919th Special Operations Wing | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1963–1965; 1971–present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Type | Wing |
| Role | Special Operations |
| Size | 1,600 personnel |
| Part of | Air Force Reserve Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Duke Field, Florida |
| Decorations | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | ColonelScott Hurrelbrink |
| Insignia | |
| 919 Special Operations Wing emblem(approved 21 August 1980)[1] |  |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Transport | C-146A,AC-130J,U-28,MQ-9 |
The919th Special Operations Wing (919 SOW) is anAir Reserve Component (ARC) unit of theUnited States Air Force. The 919 SOW is assigned to theTenth Air Force of theAir Force Reserve Command (AFRC) and is stationed atDuke Field (Eglin Air Force Auxiliary Field #3), Florida.
The 919 SOW is an associate unit of the1st Special Operations Wing (1 SOW),Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), at nearbyHurlburt Field, Florida. If mobilized, the 919 SOW is operationally gained by AFSOC. The 919 SOW is the only AFRC special operations wing.[2]
The wing is composed of approximately 1,600 reservists.Air Reserve Technicians, commonly referred to as ARTs, are the nucleus of the wing. They provide management continuity to keep units combat ready. ARTs carry dual status as full-time civil service employees for the Air Force who, as a condition of employment, must concurrently participate as Air Force Reservists, but who wear their uniforms and use their rank titles all the time. More than 280 ARTs and 47 civilians support the wing in day-to-day operations, augmented by approximately 900 Traditional Reservists (TR) during unit training assemblies, active duty periods, and mobilizations.
During the first half of 1955, the Air Force began detaching Air Force Reserve squadrons from their parent wing locations to separate sites. The concept offered several advantages. Communities were more likely to accept the smallersquadrons than the largewings and the location of separate squadrons in smaller population centers would facilitate recruiting and manning.Continental Air Command (ConAC)'s plan called for placing Air Force Reserve units at fifty-nine installations located throughout the United States. When these relocations were completed in 1959, reserve wingheadquarters and wing support elements would typically be on one base, along with one (or in some cases two) of the wing's flying squadrons, while the remaining flying squadrons were spread over thirty-five Air Force, Navy and civilian airfields under what was called the Detached Squadron Concept.[3]
Although this dispersal was not a problem when the entire wing was called to active service, mobilizing a single flying squadron and elements to support it proved difficult. This weakness was demonstrated in the partial mobilization of reserve units during theBerlin Crisis of 1961 To resolve this, at the start of 1962, ConAC determined to reorganize its reserve wings by establishinggroups with support elements for each of its troop carrier squadrons. This reorganization would facilitate mobilization of elements of wings in various combinations when needed. However, as this plan was entering its implementation phase, another partial mobilization occurred for theCuban Missile Crisis, with the units being released on 22 November 1962. The formation of troop carrier groups occurred in January 1963 for units that had not been mobilized, but was delayed until February for those that had been.[4]
The919th Troop Carrier Group (919 TCG) was established atMemphis Municipal Airport, Tennessee on 11 February 1963 as the headquarters for the701st Troop Carrier Squadron, which had been stationed there since November 1957.[5] Along with group headquarters, a Combat Support Squadron, Materiel Squadron and a Tactical Infirmary were organized to support the 701st.
The group's mission was to organize, recruit and train Air Force Reserve personnel in the tactical airlift of airborne forces, their equipment and supplies and delivery of these forces and materials byairdrop, landing or cargo extraction systems. The group was equipped withFairchild C-123 Providers forTactical Air Command airlift operations.
The 919th was one of three groups assigned to the445th Troop Carrier Wing in 1963, the others being the918th Troop Carrier Group atDobbins Air Force Base, Georgia, and the920th Troop Carrier Group, also atMemphis Municipal Airport, Tennessee. The 919 TCG was inactivated in December 1965.
In 1971, the 919th was reactivated and renamed the 919th Tactical Airlift Group (919 TAG), equipped with theLockheed C-130A Hercules and based atDuke Field, Florida. It performed tacticalairlift of personnel and cargo, in addition toairdroppingUnited States Armyparatroopers duringexercises from 1971 to 1974.
Redesignated the919th Special Operations Group (919 SOG) on 1 July 1975,[6] the group began transitioning to theLockheed AC-130A Spectre aircraft and training forgunshipoperations, withclose air support as a primary duty, but also including the ability to perform armed interdiction,reconnaissance, and escort, as well asforward air control (FAC) andcombatsearch and rescue (CSAR) inconventional orunconventional warfare setting. In addition to its primary combat duties, the 919 SOG also provided range clearing support formissile launches atCape Canaveral Air Force Station and along theEastern Test Range from 1979 to 1989 and forNASASpace Shuttle launches at theJohn F. Kennedy Space Center from 1981 to 1988.
Mobilized for active duty forOperation JUST CAUSE, the then 919 SOG's711th Special Operations Squadron's AC-130A aircraft hit key facilities and provided cover for U.S. Army troops during theinvasion ofPanama, December 1989 – January 1990. On 1 April 1990 the 919 SOG gained a second special operations squadron, the71st, located atDavis-Monthan Air Force Base,Arizona. Both squadrons participated in the conflict in Southwest Asia: the 71 SOS, flying HH-3Es deployed 12 January 1991 – 16 March 1991 and the 711 SOS, flying AC-130As, deployed 7 February – 12 March. In addition, the 711 SOS used their AC-130As to fly cargo and passengers.
On 1 August 1992, the 919 SOG was upgraded to wing status and renamed the919th Special Operations Wing (919 SOW). The 919 SOW lost the 71 SOS on 1 October 1993 but, in late 1994, gained the 5th Special Operations Squadron (5 SOS). The 5 SOS began to receive their MC-130P Combat Shadow aircraft in April 1995 and trained for special operations,aerial refueling of special operationshelicopters, and resupply missions.
The 711 SOS transitioned from AC-130A gunships toMC-130E Combat Talon I andMC-130P Combat Shadow aircraft beginning in October 1995 and trained for a primary mission of infiltration, exfiltration and resupply of special operations forces. Periodically the wing deployed personnel and aircraft to support special operations forces in contingency operations worldwide, to include mobilization and forward deployment in 2001–2003 in support ofOperation ENDURING FREEDOM andOperation IRAQI FREEDOM.[7] The wing also continued to conduct numeroushumanitarian deployments. While the 919 SOW would retire its MC-130P Combat Shadow aircraft in 2008, the wing continued to conduct flight training in MC-130E Combat Talon I for bothAir Force Special Operations Command andAir Force Reserve Command from 1 October 1997 until the retirement of the MC-130E in 2013.
In 2008, the 919 SOW also added theU-28A Draco aircraft andMQ-1 Predator remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) to its inventory.
An Air Force news release dated 18 April 2013 announced the final flight of the wing's MC-130E aircraft, which was flown to the309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (309 AMARG) "boneyard" atDavis-Monthan AFB, Arizona.
Retirement of the MC-130E marked the end of the 919 SOW's status with unit-owned aircraft and its transition to that of an "Associate" unit supporting and sharing aircraft with the active duty Regular Air Force's1st Special Operations Wing and elements of the492nd Special Operations Wing, both located at nearby Hurlburt Field. The 919 SOW's MC-130E Combat Talons were replaced withPZL C-145A Skytruck aircraft which had already begun arriving at Duke Field.[8] Two years later, the C-145, U-28, and MQ-1 would be augmented by the arrival of theC-146A Wolfhound aircraft.
In 2015, the 711th commenced sharing buildings, flightline, aircraft and mission with the active duty6th Special Operations Squadron (6 SOS) at Duke Field.[9] The 6 SOS is a geographically separated unit (GSU) of the492nd Special Operations Wing (492 SOW) at Hurlburt Field, Florida.
In 2018, the 919 SOW's MQ-1 aircraft were retired and replaced by theMQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft.
In February 2019, in addition to operating the U-28, select flight crews from the 919 SOW's 5th Special Operations Squadron commenced training on theAC-130J Ghostrider aircraft operated by the active duty 1 SOW at Hurlburt Field, qualifying in the aircraft later that year.[10] In June 2020, the first all-Air Force Reserve crew qualified on the AC-130J and flew the aircraft without any active duty USAF personnel aboard, marking the first time that any series of the AC-130 aircraft had been flown by an all-Reserve crew since 1995.[11]
In December 2022, the 919 SOW retired its last C-145A aircraft.[12]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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