98th Operations Group The 98th Operations Group ( 98 OG ) is a component unit of the 98th Range Wing , assigned to the United States Air Force ( USAF ) Air Combat Command . The group is stationed at Nellis Air Force Base , Nevada . During World War II , the group ' s predecessor unit , the 98th Bombardment Group was a Consolidated B - 24 Liberator heavy bomb group that fought in North Africa and Italy . Two of its members , Colonel John R . ( Killer ) Kane and First Lieutenant Donald Pucket were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions in combat . The group flew a total of 417 missions , earning a total of 15 battle streamers as well as two Presidential Unit Citations . In the postwar era , the 98th Bombardment Group was one of the first United States Army Air Forces units assigned to the Strategic Air Command on 1 July 1947 , prior to the establishment of the USAF . Equipped with low - hour Boeing B - 29 Superfortress World War II aircraft , it was deployed to Far East Air Force in 1950 and flew combat missions over North Korea early in the Korean War . The group was inactivated in 1952 when the parent wing adopted the Tri - Deputate organization and assigned all of the group ' s squadrons directly to the wing . It was reactivated in 1987 as the 98th Air Refueling Group , Heavy ; as an Air Force Reserve associate unit of the 434th Air Refueling Wing . Overview . The 98th OG is a non - flying unit that commands two squadrons with 55 military and civil service personnel and has functional responsibility for approximately 300 contract personnel . It provides day - to - day control of the Nevada Test and Training Range ( NTTR ) ; directly supports Air Force , joint and multi - national test and training activities ; and operates two Air Combat Command bombing ranges : NTTR and Leach Lake Tactics Range , near Barstow , California . It prioritizes and schedules all range activities for all range users , provides ground control intercept operations , flight - following safety deconfliction , simulated threat command and control operations , communications , data link operations , and range access control . It also assists test customers by coordinating support activities , and coordinates airspace issues with military and federal agencies . History . World War II . The 98th trained for bombardment missions with B - 24 Liberators during the first half of 1942 . The group was alerted and departed for the Middle East on 15 July 1942 , arriving in Palestine in late July 1942 . The 98th was initially assigned to the USMEAF ( United States Middle East Air Force ) . However , the USMEAF was dissolved on 12 November 1942 . At that time , the 98th came under the 9th Air Force . It flew its first mission to Mersa Matruh , Libya on 1 August 1942 , with the aircraft being serviced by Royal Air Force personnel until 98th maintenance personnel arrived in mid - August 1942 . It supported the British Eighth Army in its westward advance from Egypt into Libya and Tunisia . It bombed shipping and harbor installations in North Africa , Sicily , Italy , Crete , and Greece to cut enemy supply lines to Africa and to prepare for the Allied invasion of Italy . The 98th earned a Distinguished Unit Citation ( DUC ) for action against the enemy in the Middle East , North Africa , and Sicily from August 1942 to August 1943 . It received a second DUC for participation in a low - level bombing raid on enemy - held oil refineries at Ploesti , Romania , on 1 August 1943 . On this raid , of 47 B - 24s launched , only 21 returned safely . One crashed on takeoff with the loss of all crewmembers except two . Six aborted before reaching the target . Seventeen went down in enemy territory . Two went down at sea . The Group Commander , Col . John R . ( Killer ) Kane was awarded the Medal of Honor for his leadership . The 98th was under the command of the 12th Air Force in September and October 1943 . From 1 November 1943 it was under the 15th Air Force and moved to Italy . It flew many long - range missions to France , Germany , Austria , Czechoslovakia , Hungary , and Romania to bomb enemy heavy industries , airdromes , harbors , oil fields , and communication centers . On another raid on Ploesti on 9 July 1944 , Lt . Donald Pucket sacrificed his life trying to save three of his crewmembers who could not or would not bail out of their doomed B - 24 . Donald Pucket was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for his sacrifice . In the summer of 1944 , the 98th participated in the invasion of southern France , assisted in the Soviet advance into the Balkans , and supported the partisans and guerrillas in Yugoslavia and neighboring countries . It flew a total of 417 missions and earned a total of 15 battle streamers as well as two Presidential Unit Citations . The group returned to the United States as the war was ending in Europe , where it trained in preparation for movement to the Pacific Theater . It was re - designated the 98th Bombardment Group ( Very Heavy ) and equipped with Boeing B - 29 Superfortress es , but the war with Japan ended before redeployment . The 98th was inactivated as a group on 10 November 1945 . However , the 343rd , 344th , and 345th Squadrons were reassigned to B - 29 groups . The 343d Squadron was assigned to the 40th Bomb Group at March Air Force Base , California . and inactivated on 27 November 1946 . The 344th was assigned to the 444th Bomb Group at Davis - Monthan Field , Arizona and inactivated on 1 October 1946 . The 345th was assigned to the 462nd Bomb Group at McDill Field , Florida and inactivated on 31 March 1946 . Postwar era and Korean War . The 98th was re - activated on 1 July 1947 and equipped with B - 29 Superfortresses at Spokane Army Airfield , Washington . In 1948 , it carried out a 90 day deployment to Kadena AB , Okinawa . During this period , the 98th lost two B - 29s ; and a C - 54 returning to the USA with 98th personnel ditched in the Pacific . ANother 90 daydeployment was conducted in the summer of 1949 to RAF Sculthorpe , England . During the training phase of the years 1947 – 1950 , the 98th recorded six B - 29 losses . During the deployment to England , the 98th practiced high level ( 35 , 000 ft ) bombing missions on the German Island of Helgoland . The aircraft were challenged by RAF and USAF fighters . The gunners were evaluated on gun camera film . The Bombardiers were rated on their performance as well as were other air crew members . As a result of the exercise , the 98th was rated very highly and combat ready . In early 1950 , the 98th was alerted for permanent change of stations to Ramey AFB , Puerto Rico . However , before the move was completed , the Korean War broke out and the 98th arrived at Yokota Air Base , Japan in the first week of August 1950 , and was placed under the operational control of the Far East Air Forces Bomber Command ( Provisional ) . The first planes arrived at Yokota on 5 August 1950 . It flew its first combat mission on 7 August , striking marshalling yards at Pyongyang , capital of North Korea . The Group attacked enemy communication lines and supported United Nations ground forces during the war . Targets included rail facilities , oil centers , bridges , roads , troop concentrations , airfields , and military installations . The last mission was There were 34 known losses . It became an administrative unit in mid - 1952 when its operational squadrons were assigned directly to the wing as a result of the Air Force tri - deputate reorganization . Modern era . The unit was reactivated in the Air Force Reserve on 1 October 1987 as the 98th Air Refueling Group ( Heavy ) , stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base , Louisiana with McDonnell Douglas KC - 10 Extender aircraft . It consisted of the 78th Air Refueling Squadron and 98th Consolidated Maintenance Squadron under the command of the 452 Air Refueling Wing at March AFB , CA . On 12 – 14 May 1989 , the group was tasked to support USAF transport aircraft airlifting troops into Panama , which was the prelude to Operation Just Cause . In early August 1990 aircraft and crews of the 98th ARG again was called on to support operations in the Gulf War . Following that operation , the 98th ARG was involved with President Bush ’ s code name SINBAD , a secret plan to monitor drug trafficking in South America . Yet again the 98th ARG flew mercy missions into Mogadishu , Somalia delivering 491 , 610 pounds of supplies to the starving natives . Still operating in Operation Southern Watch the group flew missions along the southern border of Iraq in January 1993 until inactivated on 30 September 1994 . It was reactivated in October 2001 , supporting the 98th Range Wing in its operations at Nellis Air Force Base , Nevada . Components . Squadrons