2d Air Refueling Squadron The 2d Air Refueling Squadron ( 2 ARS ) is a unit of the United States Air Force . It is part of the 305th Air Mobility Wing at Joint Base McGuire - Dix - Lakehurst , New Jersey . The 2d ARS is the second - oldest squadron in the Air Force , having over 95 years of service to the nation . Deployed to the Philippines after World War I , during the 1941 - 1942 Battle of the Philippines , it was wiped out , with some of its personnel being forced by the Japanese to endue the Bataan Death March . It was re - formed as an air refueling squadron by Strategic Air Command in 1949 . Today , it operates the KC - 10 Extender aircraft , conducting aerial refueling missions . History . Origins . The squadron was activated on 12 May 1915 by the Aviation Section , U . S . Signal Corps . It was the second to be organized in the United States Army , as noted by its numerical designation . It was organized at Rockwell Field , San Diego , California , where the only Aviation School at that time was located , and it was from this school that most of its squadron members came from . Other members were taken from the 1st Aero Squadron , then the only completely equipped squadron in the Army . It was the policy of the Aviation School to completely train and equip a squadron before sending it into the field . The squadron consisted of six flying officers and thirty - nine enlisted men , primarily mechanics . Two officers and ten men were transferred from the 1st Aero Squadron . It sailed from San Francisco for Manila on 5 January 1916 . After two weeks of quarantine , the unit reached its station on Corregidor on 14 February without aircraft . It was the first complete aviation unit assigned outside of the United States . The 2d received four Martin S - Hydro seaplanes ( Signal Corps numbers 56 - 59 ) on 13 March and 15 April , and began flying on 8 May 1916 . A radio transmitter was set up in one aircraft , giving the aircraft a broadcast range of 29 miles . On 28 June , the company provided artillery spotting and adjustment for target practice with the Fort Mills batteries . Personnel for a second company were assembled and the unit was re - designated the 2d Aero Squadron on 20 July 1917 . World War I . After the United States entered World War I , the squadron was ordered back to the United States . It sailed from Manila on 15 October 1917 , arriving in San Francisco on 17 November . It was immediately transferred to Kelly Field , Texas , reaching the post on 22 November . At Kelly , a number of men were transferred and sent to the new training airfields that were being established throughout the country , serving as trainers for new recruits and as experienced backbones . Many of the men of the squadron were assigned to Call Field , Wichita Falls , Texas . The remainder of the squadron was sent to Kelly Field # 2 , which meant that the squadron would be a training unit at Kelly ( Kelly Field # 1 was used for training personnel for overseas service ) . At Field # 2 , the mechanics began assembling Curtiss JN - 4 D Trainers . After a few months , the men had little time to worry about their assignment at Kelly Field when suddenly various squadrons began to be ordered for overseas duty in France . The men of the squadron began to submit transfer requests to be included in these outgoing squadrons . Some transfers were approved , however , most were retained at Kelly Field . The 2d squadron was assigned to " Advanced Cross Country " and " Aerobatic " flight training . The squadron was re - designated as Squadron " A " , Kelly Field , on 1 July 1918 . At the end of the war , only six members of the squadron remained from the initial cadre that was formed up in San Diego in 1915 . The squadron was demobilized on 18 November 1918 . Inter - war years . After World War I , the unit was re - organized as a new organization , designated as the 2d Aero Squadron on 3 June 1919 at Rockwell Field , California . A few days later , it was re - designated as the 2d Aero Squadron ( Observation ) . Many of the men were experienced mechanics and officers who had served either in France or at training units in the United States during World War I . After being organized , the squadron was transferred by train to San Francisco , California , where it boarded a ship bound for Manila , in the Philippine Islands , arriving on 24 December . The squadron was assigned to the Philippine Department , and was stationed initially at Kindley Field , on Corregidor Island . The squadron was equipped with some Curtiss HS2L and N - 9 amphibian flying boats . Initially attached to Post Headquarters , Fort Mills , it became part of the 1st Observation ( later 4th Composite Group ) on 10 March 1920 . The squadron ' s primary mission was coastal patrols and reconnaissance in and around the Manila Bay region . It participated in exercises and maneuvers with Army ground forces and Naval forces were a regular and important part of its mission . Another mission of the 2d Observation Squadron during the 1920s was aerial mapping of the Philippines , the topography of many of the islands were largely unknown . On 8 April 1924 , it was formally consolidated with its World War I and Philippines predecessor unit , giving the squadron a history dating to 1 December 1915 . As with other squadrons in the Philippines , the 2d received a wide variety of second - line hand - me - down aircraft transferred from units in the United States during the austere years of Air Corps procurement during the 1920s and 1930s . It operated various Loening seaplanes , Dayton - Wright DH - 4 s , Thomas - Morse O - 19 s , Sikorsky and Douglas Dolphin amphibians , as well as other aircraft that the Army would send from the United States that it thought could be used in the Philippines . In June 1929 , the squadron was moved off Corregidor to the 4th Composite Group and Philippines Department Headquarters at Nichols Field , near Manila . As a result of the rising tensions with the Japanese Empire in 1940 , the defenses of the Philippines were judged to be abysmal , and a reinforcement effort was made to defend the islands against any Japanese aggression . Although beginning in 1938 , the Army sent some Douglas O - 46 observation monoplanes , these were supplemented in 1941 with some new Curtiss O - 52 Owl s , and the squadron was moved to Clark Field on 1 November 1940 . In late 1941 , the 4th Composite Group was broken up due to the expanding Air Corps presence in the Philippines . The pursuit squadrons were assigned to the new 24th Pursuit Group and the 28th Bomb Squadron was assigned to the incoming 19th Bombardment Group . The 2d Observation Squadron was reassigned directly to Far East Air Force ( FEAF ) headquarters as a courier and reconnaissance squadron , reporting to the Headquarters staff . It was moved to Nichols Field on 1 November . World War II . The Japanese attack on the Air Corps bases in the Philippines on 8 December 1941 destroyed two of the O - 46s at Nichols Field , and almost all of the O - 52s . With Japanese control of the air over Luzon during December 1941 , the unarmed planes of the 2d Observation Squadron didn ' t have a chance . By the time FEAF headquarters moved to Darwin , Australia on 31 December 1941 , the remainder of the squadron ' s aircraft were destroyed either on the ground or in the air . The order for all Air Corps units to move to Bataan Airfield in early January 1942 meant that any remaining squadron personnel left the Manila area . Remains of the squadron were scattered among remaining Air Corps resistance forces during the ensuing battle in the early spring of 1942 . They were likely being assigned to Army ground forces under V Interceptor Command . The 2d Observation Squadron was carried on as an active unit under the Fifth Air Force after 5 May 1942 until 2 April 1946 when it was inactivated . Strategic Air Command . In the postwar years , limited funding for the Department of Defense meant that Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) was severely limited in the number of units it could support with personnel . SAC also wanted its units to have pre - World War II designations for its units as much as possible . The development of In - flight refueling , long a dream of airmen , was being developed for operational use in the late 1940s . In 1948 , the 2d Bombardment Group deployed to England during the Berlin Blockade , but its B - 29 Superfortress es could not reach Moscow if a war broke out from its base in England without it being a one - way mission due to a lack of range . SAC activated the 2d Air Refueling Squadron , ( Medium ) on 1 January 1949 as a new squadron at Davis - Monthan AFB , Arizona and it was assigned to the like - designated 2d Bombardment Group . It was one of the first units to be equipped with the new KB - 29M Superfortress tankers equipped with a British - developed hose refueling system . The 2d Bomb Group was transitioning to the new B - 50A Superfortress bomber , and SAC was anxious to give its B - 50s an air - refueling capability to extend its range . The Group spent the next months training refueling the bombers with the tankers before the Wing was transferred to its operational base at Chatham AFB , Georgia on 16 September 1949 . Within a few months , the Wing ' s first deployment to England took place with its KB - 29M tankers in February 1950 . The KB - 29s were forward deployed to The KB - 29Ms flew via Westover AFB , Massachusetts , and Keflavik , Iceland . However , the extremely cold weather in Iceland ( - 25F ) caused difficulties with the aircraft , and the enroute MATS services were inadequate . Also , the operation of the hose refueling system was , what was called a " Rube Goldberg Affair " . In addition , it was found that malfunctions in the hose system meant fuel leaks were a hazard . After exercises in England and West Germany , the Wing returned to Chatham AFB in April . During May and June , it began receiving the Boeing - developed KB - 29P using the flying boom aerial refueling technique which is still in use today . The wing also transitioned from B - 50As to B - 50D models , and the next several months were sent in transition training . In May 1951 , the wing was ordered deployed to several bases in England , with the 2d ARS being assigned to RAF Lakenheath . None of the problems experienced with the hose and reel system of the KB - 29Ms , and , also because of the warmer weather , the deployment was a much more successful operation . However , during operations in England , on 7 June a KB - 29 crashed near Kircudreightshire , Scotland . The 2d ARS had the distinction of performing the first USAF refueling of an RAF aircraft , when it refueled three RAF Meteors from RAF Tarrant Tuston . The squadron also flew its first mission to the new SAC base at Sidi Slimane , French Morocco when a KB - 29 landed on the unfinished runway on 13 July . On the redeployment to the United States at the end of August , all 19 of the squadrons KB - 29Ps were to fly from Lakenheath to the Wing ' s new home at Hunter AFB , Georgia , on a great circle route . This was the longest over - water non - stop flight over the Atlantic in which all aircraft departed the same day and landed on the next . The bombers returned to Hunter AFB at the end of September , and as they approached the Atlantic Coast , they were met by the KB - 29Ps . 47 hook - ups were made to refuel two squadrons of B - 50s , taking 75 . 5 total flying hours and 10 , 140 gallons of aviation gasoline . No incidents were experienced . In July 1952 , the squadron supported the deployment of the F - 84s of the 31st Fighter - Escort Wing at Turner AFB , Georgia to Japan . The operation began on 4 July when the tankers refueled the F - 84s over Wink , Texas , en route to Castle AFB , California . Trans - Pacific refuelings were accomplished , and the 2d was joined by tankers from the 91st and 93d ARS as the they island - hopped from Castle to Hickam AFB , Hawaii , Midway Island , Wake Island , Eniwetok Atoll , Guam , Iwo Jima and on to Japan in a 11 , 000 mile mission . The 2d returned to Hunter AFB on 11 July . Another deployment to RAF Lakenheath was made in September 1952 , with the 2d ARS providing support to both SAC B - 50 and B - 29 bombers , as well as F - 84 fighters of the federalized 137th Fighter - Bomber Wing , which was deployed to England . The squadron returned in December . In August 1953 , the squadron was stood down and all of its KB - 29s were transferred to Tactical Air Command . The crews were sent to various training schools . In October , the first KC - 97G Stratotanker arrived , the last of 22 new aircraft in January 1954 . Although propeller - driven , the KC - 97s were significantly faster than the KB - 29s and were designed for aerial refueling . The planes were designed to refuel SAC ' s B - 47E Stratojet swept - wing medium bomber , with the 2d Bombardment Wing began to receive also in 1953 . On August 6 – 7 , 1954 , KC - 97s from the 2d ARS refueled B - 47s during " Operation Leap Frog " , a 10 , 000 mile non - stop flight from Hunter AFB to French Morocco and back to Hunter . The KC - 97s were forward deployed to Lajes Field , Azores prior to the B - 47s leaving Hunter . On the return flight back , Kindsley Field , Bermuda was the forward deployment point for the 2d ARS . This demonstrated the capability of the KC - 97 and B - 47 to perform together . For the next decade , the squadron carried out routine REFLEX deployments to SAC bases French Morocco , as well as training flights in the United States . In the late 1950s , the jet - powered KC - 135 Stratotanker was developed , and with the retirement of the B - 47 from SAC service , the 2d Air Refueling Squadron was inactivated in April 1963 concurrently with the move of SAC out of Hunter AFB . On 19 September 1985 the 2d Air Refueling Squadron was consolidated with the 2d Observation Squadron ( Medium ) , a unit that was last active 2 April 1946 . This action was directed by Department of the Air Force Letter DAF / MPM 662q Attachment 2 ( Inactive Units ) , 19 September 1985 . The Consolidated Unit retained the Designation of 2d Air Refueling Squadron , Heavy " , and the consolidation gave the SAC organization a history dating to 1915 . The squadron was re - activated on 3 January 1989 as part of the 2d Bombardment Wing at Barksdale AFB , Louisiana as part of a SAC reorganization of its KC - 10 Extender tanker fleet to have 2 squadrons of 10 tankers each . It was equipped with KC - 10s transferred from the 32d Air Refueling Squadron . Modern era . With the inactivation of Strategic Air Command in June 1992 and the realignment of Air Mobility Command ' s tanker force , the 2d ARS was re - assigned to the 458th Operations Group on 1 June 1992 . Using KC - 10 aircraft , the squadron airlifted humanitarian equipment and supplies to Somalia , 1992 – 1994 . Deployed aircrews and aircraft on other contingency operations in many parts of the world , including Haiti in 1994 . It continued operations from Barksdale until 1 October 1994 when it was moved to McGuire AFB , New Jersey where it was transferred to the 305th Operations Group on 1 July 1995 . It supported NATO operations over Serbia in 1999 . The squadron also refueled aircraft enforcing no - fly zones over Bosnia - Herzegovina in the mid - 1990s and over northern and southern Iraq between 1992 and 2002 . Today , the 2d ARS continues to remain ready to provide the United States with the Global Reach necessary to support our national security objectives , while placing an increased emphasis on squadron members ' families - the unsung heroes of the unit ' s successful operations .