| 832nd Air Division | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 1957–1975; 1980–1991 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Command oftactical fighter forces |
| Decorations | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | GenWilliam W. Momyer GenMichael Dugan Brig GenRobinson Risner Maj GenJoseph J. Kruzel ColRobert R. Scott |
| Insignia | |
| 832nd Air Division emblem[b][1] |  |
The832nd Air Division is an inactiveUnited States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was withTactical Air Command, (TAC) assigned toTwelfth Air Force atLuke Air Force Base, Arizona, where it was inactivated on 1 October 1991.[2]
The division was first activated atCannon Air Force Base, New Mexico in October 1957 to command the twoNorth American F-100 Super Sabre wings stationed there and to provide support for them through its 832nd Air Base Group. It deployed all its operational squadrons to Florida during theCuban Missile Crisis, along with the headquarters of one of its subordinate wings.
In 1964, the366th Tactical Fighter Wing was activated atHolloman Air Force Base, New Mexico and assigned to the division. Although initially equipped withRepublic F-84F Thunderstreaks reclaimed from theAir National Guard, the 366th re-equipped with theMcDonnell F-4 Phantom II, with which it moved to Vietnam in 1966. During thePueblo Crisis, the division was assigned a wing of theColorado Air National Guard, whose squadrons also served in Vietnam. Between 1968 and 1970, the49th Tactical Fighter Wing was assigned to the 832nd. The 49th Wing moved to the United States from Germany, but was "dual based", committed to deploy to Germany to support theNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization as needed.
The 832nd once again deployed forces to Southeast Asia in 1972, when theGeneral Dynamics F-111 Aardvarks of its474th Tactical Fighter Wing deployed to Thailand. The division was inactivated in 1975 and its subordinate units assigned directly to Twelfth Air Force.
In 1980, the division was again activated to replace Tactical Training, Luke, whose mission and personnel it absorbed. It continued to train fighter crews from theUnited States Air Force and allied countries until it was inactivated in 1991 when TAC implemented the Objective Wing organization, which called for all organizations on an installation to be assigned to a single wing. Although the division did not directly participate inOperations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, it deployed support forces and combat elements to the combat theater.
The 832nd Air Division was activated atCannon Air Force Base, New Mexico and assigned toEighteenth Air Force in October 1957, when the474th Fighter-Bomber Wing was activated asTactical Air Command (TAC)'s secondfighter-bomber wing there. The 474th joined the312th Fighter-Bomber Wing, which had been at Cannon since 1954.[c] The twowings, which flew theNorth American F-100 Super Sabre, became theair division's initial tactical components, while the 832nd Air Base Group was assigned to the division to manage support activities at George.[3] The 312th Wing headquarters provided thecadre for the division and its former commander, ColonelWilliam W. Momyer, became the division's first commander. Three months after its activation, the division was reassigned toTwelfth Air Force, which moved without personnel or equipment from Germany to replace Eighteenth Air Force.[1][4][5]
From late in 1958 through the end of 1959, the 1st Tow Target Squadron, stationed atBiggs Air Force Base, Texas, and primarily equipped with theMartin B-57 Canberra, but also flying a fewDouglas B-26 Invaders was attached to the division. The primary mission of this squadron was to provide targets for the Army Anti-Aircraft Artillery School atFort Bliss.[6] In December 1959, the 312th Wing and its components were inactivated and its mission, personnel and aircraft transferred to the27th Tactical Fighter Wing, which moved to Cannon fromBergstrom Air Force Base, Texas without personnel or equipment, when Bergstrom became a base for dispersedBoeing B-52 Stratofortress bombers ofStrategic Air Command.[7][8]
The 27th Wing deployed toMacDill Air Force Base, Florida during theCuban Missile Crisis from October to December 1962. The operational squadrons of the 474th Wing also deployed to Florida during the crisis, although 474th Wing headquarters remained at Cannon with the division.[8][9]
The366th Tactical Fighter Wing, flyingRepublic F-84F Thunderstreaks atHolloman Air Force Base, New Mexico was assigned to the division in October 1964. This marked the first time that a wing at a base other than Cannon was assigned to the 832nd. Within a few months of its assignment, the 366th began converting to theMcDonnell F-4 Phantom II. After its conversion was complete and it was combat ready the 366th Wing moved toPhan Rang Air Base, Viet Nam in March 1966 and was reassigned.[10]
In September 1965, the 474th Wing was stripped of its personnel and equipment and became a "paper organization" for the next year. In anticipation of converting the wing to fly theGeneral Dynamics F-111 Aardvark, it began to receive a few personnel in the fall of 1966, but these people were withdrawn in June 1967 and the 474th remained unmanned until January 1968, when it moved toNellis Air Force Base, Nevada and was reassigned.[9]
As a result of thePueblo Crisis the140th Tactical Fighter Wing, an F-100 wing of theColorado Air National Guard, was called to federal service on 25 January 1968 and assigned to the division the following day. Two of its fighter squadrons were transferred to wings in Vietnam after becoming combat ready and the wing became non-operational, transferring on paper to Cannon until it was released from active duty on 30 April 1969.[1][d]
In July 1968, the49th Tactical Fighter Wing, equipped with McDonnell F-4 Phantom IIs, moved to Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico fromSpangdahlem Air Base, Germany. The 49th was theUnited States Air Force's first "dual-based" wing, committed to theNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and subject to immediate return to Europe when needed. Spangdahlem remained the wing's European base, with elements left behind organized into the 7149th Tactical Fighter Wing. The 49th's capability to rapidly deploy and operate in Europe was tested annually in a series of Crested Cap/Reforger exercises[1][11] The 49th Wing's NATO commitment lasted until it was reassigned in 1970. The first test of the wing's deployment capability took place from January through April 1969.[12]
The347th Tactical Fighter Wing atMountain Home Air Force Base was assigned to the 832nd in May 1971, giving it command of all of TAC's F-111 wings. The following year saw the retirement of the division's original aircraft, the F-100, when the last combat ready squadron in the active duty Air Force was inactivated.[13] In September 1972, the 474th Wing deployed its F-111s toTakhli Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, leaving only a small housekeeping detachment behind at Nellis. It flew combat missions until the following March, when part of the wing returned to Nellis, leaving most of its F-111s behind in Thailand. By August it had transferred its remaining Aardvarks toMountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho and converted to The F-4 Phantom II.[9] The 366th Tactical Fighter Wing returned to the division's control in October 1972, when it returned from Southeast Asia in name only to Mountain Home, where it took over the F-111s of the 347th Wing.[10]
The division was inactivated in 1975 and its subordinate wings were assigned directly to Twelfth Air Force.[1][8][10]
The division was reactivated in December 1980 atLuke Air Force Base, Arizona by absorbing the resources of Tactical Training, Luke. The58th and405th Tactical Training Wings were reassigned from the former headquarters at Luke as its operational components and the 58th Combat Support Group was assigned from the 58th Wing to manage support operations for Luke.[g] The 58th Wing conducted training with the F-4C Phantom II and theLockheed F-104G Starfighter. The 405th Wing flew theNorthrop F-5 Freedom Fighter and theMcDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle.[14]
Upon activation at Luke, the division mission was to supervise combat crew training programs atLuke Air Force Base, which included training pilots from West Germany, Mexico, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. Training of foreign students on fighter aircraft frequently required elements of the division to deploy to their countries to assist their governments in the conduct of training.[15] In addition to its training mission, the 832nd was tasked to provide forces to augment theair defense of the United States in the event of an emergency.[16] The division also participated in numerous tactical exercises[1]
DuringOperations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, the division deployed combat and support elements to Southwest Asia, although it did not directly engage in operations. The deployed personnel were replaced at Luke by reservists and Air National Guard personnel who had been called to active duty. The division was inactivated in 1991 when the Air Force implemented the Objective Wing organization, which placed all elements on a base under a single wing and eliminated the division level of organization.[1][17][18][19]
| Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 August 1982 – 31 May 1984 | [1] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 June 1986 – 31 May 1988 | [1] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 June 1988 – 31 May 1990 | [1] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 June 1990 – 30 September 1991 | [1] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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