1st Fighter Wing | |
---|---|
Active | 1947–1952; 1956–present |
Country | United States |
Branch | United States Air Force |
Role | Fighter: air dominance |
Size | 36 Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor |
Part of | Air Combat Command |
Garrison/HQ | Langley Air Force Base, Virginia |
Motto(s) | Aut Vincere Aut Mori Latin "Conquer or Die" |
Engagements | World War I World War II Persian Gulf War |
Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation (3 awards) Air Force Outstanding Unit Award (6 awards) |
Commanders | |
Current commander | Colonel William J. Creeden [1] |
Vice Commander | Colonel Richard B. Foster |
Command Chief | Chief Master Sergeant Christopher M. Gradel |
Notable commanders | Larry D. Welch Richard B. Myers John T. Chain, Jr. William R. Looney III Gregory S. Martin |
Insignia | |
1st Fighter Wing emblem (Approved 22 May 1957)[2] |
The 1st Fighter Wing (1 FW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command Fifteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Langley Air Force Base, VA. where it is a tenant unit, being supported by the 633d Air Base Wing.
Its 1st Operations Group (1 OG) is a successor organization of the 1st Fighter Group, one of the 15 original combat air groups formed by the Army before World War II. The 1 OG is the oldest major air combat unit in the United States Air Force, its origins formed on 5 May 1918.
The wing was initially part of Tactical Air Command being formed at March Field, California in 1947 and was one of the first wings to be equipped with the North American F-86 Sabre in February 1949. Briefly a part of Strategic Air Command in 1949, it was reassigned to Air Defense Command in 1950 and provided air defense of the Upper Midwest of the United States until being reassigned to Tactical Air Command in 1970. The 1 FW was the first operational wing equipped with the F-15A/B Eagle in 1976, and in 2005, was the first operational wing equipped with the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor air superiority fighter.