional wing was inactivated and replaced by the 57th Fighter Wing in March 1948 (exact date unknown).
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Brig Gen Joel T. Hall
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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