9th Reconnaissance Wing

9th Reconnaissance Wing
Emblem of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing
Active1949–present
1950–1965 as 9th Bomb Wing
CountryUnited States
BranchUnited States Air Force
TypeWing
RoleReconnaissance
Size6,500 personnel
Part ofAir Combat Command and
Sixteenth Air Force
Garrison/HQBeale Air Force Base
Motto(s)"Semper Paratus" Latin Always Ready
DecorationsPresidential Unit Citation
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with V Device
Commanders
Current
commander
Colonel Geoffrey I. Church[1]

The 9th Reconnaissance Wing (9 RW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command and Sixteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Beale Air Force Base, California. The wing is also the host unit at Beale.

Its mission is to organize, train and equip the Air Force's fleet of U-2R Dragon Lady, RQ-4 Global Hawk aircraft for peacetime intelligence gathering, contingency operations, conventional war fighting and Emergency War Order support. It is also assigned T-38 Talons for U-2 pilots to maintain flight hours.

Its 9th Operations Group is a descendant organization of the 9th Group (Observation), one of the 13 original combat air groups formed by the Army before World War II.

During World War II, the 9th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) was an air combat unit of the United States Army Air Forces. Active for over 60 years, the 9th RW was a component wing of Strategic Air Command's deterrent force throughout the Cold War, performing strategic reconnaissance on a worldwide basis.

  1. ^ "COLONEL GEOFFREY I. CHURCH > Beale Air Force Base >Display". Beale AFB. Retrieved 24 December 2022.