34th Training Wing

Commandant of Cadets (formerly 34th Training Wing)
34th Training Wing Emblem
Active	1941–1945; 1963–1965; 1994–present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army  United States Air Force
Role	Military Training
Part of	United States Air Force Academy
Garrison/HQ	Air Force Academy, Colorado
Nickname(s)	Vigilantes (Vietnam War)
Motto(s)	Valor to Victory
Mascot(s)	The Bird
Decorations	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Air Force Organizational Excellence Award
Commanders
Current commander	Brig Gen Gavin Marks
Notable commanders	Patrick K. Gamble Susan Y. Desjardins
Insignia
Unofficial 34th Tactical Group emblem
World War II Tail Code[1]	Square S

The Commandant of Cadets is a named organization of the United States Air Force based at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Until August 2006 the commander of the 34th Training Wing was "dual-hatted" as the Commandant of Cadets at the Academy. In that month the 34th Wing became a named organization.

The organization was first activated in 1941 as the 34th Bombardment Group. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the group briefly participated in antisubmarine patrols. During most of 1942 and 1943, the group acted as a heavy bomber training unit. In early 1944, the unit began preparations to move overseas. It served with Eighth Air Force in England, from April 1944 until the end of the war, converting from the Consolidated B-24 Liberator to the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress in the middle of combat operations. It returned to the United States after VE Day and was inactivated in August 1945.

The 34th Tactical Group was activated in the early days of American participation in the Vietnam War. It trained Republic of Vietnam Air Force airmen and engaged in combat operations and the operational testing of weapons and munitions until 1965, when the increasing American involvement in Vietnam caused it to be replaced by the larger 6251st Tactical Fighter Wing.

In 1984 the 34th Bombardment Group and the 34th Tactical Group were consolidated into a single unit. The consolidated unit was redesignated the 34th Training Wing and activated in October 1994 at the United States Air Force Academy, where it has served the Commandant of Cadets as the military training arm of the academy.