64th Air Refueling Squadron

64th Air Refueling Squadron
157th Air Refueling WingKC-135R Stratotankerdeployed toAndersen AFB
Active	1942–1946; 1947–1953; 1953–1997; 2003-2008; 2009–present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Air refueling
Part of	Air Mobility Command
Engagements	World War II Battle of New Georgia Battle of Vella Lavella Battle of Bougainville Southwest Pacific Theater Korean War Vietnam War
Decorations	Distinguished Unit Citation Navy Unit Commendation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Philippine Presidential Unit Citation Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm
Commanders
Current commander	Lt. Col. Kevin Eley
Insignia
64th Air Refueling Squadron emblem(approved 28 June 1994)
64th Troop Carrier Squadron emblem(approved 16 June 1943)

The64th Air Refueling Squadronis aUnited States Air Forceair-refuelingsquadronassigned to the22d Operations GroupatMcConnell Air Force Base,Kansas. As part of the Air Force's Total Force Initiative, the 64th is stationed atPease Air National Guard Base,New Hampshire, where it is operationally controlled by the157th Air Refueling Wingof theNew Hampshire Air National Guard.The 64th is equipped with theKC-46 Pegasus.

The 64th was first constituted duringWorld War II,providing transportation and evacuation in thePacific Theater.From 1953 through 1997, the 64th provided airlift services, including during theVietnam War.Repurposed as a refueling squadron in 2002, the 64th was active in theAir Force Reservefrom 2003 until 2007, and then reactivated in October 2009.

Mission

The squadron is part of the Total Force Initiative:

The aim of the Total Force Integration effort is to integrate regular U.S. Air Force airlift and tanker flying units with existing Air National Guard and U.S. Air Force Reserve wings, with the intention of sharing operations and maintenance functions, increasing active duty access to aircraft to meet steady state operational requirements, and taking advantage of the opportunity to season Air Force personnel with the operational experience located in Air Reserve Components.

History

World War II

The 64th flew aerial transportation and evacuation in the South and Southwest Pacific from 7 August 1943 until c. 14 August 1945. The squadron received aNavy Unit Commendationfor its service at part of theSouth Pacific Combat Air Transport Command(SCAT) from August 1943 to July 1944.

Reserves and Korean mobilisation

The 64th flew aerial transportation and evacuation between Japan and Korea from 19 May through 31 December 1952.

Reserve airlift operations

In 1957, the squadron moved on paper fromPortland International AirporttoNiagara Falls Municipal Airport,where is assumed the mission, personnel, and equipment of the700th Troop Carrier Squadron.The squadron trained and providedairliftservices from, January 1953 to March 1997, including airlift to Vietnam during the late 1960s and toSouthwest Asiain 1990–1991. It participated in various trainingexercisesand airlift missions worldwide until inactivation on 31 March 1997.

Reserve air refueling operations

Redesignated as the 64th Air Refueling Squadron on 22 November 2002, the 64th was active in theAir Force Reservefrom 1 April 2003 until 23 June 2007. During this time, it was part of the939th Operations Groupbased atPortland Air Reserve Stationin Oregon.

Associate status

64 ARS and 157 ARW personnel working atPease Air National Guard Basein September 2013

The 64th Air Refueling Squadron was activated atPease Air National Guard Base,New Hampshire, on 2 October 2009 as part of the22d Air Refueling Wing.It is part of the Total Force Initiative and works with the157th Air Refueling Wing,New Hampshire Air National Guard.This was the first time that an active duty Air Force unit returned to Pease since the base was closed in 1991. On 9 January 2013, the Air Force announced that Pease would be in the running to host the firstBoeing KC-46 Pegasustankers as they entered service. In August 2014, Air Force leaders announced that the 157th would become the first Air National Guard unit to equip with the KC-46A. The Pegasus was scheduled to enter the Air Force inventory during fiscal year 2019;the first KC-46A arrived at Pease on 8 August 2019.The 12th and final KC-46A was delivered on 5 February 2021.

Lineage

• Constituted as the64th Troop Carrier Squadronon 7 December 1942

Activated on 12 December 1942

Inactivated on 15 May 1946

• Activated in the reserve on 5 April 1947
• Redesignated64th Troop Carrier Squadron,Medium on 27 June 1949

Ordered to active service on 1 April 1951

Inactivated on 1 January 1953

• Activated in the reserve on 1 January 1953

Ordered to active service on 28 October 1962

Relieved from active service on 28 November 1962

Redesignated64th Tactical Airlift Squadronon 1 July 1967

Redesignated64th Airlift Squadronon 1 February 1992

Inactivated on 31 March 1997

• Redesignated64th Air Refueling Squadronon 22 November 2002

Activated in the reserve on 1 April 2003

Inactivated on 23 June 2007

• Activated on 1 October 2009

Assignments

• 403d Troop Carrier Group,12 December 1942 – 15 May 1946
• 419th Troop Carrier Group,3 August 1947
• 403d Troop Carrier Group, 27 June 1949 – 1 January 1953
• 403d Troop Carrier Group, 1 January 1953
• 403d Troop Carrier Wing,14 April 1959
• 928th Troop Carrier Group(later 928th Tactical Airlift Group, 928th Airlift Group), 11 February 1963
• 928th Operations Group, 1 August 1992 – 1 July 1997
• 939th Operations Group, 1 April 2003 – 23 June 2007
• 22d Operations Group,1 Oct 2009 – present

Stations

• Bowman Field,Kentucky, 12 December 1942
• Alliance Army Air Field,Nebraska, 18 December 1942
• Pope Field,North Carolina, 3 May 1943
• Baer Field,Indiana, 20 June – 17 July 1943
• Tontouta Airfield,New Caledonia,1 August 1943
• Espiritu Santo,7 August 1943
• Henderson Field,Guadalcanal,1 November 1943
• Biak,16 September 1944 (operated fromWakde Airfield,Netherlands East Indies, 2–21 October 1944, andNoemfoor,schouten Islands, 29 October 1944 – 1 January 1945)
• Dulag Airfield,Leyte,Philippines, 16 July 1945
• Clark Field,Luzon,Philippines, c. January–15 May 1946
• Olmsted Field,Pennsylvania, 5 April 1947

• Portland Municipal Airport, Oregon, 27 June 1949 – 29 March 1952
• Ashiya Air Base,Japan, 14 April 1952 – 1 January 1953
• Portland International Airport, Oregon, 1 January 1953
• Niagara Falls Municipal Airport, New York, 16 November 1957
• O'Hare International Airport (later O'Hare Reserve Facility, O'Hare Air Reserve Forces Facility,O'Hare Air Reserve Station), Illinois, 25 March 1958 – 31 March 1997
• Portland International Airport, Oregon, 1 April 2003 – 23 June 2007
• Pease Air National Guard Base,New Hampshire, 1 Oct 2009 – present

Aircraft

The first KC-46A arriving at Pease on 8 August 2019

• Douglas C-47 Skytrain(1943–1945)
• Curtiss C-46 Commando(1945, 1947–1950, 1951–1952)
• Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar(1952, 1957–1970)
• Lockheed C-130 Hercules(1970–1997)
• Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker(2003–2008, 2009–24 March 2019)
• Boeing KC-46A Pegasus,(8 August 2019 – present)

Sources

This article incorporatespublic domain materialfrom theAir Force Historical Research Agency

• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969].Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II(PDF)(reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.ISBN0-405-12194-6.LCCN70605402.OCLC72556.
• Armstrong, William. (2017).Marine Air Group 25 and SCAT (Images of Aviation).Arcadia.ISBN1467127434.
• See alsothirsty13th.com,the official website of a sister squadron of the 64th TCS in 1943–1945. The site offers a book with much information about the 64th Troop Carrier Squadron.
• AFHRA 64th Air Refueling Squadron History(accessed 24 December 2009)

Further reading

• "64th Air Refueling Squadron Welcome Video".157th Air Refueling Wing. 29 June 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 21 December 2021.Retrieved5 July2017– viaYouTube.

External links

• 64 ARSonAir National Guardwebsite