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409th Air Expeditionary Group

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409th Air Expeditionary Group
Airmen from the 409th Air Expeditionary Group at Camp Sarafovo, Bulgaria load humanitarian cargo onto aC-17 Globemaster III[note 1]
Active1943–1945; 2001-unknown; 2003; 2005; 2007; 2008; 2011-present
CountryUnited States
BranchUnited States Air Force
RoleAir Expeditionary Operations
Part ofUnited States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa
Garrison/HQNigerien Air Base 201,Niger
EngagementsEuropean Theater of Operations
DecorationsAir Force Outstanding Unit Award
Commanders
Current
commander		Col.Daniel Kobs[1]
Insignia
409th Air Expeditionary Group emblem[2]
Group marking during World War II[3]Yellow band on trailing edge of rudder

The409th Air Expeditionary Groupis a provisionalUnited States Air Forceunit assigned toUnited States Air Forces Europe(USAFE), which may activate or inactivate the group as needed at any time.

The group was first activated in June 1943 duringWorld War IIas the409th Bombardment Group.After moving to Europe, it served in combat withNinth Air Force,flyingDouglas A-20 Havoc,and laterDouglas A-26 Invaderlight bombersEurope from the spring of 1944 throughV-E Day.The group returned to the United States in the summer of 1945 and was inactivated in November 1945.

The 409th was reactivated in 2001 as an air expeditionary unit under USAFE in 2001 atCamp Sarafovo,Bulgaria as a support andair refuelingunit in support ofOperation Iraqi Freedomusing sixMcDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extenderaircraft[4]deployed fromMcGuire Air Force Base,New Jersey to help keep coalition aircraft fueled and flying on their air routes through Bulgaria and on to the theater of war. The group has subsequently been activated to support several humanitarian operations.

Air Force (magazine)notes in its 2012/13 annual survey of units that the group operatedIntelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance(ISR) aircraft from unspecified locations in theUnited States Air Forces Africaarea of responsibility.

Units

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The 409th AEG is currently made up of:[5]

History

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World War II

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Douglas A/B-26 Invader of the 640th Bomb Squadron.

Thegroupwas constituted as the409th Bombardment Group(Light) on 1 June 1943, activated the same day atWill Rogers Field,Oklahoma and assigned the640th,641st,642dand643d Bombardment SquadronsflyingDouglas A-20 Havocs.[6][7][8][9][10]However, it did not receive manning until 20 June and it was 3 August before the group had sufficient manning or equipment to begin training.[11]The group trained with its A-20s until 10 February 1944 when it moved toRAF Little Walden,England, arriving on 7 March 1944, when it became part ofNinth Air Force.[6]On 13 April, it flew its first combat mission against a target in France.[11]

The 409th was originally trained in low-level attack missions. However, the group was busy flying medium-altitude bombing runs from 10,000 ft.[citation needed]Over 100 missions were flown by the group,[citation needed]attackingcoastal defenses,V-1andV-2launch sites,airfieldsand other targets in France in preparation forOperation Overlord,the invasion of Normandy. The group supported ground forces during theBattle of Normandyby hittinggun batteries,rail lines, bridges, communications, and other objectives. During July 1944, it aided the Allied offensive atCaenandOperation Cobra,the breakout atSaint-Lôwith attacks on enemy troops,flakpositions, fortified villages, and supply dumps.[6]

The group moved toBretigny Airfield,France on 10 September to supportUnited States Third Army's advance toward Germany.[6]A total of ten aircraft had been lost by the group flying from Little Walden.[citation needed]In December 1944, the group began to convert to theDouglas A-26 Invader,but its upgrade was delayed as it providedclose air supportduring theBattle of the Bulge,attackinglines of communicationduring December 1944 and January 1945. It flew its A-26s in combat from Bretigny and, after February fromLaon-Couvron Air Base,until 3 May 1945, when flew its last mission against anammunition dumpin Czechoslovakia.[6]

AfterV-E Day,the group began its return to the United States in June and gathered atSeymour Johnson FieldNorth Carolina in August. It moved toWestover Fieldon 6 October 1945 and was inactivated there on 7 November 1945.[6]

Twenty-first Century

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F-16s fly observation formation off the wing of a KC-10[note 2]

The group was converted to provisional status, redesignated the409th Air Expeditionary Groupand assigned toUnited States Air Forces Europe,which activated it in November 2001 as anair refuelingunit atCamp Sarafovo,Bulgaria as part of the leadup to the Iraq War. It conducted flying operations fromBurgas Airport.The 409th Group was responsible for refueling operations in support of the US-ledOperation Iraqi Freedom.Its mission included the use of sixMcDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extenderaircraft, deployed fromMcGuire Air Force BaseNew Jersey, to help keep coalition aircraft fueled and flying on their air routes through Bulgaria and on to the theater of war. At the time, the407th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadronformed part of the group. The 409th was inactivated in June 2003.[citation needed][note 3]

Later, the group participated in RESCUER/MEDCEUR 03, a regional multinational exercise held in the spirit of "Partnership for Peace"atVaziani Military Base,Georgia, in September 2003.[12]The United States sponsored the exercise that the Georgians hosted. A U.S. exerciseJoint Task Forceadministered the exercise. It was activated at Vaziani in 2005 for a similar exercise.[13]

In August 2007, the group was activated atKeflavik Air Station,Iceland to act as a command headquarters for elements of the493d Fighter Squadronand351st Air Refueling Squadronwhich were temporarily deployed there.[14]

The following January saw the group active for three months atAccra,Ghana.[15][16]In 2011, it was activated atArba Minchin Ethiopia with an air base squadron and with detachments in the Seychelles and Djibouti.[17][18]In March 2012 it added the324th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadronto its strength.[19]

In 2012, United States Air Forces Africa reported that "[t]he 409th Air Expeditionary Group provides the primary intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions across the [command's] entire area of responsibility from multiple locations as required. The objective is to promote regional security and stability, dissuade conflict and protect U.S. and coalition interests." The group has shared a commander during its most recent activations with the404th Air Expeditionary Group,[20]which provides expeditionary support units in the same area.[21][22]

Lineage

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  • Constituted as the409th Bombardment Group(Light) on 1 June 1943 and activated
Redesignated409th Bombardment Group,Light 27 April 1944[11]
Inactivated on 7 November 1945[23]
  • Converted to provisional status, redesignated409th Air Expeditionary Groupand allotted toUnited States Air Forces Europeto activate or inactivate as needed on 5 February 2001[11]
Activated on 15 November 2001
Inactivated 2003
Activated on 5 September 2003[11]
Inactivated on 23 September 2003[11]
Activated on 4 September 2005[11]
Inactivated on 27 September 2005[11]
Activated on 9 August 2007[11]
Inactivated on 20 August 2007[11]
Activated on 30 January 2008[11]
Inactivated on 4 March 2008[11]
Activated on 1 January 2011[11]
Inactivated unknown

Assignments

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16th Air Expeditionary Task Force,15 November 2001– unknown
Attached toSixteenth Air Force,5 September 2003 – 23 September 2003[11]
Attached to Sixteenth Air Force, 4 September 2005 -27 September 2005[11]
Attached to48th Fighter Wing,9 August 2007 – 20 August 2007[11]
Attached toThird Air Force,30 January 2008 – 4 March 2008[11]
Attached toSeventeenth Air Force,1 January 2011[11]
17th Expeditionary Air Force, 1 April 2012 – present[11]

Components

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Squadrons[note 4]
Flight
  • 409th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Flight, c. 15 November 2001 – unknown
Detachments
  • Detachment 1, 1 January 2011 – present[17]
Victoria, Seychelles
  • Detachment 2, 1 October 2011 – present[18]
Djibouti,Djibouti

Aircraft

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  • Douglas A-20 Havoc, 1943–1945[23]
  • Douglas A-26 Invader, 1945[23]
  • McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender, 2003

Stations

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  • Will Rogers Field, Oklahoma, 1 June 1943
  • Woodward Army Air Field,Oklahoma, 2 October 1943[note 5]
  • DeRidder Army Air Base,Louisiana c. 10 December 1943 – 10 February 1944
  • RAF Little Walden (AAF-165),[26]England, 7 March 1944
  • Bretigny Airfield (A-48),[27]France, September 1944
  • Laon-Couvron Airfield (A-70),[27]France, February–June 1945
  • Seymour Johnson Field, North Carolina, August 1945
  • Westover Field, Massachusetts, ca. 6 October – 7 November 1945[23]
  • Camp Sarafovo, Bulgaria, 15 November 2001 – unknown
  • Vaziani Military Base, Georgia, 5 September 2003 – 25 September 2003[25]
  • Vaziani Military Base, Georgia, 4 September 2005 – 27 September 2005[13]
  • Keflavik Air Station, 9 August 2007 – 20 August 2007
  • Accra, Ghana, 30 January 2008 – 4 March 2008[15][16]
  • Arba Minch,Ethiopia, 1 January 2011 – unknown[17]

Award and campaigns

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Award streamer Award Dates Notes
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 January 2011–30 June 2011 409th Air Expeditionary Group[11]

See also

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to409th Air Expeditionary Group (United States Air Force).

References

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Notes

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  1. ^The C-17 landed atBurgas Airporton its way to deliver humanitarian aid to Iraq. KC-10 Extenders from McGuire AFB were deployed to Burgas Airport and nearby Camp Sarafovo, Bulgaria, to support tanker operations with the 409th Air Expeditionary Group in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
  2. ^The F-16s are deployed fromSpangdahlem Air Base.KC-10 Extenders were deployed to the 409th Air Expeditionary Group
  3. ^The Camp Sarafavo planes included some assigned to Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base. The New Jersey airmen joked casually upon arrival that the tail designator SJ for Seymour Johnson stood for South Jersey instead.[citation needed]
  4. ^Components were stationed with group headquarters, except as noted
  5. ^Maurer does not give an exact date for the move of the groupheadquarters,but all four of the group's squadrons moved on 2 October, so this seems the most likely date for the group move. Maurer,Combat Squadrons,pp. 690–692.

Citations

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  1. ^Nostrant, Rachel (13 January 2022)."Chief Bass visited airmen in Niger amid ongoing violence in Africa's Sahel".Air Force Times.Retrieved10 March2022.
  2. ^"409th Air Expeditionary Group".The Institute of Heraldry. Archived fromthe originalon 1 January 2016.Retrieved1 January2016.
  3. ^Watkins, pp. 114–115
  4. ^Holmes[page needed]
  5. ^"435th Air Expeditionary Wing".www.usafe.af.mil.Retrieved3 September2022.
  6. ^abcdefMaurer,Combat Units,pp. 294–295
  7. ^abMaurer,Combat Squadrons,p. 690
  8. ^abMaurer,Combat Squadrons,pp. 690–691
  9. ^abMaurer,Combat Squadrons,p. 691
  10. ^abMaurer,Combat Squadrons,pp. 691–692
  11. ^abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxWarnock, A. Timothy, (1 January 2013) Lineage and Honors History of the 409 Air Expeditionary Group (USAFE), Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell AFB, AL (partly updated by Haulman, Daniel L.)
  12. ^Master Sergeant Will Ackerman,Multinational forces close Partnership for Peace exercise,European Command, 20 September 2003.
  13. ^abcdResearch Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, September 2005, Maxwell AFB, AL
  14. ^abcResearch Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, August 2007, Maxwell AFB, AL
  15. ^abcdResearch Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, January 2008, Maxwell AFB, AL
  16. ^abcdResearch Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, March 2008, Maxwell AFB, AL
  17. ^abcdResearch Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, January 2011, Maxwell AFB, AL
  18. ^abResearch Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, October 2011, Maxwell AFB, AL
  19. ^abResearch Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, March 2012, Maxwell AFB, AL
  20. ^Prisament, Steve (9 July 2013)."Galloway's Mark Loeben promoted to brigadier general; headed to Germany".Shore News Today. Archived fromthe originalon 4 March 2016.Retrieved1 January2016.
  21. ^"U.S. Air Forces Africa".USAFE/AFAFRICA Public Affairs. 27 August 2012. Archived fromthe originalon 2 April 2015.Retrieved1 January2016.
  22. ^"2013 Air Force Almanac: Major Commands and Reserve Components"(PDF).Air Force Association.
  23. ^abcdLineage, including stations and aircraft prior to 1945 in Maurer,Combat Units,pp. 294–295, escept as indicated
  24. ^"Reservists earn unit award for Operation Iraqi Freedom".Airborne Early Warning Association. 15 June 2005.Retrieved1 January2016.
  25. ^abcResearch Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, September 2003, Maxwell AFB, AL
  26. ^Station number in Anderson
  27. ^abStation number in Johnson

Bibliography

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Public DomainThis article incorporatespublic domain materialfrom theAir Force Historical Research Agency

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