97th Operations Group

97th Operations Group
An airman from the 305th Aerial Port Squadron, McGuire Air Force Base, N.J., helps load a C-17 Globemaster III flown by a crew assigned to the 58th Airlift Squadron, Altus AFB, Oklahoma
Active	1942–1945; 1946–1952; 1991–1992; 1992–present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Engagements	World War II - EAME Theater
Decorations	Distinguished Unit Citation (2x) Air Force Outstanding Unit Award (13x)
Insignia
Emblem of the 97th Operations Group

The 97th Operations Group (97 OG) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the 97th Air Mobility Wing of Air Education and Training Command. It is stationed at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma.

Col. Cornelius Walter "Connie" Cousland^[1] served as the first commander of the 97th Bombardment Group once activated on 3 February 1942 at MacDill Field in Tampa, Florida through 29 July 1942 at Polebrook Field in England; and was replaced by Col. Frank Alton Armstrong, Jr. on 31 July 1942.^[2] During World War II the 97th Bombardment Group flew its first mission on 17 August 1942.^[3] It was the first Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombardment group to fly a mission from the United Kingdom against a European target, the marshalling yards at Sotteville-lès-Rouen in France. In late 1942 the group moved to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, where it earned two Distinguished Unit Citations for missions against Steyr, Austria and Ploiești, Romania. The group was inactivated in Italy on 29 October 1945.

In the postwar era, the 97th was assigned to Strategic Air Command (SAC) in August 1946, assuming the personnel and Boeing B-29 Superfortresses of the 485th Bombardment Group at Smoky Hill Army Air Field, Kansas. Following a four-month deployment to Alaska, the group moved to Biggs Air Force Base, Texas, where it converted to the improved Boeing B-50 Superfortress. The group became non-operational in February 1951 and was inactivated in June 1952 when its squadrons were assigned directly to its parent, the 97th Bombardment Wing, as SAC reorganized from the wing base organization to the dual deputy wing organization.

The group was redesignated the 97th Operations Group and activated at Eaker Air Force Base, Arkansas on 1 September 1991 when the 97th Wing adopted the USAF Objective Wing organization plan. Under SAC, the group operated Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bombers until January 1992 and Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers until inactivating in April 1992.

The group was activated in October 1992, absorbing the personnel and aircraft of the 443d Operations Group at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma. The unit was assigned to the 97th Air Mobility Wing. At Altus, the group became the airlift and air refueling training group for Air Mobility Command. In 1993, it transferred to the Air Education and Training Command, continuing the same mission.