Country United States | Role Fighter | |
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Active 1963–1996; 2011–Present Branch United States Air Force Part of Air Force Reserve Command Garrison/HQ Davis-Monthan Air Force Base | ||
The 924th Fighter Group is a group of the United States Air Force Reserve. It assigned to Tenth Air Force and stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona as a Geographically Separated Unit (GSU) of the Air Force Reserve Command's 442d Fighter Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. On 1 October 2012, the 924 FG was reassigned to the 944th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. The 924th flies the A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft and is gained by Air Combat Command when mobilized.
Contents
- Need for reserve troop carrier groups
- Activation of the 924th Troop Carrier Group
- Fighter operations
- Lineage
- Assignments
- Components
- Stations
- Aircraft
- References
Until its inactivation in 1994, the group was known as the 924th Fighter Wing and was based at the former Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas, the 924 FW was a subordinate command of Tenth Air Force and was inactivated as a wing on 27 September 1996 concurrent with Bergstrom's closure due to 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission action.
Need for reserve troop carrier groups
After May 1959, the reserve flying force consisted of 45 troop carrier squadrons assigned to 15 troop carrier wings. The squadrons were not all located with their parent wings, but were spread over thirty-five Air Force, Navy and civilian airfields under what was called the Detached Squadron Concept. The concept offered several advantages. Communities were more likely to accept the smaller squadrons than the large wings and the location of separate squadrons in smaller population centers would facilitate recruiting and manning. However, under this concept, all support organizations were located with the wing headquarters. Although this was not a problem when the entire wing was called to active service, mobilizing a single flying squadron and elements to support it proved difficult. This weakness was demonstrated in the partial mobilization of reserve units during the Berlin Crisis of 1961. To resolve this, at the start of 1962, Continental Air Command, (ConAC) determined to reorganize its reserve wings by establishing groups with support elements for each of its troop carrier squadrons. This reorganization would facilitate mobilization of elements of wings in various combinations when needed.
Activation of the 924th Troop Carrier Group
As a result, the 924th Troop Carrier Group was activated at Ellington Air Force Base, Texas on 17 January 1963 as the headquarters for the 704th Troop Carrier Squadron, which had been stationed there since May 1955. Along with group headquarters, a Combat Support Squadron, Materiel Squadron and a Tactical Infirmary were organized to support the 705th.
The group was one of three Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar groups assigned to the 446th Troop Carrier Wing in 1963, the others being the 925th Troop Carrier Group, also at Ellington and the 926th Troop Carrier Group at Naval Air Station New Orleans, Louisiana.
924th flew experimental drop missions in support of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration from 1963 to 1967 and was also part of the USAF Combat Crew Training School, the first Air Force Reserve institution that trained active duty crews. The 924th retired their C-119 Flying Boxcars in 1967, upgrading to the newer Lockheed C-130A Hercules. The 924th ferried C-130s to Taiwan in 1966 and to Southeast Asia from 1968-1970, with unit members flying more than 120 missions to Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. The unit transferred to Military Airlift Command (MAC) control in 1974 and moved to Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas in 1976 as part of the USAF pullout from Ellington and turnover of the installation to the Texas Air National Guard as Ellington Field ANGB. At Bergstrom, the unit became the first Air Force Reserve unit assigned, and was upgraded to the newer C-130B.
Fighter operations
In 1981, the 924th was transferred back to TAC and realigned as the 924th Tactical Fighter Group, converting to the McDonnell F-4 Phantom II. With the mission change, the 924th was reassigned to the Air Force Reserve's 301st Tactical Fighter Wing at Carswell Air Force Base, while the 924th remained at Bergstrom. The 924th trained with the F-4D throughout the 1980s, being upgraded to the F-4E in 1989. With the retirement of all F-4 Phantom IIs from Air Force, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard service in the early 1990s, the 924th was re-equipped with the Block 15 General Dynamics F-16A Fighting Falcon in 1991. The 924th was the last USAF F-4E Phantom II organization in Air Force Reserve service.
Renamed the 924th Fighter Group, in 1994 the 924th's equipment was again upgraded to the front-line Block 32 F-16Cs and the unit was upgraded as the 924th Fighter Wing and coming under the direct command of Tenth Air Force. However, with the end of the Cold War, Bergstrom was on the list of bases to be closed under the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission process, and the 924th Fighter Wing was inactivated in September 1996 with the base's closure. Most of the 924th's F-16s were reassigned to the California Air National Guard's 144th Fighter Wing.
In 2011, the unit was reactivated as the 924th Fighter Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. As part of the Air Force Reserve Command, the 924th was assigned to the 442d Fighter Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, and is now a unit of the 944th Fighter Wing. The 924th currently flies the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II close air support aircraft. The group is an associate of the 355th Fighter Wing and conducts formal training on the A-10,