19th Airlift Wing

501-987-1910

19th Maintenance Group

501-987-5156

19th Medical Group

501-987-1906

19th Medical Support Squadron

501-987-6013

19th Operations Group

501-987-3199

Originally known as the 19th Observation Group upon activation in 1927 under the U.S. Army Air Corps, the Observation Group soon became the Bombardment Group as was assigned to Rockwell Field, California. After many years of protecting California’s coast, the group was sent to the Philippines early in World War I and lost half of its B-17s when the Japanese bombed the islands right after bombing Pearl Harbor. The 19th immediately retaliated with what was left of its forces and eventually evacuated to an airfield in Java. After participating in the destruction of enemy locations from Java, the group was removed once again, this time to Australia where it was a part of the Battle of the Coral Sea in 1942. They continued their mission of striking enemy targets and a unit captain was given a Medal of Honor posthumously for action during one such mission. For the next year, the group trained other bomb units from an airfield in Texas before a new airfield in Guam was finally ready in 1944. The group deployed there and flew more missions with the B-29, though the accuracy of their usual bombs was severely impacted by the jet stream’s high wind over Japan. The 19th, along with the 314th Bomb Wing, were the first to use the incendiary bomb over larger cities like Tokyo. These started massive fires and resulted in enormous damage and casualties. During the Korean War, the 19th was able to operate from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa and flew hundreds of missions destroying North Korean targets. The group was inactivated in 1953 until the 19th Air Refueling Wing needed an Operations Group in 1991. During the 1990s, the new Operations Group support operations in Bosnia, Southwest Asia, Turkey, and Iraq. At this time, the group and its squadrons received many high marks and awards, including the group’s perfect score during an Air Mobility Command inspection. The group’s 99th Air Refueling Squadron won both the Air Force Association’s Citation of Honor (1998) and the General Carl A. Spaatz Trophy for the best refueling squadron in the Air Force in 1998 and ‘99.

314th Airlift Wing

501-987-3144

314th Maintenance Group

501-987-7804

314th Operations Group

501-987-3247