347th Rescue Wing The 347th Rescue Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit . It was last assigned to the Air Force Special Operations Command , stationed at Moody Air Force Base , Georgia . It was inactivated on 1 October 2006 . History . Provided air defense of Japanese territory Aug 1948 – Mar 1950 . Reactivated in Jan 1968 at Yokota AB , performed air defense and reconnaissance missions over Japan and South Korea through early May 1971 . Reactivated in May 1971 at Mountain Home AFB , Idaho , replacing the 67 TFW which moved in July 1971 to Bergstrom Air Force Base , Texas . Equipped with F - 111F Aardvarks , the 347th had a short stay at Mountain Home , conducting F - 111F training until October 1972 , when the 366 TFW moved from Vietnam to Mountain Home . Upon its arrival , the 366th absorbed all the personnel and equipment of the 347th . Vietnam War . On 30 July 1973 the 347th Tactical Fighter Wing which was reactivated at Takhli RTFB , Thailand replacing the 474th TFW which returned to the United States . The wing retained two squadrons of F - 111As of the 474th , and for a brief two - week period the 347th flew combat operations into Cambodia until 15 August , when the last wartime mission of the Vietnam Era was flown into Cambodia for final mission of Constant Guard . After the cease - fire , the wing was maintained in a combat - ready status for possible contingency After the end of combat missions in Indochina , the 347th moved to Korat RTAFB , Thailand in 1974 after the closure of Taklhi and remained in Southeast Asia through May 1975 to undertake strike missions in the event of further contingency operations . Participated in numerous exercises and firepower demonstrations , and , during Jan – May 1975 , flew sea surveillance missions . Participated in the recovery of the American merchantman SS Mayaguez from Cambodian forces in May 1975 . Post Vietnam era . Replaced Det . 1 , 363d Combat Support Group at Moody AFB and trained to become proficient in F - 4E aircraft . Assumed responsibility for operating Moody AFB in Dec 1975 . Thereafter , conducted frequent exercise deployments in the U . S . and overseas to maintain capabilities specializing in air - to - ground attack using precision - guided weapons . Transitioned to F - 16A / B aircraft , 1988 – 1989 , and oriented mission planning toward NATO requirements by conducting squadron - strength deployments to Europe . Began upgrading to F - 16C / D in Jan 1990 and in Aug 1990 became first operational TAC unit to employ the LANTIRN all - weather / night navigation and bombing system . Sent support personnel to Southwest Asia in Aug 1990 , and in Jan 1991 deployed one fighter squadron to fly combat missions . Following the ceasefire , continued to support peace - keeping operations with periodic aircraft deployments to Saudi Arabia . As a result of hurricane damage at Homestead AFB , FL , two fighter squadrons from there moved to Moody AFB in Aug 1992 , and in Nov 1992 were assigned to the 347th , making it the largest F - 16 wing in the USAF . Regularly deployed elements to Southwest Asia to support Operation Southern Watch and other contingencies . Modern era . Became a composite wing in 1994 with the addition of airlift and close air support elements , and as part of the realignment of the post Cold - War Air Force , HQ ACC converted and realigned the 347th Fighter Wing to the 347th Wing ( 347 WG ) on 1 July 1994 , with a new mission being that of a force projection , air / land composite wing . On 1 April 1997 the 347th Wing added a combat search and rescue ( CSAR ) component with the addition of the 41st Rescue Squadron ( 41 RQS ) with HH - 60G helicopters and the 71st Rescue Squadron ( 71 RQS ) with specialized HC - 130P aircraft , both units transferring from Patrick AFB , Florida . To make room for these squadrons , the 52d Airlift Squadron was inactivated , with its C - 130s being transferred to the 71 RQS . The F - 16s of the 347th Wing began to be transferred out as the " Composite Wing " concept ended at Moody . The 70 FS was inactivated on 30 June 2000 , the 69 FS inactivated on 2 February 2001 , and the 68 FS was inactivated on 1 April . The F - 16s and A - 10s / OA - 10s were transferred to various active - duty , Air Force Reserve Command and Air National Guard squadrons both in CONUS as well as overseas . On 1 May 2001 , the 347th Wing stood down as a composite wing and stood up as the 347th Rescue Wing ( 347 RQW ) , becoming the Air Force ' s only active - duty combat search and rescue wing . On 1 October 2003 , Moody was transferred from Air Combat Command to Air Force Special Operations Command ( AFSOC ) . With the change of assignment the 347th Rescue Wing was transferred from ACC to AFSOC . This was a short - lived experiment that temporarily placed all USAF air rescue assets ( Active , Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard ) under AFSOC . On 1 October 2005 , the 347 RQW returned to Air Combat Command Inactivated on 1 October 2006 , personnel and equipment being reassigned to the 23d Wing which was moved to Moody from Pope AFB , North Carolina . Components . Groups Squadrons