9th Operations Group The 9th Operations Group ( 9th OG ) is the operational flying component of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing , stationed at Beale Air Force Base , California . The 9th OG ' s mission is to organize , train and equip Lockheed U - 2 R , RQ - 4 Global Hawk and MC - 12W Liberty combat elements for peacetime intelligence gathering , contingency operations , conventional war fighting and Emergency War Order support . It is a descendant organization of the 9th Group ( Observation ) , one of the 15 original combat air groups formed by the Army before World War II . It is the fourth oldest active group in the USAF , and the seventh created following the establishment of the U . S . Air Service . During World War II , the 9th Bombardment Group ( Very Heavy ) , was a B - 29 Superfortress group assigned to Twentieth Air Force flying bombardment operations against Japan . Its aircraft were identified by a " X " inside a Circle painted on the tail . History . Origins . The 1st Squadron was the first squadron organized in the air force , formed on 5 March 1913 , at Texas City , Texas , as the 1st Aero Squadron . In March 1916 , the 1st Aero Squadron , with Captain Benjamin D . Foulois as commander , supported General " Black Jack " Pershing ' s punitive expeditions into Mexico . Pancho Villa had raided Columbus , New Mexico , and Pershing pursued and hoped to capture him . On 16 March 1916 , Captain T . F . Dodd , with Captain Foulois as observer , flew the first American aerial reconnaissance mission in combat . The wavy line in the middle of the wing ' s emblem represents the Rio Grande and the 1st Aero Squadron ' s operations in 1916 . The 5th Aero Squadron was organized in 1917 at Kelly Field , Texas , and served as a flying training unit . World War I . Between 12 and 15 September 1918 , they joined the great air armada of 1 , 481 airplanes in a massive air offensive in the St . Mihiel sector of France . The squadrons also participated in the Champagne - Marne , Aisne - Marne , and Meuse - Argonne combat operations . The four black crosses on the wing ' s emblem commemorate these air battles . Between the wars . From June to September 1921 both squadrons served as part of the " 1st Provisional Air Brigade " , organized by Brig . Gen . William L . Mitchell to demonstrate aerial bombardment of battleship s . Originally created as the 9th Observation Group on 19 July 1922 , as part of the U . S . Army Air Service , the group was organized on 1 August 1922 , at Mitchel Field , New York . The squadrons assigned to the group were the 1st and 5th Aero Squadrons ( Observation ) , both re - designated bomb squadrons in March 1935 . From 1923 to 1929 , both squadrons of the 9th were reassigned to higher echelons , but remained in actuality a part of the group . From 1922 to 1940 , they also trained , took part in maneuvers , and participated in air shows . The 99th Observation Squadron , organized at Kelly Field in 1917 and earning four campaign streamers in France , was added to the 9th Group on 9 November 1928 , and on 15 February 1929 , all three squadrons were assigned permanently . The 9th Observation Group used the Airco DH . 4 for its observation airplane between 1922 and 1928 , and the Curtiss O - 1B Falcon from 1928 to 1935 . The Air Service became the U . S . Army Air Corps on 2 July 1926 . The 9th was re designated the ‘ ’ ’ 9th Bombardment Group ’ ’ ’ in 1935 , and early that year , the Air Corps re - organized , with all combat groups within the continental United States being centrally controlled for the first time , under a new command organization called General Headquarters Air Force . The role of observation as the primary function of the air arm had been de - emphasized in the creation of eight new groups between 1927 and 1932 . With the creation of GHQAF it was further de - emphasized and the 9th was converted into a bombardment group . Made a part of the 2nd Wing , the 9th BG was responsible for the air defense of the East Coast of the United States . The group ' s designation was changed to the 9th Bombardment Group on 19 February 1935 , the 9th Bombardment Group ( Medium ) on 6 December 1939 , and the 9th Bombardment Group ( Heavy ) on 20 November 1940 . During the period 1935 – 1940 the 9th Bombardment Group trained aircrews , took part in maneuvers , and participated in air shows , equipped with Keystone B - 6 ( 1935 – 36 ) , Martin B - 10 ( 1936 – 38 ) , and the B - 18 Bolo ( 1938 – 1942 ) . The 9th moved to Rio Hato , Panama , on 12 November 1940 , to serve as part of the defense force for the Panama Canal . The 44th Reconnaissance Squadron stationed at Albrook Field , Panama Canal Zone , was attached to the 9th on 20 November 1940 . In addition to 5 additional B - 18 ' s it provided a single B - 17B Flying Fortress to the group . The group later hunted German U - boat s in the Caribbean . The 9th Bombardment Group relocated in a series of moves to Caribbean bases to conduct antisubmarine patrols . The 1st Bomb Squadron moved to Piarco Airport , Trinidad , on 24 April 1941 ; followed by the 5th Bomb Squadron to Beane Field , Saint Lucia , on 28 September ; the group headquarters squadron to Waller Field , Trinidad , on 30 October ( where it was joined by the 1st Bomb Squadron ) ; the 44th Reconnaissance Squadron to Atkinson Field , British Guiana , on 4 November ; and the 99th Bomb Squadron to Zandrey Field , Surinam , on 3 December 1941 . World War II . Anti - Submarine Patrols . The 44th Recon Squadron was formally assigned to the 9th Bombardment Group on 25 February 1942 , and re designated the 430th Bombardment Squadron on 22 April . The group ' s Headquarters Squadron was disbanded on 22 July 1942 . The 1st Bomb Squadron changed stations to Edinburg Field , Trinidad , on 23 August , and the group was assigned to the Antilles Air Task Force on 18 September , where it continued antisubmarine patrols and conducted reconnaissance of the Vichy French fleet at Martinique , using B - 18 aircraft from a base in Trinidad . It then returned without personnel or equipment to the United States on 31 October 1942 . Army Air Force School of Applied Tactics . The 9th Bombardment Group ' s assets were transferred to the 25th Bombardment Group and it was returned without personnel or equipment to the US in October 1942 , where it was reconstituted as part of the Army Air Force School of Applied Tactics ( AAFSAT ) at Orlando Army Air Base , Florida . The group ' s squadrons were assigned as school squadrons , with the 1st located at Brooksville Army Air Field , the 5th at Pinecastle Army Air Field , and the 99th at Montbrook Army Air Field , Florida . These used B - 17 Flying Fortress , B - 24 Liberator , and B - 26 Marauder aircraft to train cadres for 44 bomb groups in organization and operations , performed bombing pattern tests , experimented with 3 - plane formations to attack moving ships , and performed over a hundred equipment tests . B - 29 Superfortress . On 3 March 1944 , the ‘ ’ ’ 9th Bombardment Group ’ ’ ’ was established on paper at Dalhart Army Airfield , Texas , as part of the 313th Bombardment Wing , to organize and train for B - 29 operations in the $ 3 . The 9th helped to develop operational bombardment tactics and tested special devices and equipment during this time . During April , the key personnel of the new group ( including group commander Col . Donald Eisenhart and Deputy Group Commander Lt . Col . Henry Huglin ) assembled at Dalhart , forming the command and operations cadres , and were transferred with the group to McCook Army Airfield , Nebraska . After a brief period establishing the units at McCook , the cadre of group and squadron operations staffs went by train to the Army Air Force School of Applied Tactics in Orlando , Florida . This occurred during May for the 4 - week training course in organizing and conducting combat operations with very heavy bomb group units . While the cadre was training in Florida , an influx of new personnel continued at McCook . After the return of the group and squadron cadres in June 1944 , the squadrons organized new combat crews and the group conducted an intensive program of ground and flying training using B - 17 aircraft to practice takeoffs , landings , instrument and night flying , cross - country navigation , high altitude formation flying , and bombing and gunnery practice . The 9th Group had been forced to use B - 17 ' s in its training because the development of the B - 29 as an operational weapon had been plagued since an early flight test on 28 December 1942 , resulted in an engine fire . This culminated in a massive emergency modification program in the winter of 1943 – 44 ordered by Chief of the U . S . Army Air Forces , General Henry H . Arnold , and nicknamed the " Battle of Kansas " . In particular the program sought to resolve a spate of problems with serious engine fires and faulty gunnery central fire control systems . All B - 29s modified in this program were diverted to the 58th Bombardment Wing to meet President Franklin D . Roosevelt ' s commitment to China to have B - 29 ' s deployed to the China Burma India Theater in the spring of 1944 . This commitment inadvertently led to there being no available aircraft to equip the 12 new groups being formed in the 73rd , 313th , and 314th Bombardment Wing s . Pacific Theater . The 9th Group received its first training B - 29 on 13 July 1944 . After four further months of training , Col . Eisenhart declared the unit ready for movement overseas , and its ground echelon left McCook for the Seattle , Washington , port of embarkation on 18 November 1944 , traveling by the troopship U . S . S . Cape Henlopen to the Mariana Islands on a voyage that required thirty days . The ground echelon of the group debarked at Tinian on 28 December and was assigned a camp on the west side of the island between the two airfields . The air echelon of the 9th Bombardment Group began its overseas movement in January 1945 by sending the combat crews to Herington Field , Kansas , where over a three - week period they accepted 37 new B - 29s . The first bombers left their staging field at Mather Army Airfield , California on 15 January 1945 , and proceeded individually by way of Hickam Field , Hawaii , and Kwajalein to North Field , Tinian , with the first five arriving on 18 January 1945 . The last of the original 37 airplanes to reach Tinian arrived on 12 February , by which time the group had already flown its first combat mission . The 9th Bombardment Group was one of four groups of the 313th Bombardment Wing stationed at North Field as part of XXI Bomber Command , Twentieth Air Force . It was assigned the Unit identification aircraft markings of the letter " X " above a small black triangle symbol , both placed above the aircraft ' s tail fin serial and victor number ( a one - or two - digit number assigned an airplane to identify it individually both within the group and squadron ) . The group carried this marking until April , when the 313th Wing changed its marking to that of a circle in black to outline a group letter . The 9th Bombardment Group conducted four training missions against the Japanese - held Maug Islands in the Northern Marianas on 27 , 29 , 31 January , and 6 February . Its first combat mission took place on 9 February 1945 with 30 aircraft bombing a Japanese naval airfield located on the island of Moen at Truk atoll ( now known as the Chuuk Islands ) . Flown by day at an altitude of 25 , 000 feet , it was in actuality a further training mission , encountering no opposition . The second group mission was a pre - invasion bombing of Iwo Jima on 12 February , one week prior to D - Day for Operation Detachment . The capture of Iwo Jima had as its objective an emergency landing field for Twentieth Air Force bombers attacking Japan and a base for P - 51D Mustang and P - 47N Thunderbolt fighters to fly escort and strafing missions . The first mission to the Japanese home islands was the 9th Bombardment Group ' s fifth mission overall . It was flown on 25 February 1945 . Again , a day mission flown at high altitude , the target was the port facilities of Tokyo . That same day Col . Eisenhart was made Operations Officer of the 339th Bombardment Wing and was succeeded in command of the group by Lt . Col . Huglin . Unlike their counterparts in the Eighth Air Force and Fifteenth Air Force s , B - 29s of the Twentieth Air Force did not assemble in defensive formations over friendly territory before proceeding on the mission . On daytime missions to Japan ( which because of the seven - to - eight - hour flight time to Japan from the Marianas usually resulted in night takeoffs ) B - 29 ' s took off from Tinian ' s multiple runways to shorten group launch times . To conserve fuel and engine stress when the aircraft were at their heaviest , the bombers flew individually at low altitude , usually climbing to bombing altitude only in the last hour before rendezvous ( dictated by weather conditions encountered ) . After 9 March bombing altitudes rarely exceeded 20 , 000 feet , reducing the amount of climb required to assemble and further conserving fuel and engine life . Flight profiles were carefully calculated during mission planning and recorded as detailed performance tables , specifying power settings and fuel consumption rates , and carried by the flight deck crews during the mission . At a designated rendezvous point off the coast of Japan , lead B - 29 ' s ( using colored - smoke generators to identify themselves ) flew circles with a radius of a mile or more , at different altitudes and in different directions for squadrons within a group . Aircraft formed on the leader as they arrived , and it was not uncommon for formations to include aircraft from other groups that had been unable to locate their own group formation . If the mission plan called for a wing assembly , the lead group flew to a second assembly point and flew one large circle , measured in minutes and not distance , to allow following groups to join up . The formation stayed together only in the target area , breaking up again and reducing altitude to return to base ( or Iwo Jima ) individually . Night missions had similar profiles to and from the target , except that aircraft did not assemble in the target area but bombed individually , guided by their own navigation systems and by the glow of fires started by pathfinder aircraft . In addition , bombing altitudes were rarely higher than 8 , 000 feet . On the group ' s seventh mission , which lasted from 9 to 10 March 1945 , XXI Bomber Command radically changed tactics at the direction of its commander , Maj . Gen . Curtis LeMay , attacking Tokyo ' s urban center by night with incendiary bombs and at altitudes of only 6 , 400 to 7 , 800 feet , resulting in one of the most destructive attacks in history . The mission resulted in the first two losses to the group when B - 29s from both the 1st Bomb Squadron and 99th Bomb Squadron s were forced to crash - land at sea after they ran out of fuel while returning to Tinian . The crew of the 1st BS B - 29 was rescued , but three members of the 99th BS crew were killed , including the Group Radar Officer . The Tokyo fire raid was the first of five flown between 9 and 18 March , resulting in devastation of four urban areas ( Tokyo , Nagoya , Osaka , and Kobe ) and extensive civilian loss of life . The 9th Bombardment Group had its first bomber shot down on 16 March Kobe mission , and its second on 24 March 1945 , attacking the Mitsubishi Aircraft factory at Nagoya ( ironically the same crew that had ditched on 10 March ) . On 27 March , the 9th Bombardment Group began a week of night missions sowing both acoustic and magnetic aerial anti - shipping mine s in Japanese harbor approaches and Inland Sea ship passages , with a mission to block the Shimonoseki Straits . Attacks in April were a combination of night and medium altitude day missions against the Japanese aircraft industry , and beginning 18 April , three weeks of daytime attacks against Japanese airfields on Kyūshū launching " Kamikaze " attacks against U . S . naval forces at Okinawa . The 9th Bombardment Group was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation for the mission of 15 – 16 April 1945 , during which the 313th Bombardment Group flew B - 29s for 1 , 500 miles at a low - level to avoid detection , over water , at night , to attack the heavily defended industrial area of Kawasaki , Japan . The group also attacked Kawasaki Heavy Industries at Kawasaki , Japan , a target judged to be " an important link in the component productive capacity . . . upon which industries in Tokyo and Yokahama depended . " Because of its strategic location between two heavily - defended areas , the objective was strongly guarded by masses of defenses both on the flanks and in the immediate target area , making the approach , the bomb run , and the break - away from the target extremely hazardous . " The 9th Group , dispatching 33 aircraft on a " maximum effort " , was the last group over the target . Japanese anti - aircraft defenses had by then determined the bombing altitude and direction of attack and the 9th Bombardment Group experienced close coordination between Japanese searchlights and anti - aircraft guns while over land , and accurate fire from flak boats on ingress and egress to the target area . 56 Japanese fighters were reported by returning crews , including a number of Kamikaze planes , with 2 claimed as shot down . Enemy searchlight , anti - aircraft guns , and flak boats destroyed four of the group ' s 33 bombers and damaged six others . Nevertheless , the attack demolished Kawasaki ' s strategic industrial district . The group earned a Distinguished Unit Emblem ( DUE ) for its actions . On 18 May 1945 , the 9th Bombardment Group resumed mine - laying operations , which continued through 28 May , for which the group was awarded its second Distinguished Unit Citation . Flying at night at 5 , 500 feet in what the citation stated was " the second most heavily - defended zone in Japan " , the group sowed 1425 mines in 209 sorties with a 92 % accuracy rate , primarily against Shimonoseki Straits and harbors on Kyūshū and the northwest coast of Honshū . This caused the 9th to win another DUE the following month that and the blocking of Inland Sea traffic as well as the isolation of important Japanese ports . During the mining campaign the 9th lost one B - 29 on a takeoff accident on 20 May and a second in combat on 28 May . On 1 June 9 Bombardment Group resumed a grim campaign of night incendiary raids against the remaining urban areas of Japan not previously attacked that continued to its final mission , 14 August 1945 . The 9th Bombardment Group flew 71 combat missions , three show - of - force flyover missions after the cessation of hostilities , and one mission to drop medical and food supplies to liberated prisoners - of - war . Total combat sorties for the group were 2 , 012 , of which 1 , 843 were against the Japanese home islands . The group logged approximately 28 , 000 total hours of combat flight time and dropped approximately 12 , 000 tons of bombs and mines . Of the 71 combat missions , 27 were incendiary raids , 14 mining operations ( with 328 total sorties ) , 13 against airfields , 9 against aircraft production , and 9 against other industry or targets other than the home islands . 39 of the missions were flown at night , and 32 by day . Only six of the 71 combat missions were flown above 20 , 000 feet altitude . The group began combat operations with 37 aircraft and ended them with 48 B - 29 ' s , with an average of 47 on hand and 33 in commission at any one time . 78 B - 29 ' s were assigned to the group at some point while it was stationed on Tinian , of which 5 were transferred to other groups . Of the remainder , 11 were shot down in combat or lost on return because of battle damage ( a combat attrition rate of 16 % ) , 2 were lost after running out of fuel , 1 crashed on takeoff , 1 crashed attempting to land , 4 were written off as salvage , and 3 were declared " war - weary " and retired from combat operations while being carried on the group inventory . 91 combat crews of eleven crewmembers each served with the 9th Bombardment Group on Tinian . 11 combat crews were lost ( 13 % ) on combat missions while 10 crews completed a full 35 - mission tour by the end of hostilities ( although 12 additional crews had accumulated 31 or more missions by 15 August 1945 ) . The 9th Bombardment Group ( VH ) had 153 total aircrew casualties : The history of the group reports that part or all of 4 crews captured after parachuting over Japan were killed in a fire in Tokyo on 25 May 1945 , when prison guards intentionally kept them confined for which the guards were later prosecuted for war crime s . Post / Cold War . Although partially demobilized with personnel and aircraft , the 9th returned to the United States , and moved to Clark Field in the Philippines on 15 April 1946 . It relocated to Harmon Field on Guam on 9 June 1947 , by which time it was largely a paper organization with few personnel or aircraft . The group was inactivated on Guam on 20 October 1948 , and its squadrons re - assigned to other units . On 1 May 1949 the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Group and the 1st , 5th , and 99th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadrons were re - activated at Fairfield - Suisun Air Force Base , California . Upon activation , the group was assigned to the new 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing under the Hobson Plan . The 9th ' s mission was to obtain complete data through visual , photographic , electronic , and weather reconnaissance operations . To carry out this mission , the group flew RB - 29 Superfortress es and a few RB - 36 Peacemaker s . The 9th Reconnaissance Technical Squadron also joined the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing on 1 May 1949 . On 1 April 1950 , the Air Force redesignated the 9th SRW as the 9th Bombardment Wing , Heavy , with similar redesignations of the 9th Group and the 1st , 5th , and 99th Squadrons . Seven months later , on 2 November , the wing and subordinate units were again re - designated to Bombardment , Medium with the transfer of the RB - 36s , leaving the wing at B - 29 Superfortress unit . In early February 1951 , the Air Force realigned its flying operation and placed the flying squadrons directly under control of the wings . The Air Force , therefore , placed the 9th Bombardment Group in Records Unit status as part of the tri - deputate reorganization , then inactivated the group on 16 June 1952 . Modern era . Reactivated as the 9th Operations Group on 1 September 1991 as part of the Objective Wing organization of the 9th Wing . U - 2s surveyed earthquake damage over California ' s Yucca Valley , in June and July 1992 , and Northridge in 1994 . The reconnaissance photographs helped geologists map surface ruptures , fault lines , and potential landslide sites . The pictures also pinpointed infrastructure damage and allowed local and national planners to assess the relief and recovery needs . In the early 1990s personnel and aircraft provided reconnaissance coverage during the crises in Croatia and Bosnia - Hercegovina . Later , U - 2s verified compliance with the Dayton Peace Accords that ended the immediate crisis . Then , when Serbia began the “ ethnic cleansing ” of Albanians in Kosovo , Operation Allied Force halted the killing and restored order . During Operation Allied Force , U - 2s provided over 80 % of the targeting intelligence for NATO forces . NATO leadership credited the U - 2 with the destruction of 39 surface - to - air missile sites and 28 aircraft of the Serbian military . During U . S . military operations in Afghanistan in late 2001 and Iraq in early 2003 , the group also flew the unmanned RQ - 4 Global Hawk aircraft . Serves as the sole manager for U - 2 high - altitude reconnaissance aircraft . Emblem . The crest and motto were approved for the 9th Observation Group on 20 March 1924 , and for the 9th Reconnaissance Wing on 1 July 1952 . The shield , in black and green , represents the old colors of the Air Service parted by a wavy line representing the Rio Grande and the 1st Aero Squadron ' s operations in 1916 . On the gold band are four black crosses representing four World War I offensives , Aisne - Marne , Champagne - Marne , Meuse - Argonne , and St . Mihiel , in which squadrons later assigned to the 9th Group ( Observation ) fought . The crest recalls the service in Mexico of the 1st Aero Squadron .