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36th Wing | |
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 ABoeing B-52 Stratofortress deployed toAndersen AFB leads a formation of JapaneseMitsubishi F-2s, USAFF-16s and NavyEA-6B Prowlers | |
| Active | 1948–1994; 1994–present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Type | Combat Wing |
| Part of | Pacific Air Forces |
| Garrison/HQ | Andersen Air Force Base |
| Nickname | The Fightin' 36th[citation needed] |
| Motto | Prepared to Prevail[1] |
| Decorations | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award[2] |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Brig Gen(Select)Charles "Dan" Cooley |
| Deputy Commander | Col. Daniel E. Mendoza |
| Command Chief | CCM Jeremy Swistak |
| Notable commanders | Ronald Keys |
| Insignia | |
| 36th Wing emblem(approved 17 July 1952)[2] |  |
TheUnited States Air Force's36th Wing is the hostwing forAndersen Air Force Base,Guam. It is part ofPacific Air Forces'Eleventh Air Force. The 36th Wing provides day-to-day mission support to more than 9,000 military, civilian, dependent and retired personnel and 15 associate units on the base.
The 36th Wing has three major missions: operateAndersen Air Force Base via its subordinate 36th Mission Support and 36th Medical Groups; Provide power projection through rotational forces via its subordinate 36th Operations and 36th Maintenance Groups; and provide rapid air base opening and initial air base operation ability via its subordinate 36th Contingency Response Group. The 734th Air Mobility Squadron assists the 36th Wing in accomplishing this mission by operating Andersen's air cargo terminal on behalf ofAir Mobility Command.
On 2 July 1948 the United States Air Force36th Fighter Wing was activated atHoward Air Force Base,Panama Canal Zone. The former USAAF 36th Fighter Group became the operational component of the new Air Force wing. Active squadrons of the 36th were:
As a result of theBerlin Blockade and otherCold War tensions in Europe, the 36th Fighter Wing was reassigned toUnited States Air Forces Europe (USAFE). The squadron was assigned toFürstenfeldbruck Air Base West Germany on 13 August 1948, being the first USAFE unit to be jet-equipped with theLockheed F-80 Shooting Star. At Fürstenfeldbruck tactical operations included air defense, tactical exercises, maneuvers, and photographic reconnaissance. In May 1949, the wing formed theSkyblazers [ja] aerial demonstration team, which it controlled until August 1952, and again from October 1956 to January 1962 when it was disbanded.
On 20 January 1950, the wing was redesignated as the36th Fighter-Bomber Wing when 89Republic F-84E Thunderjets arrived. Existing USAFE bases in West Germany, however, were deemed very vulnerable to an attack by the Soviet Union, given their proximity to East Germany and otherWarsaw Pact nations. Negotiations with otherNATO nations were made to build new bases west of theRhine River. The F-80s were sent back to CONUS to equipAir National Guard units. In addition to its primary installation at Fürstenfeldbruck, the wing controlled Oberpfaffenhofen AB, West Germany, December 1949 – February 1950.
The 36th FBW remained at Fürstenfeldbruck until 1952 when it was reassigned to the newBitburg Air Base, in theEifel mountains west of theRhine River. Throughout the summer, elements of the 36th FBW moved into Bitburg, with the wing officially arriving in November 1952. Under various designations, the 36th would remain at Bitburg for the next 40 years.
In August 1953, theNorth American F-86F Sabre was introduced to the wing, replacing the F-84s. On 31 March 1954, The1st Pilotless Bomber Squadron, equipped with theMartom B-61A Matador, was attached to the 36th Fighter Bomber Wing, making it the first operational U.S. missile unit. The 1st eventually was renamed a Tactical Missile Squadron, and in 1958 was replaced by the71st Tactical Missile Squadron and the unit was assigned to the701st Tactical Missile Wing, headquartered atHahn Air Base, although the squadron remained at Bitburg.
In August 1954, the wing was redesignated as the36th Fighter-Day Wing. In 1956, the wing received theNorth American F-100 Super Sabre, marking the first time a wing in USAFE flew supersonic jets. On 15 May 1958, the 36th FDW was redesignated as the36th Tactical Fighter Wing, with its squadrons redesignated as tactical fighter squadrons, because its missions had now grown to include delivery of tactical nuclear weapons.
In May 1961, the wing received theRepublic F-105 Thunderchief. Formal USAFE acceptance of the Mach 2 fighter-bombers was held at theParis Air Show on 3 June 1961. Deliveries of the F-105D model were completed in 1963, and the 36th carried on its Cold War mission of tactical nuclear weapons delivery. Twice in the early 1960s when Cold War tensions were elevated due to the 1961Berlin Wall crisis and 1962Cuban Missile Crisis the 36th rose to a high level of alert.
By 1966 the Thud was being phased out of NATO, being replaced by theMcDonnell F-4D Phantom II. The tactical nuclear deliver mission, still necessary, was being eclipsed by the ability of ICBMs and the primary mission of the 36th TFW changed to Tactical Air support of NATO ground units in West Germany. By December 1966, all the 36th TFW Thuds had been ferried stateside for combat crew training duties atMcConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, or toSoutheast Asia after stateside refurbishment.
In October 1965, the 36th accepted command of the 71st Tactical Missile Squadron from the inactivated38th Tactical Missile Wing atSembach Air Base.[3] The 36th maintained and operated two hardened launch sites (at Rittersdorf, Site 7, and at Idenheim, site 8) with a total of 16 CGM-13B Mace tactical missiles until 30 April 1969.
In September 1969, the 36th TFW took responsibility forSpangdahlem Air Base West Germany until December 1971.
By 1976 a major modernization of USAFE was necessary. TheSoviet Union's new generation ofMiG andSukhoi fighters made NATO military planners anxious. Indeed, intelligence reports about theMiG-25 left little room for comfort; the performance of this latest Russian combat aircraft was far superior to any NATO aircraft. The twin-engined MiG-25 reached speeds of over 3,000 km/h even at high altitude (over 70,000 feet) and it could be armed with radar-guidedAA-6 Acrid air-to-air missiles. When the Soviets stationed large numbers in the Soviet Union and later in the GDR, NATO had to address this problem.
The solution was provided by theMcDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. Just like the MiG-25 it has two powerful engines and a double tail fin. The 23 aircraft for the first operational squadron (525th Tactical Fighter Squadron) with the 36th leftLangley Air Force Base on 27 April 1977 for a mass Atlantic crossing. Over the following months the aircraft for two other squadrons (23d and53d Tactical Fighter Squadrons) arrived. The 36th's full strength of 79 fully operational F-15As was reached in December 1977. In 1980 more advanced F-15Cs and F-15Ds would replace the original F-15As.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the 36th conducted routine training missions however the outbreak of the1990–91 Gulf War put the F-15s of Bitburg into the heart of the conflict. The 36th's pilots and aircraft performed magnificently in Operation Desert Storm. Not a single F-15 aircraft was lost in combat during the war. On 13 March 1991, the deployed squadrons of the 36th returned in victory.
The celebration was brief, however, as the 36th deployed back toIncirlik Air Base, Turkey to supportOperation Provide Comfort. Between 5 April and 25 May 1991, the 36th flew 285 sorties over Iraq. Just as before, not a single aircraft was lost in Iraq due to hostile fire.
On 1 October 1991 the wing was redesignated as the36th Fighter Wing when the objective wing concept was implemented. The 525th Fighter Squadron was inactivated 31 March 1992 as part of the initial post Cold-War drawdown.
Bitburg Air Base was part of the 1993Base Realignment and Closure (or BRAC) process that saw the drawdown of many military facilities in a series of post-Cold War force reductions. In July 1993, HQ USAFE announced the closure of Bitburg Air Base and the pending inactivation of the 36th Fighter Wing. The 53d Fighter Squadron was transferred without personnel or equipment to the52d Operations Group at Spangdahlem Air Base. Some squadron aircraft transferred to 22d Fighter Squadron. The 22d Fighter Squadron was also transferred without personnel or equipment to the 52d Operations Group at Spangdahlem Air Base.
The wing's combat readiness was tested in Southwest Asia as part of Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm and Proven Force. While flying combat air patrols during the war, the F-15s of the 36th were a strong deterrent to the air forces of Iraq. During Operation Desert Storm, the 36th was credited with downing 17 enemy aircraft in air-combat engagements. On 1 October 1994 the 36th Fighter Wing was inactivated and the final 36th Wing Commander, Brigadier General Roger E. Carleton, presented Bitburg Air Base to the German government.
The wing was reactivated at Andersen Air Force Base,Guam the same day as the36th Air Base Wing, a non-flying organization taking over as the host unit. The former host unit, the633d Air Base Wing was inactivated in keeping with the Air Force Chief of Staff's policy of keeping the most highly decorated and longest serving Air Force units on active duty.
The 36th Air Base Wing was activated at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, on 30 September 1994. Under that designation, the wing lived up to its mission several times. In September 1996, the wing provided around-the-clock forward-deployment support to Air Combat CommandBoeing B-52 Stratofortresses during theirOperation Desert Strike missions overIraq, and began hosting more than 6,600Kurdish evacuees during the 8-monthhumanitarian assistance mission, Joint Task Force Pacific Haven.
On 12 April 2006, the 36th Air Base Wing was redesignated as the 36th Wing. Prior to the redesignation, the wing had been using a temporary designation of air expeditionary wing. The change in the wing's official designation was meant to better align Andersen with its mission statement: "To provide a U.S.-based lethal warfighting platform for the employment, deployment, reception, and throughput of air and space forces in the Asia-Pacific region."
In February 2007, the 36th Operations Group was reactivated as a permanent subordinate unit to the 36th Wing, replacing the temporary 36th Expeditionary Operations Group.
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Shakey the Pig is the wild boar mascot of 36th Munitions Squadron at Andersen AFB. The first boar given this name was captured in the late 1970s from the jungle near the munitions flight storage area, with the intention of slaughtering the animal and cooking it on a barbecue. The airmen relented and kept it as a mascot. When the incumbent mascot dies, another is caught from the jungle to take its place. It is rumored that some Shakeys "were the guests of honor at more barbecues than people might imagine" and MSgt David Torelli has said at least one Shakey "was the main course at a local wedding dinner."[4]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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