363d Training Group The 363d Flying Training Group ( 363 FTG ) was a United States Air Force unit . The group was assigned to the United States Air Force Ninth Air Force , stationed at Al Dhafra AB , United Arab Emirates . It was attached to the provisional 380th Air Expeditionary Wing as an associate unit . The mission of the group was to enable integration and interoperability with host Nations and other friendly nations through efforts including doctrine development , combined air operations and multi - national large force employment exercises . The 363 FTG commander was Colonel Jonathan M . Owens . In a ceremony on 11 July 2011 , the group was inactivated and replaced by the AFCENT Air Warfare Center . History . 363d Reconnaissance Wing . The 363d Reconnaissance Wing was activated on 15 August 1947 . It was reassigned to Langley AAFld , Virginia in December 1947 by the newly established USAF . It was redesignated the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing on 27 August 1948 . For budgetary reasons the unit was inactivated on 26 April 1949 , however it was again activated on 1 September 1950 at Langley . Due to the pressing needs of Far East Air Forces in Japan the 162nd TRS , flying RB - 26s , and the photo - processing 363rd Reconnaissance Technical Squadron ( RTS ) were reassigned from Langley to Itazuke AB Japan for Korean War service and began operations in August 1950 as part of the 543d Tactical Support Group . On 1 April 1951 , the 363d TRW was transferred to Shaw AFB , South Carolina . The 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing would remain at Shaw , under various designations , for the next 43 years . The wing ' s mission was to fly photographic , electronic and electronic intelligence missions to support both air and ground operations by American or Allied ground forces through its operational compoent , the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Group . In addition , the 363d provided combat crew training for reconnaissance aircrews . In 1958 , the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Group was inactivated , and its components were assigned directly to the Wing . In September 1957 , the RF - 101C began deliveries to Shaw . The C model combined the strengthened structure of the F - 101C with the camera installation of the RF - 101A . In addition , the RF - 101C differed from the RF - 101A in being able to accommodate a centerline nuclear weapon , so that it could carry out a secondary nuclear strike mission if ever called upon to do so . The RF - 101Cs served for a brief time alongside the RF - 101A , but quickly replaced them by May 1958 . In the autumn of 1962 , the pilots of the 363d played a major part in the Cuban Missile Crisis . Utilizing their RF - 101s for low - altitude photo - reconnaissance missions , they helped identify and track activities at Cuban missile sites , airfields , and port facilities . In awarding the wing the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award for its achievements , President John F . Kennedy said , " You gentlemen have contributed as much to the security of the United States as any group of men in our history . " The last USAF RF - 101C was phased out of the 31st TRTS , a replacement training unit at Shaw AFB , on 16 February 1971 and turned over to the Air National Guard . In 1956 , the RB - 66 Destroyer was assigned to the 363d TRW . They replaced the obsolescent RB - 26 Invader . The USAF RB - 66 force in the continental United States was concentrated at Shaw , with the first RB - 66C arriving on 1 February 1956 , and the aircraft would continue to operate from Shaw until its retirement in 1974 . Twelve RB - 66Cs initially flew with the 9th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron ( TRS ) , and then later with various training squadrons including the 4417th Combat Crew Training Squadron ( CCTS ) , 4411th CCTS , and 39th Tactical Electronic Warfare Training Squadron ( TEWTS ) , as well as the 4416th Test Squadron ( TS ) . In addition to their training function , Shaw personnel participated in all major exercises and tested and evaluated the RB / EB - B66 and equipment . The wing was alsoto augment , within 72 hours , either of the overseas tactical air forces ( PACAF and USAFE ) in case of crisis or war . Most early flying of the RB - 66C was devoted to getting the aircraft and crew ready for deployment and operations . It took longer than expected to have the electronic gear on the RB - 66C operational , as the equipment was continually being modified . Readiness rates for the RB - 66C in the late fifties and early sixties were below average , especially when compared to other new aircraft , such as the RF - 101 , introduced into the wing at Shaw during that same time . The RB - 66 eventually became the primary night photographic reconnaissance weapon system of the Tactical Air Command . 363d TRW RB - 66Cs carried out missions over Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 . They were first deployed for combat operations in Southeast Asia during April 1965 and shortly thereafter all were transferred to duty in Southeast Asia , where they carried most of the early electronic warfare operations during the early years of the US involvement in the war . Many B - 66s were deployed on 90 - day rotations to Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base and Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base during the Vietnam War . In Southeast Asia , these aircraft retained the Shaw tail code " JN " . During the period 1 April 1969 through 1 January 1973 there was a 39th TEWS flying EB - 66 ' s at Spangdahlem Air Base West Germany which was a separate unit unrelated to the 39th TEWTS . The McDonnell RF - 4C Phantom II ( Model 98DF ) was the unarmed photographic reconnaissance version of the USAF ' s F - 4C . The first production RF - 4Cs went in September 1964 to the 363d TRW ' s 33rd Tactical Reconnaissance Training Squadron . The first operational unit to receive the RF - 4C was the 16th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron of the 363rd TRW , achieving initial combat - readiness in August 1965 . The RF - 4C became the main USAF tactical reconnaissance aircraft for the next 25 years , before being phased out of active service in the early 1990s at the end of the Cold War . On 15 July 1971 , two EB - 57Es were transferred along with the RF - 4Cs of the 22d TRS from Bergstrom AFB , Texas , then transferred to the 16th TRS when the 22d TRS was inactivated . These aircraft were highly adapted to carry electronic countermeasures and were frequently deployed to Europe to support USAFE fighter activities . The 363d operated these aircraft until September 1974 then transferring them to the Air National Guard . They were the last B - 57s operated by the active - duty USAF . 363d Fighter Wing . The aging and phaseout of the RF - 4C aircraft fleet and the utility of the Lockheed TR - 1 in Europe for tactical reconnaissance led to the decision by the USAF to realign the mission of the 363d TRW . The reconnaissance training mission of the wing was terminated in 1981 and beginning in 1982 , the wing would become 363d Tactical Fighter Wing ( 363d TFW ) , being equipped with General Dynamics F - 16 aircraft . On 1 October 1981 , the 363d TRW was re - designated . The 363d TFW received its first F - 16 on 26 March 1982 . The 363d TFW flew F - 16A / B Block 10 aircraft until 1984 then converted to Block 15s ; F - 16C / D Block 25s in autumn 1985 and Block 42s in late 1991 . All aircraft carried the " SW " Tail Code . On 9 August 1990 , the 17th and 33d TFS of 363d TFW became the first F - 16 squadrons to deploy to the United Arab Emirates in Operation Desert Shield . Operating from Al Dhafra Air Base as the 363d Provisional Wing ( along with the 10th TFS from the 50th TFW , Hahn Air Base , Germany ) , the wing flew combat missions to Iraq and Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm between 17 January and 28 February 1991 . Following Desert Storm , the 19th and 33d Tactical Fighter Squadrons deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch , a coalition effort to enforce the Iraqi " No Fly Zone " south of the 32nd parallel north . The 33rd TFS made history when one of its pilots downed an Iraqi aircraft with an AIM - 120 missile . The incident marked the first time an AIM - 120 missile was fired in combat and was the first U . S . F - 16 air - to - air kill . With the closure of Myrtle Beach Air Force Base South Carolina and the inactivation of the 354th Fighter Wing , the 21st Tactical Fighter Squadron was activated at Shaw and received 30 Republic A / OA - 10 Thunderbolt IIs from the inactivating 355th Fighter Squadron on 1 April 1992 . All A - 10 aircraft with the 21st TFS were designated as OA - 10A . As a result of the August 1992 destruction of Homestead AFB Florida by Hurricane Andrew in September 1992 , the 31st Fighter Wing ' s 309th Fighter Squadron was initially evacuated to Shaw AFB prior to the hurricane making landfall . With Homstead unusable for an extended period after the hurricane , on 1 October 1992 the squadron was permanently assigned to the 20th FW . As a result of the end of the Cold War , the Air Force made several dramatic changes with the inactivation and re - designation of wings and their units . The 363d FW and all of its squadrons were inactivated on 1 January 1994 , being replaced at Shaw by the 20th Fighter Wing , being reassigned to Shaw from RAF Upper Heyford , England . 363d Air Expeditionary Wing . The 363d Air Expeditionary Wing ( 363 AEW ) was activated on 1 December 1998 and replaced the 4404th Wing ( Provisional ) when the United States Air Force inactivated all MAJCOM wings . The 363 AEW was the primary United States Air Force Air Expeditionary Wing responsible for Operation SOUTHERN WATCH ( OSW ) , which involved patrolling the Southern No - Fly Zone over Iraq below the 33rd Parallel . The Wing was inactivated after the onset of Operation Iraqi Freedom when all American combat forces left Saudi Arabia . Following Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 , US forces began to pull out of Prince Sultan Air Base . On 28 April the CAOC was shifted from PSAB to Al - Udeid in Qatar . On 29 April , Sec . Donald Rumsfeld announced that US forces would begin pulling out of Saudi Arabia and that forces in the country would be diverted to other locations . Rear Admiral David Nichols , the deputy commander of the air operation centre stated that much of the assets associated with the 363d AEW would be relocated by the end of the Summer 2003 . The 363d AEW completed its last operational mission supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom on 28 May 2003 completing a 13 - year , continuous mission USAF presence in Saudi Arabia . An E - 3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System deployed to the 363d Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron from Tinker Air Force Base , Okla . , flew the wing ' s last operational mission supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom . U . S . officials transferred control of portions of Prince Sultan Air Base to Saudi officials at a ceremony 26 August 2003 . The ceremony also marked the inactivation of the 363d Air Expeditionary Wing . 363d Training Group . On 26 March 2007 , the 363d Training Group ( 363 TRG ) was activated to facilitate the training of airmen from various nations ( Later renamed 363d Flying Training Group ( 363FTG ) ) . On 21 July 2011 , the 363rd Flying Training Group was inactivated . Lt . Gen . Mike Hostage , the commander of U . S . Air Force Central Command , presided over a ceremony in which the AFCENT Air Warfare Center was activated and the 363rd Flying Training Group was inactivated . Components . Groups Squadrons