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Happy 69th Birthday to 19th Airlift Wing

Before it was the 19th Airlift Wing, it served as the 19th Air Refueling Wing, and before that the 19th Bombardment Wing, that unit having activated 69 years ago. Its forebear, the 19th Bombardment Group, is one of thirteen original combat air groups – still active – formed by the U.S. Army prior to World War II. That is a legacy bestowed on us, meaning we are indeed in rare company. After nearly 21 years functioning as a Group, including distinctive service in the Second World War, the newly independent Air Force formed the 19th Bombardment Wing in 1948, where it served that mission for 35 years. It operated B-29s in Korea and B-52s in Vietnam, and throughout the height of the Cold War was constantly deployed to bases across the globe to protect against the threats of Soviet aggression. In 1983, the Air Force redesignated the 19th as an Air Refueling Wing. It performed that mission at Robins AFB for 25 years, even after redesignating as the 19th Air Refueling Group in 1996. The Wing and Group supported operations in Central America in the 1980s, the First Gulf War in the 1990s, and in Iraq and Afghanistan following the attacks on September 11th. In 2008, the 19th Airlift Wing stood up as the host unit at LRAFB, where it has delivered combat and humanitarian airlift, almost literally the world over, in its mere nine years at “The Rock,” and only adding to the esteemed legacy of the 19th

PHOTO BY: Jeremy Prichard
VIRIN: 170817-F-DL035-0006.JPG
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