43rd Air Mobility Operations Group | |
|---|---|
 C-130 Hercules of the 43rd Operations Group[a] | |
| Active |
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| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Rapid response[1] |
| Part of | Air Mobility Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Pope Army Airfield |
| Nickname | Gryphons[citation needed] |
| Mottos | Willing, Able, Ready |
| Engagements | Southwest Pacific Theater |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Philippine Presidential Unit Citation |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Col Allen Morris[2] |
| Insignia | |
| 43rd Air Mobility Operations Group emblem (As of June 2016[update]) |  |
| 43rd Bombardment Group emblem[b][3] | .gif) |
The43rd Air Mobility Operations Group is an active duty air mobility unit atPope Army Airfield, North Carolina and is part of theAir Mobility Command under theUSAF Expeditionary Center. The unit is composed of eight squadrons, including one of the only two active Air Force aeromedical evacuation squadrons based in the United States. The group's primary mission focuses on providing enroute operations and enabling global response and airborne support for Fort Bragg's82nd Airborne Division.
The43rd Operations Group was redesignated the43rd Airlift Group on 1 March 2011 after the inactivation of the43rd Airlift Wing and entered into an active associate arrangement with theAir Force Reserve Command's colocated440th Airlift Wing.[4]
In 2016, the 440th Wing was inactivated and both the 440th and the 43rd discontinued their airlift mission withLockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft.
While the 440th was inactivated, the 43rd was reorganized as a non-flying unit, designated the 43rd Air Mobility Operations Group on 14 June 2016.[5]
In the postwar era, the43rd Bombardment Group was one of the first United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) units assigned to theStrategic Air Command on 1 October 1946, prior to the establishment of theUnited States Air Force as a redesignation of the444th Bombardment Group due to the Air Force's policy of retaining only low-numbered groups on active duty after the war.
It conducted long-range test missions, including the first nonstop flight around the world (26 February-2 March 1949), accomplished in "Lucky Lady II", aB-50A Superfortress (AF Ser. No.46–0010) commanded by Capt James G Gallagher.
The group became non-operational in February 1951 when its squadrons were attached to the 43rd Bombardment Wing. The group was inactivated in 1952 when the parent wing adopted the Tri-Deputate organization and assigned all of the group's squadrons directly to the wing.
It was redesignated as the43rd Operations Group and activated, in 1992 when the 43rd Air Refueling Wing adopted the USAF Objective organization plan. From 1994 to 1997 the group was inactive when the wing was reduced to group size. In 2011, the wing was inactivated, and the group received its previous designation, the43rd Airlift Group. Later, in 2016, the 43rd Airlift Group transitioned to a non-flying mission and was redesignated the43rd Air Mobility Operations Group as it discontinued airlift operations and reorganized to inherit those non-flying responsibilities inherited from the440th Airlift Wing following the latter's inactivation.
As anAir Mobility Command unit, the43rd Air Mobility Operations Group is part of the air force component ofUnited States Transportation Command. It provides rapid strategic deployment of forces assigned toJoint Special Operations Command, theXVIII Airborne Corps and82nd Airborne Division.[1] It also provides combatant commanders with airborne joint forcible entry, combat airlift, aerial port, command and control, and other enabling capabilities. The 43d comprises eight squadrons:
The43rd Bombardment Group trained for bombardment operations during most of 1941. From December 1941 to February 1942, it flew antisubmarine patrols along the New England coast.
It then moved to the Southwest Pacific viaCape Town, South Africa, from February to March 1942. It attacked Japanese shipping in the Netherlands East Indiesand theBismarck Archipelago from bases in Australia, New Guinea, andOwi Airfield, Indonesia between August 1942 and November 1944.
While there it earned aDistinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for missions over Papua, New Guinea from August 1942 to January 1943.
The unit usedskip bombing to sink Japanese ships during theBattle of the Bismarck Sea, 2–4 March 1943, for which the unit earned a second DUC. It also provided support for ground forces on New Guinea and attacked airfields and other enemy installations in New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago,Yap, Palau, and the southernPhilippines in 1943 and 1944.
The group conducted long-range raids on oil refineries onCeram and Borneo late in the war.
After moving to the Philippines in November 1944, the group attacked shipping along the Asiatic coast and struck factories, airfields, and other installations in China and onFormosa. It also supported ground forces onLuzon.
The unit moved toIe Shima in July 1945, from which it conducted raids against airfields and railways in Japan and against shipping in theInland Sea and the Sea of Japan. It was moved, on paper, to the Philippines in December 1945 and inactivated in April 1946.
The43rd Bombardment Group was again activated in 1946, when it assumed the mission, personnel and equipment of the444th Bombardment Group, which was inactivated. Until February 1951, the group trained and conducted long-range test missions, including the first nonstop flight around the world (26 February–2 March 1949), accomplished by Capt James G. Gallagher and his crew in aBoeing B-50 Superfortress calledLucky Lady II.
The group deployed to England for training, August to November 1949. It was not operational after 10 February 1951, and, the flying squadrons were attached directly to the 43rd Bomb Wing for operations. The group was inactivated on 16 June 1952.
On 1 June 1992, the group was redesignated as the43rd Operations Group, and was activated on the same day. Between June 1992 and 1 July 1994, the group flewair refueling missions in training exercises and was then inactivated.
In 1997, it was reactivated and assumed an airlift mission. It cooperated withU.S. Armyairborne organizations at nearby Fort Bragg, North Carolina, taking part with them in joint training exercises. Crews and aircraft deployed to Europe, and later to Southwest Asia, to support contingency operations such as enforcement ofno-fly zones overIraq and for expeditionary force rotations.
After terrorist attacks on the United States on11 September 2001, the group deployed resources in theGlobal War on Terror. The group was redesignated43rd Airlift Group on 1 March 2011 and43rd Air Mobility Operations Group on 14 June 2016.
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This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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