6th Operations Group The 6th Operations Group ( 6 OG ) is the operational flying component of the 6th Air Mobility Wing , stationed at MacDill Air Force Base , Florida . The mission of the 6th OG is the planning and executing global aerial refueling , combatant commander airlift , and specialized missions for US and allied combat and support aircraft . The group extends US global power and global reach through employment of a mix of KC - 135R and C - 37 aircraft . The 6th Operations Group is a successor organization of the 6th Group ( Composite ) , one of the 15 original combat air groups formed by the Army before World War II . During World War II , the 6th Bombardment Group ( Very Heavy ) , was a B - 29 Superfortress group assigned to Twentieth Air Force flying bombardment operations against Japan . Its aircraft were identified by a " R " inside a Circle painted on the tail . History . Origins . The 6th Operations Group ' s origins begin on 30 September 1919 as the United States Army Panama Canal Department 3d Observation Group , being stationed at France Field in the Panama Canal Zone . The unit was a command and control organization of numerous miscellaneous light observation squadrons established by the Air Service to provide protection for the Panama Canal area . In 1921 the group was redesignated the 6th Group ( Observation ) and in 1922 , the 6th Group ( Composite ) . The 6th flew such aircraft at the Curtiss R - 4 , DeHavilland 4 - B , SE - 5A , MG - 3A , Piper L - 4 , P - 12B and Martin B - 10 and Douglas B - 18 Bolo aircraft . Throughout the 1920s and 1930 the group participated in maneuvers , flying patrol missions , photographing the canal area , staging aerial reviews and making good - will flights to Central and South America . In 1933 , the group became part of the larger 19th Composite Wing , which provided a central command and control organization for the Air Service units . In 1937 , as the mission of the 6th moved toward bombardment , the War Department renamed it the 6th Bombardment Group . They continued to operate in the Canal Zone under the VI Bomber Command of the Sixth Air Force at Rio Hato AB , Albrook Field and Howard Field . World War II . As events in Europe and the Far East unfolded , the 6th Bomb Group and its units moved towards a war footing . Starting in May 1940 , ground training for junior officers , newly arrived at France Field , became of major importance . Local courses on armament , use of flares and the delicate and seldom practiced fusing of bombs were made practically daily matters of practical application . Communications were also being stressed , as qualified radio operators were in short supply , while the squadrons rotated in and out of Rio Hato Army Air Base on " live " bombing practice . On 4 June 1941 , the first four - engine Boeing B - 17B Flying Fortress was assigned to the Group . By November , all four of the B - 17Bs had been assigned to the 7th Reconnaissance Squadron . Many alerts and false alarms of enemy aircraft were recorded in the first three months after the Japanese Pearl Harbor Attack , although , of course , these proved to be false alarms . As the early months of the war swept by , and as VI Bomber Command struggled to aportion its scarce resources to best advantage . In 1941 it was assigned to the new VI Bomber Command of Sixth Air Force with an antisubmarine mission on both the Caribbean and Pacific approaches to the Panama Canal . By 1943 , the antisubmarine mission was taken over by the United States Navy , and the group was disbanded in November 1943 . On 19 April 1944 , the 6th Bombardment Group was reactivated at Dalhart Army Air Field , Texas , being formed as a B - 29 Superfortress Very Heavy bombardment Group . The reactivated group was initially assigned four newly - constituted bomb squadrons , the 24th , 39th , 40th and 41st as its operational components . Due to a shortage of B - 29s , the group was equipped with former II Bomber Command B - 17 Flying Fortress es previously used for training heavy bomber replacement personnel . In May shortages in aircraft and equipment led to the 41st Bomb Squadron being inactivated , with its personnel being consolidated into other group squadrons and the 6th becoming a three squadron group ( the 41st would be reactivated a month later as part of the 501st Bombardment Group , but was inactivated a second time , finally being deployed into combat with the 448th Bombardment Group ) . The 6th was eventually equipped with newly - manufactured B - 29 Superfortresses at Grand Island Army Airfield , Nebraska during the summer of 1944 . In November the group was deployed to the Pacific Theater of Operations ( PTO ) , being assigned to the XXI Bomber Command 313th Bombardment Wing , being stationed at North Field , Tinian , The group entered combat by flying navigational escort for a major attack force bound for Iwo Jima . The 6th then began engaging in very long range bombardment missions over the Japanese Home Islands , striking Tokyo and other major Japanese cities and facilities during daylight high - altitude bombing raids , with crippling , non - stop incendiary raids which destroyed lines of communication , supply , and numerous kamikaze bases . On 25 May 1945 , the 6th flew a low - altitude night mission through alerted enemy defenses to drop incendiary bombs on Tokyo , for which they received their first Distinguished Unit Citation . In addition to incendiary raids , the 6th also participated in mining operations . By mining harbors in Japan and Korea in July 1945 , the group contributed to the blockade of the Japanese Empire earning their second Distinguished Unit Citation . The 6th ' s final World War II mission came on 14 August 1945 , with the dropping of 500 - pound general purpose bombs on the Marifu railroad yards at Iwakuni . Postwar era . With the war over , the 6th dropped food and supplies to Allied prisoners of war and took part in show - of - force flights over Japan . The unit remained on Tinian until February 1946 during which time the group largely demobilized as part of the " Sunset Project " , with some aircraft being sent reclamation on Tinian ; others being returned to the United States for storage at aircraft depots in the southwest . By Christmas , the group fleet was reduced to 30 or less planes Many of the remaining veterans signed for " any conditions of travel " to get home , arriving three weeks later in Oakland , California , where troop trains scattered them for points of discharge close to their homes . The unit moved to Clark Field in the Philippines where it was reassigned to the postwar Far East Air Forces 1st Air Division . At Clark its remaining aircraft and personnel were consolidated into other units . It was again reassigned in June 1947 to Kadena Air Base , Okinawa as a paper unit where it was inactivated in 1948 . In January 1951 , the group was activated as the operational component of the new 6th Bombardment Wing at Walker AFB , New Mexico as part of Strategic Air Command ' s Fifteenth Air Force . However all of the group ' s B - 29 Superfortress were attached directly to the Wing organization , with the group having only one officer and one airman officially assigned to group headquarters . It was inactivated in June 1952 as part of the implementation of the postwar Tri - Deputate organization as all operational flying squadrons were assigned directly to the 6th Bombardment Wing . Current era . Activated on 1 October 1996 with an air refueling mission as part of the Objective Wing structure of the 6th Air Refueling Wing . Elements deployed to Southwest Asia in July 1998 to refuel aircraft engaged in no - fly operations over northern Iraq . After January 2001 , the group also provided airlift for the commanders of U . S . Central Command and U . S . Special Operations Command . It also refueled fighters providing security over the southeastern United States as part of homeland security after terrorist attacks against the United States in September 2001 . Since 2001 , personnel and aircraft deployed around the world to fulfill air refueling and aeromedical missions . The 6th has twice won the Air Mobility Rodeo Best Air Mobility Wing Award ; in 2000 and 2005 . Heraldry . The group ' s emblem , approved in 1924 , reflects its Panama Canal Zone origins with a ship sailing through the Gaillard Cut and an airplane flying overhead .