388th Operations Group The 388th Operations Group ( 388 OG ) is the flying component of the 388th Fighter Wing , assigned to the Air Combat Command Twelfth Air Force . The group is stationed at Hill Air Force Base , Utah . During World War II , its predecessor unit , the 388th Bombardment Group ( Heavy ) was an Eighth Air Force B - 17 Flying Fortress unit in England , stationed at RAF Knettishall ( Station 136 ) . The group earned four Distinguished Unit Citation s , flying over 300 combat missions ( 17 August 1943 – Regensburg ; 26 June 1943 – Hanover ; 12 May 1944 – Brux and 21 June 1944 on a shuttle mission to Russia ) . It also conducted Aphroditie radio - controlled B - 24 Liberators as test guided bombs . Overview . The 388th Operations Group is responsible for the readiness of the Air Force ' s largest combat - capable fleet of F - 16 Fighting Falcons Operations squadrons of the group ( Tail Code : HL ) are : History . World War II . Activated on 24 December 1942 at Gowen Field in Idaho . Nucleus at Gowen moved to Wendover Field , Utah in early February 1943 . Final training was conducted at Sioux City AAF SD from early May 1943 to 1 June 1943 . The aircraft then began their overseas movement , taking the northern route via Newfoundland and Greenland , and finally from Iceland to Prestwick , Scotland . The ground unit left Sioux City on 12 June 1943 for Camp Kilmer , New Jersey and sailed on the Queen Elizabeth on 1 July 1943 , arriving in Clyde on 7 July 1943 . Assigned to the Eighth Air Force ' s 45th Combat Bombardment Wing . Its group tail code was a " Square - H " ( apparently shared w / the 493rd BG @ RAF Debach for unknown reasons ) . The 388th BG began combat operations on 17 July 1943 by attacking an aircraft factory in Amsterdam . The unit functioned primarily as a strategic bombardment Organization until the war ended . Targets included industries , naval installations , oil storage plants , refineries , and communications centers in Germany , France , Poland , Belgium , Norway , Romania , and the Netherlands . The group received a Distinguished Unit Citation for withstanding heavy opposition to bomb a vital aircraft factory at Regensburg on 1 August 1943 . The 388th received another DUC for three outstanding missions : an attack against a tire and rubber factory in Hanover on 26 July 1943 ; the bombardment of a synthetic oil refinery in Brux on 12 May 1944 ; and a strike against a synthetic oil refinery at Ruhland on 21 June 1944 , during a shuttle raid from England to Russia . The unit attacked many other significant targets , including aircraft factories in Kassel , Reims , and Brunswick ; airfields in Bordeaux , Paris , and Berlin ; naval works at La Pallice , Emden , and Kiel ; chemical industries in Ludwigshafen ; ball - bearing plants in Schweinfurt ; and marshalling yards in Brussels , Osnabrück , and Bielefeld . Operations also included support and interdictory missions . It helped prepare for the invasion of Normandy by attacking military installations in France , and on D - Day struck coastal guns , field batteries , and transportation . Continued to support ground forces during the campaign that followed , hitting such objectives as supply depots and troop concentrations . Bombed in support of ground forces at Saint - Lô in July 1944 and at Caen in August . Covered the airborne assault on the Netherlands in September 1944 by attacking military installations and airfields at Arnheim . Aided the final drive through Germany during the early months of 1945 by striking targets such as marshalling yards , rail bridges , and road junctions . Altogether the 388th flew 331 raids to European targets including nineteen Operation Aphrodite missions from nearby RAF Fersfield . After V - E Day , the group flew food to the Netherlands to relieve flood - stricken areas . Redeployed to the US from June to August 1945 . The aircraft left RAF Knettishall between 9 June 1945 and July 1945 . The ground unit sailed on the Queen Elizabeth from Greenock on 5 August 1945 and arrived in New York on 11 August 1945 . The group was established at Sioux Falls AAF , South Dakota , and was inactivated there on 28 August 1945 . Cold War . The unit was reactivated as a fighter - bomber group in 1953 and equipped with F - 86s . It was deployed to France from Clovis AFB , New Mexico in December 1954 . The mission of the 388th FBG was to train for and conduct tactical nuclear weapons delivery . Its secondary mission was to conduct non - atomic tactical air operations . Upon arrival of 388th Wing Headquarters at Etain , the construction delays and other problems seriously hampered the ability of the Wing to use the base for its flying operations . The 562nd FBS was forced to operate from Spangdahlem Air Base , the 563rd from Bitburg Air Base and the 561st from Hahn Air Base in West Germany for the winter of 1954 – 55 . In April and May 1955 , rotational deployments to Wheelus Air Base , Libya began for their first gunnery and bombing training since their arrival in Europe . In the fall , with enough facilities construction completed , the three flying squadrons were transferred from Germany and took up their home assignment at Étain . On 22 November 1955 , Det # 1 , 388th FBG was activated at Hahn Air Base to stand nuclear alert with the Wing ' s F - 86 ' s . Personnel and aircraft primarily came from the 561st FBS . In February 1956 the detachment was transferred to more spacious facilities at Spangdahlem Air Base . Rotational deployments of 8 F - 86 ' s and support personnel to Germany continued until the fall of 1957 when the 388th was inactivated . In the fall of 1956 the 388th began planning for conversion to the F - 100D / F " Super Sabre " Due to the adverse flying conditions at Etain for conversion training , the new aircraft were deployed to Nouasseur Air Base in Morocco , with the squadrons deploying their F - 86 ' s to Nouasseur , then returning to France or Spangdahlem in their new F - 100 ' s for Zulu Alert duties . During this transition period , the 388th experienced a significant personnel crisis , with many of its officers and NCO ' s completing their two year unaccompanied tour in France . The personnel problem became worse in the fall of 1957 with many single airmen completing their three years of overseas service and were rotating back to the United States ( CONUS ) . The manning of the 388th fell to about 65 percent when on 8 December 1957 HQ USAFE inactivated the 388th FBG due to budgetary and personnel constraints . On 9 December the personnel and assets of the 388th were transferred to the 49th Fighter - Bomber Group . Modern era . On 1 December 1991 , the 388th Operations Group ( 388 OG ) was activated as a result of the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing implementing the USAF objective wing organization . Upon activation , the 388th OG was bestowed the lineage and history of the 388th Tactical Fighter Group and all predecessor organizations . In addition , the 388th OG was assigned the flying squadrons of the redesignated 388th Fighter Wing . The group had a continuing commitment of approximately six months per year to Operation Southern Watch , protecting the no - fly zone south of the 33rd parallel in Iraq . The 729th ACS also had a continuous presence in South America supporting the war on drugs . The 388th OG flew the F - 16 ' s 5 millionth flying hour at Hill Air Force Base 4 December 1996 . In its 2005 BRAC Recommendations , DoD recommended to close Cannon Air Force Base , New Mexico . As a result , it would distribute the 27th Fighter Wing ' s F - 16s to 388th OG at Hill AFB ( six aircraft ) and several other installations .