Seymour Johnson Air Force Base Seymour Johnson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located to the southeast of Goldsboro , North Carolina . The base is named for Navy test pilot Seymour Johnson , a native of Goldsboro . It is home to the 4th Fighter Wing ( 4 FW ) of the Air Combat Command ( ACC ) , which functions as the host wing for the installation . The 916th Air Refueling Wing ( 916 ARW ) , an Air Force Reserve Command ( AFRC ) unit operationally gained by the Air Mobility Command ( AMC ) , and the 414th Fighter Group ( 414 FG ) , an Air Force Reserve Command ( AFRC ) unit operationally gained by Air Combat Command ( ACC ) , reside as tenant units . 4th Fighter Wing . The 4th Fighter Wing , one of the Air Force ' s most distinguished fighter wings , moved to Seymour Johnson on 8 December 1957 from Chitose Air Base , Japan , replacing the 83d Fighter - Day Wing , and has been the host unit ever since . The 4th Fighter Wing , under various designations , can trace its origins to the RAF Eagle squadron s of World War II . The Eagle Squadrons were Royal Air Force fighter squadrons formed with volunteer pilots from the United States . The last Eagle Squadron was disbanded in September 1942 , with most of the members transferring into the United States Army Air Forces , primarily the 4th Fighter Group of the U . S . Eighth Air Force . Many famous fighter aces were in this group . Reactivated as the 4th Fighter Wing on 28 July 1947 , members of the wing have served all over the world , including the Korean War , Vietnam War , Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom . The 4th Fighter Wing accomplishes its training and operational missions with 92 F - 15E Strike Eagles , assigned to the following squadrons : All 4th Fighter Wing F - 15Es carry the " SJ " Tailcode . The 335th and 336th Fighter Squadrons are capable of deploying worldwide on short notice and immediately generating combat power . , while the 307th , 333rd and 334th Fighter Squadrons are responsible for training all F - 15E Strike Eagle aircrews for the U . S . Air Force . 916th Air Refueling Wing . The United States Air Force Reserve ' s 916th Air Refueling Wing ( 916 ARW ) supports routine refueling missions for other Air Force , Navy , Marine Corps and allied aircraft under the direction of the 4th Air Force and Headquarters , Air Force Reserve Command . If recalled to active duty , the wing would integrate into the 18th Air Force and fall under the direction of Air Mobility Command , Scott Air Force Base , Illinois . The 916 ARW has 15 subordinate squadrons among its three groups : the 916th Maintenance Group , 916th Operations Group and 916th Mission Support Group , as well as one unattached squadron , the 916th Aerospace Medicine Squadron . More than 900 Air Force Reservists in the wing train to support worldwide operational commitments . The unit initially arrived at Seymour Johnson in October 1985 as a small advance team until October 1986 . During that first year , Air Force Reservists worked with active duty Air Force units flying the Strategic Air Command ' s newest tanker , the KC - 10 A Extender , in an associate program . The first exclusively Reserve KC - 10 crew flew out of Seymour Johnson on 29 October 1985 . With the reorganization of the Air Force in 1992 that saw the inactivation of Strategic Air Command , the KC - 10 aircraft were temporarily placed under the redesignated 4th Wing ( 4 WG ) at Seymour Johnson , but by 1994 , the KC - 10s were ultimately reassigned to McGuire AFB , New Jersey as Air Mobility Command assets . The 916 ARW remained at Seymour Johnson as an Air Force Reserve KC - 135 Stratotanker unit gained by AMC . Also now part of the 916th ARW is the 911th ARS . 414th Fighter Group . The 414th Fighter Group ( 414 FG ) is an active United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Reserve Command and operationally gained by Air Combat Command ( ACC ) . The group was reactivated as an Air Force Reserve Command associate unit to the 4th Fighter Wing in July 2010 . The role of the new group is to help Seymour Johnson AFB , NC produce more qualified F - 15E Strike Eagle aircrews and provide skilled maintainers to assist in the maintenance of the F - 15E aircraft . The operational flying unit of the 414 FG is the 307th Fighter Squadron ( 307 FS ) , which flies Active Component F - 15E aircraft assigned to the 4th Fighter Wing . History . Seymour Johnson Air Force Base occupies over 3 , 300 acres ( 13 km² ) in the southeast section of Goldsboro . Seymour Johnson Field was opened in April 1942 as Headquarters , Technical School , Army Air Forces Technical Training Command . In June 1943 , a secondary mission was added which included preparation of officers and men for overseas duty . The unit was known as the Provisional Overseas Replacement Training Center . Seymour Johnson Field received a third mission in September 1943 : to provide basic military training for cadets preparing to become technical officers in the Army Air Corps . The 75th Training Wing was established to conduct the program through its Aviation Cadet Pre - Training School . Interestingly , the namesake of the base , Seymour Johnson , was never part of the Air Force ( or the Army , of which the Air Force was initially a branch ) . He was a local man who became a Navy test pilot and died in a plane crash in 1940 , just before the US entered World War II . There is a historical plaque honoring him at the main gate entrance of the base . World War II . Construction of Seymour Johnson Field started on 9 March 1942 and by 10 July 1942 the 333d Base HQ and Air Base Squadron was established as the host unit . Col Walter J . Reed was the first commander . Seymour Johnson Field was assigned to the USAAF Technical Training Command , and the airfield ' s initial mission was Field Aviation Cadet Pre - Technical School Training in bomber mechanics . The 76th Training Wing was activated at Seymour Johnson on 26 February 1943 and the airfield ' s mission was changed to training replacement pilots for the P - 47 Thunderbolt . At the end of World War II in Europe , Seymour Johnson was designated as a central assembly station for processing and training troops being reassigned in the continental United States and Pacific theater of operations . The 47th Bombardment Group was reassigned to Seymour Johnson from Twelfth Air Force in Italy during June . Its mission was to prepare for redeployment to the Pacific theater for night pathfinder operations against Imperial Japan . Its black - painted Douglas A - 26Cs were equipped with radar however the surrender by Japan in August 1945 , cancelled all redeployment plans . With its operational training mission ended , in September 1945 and the field became an Army - Air Force Separation Center under the 123d AAF Base Unit . On 15 August 1947 , Seymour Johnson Army Airfield was closed . and remained inactive for nearly a decade . Cold War to Present Day . Tactical Air Command / Air Combat Command . 83rd Fighter - Day Wing ( 1956 – 57 ) . After the airfield ' s closure in 1947 , local community leaders campaigned for many years to reopen Seymour Johnson . On 1 April 1956 Seymour Johnson Air Force Base was reactivated as a United States Air Force base under Tactical Air Command . The 4435th Air Base Squadron being the initial host unit . Capt Harry D . Lyons was the first USAF Base Commander . On 1 July 1956 , the 83d Fighter - Day Wing was activated as the host unit of the new Air Force Base . Col . Ralph L . Merritt Jr . , was the first Wing Commander . Operational squadrons of the 83d Fighter - Day Wing were : The 83d initially trained with the Lockheed F - 80 Shooting Star when it was activated , later upgrading to the F - 86H Sabre in October 1956 . The wing was declared fully operational in June 1957 , and in October 1957 , it was upgraded to the North American F - 100C / F Super Sabre . 4th Fighter Wing ( 1957 – present ) . In December 1957 , the 83d Fighter - Day Wing was inactivated , being replaced at Seymour Johnson by the 4th Fighter - Day Wing and absorbing its assets . The 4th FDW was returned to the United States after an extended assignment at Chitose AB , Japan after the Korean War . Col Robert C . Richardson III , was the first Wing Commander . Squadrons of the 4th FDW were : The 4th Fighter Wing with these operational squadrons have , under various designations , remained at Seymour Johnson AFB for nearly 50 years . On 1 July 1958 the unit was redesignated the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing . Initially the wing simply redesignated the flying squadrons of the 83d FDS and continued to fly the F - 100 Super Sabre . However , a mission change on 1 May 1958 led to an equipment change with the arrival of the Republic F - 105B Thunderchief . The F - 100s remained with the 333d TFS until being transferred in 1960 when the 334th , 335th and 336th Tactical Fighter Squadrons were declared to be fully operational with the F - 105 . In the spring of 1964 , the 4th TFW began the transition from F - 105Bs to F - 105D / Fs , a process that was completed on 23 June . During the Cuban Missile Crisis , the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing forward deployed its F - 105 aircraft to McCoy Air Force Base , Florida , ready to react at a moment ' s notice for possible combat over Cuba . 4th TFW during the Vietnam War . As the war in Southeast Asia heated up in the late summer of 1964 , the 4th TFW was alerted for deployment to the Far East . On 3 July 1965 , as part of Operation Two Buck 13 , the 335th TFS deployed to Yokota Air Base , Japan to take the place of units assigned there that were deployed to Thailand , standing the normal VICTOR nuclear alert rotations at Osan Air Base , South Korea . On 8 November 1965 , the 335th TFS deployed to Takhli RTAFB , Thailand , for combat operations against North Vietnam . At Takhli , the squadron was under the control of the newly activated 355th TFW . The 335th TFS returned to Seymour Johnson AFB on 15 December 1965 . On 28 August 1965 , also under Operation Two Buck 13 , the 334th TFS deployed to Takhli RTAFB for combat operations against North Vietnamese targets , coming under the control of the 6235th TFW ( P ) at Takhli . The 334th TFS returned to Seymour Johnson AFB on 10 October 1966 , leaving its F - 105 aircraft at Takhli . On 4 December 1965 , the 333d TFS deployed to Korat RTAFB for combat operations . However , the 333d then transferred to Takhli to relieve the 335th TFS . On 3 December 1965 , the 333d TFS deployment was changed from TDY to PCS ( Permanent Change of Station ) , and the squadron was permanently assigned to the 355th TFW at Takhli . The F - 105 aircraft and pilots of the 336th TFS rotated between Seymour Johnson and Takhli in 1965 / 66 but the squadron did not deploy to the war zone in Southeast Asia . In 1967 the 4th transitioned to the F - 4 Phantom II and began a rotational commitment of tactical squadrons to Ubon RTAFB , Thailand as augmentees of the 8th TFW for combat operations from April 1972 until the withdrawal of American air units in Thailand in 1974 . 4th TFW Post Vietnam operations . In 1974 , the wing mission reverted to training , with increased emphasis on short - term European contingency support . Elements of the wing deployed to Norway in June 1974 . Two short - term deployments to Spangdahlem AB , West Germany , were conducted in July and September 1975 . The highlight of 1976 came in November when the wing took first place in the William Tell worldwide weapons competition at Tyndall AFB , Florida , becoming the first F - 4 unit to win the Air Defense Command - sponsored event . The wing executed short - term deployments to South Korea and Japan during 1977 and assumed a dual - based mission with Ramstein AB in October of that year . The overall mission commitment was restructured to reflect worldwide contingency emphasis in October 1986 . In 1988 the 4th TFW began transitioning from the F - 4E to the F - 15E Strike Eagle . The first F - 15E arrived on 29 December 1988 , and the 336th Tactical Fighter Squadron became the first operational F - 15E squadron in the Air Force on 1 October 1989 . The transition from the F - 4E to the F - 15E was completed on 1 July 1991 , making the 4th TFW the first operational F - 15E wing in the Air Force . Operation Desert Storm . At the height of conversion training , the 4th TFW was one of the first units tasked to react to Iraq ' s invasion of Kuwait . The 335th and 336th Tactical Fighter Squadrons and support personnel deployed to Saudi Arabia , beginning in August 1990 . The combat record of the 4th TFW in Saudi Arabia was nothing less than outstanding . After the cease fire , the 4th TFW continued rotating squadron elements to Southwest Asia during the 1990s , taking part in enforcement of the no - fly zones in Iraq . Post Cold War . On 22 April 1991 , the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing was redesignated as the 4th Wing ( 4 WG ) as the Air Force ' s first composite wing . In addition to its F - 15E aircraft and personnel , the 4th Wing also incorporated under it all the people , KC - 10A aircraft and other associated assets of the 68th Air Refueling Wing ( 68 ARW ) , the former Strategic Air Command unit at Seymour Johnson that was inactivated the same day . The 4 WG began another force structure change in 1994 . The KC - 10s were reassigned to Air Mobility Command bases in 1994 and 1995 and the F - 15E formal training unit ( FTU ) moved to Seymour Johnson in 1994 and 1995 . On 1 October 1994 , the 333d Fighter Squadron was transferred back to the 4th Fighter Wing , after a 29 - year absence , from the 355th Fighter Wing at Davis - Monthan AFB , Arizona to accommodate the training mission . This meant that all four original 4th Fighter Wing squadrons were reunited at Seymour Johnson AFB for the first time since July 1965 . Following the departure of KC - 10s , the 4th Wing was again redesignated the 4th Fighter Wing ( 4 FW ) on 1 December 1995 . To accommodate the need to train more F - 15E aircrews , the 334th Fighter Squadron became a training squadron on 1 January 1996 . On 20 June 2000 , the 23d Fighter Group ( 23 FG ) became a part of the 4th Fighter Wing , during a reassignment ceremony at Pope Air Force Base , North Carolina flying the A - 10 Thunderbolt II aircraft . The primary mission of the 23 FG was forward air control , close - air support , interdiction and combat search and rescue operations . The ceremony brought together two organizations whose histories predate the United States involvement in World War II , when both units served as American volunteer groups . In 2006 , the 23rd Fighter Group was transferred to the 23d Wing at Moody Air Force Base , reuniting the wing with its operational fighter group . In October 2001 , in response to the 11 September terrorist attacks on the United States , the 4th Fighter Wing began flying Operation NOBLE EAGLE sorties , the first of its kind for the wing , providing coastal protection for Homeland Defense . In March 2002 , A - 10s assigned to the 23d Fighter Group arrived in Jacobabad , Pakistan , and later became the first USAF fixed - winged aircraft to enter Afghanistan to fight the war on terrorism . In January and February 2003 , the 4th Fighter Wing joined other operational units in Southeast Asia . Two F - 15E fighter squadrons deployed to Southwest Asia in support of OSW , which would later transition into support for Operation IRAQI FREEDOM . On 18 April 2003 members of the 4th Fighter Wing returned to Seymour Johnson AFB after contributing to the U . S . - led invasion of Iraq . In 2004 , elements of the wing again supported operations in theater while forward deployed to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar . Strategic Air Command . In 1958 , Strategic Air Command began dispersing its B - 52 bombers . Prior to that each bomb wing had 3 squadrons of 15 aircraft . Each became a strategic wing and was dispersed to another base . The 73d Bomb Squadron of the 72d Bombardment Wing was used to create the 4241st Strategic Wing , being assigned to Seymour Johnson AFB on 1 October 1958 . The 68th Bombardment Wing , Medium transferred without personnel or equipment to Seymour Johnson on 15 April 1963 from Chennault AFB , Louisiana , replacing the 4241st Strategic Wing and redesignated as the 68th Bombardment Wing , Heavy . It conducted strategic bombardment training with B - 52 Stratofortress es and air refueling operations with KC - 135s . Deployed at Loring AFB , Maine from 28 July to August 1965 and from 27 May 1972 to 15 July 1972 . During this time , all wing aircraft , most aircrew and maintenance personnel and about half of the wing ' s support people were loaned to other SAC units for combat operations in South Vietnam . Following the return of all wing aircraft from Southeast Asia , the 68th Bomb Wing refocused its principal efforts on its strategic deterrence and nuclear alert roles . During Fiscal Year 1982 , the 68th Bomb Wing began phasing out all B - 52 operations and the unit was officially inactivated on 30 September 1982 . On that same date , the 68th Air Refueling Group ( 68 ARG ) was activated and on 1 October 1982 , the 68th Air Refueling Group , and the 68th Bombardment Wing , Heavy , were consolidated into a single organization at Seymour Johnson . The 68 ARG continued to fly the KC - 135 Stratotanker until 1 October 1985 , when it converted to the larger , more modern and versatile KC - 10 Extender aircraft . The 68 ARG was redesignated the 68th Air Refueling Wing ( 68 ARW ) on 1 October 1986 . As previously mentioned , on 22 April 1991 , the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing ( 4 TFW ) at Seymour Johnson became the U . S . Air Force ' s first composite wing and was renamed the 4th Wing ( 4 WG ) . The 4 WG incorporated all personnel , KC - 10 aircraft and other assets previously assigned to the 68th Air Refueling Wing , which was inactivated on the same date . On 1 October 1994 , the KC - 10 component was separated from the 4 WG and reassigned to McGuire AFB , New Jersey where it became part of the newly reformed 305th Air Mobility Wing of the Air Mobility Command . Air Defense Command . From 8 April 1956 though 1 October 1965 the 482d Fighter - Interceptor Squadron of the Air Defense Command ( later renamed Aerospace Defense Command ) was based at Seymour Johnson , flying the Convair F - 102A Delta Dagger as part of ADC ' s 32nd and 26th Air Divisions . During early 1959 runway construction at Seymour Johnson forced the unit to relocate to the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point , North Carolina . In May 1959 , the squadron returned to Seymour Johnson AFB and continued activities at their home base for the first time in over a year . In 1960 , the 482d deployed six aircraft to Tyndall AFB to test the feasibility of periodic weapons deployment . On 14 April , the squadron was once again forced to move due to runway repairs at Seymour Johnson . The entire unit moved to Myrtle Beach AFB , South Carolina and spent a total of six weeks there . Late in 1960 the F - 102s of the 482nd were sent to depot for the Configuration VII modification which gave the aircraft nuclear air - to - air missile capability . Early 1961 found the 482nd busily preparing for the newly modified aircraft and the assignment of nuclear weapons . In July 1961 , the squadron formed the 482nd Fighter Interceptor Squadron , Detachment 1 , at Homestead AFB Florida . Shortly after TDY operation was established at Homestead AFB , Florida , runway construction at Homestead forced the entire detachment to move to Miami International Airport . Operations continued at Miami until February 1962 , when the detachment was relocated back to Homestead AFB . Also during July 1961 , the 482nd was transferred from the 32d Air Division to the 26th Air Division . The squadron continued normal operations at home with training exercises and evaluations coming from ADC Headquarters as well as the 26th Air Division . The 482d FIS was the first USAF fighter units to move into southern Florida during the Cuban Missile Crisis . Arriving on station at Homestead AFB hours ahead of schedule . At Homestead the squadron immediately established a constant airborne alert and maintained this alert for over 10 critical days following the United States ' quarantine of Cuba . During this month the 482nd flew 1027 hours of F - 102 time , an unofficial record for an F - 102 squadron . On 1 December the squadron was returned to Seymour Johnson AFB in its entirety and resumed the alert commitment at home station . In June 1963 , the Configuration VIII modification was completed on squadron assigned F - 102s . This modification gave the aircraft the capability of seeking out and destroying the airborne target by detecting the infra - red energy emitted by the target . June also saw squadron aircraft and personnel on alert duty at Naval Air Station Key West , Florida on a rotational basis . Over time , the need for dedicated air defense units decreased , and the 482d FIS was inactivated on 1 October 1965 . BRAC 2005 . In its 2005 BRAC Recommendations , DoD recommended to realign Grand Forks Air Force Base , North Dakota . It would distribute the 319th Air Refueling Wing ’ s KC - 135R aircraft to the 916th Air Refueling Wing ( AFRC ) at Seymour Johnson AFB . The 916 ARW would also host an active duty associate unit . This realignment will bring hundreds of new personnel and their families to the Goldsboro area .