43d Operations Group The 43d Operations Group ( 43 OG ) was the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 43d Airlift Wing . It is stationed at Pope Field , North Carolina ( formerly Pope AFB ) , and is assigned to the Air Mobility Command ( AMC ) Eighteenth Air Force . The unit was Air Mobility Command ' s only active - duty C - 130 Hercules group and is composed of two flying squadrons , an aerial port squadron , the only active Air Force aeromedical evacuation squadron , and an operations support squadron . The 43 OG was rolled into the 43d Airlift Group , which activated on 1 March 2011 . Overview . The 43 OG was part of the air force component of United States Transportation Command . It provides airlift , special missions , and tactical aeromedical evacuation for U . S . troops and regional Unified Commands using C - 130 Hercules aircraft . It is composed of the following squadrons : The unit ' s World War II predecessor unit , the 43d Bombardment Group , operated primarily in the Southwest Pacific Theater as a B - 17 Flying Fortress , and later a B - 24 Liberator heavy bomber unit assigned to Fifth Air Force . It was awarded two United States Distinguished Unit Citation s and the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for its combat service in China ; Netherlands East Indies ; New Guinea ; the Bismarck Archipelago ; the Western Pacific ; Leyte , Luzon , and Okinawa . In the postwar era , the 43d Bombardment Group was one of the first USAAF units assigned to the Strategic Air Command on 1 October 1946 , prior to the establishment of the United States Air Force as a redesignation of the 444th Bombardment Group due to the Air Force ' s policy of retaining only low - numbered groups on active duty after the war . It conducted long - range test missions , including the first nonstop flight around the world ( 26 February - 2 March 1949 ) , accomplished in " Lucky Lady II " , a B - 50A ( 46 – 10 ) commanded by Capt James G Gallagher . The group was inactivated in 1952 when the parent wing adopted the Tri - Deputate organization and assigned all of the groups squadrons directly to the wing . Reactivated as the 43d Operations Group in 1992 when the 43d Air Refueling Wing adopted the USAF Objective organization plan . History . World War II . The 43d trained for bombardment operations during most of 1941 . From December 1941 – February 1942 , it flew antisubmarine patrols along the New England coast . It then moved to the Southwest Pacific via Cape Town , South Africa , from February – March 1942 . It attacked Japanese shipping in the Netherlands East Indies and the Bismarck Archipelago from bases in Australia , New Guinea , and Owi Island between August 1942 and November 1944 . While there it earned a Distinguished Unit Citation ( DUC ) for missions over Papua , New Guinea from August 1942 – January 1943 . The unit used skip bombing to sink Japanese ships during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea , 2 – 4 March 1943 , for which the unit earned a second DUC . It also provided support for ground forces on New Guinea and attacked airfields and other enemy installations in New Guinea , the Bismarck Archipelago , Yap , Palau , and the southern Philippines in 1943 and 1944 . The group conducted long - range raids on oil refineries on Ceram and Borneo late in the war . After moving to the Philippines in November 1944 , the group attacked shipping along the Asiatic coast and struck factories , airfields , and other installations in China and on Formosa . It also supported ground forces on Luzon . The unit moved to Ie Shima in July 1945 , from which it conducted raids against airfields and railways in Japan and against shipping in the Inland Sea and the Sea of Japan . It was moved on paper to the Philippines in December 1945 and inactivated in April 1946 . Cold War . During the next period of activation , between October 1946 and February 1951 , the group trained and conducted long - range test missions , including the first nonstop flight around the world ( 26 February – 2 March 1949 ) , accomplished by Capt James G . Gallagher and his crew in a B - 50 called " Lucky Lady II " . The group deployed to England for training , August – November 1949 . It was not operational after 10 February 1951 , and the flying squadrons attached directly to the 43d Wing for operations . Inactivated on 16 June 1952 . The 43d Operations Group was activated on 1 June 1992 . Between June 1992 and 1 July 1994 , the group flew air refueling missions in training exercises and was then inactivated . In 1997 , it was reactivated and assumed an airlift mission . It cooperated with U . S . Army airborne organizations at nearby Fort Bragg , taking part with them in joint training exercises . Crews and aircraft deployed to Europe and later to Southwest Asia to support contingency operations such as enforcement of no - fly zones over Iraq and for expeditionary force rotations . After terrorist attacks on the U . S . on 11 September 2001 , deployed resources in the Global War on Terror .