19th Operations Group The 19th Operations Group ( 19 OG ) is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 19th Airlift Wing , stationed at Little Rock Air Force Base , Arkansas . Equipped with the Lockheed C - 130 Hercules , the group provides part of Air Mobility Command ' s Global Reach capability . Tasking requirements range from supplying humanitarian airlift relief to victims of disasters , to airdropping supplies and troops into the heart of contingency operations in hostile areas . The 19 OG is one of the oldest organizations in the Air Force , being a successor organization of the 19th Bombardment Group , one of the 15 original combat air groups formed by the Army before World War II . As part of the Far East Air Force , the unit was stationed at Clark Field in the Philippines when the Japanese attacked on 8 December 1941 , suffering numerous casualties and losing most of its Boeing B - 17 Flying Fortress es in the attack . A small number of its aircraft escaped to fly combat missions in the Philippines ; Netherlands East Indies and Papua New Guinea during early 1942 . In March 1942 , the group was re - established in Australia , as part of the Fifth Air Force . From far - flung bases in Queensland , the Northern Territory and Western Australia , the group carried out missions over Japanese - held areas in New Guinea and the Dutch East Indies . After moving to Guam in 1944 , the group was re - equipped with the Boeing B - 29 Superfortress and conducted its first raid with B - 29s on 25 February 1945 , against Tokyo . The group has earned the distinction of being one of the most decorated units in the Air Force . Unit honors include nine Presidential Unit Citations , two Air Force Meritorious Unit Awards , ten Air Force Outstanding Unit Award s , one Philippine Presidential Unit Citation , and one Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation . Units . The 19th Operations Group is composed of seven flying squadrons , flying the Lockheed C - 130 Hercules : Heraldry . The group ' s emblem , approved in 1936 , shows a winged sword in front of the constellation of Pegasus , indicating both the striking force and navigation capability of the unit . History . The 19th Observation Group was constituted as part of the United States Army Air Corps on 18 October 1927 , without personnel or equipment . In 1929 its paper designation was changed to the 19th Bombardment Group , and it came into being with its activation at Rockwell Field , California , in June 1932 . Two of its four squadrons , the 23rd and 72nd Bomb Squadrons , were permanently detached for service in Hawaii with the 5th Composite Group . The two squadrons at Rockwell , the 30th and 32nd Bomb Squadrons , were equipped with Keystone B - 3A bombers . The unit flew training missions along the California coast for coastal defense between 1932 and 1935 . On 1 March 1935 , all aviation combat units of the AAC in the United States were reorganized into General Headquarters Air Force , the first centralized control of the air striking arm of the United States . The 19th BG moved to March Field , California as part of the 1st Wing , commanded by Brig . Gen . Henry H . Arnold . In 1940 , the group was equipped with the new B - 17B Flying Fortress , the first production version of the B - 17 . The unit made aviation history on the night of 13 – 14 May 1941 when they took 21 B - 17s from California to Hawaii to transfer them to the 11th Bomb Group , landing on schedule within 30 minutes of each other and in the order they took off . The 19th BG redeployed two squadrons ( the 30th and 93d ) to the Philippines between 16 October and 4 November 1941 . The 26 bombers , traveling individually and at night on their longest leg , flew a trans - Pacific route from Hamilton Field , California ; to Hickam Field , Hawaii ; Midway Island ; Wake Island ; Port Moresby , Papua New Guinea ; Darwin , Northern Territory , Australia ; and Clark Field , Luzon , a distance of over 10 , 000 miles , nearly all of it over water . The route had been pioneered between 5 and 12 September 1941 by the 14th Bombardment Squadron , which was attached as the group ' s third squadron after its arrival . The 28th Bombardment Squadron , a squadron that had long been based in the Philippines with the 4th Composite Group ( being broken up and disbanded ) , but now rostered by pilots fresh out of flight training , was also attached to the group as its fourth squadron and began transition training to the B - 17 . The 19th BG had an inventory of 6 B - 17C and 29 B - 17D , although one B - 17D was out of commission during its entire overseas service when it broke off its tail in a collision with a parked aircraft while landing after its flight from the United States on 12 September . World War II . B - 17 Flying Fortress era . The unit was stationed at Clark Field as the bomber command of the Far East Air Force when the Japanese attacked on 8 December 1941 , inflicting numerous casualties and destroying half of its aircraft in the attack . The 14th and 93d Squadrons , 14 B - 17D and two B - 17C bombers , had been ordered to Del Monte Airfield on Mindanao just prior to the bombing of Clark Field , and escaped unharmed . During December 1941 , the 19th began reconnaissance and bombardment operations against Japanese shipping and landing parties until 17 December when badly in need of depot maintenance , it began displacing south to Darwin . By the end of the year , ground personnel joined infantry units defending the Philippines , while the air echelon in Australia continued operations , including transport of supplies to the Philippines and evacuation of personnel . On 29 December 11 of the survivors moved forward to Singosari Airfield near Malang , Java , to continue combat operations . The group flew B - 17 s , B - 24 s , and LB - 30 s from Java against enemy airfields , shipping , and ground installations during the Japanese offensive against the Netherlands East Indies during early 1942 , and was again evacuated on 2 March to Australia . It participated in the Battle of the Coral Sea , in May 1942 , and raided enemy transportation and communications targets as well as troop concentrations during the Japanese invasion of Papua New Guinea . The group bombed enemy airdromes , ground installations , and shipping near Rabaul , New Britain in August 1942 . Capt . Harl Pease , who had been with the group since the start of the war , was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for a mission flown on 7 August 1942 . By late 1942 , the USAAF decided that no more B - 17s would be sent to the Pacific , and that units would be withdrawn or re - equipped in the Pacific in favor of the longer - ranged B - 24 Liberator . In addition , the combat losses by Eighth Air Force in Europe were reaching such magnitudes that the entire B - 17 production was urgently needed for replacements and training in that theater . The 19th Bomb Group was withdrawn from Australia and returned to Pocatello Army Air Base , Idaho in December to be a replacement training organization for II Bomber Command . However , weather in the northwestern United States was not conducive to training missions , and the 19th was moved to Pyote Army Airfield , Texas in January where it performed a training mission until November 1943 . B - 29 Superfortress era . The group was largely unmanned from December 1943 to 1 April 1944 , when it was inactivated . The group was activated the same date at Great Bend Army Airfield in Kansas , at the 19th Bombardment Group ( Very Heavy ) and began training for B - 29 Superfortress combat missions . Delays in B - 29 production and many modifications to the new aircraft led to extensive delays in the group ' s training . Construction of the B - 29 airfields in the Marianas chain of islands , consisting primarily of Saipan , Tinian , and Guam , also delayed deployment to the Pacific until the group was ordered to the massive new North Field on Guam on 16 January 1945 . On Guam the 19th was assigned to the 314th Bombardment Wing , XXI Bomber Command , Twentieth Air Force . The group ' s aircraft were identified with a large 96 - inch black box on the tail fin , with a " M " painted in the middle . After some familiarity and training missions , the 19th conducted its first B - 29 bombing raid over Japan on 25 February 1945 , attacking Northeast Tokyo on a high - altitude bombing mission . The bombing results , however were poor . Over Japan , the B - 29s encountered the jet stream , which was a high - speed wind coming out of the west at speeds as high as 200 mph at precisely the altitudes at which the bombers were operating . This caused the bomber formations to be disrupted and made accurate bombing impossible . Other targets in Japan were attacked and the results were still disappointing . Only ten percent of the damage done by the bombs was actually inside the target areas , and numerous were lost in these raids , many to accidents caused by engine failures due to the stress of flying in the jet stream . Concerned about the relative failure of the B - 29 offensive to deal any crippling blows to Japan , General LeMay issued a new directive on 19 February . General LeMay had analyzed the structure of the Japanese economy , which depended heavily on cottage industries housed in cities close to major industrial areas . By destroying these feeder industries , the flow of vital components to the central plants could be slowed , disorganizing production of weapons vital to Japan . He decided to do this by using incendiary bombs rather than purely high - explosive bombs , which would , it was hoped , cause general conflagrations in large cities like Tokyo or Nagoya , spreading to some of the priority targets . The first raid to use these new techniques was on the night of 9 – 10 March against Tokyo . Another wing — the 314th Bombardment Wing ( 19th , 29th , 39th , and 330th BG ) commanded by Brig . Gen . Thomas S . Power — had arrived in the Marianas and was stationed at North Field on Guam . A total of 302 B - 29s participated in the raid , with 279 arriving over the target . The raid was led by special pathfinder crews who marked central aiming points . It lasted for two hours . The raid was a success beyond General LeMay ' s wildest expectations . The individual fires caused by the bombs joined to create a general conflagration known as a firestorm . When it was over , sixteen square miles of the center of Tokyo had gone up in flames and nearly 84 , 000 people had been killed . Fourteen B - 29s were lost . The B - 29 was finally beginning to have an effect . By 20 March , XXI Bombardment Corps had run out of incendiaries , forcing a momentary pause . While waiting for new incendiary stocks , LeMay devoted his B - 29s to flying tactical missions over the island of Kyushu in support of the invasion of Okinawa . Airfields and support facilities were primary targets . These raids lasted until early May . By the end of the war in August 1945 , the 195h Bombardment group flew 65 raids on the Japanese home islands , bombing strategic targets in Japan , participating in incendiary bomb attacks against Japanese cities , and attacked kamikaze airfields during the invasion of Okinawa in the spring of 1945 . Post / Cold War . In the late 1940s , the 19th conducted sea - search , photographic mapping , and training missions in the western Pacific . It was the only Bombardment Group not in the Strategic Air Command chain of command and , in 1950 , the only Bombardment Group permanently stationed outside the continental limits of the United States . When the Korean War broke out in late June 1950 , the 19th Bombardment Group was immediately detached from the Wing for combat operations from Kadena AB , Okinawa . From Kadena , the squadrons ( 28th , 30th 93d ) attacked North Korean invasion forces . The first B - 29 Superfortress unit in the war , the group on 28 June attacked North Korean storage tanks , marshalling yards , and armor in the vicinity of Seoul , South Korea . This was the first of just under 650 combat missions during the course of the war . In the first two months of the war , it flew more than six hundred sorties , supporting UN ground forces by bombing enemy troops , vehicles , and such communications points as the Han River bridges . At Kadena , the group was initially under the operational control of Twentieth Air Force , after 8 July 1950 , it was attached to FEAF Bomber Command ( Provisional ) . Many of the aircraft flown by the 19th Bomb Group squadrons in combat were refurbished B - 29s that were placed in storage after World War II , then brought back into operational service . In the north , its targets included an oil refinery and port facilities at Wonsan , a railroad bridge at Pyongyang , and Yonpo Airfield . After United Nations ground forces pushed the communists out of South Korea , the 19th BG turned to strategic objectives in North Korea , including industrial and hydroelectric facilities . It also continued to attack bridges , marshalling yards , supply centers , artillery and troop positions , barracks , port facilities , and airfields . In accordance with organizational change within the Strategic Air Command and later throughout the entire Air Force , the 19th Bomb Group was inactivated on 1 June 1953 and its squadrons assigned directly to the 19th Bomb Wing as part of the Tri - Deputate organization of the wing , which moved its headquarters to Kadena . In combat over the skies of Korea , there were at least 33 reported aircraft losses in the 19th Bomb Group . Modern era . Reactivated in 1991 as the 19 Operations Group when the 19 Air Refueling Wing implemented the Objective Wing organization . From January 1992 , it provided an EC - 137 and crews to support the United States Special Operations Command , and from August 1992 the wing supported the Saudi Tanker Task Force . It provided air refueling support to NATO fighters in Bosnia in September – October 1995 . Several KC - 135R tankers deployed to Southwest Asia to support Operation Southern Watch , January – March 1996 and to Turkey for Operation Provide Comfort , April – June 1996 . On 1 July 1996 , the 19th Air Refueling Wing was inactivated , and its functions turned over to its operations group , redesignated the 19th Air Refueling Group . The 19th ARG consists of four squadrons : 19th Operations Support Squadron ( OSS ) , 19th Maintenance Squadron ( MXS ) , 19th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron ( AMXS ) , and the 99th Air Refueling Squadron ( ARS ) . The Black Knights returned to Istres , France , in August 1996 deploying five aircraft and 125 personnel in support of Operation Deny Flight . In December , the group received an inspection from the Air Mobility Command ' s Quality Air Force Assessment Team . During the inspection , the team found the 19th ' s leadership , support , and maintenance to be among the best in Air Mobility Command . Black Knight aircraft and personnel deployed to numerous contingency operations and exercises during 1997 and continued the group ' s record for success . 1998 proved to be another banner year for the 19th . Most notably , the Black Knights supported Operation Northern Watch , enforcing the United Nation ' s no - fly zone in northern Iraq ; Operation Desert Thunder , US action against Iraqi aggression ; and Operation Constant Vigil , US antidrug operations in the Caribbean . The 99th Air Refueling Squadron was named the Air Force Association ' s Citation of Honor winner for the unit that contributed most to national defense during 1998 . Additionally , the 99th won the coveted General Carl A . Spaatz Trophy for 1998 — given annually to the " Best Air Refueling Squadron in the US Air Force . " The 19th was off to another record start in 1999 when it earned a rare , perfect " Outstanding " during its Headquarters , Air Mobility Command Operational Readiness Inspection . Additionally , the 19th had just returned from supporting Operation Deliberate Forge and Operation Allied Force , US support for the NATO ' s Air War over the Former Republic of Yugoslavia - having deployed over three - fourths of its personnel and aircraft to four forward operating locations throughout Europe . 21st Century . Even after the war , the new millennium brought the 19th many new challenges . The Black Knights , although the last home , were the first to reconstitute its forces and prepare for its role as the first on - call expeditionary force for the Air Force ' s newest Expeditionary Aerospace Force concept . Furthermore , the recognition continued as the 19th received the AMC nomination for USSTRATCOM ' s Omaha Trophy for DoD ' s unit that best supported the Single Integrated Operational Plan . Also , the 99 ARS repeated its role as it won the 1999 Spaatz Trophy as well as the AMC nomination for the Citation of Honor Award ; the 19 OSS earned the honors of the Best OSS in Twenty - First Air Force ; and the 19 AGS not only received the Twenty - First Air Force Maintenance Effectiveness Award , but also dominated the 2000 Rodeo Competition as it brought home the " Best KC - 135 Maintenance " Trophy . The current 19th Operations Group Commander is Colonel David A . Kasberg . 19th Air Refueling Group . The group ' s last designation , the 19th Air Refueling Group , stationed at Robins AFB , Georgia provided worldwide in - flight refueling for combat , logistics , and combat support aircraft of the United States and its allies as directed by the Department of Defense . The 19th Air Refueling Group was inactivated in June 2008 as a result of realignment due to Base Realignment and Closure ( BRAC ) 2005 .