32d Air Expeditionary Group | |
|---|---|
 McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagles of the 32d Tactical Fighter Group | |
| Active | 1941–1943, 1948–1949, 1957–1962, 1989–2006 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Expeditionary Operations |
| Part of | United States Air Forces Europe |
| Decorations | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
| Insignia | |
| 32d Air Expeditionary Group emblem[a][1] |  |
The32d Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional unit of theUnited States Air Force (USAF). It is assigned toUnited States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) to activate or inactivate at any time.[2] It was last active as the32d Air And Space Operations Center in December 2006 atRamstein Air Base, Germany.[2]
The group was first activated in 1940 atRio Hato Army Air Base, Panama as the32d Pursuit Group to provideair defense for thePanama Canal Zone. It continued in this mission until 1943, when the perceived threat of an attack on the Panama Canal decreased and the group, by then the32d Fighter Group, was disbanded. AsAir Defense Command expanded its defenses during theCold War against possible Soviet attack with units stationed along the northern border of the United States, the group was revived in February 1957 atMinot Air Force Base, North Dakota. As Minot facilities expanded to accommodateStrategic Air Command (SAC) units there, a larger organization was required to manage the station and the group was inactivated and replaced by the32d Fighter Wing.
The32d Composite Wing was activated atKadena Air Base, Okinawa in August 1948 as part of the Air Force'swing base reorganization. The wing conductedreconnaissance missions in the Far East with squadrons attached from other units. It continued its mission for only eight months, then it was inactivated and its personnel were transferred to the newly organized 6332d Station Wing. The 32d Wing was redesignated the32d Fighter Wing and replaced the group in February 1961 as the host organization at Minot Air Force Base. However, it soon became apparent that Minot's support for the increasing SAC presence there called for the transfer of host responsibility to SAC and the wing was discontinued in July 1962. The wing was briefly active in 1964 as the32d Tactical Fighter Wing atGeorge Air Force Base, California in 1964, but was soon inactivated when the8th Tactical Fighter Wing transferred on paper fromPacific Air Forces toTactical Air Command and took over its role at George.
In 1984, the group and wing were consolidated into a single unit. As the32d Tactical Fighter Group, the consolidated unit was activated atSoesterberg Air Base, Netherlands, where its32d Tactical Fighter Squadron had been active since 1955. It served as a fighter group at Soesterberg until 1994, when USAFE reduced its fighter forces at the end of theCold War. It moved toRamstein Air Base, Germany and became the air and space operations center for USAFE as the32d Air Operations Group. It served in this role until 2006, when its personnel and equipment were transferred to the new 603d Air and Space Operations Center.
The group was converted to provisional status in early 2011 as the32d Air Expeditionary Group and assigned to USAFE to activate and inactivate as needed for contingency operations.
When activated by the Commander,United States Air Forces Europe, the group mission is to command expeditionary units as directed.[2]
TheUnited States Army constituted the32nd Pursuit Group in late 1940. Shortly afterwards, on 1 January 1941, thePanama Canal Air Force activated thegroup atRio Hato Army Air Base, Panama.[3] For the most part, however, thegroup consisted only ofcadres provided by other units in the Canal Zone.[4] Although headquarters were at Rio Hato, as a tactical organization it was located atAlbrook Field, where all pursuit organizations in thePanama Canal Zone were concentrated, and itssquadrons had only an average of 4 to 6 officers assigned.[4] The group and its three assigned flying squadrons, the51st,[5]52d,[6] and53d Pursuit Squadrons,[7] had the mission of protecting thePanama Canal using obsoleteBoeing P-26 Peashooters. On 9 December 1941, just after Pearl Harbor, the newly redesignated Caribbean Air Force moved the unit toFrance Field in the Canal Zone. The Air Corps soon equipped the 32nd Pursuit Group withCurtiss P-36 Hawks to strengthen the defenses of the region.[3]
On 15 May 1942, the unit was redesignated as the32nd Fighter Group[3] and provided it withLockheed P-38 Lightnings. However, the group soon swapped these fighters forCurtiss P-40 Warhawks. From 1941 to 1943 the group trained in flying intercept and fighter sweeps over the area surrounding the Canal Zone. However, as the perceived threat to the Canal Zone diminished, the group disbanded at France Field on 1 November 1943.[3]
In August 1948, theUnited States Air Force (USAF) established the32nd Composite Wing, which was activated byFar East Air Forces the same month atKadena Field, Okinawa as part of the implementation of theWing Base reorganization of the USAF, replacing the316th Bombardment Wing and various support elements.[1][8] In October, thewing also replaced the71st Tactical Reconnaissance Wing,[1] which had become a paper unit attached to the wing.[9] The wing had no operational group, but the23d Reconnaissance Squadron of the5th Reconnaissance Group and the31st Reconnaissance Squadrons of the71st Tactical Reconnaissance Group, both very long range photographic reconnaissance units, were attached to the wing foroperations.[1][10] The wing mission was to provide theThirteenth Air Force with photographicair reconnaissance andsearch and rescue support.[1] The wing, along with its 23d and 31st Reconnaissance Squadrons, usedBoeing B/FB-17 Flying Fortresses,Boeing RB-29 Superfortresses, andCurtiss C-46 Commandos to accomplish this mission until the Air Force inactivated the wing in 1949[1] and replaced it as the host wing at Kadena with the 6332nd Station Wing[11]
At the end of 1956, USAF reconstituted the 32d Fighter Group as the32d Fighter Group (Air Defense), subsequently activating it atMinot Air Force Base, North Dakota as part ofAir Defense Command (ADC) on 8 February 1957.[3] The group assumed USAF host responsibilities for the base and was assigned a medical unit[12] and three support squadrons to perform these duties.[12][13][14] On 1 April 1959, the 32d was reassigned from the29th Air Division to theMinot Air Defense Sector, which was activated at Minot.[2] In November, the433d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (FIS) moved to Minot fromLadd Air Force Base, Alaska,[15] but the squadron was a paper unit, without aircraft or personnel.[16] It was not until 1960 that the first truly operational unit, the5th FIS, arrived at Minot, was assigned to the Group, and began to train to become operational withConvair F-106 Delta Darts.[17][18]
By 1960 the first elements ofStrategic Air Command (SAC)'s4136th Strategic Wing had activated at Minot.[12] The 32d managed the rapid expansion of facilities to support both ADC and SAC at Minot[19] By 1961, however, Minot had become a larger facility than could be managed by a group. The firstBoeing B-52 Stratofortresses of the 4136's525th Bombardment Squadron were arriving at Minot, and the expansion of the base required a full wing to operate it.[12]
As a result, the 32d Fighter Group was discontinued on 1 February 1961, and USAF organized the 32d Wing, now redesignated the32d Fighter Wing (Air Defense), at Minot in 1961 to replace it.[1] The 5th FIS and some of the 32d Group support organizations were reassigned to the wing or its newly activated 32d Air Base Group.[1]
Although the number of ADC interceptor squadrons remained almost constant in the early 1960s, attrition (and the fact that production lines closed in 1961) caused a gradual drop in the number of planes assigned to a squadron, from 24 to typically 18 by 1964. These reductions made it apparent that the primary mission of Minot would be to support SAC and resulted in the inactivation of the wing and the transfer of Minot to SAC in 1962.[20] When USAF transferred the base to SAC, it discontinued the wing and its support elements,[1][12] while the 5th FIS was reassigned to Minot Air Defense Sector.[17]
In April 1964,Tactical Air Command activated the wing as the32d Tactical Fighter Wing atGeorge Air Force Base, California, to be equipped withF-4C Phantom IIs.[1] The wing had four assigned tactical fighter squadrons, the 782nd, 783d, 784th, and 785th.[1][21] But, before the wing became fully equipped and trained with the newfighter aircraft, the Air Force replaced the wing with the8th Tactical Fighter Wing, which returned to the US from Japan in July.[21][22] In anticipation of this replacement, three fighter-interceptor squadrons, the68th,431st, and497th, were transferred to the 32d shortly before its inactivation.[1] These squadrons were redesignated as tactical fighter squadrons and transferred to the8th Tactical Fighter Wing when the 32d was inactivated, while the 32d's original four squadrons inactivated with the wing.[21]
In 1989, theNetherlands government allowedUnited States Air Forces in Europe to expand the Air Force squadron atSoesterberg Air Base[c]to group status. Thus, in late 1989 USAFE activated the recently redesignated32d Tactical Fighter Group at Soesterberg. The group took command of the32d Tactical Fighter Squadron, along with eight support squadrons, a medical clinic, and an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) flight.[23] AfterUnited States Senate ratification of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Reduction Treaty, the group supported the Soviet verification team inspecting the reductions at nearbyWoensdrecht Air Base.[23] In 1990, the group supportedDesert Storm both at its home base and at deployed locations.[24] Following the war, the group deployed personnel and equipment toIncirlik Air Base, Turkey to support operations Proven Force andProvide Comfort, to support humanitarian efforts for refugees.[25]
In November 1991, the group was reorganized on a downsized model of the USAF Objective Wing as the32d Fighter Group, losing two squadrons and the EOD flight, while most of its support squadrons were reduced to flights and reassigned to its support or logistics squadrons. With the end of theCold War a major force draw-down occurred in Europe and USAF reduced its fighter force structure. As a result, in July 1994, the 32d Tactical Fighter Group Moved toRamstein Air Base and assumed a new mission.[2] It was replaced as USAF host unit at Soesterberg by the 632d Air Base Squadron.[26] ItsMcDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle aircraft were returned to the United States.[27]
Upon arrival at Ramstein, USAF redesignated the unit as the32d Air Operations Group,[2] as part of the USAFE Theater Air and Space Operations Center atKapaun Air Station, Germany.[2] Serving as the USAFE Theater Air and Space Operations Center, the 32d functioned to consolidate operational command and control of forces. It was the senior USAFE node for command and control of air, space, and cyberspace forces. When employed for joint or coalition operations, it was known as a joint or combined air operations center for coalition operations.[28] The 32d was the organization that largely planned and provided the operational execution ofOperation Allied Force, theNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization bombing of Yugoslavia.[29]
The 32d was inactivated on 1 December 2006 and replaced by theThird Air Force's 603d Air Operation Center.[2]
32d Fighter Group
Wing
Consolidated Unit
Wing
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Operational Squadrons
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Support Squadrons
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Flight[d]
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| Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1990 – 30 June 1991 | 32d Tactical Fighter Group[2] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 30 September 1992 – 29 September 1994 | 32d Fighter Group[2] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 June 1994 – 1 June 1996 | 32d Air Operations Group[2] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 September 1997 – 31 August 1999 | 32d Air Operations Group[2] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 October 1998 – 30 June 2000 | 32d Air Operations Group[2] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 30 June 2000 – 31 May 2002 | 32d Air Operations Group[2] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 June 2002 – 30 November 2003 | 32d Air Operations Group[2] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 January 2006 – 30 June 2006 | 32d Air and Space Operations Center[2] |
| Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
.png) | American Theater without inscription | 7 December 1941 – 1 November 1943 | 32d Fighter Group[3] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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