352d Special Operations Group The 352d Special Operations Group ( 352 SOG ) is an operational unit of the United States Air Force Special Operations Command currently stationed at RAF Mildenhall , United Kingdom . The unit ' s heritage dates back to 1944 as an air commando unit . The 352 SOG serves as the focal point for all U . S . Air Force special operations activities throughout the European theater in support of U . S . European Command ( USEUCOM ) , as well as Africa in support of U . S . Africa Command ( USAFRICOM ) and Southwest Asia and the Middle East in support of U . S . Central Command ( USCENTCOM ) . The 352 SOG is prepared to conduct a variety of high priority , low - visibility missions supporting U . S . and allied special operations forces during peacetime , joint operations exercises , and combat operations . It trains and performs special operations primarily in the USEUCOM and USAFRICOM area of operations , including establishing air assault landing zones , controlling close air support by strike aircraft and gunships , and providing trauma care for wounded and injured personnel . The group ' s origins date to 1944 as the 2nd Air Commando Group . The unit was assigned to Tenth Air Force in India , whose elements operated in Burma flying a mixture of fighters , bomber s , transports , military glider s and small planes performing operations behind the Japanese lines , and providing close air support for the British Fourteenth Army in the Burma Campaign . Units . It is made up of the : History . The group ' s lineage and honors have to be traced not just through its own history , but through the history of three earlier organizations , the 2nd Air Commando Group ( 1944 – 1945 ) ; the 702nd Strategic Missile Wing ( ICBM - Snark ) ( 1959 – 1961 ) and the 39th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery ( later Special Operations ) Wing ( 1969 – 1992 ) . World War II . The Air Commando Groups were born out of a simple need . That need was to support via light airplanes the evacuation and resupply requirements of British Long Range Penetration ( LRP ) groups , or Chindits , as they were affectionately called . Carrying the lethal firepower of both bombers and fighters combined with the logistical tentacles of a gamut of transports , gliders , and light aircraft , this organization would reach deep behind enemy lines to do battle . Formed as the 2d Air Commando Group at Lakeland Army Airfield / Drane Field in Lakeland , Florida on 22 April 1944 and sent to India under Colonel Arthur DeBolt , USAAF . The group trained for operations with North American O - 47 s , P - 51 Mustang s , C - 47 Skytrain s and L - 5 Sentinel aircraft as part of Third Air Force and in addition to operations at Drane Field , also trained at the Army Air Force School of Applied Tactics at Orlando Army Air Base , Florida . The 2d Air Commando Group moved to India during October – December 1944 where it was assigned to Tenth Air Force , the troop carrier squadron flying their C - 47s to India , arriving by late October ; a group advanced echelon arriving in mid - November ; and the majority of the group arriving in mid - December . The unit then served in the China - Burma - India Theatre of operations , with the fighter units flying missions over Bangkok , Thailand . Between November 1944 and May 1945 the group dropped supplies to Allied troops who were fighting the Japanese in the Chindwin Valley in Burma ; moved Chinese troops from Burma to China ; transported men , food , ammunition , and construction equipment to Burma ; dropped Gurka paratroops during the assault on Rangoon ; provided fighter support for Allied forces crossing the Irrawaddy River in February 1945 ; struck enemy airfields and transportation facilities ; escorted bombers to targets in the vicinity of Rangoon ; bombed targets in Thailand ; and flew reconnaissance missions . After May 1945 the fighter squadrons were in training , and in June the group ' s C - 47s were sent to Ledo to move road - building equipment . During June — July , most of its L - 5s were turned over to Fourteenth Air Force . Following the collapse of the Japanese in Burma , the 2nd Air Commando Group was sent to Okinawa to prepare for the invasion of Japan , but the war ended . The unit was sent to the United States beginning in October 1945 and disbanded on 12 November 1945 . Cold War . The unit was reestablished in June 1958 and consolidated / merged with the 702nd Strategic Missile Wing in July 1958 . As the only SM - 62 Snark missile wing in the USAF , the 702nd Strategic Missile Wing performed intercontinental missile test operations from Patrick AFB , Florida , April – June 1959 , and from the Atlantic Missile Range at Cape Canaveral AFS , Florida , c . December 1959 – June 1961 . Its operational component was the 556th Missile Squadron . On 27 May 1959 , the wing received its first operational missile at Presque Isle AFB , Maine . Ten months later , on 18 March 1960 , the Snark missile officially went on alert status . Thirty are known to have been deployed . The 702nd was not declared fully operational until February 1961 . In March 1961 , President John F . Kennedy declared the Snark " obsolete and of marginal military value " and on 25 June 1961 the 702nd was inactivated . The 702nd was redesignated as the 352d Special Operations Wing in July 1985 , but remained inactive , redesignating as the 352d Special Operations Group in September 1992 and activating in December of the same year . In August 1998 , the 352 SOG consolidated with the 39th Special Operations Wing ( 39 SOW ) . The parent 39 SOW was originally established as the 39th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Wing in 1969 as an Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service ( ARRS ) unit under Military Airlift Command ( MAC ) , to include rescue sorties during the Vietnam War from January 1970 until mid - 1971 , and also provided helicopter support to Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) intercontinental ballistic missile sites in the United States . After moving to Eglin AFB , Florida in June 1971 , the wing assumed responsibility for numerous ARRS rescue detachments in the Western Hemisphere and Europe . The 39 ARRW redesignated as the 39 SOW at Eglin AFB in 1989 and the unit trained and participated in special operations exercises , as well as continuing to fly rescue sorties . The wing headquarters and one squadron moved to Rhein - Main Air Base , West Germany in May 1989 and became the air component of Special Operations Command Europe ( SOCEUR ) . In May 1990 , following the establishment of Air Force Special Operations Command ( AFSOC ) , the 39 SOW transferred from MAC claimancy to that of AFSOC . Modern era . In response to Iraq ' s invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990 , the majority of the 39 SOW personnel deployed to Turkey ( 12 – 17 January 1991 ) , and operated as part of the Joint Special Operations Task Force ( JSOTF ) ELUSIVE CONCEPT . The wing moved to RAF Alconbury , England effective 1 January 1992 and continued to serve as the air component for SOCEUR . In December 1992 , the 39 SOW inactivated , replaced by the current 352nd Special Operations Group ( 352 SOG ) and consolidating activities from Rhein - Main AB and RAF Woodbridge . The 352 SOG trained for and performed special operations airland and airdrop missions in the U . S . European Command area of operations , including establishing air assault landing zones , controlling close air support by strike aircraft and gunships , and providing trauma care for wounded and injured personnel . Deployed elements also participated in Operation PROVIDE COMFORT II . During the 1990s , the group supported numerous humanitarian and combat operations in Europe , Africa , and Southwest Asia , including Operations PROVIDE PROMISE , DENY FLIGHT , and ALLIED FORCE in Yugoslavia , and PROVIDE COMFORT and NORTHERN WATCH over northern Iraq . In February 1995 , the 352 SOG relocated from RAF Alconbury to its current home of RAF Mildenhall . The 352 SOG rushed troops to Dubrovnik , Croatia , when an Air Force CT - 43A carrying U . S . Commerce Secretary Ron Brown crashed into a mountain . Arriving in a nasty rainstorm , 21 SOS MH - 53 Pave Low helicopters inserted the first search - and - rescue teams , followed by a 67 SOS MC - 130P . RAF Mildenhall crews remained on scene until the last body was removed . In 2002 , the 352 SOG took part in Operation Autumn Return , the non - combatant evacuation of American citizens from Abidjan , Cote d ' Ivoire . Today , the 352 SOG develops and implements peacetime and wartime contingency plans to effectively use fixed wing , helicopter , and personnel assets to conduct infiltration , exfiltration , and resupply of U . S . and allied special operations forces .