479th Flying Training Group The 479th Flying Training Group ( 479 FTG ) is a United States Air Force unit , stationed at Naval Air Station Pensacola ( NASP ) . A component of Air Education and Training Command ( AETC ) , the 479 FTG was activated on 2 October 2009 . The current commander of the 479th Flying Training Group is Col Neil Allen . Overview . The unit conducts Undergraduate Combat Systems Officer ( CSO ) training , replacing the former Undergraduate Navigator Training ( UNT ) curriculum previously taught by the 12th Flying Training Wing ( 12 FTW ) at Randolph AFB , Texas . The 479 FTG is an operational component of the 12th FTW at Randolph as a Geographically Separated Unit ( GSU ) , flying the T - 6A Texan II and T - 1A Jayhawk at NASP . The first CSO class , 11 - 01 , graduated on 15 April 2011 . The group controls three subordinate squadrons : History . World War II . The unit was constituted as the 479th Fighter Group on 12 October 1943 and activated on 15 October at Grand Central Air Terminal , near Long Beach , California . Equipped with the Lockheed P - 38F Lightning , the group trained for combat and served as an air defense organization for the west coast as part of IV Fighter Command of Fourth Air Force . It was stationed at Santa Maria AAF , California Even though the defense of the US west coast initially took priority , it was decided to deploy Lightning squadrons to Britain for heavy bomber escort duty . The 479th was reassigned to RAF Wattisham , England , April – May 1944 , and assigned to the 65th Fighter Wing , VIII Fighter Command , Eighth Air Force . The 479th group consisted of three Fighter Squadrons , ( 434th ( L2 ) , 435th ( J2 ) , and 436th ( 9B ) ) and the aircraft of the group had no cowling color markings as did other Eighth Air Force fighter groups . 479th P - 38 ' s were marked only with colored tail rudders . The initial inventory of P - 38s , many of which were hand - me - downs from other groups painted in olive drab camouflage , used geometric symbols on the tail to identify squadrons , white for camouflaged aircraft and black for unpainted ( natural metal finish ) Lightnings . The 479th FG escorted heavy bombers during operations against targets on the Continent , strafed targets of opportunity , and flew fighter - bomber , counter - air , and area - patrol missions . Engaged primarily in B - 17 / B - 24 escort activities and fighter sweeps until the Normandy invasion in June 1944 . The group patrolled the beachhead during the invasion . Strafed and dive - bombed troops , bridges , locomotives , railway cars , barges , vehicles , airfields , gun emplacements , flak towers , ammunition dumps , power stations , and radar sites while on escort or fighter - bomber missions as the Allies drove across France during the summer and fall of 1944 . The unit flew area patrols to support the breakthrough at Saint - Lô in July and the airborne attack on Holland in September . The 479th Fighter Group received a Distinguished Unit Citation for the destruction of numerous aircraft on airfields in France on 18 August and 5 September and during aerial battle near Münster on 26 September . The unit continued escort and fighter - bomber activities from October to mid - December 1944 . It converted to P - 51 s between 10 September and 1 October , using both types on missions until conversion was completed . The group participated in the Battle of the Bulge ( December 1944 – January 1945 ) by escorting bombers to and from targets in the battle area and by strafing transportation targets while on escort duty . From February to April 1945 it continued to fly escort missions , but also provided area patrols to support the airborne attack across the Rhine in March . The unit returned to Camp Kilmer New Jersey in November 1945 , and was inactivated on December 1945 . Among the notable pilots of the 479th were its second group commander , Col . Hubert Zemke , with 17 . 75 confirmed aerial victories and Major Robin Olds , who was officially credited with 12 German planes shot down and 11 . 5 others destroyed on the ground . The group remained in England after the end of the war in Europe , demobilizing most of its personnel . The group itself was inactivated as an administrative unit under Army Service Forces in December 1945 . Cold War . The group was re - activated at George AFB , California on 1 December 1952 as the 479th Fighter - Bomber Group . Under the postwar United States Air Force , the group was the operational component of the new 479th Fighter - Bomber Wing . The 479th ' s three old World War II squadrons were retained and a new squadron , the 476th Fighter - Bomber / Tactical Fighter Squadron , assigned . The group trained and achieved tactical proficiency with initially with F - 51D Mustangs ( 1952 – 53 ) , later with F - 86F Sabres ( 1953 – 55 ) , and being re - designated as the 479th Fighter - Day Group on 15 February 1954 . It participated in numerous exercises , augmented air defenses of the West Coast , and deployed overseas to support other commands . In 1955 the group ' s assigned squadrons were assigned directly to the Wing , when the unit adopted the " Tri - Deputate " organization , becoming non - operational . It was inactivated on 8 October 1957 Modern era . Holloman AFB . The 479th was reactivated as 479th Fighter Group at Holloman AFB , New Mexico on 26 July 1991 under the 833d Air Division . The group assumed the downsized assets of the 479th Tactical Training Wing which was inactivated due to cutbacks in training after the end of the Cold War , with the residual resources of the 479th TTW taken over by the 49th Fighter Wing at Holloman . The group controlled the AT - 38s of the 434th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron briefly , providing Lead - In Fighter Training ( LIFT ) training for pilots assigned to fly the McDonnell Douglas F - 15 Eagle . The group inactivated on 15 November 1991 , with the training mission and aircraft being consolidated under the 586th Flight Training Squadron . Moody AFB . The unit was reactivated as the 479th Flying Training Group at Moody AFB , Georgia on 30 July 2001 as an Air Education and Training Command unit . The group ' s activation was part of an effort to increase pilot production due to a pilot shortage throughout the Air Force . Its mission at Moody was to conduct primary Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training and Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals training . The group consisted of three training squadrons . These were : These aircraft all carried the Tail Code " MY " . The 49 FTS and 435 FTS conducted an advanced pilot training and the Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals ( IFF ) course for recently winged USAF Navigator / Combat Systems Officer s en route to Weapons System Officer ( WSO ) assignments in the F - 15E Strike Eagle aircraft and recently winged pilots en route to the F - 22 , F - 15C , F - 15E , F - 16 , and A - 10 . The 3d FTS provided basic pilot training . As a result of BRAC 2005 , the 479th FTG was inactivated on 21 July 2007 . Its aircraft and equipment were redistributed to other AETC units . NAS Pensacola . The 479 FTG was reactivated at Naval Air Station Pensacola , Florida on 2 October 2009 . It is using T - 6A Texan II s and T - 1A Jayhawk s to train Combat Systems Officer s ( i . e . , Navigators / Electronic Warfare Officers / Weapons System Officers ) for eventual assignment to various USAF aircraft . In this capacity , and pursuant to BRAC action , the 479 FTG assumes responsibility for the successor program to USAF Undergraduate Navigator Training ( UNT ) previously conducted in the T - 43 Bobcat and T - 1A Jayhawk by the 12th Flying Training Wing at Randolph AFB , Texas from 1993 – 2010 and the T - 43 Bobcat and T - 37 Tweet with the 323d Flying Training Wing at the former Mather AFB , California from 1973 – 1993 . External links .