6th Air Mobility Wing
| 6th Air Mobility Wing | |
|---|---|
 Official emblem of the 6th Air Mobility Wing |
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| Active | 30 September 1919 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Part of | Air Mobility Command |
| Garrison/HQ | MacDill AFB, Florida |
| Motto | "Parati Defendere" Ready to Defend |
| Equipment | KC-135 Stratotanker, Gulfstream C-37A |
| Engagements |
  
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| Decorations |  AFOUA |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Colonel Lenny Richoux |
The United States Air Force's 6th Air Mobility Wing (6 AMW) is the host wing for MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. It is part of Air Mobility Command's (AMC) Eighteenth Air Force.
The wing's 6th Operations Group is a successor organization of the 6th Group (Composite), one of the 15 original combat air groups formed by the Army before World War II.
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[edit] Mission
The 6th Air Mobility Wing provides day-to-day mission support to more than 3,000 personnel along with more than 50 Mission Partners, including the United States Central Command and United States Special Operations Command. It is a force capable of rapidly projecting air refueling power anywhere in the world. The Wing is organized into four unique groups and three operational flying squadrons to carry out its mission to be America’s premier mobility team providing world-class air refueling, responsive airlift and airbase support.
[edit] Units
The 6th Air Mobility Wing consists of:
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[edit] History
- For additional history and lineage, see 6th Operations Group
[edit] Heraldry
The Wing's emblem, approved in 1924, reflects its origins with a ship sailing through the Gaillard Cut and an airplane flying overhead.
[edit] Lineage
- Established as 6th Bombardment Wing, Medium on 20 December 1950
- Activated on 2 January 1951
- Redesignated: 6th Bombardment Wing, Heavy on 16 June 1952
- Redesignated: 6th Strategic Aerospace Wing on 1 May 1962
- Redesignated: 6th Strategic Wing on 25 March 1967 assuming the resources (Manpower, Aircraft, Equipment, Weapons, & Facilities) of the 4157th Strategic Wing (Inactivated).
- Redesignated: 6th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing on 1 April 1988
- Inactivated on 1 September 1992
- Redesignated 6th Air Base Wing on 22 December 1993
- Activated on 4 January 1994
- Redesignated: 6th Air Refueling Wing on 1 October 1996
- Redesignated: 6th Air Mobility Wing on 1 January 2001
[edit] Assignments
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[edit] Stations
- Walker AFB, New Mexico, 2 January 1951 – 25 March 1967
- Eielson AFB, Alaska, 25 March 1967 – 1 September 1992
- MacDill AFB, Florida, 4 January 1994–present
[edit] Operational Components
Groups
- 6th Bombardment (later, 6th Operations Group): 2 January 1951-16 June 1952; 1 October 1996–present
Squadrons
- 6th Air Refueling Squadron: 3 January 1958-25 January 1967
- 24th Bombardment (later, 24 Strategic Reconnaissance) Squadron: attached 2 January 1951-15 June 1952, assigned 16 June 1952-25 January 1967; assigned 25 March 1967-7 July 1992
- 39th Bombardment Squadron: attached 2 January 1951-15 June 1952, assigned 16 June 1952-15 September 1963
- 40th Bombardment Squadron: attached 2 January 1951-15 June 1952, assigned 16 June 1952-25 January 1967
- 307th Air Refueling Squadron: attached c. 1 August 1951-16 June 1952
- 310th Air Refueling Squadron: 25 June 1965-25 January 1967
- 579th Strategic Missile Squadron: 1 September 1961-25 March 1965
- 4129 Combat Crew Training Squadron: 1 August 1959-15 September 1963.
[edit] Operations
[edit] Cold War
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Established as 6 Bombardment Wing, Medium on 20 December 1950. Activated on 2 January 1951 as a result of the Korean War, being equipped with the Convair B-36D (later B-36J) Peacemaker at Walker AFB, New Mexico. The B-36 was flown by men of the 24th, 39th and 40th Bombardment Squadrons. At Walker, the wing was bestowed the history and honors of the USAAF 6th Bombardment Group in 1952. Operations consisted of strategic bombardment training with air refueling as additional mission in 1951–1952, and again from April 1958. The Boeing B-52E Stratofortress replaced the wing's B-36 in September 1957.
In September 1959, the 24th and 30th Bombardment Squadrons joined the newly assigned 4129th Combat Crew Training Squadron to train B-52 and KC-135 crews.
As the Soviet missile threat increased, so did the 6th's mission. On 1 May 1962, with the arrival of the wing's first Atlas-F SM65 intercontinental ballistic missile, came another name change—the 6th Strategic Aerospace Wing. The missiles lasted until 1965, when Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara announced base closure of Walker AFB and wing inactivation of the 6th.
The inactivation never happened as the 6th transferred to Eielson AFB, Alaska, without equipment and personnel on 25 March 1967, to become the 6th Strategic Wing. The 6th had gone full circle and was back in reconnaissance as it had been in 1919, only with modern, state-of-the-art RC-135 jet aircraft.
Notable events during the 6th SRW's tenure were:
- 1 February 1959 – Captain Perry Amidon, suspecting the aircraft he was in to be out of control, ejected from the B-58 Hustler at 24,000 feet. The aircraft’s pilot thought otherwise, however, and landed the plane at Eielson a few minutes later. The uninjured Captain Amidon, flew back to base about an hour later in a helicopter.
- 21 April 1964 – A WB-47 belonging to Detachment 1 of the 55th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron crashed on takeoff. Three of the five crewmembers died in the accident.
- 30 September 1965 – An Eielson helicopter crew rescued two Baptist ministers after their light plane crashed between Nome and Moses Point. Throughout the 1960s, Eielson crews averaged several rescues each year.
- 17 November 1967 – The quick response of the 5010th Combat Support Group to the Chena River flood (12–21 August 1967) and the subsequent help provided to Fairbanks and other communities led to the 5010th’s third Air Force Outstanding Unit Award.
- On 4 October 1968, exactly 11 years to the day after the launch of Sputnik-1, Team-2 Ravens with Rivet Ball (RC-135S, #59-1491) and crew successfully captured the first photographic evidence of a Soviet ICBM test with three Multiple Reentry Vehicles (MRVs).
- On 13 January 1969 Rivet Ball (RC-135S, #59-1491) hydroplaned off the end of runway 28 on Shemya while attempting to land after an operational mission. The aircraft was totally destroyed. No one was seriously injured.
- 5 June 1969 – Rivet Amber, an RC-135E assigned to Eielson, crashed in the Bering Sea minutes after leaving Shemya Air Force Base. Nineteen crewmembers died. Amber Hall, the headquarters building at Eielson, was named for the crew a year later.
- On 3 October 1969 the 6th SW held a dining-In at the Eielson, AFB Officer's Club to celebrate its 50th Anniversary (1919–1969).
- 8 July 1971 – When Lieutenant Colonel James O. Swanson became commander of the reincarnated 25th Tactical Air Support Squadron, he had a borrowed desk, a telephone, and a promise for nine aircraft and accompanying personnel. It took two months to get the first O-2A "Mosquito," and the unit’s complement of 14 officers and eight NCOs would not be complete until June 1972.
- 9 December 1974 – An O-2A, assigned to the 25th Tactical Air Support Squadron at Eielson, crashed while on a routine training mission on the Fort Greely training area near Delta Junction. The pilot and co-pilot were both killed.
- 29 November 1975 – President Gerald R. Ford stopped at Eielson en route to China. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger accompanied Ford, only the second President to visit Interior Alaska and the first to tour Eielson.
- 7 December 1975 – All crewmembers died when a KC-135 assigned to Plattsburgh AFB in New York crashed after takeoff from Eielson.
- February 1977 – Cold weather testing of the A-10 aircraft took place through the end of the month. As part of the test, the aircraft participated in the "Jack Frost" exercise also hosted by the base.
- 12 January 1979 – Five-hundred Eielsonites braved sub-zero temperatures to view the Air Force's newest aircraft, the as yet unnamed F-16, present for cold weather testing.
- On 15 March 1981 Cobra Ball II (# 61-2664) departed Eielson for Shemya with 24 souls onboard. While attempting to land on Shemya they encountered a rapid decline in weather that resulted in a crash landing. Six men lost their lives and several Medals were awarded for bravery.
- On 25 February 1985 Rivet Dandy (RC-135T, #55-3121), used for Cobra Ball training, crashed into a mountain top near Valdez, Alaska while on a training mission. All three crewmembers perished. The wreckage was not located until 2 August 1985.
The 6th Strategic Wing also maintained a detachment at Shemya AFB, Alaska, in addition to maintaining the Alaskan Tanker Task Force to support strategic reconnaissance and the NORAD Alaskan ballistic missile early warning station. On 1 April 1988, SAC renamed the wing the 6th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing. During this time it flew the RC–135S and TC-135.
The Wing won the P.T. Cullen Award for greatest contributions to the photo and signal intelligence efforts of Strategic Air Command, 1973, 1978, and 1983.
The 24th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron left Eielson AFB on 7 July 1992. The wing has lost its operational mission and was inactivated on 1 September 1992 and the mission of the 6th SRW and assigned aircraft were transferred to the 55th Wing at Offutt AFB, Nebraska.
[edit] Modern era
Announcement of the 6th's most recent inactivation came in December 1991, as the reconnaissance mission of the 6th was transferred to the 55th Wing at Offutt AFB, Nebraska, and the mission of the Alaskan Tanker Task force was terminated.
Following the 1991 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission's decision to terminate the 56th Fighter Wing's mission at MacDill AFB Florida by the end of 1993, on 1 January 1994, the Air Mobility Command 6th Air Base Wing was activated at MacDill with a mission to operate the base and provide support services for CENTCOM, SOCOM, and the large and growing number of other tenant units, as well as to provide services for transient air units.
On 22 December 1993 the 6th was redesignated the 6th Air Base Wing and activated on 4 January 1994 at MacDill AFB Florida with a primary mission of supporting two unified commands, U.S. Special Operations Command and U.S. Central Command. On 1 October 1996 the wing returned to its flying mission and was renamed the 6th Air Refueling Wing. On 1 January 2001 the 6th ARW reorganized and became the 6th Air Mobility Wing (6th AMW).
Efforts of the wing to highlight MacDill's airfield capabilities and in-place support units resulted in a redirect of the 1991 and 1993 DBCRC laws regarding the closure and transfer of MacDill's airfield. 1995 DBCRC laws called for the retention of the airfield as part of MacDill AFB (to be operated by the Air Force), and directed the relocation of the 43d Air Refueling Group's mission to transfer from Malmstrom AFB, Montana, to MacDill beginning in October 1996.
With the arrival of KC-135R aircraft, the 6th Air Base Wing was redesignated the 6th Air Refueling Wing. The wing also assumed support responsibility for EC-135 command post aircraft supporting the CENTCOM and SOCOM commanders at MacDill and a CT-43 aircraft supporting the SOUTHCOM commander in Miami. Both non-tanker aircraft types were later replaced by the C-37. On 1 October 1996 the wing again changed names, this time to 6th Air Mobility Wing, assigned to Air Mobility Command's Eighteenth Air Force.
The 6th has twice won the Air Mobility Rodeo Best Air Mobility Wing Award; in 2000 and 2005.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency. This article contains information from the 6th Air Mobility Wing history factsheet which is an official document of the United States Government and is presumed to be in the public domain.
- Ravenstein, C. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings: Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977. Office of Air Force History: Washington, D.C. ISBN 0-912799-12-9
- Dorr, R. & Peacock, L. (2000). B-52 Stratofortress: Boeing's Cold War Warrior. Osprey Aviation: Great Britain. ISBN 1-84176-097-8
- Lloyd, A. (1999). A Cold War Legacy: A Tribute to the Strategic Air Command 1946–1992. Pictorial Histories Publishing Co: Missoula, Montana. ISBN 1-57510-052-5
- Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982 USAF Reference Series, Office of Air Force History, United States Air Force, Washington, D.C., 1989
- Air Force Historical Research Agency, 6th Air Mobility Wing [1]
[edit] External links
- 6th Mobility Wing at www.globalsecurity.org
- 6th Bombardment Wing at www.strategic-air-command.com
- "A Tale of Two Airplanes" by Kingdon R. "King" Hawes, Lt Col, USAF (Ret.)
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