919th Air Refueling Squadron The 919th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit . It was last assigned to the 306th Bombardment Wing , stationed at McCoy AFB , Florida . It was inactivated on 30 June 1971 . The squadron was first activated as the 619th Bombardment Squadron in 1943 . It was one of the four squadrons of the 477th Bombardment Group , the first ( and only ) bombardment group in the united States Army Air Forces to included black pilots . Members of the squadron participated in the Freeman Field Mutiny , protesting racial segregation in the military . The squadron was inactivated in 1945 when the 477th became a composite group that included one bombardment and one fighter squadron . The 919th Air Refueling Squadron was activated as a Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) tanker squadron in 1960 and moved to Turner Air Force Base , Georgia as part of SAC ' s program to disperse its Boeing B - 52 Stratofortress as a defense against a first strike by the Soviet Union . The squadron served in this capacity for eleven years during which it deployed aircraft and aircrew s to Southeast Asia during the Viet Nam War . The two squadrons were consolidated into a single unit in 1985 , but the consolidated squadron has never been active . History . World War II . The 619th Bombardment Squadron was activated in June 1943 at MacDill Field , Florida . as one of the four original squadrons of the 477th Bombardment Group , but was inactivated in August . The 477th group was reactivated in January 1944 at Selfridge Field , Michigan as the " first colored bombardment group in the Army Air Forces " with personnel drawn from Selfridge and from Tuskegee Army Air Field , Alabama . The group moved to Godman Field , Kentucky , where the 619th was activated in May . The unit encountered problems attributed to the lack of experienced personnel , which required even basic training in military occupational specialties to be conducted within the unit , rather than at technical training schools . Although designated a " colored " squadron , some officers , including the squadron leadership were white . The initial commander of the 477th group enforced racial segregation on the posts where the squadron was stationed . The squadron ' s members were involved in the civil rights action referred to as the Freeman Field Mutiny ; the " mutiny " came about when African - American aviators became outraged enough by racial segregation in the military that they resorted to mass insistence that military regulations prohibiting discrimination be enforced . The Freeman Field Mutiny was a crucial event in the African - American struggle for equal civil rights . The 619th was inactivated in June 1945 when the 477th became a composite group formed of the 99th Fighter Squadron , 617th Bombardment Squadron and 618th Bombardment Squadron and Colonel Benjamin O . Davis , Jr . , a black officer , assumed command of the group . Cold War . The 919th Air Refueling Squadron was activated on 15 April 1960 by Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) at Carswell AFB , Texas and assigned to the 7th Bombardment Wing as one of two tanker squadrons activated that day for assignment to dispersed Boeing B - 52 Stratofortress wings . The squadron was equipped with Boeing KC - 135 Stratotanker s . The squadron moved to Turner AFB , Georgia in June and was assigned to the 4138th Strategic Wing , where half of the squadrons ' s aircraft were maintained on fifteen minute alert , fully fueled and ready for combat . The 919th maintained its alert commitment until it was inactivated , except for periods when the squadron was deployed . The squadron deployed aircraft and aircrew to the Western Pacific , 1966 - 1967 to support SAC operations along with tactical aircraft flying combat missions over Indochina during the Vietnam War ( Operation Young Tiger ) . During September 1966 , the squadron was non - operational when all its crews and aircraft were deployed to support Operation Arc Light . When Turner was transferred to the United States Navy in 1967 the squadron moved to McCoy Air Force Base , Florida . In 1969 the squadron won the Saunders Trophy as the best air refueling squadron during SAC ' s annual Bombing and Navigation Competition . The following year the squadron converted from KC - 135A aircraft to KC - 135Qs . The squadron remained at McCoy until it was inactivated in 1971 and its equipment and personnel transferred to the 306th Air Refueling Squadron . The 919th Air Refueling Squadron was consolidated with the 619th Bombardment Squadron in 1985 but the consolidated squadron has not been active . Lineage . 619th Bombardment Squadron 919th Air Refueling Squadron References . Bibliography . Further reading