18th Wing The United States Air Force ' s 18th Wing is the host wing for Kadena Air Base , Okinawa , Japan and is the Air Force ’ s largest combat wing . It is the largest and principal organization in the Pacific Air Forces Fifth Air Force . The Wing ' s 18th Operations Group is a successor organization of the 18th Pursuit Group , one of the 15 original combat air groups formed by the Army before World War II . Mission . The 18th Wing ' s mission is to defend U . S . and Japanese ' mutual interests by providing a responsive staging and operational airbase with integrated , deployable , forward - based airpower . The focus of the unit ' s operations is directed to accomplishing this mission . Strategy used to employ this mission centers around a composite force of combat - ready fighter , air refueling , airborne warning and control and rescue aircraft as well as medical aircrews tasked with transporting patients by air . Units . The 18th Wing is composed of five groups each with specific functions . The Operations Group controls all flying and airfield operations . The Maintenance Group performs Aircraft and Aircraft support equipment maintenance . The Mission Support Group has a wide range of responsibilities but a few of its functions are Security , Communications , Personnel Management , Logistics , Services and Contracting support . The Civil Engineer Group provides facilities management , while the Medical Group provides medical and dental care . Team Kadena includes associate units from five other Air Force major commands , the Navy , and numerous other Department of Defense agencies and direct reporting units . In addition to the 81 aircraft of the 18th Wing , associate units operate more than 20 permanently assigned , forward - based or deployed aircraft from the base on a daily basis . Heraldry . The fighting cock emblem , approved in 1931 , symbolizes the courage and aggressiveness of a combat organization . History . On 10 August 1948 the 18th Fighter Wing was established . On January 20 , 1950 , the wing was re - designated the 18th Fighter - Bomber Wing . Korean War . The 18th Fighter - Bomber Wing was reassigned to Korea in July 1950 and entered combat . Its organization was as follows : At the outbreak of the Korean War , the 18th FBG ' s 12th FBS provided personnel to form the " Dallas " fighter squadron , which rushed into battle . In late July , the group headquarters with two of its squadrons ( 12th and 67th FBSs ) deployed with F - 80s from the Philippines to Taegu AB ( K - 37 ) , South Korea . From July 28 to August 3 , the 18th Group operated directly under Fifth Air Force then passed to the control of the 6002nd Fighter ( later , Tactical Support ) Wing . Pilots exchanged their F - 80s for F - 51 Mustangs . Combat targets included tanks and armored vehicles , locomotives and trucks , artillery and antiaircraft guns , fuel and ammunition dumps , warehouses and factories , and troop concentrations . In August , advancing enemy forces and insufficient aircraft parking at Taegu forced the group to move to Japan , but it returned to South Korea the following month to support UN forces in a counteroffensive . Because the front advanced so rapidly , operations from Pusan East ( K - 9 ) Air Base soon became impractical , and the group moved in November to Pyongyang East Air Base ( K - 24 ) , North Korea . The 2nd SAAF Squadron joined the 18th in mid - November . Maj Louis J . Sebille was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his action on August 5 , 1950 : although his plane was badly damaged by flak while attacking a concentration of enemy trucks , Maj Sebille continued his strafing passes until he crashed into an armored vehicle . The Chinese Communist ( CCF intervention ) caused the group to move twice in as many weeks , first to Suwon AB ( K - 13 ) , South Korea , then to Chinhae ( K - 10 ) . From there the 18th FBG continued to support ground forces and carry out armed reconnaissance and interdiction missions . From November 1950 through January 1951 , it earned a Distinguished Unit Citation for destroying roughly 2 , 400 enemy vehicles and severely damaging almost 500 more . From early 1951 until January 1953 , the group and its tactical squadrons , moving from base to base in South Korea , operated separately from the rest of the 18th FBW . The group earned its second Distinguished Unit Citation from April 22 to July 8 , 1951 , when it flew 6 , 500 combat sorties while operating from sod , dirt filled , and damaged runways to counter the enemy ' s 1951 spring offensive . When in January 1953 the group rejoined the wing at Osan - ni AB ( K - 55 ) , its squadrons transitioned to F - 86 Sabrejets without halting the fight against the enemy . It flew its first F - 86 counter air mission on February 26 , 1953 . In the final days of the war , the 18th FBG attacked dispersed enemy aircraft at Sinuiju and Uiju Airfields . The group remained in Korea for some time after the armistice . The wing was reassigned to Kadena Air Base , Okinawa in November 1954 . Cold War . Since November 1954 , the 18th Wing under various designations has been the main United States Air Force operational unit at Kadena Air Base . Over the past 50 years , the 18th has maintained assigned aircraft , crews , and supporting personnel in a high state of readiness for tactical air requirements of Fifth Air Force and the Pacific Air Forces . Known Cold War - Era operational squadrons were : Flying the North American F - 86 Sabres , the wing supported tactical fighter operations in Okinawa , as well as in South Korea , Japan , Formosa ( later Taiwan ) , and the Philippines with frequent deployments . In 1957 , the wing upgraded to the North American F - 100 Super Sabre and the designation was changed to the 18th Tactical Fighter Wing . In 1960 , a tactical reconnaissance mission was added to the wing with the arrival of the McDonnell RF - 101 Voodoo and the 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron ( Tail Code : ZZ ) The McDonnell Douglas RF - 4C Phantom II replaced the RF - 101 in the reconnaissance role in 1967 . Beginning in 1961 , the 18th was sending its tactical squadrons frequently to South Vietnam and Thailand , initially with its RF - 101 reconnaissance forces , and beginning in 1964 with its tactical fighter forces supporting USAF combat missions in the Vietnam War . In 1963 , the Republic F - 105 Thunderchief replaced the Super Sabres . Known Vietnam - era squadrons of the wing were : The deployments to Southeast Asia continued until the end of United States involvement in the conflict . An electronic warfare capability was added to the wing in late 1968 with the reassignment of the 19th Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron from Shaw AFB South Carolina flying the Douglas EB - 66E Destroyer ( Tail Code : ZT ) . The B - 66s remained until 1970 , flying daily over the skies of Southeast Asia . During the 1968 Pueblo crisis , the 18th deployed between January and June to Osan Air Base , South Korea following the North Korean seizure of the vessel . Frequent deployments to South Korea have been performed ever since to maintain the air defense alert mission there . The McDonnell Douglas F - 4C / D Phantom II replaced the F - 105s in 1971 , and a further upgrade to the McDonnell Douglas F - 15 Eagle was made in 1979 . In May 1971 , the 556th RS was also transferred from Yokota to Kadena with Martin EB - 57E Canberra aircraft ( Tail Code : GT ) to the wing . It inactivated in 1973 . In 1972 , the 1st Special Operations Squadron was assigned , bringing their specialized C - 130E - I . ( Combat Talon ) The RF - 4C reconnaissance mission ended in 1989 with the transfer of the RF - 4Cs to the 460th TRG at Taegu AB in Korea . Post Vietnam - era squadrons have been : Modern era . The designation of the wing changed on October 1 , 1991 to the 18th Wing with the implementation of the Objective Wing concept . With the objective wing , the mission of the 18th expanded to the Composite Air Wing concept of multiple different wing missions with different aircraft . The mission of the 18th was expanded to include aerial refueling with Boeing KC - 135R / T Stratotanker tanker aircraft ( 909th ARS ) ; and surveillance , warning , command and control Boeing E - 3B / C Sentry ( 961st AACS ) , and communications . Added airlift mission in June 1992 with the Beech C - 12 Huron , transporting mission critical personnel , high - priority cargo and distinguished visitors . In February 1993 , the 18th Wing gained responsibility for coordinating rescue operations in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean with the addition of the 33d Rescue Squadron ( 33d RQS ) . In November 1999 , the 18th Wing underwent another change as one of its three F - 15 units , the 12th Fighter Squadron , was reassigned to the 3d Wing at Elmendorf Air Force Base , Alaska . In 2003 the 374th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron at Yokota Air Base , Japan was moved to Kadena and redesignated the 18th AES giving the 18th Wing an added mission of patient transport . 18 AES crews utilize the KC - 135s of the 909th ARS as well as other opportune aircraft including the C - 17 and C - 130 . Between 24 – 31 March 2006 , during Foal Eagle 2006 exercises , aircraft from the 18th Wing teamed with the U . S . Navy ' s Strike Fighter Squadron 151 ( VFA - 151 ) from Carrier Air Wing Two ( CVW - 2 ) to provide combat air patrols and coordinated bombing runs via the exercise ’ s Combined Air Operations Center . The 18th Wing has earned many honors over the years , including 17 Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards . Components . Groups Squadrons