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22d Air Refueling Wing
22d Air Refueling Wing shield
Active	1948 – Present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Aerial Refueling
Part of	Air Mobility Command
Garrison/HQ	McConnell Air Force Base
Motto	Ducemus - "We Lead"
Decorations	DUC AFOUA PPUC
Commanders
Current commander	Colonel James W. Crowhurst
Notable commanders	Howell M. Estes II Hansford T. Johnson

The 22d Air Refueling Wing (22 ARW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Mobility Command Eighteenth Air Force. It is stationed at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas. The wing is also the host unit at McConnell.

Its primary mission is to provide global reach by conducting air refueling and airlift where and when needed. It is one of only three supertanker KC-135 Stratotanker wings in the Air Force.

The wing has a long and distinguished history. Its origins date to 1940 as the 22d Bombardment Group. The group was one of the first United States Army Air Force units to be deployed into the Pacific Theater after the Pearl Harbor Attack with the Martin B-26 Marauder medium bomber. The 22d Operations Group carries the lineage and history of its highly decorated World War II predecessor unit. Active for over 60 years, the 22 ARW was a component wing of Strategic Air Command's deterrent force during the Cold War.

The 22d Air Refueling Wing is commanded by Colonel James W. Crowhurst. Its Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sergeant Timothy Horn.

Mission

The 22 ARW is also the Operational Command Unit of the 931st Air Refueling Group, administratively assigned to the 507th Air Refueling Wing, Fourth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command. The 931 ARG is the first Associate air-refueling unit in the Air Force Reserve Command. As an associate unit, the 931st does not have operational control of the KC-135R aircraft. Instead, the host unit at McConnell AFB, the 22 ARW, provides a designated number of aircraft for mission taskings assigned to the 931st. Upon mobilization of the 931 ARG, the 22 ARW and the Air Mobility Command would gain the 931st.

Subordinate organizations

Additionally, the 22d Comptroller Squadron (22 CPTS) reports directly to the wing staff.

History

For additional history and lineage, see 22d Operations Group

Lineage

• Established as 22d Bombardment Wing, Medium, on July 28, 1948

Activated on August 1, 1948

Redesignated: 22d Bombardment Wing, Heavy, on March 15, 1963

Redesignated: 22d Air Refueling Wing, Heavy, on October 1, 1982

Redesignated: 22d Air Refueling Wing on September 1, 1991

Assignments

Components

Wings

• 1st Fighter: attached July 1, 1949 – April 1, 1950
• 330th Bombardment: attached June 27, 1949 – April 30, 1951

Groups

• 22d Bombardment (later, 22d Operations): August 1, 1948 – June 16, 1952 (detached August 1, 1948 – June 30, 1949; November 14, 1949 – February 20, 1950; July 4 – c. October 31, 1950); September 1, 1991 – .
• 458th Operations: June 1, 1992 – July 1, 1993

Squadrons

• 2d Bombardment: attached February 10, 1951 – June 15, 1952, assigned June 16, 1952 – March 15, 1963; assigned September 15, 1963 – October 1, 1982; February 1, 1940 – June 16, 1952 (detached February 10, 1951 – June 16, 1952) This unit was later redesignated as the 2nd Strategic Squadron and return to active service under the 306th SW at RAF Mildenhall.
• 6th Air Refueling: January 3, 1989 – September 1, 1991; September 1, 1991 – January 1, 1994.
• 9th Air Refueling: August 1, 1982 – September 1, 1991; September 1, 1991 – January 1, 1994.
• 18th Reconnaissance (later, 408th Bombardment): attached February 1, 1940 – April 24, 1942; assigned April 24, 1942 – April 29, 1946; January 1, 1959 – January 1, 1962
• 19th Bombardment: attached February 10, 1951 – June 15, 1952, assigned June 16, 1952 – March 15, 1963; February 1, 1940 – June 16, 1952
• 22d Air Refueling: attached February 10, 1951 – June 15, 1952, assigned June 16, 1952 – June 15, 1960; assigned July 1, 1963 – December 1, 1989; June 16, 1950 – June 16, 1952.
• 33d Bombardment: attached February 10, 1951 – June 15, 1952, assigned June 16, 1952 – March 15, 1963; February 1, 1940 – June 16, 1952.
• 320th Air Refueling: June 16, 1960 – September 15, 1962
• 344th Air Refueling: April 29, 1994 – .
• 349th Air Refueling: January 1, 1994 – .
• 350th Air Refueling: July 1, 1994 – .
• 352d Bombardment: attached September 20 – c. November 1951
• 384th Air Refueling: January 1, 1994 – .
• 459th Airlift, April 1 – October 1, 1993.
• 486th Bombardment: October 2, 1966 – July 1, 1971
• 909th Air Refueling: June 25, 1966 – July 1, 1971

Stations

• Smoky Hill AFB, Kansas, 1 Aug 1948
• March AFB, California, May 1, 1949 - December 31, 1993
• McConnell AFB Kansas, January 1, 1994 – Present

Aircraft operated

References for commands and major units assigned, components and stations:^[1][2][3]

Operations

Established as 22 Bombardment Wing, Medium, on 28 Jul 1948. Activated on 1 Aug 1948. The new wing was assigned to March AFB, California on May 10, 1949. It was not operational, so it shared a commander with the 1st Fighter Wing. The 22d Bomb became operational on July 1, 1949. The 1st Fighter Wing was attached to it and both wings shared the same commanding officer.

Korean War

Detached from the wing, the 22d Bombardment Group deployed its B-29s in early July 1950 to Kadena AB, Okinawa, where it came under control of FEAF Bomber Command (Provisional). On July 13, the group flew its first mission, against the marshalling yards and oil refinery at Wonsan, North Korea. By October 21, it had amassed fifty-seven missions against the enemy, attacking bridges, factories, industrial targets, troop concentrations, airfields, marshalling yards, communications centers, and port facilities. During four months of combat, the group flew 335 sorties with only fourteen aborts and dropped over 6,500 tons of bombs. It redeployed to the United States in late October and November 1950.

Cold War

Following the return of the Bombardment Group the wing trained for proficiency in global strategic bombardment, adding air refueling to its mission in 1952. The wing deployed at RAF Mildenhall, England, September–December 1951, and at RAF Upper Heyford, England, December 1953 – March 1954.

From April to July 1957, it deployed to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. The wing was not tactically operational March 11, 1963 – September 15, 1963, while converting to B-52 bombers and KC-135 tankers. The wing supported Fifteenth Air Force's post-attack command and control system with EC-135s from, September 1964 – March 1970.

The 22d was a "super" wing from 1966–1971, with two bombardment and two tanker squadrons. From March 10 to c. October 1, 1967 the wing was reduced to a small "rear-echelon" non-tactical organization with all tactical resources and most support resources loaned to SAC organizations involved in combat operations in Southeast Asia. The wing continued to support SAC operations in the Far East and Southeast Asia through 1975, and from April 10, 1972 to October 29, 1973 again the wing had all its bomber resources loaned to other organizations for combat and contingency operations. It’s KC-135 resources were also on loan from April 10 to September 1972; afterwards a few tankers returned to wing control.

The wing maintained a strategic bombardment alert posture from, 1973–1982, but in 1978 it added conventional warfare missions, including mine-laying and sea reconnaissance/surveillance.

From 1982, the wing provided strategic air refueling and airlift in support of worldwide U.S. Air Force and other Department of Defense operations and training exercises. In 1983, the wing moved personnel and cargo in support of Chadian resistance to Libyan incursions and conducted airlift and refueling missions during rescue of U.S. nationals in Grenada. The wing also provided specialized refueling support to SR-71 aircraft reconnaissance operations worldwide from, c. 1985–1990.

Modern era

A KC-135R Stratotanker from the 22d Air Refueling Wing at McConnell AFB, Kansas refuels an F-22A Raptor from Edwards AFB, California

The 22 ARW supported F-117 deployments to Saudi Arabia and contributed aircraft and personnel to logistics efforts in support of the liberation of Kuwait from, 1990–1991.

On June 1, 1992, the 22d ARW was assigned to the new Air Mobility Command, and from the end of 1992 to 1994, the wing flew humanitarian airlift missions to Somalia. It also provided air refueling in support of deployments to Haiti in 1994.

On January 1, 1994, the wing was reassigned w/p/o/e from March AFB (upon the transfer of March AFB to the Air Force Reserve) to McConnell AFB, Kansas, replacing the deactivating 384th Bomb Wing. Various air refueling squadrons were reassigned from other units as follows:

• 344 ARS from 68th ARW, Seymour Johnson AFB, NC
• 349 & 350 ARS from 100th ARW, Beale AFB, CA
• 384 ARS from deactivated 384th BW.

After the realignment, the 22d ARS deployed crews and aircraft to support no-fly missions over northern and southern Iraq and over Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1999, wing aircraft and crews deployed to the Mediterranean to refuel NATO aircraft over Serbia. After the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington D.C. in September 2001, wing-supplied tanker crews and aircraft air-refueled combat aircraft on missions to the Afghanistan area.

Operations

• Korean War
• Operation Urgent Fury
• Operation Northern Watch
• Operation Southern Watch
• Operation Deliberate Force
• Operation Allied Force
• Operation Enduring Freedom
• Operation Iraqi Freedom

References

United States Air Force portal

Military of the United States portal

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

Bibliography

External links

• McConnell AFB Home Page

Open source encyclopedia content modification information:

This page was last modified on 18 January 2010 at 20:37.

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