434th Air Refueling Wing The 434th Air Refueling Wing ( 434 ARW ) is an Air Reserve Component ( ARC ) of the United States Air Force . It is assigned to the Fourth Air Force , Air Force Reserve Command , stationed at Grissom Air Reserve Base , Indiana . If mobilized , the Wing is gained by the Air Mobility Command . The unit ' s World War II predecessor unit , the 434th Troop Carrier Group was a C - 47 Skytrain transport unit assigned to Ninth Air Force in Western Europe . The group flew combat paratroopers on airborne assaults on Normandy ( Operation Overlord ) ; Southern France ( Operation Dragoon ) ; Holland ( Operation Market - Garden ) , and Germany ( Operation Varsity ) . It also flew combat resupply missions in the relief of Bastogne in 1945 . Overview . The 434th Air Refueling Wing principal mission is air refueling . The wing enhances the Air Force ' s capability to accomplish its primary missions of Global Reach and Global Power . It also provides aerial refueling support to Air Force , Navy and Marine Corps aircraft as well as aircraft of allied nations . The wing is also capable of transporting litter and ambulatory patients using patient support pallets during aeromedical evacuations . It also has special taskings to generate aircraft and crews in support of the Air Mobility Command . Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command , Robins Air Force Base , Ga . , and 4th Air Force , March Air Force Base , Ca . , provide command and supervisory guidance prior to mobilization . The 434th Air Refueling Wing regularly participates in exercises and front - line operations to support America ' s national interests . The Air Force Reserve Command provides a substantial portion of the Department of Defense ' s total aerial refueling capability . Hence , the 434th receives its share of taskings both during peacetime and times of crisis to support our nation ' s active duty military forces . It holds the record for most aerial refuelings in a one - week period when the unit performed 290 aerial refuelings , with over one million pounds of fuel offloaded . The unit also set a single day record of refueling 90 aircraft , with over 283 , 000 pounds of fuel offloaded . These records were established in 1981 . In addition to being a self - contained combat - ready unit , the 434th Air Refueling Wing also has the responsibility to operate and maintain Grissom Air Reserve Base . Grissom is one of only four Air Force Reserve Bases nationwide Units . The 434th Air Refueling Wing consists of the following major units : Included in these major organizations are such areas as flight operations , aircraft maintenance , plans and programs , safety , airfield management , security police , communications , medical support , information management , administration , and civil engineering . History . The 434th Troop Carrier Wing , Medium was established and activated on 1 July 1949 in the Air Force Reserve at the new Atterbury Air Force Base , Indiana . The Indianapolis - based 434th Troop Carrier Group , Medium . was moved to Atterbury on 1 July 1949 and assigned as the wing ' s operational component . The group had 4 C - 47 Skytrain squadrons , the 71st , 72d , 73d and 74th Troop Carrier Squadron s . Cold War . At Atterbury , the wing served as a training organization for the Air Force Reservists . Most of the training was accomplished on weekends . In August 1949 the group converted to C - 46 Commando es , and training for the most part consisted of transition flying training . Before the transition was completed , the Group spent two weeks in the summer of 1950 ( 8 – 22 July ) on active duty in a summer encampment . With the start of the Korean War , the 434th was called to active duty on 2 May 1951 , being assigned to Tactical Air Command . When activated , its four troop - carrier squadrons were reduced to three , the 74th TCS being inactivated upon activation . After receiving its initial training at Atterbury AFB , the Wing was moved to Lawson AFB , Georgia to support Army Airborne Forces training at Fort Benning . The Wing was assigned to the Eighteenth Air Force and served on active duty for 21 months before returning to Reserve status and once again coming back to Indiana . The 434th returned to its previous training role upon its return . On 13 November 1954 , the base was renamed Bakalar Air Force Base in a formal dedication ceremony in honor of First Lieutenant John Edmond Bakalar . Throughout the 1950s , the 434th TCW performed routine reserve training at Bakalar . In 1957 , the wing transitioned from C - 46 Commandos to the Fairchild C - 119 Flying Boxcar . C - 119 ' s were flown by the 434th until the base was closed in 1970 . 1959 saw the 434th Troop Carrier Group being inactivated on 14 April , its squadrons being assigned directly to the wing under the tri - deputate organization adopted by the wing . The 2466th Air Force Reserve Combat Training Center was inactivated on 1 July 1959 due to budget reductions , its mission being folded into that of the 434th TCW . During the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis , the 434th TCW was activated and brought under the operational control of Nineteenth Air Force , Tactical Air Command . The wing ' s C - 119 squadrons began transporting supplies , equipment and Army personnel to Homestead Air Force Base , Florida . The 73d Troop Carrier Squadron was deployed to Scott Air Force Base , Illinois , where it operated from during the crisis . In December 1962 , the wing was returned to control of the Fifth Air Force Reserve Region and resumed reserve training . In 1963 , the 434th TCW was reorganized with the addition of three new reserve troop carrier groups being placed under its control . The 930th , 931st and 932d Troop Carrier Groups were activated and assigned on 11 February . The Wing ' s squadrons were divided between the three new groups , the 71st TCS being reassigned to the 930th TCG ; the 72d to the 931st TGG , and the 73d to the 932d TCG . All were equipped with Wing ' s former C - 119 Boxcars . On 1 October 1966 , the 932d TCG was released from assignment to the 434th TCW and reassigned to the 442d Military Airlift Wing at Richards - Gebaur AFB , Missouri , in preparation for heavy cargo operations . On 1 July 1967 , the 434th was re - designated the 434th Tactical Airlift Wing , its subordinate groups and squadrons also being re - designated as Tactical Airlift units . On 13 May 1968 , the 930th Tactical Airlift Group was activated for combat duty in the Vietnam War , the 71st TAS ' s C - 119 aircraft were selected for modification to the AC - 119G Gunship configuration with powerful searchlights and rapid - fire machine guns . The group and its Bakalar Reservists were reassigned to Lockbourne AFB , Ohio on 11 June . The 71st was subsequently re - designated as the 71st Air Commando Squadron ( ACS ) on 15 June and eventually was deployed to Nha Trang Air Base , South Vietnam on 5 December where it was assigned to the 14th Special Operations Wing . Subsequently re - designated as a Special Operations Squadron , the 71st flew combat operations in South Vietnam until 5 June 1969 when its reservists were returned to the United States . The 71st SOS was the only USAF reserve unit to serve in Vietnam ; its AC - 119s remained in South Vietnam , being transferred to the 17th Special Operations Squadron . The major command at Bakalar was changed from Continental Air Command ( ConAc ) to the Air Force Reserve ( AFRES ) on 1 August 1968 , at the time a field operating agency . The 434th TAW , however , remained as part of the Fifth Air Force Reserve Region . In 25 June 1969 , the 931st Tactical Airlift Group was re - designated as the 931st Tactical Air Support Group , its 72d Tactical Airlift Squadron being re - designated and re - equipped with U - 3A " Blue Canoe " light utility aircraft . The 931st TASG mission was charged with tactical air support . The group ' s C - 119s being reassigned to the 71st Special Operations Squadron and modified to the AC - 119G configuration . Due to funding reductions in 1969 , Bakalar Air Force Base was selected for closure . The 434th Tactical Airlift Wing was inactivated on 31 December 1969 with the closure of Bakalar AFB . On 15 January 1971 , the 434th was reactivated at Grissom AFB , Indiana , as the 434th Special Operations Wing . Its operational squadron was the 71st Special Operations Squadron , with the AC - 119s transferred from Bakalar AFB . The 434th SOW conducted routine reserve training until 30 September 1973 when its 71st SOS was inactivated and its AC - 119s retired . The wing was redesignated as the 434th Tactical Fighter Wing with a new tactical air operation mission . The 45th and 46th Tactical Fighter Squadron were equipped with A - 37 Dragonfly aircraft for close air support missions . The 46th TFW was inactivated on 1 July 1978 . The 434th TFW provided combat crew training for USAF and friendly foreign nations until June 1980 . The A - 37s were then transferred to other units . In April 1981 , the 434th received the A - 10 Thunderbolt II aircraft and the wing ' s mission changed to training forward air controllers ( FACs ) . The 45th TFS provided A - 10 tactical fighter training for reserve and guard pilots until June 1987 when the squadron was reassigned to the 930th Tactical Fighter Group at Grissom , which was assigned to the 434th as a subordinate unit until 30 September 1994 when it was inactivated . Post Cold War era . Reflecting the 434th ' s composite mission , the 434th TRW was re - designated as the 434th Wing on 1 August 1992 and also implemented the Objective Organization Plan . The 434th Operations Group and activated that date . This new unit , the 434th Wing , consisted of KC - 135 Stratotanker and A - 10 Thunderbolt II aircraft and was responsible for aerial refueling and close air support missions . Changes in the Air Force mission led to the unit being reorganized once again . The 1993 Base Realignment and Closure ( BRAC ) directed realignment of Grissom AFB to the Air Force Reserve . It the assumed KC - 135s of the active - duty 305th Air Refueling Wing , which was moved to McGuire AFB , New Jersey as a KC - 10 Extender wing . The 74th Air Refueling Squadron being reactivated and assigned to the 424th OG With the transfer of the A - 10 equipped 930th TFG on 30 September 1994 , the wing was again re - designated as the 434th Air Refueling Wing on 1 October 1994 . During the December 1993 to February 1997 time period , the wing staged four separate deployments to Europe to support Operation Decisive Endeavor , the United Nation ' s enforcement of the no - fly zone over war - torn Bosnia . In May 1999 , the 434th ARW was called upon to provide aerial refueling support to Operation Allied Force as personnel and aircraft were deployed to various European locations . In 1997 Grissom AFB was reassigned to the newly established Air Force Reserve Command . Global War on Terrorism . Today the 434th . Today , the 434th ARW is one of the Air Force ' s busiest Air Refueling reorganizations , frequently deploying its aircraft around the world to support combat forces as part of the Global War on Terrorism . Most recently , the wing was mobilized in support of Operations Noble Eagle , Enduring Freedom , and Iraqi Freedom .