The 919th Special Operations Wing (919 SOW) is an Air Reserve Component (ARC) unit of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...

. The 919 SOW is assigned to the

Tenth Air Force The Tenth Air Force (10 AF) is a unit of the U.S. Air Force, specifically a numbered air force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). 10 AF is headquartered at Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base/Carswell Field (formerly Carswell ...

of the

Air Force Reserve Command The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commi ...

(AFRC) and is stationed at

Duke Field Duke Field , also known as Eglin AFB Auxiliary Field #3, is a military airport located three miles (5 km) south of the central business district of Crestview, in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. History Duke Field was one of the f ...

(Eglin Air Force Auxiliary Field #3), Florida. The 919 SOW is an associate unit of the

1st Special Operations Wing The 1st Special Operations Wing (1 SOW) at Hurlburt Field, Florida is one of three United States Air Force active duty Special Operations wings and falls under the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). The 1st Special Operations Wing i ...

(1 SOW), Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), at nearby

Hurlburt Field Hurlburt Field is a United States Air Force installation located in Okaloosa County, Florida, immediately west of the town of Mary Esther. It is part of the greater Eglin Air Force Base reservation and is home to Headquarters Air Force S ...

, Florida. If mobilized, the 919 SOW is operationally gained by AFSOC. The wing is composed of approximately 1,300 reservists. Air Reserve Technicians, commonly referred to as ARTs, are the nucleus of the wing. They provide management continuity to keep units combat ready. ARTs carry dual status as full-time civil service employees for the Air Force who, as a condition of employment, must concurrently participate as Air Force Reservists, but who wear their uniforms and use their rank titles all the time. More than 280 ARTs and 35 civilians support the wing in day-to-day operations, augmented by approximately 900 Traditional Reservists (TR) during unit training assemblies, active duty periods, and mobilizations.

History

Need for reserve troop carrier groups

During the first half of 1955, the Air Force began detaching Air Force Reserve squadrons from their parent wing locations to separate sites. The concept offered several advantages. Communities were more likely to accept the smaller squadrons than the large

wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is exp ...

and the location of separate squadrons in smaller population centers would facilitate recruiting and manning.

Continental Air Command Continental Air Command (ConAC) (1948–1968) was a Major Command of the United States Air Force (USAF) responsible primarily for administering the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve. During the Korean War, ConAC provided the necessary au ...

(ConAC)'s plan called for placing Air Force Reserve units at fifty-nine installations located throughout the United States. When these relocations were completed in 1959, reserve wing headquarters and wing support elements would typically be on one base, along with one (or in some cases two) of the wing's flying squadrons, while the remaining flying squadrons were spread over thirty-five Air Force, Navy and civilian airfields under what was called the Detached Squadron Concept. Although this dispersal 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 The Berlin Crisis of 1961 (german: Berlin-Krise) occurred between 4 June – 9 November 1961, and was the last major European politico-military incident of the Cold War about the occupational status of the German capital city, Berlin, and of p ...

To resolve this, at the start of 1962, 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. However, as this plan was entering its implementation phase, another partial mobilization occurred for the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the Unite ...

, with the units being released on 22 November 1962. The formation of troop carrier groups occurred in January 1963 for units that had not been mobilized, but was delayed until February for those that had been.

Activation of 919th Troop Carrier Group

The 919th Troop Carrier Group (919 TCG) was established at

Memphis Municipal Airport Memphis Municipal Airport is a city-owned public use airport located one nautical mile (1.85 km) northeast of the central business district of Memphis, a city in Hall County, Texas, United States. Facilities and aircraft Memphis Municipal A ...

, Tennessee on 11 February 1963 as the headquarters for the

701st Troop Carrier Squadron 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...

, which had been stationed there since November 1957. Along with group headquarters, a Combat Support Squadron, Materiel Squadron and a Tactical Infirmary were organized to support the 701st. The group's mission was to organize, recruit and train Air Force Reserve personnel in the tactical airlift of airborne forces, their equipment and supplies and delivery of these forces and materials by

airdrop An airdrop is a type of airlift in which items including weapons, equipment, humanitarian aid or leaflets are delivered by military or civilian aircraft without their landing. Developed during World War II to resupply otherwise inaccessible ...

, landing or cargo extraction systems. The group was equipped with

Fairchild C-123 Provider The Fairchild C-123 Provider is an American military transport aircraft designed by Chase Aircraft and then built by Fairchild Aircraft for the U.S. Air Force. In addition to its USAF service, which included later service with the Air Force Rese ...

s for

Tactical Air Command Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. It was inactivated on 1 J ...

airlift operations. The 919th was one of three groups assigned to the

445th Troop Carrier Wing The 445th Airlift Wing is an Air Reserve Component of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the Fourth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. If mobilized, the wing is gained by the Air ...

in 1963, the others being the 918th Troop Carrier Group at

Dobbins Air Force Base Dobbins Air Reserve Base or Dobbins ARB is a United States Air Force reserve air base located in Marietta, Georgia, a suburb about northwest of Atlanta. Originally known as Dobbins Air Force Base, it was named in honor of Captain Charles ...

, Georgia, and the

920th Troop Carrier Group 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

, also at

, Tennessee. The 919 TCG was inactivated in December 1965. In 1971, the 919th was reactivated and renamed the 919th Tactical Airlift Group (919 TAG), equipped with the

Lockheed C-130A Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally design ...

and based at

, Florida. It performed tactical

airlift An airlift is the organized delivery of supplies or personnel primarily via military transport aircraft. Airlifting consists of two distinct types: strategic and tactical. Typically, strategic airlifting involves moving material long distan ...

of personnel and cargo, in addition to

ping

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

paratrooper A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during Wor ...

s during

exercises Exercise is a body activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness. It is performed for various reasons, to aid growth and improve strength, develop muscles and the cardiovascular system, hone athletic sk ...

from 1971 to 1974.

Special Operations

Redesignated the 919th Special Operations Group (919 SOG) on 1 July 1975, the group began transitioning to the

Lockheed AC-130A Spectre The Lockheed AC-130 gunship is a heavily armed, long-endurance, ground-attack variant of the C-130 Hercules transport, fixed-wing aircraft. It carries a wide array of ground-attack weapons that are integrated with sophisticated sensors, na ...

aircraft and training for

gunship A gunship is a military aircraft armed with heavy aircraft guns, primarily intended for attacking ground targets either as airstrike or as close air support. In modern usage the term "gunship" refers to fixed-wing aircraft having laterally-mo ...

operations Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

, with

close air support In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movemen ...

as a primary duty, but also including the ability to perform armed interdiction,

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops ( skirmishe ...

, and escort, as well as forward air control (FAC) and

combat Combat (French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, o ...

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

(CSAR) in conventional or

unconventional warfare Unconventional warfare (UW) is broadly defined as "military and quasi-military operations other than conventional warfare" and may use covert forces, subversion, or guerrilla warfare. This is typically done to avoid escalation into conventiona ...

setting. In addition to its primary combat duties, the 919 SOG also provided range clearing support for

missile In military terminology, a missile is a missile guidance, guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously ...

launches at

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is an installation of the United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida. Headquartered at the nearby Patrick Space Force Base, the stat ...

and along the

Eastern Test Range The Eastern Range (ER) is an American rocket range (Spaceport) that supports missile and rocket launches from the two major launch heads located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida. The range ha ...

from 1979 to 1989 and for

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedi ...

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...

launches at the

John F. Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968, ...

from 1981 to 1988. Mobilized for active duty for

Operation JUST CAUSE Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

, the then 919 SOG's 711th Special Operations Squadron's AC-130A aircraft hit key facilities and provided cover for U.S. Army troops during the

invasion An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing co ...

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

, December 1989 – January 1990. On 1 April 1990 the 919 SOG gained a second special operations squadron, the 71st, located at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base,

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...

. Both squadrons participated in the conflict in Southwest Asia: the 71 SOS, flying HH-3Es deployed 12 January 1991 – 16 March 1991 and the 711 SOS, flying AC-130As, deployed 7 February – 12 March. In addition, the 711 SOS used their AC-130As to fly cargo and passengers. On 1 August 1992, the 919 SOG was upgraded to wing status and renamed the 919th Special Operations Wing (919 SOW). The 919 SOW lost the 71 SOS on 1 October 1993 but, in late 1994, gained the 5th Special Operations Squadron (5 SOS). The 5 SOS began to receive their MC-130P Combat Shadow aircraft in April 1995 and trained for special operations, aerial refueling of special operations

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribut ...

s, and resupply missions. The 711 SOS transitioned from AC-130A gunships to

MC-130E The Lockheed MC-130 is the basic designation for a family of special mission aircraft operated by the United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), a wing of the Air Education and Training Command, and an AFSOC-gained wing of the ...

Combat Talon I and

MC-130P The Lockheed MC-130 is the basic designation for a family of special mission aircraft operated by the United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), a wing of the Air Education and Training Command, and an AFSOC-gained wing of the ...

Combat Shadow aircraft beginning in October 1995 and trained for a primary mission of infiltration, exfiltration and resupply of special operations forces. Periodically the wing deployed personnel and aircraft to support special operations forces in contingency operations worldwide, to include mobilization and forward deployment in 2001-2003 in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM and Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. The wing also continued to conduct numerous

humanitarian Humanitarianism is an active belief in the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotiona ...

deployments. While the 919 SOW would retire its MC-130P Combat Shadow aircraft in 2008, the wing continued to conduct flight training in MC-130E Combat Talon I for both Air Force Special Operations Command and

from 1 October 1997 until the retirement of the MC-130E in 2013. In 2008, the 919 SOW also added the

U-28A Draco The Pilatus PC-12 is a pressurized, single-engined, turboprop aircraft, manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Stans, Switzerland, since 1991. It was designed as a high-performance utility aircraft that incorporates a large aft cargo door in ...

aircraft and

MQ-1 Predator The General Atomics MQ-1 Predator (often referred to as the predator drone) is an American remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) built by General Atomics that was used primarily by the United States Air Force (USAF) and Central Intelligence Agency ...

remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) to its inventory. An Air Force news release dated 18 April 2013 announced the final flight of the wing's MC-130E aircraft, which was flown to the

309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group The 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (309th AMARG),Offici ...

(309 AMARG) "boneyard" at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona. Release authority 160226-F-oc707-301

Retirement of the MC-130E marked the end of the 919 SOW's status with unit-owned aircraft and its transition to that of an "Associate" unit supporting and sharing aircraft with the active duty Regular Air Force's

and elements of the

492nd Special Operations Wing The 492nd Special Operations Wing is a United States Air Forces unit stationed at Hurlburt Field, Florida. It was activated in May 2017 to replace the Air Force Special Operations Air Warfare Center. During World War II the unit entered combat ...

, both located at nearby Hurlburt Field. The 919 SOW's MC-130E Combat Talons were replaced with

PZL C-145A Skytruck The PZL M28 Skytruck is a Polish STOL light cargo and passenger plane, produced by PZL Mielec, as a development of licence-built Antonov An-28s. Early licence-built planes were designated PZL An-28. The maritime patrol and reconnaissance varian ...

aircraft which had already begun arriving at Duke Field. Two years later, the C-145, U-28, and MQ-1 would be augmented by the arrival of the C-146A Wolfhound aircraft. In 2015, the 711th commenced sharing buildings, flightline, aircraft and mission with the active duty

6th Special Operations Squadron The 6th Special Operations Squadron is part of the 27th Special Operations Wing (27 SOW) at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico. The squadron operates MC-130J Commando II aircraft in support of special operations. The 6th SOS specializes in the u ...

(6 SOS) at Duke Field. The 6 SOS is a geographically separated unit (GSU) of the

(492 SOW) at Hurlburt Field, Florida. In 2018, the 919 SOW's MQ-1 aircraft were retired and replaced by the

MQ-9 Reaper The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (sometimes called Predator B) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) primarily for the Uni ...

remotely piloted aircraft.

Units

* 919th Special Operations Wing,

, Florida ** 919th Special Operations Group ***

2nd Special Operations Squadron The 2nd Special Operations Squadron is an Air Force Reserve Command unit, assigned to the 919th Operations Group. Stationed at Hurlburt Field, Florida, the unit operates General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted vehicles. The unit is one ...

, Florida ***

5th Special Operations Squadron The 5th Special Operations Squadron is part of the 919th Special Operations Wing. The 5th is based at Hurlburt Field, Florida. It operates U-28 aircraft providing special operations capability. Mission The 5th Special Operations Squadron pro ...

U-28A The Pilatus PC-12 is a pressurized, single-engined, turboprop aircraft, manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Stans, Switzerland, since 1991. It was designed as a high-performance utility aircraft that incorporates a large aft cargo door in ...

*** 311th Special Operations Intelligence Squadron *** 711th Special Operations Squadron, C-145A Skytruck ***

859th Special Operations Squadron The 859th Special Operations Squadron is a reserve unit of the United States Air Force. It was first activated in October 1942 as the 517th Bombardment Squadron, when the Army Air Forces replaced National Guard observation units that had been ...

, C-146A Wolfhound *** 919th Special Operations Support Squadron ** 919th Special Operations Mission Support Group *** 919th Special Operations Civil Engineering Squadron *** 919th Special Operations Security Forces Squadron *** 919th Special Operations Communications Squadron *** 919th Special Operations Logistics Readiness Squadron *** 919th Special Operations Force Support Squadron ** 919th Special Operations Maintenance Group *** 919th Special Operations Maintenance Squadron *** 919th Special Operations Aircraft Maintenance Squadron *** 919th Maintenance Operations ** 919th Special Operations Medical Squadron

Lineage

* Established as the 919th Troop Carrier Group, Assault and activated on 15 January 1963 (not organized) : Organized in the Reserve on 11 February 1963 : Discontinued and inactivated on 15 December 1965 * Redesignated 919th Tactical Airlift Group on 17 June 1971 : Activated in the Reserve on 30 July 1971 : Redesignated 919th Special Operations Group on 1 July 1975 : Redesignated 919th Special Operations Wing on 1 August 1992

Assignments

, 15 January 1963 (not organized) *

(later 445th Air Transport Wing), 11 February 1963 – 15 December 1965 *

459th Tactical Airlift Wing The 459th Air Refueling Wing is a wing of the Air Force Reserve Command of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the Fourth Air Force and stationed at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. If mobilized, the wing would be gained by the Air Mobi ...

, 30 July 1971 * Eastern Air Force Reserve Region, 1 December 1974 *

, 8 October 1976 *

Fourth Air Force The Fourth Air Force (4 AF) is a numbered air force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). It is headquartered at March Air Reserve Base, California. 4 AF directs the activities and supervises the training of more than 30,000 Air Force Reser ...

, 1 March 1983 * Tenth Air Force, 1 July 1994 – present

Components

* 919th Operations Group (later 919th Special Operations Group): 1 August 1992 – present * 71st Special Operations Squadron: 1 April 1990 – 1 August 1992 * 701st Troop Carrier Squadron: 11 February 1963 – 15 December 1965 * 711th Tactical Airlift Squadron (later Special Operations Squadron): 30 July 1971 – 1 August 1992

Stations

* Memphis Municipal Airport, Tennessee, 11 February 1963 – 15 December 1965 *

Eglin Air Force Base Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida Panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County. The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing). The ...

Auxiliary Field #3 (

), Florida, 30 July 1971 – present

Aircraft

(1963–1965) *

(1971–1975) *

(1975–1995) * Sikorsky HH-3 Jolly Green Giant (1990–1993) * Lockheed MC-130E Combat Talon (1995–2013) *

Lockheed MC-130P Combat Shadow The Lockheed MC-130 is the basic designation for a family of special mission aircraft operated by the United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), a wing of the Air Education and Training Command, and an AFSOC-gained wing of the ...

(1995–2008) * Pilatus U-28 (2008–present) *

General Atomics MQ-1 Predator The General Atomics MQ-1 Predator (often referred to as the predator drone) is an American remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) built by General Atomics that was used primarily by the United States Air Force (USAF) and Central Intelligence Agency ( ...

(2008–2018) *

(2013–present) * Dornier C-146A Wolfhound (2015–present) *

General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (sometimes called Predator B) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) primarily for the Uni ...

(2018–present)

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* * *

External links

919 SOW Home Page
{{USAF Air Force Special Operations Command Military units and formations in Florida

919 __NOTOC__ Year 919 ( CMXIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By Place Byzantine Empire * March 25 – Romanos Lekapenos, admiral (''droungarios'') of the By ...

Military units and formations of the United States Air Force Reserves