2d Operations Group The 2d Operations Group ( 2 OG ) is the flying component of the United States Air Force 2d Bomb Wing , assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command Eighth Air Force . The group is stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base , Louisiana . 2 OG is one of two Air Force Global Strike Command groups to fly the B - 52H Stratofortess . Its mission is to protect the United States and further its global interests by providing devastating combat capability . The group is a successor organization to 2d Bombardment Group , one of the 15 original combat air groups formed by the Army before World War II . It is the oldest bomb group of the Air Force , having fought on the Western Front during World War I , entering combat on 12 September 1918 . After the war , it participated in Brigadier General Billy Mitchell ' s 1921 off - shore bombing test . During World War II the group engaged in combat from bases in North Africa and Italy flying B - 17 Flying Fortress . In the postwar era , the 2d Bombardment Group was one of the first USAAF units assigned to the Strategic Air Command on 1 July 1947 , prior to the establishment of the United States Air Force . Equipped with low - hour B - 29 Superfortress surplus World War II aircraft , the group was inactivated in 1952 when the parent wing adopted the Tri - Deputate organization and assigned all of the groups squadrons directly to the wing . Reactivated as the 2d Operations Group in 1991 when the 2d Bomb Wing adopted the USAF Objective organization plan . Components . The 2 OG ( Tail Code : LA ) consists of the following squadrons : History . World War I . Organized as the 1st Day Bombardment Group as part of the Air Service , United States First Army on 10 September 1918 at Amanty Airdrome , France . The group consisted of the 96th Aero Squadron , which had been operating independently and was equipped with French Breguet 14 B . 2 bombers . Three other squadrons , the 11th , 20th and 166th Aero Squadron s were equipped with American - Bult De Haviland DH - 4 s . The group completed its organization and began operations on 12 September , however only the 96th , 11th and 20th had received its aircraft at the opening of the St . Mihiel Offensive . Due to its experience , the 96th Squadron was the most effective in combat operations , however the other three squadrons also achieved a high degree of efficiency , gaining experience attacking troop concentrations and communications to interfere with the enemy ' s movement of reinforcements and supplies to the front . Other patrols of the group were flown by conducting bombing operations that helped to protect Allied ground forces by diverting German pursuit planes from the battle zone . The initial attack by the group on 13 September sent five aircraft of the 96th Squadron to Chambley , but only three managed to cross into enemy territory . They were attacked by fifteen Enemy Aircraft and they approached their objective , which shot down two group aircraft . The objective was successfully bombed , however , and two enemy aircraft were shot down . The first full group action took place the next day with three missions being performed . The railway yards at Conflans - en - Jarnisy , Vittonville and Arnaville were all attacked , along with secondary attacks at Étain and Dommary - Baroncourt . Nine enemy aircraft were encountered in combat , shooting down one near Mars la Tour . The 11th lost a plane near Chambley . During the offensive large concentrations of enemy aircraft were encountered , giving formidable resistance and great losses due to attempting penetrations of enemy air space with small formations and without protection from pursuit aircraft . On 23 September , operation were moved to Maulan Aerodrome , and on 26 September , Dun - sur - Meuse was attacked by both Bregut and DH - 4 Squadrons in the morning , and Etain by the DH - 4s in the afternoon . On 9 October 1918 , it participated in one of the largest bombing raids of the war , when 353 Allied planes commanded by Gen . Billy Mitchell struck German troop concentrations in the Meuse - Argonne area where German troops were preparing for a counterattack against the Allied offensive . The final bombardment mission of the group took place on 5 November when three formations of DH - 4s were dispatched to raid Mousson and Roucourt , Belgium in the morning . Planes from the 11th Squadron failed to cross the lines , however the others reached their assigned objective and at Mouzon , where the weather permitted observation , accurate bomb hits and many fires , with a large number of explosions were noted . Enemy aircraft resistance was strong , with the 20th being attacked by three formations of Fokker s , some with four machine guns , rather than the normal two mounted in front . The 20th managed to shoot down four of the enemy , however , lost three aircraft of their own in the combat . During the remaining days of the war , the 1st Day Bombardment Group was on alert , however bad weather prevented any combat operations from taking place . In more than two months of combat , the group delivered more than 111 tons of bombs on German targets . Demobilized in France in November 1918 , soon after the armistice . Interwar years . On 18 September 1919 , at Kelly Field , Texas , the group was re - organized and formally established as part of the Air Service . On 31 March 1921 , the 1st Day Bombardment Group was re - designated the " 2d Group ( Bombardment ) " , and on 25 January 1923 , as the 2d Bombardment Group . From 13 to 21 July 1921 , the 2d Group ’ s four bombardment squadrons were detached to General Mitchell ’ s 1st Provisional Air Brigade to conduct controversial tests to determine the efficiency of aircraft against naval warships . The aircraft successfully bombed and sank three ex - German warships , including the formidable 22 , 437 - ton battleship " Ostfriesland " , off Cape Hatteras , North Carolina . From 23 to 26 September 1921 , the group ’ s bombardment squadrons , again under the direction of General Mitchell , bombed and sank the ex - Navy battleship in yet another test of aircraft bombardment efficiency . On 1 July 1922 , the 2d Bomb Group relocated to Langley Field , Virginia , where it would remain for the next twenty years . On 5 September 1923 , the group , operating from an improvised aerodrome on the sands near Cape Hatteras , N . C . , bombed and sank the ex - Navy battleships and . To further attest the group ’ s capabilities , three 97th Bombardment Squadron Martin B - 10B aircraft commanded by Capt . Richard E . Nugent departed Langley Field , Va . , and successfully bombed a target 600 miles away in Michigan during the Second Army Maneuvers . This mission , flown almost entirely in inclement weather , garnered the squadron the 1936 Mackay Trophy . On 4 March 1937 , the group received the first of 12 B - 17 Flying Fortress es delivered to the U . S . Army Air Corps . A goodwill tour to Argentina by six B - 17s in February 1938 and a flight to Colombia by three B - 17s in August of the same year highlighted the late 1930s . The trip to Buenos Aires represented the longest distance performance of its kind on record and won the group the Mackay Trophy in 1938 . A second MacKay trophy was won in February of the following year when a crew flew medical supplies aboard the XB - 15 to Chile following a catastrophic earthquake . The group also achieved a well - publicized success on 12 May 1938 , when three B - 17s , led by group commander Lt . Col . Robert Olds and navigated by 1st Lt . Curtis E . LeMay , intercepted the Italian ocean liner " Rex " over 600 miles at sea during a training exercise . On 6 December 1939 , the group was redesignated the 2d Bombardment Group ( Heavy ) . World War II . Served on antisubmarine duty for several months after the U . S . entered World War II . In October 1942 was re - designated as 2d Bombardment Group ( Heavy ) and earmarked for combat . The group was transferred on paper to Geiger Field , Washington , where it was re - organized and trained with new personnel . The group was made up of four Squadrons , the 20th , 49th , 96th , and the 429th . In November 1942 , the squadrons were sent to satellite bases in Montana for additional training as units , the 20th to Great Falls , the 49th to Lewistown , the 96th to Glasgow , and the 429th to Cut Bank . This was the third and final phase of training . The 2d Bomb Group and squadrons left their satellite bases on 13 – 14 March 1943 arriving at Camp Kilmer , New Jersey 17 – 18 March 1943 for debarkation overseas . The Flight Echelon left the above bases for Morrison Field West Palm Beach , Florida ; Natal , Brazil ; Marrakech , Morocco and arriving at Navarin , Algeria on 22 April 1943 . The Ground Echelon were disbursed at Camp Kilmer in several ships arriving at Casablanca and Port Lyautey in March / April 1943 , thence motor and train convoy to Navarin , Algeria . Was initially assigned to Twelfth Air Force . It arrived at Chateau D ' un , Algeria on 27 April 1943 . The first mission on 28 April 1943 was to Terranova , Sardinia . The 2d Bomb Group departed Chateau D ' un after flying 25 missions and arrived at Ain M ' Lila , Algeria on 17 June 1943 and flew 25 missions from that base . The 2d Bomb Group departed for Massicault , Tunisia on 31 July 1943 and flew 56 missions from that base . Missions flown included bombing such targets as marshalling yards , airdromes , troop concentrations , bridges , docks , and shipping . Participated in the defeat of Axis forces in Tunisia , April – May 1943 ; the reduction of Pantelleria and the preparations for the invasion of Sicily , May – July 1943 ; and the invasion of Italy , September 1943 . Moved to Italy in December 1943 and continued operations as part of Fifteenth Air Force . Operated primarily from Amendola Air Base in Foggia . Engaged primarily in long - range bombardment of strategic targets in Germany , Poland , Czechoslovakia , Austria , Hungary , Yugoslavia , Rumania , and Greece . Participated in the drive toward Rome , January – June 1944 ; the invasion of Southern France , August 1944 , and the campaigns against German forces in northern Italy , June 1944 – May 1945 . En route to bomb an aircraft factory at Steyr , Austria on 24 February 1944 , the group was greatly outnumbered by enemy interceptors , but it maintained its formation and bombed the target , receiving a Distinguished Unit Citation ( DUC ) for the performance . On the following day , while on a mission to attack aircraft factories at Regensburg , it met similar opposition equally well and was awarded a second DUC . Served as part of the occupation force in Italy after V - E Day . Inactivated in Italy on 28 February 1946 . Group gunners claimed 279 victories of German and Italian aircraft . Flew 406 combat missions ; 146 aircraft lost . Cold War . On 1 July 1947 , the group was redesignated the 2d Bomb Group ( Very Heavy ) and activated at Davis Monthan Field , Arizona . Equipped with B - 29 Superfortress bombers , the 2d BG became part of the Strategic Air Command . Trained for bombardment missions and deployed to England , August – November 1948 and February – May 1950 . On 10 February 1951 the group became a " paper organization " with its squadron components attached directly to the 2 Bombardment Wing as part of the Air Force tri - deputate reorganization . Inactivated on 16 June 1952 . Modern era . The group was reactivated in on 1 September 1991 as the 2d Operations Group and assigned to the 2d Wing as part of the " Objective Wing " concept adapted by the Air Force . 2 OG took control of the wings bomber and refueling squadrons upon activation . Trained for global conventional bombardment missions as well as maintaining nuclear operational readiness . Briefly controlled the wing ' s air refueling mission until it transferred to Air Mobility Command . Provided combat crew training for all USAF B - 52 aircrews , beginning November 1994 . In response to Saddam Hussein ' s attacks against the Kurdish minority in northern Iraq , aircrews of the 96th Bomb Sq deployed and launched attacks against military targets in Iraq in September 1996 , actions for which the aircrews received the Mackay trophy as the most meritorious flight of 1996 . Continued to deploy aircraft and personnel to southwest Asia to support the Allied watch on the southern and northern " no - fly " zones in Iraq . Flew combat missions against targets in Iraq , 17 – 18 December 1998 , in response to Iraq ' s refusal to allow UN weapons inspectors to continue work . Flew combat missions against targets in Yugoslavia , 24 March – 9 June 1999 , in support of NATO Operation Allied Force . In October 1999 began deploying personnel in support of aerospace expeditionary forces worldwide and maintaining on - call elements at home . Global War on Terrorism . After the terrorist attacks against the U . S . on 11 September 2001 , group elements , including the 20 Bomb Sq , deployed to the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean . On 7 October flew early attacks on targets in Afghanistan in Operation Enduring Freedom to rid that country of terrorist bases and its extremist Taliban rulers . Later flew airborne alert missions over Afghanistan and in Operation Anaconda , flew bombing missions against targets in eastern Afghanistan , 1 – 18 March 2002 . In the invasion of Iraq beginning March 2003 , flew missions on 21 March in " shock and awe " strikes against command and control targets . Provided bomber combat power and expeditionary combat support for warfighters , 2004 – 2006 . Aircraft assigned . The 2 Operations Group ' s squadrons flew a variety of aircraft , and records do not always allow determining the exact dates the planes were received and lost . The following tabulation is as accurate as sources permit . See also . 529th Air Service Group Support organization for the group in Italy