319th Air Base Wing The 319th Air Base Wing ( 319 ABW ) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Mobility Command ' s USAF Expeditionary Center . It is stationed at Grand Forks Air Force Base , North Dakota . The wing is the host unit at Grand Forks . The 319 ABW was one of only three " super tanker " wings in the United States Air Force . T Its 319th Operations Group is the successor of the World War II 319th Bombardment Group . The 319 BG was the first Martin B - 26 Marauder group in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations . The group received two Distinguished Unit Citation . Active for over 60 years , the 319th Bombardment Wing was a component of Strategic Air Command ' s deterrent force during the Cold War , as a strategic bombardment wing . The 319th Air Base Wing is commanded by Colonel Donald L . Shaffer . Its Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sergeant Scott A . Fuller . Overview . The mission of the 319th Air Base Wing is to support " Global Engagement " mobility operations . The wing provides support functions for an Air Mobility Command ( AMC ) major weapons system and supports a wide range of conventional and nuclear plans . The wing also provides infrastructure support for an Air Force Space Command group equipped with Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles . The 319th Air Base Wing won the 2002 Solano Trophy on 26 April 2002 for the best active - duty unit in Fifteenth Air Force . Global War on Terrorism . After the September 11 attacks , the wing was the first to fly an Air Mobility Command sortie supporting the Air Force ' s response to the terrorist attacks by refueling the F - 16 that delivered the Federal Emergency Management Agency director to New York only three and a half hours after the attacks . All of the 319th Air Refueling Wing ' s mission - capable aircraft were prepped , fueled and cocked within 24 hours . By the end of 2001 , the wing had flown more than 120 Operation Noble Eagle sorties , off - loading more than 4 . 8 million pounds of fuel to 260 combat air patrol and support aircraft . KC - 135 tankers from the 319th were the first on the ground , first in the air , first to fly over enemy territory , and first to provide aerial refueling while a base of operations in the Persian Gulf was being established for Operation Enduring Freedom . In total , they had flown more than 890 sorties , flying 6 , 700 hours and off - loading more than 50 million pounds of fuel to more than 3 , 000 receivers . The wing also earned an " excellent " and " solid green " for the deployed 319th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron during the first - ever Expeditionary Operational Readiness Inspection while conducting operations at Incirlik Air Base , Turkey . Additionally , for the second year in a row , the 319th Aircraft Generation Squadron earned top Air Mobility Command aircraft maintenance effectiveness honors for the medium category . The 319th Air Refueling Wing reached a significant milestone 3 July 2002 by flying its 1 , 000th hour in support of Operation Noble Eagle . The milestone - marking mission started the evening of 2 July and was commanded by Capt Kulka of the 905th Air Refueling Squadron . The crew ’ s mission was to provide fuel to F - 16 ’ s from Shaw Air Force Base , SC , while they patrolled the skies over the nation ’ s capitol . Subordinate organizations . 319th Operations Group ( 319 OG ) 319th Maintenance Group ( 319 MXG ) 319th Comptroller Squadron ( 319 CPTS ) 319th Mission Support Group ( 319 MSG ) 319th Medical Group ( 319 MDG ) History . Reserve Operations . The 319th Bombardment Wing was established in the Air Force Reserve on 10 May 1949 and activated on 27 June at Reading Municipal Airport , Pennsylvania . The unit was not manned or equipped before it was inactivated on 2 September . The wing was reactivated on 10 October at Birmingham Municipal Airport , Alabama , where it replaced the 514th Troop Carrier Wing . It flew B - 26 Invader light bombers . The 319th performed Reserve training until ordered to active service on 10 March 1951 due to the Korean War . Once activated , wing personnel and aircraft were deployed as replacement personnel for active - duty combat units . It was inactivated two weeks later on 28 March . The wing was redesignated the 319th Fighter - Bomber Wing on 12 April 1955 and was activated in the reserve on 18 May at Memphis Municipal Airport , Tennessee . It replaced the 8710th Pilot Training Wing and performed reserve training . From July 1956 through August 1957 , it maintained two Republic F - 84 Thunderjet s on " runway alert , " under the operational control of the 20th Air Division of Air Defense Command . The wing was inactivated on 16 November 1957 and replaced by the 445th Troop Carrier Wing , as the Air Force converted its reserve forces into an all airlift organization . Strategic Air Command . B - 52 bomber era . On 1 September 1958 , Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) established the 4133d Strategic Wing ( SW ) at Grand Forks AFB , North Dakota , an Air Defense Command ( ADC ) base whose host was the 478th Fighter Group and assigned it to Second Air Force as part of SAC ' s plan to disperse its B - 52 Stratofortress heavy bombers over a larger number of bases , thus making it more difficult for the Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike . In January 1959 the 4133d was transferred to the 821st Air Division . The wing remained a headquarters only until 1 February 1960 when the 905th Air Refueling Squadron Flying Boeing KC - 135 Stratotanker s , three maintenance squadrons and a squadron to provide security for special weapons were activated and assigned to the wing . In March 1961 , the 39th Munitions Maintenance Squadron was activated to oversee the wing ' s special weapons but it was not until 1 January 1962 that the 30th Bombardment Squadron ( BS ) , consisting of 15 Boeing B - 52Hs moved to Grand Forks from Homestead AFB , Florida where it had been one of the three squadrons of the 19th Bombardment Wing . Half of the wing ' s aircraft were maintained on fifteen minute alert , fully fueled , armed , and ready for combat . The 4133d ( and later the 319th ) continued to maintain an alert commitment until September 1991 . In July 1962 , the 4133d was reassigned to the 810th Strategic Aerospace Division . In 1962 , in order to perpetuate the lineage of many currently inactive bombardment units with illustrious World War II records , Headquarters SAC received authority from Headquarters USAF to discontinue its Major Command controlled ( MAJCON ) strategic wings that were equipped with combat aircraft and to activate Air Force controlled ( AFCON ) units , most of which were inactive at the time which could carry a lineage and history . As a result the 4133d SW was replaced by the 319th Bombardment Wing ( BW ) , which assumed its mission , personnel , and equipment on 1 February 1963 . The 46th Bombardment Squadron , a squadron that had been assigned to the wing when it was a reserve organization , replaced the 30th BS . The 905th Air Refueling Squadron and the 59th Munitions Maintenance Squadron were reassigned to the 319th . Component support units were replaced by units with the numerical designation of the newly established wing . Each of the new units assumed the personnel , equipment , and mission of its predecessor . Shortly after the wing was activated , Grand Forks was transferred from ADC to SAC in July 1963 , and the personnel and equipment of ADC ' s 478th Air Base Group and 478th USAF Dispensary were transferred to form the wing ' s 319th Combat Support Group and 804th Medical Group . In 1964 , however , the wing became a tenant of the 321st Strategic Missile Wing as its base support mission , manpower , and equipment was transferred to the 321st . The wing placed aircraft on peacetime quick reaction alert duty , and conducted global bombardment training for Emergency War Order operations and air refueling operations to meet SAC commitments . During the Vietnam War , the 319th Bomb Wing ' s mission expanded to include sending bomber and tanker aircrews on temporary duty assignments to support B - 52 and KC - 135 operations from 1963 to 1974 . Tanker crews participated in refueling operations for both bombers and fighters . The bomb crews flew B - 52Ds from bases at Andersen AFB , Guam ; Kadena AB , Okinawa , and U - Tapao RTNAF , Thailand . Bomber crews participated in Operation Arc Light in 1968 and Operations Linebacker I and Linebacker II in 1972 . In 1973 , the 319th Bombardment Wing acquired the AGM - 69 Short Range Attack Missile ( SRAM ) , replacing the older AGM - 28 Hound Dog air - to - ground missile aboard its B - 52Hs . As the activities in Southeast Asia decreased , the 319th Bomb Wing focused its full efforts on training crews to fly strategic strike missions . It participated in a SAC program to test admission of females to the inflight refueling career field , January – December 1979 . B - 1 bomber era . The wing converted from B - 52 to B - 1B Lancer bombers , 1986 – 1987 and flew training missions with conventional and nuclear configurations . Tanker crews assigned to the wing assisted in air refueling efforts during the invasion of Panama in December 1989 . It deployed tankers to Oman , Egypt , and Saudi Arabia to provide air refueling and cargo missions in Southwest Asia , August 1990 – April 1991 . In line with the changing international situation , President George H . W . Bush decided to reduce the US nuclear alert force . Thus , on 28 September 1991 , the 319th Wing pulled its B - 1B bombers and KC - 135R tankers from quick reaction alert duty , ending nearly three decades of such activity at Grand Forks AFB . With the inactivation of SAC on 1 June 1992 , the Air Force redesignated the 319th Wing as the 319th Wing and assigned it to the newly established Air Combat Command ( ACC ) . At the same time , the wing ' s 905th Air Refueling Squadron and its KC - 135R tankers were assigned to the 305th Air Refueling Wing at Grissom Air Force Base , Indiana , despite the fact that they remained physically stationed at Grand Forks AFB . Because it had lost its air refueling components , the wing became the 319th Bomb Wing . Still remaining at Grand Forks , the 905th was reassigned to the 43d Air Refueling Wing at Malmstrom AFB , Montana , on 1 July 1993 . On 1 February 1993 ACC dropped the 319th Bomb Wing ' s primary nuclear mission and gave the wing the primary mission of B - 1B conventional bombardment operations . The wing began planning and training to support such a mission to counter worldwide regional threats . Refueling era . On 1 October 1993 the Air Force redesignated the 319th Bomb Wing as the 319th Air Refueling Wing . The wing was reassigned from the Air Combat Command to the Air Mobility Command . It also reacquired the 905th Air Refueling Squadron and its KC - 135R tankers while turning over its B - 1B bombers to the newly activated 319th Bombardment Group , an Air Combat Command organization . On 1 February 1994 the Air Mobility Command transferred the 906th Air Refueling Squadron from Minot AFB , North Dakota , to the 319th Air Refueling Wing . The 319th supported worldwide Tanker Task Forces , as well as , combat operations in Southwest Asia , Central Europe , and Counter Narco - Terror operations in Central America by providing air refueling for combat aircraft . Switch to Base Support . In March 2011 the wing lost its operational mission and was redesignated the 319th Air Base Wing . In September , the 69th Reconnaissance Group of Air Combat Command , flying the RQ - 4 Global Hawk was activated at Grand Forks . Although the 69th is assigned to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale AFB , California , it receives administrative and logistics support from the 319th . Lineage . Components . Squadrons . Operational Squadrons Support and Maintenance Squadrons References . Bibliography . Further Reading