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| 319th Air Refueling Wing | |
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 319th Air Refueling Wing Shield |
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| Active | 19 June 1942 — present |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | Air Force |
| Type | Air Refueling |
| Size | 2,600 |
| Part of | Air Mobility Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Grand Forks Air Force Base |
| Nickname | Warriors of the North |
| Engagements |
      
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| Decorations |  DUC AFOUA FCdG w/ Palm |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Colonel John E. Michel |
| Notable commanders |
Joseph R. Holzapple |
The 319th Air Refueling Wing (319 ARW) is a wing of the United States Air Force based out of Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota.
Contents |
Mission
The 319th Air Refueling Wing, one of only three "super tanker" wings in the United States Air Force. The 319th guarantees global reach and engagement for the U.S. and its allies through robust air refueling and airlift capabilities.
The mission of the 319th Air Refueling Wing is to guarantee extensive "Global Engagement" capability through worldwide mobility operations, including air refueling and airlift requirements executed by 48 KC-135R aircraft and 3,400 personnel.
The wing supports global contingency and conventional operations and the Single Integrated operational Plan (SIOP). It also provides support functions for an Air Mobility Command (AMC) major weapons system and supports a wide range of conventional and nuclear plans.
The wing also provides infrastructure support for an Air Force Space Command group equipped with Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles.
The 319th Air Refueling Wing won the 2002 Solano Trophy on April 26, 2002 for the best active-duty unit within Headquarters 15th Air Force.
Global War on Terrorism
After September 11 2001, the wing was the first to fly an Air Mobility Command sortie supporting the Air Force's response to the terrorist attacks by refueling the F-16 that delivered the Federal Emergency Management Agency director to New York only three and a half hours after the attacks. All of the 319th Air Refueling Wing's mission-capable aircraft were prepped, fueled and cocked within 24 hours.
By the end of 2001, the wing had flown more than 120 Operation Noble Eagle sorties, off-loading more than 4.8 million pounds of fuel to 260 combat air patrol and support aircraft. KC-135 tankers from the 319th were the first on the ground, first in the air, first to fly over enemy territory, and first to provide aerial refuelings while a base of operations in the Persian Gulf was being established for Operation Enduring Freedon. In total, they had flown more than 890 sorties, flying 6,700 hours and off-loading more than 50 million pounds of fueld to more than 3,000 receivers.
The wing also earned an "excellent" and "solid green" for the deployed 319th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron during the first-ever Expeditionary Operational Readiness Inspection while conducting operations at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. Additionally, for the second year in a row, the 319th Aircraft Generation Squadron earned top Air Mobility Comman aircraft maintenance effectiveness honors for the medium category.
The 319th Air Refueling Wing reached a significant milestone 03 July 2002 by flying its 1,000th hour in support of Operation Noble Eagle. The milestone-marking mission started the evening of July 2 and was commanded by Capt. Kulka of the 905th Air Refueling Squadron. The crew’s mission was to provide fuel to F-16’s from Shaw Air Force Base, SC, while they patrolled the skies over the nation’s capitol.
319th Air Expeditionary Group
The 319th Air Expeditionary Group deployed to a makeshift tent city somewhere in the arid desert of Southwest Asia. From the start of air operations over Afghanistan Oct. 7, by 2 November 2001 the 319th Air Expeditionary Group [319th AEG] had flown over 150 sorties and more than 1050 hours; pumping over 1.4 million gallons of gas into more than 450 planes.
Keeping jets aloft and providing fuel to the fight – it’s the main reason the 319th Air Expeditionary Group Aircraft Generation Squadron is deployed to ensures the jets keep flying and are fully-prepared to support the air campaign against terrorism. Consisting of crew chiefs, aircraft specialists, maintenance specialists and various support agencies, the AGS is comprised exclusively of personnel from Grand Forks AFB.
Refueling by the Grand Forks (N.D.) Air Force Base's 319th Air Refueling Wing is the mission of Base X in Oman, the secret outpost of the US Air Force in a country that wants its cooperation kept quiet. The mission, going on since early in the Afghan war, has become workaday. Base X serves as the forward operating location for US air refueling aircraft in the Middle East. US bombers, crucial during Operation Anaconda in March, are just some of the planes that receive mid-air refueling from KC-135 tankers stationed there.
Subordinate organizations
319th Operations Group (319 OG)
- 905th Air Refueling Squadron (905 ARS)
- 906th Air Refueling Squadron (906 ARS)
- 912th Air Refueling Squadron (912 ARS)
- 319th Operations Support Squadron (319 OSS)
319th Maintenance Group (319 MXG)
- 319th Maintenance Squadron (319 MXS)
- 319th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron (319 AMXS)
- 319th Maintenance Operations Squadron (319 MOS)
319th Mission Support Group (319 MSG)
- 319th Civil Engineer Squadron (319 CES)
- 319th Communications Squadron (319 CS)
- 319th Contracting Squadron (319 CONS)
- 319th Force Support Squadron (319 FSS)
- 319th Security Forces Squadron (319 SFS)
- 319th Logistics Readiness Squadron (319 LRS)
319th Medical Group (319 MDG)
- 319th Aerospace Medicine Squadron (319 AMDS) *Deactivated 22 July 2008*
- 319th Medical Operations Squadron (319 MDOS)
- 319th Medical Support Squadron (319 MDSS)
319th Comptroller Squadron (319 CPTS)
History
Lineage
- Established as 319th Bombardment Group (Medium) on 19 Jun 1942
- Activated on 26 Jun 1942
- Redesignated: 319th Bombardment Group, Medium on 20 Aug 1943
- Redesignated: 319th Bombardment Group, Light on 3 Feb 1945
- Inactivated on 18 Dec 1945
- Activated in the Reserve on 27 Dec 1946
- Inactivated on 2 Sep 1949
- Established as 319th Bombardment Wing, Light, on 10 May 1949
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- 319th Bombardment Group became subordinate organization to the Wing
- Activated in the Reserve on 27 Jun 1949
- Inactivated on 2 Sep 1949
- Activated in the Reserve on 10 Oct 1949
- Ordered to active service on 10 Mar 1951
- Inactivated on 28 Mar 1951
- Redesignated 319th Fighter-Bomber Wing on 12 Apr 1955
- Activated in the Reserve on 18 May 1955
- Inactivated on 16 Nov 1957
- Redesignated 319th Bombardment Wing, Heavy, and activated, on 15 Nov 1962
- Organized on 1 Feb 1963
- Redesignated: 319th Wing on 1 Sep 1991
- Redesignated: 319th Bomb Wing on 1 Jun 1992
- Redesignated: 319th Air Refueling Wing on 1 Oct 1993
- Deployed as: 319th Air Expeditionary Group, 2001-TBD.
Assignments
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Stations
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Components
Groups 319 Bombardment (later, 319 Fighter-Bomber; 319 Operations)
- 27 Jun-2 Sep 1949
- 10 Oct 1949-22 Mar 1951
- 18 May 1955-16 Nov 1957
- 1 Sep 1991-.
Squadrons
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Aircraft operated
- B-26 Marauder (1942 – 1944)
- B-25 Mitchell (1944)
- A-26 Invader (1945, 1949 – 1951)
- AT-6 Texan (1949 – 1951)
- AT-7 Navigator (1949 – 1951)
- F-84 Thunderjet (1955 – 1957)
- T-33 Shooting Star (1955 – 1957)
- F-86 Sabre (1957)
- B-52 Stratofortress (1963 – 1986)
- KC-135 Stratotanker (1963 – Present)
- B-1 Lancer (1987 – 1993)
- C-12 Huron (1993 – 1995)
Operational History
World War II
The 319th Bombardment Group trained in Louisiana before moving to England in three echelons in September 1942. In October and November 1942, it moved to Algeria as the first B-26 unit in that theater, entering combat for the first time on 28 November. From then to March 1943, the group bombed German and Italian targets in Tunisia and Libya, including railroads, airfields, harbor installations, and enemy shipping along the Mediterranean Coast. The 319th trained in French Morocco from March, then returned to combat in June 1943, attacking enemy targets on Italian island in the Mediterranean, including Sicily, Sardinia, and Pantelleria. From bases in Algeria and Tunisia, the group supported the Allied invasion of Italy, bombing bridges and marshalling yards during the late summer and early autumn of 1943. In November, it moved to Sardinia, to strike Axis targets in central Italy. Early in 1944, the 319th supported Allied ground forces as they advanced in the Cassino and Anzio areas. Later in the year, the group attacked German supply lines in northern Italy, bombing bridges, marshalling yards, and roads. In March, it earned two Distinguished Unit Citations for raids on marshalling yards in Rome and Florence that damaged enemy communications without destroying cultural monuments. For supporting the Allied ground advance in Italy during April, May, and June 1944, the group earned the French Croix de Guerre. During the summer, it bombed bridges over the Po River in northern Italy to block the stream of German supplies and reinforcements going southward. The 319th Bombardment Group supported the invasion of southern France in August 1944 by attacking coastal batteries, radar stations, and bridges. From Corsica, it hit railroad bridges in Northern Italy and late in the year attacked railroad lines through the Brenner Pass that connected Germany and Austria with Italy.
In January 1945, the 319th returned to the United States, where it began to train with A-26 aircraft for operations in the Pacific Theater. Between May and July 1945, the group moved by ship to Okinawa, and on 16 July flew its first mission against Japan. From then until the end of the fighting in early August, the 319th attacked enemy targets such as airfields and industrial centers on Kyūshū and occupied Shanghai area of China, and shipping around the Ryukyu Islands and in the East China Sea. In November and December 1945, the group returned to the United States.
Cold War
During the Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower administrations, the 319th served three periods in the continental United States as a reserve organization. In May 1955 it replaced the 8710th Pilot Training Wing, and again performed reserve training and, from July 1956 through August 1957, maintained two F-84s on "runway alert" at Memphis Municipal Airport under operational control of 20th Air Division, Air Defense Command. It was replaced by the 445th Troop Carrier Wing in November 1957
The 319th replaced the 4133d Strategic Wing in February 1963. During the following years, it conducted global bombardment training and air refueling operations to meet Strategic Air Command (SAC) commitments, earning the Omaha Trophy as the outstanding wing in SAC for 1978. It participated in a SAC program to test admission of females to the inflight refueling career field, January-December 1979. The wing converted from B-52 to B-1 bombers, 1986-1987 and flew training missions with conventional and nuclear configurations.
Post Cold War
Tanker crews assigned to the wing assisted in air refueling efforts during the invasion of Panama in December 1989. It deployed tankers to Oman, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia to provide air refueling and cargo missions in Southwest Asia, August 1990-April 1991. The wing briefly lost its refueling mission in September 1992, but in October 1993, having lost its bombardment squadron, regained the refueling mission. The 319th supported worldwide Tanker Task Forces, as well as, combat operations in Southwest Asia, Central Europe, and Counter Narco-Terror operations in Central America by providing air refueling for combat aircraft, 1993-present.
Unit shields
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319 ARW |
 905 ARS |
 906 ARS |
 912 ARS |
 319 OSS |
 319 MXG |
References
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This article incorporates text from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website which, as a United States government publication, is in the public domain. |
External links
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