57th Operations Group The 57th Operations Group ( 57 OG ) is a non - flying component of the 57th Wing , assigned to the United States Air Force ' s Air Combat Command . The group is stationed at Nellis Air Force Base , Nevada . Overview . The 57th Operations Group ( OG ) provides direct oversight of the Nellis flying mission through the 57th Operations Support Squadron . They manage the airfield , operate the air traffic control tower , and the Nellis Air Traffic Control Facility providing radar service to local flying operations and the National Airspace System . It is responsible for scheduling , training , life support , weapons , tactics and planning staff functions . In addition to these functions , it also maintains administrative oversight of the 57th ATG staff and the 57th Wing staff . The 57th OG also directs execution of two of the world ' s premier combat training exercises , RED FLAG and GREEN FLAG . Units . The 57th Operations Group became a non - flying organization when on 1 July 2005 , the flying squadrons of the 57 OG were split off into the new 57th Adversary Tactics Group ; but will change again in September when the 30th Recon Squadron was activated for UAV " Sentenal " s . Current units assigned to the group are : History . World War II . The group was first activated as the 57th Pursuit Group in January 1941 , flying P - 40 Warhawk s as part of the Army Air Corps Northeast Defense Sector ( later assigned to the I Fighter Command ) at Mitchel Field , New York . Trained in New England and provided air defense of the northeast after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . It was redesignated as the 57th Fighter Group ( FG ) in May 1942 . The 57th FG was reassigned to the U . S . Army Middle East Force in Egypt , July 1942 , officially becoming part of IX Fighter Command . However , prior to the group officially commencing operations , individual 57th FG pilots were attached to , and flew combat sorties with , P - 40 squadrons of the Royal Air Force ( RAF ) , South African Air Force ( SAAF ) and Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) , belonging to No . 211 Group , Desert Air Force . In October 1942 , the 57th FG officially began combat operations as a formation . The group took part in the Battle of El Alamein and , as part of Ninth Air Force , supported the Commonwealth Eighth Army ' s drive across Egypt and Libya , escorting bomber s and flying strafing and dive - bombing missions against airfields , communications , and troop concentrations until Axis defeat in Tunisia in May 1943 . The unit participated in the reduction of Pantelleria ( May – June 1943 ) and the conquest of Sicily ( July – August 1943 ) . For front - line operations in direct support of the Eighth Army from the Battle of El Alamein to the capitulation of enemy forces in Sicily , the group received a Distinguished Unit Citation ( DUC ) . In an aerial battle over the Gulf of Tunis at Cape Bon in April 1943 , the group destroyed approximately 74 of the enemy ' s transport and fighter aircraft while sending an equal number down to the sea and beaches to escape by crash landing . The 57th lost just six aircraft in this melee . Forever known by the 57th as the " 18 April 1943 Goose Shoot – " The Palm Sunday Massacre , " " it received another DUC and it added four newly created aces . This action broke the German ' s aerial supply line and they surrendered Tunisia thirty days later . The 57th supported the British Eighth Army ' s landing at Termoli and subsequent operations in Italy , being reassigned to Twelfth Air Force in August 1943 . It flew dive - bombing , strafing , patrol , and escort missions . Early in 1944 , the group converted to P - 47 Thunderbolt aircraft and flew interdiction operations in Italy . The group moved to Corsica on 30 March 1944 to operate as a separate task force . It flew interdiction missions against railroads , communication targets , and motor vehicle s behind enemy lines , providing a minimum of 48 fighter - bomber sorties per day . During 9 days of combat operations during early April 1944 , the 57th exceeded 50 sorties per day . While the group was stationed on Corsica , director William Wyler made a 45 minute long Technicolor documentary film , filming combat missions of the 57th . The film concentrated on Operation Strangle . The film was released for the military in 1945 and for general release in 1947 . The group earned a third DUC c . 14 April 1944 for attacks in the Florence - Arezzo area . The group participated in the French campaign against Elba in June 1944 and in the invasion of Southern France in August . It engaged in interdiction and support operations in northern Italy from September 1944 to May 1945 . For its operations in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations , the 57th earned the French Croix de Guerre ( Cross of War ) with Palm ( awarded in late 1967 ) . It was inactivated on 13 April 1953 . The group remained in northern Italy after the end of the European War , demobilizing throughout the summer of 1945 . It was reassigned to the United States in August 1945 and was inactivated at the end of August . Cold War . The group was reactivated in August 1946 and assigned to Alaskan Air Command as part of the air defense forces in the northwest Pacific . It provided air defense initially in the Aleutian Islands , then moved in 1947 to Elmendorf Air Force Base . In 1948 , as a result of the wing / base reorganization of the Air Force ( Hobson Plan ) , the group became part of the 57th Fighter Wing , which included three support groups in addition to the group . In January 1950 , it was redesignated as the 57th Fighter - Interceptor Group . In January 1951 , its parent 57th Fighter - Interceptor Wing inactivated , although the group remained active as part of the AAC air defense until 1 November 1952 when its personnel were reassigned and it became a paper unit . It was inactivated on 13 April 1953 . The group was reactivated at Paine Field , WA as the 57th Fighter Group ( Air Defense ) and assigned to Air Defense Command ' s Seattle Air Defense Sector , assuming the equipment and personnel of the 326th Fighter Group , which was simultaneously inactivated . It was assigned the 64th Fighter - Interceptor Squadron ( FIS ) , which was already at Paine with the 326th FG flying F - 102 Delta Dagger s as its operational element and also several support units as it assumed USAF host unit duties at Paine . It provided air defense over the Pacific Northwest . In June 1966 , it briefly became non - operational when its 64th FIS moved to Southeast Asia and was assigned away from the group . However , after two weeks , the 498th FIS , flying F - 106 Delta Dart s , moved to Paine and became the group ' s new operational squadron . It was inactivated 30 September 1968 when Air Defense Command closed its facilities at Paine AFB . Modern era . On 1 November 1991 , the group was redesignated the 57th Operations Group and activated as a result of the 57th Fighter Wing implementing the USAF objective wing organization . The 57 OG was assigned control of the wing ' s tactical units . Upon activation , the 57th OG managed Air Force tactical training through Red Flag and Air Warrior exercises . Between July 1995 and March 2002 , the group gained the three MQ - 1 Predator reconnaissance squadrons . The Group deployed the Predator elements of the 11th and 15th Squadrons in support of operations in Bosnia ( April 2000 ) , Kuwait ( October 2000 ) , and Pakistan , September 2001 – January 2002 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom . The 57th Group ' s 66th Helicopter Squadron also deployed for operations in Northern Watch and Enduring Freedom . While at Nellis , the Group continued to provide air combat units for US and Allies with realistic , large force combat training at Red Flag . The group became a non - flying organization on 1 July 2005 , when the flying squadrons of the 57th OG were split off into the new 57th Adversary Tactics Group , which consolidated all Aggressor activities under one group is to provide the Combat Air Forces with the opportunity to train against a realistic , fully integrated threat array during large - and small - scale exercises such as Red Flag – Nellis , Red Flag – Alaska , Maple Flag , Green Flag and dissimilar air combat training deployments . Components . Operational Squadrons Support Units