| 64th Air Refueling Squadron | |
|---|---|
157th Air Refueling WingKC-135R Stratotanker deployed toAndersen AFB | |
| Active | 1942–1946; 1947–1953; 1953–1997; 2003-2008; 2009–present |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | |
| Role | Aerial refueling |
| Part of | Air Mobility Command |
| Engagements | World War II Battle of New Georgia Battle of Vella Lavella Battle of Bougainville Southwest Pacific Theater Korean War[1] Vietnam War |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Navy Unit Commendation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Philippine Presidential Unit Citation Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm[1] |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Lt. Col. Kevin Eley[2] |
| Insignia | |
| 64th Air Refueling Squadron emblem(approved 28 June 1994)[1] | |
| 64th Troop Carrier Squadron emblem(approved 16 June 1943)[3] | |
The64th Air Refueling Squadron is aUnited States Air Forceair-refuelingsquadron assigned to the22d Operations Group atMcConnell Air Force Base, Kansas. As part of the Air Force's Total Force Initiative, the 64th is stationed atPease Air National Guard Base, New Hampshire, where it is operationally controlled by the157th Air Refueling Wing of theNew Hampshire Air National Guard. The 64th is equipped with theKC-46 Pegasus.
The 64th was first constituted duringWorld War II, providing transportation and evacuation in thePacific Theater. From 1953 through 1997, the 64th provided airlift services, including during theVietnam War.[4] Repurposed as a refueling squadron in 2002, the 64th was active in theAir Force Reserve from 2003 until 2007, and then reactivated in October 2009.
The squadron is part of the Total Force Initiative:[5]
This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "64th Air Refueling Squadron" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(March 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The 64th flew aerial transportation and evacuation in the South and Southwest Pacific from 7 August 1943 until c. 14 August 1945. The squadron received aNavy Unit Commendation for its service at part of theSouth Pacific Combat Air Transport Command (SCAT) from August 1943 to July 1944.[6]
The 64th flew aerial transportation and evacuation between Japan and Korea from 19 May through 31 December 1952.
In 1957, the squadron moved on paper fromPortland International Airport toNiagara Falls Municipal Airport, where is assumed the mission, personnel, and equipment of the700th Troop Carrier Squadron.[7] The squadron trained and providedairlift services from, January 1953 to March 1997, including airlift to Vietnam during the late 1960s and toSouthwest Asia in 1990–1991. It participated in various trainingexercises and airlift missions worldwide until inactivation on 31 March 1997.[1]
Redesignated as the 64th Air Refueling Squadron on 22 November 2002, the 64th was active in theAir Force Reserve from 1 April 2003 until 23 June 2007. During this time, it was part of the939th Operations Group based atPortland Air Reserve Station in Oregon.

The 64th Air Refueling Squadron was activated atPease Air National Guard Base, New Hampshire, on 2 October 2009 as part of the22d Air Refueling Wing. It is part of the Total Force Initiative and works with the157th Air Refueling Wing,New Hampshire Air National Guard. This was the first time that an active duty Air Force unit returned to Pease since the base was closed in 1991. On 9 January 2013, the Air Force announced that Pease would be in the running to host the firstBoeing KC-46 Pegasus tankers as they entered service. In August 2014, Air Force leaders announced that the 157th would become the first Air National Guard unit to equip with the KC-46A. The Pegasus was scheduled to enter the Air Force inventory during fiscal year 2019;[8] the first KC-46A arrived at Pease on 8 August 2019.[9] The 12th and final KC-46A was delivered on 5 February 2021.[10]
|
|

This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency