738th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group

738th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group
738th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group
	Airmen with the 738th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group launch rockets from an Mi-17 helicopter
Active	2009–2019
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Training host country units
Part of	United States Air Forces Central Command
Engagements	War in Afghanistan
Decorations	Air Force Meritorious Unit Award; Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Insignia
738th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group emblem

Mission

The group's mission is to train the Afghan Air Force able to meet the security requirements of Afghanistan. As part of the 438th Air Expeditionary Wing, the 738th advises the Kandahar Air Wing, which operates in the southern regions of Afghanistan. The group also assists the Kandahar Air Wing in counterinsurgency operations. Group advisers mentor their Afghan counterparts in flight operations, aircraft maintenance, intelligence, logistics, personnel management, communications and base defense.^[1]

Units (Inactivated)

441st Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron

The 441st Squadron was the operational training squadron of the 738th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group. The squadron trains members of the Afghanistan Air Force's Kandahar Air Wing on the wing's Mil Mi-17 helicopters and Cessna 208 Caravan aircraft.^[2]

442d Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron

The 442d squadron had about 140 members, of whom about 100 are maintenance contractors from Ukraine, working for Lockheed Martin. The contractors perform maintenance and formal instruction, while the 40 military members advise senior leadership in the Kandahar Wing's maintenance group on logistics management. It focuses on developing instructors within the Afghan Air Force to enable them to take over the training mission.^[2]

443d Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron

The 443d Squadron provided mission support for the group and its assigned squadrons.^[1]

History

The 738th was activated on 29 November 2009 to include the NATO advisory support that had been established at Kandahar in the spring of 2008. It included airmen from the United States, Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine, and Belgium. It is made up of three Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadrons operating out of Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan.^[1]

Lineage

Constituted as the 738th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group in provisional status on 23 November 2009^[3]

Activated on 25 November 2009^[1]

Inactivated on 14 September 2019

Assignments

438th Air Expeditionary Wing, 25 November 2009 – 14 September 2019^[1]

Components

441st Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron, 25 November 2009 – 14 September 2019^[3]^[b]
442d Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron, 25 November 2009 – 14 September 2019^[3]
443d Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron, 25 November 2009 – 14 September 2019^[3]

Aircraft

Mil Mi-17 (2009–2019)
Cessna 208 Caravan (2009–2019)^[2]
MD-530 Cayuse Warrior (2012–2019)
A-29 Super Tucano (2012–2019)
UH-60 Black Hawk (2017–2019)

Awards

Award	Dates	Notes
Air Force Meritorious Unit Award	1 May 2010 – 30 Apr 2011	^[4]
Air Force Meritorious Unit Award	1 May 2011 – 30 Apr 2012	^[4]
Air Force Meritorious Unit Award	1 October 2013 – 30 September 2014	^[4]
Air Force Meritorious Unit Award	1 October 2014 – 30 September 2015	^[4]
Air Force Meritorious Unit Award	1 Oct 2015 – 31 Mar 2017	^{[citation needed]}
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 May 2011 – 30 Apr 2012	^[4]

References

Notes

^ The formation of aircraft with contrails signifies the unit's mission to work together with counterparts to become self-sufficient and embody the spirit of working shoulder-to-shoulder. The grouping of pyramids represents the aspects of the unit's mission to train, equip and advise their counterparts. The land and the sky together represent the goal of the unit's mission to create a self-sufficient AAF on the land and in the sky. 738th AEAG Fact Sheet.
^ The 441st, 442d and 443d Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadrons are not related to the 441st, 442d and 443d Air Expeditionary Squadrons.

Citations

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "738th AEAG Fact Sheet". Air Forces Central Command Public Affairs. 16 October 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c Cloys, TSG Robert (8 March 2016). "TAAC-Air work 'shoulder to shoulder' with AAF to build sustainable force". Defense Video Imagery Distribution System. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d DAF A1M Letter 273s-39, 23 November 2009, Subject: Air Combat Command Expeditionary Units
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Air Force Personnel Services: Unit Awards". Air Force Personnel Center. Retrieved 7 July 2017. (search)

[2] The formation of aircraft with contrails signifies the unit's mission to work together with counterparts to become self-sufficient and embody the spirit of working shoulder-to-shoulder. The grouping of pyramids represents the aspects of the unit's mission to train, equip and advise their counterparts. The land and the sky together represent the goal of the unit's mission to create a self-sufficient AAF on the land and in the sky. 738th AEAG Fact Sheet.

[5] The 441st, 442d and 443d Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadrons are not related to the 441st, 442d and 443d Air Expeditionary Squadrons.

[738AEAGfacts-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "738th AEAG Fact Sheet". Air Forces Central Command Public Affairs. 16 October 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2017.

[TAACair-3] Cloys, TSG Robert (8 March 2016). "TAAC-Air work 'shoulder to shoulder' with AAF to build sustainable force". Defense Video Imagery Distribution System. Retrieved 5 July 2017.

[A1M273s-4] DAF A1M Letter 273s-39, 23 November 2009, Subject: Air Combat Command Expeditionary Units

[Awardsearch-6] "Air Force Personnel Services: Unit Awards". Air Force Personnel Center. Retrieved 7 July 2017. (search)

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