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| 33rd Fighter Wing | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 1947–1952; 1956–1957; 1965–present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Part of | Air Education and Training Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Eglin Air Force Base |
| Nickname | Nomads[1] |
| Motto | Fire From the Clouds[2] |
| Engagements | Operation Urgent Fury Southwest Asia[2] |
| Decorations | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award[2] |
| Website | 33fw.af.mil |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Colonel David M. Skalicky |
| Vice Commander | Colonel Jordan G. Grant |
| Command Chief | Chief Master Sergeant Kelvin J. Hatcher |
| Notable commanders | Carrol Chandler John P. Jumper William R. Looney III Gregory S. Martin[2] |
| Insignia | |
| 33rd Fighter Wing emblem(approved 5 October 1965)[2] |  |
The33rd Fighter Wing, sometimes written33d Fighter Wing, (33 FW) is aUnited States Air Force unit assigned toAir Education and Training Command'sNineteenth Air Force. It is stationed atEglin Air Force Base, Florida where it is a tenant unit.
The 33 FW is an AETC training unit. Its main mission is to trainUnited States Air Force and partner nation pilots and maintainers on theLockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. When the wing was initially assigned the F-35 training mission on 1 October 2009 it was to include USN/USMC F-35C and USMC F-35B training as well as USAF F-35A and international partner training. Navy squadronVFA-101 was assigned to the wing to conduct F-35C training and USMC squadronVMFAT-501 to conduct F-35B training. In July 2014VMFAT-501 was detached from the 33rd Fighter Wing and reassigned toMarine Aircraft Group 31 (MAG-31) at MCAS Beaufort, SC ending the USMC presence in the wing. In December 2017 the USN reactivatedVFA-125 at NAS Lemoore, CA underStrike Fighter Wing Pacific Fleet to conduct F-35C training for the USN and USMC. On 1 July 2019VFA-101 was deactivated ending the USN presence in the 33rd Fighter Wing.
Prior to its assignment as a training wing, while still an operational fighter wing, following the11 September 2001 attacks, the Nomads provided armed over-watch throughoutNorth America forOperation Noble Eagle, securing two presidents of the United States, multipleSpace Shuttle launches and other high-visibility events. The 33rd Fighter Wing closed its operations with the F-15 Eagle in September 2009 and became theDepartment of Defense's first F-35 Lightning II training wing on 1 October 2009.
The wing is composed of three groups, the 33d Operations Group (OG), 33d Maintenance Group (MXG) and 85th Fighter Group. The 33 OG operates two flying squadron, the58th Fighter Squadron and 60th Fighter Squadron, the 33d Operations Support Squadron as well as the 728th and 337th Air Control Squadrons. The 33 MXG commands the 33d Maintenance Operations Squadron, the 33d Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, the 33d Maintenance Squadron.
Theheadquarters of the 33rd Fighter Wing became operational upon movement toOtis Air Force Base, Massachusetts, in mid-November 1948. The wing trained to maintaintactical proficiency and participated in exercises andaerial demonstrations from November 1948 to November 1949. It assumed an air defense mission in December 1949 and provided air defense in the northeastern United States until inactivated in February 1952, when it was inactivated and most personnel were transferred to the4707th Air Defense Wing. Once again it provided air defense in the northeastern United States, from October 1956 to June 1957, but was non-operational from 1 July 1957 to 18 August 1957.
On 1 April 1965, the wing was activated atEglin Air Force Base, Florida and embarked on a program of tactical training operations to maintain proficiency. It operated a test support division, from July 1965 to December 1967, and a special test squadron, from December 1967 to April 1971, in support of tests for weapon systems, aircraft armament and munitions, and tactical procedures of theTactical Air Warfare Center. The firstTactical Air CommandMcDonnell F-4D Phantom IIs assigned to a combat unit arrived at the 33rd at Eglin on 21 June 1966.[3] The wing also provided F-4 replacement training from 15 December 1966 to 28 February 1967. Through deployment of combat-ready tactical components, with personnel and equipment transferred toPacific Air Forces (PACAF) units upon arrival, the wing provided fresh aircraft and aircrews for the forces inSoutheast Asia and inKorea. The wing also transferred two of its combat-ready squadrons to PACAF, the25th Tactical Fighter Squadron in May 1968 and the4th Tactical Fighter Squadron in April 1969. The wing's last combat-ready squadron, the58th Tactical Fighter Squadron, deployed to Southeast Asia for combat operations from April to October 1972 and again from June to September 1973.
The wing supported the4485th Test Squadron of the Tactical Air Warfare Center in weapon systems evaluation program tests from January to December 1973, and periodically thereafter until July 1978. Aircrews ferried F-4Es to Israel in October 1973. The wing augmented intercept defense forces of theNorth American Air Defense Command (NORAD) from 1 January 1976 to 15 January 1979 and from 4 January 1982 to 5 April 1982. While awaiting delivery ofMcDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagles, the60th Fighter Squadron conducted F-15 mission qualifications training for the18th Tactical Fighter Wing (Kadena Air Base, Japan) from 15 July 1979 to 30 April 1980. The wing provided personnel and equipment to flycombat air patrols and air intercept missions for contingency operations inGrenada, from October to November 1983, andPanama, from December 1989 to January 1990.
During combat operations while deployed inSouthwest Asia from 26 August 1990 to 12 April 1991, 33 FW personnel were credited with sixteen air-to-air victories. Wing personnel and aircraft continued rotations to Saudi Arabia to protect coalition assets and to ensure that Iraq complied with treaty terms.
From 1992 to 2002 the 33rd Operations Group continued to deploy aircraft and personnel to Saudi Arabia, Canada, the Caribbean, South America,Jamaica,Iceland, Italy, andPuerto Rico and participated in various operations. Twelve of the 19 airmen killed in theKhobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia on 25 June 1996 were members of the 33rd Wing.[4]
The 33rd Fighter Wing divested itself of its F-15C and F-15D Eagle aircraft in 2008 and 2009 and completed the transition fromAir Combat Command (ACC) to Air Education and Training Command (AETC) on 1 October 2009. At the same time, it became the first American F-35 Lightning II training unit.
On 13 January 2011, the 33rd Fighter Wing received fourGeneral Dynamics F-16s from the56th Fighter Wing atLuke AFB, Arizona. The jets will help establish a "battle rhythm," as the wing stands up the first Joint Training Center for the fifth generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.[5] In July 2011, the wing received its first two F-35A Lightning II aircraft.
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This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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