927th Air Refueling Wing

The 927th Air Refueling Wing (927 AW) is an Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the Fourth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida.

The 927th ARW is an associate unit of the 6th Air Mobility Wing, Air Mobility Command (AMC) and if mobilized the wing is gained by AMC.

Overview
The mission of the 927th Air Refueling Wing is to provide a dedicated and prepared Total Force Team to fly, fight and win in air, space and cyberspace. The 927th ARW consists of 3 groups and 11 subordinate units including; a flying squadron, aeromedical evacuation squadron, security forces squadron, logistical readiness squadron, force support squadron, aeromedical staging squadron, aircraft maintenance squadron, maintenance squadron, maintenance operations flight, aerospace medicine squadron and an operational support flight.

The 927th ARW directly supports the totally integrated Air Force mission by way of extending the global reach of United States air power through mission ready personnel and equipment while providing global air refueling and airlift operations.

Units

 * 927th Operations Group
 * 63d Air Refueling Squadron (KC-135 Stratotanker)


 * 927th Mission Support Group
 * 927th Maintenance Group

History
Following the mobilizations in 1961 and 1962 for the Berlin Crisis and the Cuban Missile Crisis, Continental Air Command (ConAC) realized that it was unwieldy to mobilize an entire wing unless absolutely necessary. Their original Table of Organization for each Wing was a wing headquarters, a troop carrier group, an Air Base Group, a maintenance and supply group, and a medical group. In 1957, the troop carrier group and maintenance and supply groups were inactivated, with their squadrons reassigned directly to the wing headquarters - despite the fact that many wings had squadrons spread out over several bases due to the Detached Squadron Concept dispersing Reserve units over centers of population.

To resolve this, in late 1962 and early 1963, ConAC reorganized the structure of its reserve Troop Carrier Wings by establishing fully deployable Troop Carrier Groups and inserting them into the chain of command between the Wing and its squadrons at every base that held a ConAC troop carrier squadron. At each base, the group was composed of a material squadron, a troop carrier squadron, a tactical hospital or dispensary, and a combat support squadron. Each troop carrier wing consisted of 3 or 4 of these groups. By doing so, ConAC could facilitate the mobilization of either aircraft and aircrews alone, aircraft and minimum support personnel (one troop carrier group), or the entire troop carrier wing. This also gave ConAC the flexibility to expand each Wing by attaching additional squadrons, if necessary from other Reserve wings to the deployable groups for deployments.

As a result, the 927th Troop Carrier Group was established with a mission to organize, recruit and train Air Force Reserve personnel in the tactical airlift of airborne forces, their equipment and supplies and delivery of these forces and materials by airdrop, landing or cargo extraction systems. The group was equipped with C-119 Flying Boxcars for Tactical Air Command airlift operations.

The group was one of three C-119 groups assigned to the 403d TCW in 1963, the others being the 928th Troop Carrier Group, at O'Hare International Airport, Illinois and the 929th Troop Carrier Group at Davis Field, Oklahoma.

The 927 TCG was re-designated the 927th Tactical Airlift Group in 1967 and flew the C-119 Flying Boxcar aircraft until 1969. The 927 TAG was re-designated the 927th Tactical Air Support Group (927 TASG) on 18 June 1969, and flew U-3 Administrator ("Blue Canoe") aircraft until 1971. The 927 TASG was re-designated the 927th Tactical Airlift Group (927 TAG) on 29 June 1971, and converted to the C-130 Hercules aircraft. During 1992, the unit converted to KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft and was re-designated the 927th Air Refueling Group (927 ARG) until 1 October 1994, when the unit was re-designated as the 927th Air Refueling Wing (927 ARW).

The 927 ARW's flying and non-flying units have demonstrated professionalism throughout many years of service. For example, during the Vietnam War, the flying squadron ferried aircraft and delivered equipment and supplies to South Vietnam. From a humanitarian perspective, unit personnel offered assistance when the need arose. They supported relief efforts such as the 1973 New York and Pennsylvania floods as well as hurricane disaster relief to Honduras in 1974 and for Hurricane Hugo victims in 1989.

During 1990, the 927 TAG deployed more than 400 airmen, aircraft and supplies for six months to the Middle East in support of Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm.

Air Refueling
The 927th was realigned into an Refueling Group in 1992 and upgraded to a Wing in 1994. From 1995 through 2004, the 927 ARW participated in missions, operations and exercises around the world, including Operation Northern Watch; Somalia Pullout; Atlantic Express; airlift to Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras; AWACS support to Geilenkirchen, Germany;, Red Flag at Nellis AFB, Nevada; Snowbird Support, airlift from Rhein-Main AB, Germany to Eglin AFB Aux Field #3/Duke Field, Florida; airlift to Ramstein AB, Germany; Operation Decisive Endeavor; Operation Pitch Black; Pacific Express to Kadena AB, Japan; Phoenix Tusk to Bangor, Maine; and more recently deployed to Italy and France in support of Operation Deny Flight, Operation Decisive Endeavor, and Deliberate Guard/Forge enforcing the "no fly zone" over the former Yugoslavia.

In 1997, the Air Force Reserve (AFRES) was disestablished as a Field Operating Agency (FOA) and reconstituted as a Major Command (MAJCOM), designated as Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). All AFRES relationships with the 927 ARW were automatically transferred to AFRC.

During 1999, the 927 ARW responded to Presidential Selected Recall (PSRC) authority, deploying members in support of Operation Noble Anvil and NATO Operation Allied Force.

The 927 ARW responded within one hour after the September 11 attacks in 2001. The wing quickly provided refueling services for USAF fighter aircraft patrolling the North Central United States and provided other concurrent support of Homeland Defense as part of Operation Noble Eagle. The 927th Security Forces Squadron was initially activated for 12 months and extended for an additional 12 months in support of Operation Noble Eagle. The wing remains actively engaged in Operation Noble Eagle (Homeland Defense) and Operation Enduring Freedom (Global War on Terrorism).

In its 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) recommendations, DoD recommended to realign Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan. Under this recommendation, the 927 ARW at Selfridge ANGB would distribute its eight KC-135 aircraft to the 127th Wing (127 WG) of the Michigan Air National Guard, also based at Selfridge. The 927 ARW would then realign to an Active-Reserve "Associate" arrangement with the 6th Air Mobility Wing (6 AMW) at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida in order to capture reserve experience in the southeast United States and enhance the combined units' overall capability.

In another recommendation, DoD recommended realigning Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota, redistributing the 319th Air Refueling Wing’s (319 ARW) KC-135R aircraft to the 6th AMW at MacDill AFB (four aircraft) and several other installations. The enlarged 6 AMW would then host a Reserve association arrangement with 927 ARW manpower realigned from Selfridge ANGB, with both units operating, maintaining and sharing the same KC-135R aircraft.

In 2007, the 927 ARW commenced relocation to MacDill AFB and formally established itself at MacDill AFB on 1 May 2008.

Lineage

 * Established as 927th Troop Carrier Group, Medium, and activated, on 15 Jan 1963
 * Organized in the Reserve on 11 Feb 1963
 * Re-designated: 927th Tactical Airlift Group on 1 July 1967
 * Re-designated: 927th Tactical Air Support Group on 18 June 1969
 * Re-designated: 927th Tactical Airlift Group on 29 June 1971
 * Re-designated: 927th Airlift Group on 1 February 1992
 * Re-designated: 927th Air Refueling Group on 1 June 1992
 * 927th Operations Group established on 1 August 1992
 * Status changed from Group to Wing, 1 October 1994
 * Re-designated: 927th Air Refueling Wing on 1 October 1994.
 * Group element activated and assigned as subordinate unit.

Assignments

 * Continental Air Command, 15 Jan 1963
 * 403d Troop Carrier Wing, 11 Feb 1963
 * Central Air Force Reserve Region, 31 Dec 1969
 * 403d Composite (later, 403d Tactical Airlift) Wing, 1 Jun 1970
 * 459th Tactical Airlift Wing, 15 Mar 1976
 * 440th Tactical Airlift (later, 440th Airlift) Wing, 1 Jul 1981
 * 434th (later, 434th Air Refueling) Wing, 1 Aug 1992
 * Twenty-Second Air Force, 1 Oct 1994
 * Fourth Air Force, 1 Apr 1997–Present

Components

 * 927th Operations Group: 1 Aug 1992–Present
 * 63d Air Refueling Squadron: 11 Feb 1963–Present

Stations

 * Selfridge AFB (later, ANGB), Michigan, 11 Feb 1963-.
 * MacDill AFB, Florida, 1 May 2008 – Present

Aircraft

 * C-119 Flying Boxcar, 1963-1969
 * C-130 Hercules, 1971-1992
 * KC-135 Stratotanker, 1992–Present