99th Air Base Wing The 99th Air Base Wing ( 99 ABW ) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command ( ACC ) and its ACC subordinate organization , the United States Air Force Warfare Center . It is based at Nellis Air Force Base , Nevada and also serves as the host wing at Nellis . A non - flying wing , the organization oversees the daily base operations and mission support functions of Nellis AFB such as personnel , finance , civil engineering , security and supply . The 99 ABW is the successor organization to the World War II 99th Bombardment Group . The group moved to Algeria in May 1943 , where the group and its B - 17 Flying Fortress aircraft distinguished themselves while flying bombing missions against targets in Italy , Sardinia and Sicily . Then , in December 1943 , aircrews moved to Italy and conducted missions throughout Europe . Active for over 60 years , the 99th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing was a component organization of Strategic Air Command ' s deterrent force during the Cold War , as a strategic reconnaissance wing . The 99th Air Base Wing is commanded by Colonel Barry R . Cornish . Its Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sergeant Steven J . Cleveland . Components . Three groups are assigned to the 99th : 99th Medical Group , 99th Mission Support Group and 99th Security Forces Group . History . World War II . On 25 September 1942 , the 99th Bombardment Group ( Heavy ) was activated at Gowan Field AAF near Boise , Idaho . The 99th consisted of the 346th , 347th , 348th , and 416th Bomb squadrons . Due to congestion at Gowan Field , the 99th was relocated to Walla Walla AAF , in Washington . During October , the 99th received twelve flight leaders with crews , and four B - 17 Flying Fortress bombers . During the first phase of training , the 99th received six more B - 17s . The winter weather in Washington was not favorable for flying , so the 99th relocated to Sioux City AAB , Iowa for the second phase of training . By the middle of November , the 99th had acquired about seventy five percent of its ground and support personnel . The third phase of training took place at Smokey Hill AAF , Salina , Kansas in January 1943 . After completion of training , the 99th departed the United States at Morrison Field , Florida in February . The 99th B - 17s flew the southern route via Boriniquen , Puerto Rico ; Georgetown , British Guiana ; Belém , Brazil ; Bathhurst , Gambia ; to their destination at Marrakech , Morocco . The ground and support personnel and equipment made the journey by ship . Upon arrival in North Africa , the 99th was assigned to was attached to the 5th Bombardment Wing of Twelfth Air Force , and was stationed at Navarin , located near Constantine , Algeria . The group came to be referred to as the Diamondbacks , due to a diamond insignia painted on the vertical stabilizer of their B - 17s . The 99th flew its first combat mission on 31 March against an enemy airdrome at Villacidro , Sardinia , As Allied ground forces forced the German Afrika Korps to retreat into Tunisia , the 99th flew missions to cut off German supplies coming from Italy and Sicily . For the rest of 1943 , the 99th flew missions primarily across the Mediterranean to bomb targets in Sicily and Italy . In June , news of a possible Arab uprising had the men of the 99th nervous and wearing side arms at all times . Although a major uprising never occurred , there were acts of sabotage ; including a small night time German paratrooper drop over Oudna Field , Tunisia that resulted in the capture of three Germans . Summer dust storms made life miserable . On 5 July the group bombed an airfield at Gerbini , Sicily . An estimated one hundred enemy fighters made repetitive and fierce attacks , trying to turn the 99th back . The group however penetrated enemy defenses , and destroyed the airfield . For this mission , the 99th received its first Distinguished Unit Citation . On 9 July , the group flew missions in support of the Allied invasion of Sicily . The first Allied air attack on Rome took place on 14 July . Great care was taken by the 99th to avoid dropping any bombs on the Vatican City . On 1 November 1943 , the four B - 17 groups of the 5th Wing and two B - 24 groups of the Ninth Air Force were combined with two fighter groups to form the new Fifteenth Air Force . On its first day of existence , the 15th flew a 1 , 600 mile round trip to bomb the Messerschmidt aircraft factory at Wiener Neustadt , Austria . With the Allied advancement up the boot of Italy , it was decided to relocate the 5th Wing there in order to bring more Axis targets within reach of the bombers . Each group was assigned a base on the Foggia plains , the 99th being stationed at Tortorella . The planes arrived at their new base in December 1943 . Living conditions at Tortorella were very harsh . The summers were hot and dusty , the winters cold and wet . Buildings were few , and airplane maintenance crews worked out in the open . The men lived in tents using homemade gasoline stoves for heat . The men constantly had to struggle through mud and water , snow and ice , or choking dust , depending on the season . Throughout 1944 , the 99th bombed targets in German occupied Italy , Germany , Austria , Greece , Bulgaria , France , Romania , Hungary , Yugoslavia , and Czechoslovakia . Two more B - 17 groups , the 463rd and 483rd , would be added to the 5th Wing in March 1944 . On 23 April the group bombed an aircraft factory at Weiner Neustadt , Austria . The 99th was the lead group on this mission . The flak was intense , and aggressive fighter opposition was encountered but no planes were lost . Despite the heavy opposition , the 99th made a highly successful bomb run . Thirty - one of the groups airplanes returned to base , riddled with flak and bullet holes . For this mission , the 99th received its second Distinguished Unit Citation . During the last half of May , rumors were going around that " Something Big " was in the works . The rumors became fact at 2 : 00 am on the morning of 2 June . the group was informed that the 99th was going to bomb a railroad yard at Debrecen , Hungary , and fly on to land at Poltava , Russia in the Ukraine . At the briefing , the aircrews were told that " One hundred thirty - million Americans will look upon you today and you are their representatives in a land where you will be the first American combat men . " The bombing that day was excellent , and no flak or enemy fighters were encountered . The 99th became the first task force of the USAAF to land on Russian soil . The first three days in Russia were non - operational . The men of the 99th spent their time sightseeing and making friends with the Russians . The Russian civilians cheered and saluted the " Americanyetts . " On 6 June , the 99th flew a mission from Poltava , to bomb the German airfield at Galați , Romania . After landing back at Poltava , the men of the 99th learned that the Allies had invaded Europe on the beaches of France . On 11 June , the 99th took off to bomb a German airfield at Focşani , Romania . They continued on to land back at Tortorella . The first shuttle mission to Russia was deemed to be a success . The invasion of Southern France occurred on 15 August . The 99th flew missions on the 13th and 14th , destroying German gun emplacements and lines of communication near Toulon , France . The mission of the 15th , was in direct support of Allied invasion forces . The invasion of Southern France got little media attention because it had been overshadowed by the Normandy invasion on 6 June . In April 1945 , the 99th supported the Allied offensive in the Po Valley . It flew its 395th , and last , combat mission on 26 April 1945 . Heavy clouds prevented the target from being sighted so no bombs were dropped . The group flew a total of 10 , 855 combat sorties in eighteen months of operation . The group was inactivated in Italy on 8 November 1945 . Flew 395 combat missions ; 69 aircraft lost . Cold War . The unit was reactivated as the 99th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing ( 99th SRW ) in January 1953 , replacing the Pennsylvania Air National Guard ' s 111th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Fairchild AFB , Washington , which was activated during the Korean War . The 99th SRW was assigned to the Strategic Air Command ' s Fifteenth Air Force , 57th Air Division . Its operational squadrons were the 346th , 347th and 348th Reconnaissance squadrons , assuming the RB - 29 aircraft of the departing 111th . Beginning in 1954 , the wing began receiving the RB - 36 reconnaissance version of the B - 36 Peacemaker intercontinental bomber . The wing performed worldwide photographic , electronic , and visual day and night strategic reconnaissance as its primary mission until late 1954 , and until September 1956 as a secondary mission . One of the weaknesses of early jet fighters was their limited range and endurance . From January 1955 to February 1956 , the wing participated in the FICON ( FIghter CONveyor ) project , which was an early 1950s attempt to extend the range of fighter and reconnaissance jets by having them operate as parasites from B - 36 bombers . RB - 36F bomber ( serial number 49 - 2707 ) was selected to carry and recover a modified F - 84E Thunderjet . The modified RB - 36F was redesignated GRB - 36F . The bomb bay of the GRB - 36F was extensively modified , and the usual bomb racks were replaced by a retractable H - shaped cradle . F - 84E serial number 49 - 2115 was modified to carry a hook on the upper nose ahead of its cockpit . During the recovery operation , the F - 84E was to fly up underneath the B - 36 and use its hook to engage a slot in the cradle . The cradle would then rotate down over the fuselage of the F - 84E and engage hardpoints on the rear fuselage . Once attached , the F - 84E would be pulled upward and nestle underneath the belly of the GRB - 36F . Launch was carried out by reversing this process . The success of the tests with the F - 84E and the GRF - 84F led to a USAF order in the fall of 1953 that 25 RF - 84F reconnaissance aircraft be modified to operate as parasite aircraft . These aircraft were redesignated RF - 84K . Serials were 52 - 7254 / 7278 . Ten B - 36D bombers were ordered modified to act as motherships , these aircraft being redesignated GRB - 36D With the conclusion of the FICON testing , Strategic bombing became the Wing ' s primary mission in late 1954 . The wing deployed its B - 36s to Andersen AFB , Guam , January – April 1956 . The wing was reassigned to the Eighth Air Force ' s 57th Air Division on 4 September 1956 . On 4 September 1956 , the wing moved to Westover AFB , Massachusetts , and was redesignated the 99th Bombardment Wing , Heavy on 1 October . Its B - 36s were being phased out of the inventory , and the 99th soon began receiving the new B - 52C Stratofortress . The wing flew the B - 52Cs until the latter half of the 1960s when their B - 52Cs were redistributed among a number of different B - 52D units and operated primarily as crew trainers . The 99th was upgraded to the B - 52D in 1966 , while still keeping several B - 52C ' s until they were retired in 1971 . During the Vietnam War , the B - 52Ds of the 99th were routinely deployed in rotations to combat duty in Southeast Asia , finally returning to Westover in 1973 . During the Christmas 1972 " Linebacker II " bombing of Hanoi , two 99th Bomabrdment Wing crews were shotdown , several crewmembers were Killed In Action and the remaining crewmembers were returned from POW status . In 1956 , the 99th also received the new KC - 135 Stratotanker and began its refueling mission . In January 1966 , it added air refueling capability to its mission . The KC - 135 tanker squadron also operated EC - 135 s in a Post - Attack Command Control System role until April 1970 . In the late 1960s through early 1972 the 99th Air Refueling Squadron maintained several aircraft on Satellite Alert at Otis AFB , Massachusetts . Beginning in 1967 , all wing tactical and maintenance assets , and some support resources , were rotated for various periods to USAF units engaged in Southeast Asian combat operations ; these deployments continued until the Wing inactivated on 31 March 1974 . Modern era . The 99th was redesignated the 99th Strategic Weapons Wing and activated at Ellsworth AFB , South Dakota , in August 1989 as a non - flying unit . At Ellsworth , the wing conducted tactics and development evaluation and trained combat crews in strategic bombing and electronic warfare at the Strategic Training Route Complex . Redesignated the 99th Tactics and Training Wing on 1 September 1991 at Ellsworth AFB , the Tactics and Training Wing were assigned to Strategic Air Command and later reassigned to the USAF Fighter Weapons Center on 31 May 1992 at Nellis AFB , Nevada . Major reorganizations and name changes occurred until September 1995 , when the 99th Wing inactivated and was reactivated at Nellis as the 99th Air Base Wing on 1 October 1995 . A July 2009 inspection conducted by the Air Force Audit Agency found the wing had improperly stored 52 classified nuclear - related items in a 57th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron hangar . The wing has since corrected the deficiency . Components . Groups Squadrons