36th Operations Group The 36th Operations Group ( 36 OG ) is the operational component of the 36th Wing , assigned to the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . The group is stationed at Andersen Air Force Base , Guam . The groups World War II predecessor unit , the 36th Fighter Group was a prewar unit deployed to the European Theater and assigned to Ninth Air Force . The group flew P - 47 Thunderbolts and earned a Distinguished Unit Citation for operations on 1 September 1944 when , in a series of missions , the group attacked German columns south of the Loire River in order to disrupt the enemy ' s retreat across central France to Dijon . Overview . The 36th OG assumed the mission of the 36th Expeditionary Operations Group on 14 February 2007 and established a permanent command structure for deployed Air Force units assigned to Andersen AFB . History . World War II . The 36th Pursuit Group ( Interceptor ) was activated on 1 February 1940 at Langley Field , Virginia . Initial training of the group was with the Curtiss P - 36 Hawk . The group was moved to Losey Army Airfield , Puerto Rico in January 1941 where it was equipped with Bell P - 39 Airacobras and Curtiss P - 40 Warhawks . In Puerto Rico , the 36th served as part of the defense force for the Caribbean area and Panama Canal , and flew antisubmarine patrols . The group was redesignated the 36th Fighter Group in May 1942 and returned to Morrison Army Airfield , Florida where it trained with Republic P - 47 Thunderbolts . From 1942 through 1944 , the 36th trained at several airfields in the United States before deploying to RAF Kingsnorth , England in April 1944 as part of Ninth Air Force , serving in combat as part of the European theater . With Ninth Air Force , the group operated primarily as a P - 47 fighter - bomber organization as part of the 303d Fighter Wing , XIX Tactical Air Command . Operational missions included strafing and dive - bombing armored vehicles , trains , bridges , buildings , factories , troop concentrations , gun emplacements , airfields , and other targets in preparation for the invasion of Normandy . The 36th FG also flew some escort missions with Eighth Air Force Boeing B - 17 Flying Fortress and Consolidated B - 24 Liberator strategic bombers . The 36th participated in the June 1944 D - Day invasion of France in by patrolling the air over the landing zones and by flying close - support and interdiction missions . The group moved to its Advanced Landing Ground at Brucheville , France ( A - 16 ) in July , then eastward as ground forces advanced on the continent . Operations supported the breakthrough at Saint - Lô in July and the thrust of U . S . Third Army toward Germany in August and September . The group earned a Distinguished Unit Citation for operations on 1 September 1944 when , in a series of missions , the group attacked German columns south of the Loire in order to disrupt the enemy ' s retreat across central France to Dijon . In October , the group moved into Belgium to support U . S . Ninth Army . The 36th Fighter Group participated in the Battle of the Bulge during December 1944 and January 1945 by flying armed reconnaissance and close - support missions . Aided U . S . First Army ' s push across the Roer River in February 1945 . Supported operations at the Remagen bridgehead and during the airborne assault across the Rhine in March . The group received a second Distinguished Unit Citation for performance on 12 April 1945 when the group , operating through intense anti - aircraft fire , relentlessly attacked airfields in southern Germany , destroying a large hangar and numerous aircraft . By V - E Day , the group was based at Kassel / Rothwesten airfield , Germany ( ALG R - 12 ) , where it remained until February 1946 as part of the United States Air Forces in Europe Army of Occupation . In February , the group was transferred , without personnel or equipment to Bolling Field , Washington , D . C where the groups fighter squadrons were inactivated . Caribbean Air Command . On 15 October 1946 , Headquarters , 36th Fighter Group was transferred to Howard Army Airfield , Panama Canal Zone as part of the Panama Canal defense forces . In Central America , the group conducted air defense training missions for the next two years initially with P - 47 ' s . The group upgraded to jet aircraft in December 1947 with the arrival of the Lockheed F - 80 Shooting Star . On 2 July 1948 , the United States Air Force 36th Fighter Wing was activated at Howard Air Force Base . The former USAAF 36th Fighter Group became the operational component of the new Air Force wing . United States Air Forces in Europe . As a result of the Berlin Blockade and other Cold War tensions in Europe , the 36th Fighter Group was reassigned to USAFE . The squadron was assigned to Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base West Germany on 13 August 1948 , being the first USAFE unit to be jet - equipped with the Lockheed F - 80 " Shooting Star " . At Fürstenfeldbruck tactical operations included air defense , tactical exercises , maneuvers , and photographic reconnaissance . In May 1949 , the group formed the Skyblazers aerial demonstration team , which it controlled until August 1952 , and again from October 1956 to January 1962 when it was disbanded . On 20 January 1950 , the group was redesignated as the 36th Fighter - Bomber Group ( FBG ) when 89 Republic F - 84E " Thunderjets " arrived . Existing USAFE bases in West Germany , however , were deemed very vulnerable to an attack by the Soviet Union , given their proximity to East Germany and other Warsaw Pact nations . Negotiations with other NATO nations were made to build new bases west of the Rhine River . The F - 80s were sent back to CONUS to equip Air National Guard units . In addition to its primary installation at Fürstenfeldbruck , the wing controlled Oberpfaffenhofen AB , West Germany , December 1949 – February 1950 . The 36th FBG remained at Fürstenfeldbruck until 1952 when it was reassigned to the new Bitburg Air Base , in the Eifel mountains west of the Rhine River . Throughout the summer , elements of the 36th FBG moved into Bitburg , with the Group officially arriving in November 1952 . In August 1953 , the North American F - 86F " Sabre " was introduced to the group , replacing the F - 84s . On 31 March 1954 , The 1st Pilotless Bomber Squadron , equipped with the B - 61A Matador , was assigned to the 36th Fighter Bomber Group , Bitburg Air Base , Germany , making it the first operational U . S . missile unit . The 1st PBS eventually was renamed to Tactical Missile Squadron ( TMS ) , and in 1958 was renumbered to the 71st TMS and the unit was assigned to the 701st TMW at Hahn , although stationed at Bitburg Air Base . In August 1954 , the Group was redesignated as the 36th Fighter - Day Group . In 1956 , the group received the North American F - 100 " Super Sabre , " marking the first time a wing in USAFE flew supersonic jets . Group inactivated on 8 December 1957 when parent wing adopted Tri - Deputate organization and assigned operational squadrons directly to the wing . In 1977 the 36th Tactical Fighter Wing was the first wing in Europe to fly the new F - 15A and F - 15B Eagle air superiority fighters , replacing the F - 4E Phantoms of the 525 TFS , the 22 TFS and the 53 TFS . On 1 October 1991 the wing was redesignated as the 36th Fighter Wing when the objective wing concept was implemented . The 36th Operations Group was also activated to control the operational flying squadrons of the Wing . Bitburg Air Base was part of the 1993 Base Realignment and Closure ( or BRAC ) process that saw the drawdown of many military facilities in a series of post - Cold War force reductions . In July 1993 , HQ USAFE announced the closure of Bitburg Air Base and the pending inactivation of the 36th Fighter Wing . On 1 October 1994 the 36th Fighter Wing was inactivated along with all subordinate units . Pacific Air Forces . The 36th Wing was reactivated without personnel or equipment at Andersen AFB , Guam the same day as the 36th Air Base Wing , a non - flying organization taking over as the host unit . The former host unit , 633d Air Base Wing was inactivated in keeping with the Air Force Chief of Staff ' s policy of keeping the most highly decorated and longest serving Air Force units on active duty . With no aircraft permanently assigned , the 36th Operations Group was not activated , but instead converted to provisional status as the 36th Expeditionary Operations Group . The 36 EOG was under the control of HQ , Pacific Air Forces with a mission to support deployed aircraft to PACAF . It could , and was activated and inactivated as needed by the demands of the mission . The 36th Operations Group was re - established as a permanent unit on 14 February 2007 , replacing the temporary structure of the provisional Expeditionary Group for deployed Air Force units assigned to Andersen AFB .