455th Air Expeditionary Wing The 455th Air Expeditionary Wing ( 455 AEW ) is a provisional United States Air Force USAFCENT unit . It is one of two AEWs in Afghanistan , presently assigned to Bagram Airfield . Most of the wing personnel are located at the Air Force Village known as Camp Cunningham . The wing ' s primary mission is to support the Global War on Terrorism by providing aerial support for U . S . and Coalition forces on the ground . Activated in 2001 , the 455th has members deployed throughout the country supporting the Operation Enduring Freedom . The 455 AEW commander reports to the United States Air Forces Central ( USAFCENT ) Commander in Southwest Asia . The commander is supported by a wing staff and oversees five Air Force groups located at Bagram . The five groups are the 455th Expeditionary Operations Group , the 455th Expeditionary Maintenance Group , the 455th Expeditionary Mission Support Group , and the 455th Expeditionary Medical Group . During the Cold War , the Strategic Air Command 455th Strategic Missile Wing was an LGM - 30 Minuteman ICBM wing . During World War II , the wing ' s predecessor unit , the 455th Bombardment Group was a B - 24 Liberator heavy bombardment organization , assigned to Fifteenth Air Force in Italy . As of 22 April 2011 , the commander of the 455 AEW is Major General Darryl Roberson . The Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sergeant Marcus R . Snoddy . Recently the 455 AEW was awarded the Meritorious Unit Award for all personnel assigned between 1 October 2006 and 30 September 2007 , 1 October 2008 through 30 September 2009 , and 1 October 10 through 30 September 2011 . Units . The wing consists of five groups : History . World War II . Constituted as 455th Bombardment Group ( Heavy ) on 14 May 1943 . Activated on 1 June 1943 . Activated as a B - 24 Liberator heavy bombardment unit ; assigned to II Bomber Command for training . Primarily trained in New Mexico and Utah received deployment orders for the Mediterranean Theater of Operations ( MTO ) in November 1943 . Moved to Langley Field Virginia where the group flew long - range convoy escort missions over the Mid - Atlantic , October – November 1943 while station in Italy was being constructed . They departed Langley in December 1943 and flew to Tunisia by way of Brazil , arriving in January 1944 . They remained in Tunisia until completion of their airfield at San Giovanni , Italy , about five miles west of Cerignola and 20 miles southwest of Foggia . The group moved to San Giovanni in February 1944 and flew its first combat mission ( Anzio ) on 16 February 1944 as part of the 304th Bombardment Wing , Fifteenth Air Force . Engaged in very long range strategic bombing missions to enemy military , industrial and transportation targets in Italy , France , Germany , Austria , Hungary , Romania , and Yugoslavia , bombing railroad marshalling yards , oil refineries , airdrome installations , heavy industry , and other strategic objectives . Received a Distinguished Unit Citation for a mission on 2 April 1944 when the group contributed to Fifteenth AF ’ s campaign against enemy industry by attacking a ball - bearing plant at Steyr . They lost 4 of 40 aircraft — 40 comrades , including a bomber that crashed near Sveta Trojica ( now Slovenia ) . In addition to successful target damage , they were credited with 27 enemy aircraft destroyed and 17 probables . It was their first heavy loss in two months of combat . Although meeting severe fighter opposition and losing several of its bombers on 26 June 1944 , the group proceeded to attack an oil refinery at Moosbierbaum , receiving another DUC for this performance . Thirty - six planes took off with only 26 returning . Six of the ten losses were from a single squadron . Several of those crews were on their 50th mission . The figure for combined causes includes causes such as collisions , ditchings , and crashes attributable to As time passed , the fighter opposition decreased but the Germans concentrated their anti - aircraft guns around the fewer remaining targets , so the threat from flak remained intense . In addition to strategic missions in the Balkans , the group bombed troop concentrations , bridges , marshalling yards , and airdromes during the fall of 1944 to hamper the enemy ’ s withdrawal from the region . The group also supported ground forces at Anzio and Cassino in March 1944 ; knocked out gun positions in preparation for the invasion of Southern France in August 1944 ; and assisted the final Allied drive through Italy in April 1945 by hitting such targets as bridges , gun positions , and troop concentrations . The group flew its last mission ( Linz , Austria ) 15 months later on 25 April 1945 . The mission scheduled for the following day was canceled and the group began preparations to return home . The group lost 118 aircraft , 31 directly to fighters , 36 directly to flak , and 51 from all other causes combined . They suffered 147 KIA , 268 MIA , 179 POW , and 169 wounded in action . On the other hand , the group is credited with 119 enemy aircraft destroyed and another 78 probables . Only about 40 % of the original crews returned . Remained in Italy after the German Capitulation in May , although unit personnel were demobilized throughout the summer of 1945 . Group was inactivated in Italy on 9 September 1945 . Cold War . Redesignated 455th Bombardment Group ( Very Heavy ) . Allotted to the reserve . Activated in the US on 25 March 1947 as B - 29 Superfortress unit . Inactivated on 27 June 1949 . Unclear if group was ever equipped or manned . Assigned to Tactical Air Command . 455th Fighter - Day Wing established in 1953 but never activated . 455th Fighter - Day Group activated with assigned fighter squadrons and assigned to 342d Fighter Day Wing at Myrtle Beach AFB , South Carolina on 25 July 1956 but never manned or equipped . Inactivated on 18 November 1956 along with 342d FDW with all assets being absorbed into 354th Fighter - Day Wing activated that date . Reassigned to Strategic Air Command as the 455th Strategic Missile Wing and prepared for operational capability with LGM - 30B Minuteman I ICBMs from 1 November 1962 to March 1964 at Minot AFB , North Dakota . The component 740th Strategic Missile Squadron was also activated on 1 November . During the following 2 months , the 741st and 742nd Strategic Missile Squadrons administratively came into existence . The first Minuteman missile arrived on 6 September 1963 , and was replaced three days later . The 150th , and final missile was replaced on 26 February 1964 , and by late March the wing became combat ready . The 455th SMW maintained combat readiness . To preserve the continuity of units with distinguished histories , on 25 June 1968 , the 455th SMW was redesignated as the 91st Strategic Missile Wing in - place without movement of personnel and was inactivated . The 91st had senior organizational roots dating from World War II and had gained recent fame as a B - 52 wing operating over Vietnam . The operational strategic missile squadrons , however , were not redesignated but simply assigned to the 91st SMW . War in Afghanistan . The 455th was reactivated in December 2001 for the Global War on Terrorism . In July 2002 , the group was redesignated the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing with six assigned groups . Since then the wing has provided close air support , air mobility , intelligence , surveillance , reconnaissance , combat search and rescue , electronic attack , aero medical evacuation , and combat support as the lead Air Force organization in Afghanistan .