477th Fighter Group The 477th Fighter Group ( 477 FG ) is an Air Reserve Component ( ARC ) unit of the United States Air Force . It is assigned to the Tenth Air Force , Air Force Reserve Command , stationed at Elmendorf Field , Joint Base Elmendorf - Richardson , Alaska The 477th FG is an associate unit of the 3d Wing , Pacific Air Forces ( PACAF ) , and if mobilized the wing is gained by PACAF . Overview . The 477th Fighter Group was reactivated on 1 October 2007 as the first Air Force Reserve unit to fly , maintain , and support the Lockheed Martin F - 22 Raptor . The group is an associate unit responsible for recruiting , training , developing and retaining Citizen Airmen to support 3d Wing and Air Force expeditionary unit mission requirements . Units . The 477th Fighter Group provides a combat - ready force of approximately 425 Air Reserve Technicians , Traditional Reservists , and civil servants assigned to the following squadrons : The men and women of the 477th Fighter Group will functionally integrate with their active duty Air Force partners in almost all F - 22A mission areas to increase efficiency and overall combat capability while retaining Reserve administrative support and career enhancement . The 477th Fighter Group will leverage the traditional Reserve Component strengths of experience and continuity to fly , and fight , and win as Unrivaled Wingmen on the Total Force team at Elmendorf . History . The 477th was originally established in May 1943 at MacDill Field , Florida as the United States Army Air Forces 477th Bombardment Group ( Medium ) . Assigned to Third Air Force , the group trained with Martin B - 26 Marauder medium bombers . The unit was subsequently inactivated on 25 August 1943 . The 477th was reactivated as the 477th Composite Group at Selfridge Field , Michigan on 15 Jan 1944 and assigned to First Air Force . The 477th ' s new mission was to train what would become the legendary World War II African - American aviators known as the Tuskegee Airmen with Republic P - 47 Thunderbolt fighters and North American B - 25 Mitchell bombers . During World War II , continued pressure from African - American civilian leaders led the Army to let blacks train as members of bomber crews , a step that opened many more skilled combat roles to them . On 5 May 1944 , possibly out of fear of a repeat of the previous summer ' s race riot in nearby Detroit , the 477th was abruptly relocated to Godman Field near Fort Knox in Kentucky . The morale of the 477th was poor because the field was not suited to use by the B - 25 and because black officers , including combat veterans of the 332d Fighter Group who had transferred to the bomber unit , were not being advanced to command positions . By early 1945 , however , the 477th reached its full combat strength . It was scheduled to enter combat on 1 July , which made it necessary to relocate once more , this time to Freeman Field , a base fully suited to use the B - 25 . At Freeman Field , the Freeman Field Mutiny took place as a result of racial discrimination . As a result of the protest , the 477th was relocated back to Godman Field . Colonel Benjamin O . Davis , Jr . , took command on 1 July , and black officers replaced white officers in lower command and supervisory positions . Training was to be completed by 31 August , but the war ended on 14 August with Japan ' s surrender . Never deployed in combat , the 477th was downsized when the war ended . In 1946 , it was reassigned to Lockbourne Field , now Rickenbacker International Airport , in Ohio . On 1 July 1947 , the 477th was disbanded .