461st Air Control Wing | |
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Active | 1953–1958, 1963–1968, 2011–present |
Country | United States |
Branch | United States Air Force |
Role | Air Control |
Part of | Air Combat Command |
Garrison/HQ | Robins Air Force Base, Georgia |
Decorations | Air Force Meritorious Unit Award Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
Insignia | |
461st Air Control Wing emblem (approved 3 November 2011)[1] | |
461st Bombardment Wing emblem (approved 5 August 1955)[2] |
The 461st Air Control Wing is a joint Air Force/Army unit flying the E-8 J-STARS aircraft. The wing is assigned to Air Combat Command's Fifteenth Air Force, and is stationed at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It was activated on 1 October 2011.
Originally activated as a tactical bomber wing by Tactical Air Command (TAC) in the 1950s, it flew Douglas B-26 Invaders while waiting for delivery of its Martin B-57 Canberras. It was inactivated in 1958, when TAC transferred Blytheville Air Force Base, Arkansas to Strategic Air Command (SAC). The wing was organized as a strategic wing by SAC at Amarillo Air Force Base, Texas in 1963. The wing flew Boeing B-52 Stratofortress heavy strategic bombers and Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker heavy air refueling aircraft. It deployed aircraft and crews to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam for combat operations in Southeast Asia. The wing was inactivated in March 1968 with the retirement of older model B-52s and the impending closure of Amarillo.