3d Operations Group The 3d Operations Group ( 3 OG ) is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 3d Wing . It is stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base , Alaska , and is assigned to the Pacific Air Forces ( PACAF ) Eleventh Air Force . The 3 OG is a composite organization that provides air superiority and defense for Alaska flying F - 22A Raptor Stealth aircraft . In addition , the group supports Pacific Air Forces in the Pacific Command area of responsibility flying C - 17 Globemaster III transports and E - 3B sentry Airborne early warning and control ( AWACS ) aircraft . The group is a direct successor organization of the 3d Attack Group , one of the 15 original combat air groups formed by the Army before World War II . It is the oldest active group in the USAF , and the first created after the establishment of the U . S . Air Service . Based in Texas after World War I , the group patrolled the Mexican Border from Brownsville , Texas , to Nogales , Arizona . The group pioneered dive bombing , skip - bombing , and parafrag attacks in the 1920s — the earliest forms of precision guided attack from aircraft — and put this work to good use in World War II . The World War II 3d Bombardment Group moved to Australia early in 1942 and served primarily in the Southwest Pacific Theater as a light bombardment group assigned to Fifth Air Force . The group participated in numerous campaigns during the war , engaging in combat over Japan ; Netherlands East Indies ; New Guinea ; Bismarck Archipelago ; Western Pacific ; Leyte ; Luzon and the Southern Philippines . On 2 November 1943 , the group encountered heavy opposition from Japanese forces at Simpson Harbor , New Britain . In that attack Major Raymond H . Wilkins , commander of the 8th Bombardment Squadron , sank two ships before he was shot down as he deliberately drew the fire of a destroyer so that other planes of his squadron could withdraw safely - an action for which Maj Wilkins was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor . The 3d again served in combat during the Korean War , using B - 26 Invader light bombers . Captain John S . Walmsley , Jr . was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions a night mission . Capt Walmsley discovered and attacked an enemy supply train , and after exhausting his ammunition he flew at low altitude to direct other aircraft to the same objective ; the train was destroyed but Walmsley ’ s plane crashed in the target area . Notable alumni include General Hoyt S . Vandenberg , General Jimmy Doolittle , General Lewis Brereton , General Richard Ellis , General John Henebry , Major Paul I . " Pappy " Gunn , and General Nathan Twining . Overview . The 3 OG Mobilizes , deploys , and employs three different squadrons of F - 15C / D , F - 22 , C - 17 , 2 E - 3Bs , and C - 12Fs aircraft worldwide to accomplish air superiority , air battle management , air interdiction , counter narcotics , airlift , and air daily air sovereignty missions to achieve dominant maneuver , precision engagement , and information superiority in support of CJCS , PACOM , CENTCOM , SOUTHCOM , and NORAD operations . Assigned squadrons to the group are : Heraldry . Shield : Party per bend vert and sable in chief a cactus ( prickly pear ) or , a bend azure fimbriated of the third , all within a bordure argent charged with nineteen crosses patee of the second . Crest : On a wreath of the colors an arm couped near the shoulder paleways with hand clenched proper between two wings conjoined in lure argent . Motto : Non Solum Armis - Not by Arms Alone . ( Approved 17 January 1922 . This insigne was modified 22 December 1952 . ) History . The 3d Group and its successor units have served the United States on a continuing basis since the group ' s activation as the Army Surveillance Group on 1 July 1919 . In August 1919 the Air Service organized its first seven groups and it became the 1st Surveillance Group . Initially the group used Airco DH - 4B ' s to patrol the border from Brownsville , Texas , to Nogales , Arizona , as revolution and disorder had broken out in Mexico , resulting in border violations and the killing of American citizens . In a functional redesignation of Air Service groups , the unit was redesignated as the 3d Attack Group in 1921 . It participated in maneuvers , tested new equipment , experimented with tactics , flew in aerial reviews , patrolled the United States – Mexico border ( 1929 ) , and carried Airmail ( 1934 ) flying a wide variety of biplanes ( DH - 4 , XB - 1A , GA - 1 , A - 3 ) . On 1 March 1935 , the Army Air Corps formed the first centralized control of its combat striking units within the United States under the General Headquarter Air Force . The 3d Attack Group moved to Barksdale Field , Louisiana , as part of the 3d Wing commanded by Col . Gerald Brant , together with the 20th Pursuit Group . Aircraft assigned to the 3d Attack Group were the Curtiss A - 12 Shrike in 1935 and the Northrup A - 17 / A - 17A Nomad in 1937 . The commander of the 3d Attack Group , Lt . Col . Horace Meek Hickam , was killed on 5 November 1934 , when the A - 12 he was piloting ( 33 – 250 ) crashed while landing at Fort Crockett , Texas . Hickam Field was named in his honor . Some A - 12s were still at Hickam Field on 7 December 1941 , when the Japanese attacked , however , none of the aircraft saw any combat . The A - 12 was withdrawn from service soon after . The A - 17s were was fairly fast and had a fairly heavy forward - firing armament for its time , and during 1938 – 39 war games it was deemed to be the most effective ground attack aircraft yet devised . However the career of the A - 17 with the Army was quite brief . After only three years of service with the Army , the A - 17As were declared surplus . In 1940 , the unit was redesignated as the 3d Bombardment Group ( Light ) , being reequipped with the Boeing B - 18 Bolo and B - 12 bombers and reassigned to Savannah Airfield , Georgia . World War II . The 3d Group served in combat in the Pacific Theater of Operations from 1 April 1942 until V - J Day . It was transferred to Australia early in 1942 as part of the United States Army Forces in Australia under Gen . George H . Brett and later the Fifth Air Force under Gen . George C . Kenney . On 2 April 1942 , Lt . Col . John H . Davies was appointed to command the group , which had been shipped overseas under command of a first lieutenant and without aircraft . Davies had been in command of the 27th Bomb Group in the Philippines when war broke out , then had become stranded in Australia with 22 of his pilots after attempting to ferry the A - 24 dive bombers being shipped to the 27th . These provided a leadership cadre and air crews for the 3d Group . Their first aircraft acquired were 15 B - 25 Mitchell s , newly assembled but without crews , which had been shipped to Australia for the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force ( ML - KNIL ) . With these the group conducted the first bombing mission ever flown by B - 25s , sending six bombers to Gasmata , New Britain , on 6 April . Ten staged through Darwin to Mindanao on 10 April , flying two days of sorties against Cebu City and Davao on 12 and 13 April , before returning with passengers being evacuated from the Philippines . While officially designated the 3d Bombardment Group ( Light ) , the group unofficially styled itself with its historic name , the " 3d Attack Group , " after being equipped with low - altitude strafing bombers . The 13th and 90th Squadrons were equipped with its " Dutch " B - 25s field modified into the B - 25C - 1 strafer configuration . The 89th Squadron flew the Douglas A - 20A Havoc attack bomber while the 8th Squadron used the Douglas A - 24 dive bomber until July 29 , 1942 , but also used the B - 25 and A - 20 . The group had its headquarters in Australia until January 1943 , but its squadrons operated from forward locations in New Guinea , bombing and strafing enemy airfields , supply lines , installations , and shipping as the Allies halted the Japanese drive toward Port Moresby and drove the enemy back from Buna to Lae . At the end of that campaign , group headquarters moved to New Guinea . For the next year and a half the group continued to serve in the Southwest Pacific , where it played an important role in the offensives in which the Allies pushed along the northern coast of New Guinea , taking Salamaua , Lae , Hollandia , Wakde , Biak , and Noemfoor . In March 1943 it took part in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea , which ended Japanese attempts to send convoys to Lae . In August 1943 , when Fifth Air Force struck airfields at Wewak to neutralize Japanese airpower that threatened the advance of Allied forces in New Guinea , the group made an attack in the face of intense antiaircraft fire on 17 August , destroyed or damaged many enemy planes , and won a Distinguished Unit Citation for the mission . In the fall of 1943 the group struck Japanese naval and air power at Rabaul to support the assaults on Bougainville and New Britain . In an attack on shipping at Simpson Harbor , New Britain , on 2 November 1943 , the 3d Group encountered heavy opposition from enemy fighters and from antiaircraft batteries on the ships . In that attack Major Raymond H . Wilkins , commander of the 8th Squadron , sank two ships before he was shot down as he deliberately drew the fire of a destroyer so that other planes of his squadron could withdraw safely – an action for which Maj Wilkins was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor . The group moved to the Philippines late in 1944 . Equipped with A - 20 ' s , it bombed and strafed airfields ; supported ground forces on Mindoro , Luzon , and Mindanao ; attacked industries and railways on Formosa ; and struck shipping along the China coast . The group moved to Okinawa early in August 1945 and flew some missions to Japan before the war ended . Moved to Japan in September 1945 and , as part of U . S . Far East Air Forces , became part of the army of occupation . Korean War . Flying Douglas A - 26 Invaders ( after 1948 , the B - 26 ) the 3d Wing participated from the first bombing sortie to the very last during the Korean War . The first Americans to lose their lives during the Korean War , 1Lt . Remer L . Harding and SSgt . William Goodwin , were assigned to the 13th Bomb Squadron , 3d Bombardment Group when they lost their lives 28 June 1950 returning from a sortie on the Korean Peninsula . Captain John S . Walmsley , Jr . was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on 14 September 1951 : flying a night mission in a B - 26 , Capt Walmsley discovered and attacked an enemy supply train , and after exhausting his ammunition he flew at low altitude to direct other aircraft to the same objective ; the train was destroyed but Walmsley ' s plane crashed in the target area . In recognition of the wing ' s distinguished service , the 3d Bombardment Wing ' s was granted the privilege of conducting the last bombing mission over North Korea minutes before implementation of the ceasefire of 27 July 1953 . Cold War . With the war over in Korea , wing returned to the routine of peacetime duty in the Cold War environment . It remained at Kunsan Air Base until October 1954 , when it moved to Johnson AB , Japan . Beginning in January 1956 , the 3d Bombardment Group converted from the B - 26 to the Martin B - 57B Canberra Night Intruder . By August 1956 , the Group had become a paper unit , with only one officer and one airman assigned for record purposes . Its squadrons were attached to the 3d Bombardment Wing , which had assumed its duties . On 25 October 1957 , those squadrons were transferred to the wing and the group inactivated . Modern era . In 1991 , activated in Alaska after 34 years on the inactive list , and expanded the air defense mission of the 3 Wing , to include deep interdiction and air - to - air capabilities with the F - 15E aircraft . Added an airlift capability in April 1992 , using C - 130 and C - 12 aircraft , providing worldwide combat airdrop , tactical airland , operational support airlift , airlift for theater deployed forces , and resupply of remote Alaskan long - range radar sites . Again expanded its mission in 1993 when it gained E - 3B / J aircraft for long - range airborne surveillance , detection , identification , and command and control . Since 1993 , mobilized , deployed and employed flying squadrons worldwide to accomplish air superiority , air battle management , air interdiction , counter narcotics , airlift and air sovereignty in support of 3 Wing mission . Components . Groups Aero Squadrons Reconnaissance Squadrons Squadrons