27th Special Operations Wing The 27th Special Operations Wing ( 27 SOW ) is a wing of the United States Air Force stationed at Cannon Air Force Base , New Mexico . It is assigned to the Air Force Special Operations Command ( AFSOC ) . The mission of the 27 SOW includes infiltration , exfiltration and resupply of special operations forces ; air refueling of special operations rotary wing and tiltrotor aircraft ; and precision fire support . These capabilities support a variety of special operations missions including direct action , unconventional warfare , special reconnaissance , counter - terrorism , personnel recovery , psychological operations and information operations . The 27 SOW also is responsible for Melrose Range , an air training range near the neighboring town of Melrose , New Mexico . The Wing ' s origins date to 1939 as the 27th Bombardment Group . The group fought in the Pacific Ocean and Mediterranean , Middle East and African theatres . Its ground personnel fought as infantry in the 1941 – 1942 Battle of Bataan with the survivors being forced to march as prisoners in the Bataan Death March . Its air echelon went on to be awarded five Distinguished Unit Citation s and a Philippine Presidential Unit Citation . The Airmen of the 27th were among the most decorated USAAF units of the war . The 27th Special Operations Group carries the lineage and history of its highly decorated World War II predecessor unit . The commander of the 27th Special Operations Wing is Colonel Tony D . Bauernfeind . The Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sergeant William W . Turner . History . Postwar era . Established as 27 Fighter Wing on 28 July 1947 at Kearney AAF , Nebraska with the 27th Fighter Group as its operational component . Fighter Squadrons of the 27th were the 522nd , 523rd and 524th . The 27th was initially equipped with the North American P - 51D Mustang , and in 1948 was upgraded to the new North American F - 82E Twin Mustang . In June 1948 the designation " P " for pursuit was changed to " F " for fighter . Subsequently , all P - 51s were redesignated F - 51s . The mission of the 27th Fighter Wing was to fly long - range escort missions for SAC Boeing B - 29 Superfortress bombers . With the arrival of the F - 82s , the older F - 51s were sent to Air National Guard units . The first production F - 82Es reached the 27th in early 1948 , and almost immediately the group was deployed to McChord AFB , Washington , in June where its squadrons stood on alert on a secondary air defense mission due to heightened tensions over the Berlin Airlift . It was also believed that the 27th would launch an escort mission , presumably to the Soviet Union , if conflict broke out in Europe . From McChord , the group flew its Twin Mustangs on weather reconnaissance missions over the northwest Pacific , but problems were encountered with their fuel tanks . Decommissioned F - 61 Black Widow external tanks were found at Hamilton AFB , California that could be modified for the F - 82 which were fitted on the pylons of the Twin Mustang that solved the problem . With a reduction in tensions , the 27th returned to its home base in Nebraska during September where the unit settled down to transition flying with their aircraft . Four F - 82s were deployed to Alaska from McChord where the pilots provided transition training to the 449th Fighter ( All Weather ) Squadron which used Twin Mustangs in the air defense mission . They remained in Alaska for about 45 days , returning to rejoin the rest of the group at the beginning of November 1948 . In January 1949 , Eighth Air Force planned a large celebration at Carswell AFB . All of its assigned units were to participate in a coordinated flyover . Most of SAC ' s bombers were to participate , along with SAC ' s only " Long Range " fighter group , the 27th . The weather in Nebraska in January that year was especially horrible , with most airports in the Midwest weathered in the day of the display . At Kearney AFB , the base was socked - in with a blizzard . Nevertheless , the crews had an early morning mission briefing , the aircraft in the hangars were preflighted and prepared for the flyover mission . Paths were cut though the snow for the aircraft to taxi and somehow the F - 82s got airborne , with the 27th ' s Twin Mustangs joining up with SAC bombers over Oklahoma on schedule . The flyover by the Twin Mustangs was a tremendous success , with SAC leadership being amazed that the F - 82 was truly an " all weather " aircraft and the 27th being able to carry out their mission despite the weather . In early 1949 , the 27th began carrying out long - range escort profile missions . Flights to Puerto Rico , Mexico , the Bahamas and nonstop to Washington D . C were carried out . For President Truman ' s 1949 inauguration , the 27th FEW launched 48 aircraft to fly in review , along with several other fighter units , in formation down Pennsylvania Avenue . Another flyover over the newly - dedicated Idlewild Airport in New York City soon followed , with the aircraft flying non - stop from Kearney AFB . With the tight defense budgets in the late 1940s , the decision was made by Strategic Air Command decided to close Kearney AFB in 1949 . The 27th Fighter Wing was transferred to Bergstrom AFB Texas on 16 March . At Bergstrom , the 27th transitioned to jet aircraft with Republic Aviation F - 84E Thunderjet in 1950 , and was redesignated the 27th Fighter - Escort Wing on 1 February . The wing won the Mackay Trophy for successful deployment of 90 F - 84s from Bergstrom AFB , to Furstenfeldbruck Air Base West Germany , in September 1950 , via Labrador , Greenland , Iceland , and England . This was the Second ( the first being the 20th FG flying 64 F - 84Ds on 20 July 1950 during Operation " READY " from Shaw AB , SC to RAF Manston , UK ) long - range mass flight of jet aircraft in aviation history . Korean War . The Korean War began in June 1950 and by November the wing was transferred with the advance echelon landing at Taegu AB , South Korea on 5 December and the rear echelon at Itazuke AB , Japan on 1 December . Combat operations in support of the UN ground forces began immediately and continued after the advance echelon was transferred to Itazuke in late January 1951 . The 27th Fighter Escort Wing was one of the first F - 84 units to see combat action in Korea and earned numerous honors and awards for their combat record during the Korean War . The 27th flew missions in support of ground forces , earning another DUC for missions between 26 January and 21 April 1951 . Among these missions was close support of the largest paratroop landing in the Korean War and escort for B - 29 Superfortress bombers on raids over North Korea , including air - to - air combat with enemy MiG - 15 fighters . For its Korean War service , the 27th Fighter - Escort Wing received the Distinguished Unit Citation , covering the period of 26 January through 21 April 1951 , for their actions in Korea . The 27th was relieved of its duties supporting U . N . forces in Korea and returned to Bergstrom on 31 July 1951 . Re - equipped with F - 84G Thunderjet s , the wing redeployed to Misawa Air Base , Japan , for a tour in providing air defense of the Japanese home islands . This mission made stops at Travis AFB , California ; Hickam AFB , Hawaii Territory , and Midway Island . At Misawa , the 27th relieved the 31st FEW which had been performing the air defense mission . The 27th was itself relieved at Misawa on 13 February 1953 by the 508th Strategic Fighter Wing and reutnred to Bergstrom where they were re - equipped with new F - 84F Thunderstreak s . Cold War . On 20 January 1953 the wing was redesignated as the 27th Strategic Fighter Wing . From June 1953 – June 1957 the 27th had air refueling as an additional mission , with the 27th Air Refueling Squadron flying the KB - 29P aerial tanker . Wing pilot Capt Forrest W . Wilson , in an F - 84G , won the Allison Trophy jet aircraft race of the National Aircraft Show at Dayton , Ohio , on 6 September 1953 , flying the 110 . 3 - mile course at an average speed of 537 . 802 mph in 12 : 17 . 2 minutes . Due to the phasing out of the B - 50 and B - 36 and the arrival of the B - 47 Stratojet and B - 52 Stratofortress into the SAC inventory , SAC began to phase out its strategic fighter program in 1956 . It was felt that the long - range fighter escorts were no longer necessary for the new fast jet bombers . On 1 July 1957 , the 27th was redesigned the 27th Fighter - Bomber Wing and was assigned to Tactical Air Command along with Bergstrom AFB . Under TAC , the Wing was assigned to the Twelfth Air Force was re - equipped with the new McDonnell F - 101A Voodoo . Consisting of the 481st , 522nd , and 523rd Fighter - Bomber squadrons , the mission of the 27th FBW was to deliver a centerline nuclear bomb to a target . The F - 101A was capable of little else and although designated as a fighter aircraft , it had poor aerial combat capabilities and would not have fared well in any air - to - air combat against enemy aircraft . Maj Adrian E . Drew , wing F - 101 project officer , broke the world speed record on 12 December 1957 when he flew an F - 101A over a Mojave Desert course at 1 , 212 . 8 mph in one direction and 1 , 207 . 5 mph in the opposite direction . HQ USAF redesignated the wing the 27th Tactical Fighter Wing on 1 July 1958 as part of a worldwide naming change . On 18 February 1959 , the 27th was inactivated , as SAC reacquired Bergstrom as a B - 52 / KC - 135 base . The 27th was immediately transferred and reactivated at Cannon AFB , New Mexico , being equipped with the North American F - 100 " Super Sabre " , replacing the 312th Tactical Fighter Wing . Vietnam War . During the Vietnam War , the 27th TFW deployed individual F - 100 squadrons to Southeast Asia , which included Thailand , Vietnam and the Philippines . Units from Cannon deployed the first F - 100 squadron to Thailand in 1962 – 1963 , and South Vietnam in 1964 . Beginning in 1964 and throughout the Vietnam War years squadrons from the 27th TFW were deployed and detached to Air Force units and bases around the world . The 27th did not recombine as a cohesive wing until 1973 . In December 1965 , with most of its operational squadrons deployed , the mission of the 27th changed from a Tactical Fighter Wing to a replacement training unit . The 27th Tactical Fighter Wing became the largest such unit in TAC . The 4585th Student Squadron was initially activated on 1 January 1966 to perform this mission . Later , the 4429th Combat Crew Training Squadron was activated on 15 May 1968 as a 2nd training squadron , replacing the deployed 523rd TFS . Many F - 100 pilots that flew in the Vietnam War were trained at Cannon AFB . From Cannon , the aircrews were transferred to the F - 100 bases in South Vietnam – Phù Cát Air Base ( 37th TFW ) ; Phan Rang AB ( 35th TFW ) and Tuy Hoa AB ( 31st TFW ) . The 27th also trained forward air controllers and air liaison officers in Lockheed T - 33 Shooting Stars from 1969 to 1976 . The 4468 Tac Control Squadron initially performed this mission in 1969 , being replaced by the 609th Tactical Control Squadron . The 609th TCS was inactivated on 15 June 1976 . Post - Vietnam era . With the withdrawal of the F - 100 from Vietnam in 1970 , and the phaseout of the aircraft from the active Air Force inventory , the 27th TFW began conversion to the General Dynamics F - 111D " Aardvark " . In July 1969 , on loan from Nellis AFB Nevada , 10 F - 111As facilitated training while the wing waited for its own planes . F - 111Es began arriving in October 1969 , but their stay was short . In the summer of 1971 wing aircrews ferried the last of them to RAF Upper Heyford England . In 1971 , the 27th TFW received the first of its F - 111Ds , and in July 1972 , the last operational active duty Air Force F - 100s were transferred from the 27th TFW to the Air National Guard . The mission of the 27th TFW expanded in 1988 as a result of decisions made by the Secretary of Defense ’ s Commission on Base Realignment and Closures when the 27th was equipped with the F - 111G . ( The " G " model was a conversion of the SAC FB - 111A all - weather strategic bombing version of the F - 111 , which was originally intended as an interim successor to the Boeing B - 52 Stratofortress and Convair B - 58 Hustler . ) These aircraft , less their nuclear delivery capability , were transferred to Cannon following the disbandment of SAC ' s 509th Bomb Wing at Pease AFB New Hampshire and the 380th Bomb Wing at Plattsburgh AFB , New York . The F - 111Gs were used primarily for training , but was scheduled to be supplanted in the training role by the F - 111E . This made the F - 111G surplus to USAF requirements , and the F - 111G began to be transferred to AMARC for storage in 1991 with the arrival of the " E " models with the 428th TFTS . The last G model was sent to AMARC in 1993 . Personnel of the 27th TFW played a role during Operation Desert Shield / Storm . Aircrews and aircraft of the 27th did not deploy to the region , but support personnel and a combat support group element of the wing ' s 27th Combat Support Group , commanded by Colonel David Benson , deployed to Taif . On 16 January 1991 , when the U . S . led coalition force initiated the Desert Storm air campaign against Iraq , the 27th TFW had 325 personnel serving in the Persian Gulf region in combat support roles . 1990s to today . On 1 November 1991 , the 27 TFW was re - designated the 27th Fighter Wing as part of an Air Force - wide reorganization . As part of the implentation of the " Objective Wing " concept adapted by the Air Force The 27th Operations Group was bestowed the lineage , honors and history of its predecessor history and honors of the 27 Tactical Fighter Group and its predecessor units . The 27 OG took control of the wings fighter squadrons upon activation . In June 1992 , the 27 FW became part of a new major command – Air Combat Command . ACC was created when SAC , TAC , and the Military Airlift Command merged to form two commands , ACC and the Air Mobility Command . After enemy attacks on New York and Washington in 2001 , the wing deployed personnel and aircraft globally in operations associated with the War on Terror . History . Components . Wing Group Squadron