920th Rescue Wing
920th Rescue Wing | |
---|---|
Transport | HC-130J COMBAT KING II |
The 920th Rescue Wing (920 RQW) is part of the Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the United States Air Force. The wing is assigned to the Tenth Air Force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC).
The 920th Rescue Wing is stationed at
Overview
Headquartered at
The 920 RQW will also eventually retire its HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters and replace them with the HH-60W Jolly Green Giant II.
In addition to its two aircraft squadrons in Florida and an additional aircraft squadron with its subordinate 943 RQG in Arizona, the 920 RQW has three additional rescue squadrons in Florida, Arizona and Oregon consisting of Combat Rescue Officers and enlisted Pararescuemen, the latter known as PJs. While many CROs and PJs enter the 920th from the active duty Air Force, others are accessed directly into the Air Force Reserve. CRO and PJ Candidates must pass a physical assessment test which has about 15% success rate. An average of eighty people Air Force-wide enter the 2-year CRO / PJ training program each year.[4] The CRO / PJ team, along with enlisted Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) experts, is collectively known as GUARDIAN ANGEL.[5]
The 920 RQW also has an additional squadron consisting of aerospace medical personnel as a geographically separated unit (GSU) based in Virginia.
The 920 RQW was involved in the famous '
Units
|
|
Geographically Separated Unit (GSU) – Portland International Airport
|
Operations
NASA Manned Space Flight Support:
- Project Mercury (1961–1963)
- Project Gemini (1965–1966)
- Project Apollo(1968–1972)
- Project Skylab(1973–1974)
- Apollo-Soyuz Test Project(1975)
- Space Transportation System (Space Shuttle)(1981–2011)
Disaster Relief:
- Hurricane Andrew Relief Operations (1992)
- Hurricane Katrina Relief Operations (2005)
History
Need for reserve troop carrier groups
During the first half of 1955, the Air Force began detaching Air Force Reserve squadrons from their parent wing locations to separate sites. The concept offered several advantages. Communities were more likely to accept the smaller
Although this dispersal was not a problem when the entire wing was called to active service, mobilizing a single flying squadron and elements to support it proved difficult. This weakness was demonstrated in the partial mobilization of reserve units during the
Activation of 920th Troop Carrier Group
As a result, the 920th Troop Carrier Group was established at
The group's mission was to organize, recruit and train Air Force Reserve personnel in the tactical airlift of airborne forces, their equipment and supplies and delivery of these forces and materials by airdrop, landing or cargo extraction systems. The group was equipped with Fairchild C-123 Providers for Tactical Air Command airlift operations.
The 920th was one of three groups assigned to the
Tactical airlift and weather reconnaissance
In 1973, the group was again activated at
Air rescue / combat search and rescue
In January 1993, the
In April 1997, the rescue mission at Patrick AFB expanded as the former 920th Weather Reconnaissance Group was reactivated as the 920th Rescue Group (920 RQG), forming a headquarters for the 301 RQS and the newly-formed 39th Rescue Squadron (39 RQS) as the helicopter and fixed-wing elements of the 301 RQS were formed into separate units.[1]
In 2001, portions of the 920 RQG were forward deployed to Southwest Asia supporting Operation Southern Watch when the attacks on the U.S. homeland of 11 September 2001 quickly had the group segueing to Operation Enduring Freedom during 2001 and 2002.[16]
On 1 April 2003, the 920 RQG was redesignated as the 920th Rescue Wing (920 RQW) and became the parent unit for all combat search and rescue (CSAR) organizations in
In 2004, the 920 RQW's Regular Air Force gaining command was briefly reassigned from
In 2005, the wing's
In 2008, three of the 920 RQW's subordinate rescue squadrons, the 39 RQS, 301 RQS and 308 RQS, led military units engaged in civilian rescue and relief efforts for hurricane-related disasters in southeast Texas, Louisiana, and parts of Mississippi to include Keesler AFB, Mississippi. Both Hurricanes Hannah and Ike wreaked havoc upon these states, with the 301 RQS providing support with HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters, the 39 RQS with HC-130P Hercules aircraft and the 308 RQS providing pararescue support.
The 920 RQW's flight crews fly in weather conditions which often test man and machine or at night using night-vision goggle (NVG) technology. The 920 RQW has repeatedly completed arduous, over-water rescues which frequently require the wing's
The 920 RQW is also fully integrated into the Air Force's Air and Space Expeditionary Force and has deployed personnel and equipment to the former
On 7 August 2017 the 920 RQW retired its last "legacy" HC-130P/N COMBAT KING when it was flown to the
In January 2018, members of the 920 RQW were honored in the
In December 2019, the 920 RQW retired its last HC-130P that had been transferred from the Alaska ANG as an interim aircraft. Flight crews of the 39 RQS and HC-130 flight crew on the 920 RQW staff began rotating through the
Lineage
- Established as the 920th Troop Carrier Group, Assault and activated on 15 January 1963 (not organized)
- Organized in the reserve on 11 February 1963
- Discontinued and inactivated on 15 December 1965
- Redesignated 920th Tactical Airlift Group on 2 March 1973
- Activated in the reserve on 25 April 1973
- Redesignated 920th Weather Reconnaissance Group on 1 January 1976
- Inactivated on 1 November 1983
- Redesignated 920th Rescue Group on 1 April 1997
- Activated in the Air Force Reserve on 15 April 1997
- Redesignated 920th Rescue Wing on 1 April 2003[1]
Assignments
- Continental Air Command, 15 January 1963 (not organized)
- 445th Troop Carrier Wing (later 445th Air Transport Wing, 445th Military Airlift Wing), 11 February 1963 – 15 December 1965
- 459th Tactical Airlift Wing, 25 April 1973
- Eastern Air Force Reserve Region, 1 January 1976
- Western Air Force Reserve Region, 15 February 1976
- Fourth Air Force, 1 October 1976
- 403d Rescue and Weather Reconnaissance Wing, 1 January 1977
- Fourth Air Force, 1 July 1981
- 403d Rescue and Weather Reconnaissance Wing, 1 March – 1 November 1983
- Tenth Air Force, 15 April 1997
- 939th Rescue Wing, 16 April 1997
- Tenth Air Force, 1 Apr 2003 – present[1]
Components
- Groups
- 920th Operations Group: 1 April 2003 – present[1]
- 920th Maintenance Group: 1 April 2003 – present[20]
- 920th Mission Support Group: 1 April 2003 – present[20]}
- 943d Rescue Group: 12 February 2005 – present[1]
- Squadrons
- 39th Rescue Squadron: 15 April 1997 – 1 April 2003[1]
- Shifted to 920th Operations Group on 1 April 2003
- 301st Rescue Squadron: 15 April 1997 – 1 April 2003[1]
- Shifted to 920th Operations Group on 1 April 2003
- 308th Rescue Squadron: 15 April 1997 – 1 April 2003
- Shifted to 920th Operations Group on 1 April 2003
- 920th Operations Support Squadron: 15 April 1997 – 1 April 2003
- Shifted to 920th Operations Group on 1 April 2003
- 702d Troop Carrier Squadron: 11 February 1963 – 15 December 1965[1]
- 815th Tactical Airlift Squadron (later 815th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron): 25 April 1973 – 1 November 1983[1]
- 920th Aerospace Medicine Squadron: 5 Aug 2012 – present[20] (previously designated 920th Aerospace Medicine Flight)
- Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia
- Flights
- 34th Air Weather Flight: 1 January 1980 – 1 November 1983[22]
Stations
- Memphis Municipal Airport, Tennessee, 11 February 1963 – 15 December 1965
- Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, 25 April 1973 – 1 November 1983
- Patrick Space Force Base, Florida, 15 April 1997 – present[1]
- Home station known as Patrick Air Force Baseprior to December 2020
- Home station known as
Aircraft
- Fairchild C-123 Provider (1963–1965)
- C-130E Hercules (1973–1977)
- WC-130H Hercules (1976–1983)
- HC-130P/N Hercules Combat King (1974–2019)
- HC-130J Hercules Combat King II (2 April 2020 – present)[3]
- HH-60G Pave Hawk (1997–present)[1]
References
Notes
- ^ Components are stationed with wing headquarters, except as noted.
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Robertson, Patsy (13 May 2008). "Factsheet 920 Rescue Wing (AFRC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
- ^ "The End of an Era".
- ^ a b "Super Herculean Milestone". Retrieved 11 April 2020.
- ^ Moody, R. Norman (10 October 2010). "Parachute jumpers' journey begins at Patrick". Melbourne, Florida: Florida Today. pp. 1A.
- ^ "Guardian Angel".
- ^ "920th Rescue Wing recalls 'Lone Survivor' mission". Retrieved 1 April 2020.
- ^ "Units". www.920rqw.afrc.af.mil. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
- ^ "Rescue Wing activates new flight". 920th Rescue Wing. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
- ^ "920TH RESCUE WING UNITS". Retrieved 1 April 2020.
- ^ Cantwell, pp. 156, 169
- ^ Cantwell, pp. 189–191
- ^ Maurer, pp. 707–708
- ^ Ravenstein, pp. 241–242
- ^ "301 Rescue Squadron (AFRC)".
- ^ Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission: 1995 Report to the President, Ch.1, pp. 1–90 – 1–92
- ^ Air Force Reserve Handbook for Congress, 2003, pp. 38-39
- ^ "Wing bids farewell to last HC-130P model". Retrieved 1 April 2020.
- ^ Maurice, Lindsey (26 January 2018). "Reserve wing receives prestigious German Maritime Search and Rescue award". 920th Rescue Wing Public Affairs. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ "Super Herculean Milestone".
- ^ a b c "Units".
- ^ 920th Rescue Wing – 943 Rescue Group. 920rqw.afrc.af.mil. Retrieved on 2013-09-18.
- ^ Markus, Rita M.; Halbeisen, Nicholas F.; Fuller, John Frederick (1987). "Air Weather Service: Our Heritage, 1937-1987".
Bibliography
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947–1977. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9.