17th Training Group The 17th Training Group ( 17 TG ) is a component organization of the 17th Training Wing assigned to the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . The group is stationed at Goodfellow Air Force Base , Texas . The Group is a direct successor to the 17th Pursuit Group , one of the 15 original combat air groups formed by the Army before World War II . The 17th ' s heritage traces back to World War I , when the 95th Aero Squadron played a key role in the St . Mihiel , Meuse - Argonne , and other Allied campaigns . These battles are symbolized by the seven pattee crosses on the 17th ' s shield , and it was from the 95th , together with the 34th and 73d Pursuit Squadron s , that the 17th first was formed . The Group ' s aircraft and many of its aircrews took part in the 1942 Doolittle Raid on Imperial Japan came from the 17th Bombardment Group . During World War II the 17th Bomb Group was the only combat organization to fight all three of the Axis powers ( Japan , Italy , and Germany ) on three continents ( Asia , Africa , and Europe ) . Overview . The mission of the group is to produce the world ' s best Intelligence , Fire Protection , and Special Instruments mission - ready warriors . Units . The group is composed of a number of squadrons , each with a particular mission for training . History . Origins . Authorized originally as the 17th Observation Group on 18 October 1927 , the unit was redesignated the 17th Pursuit Group and finally activated at March Field , California , on 15 July 1931 . At March , it operated Boeing P - 12 and P - 26 fighter aircraft until , in 1935 , it was redesignated the 17th Attack Group and acquired the Northrup A - 17 attack bomber . In 1939 the unit was redesignated again , becoming the 17th Bombardment Group ( Medium ) and converting to the Douglas B - 18 bomber . World War II . Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 , the 17th Bombardment Group flew anti - submarine patrols off the west coast of the United States with the new North American B - 25 Mitchell medium bomber . As the first unit to operate the B - 25 , the 17th achieved another " first " on 24 December 1941 when one of its Mitchells dropped four 300 - pound bombs on a Japanese submarine near the mouth of the Columbia River . Doolittle Raid . In February 1942 the group transferred to Columbia Army Air Field in South Carolina , where it practiced short take - offs and landings for yet another " first . " On the morning of 18 April 1942 , some 600 miles east of Japan , the aircraft carrier Hornet launched 16 Mitchells on the highly successful Doolittle raid on Tokyo and other Japanese cities . A boost to American morale , the raid marked the first combat launch of bombers from an aircraft carrier and the first American aerial attack on the Japanese mainland . Piloting the 16th Mitchell was 1Lt William Farrow , a Goodfellow graduate captured and subsequently executed by the Japanese after completing his mission . Following the Doolittle raid , the group transferred to Barksdale Field , Louisiana , and began training on the Martin B - 26 Marauder medium bomber . Twelfth Air Force . In December the group transferred once more , this time to Telergma Airport , Algeria , where it participated in the North African campaign as part of Twelfth Air Force . The aircraft of the 17th Group left for Africa equipped with the Norden Bombsight , however only the leader of each flight carried the Norden , with the remainder dropping their bombs when the leader dropped . As German fighter opposition declined , the Marauder crews in the Mediterranean began removing the four package guns . Upon the expulsion of Axis forces from North Africa in May 1943 , the 17th transferred to Sedrata Airfield , Algeria , to begin air operations against Pantelleria . Five by eight miles in dimension , the Mediterranean island sheltered an important Axis airfield with hangars carved into solid rock . Its sheer cliffs would have proved a daunting obstacle to amphibious invasion but precision bombardment by the 17th secured the surrender of the island ' s defenders in less than a month . As part of the Fifteenth Air Force , the group followed the Allied forces from North Africa from bases in Tunisia , Sardinia , Corsica , and France , the 17th conducted bombing missions against critical targets throughout the Mediterranean , Italy , southern France and Germany . It later returned to Twelfth Air Force in January 1944 . It received a Distinguished Unit Citation for its support of the Anzio invasion and another for its outstanding performance over Schweinfurt . For operations in support of the invasion of southern France , it received the French Croix de Guerre with Palm . All told , the group conducted 624 missions and participated in 11 campaigns during the war , finally returning to the United States and inactivating in November 1945 . Korean War . With war in Korea the group was activated to replace the Air Force Reserve 452d Bombardment Group when its term of service was up in May 1952 . Assigned to Far East Air Forces , being stationed at Pusan East ( K - 9 ) Air Base , South Korea , in May 1952 . There , the group flew Douglas B - 26 Invader light bombers on night intruder strikes along enemy supply routes . In August , the group switched to daylight formation raids , earning the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation by the end of the war in July 1953 . It flew one of the last if not the last mission of the Korean War . Cold War . On 10 October 1954 the unit received orders to move to Miho AFB , Japan . This move was accomplished and training operations commenced from Japan . The group was to be re outfitted with Martin B - 57 Canberra ' s , the new jet light bomber . On 26 January 1955 , due to problems in the B - 57 program , this decision was reversed and the unit was directed to transfer with 39 aircraft to Hurlburt Auxiliary Field Florida . Training flights continued through January . In February , all flying except that concerned with cruise control missions was terminated . The aircraft were stripped of all armament ( guns , turrets , sighting equipment and rocket racks ) and fitted with 625 gallon auxiliary tanks . On 16 April the first section of 4 aircraft departed . The last section departed on 19 April . Either a B - 29 or a C - 124 , as a lead ship , escorted each flight of four aircraft . The last aircraft landed in Hulburt on 29 April . At Hurlburt , was redesignated the 17th Bombardment Group ( Tactical ) and the unit transitioned to the Martin B - 57 Canberra and Douglas B - 66 Destroyer medium bombers before inactivating again in 1958 due to budgetary cuts . Group was eliminated from Wing ' s table of organization as part of the Air Force tri - deputate reorganization . Modern era . Assigned to the Second Air Force , the 17th Training Group was activated at Goodfellow Air Force Base on 1 July 1993 . At Goodfellow the 17th focused on cryptologic and general intelligence training while providing special instruments and fire protection training for multiservice personnel .