926th Group

926th Group
Tech. Sgt. Donovan Williams, 926th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron (right), explains the intricacies of an F-22 Raptor to Chief Master Sgt. Dwight Badgett, Air Force Reserve Command Chief, during his visit to the 926th Group
Active	17 January 1963-Present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Group
Role	Composite
Part of	Air Force Reserve Command
Garrison/HQ	Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada
Insignia
926th Group emblem
Aircraft flown
Attack	A-10 Thunderbolt II
Fighter	F-22 Raptor F-16 Fighting Falcon F-15 Eagle
Reconnaissance	MQ-9 Reaper MQ-1 Predator

The 926th Group (926 GP) is an Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the Tenth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The unit is a composite organization consisting of squadrons gained by Air Combat Command and Air Force Space Command, with Geographic Separated Units (GSU)s at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada; Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, and Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado.

Overview

The 926th Group is an associate unit to the United States Air Force Warfare Center at Nellis AFB. The unit provides combat-ready reservists to the USAFWC as sustained expertise integrated at the operational and tactical levels of warfare. It continuously conducts combat operations, operational test and evaluation, tactics development, and advanced training to warfighters.

The 926th GP also supports the U.S. Air Force's first Unmanned Aircraft Systems wing, the 432d Wing/432d AEW, equipped with more than 100 MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aircraft, in its mission to train pilots, sensor operators and other UAS crewmembers, and conduct combat surveillance and attack operations worldwide.

Units

The 926th GP consists of nine squadrons Located at Nellis AFB and at Geographically Separated Locations:

• 26th Space Aggressor Squadron

Accomplishing the 57th Adversary Tactics Group mission at Schriever AFB, Colorado

• 78th Reconnaissance Squadron (UAS)

Integrated into the 432d Wing/432nd AEW at Creech AFB, Nevada

• 84th Test and Evaluation Squadron

Located at Eglin AFB, Florida

• Detachment 1, 84th Test Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Florida

Integrated into the 505th Command and Control Wing at Hurlburt Field, Florida

• 706th Fighter Squadron

Integrated into the 57th Wing and 53d Wing

• 926th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron

Integrated into the 57th Maintenance Group

• 926th Force Support Squadron
• 926th Aerospace Medicine Squadron
• 926th Civil Engineer Flight

Accomplishing Explosive Ordnance Disposal

History

Cold War

On 28 December 1963 the 926th Troup Carrier Group was established at NAS New Orleans, flying C-119 Flying Boxcar aircraft as part of a Tactical Air Command (TAC) decision to organize all troop carrier forces, regular Air Force and Air Force Reserve, into wing-group-squadron configurations. In 1967, the unit designation was changed to the 926th Tactical Airlift Group, reflecting broader airlift capabilities to include transporting equipment and supplies for deployments worldwide. In 1969, the 926th TAG experienced another conversion as transitioned to the C-130 Hercules. In October 1972, members of the 926th TAG flew two C-130 aircraft into South Vietnam as part of the Air Force-wide program designed to provide the South Vietnamese with increased cargo capability before the war came to an end. In 1977, the Air Force announced the 926th TAG would convert to the A-37 Dragonfly fighter aircraft, bringing with the conversion a combat mission and a new designation, the 926th Tactical Fighter Group. The 926th TFG continued to fly the A-37 until June 1982 when the group completed a conversion to the A-10 Thunderbolt II. When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, the 926 TFG began deploying people in support of Operation Desert Shield. Then, in December 1990, approximately 450 members of the 926th TFG were recalled to active duty in support of Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm as the nation's first Air Force Reserve combat unit recalled to active duty.

Modern era

In February 1992, the unit was redesignated as the 926th Fighter Group. The name change reflected the inactivation of the Tactical Air Command and the establishment of its successor organization, the Air Combat Command (ACC). The group began conversion from the A-10 to the F-16 Fighting Falcon, which was complete by October that year. Two years later, on October 1, 1994, the unit officially became the 9th Fighter Wing. In 1995, the 926 FW converted back to the A/OA-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft. The conversion was completed and the unit became combat-ready in September 1997. In the late 1990s, the 926 FW participated in deployments patrolling the no-fly zones over Iraq in support of Operation Deny Flight, Operations Northern Watch and Southern Watch, and in 1999 returned to Kuwait to participate in Aerospace Expeditionary Force One. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, members of the 926h FW were mobilized and deployed to various locations worldwide in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Noble Eagle (ONE). In 2005, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) identified the 926 FW for inactivation, with personnel and aircraft relocating to four bases. The damage caused to NAS JRB New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina accelerated the process from two and a half years to nine months. By the spring of 2006, the A-10s transferred to Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, and Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, while logistics readiness support moved to Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado and the command element moved to Nellis AFB, Nevada. In October 2007, the 926th Group (926 GP) was officially activated at Nellis AFB.

Lineage

• Established as 926th Troop Carrier Group, Medium, and activated, on 28 Dec 1962

Organized in the Reserve on 17 Jan 1963

Re-designated: 926th Tactical Airlift Group on 1 Jul 1967

Re-designated: 926th Tactical Fighter Group on 1 Apr 1978

Re-designated: 926th Fighter Group on 1 Feb 1992

Status changed from Group to Wing, 1 Oct 1994

Re-designated: 926th Fighter Wing on 1 Oct 1994

Status changed from Wing to Group, 17 Aug 2007

Re-designated: 926th Group on 17 Aug 2007.

Assignments

• Continental Air Command, 28 Dec 1962
• 446th Troop Carrier (later, 446th Tactical Airlift) Wing, 17 Jan 1963
• 433d Tactical Airlift (later, 433d Military Airlift) Wing, 1 Mar 1968
• 446th Tactical Airlift Wing, 1 Oct 1969
• 442d Tactical Airlift Wing, 1 Jul 1972
• 434th Tactical Fighter Wing, 1 Jan 1978
• 442d Tactical Fighter Wing, 1 Feb 1984
• 917th Tactical Fighter (later, 917th Fighter) Wing, 1 Jul 1987

Attached to 354th Tactical Fighter Wing (Deployed), 1990-March 1991

• 301st Fighter Wing, 1 Aug 1992
• Tenth Air Force, 1 Oct 1994–Present

Components

• 926th Operations Group: 1 Aug 1992-17 Aug 2007

• 26th Space Aggressor Squadron: 17 Aug 2007–Present
• 78th Reconnaissance Squadron: 17 Aug 2007–Present
• 706th Fighter Squadron: 17 Jan 1963-1 Aug 1992; 17 Aug 2007-Present

Stations

• New Orleans NAS (later, NAS JRB ANG; ARS), Louisiana, 17 Jan 1963

Deployed to King Fahd International Airport, Saudi Arabia, 1990-March 1991

Bagram AB, Afghanistan with Members from the 442nd FW, Whiteman AFB. 2002

• Nellis AFB, Nevada, 17 Aug 2007–Present

Aircraft

• C-119 Flying Boxcar, 1963-1970
• C-130 Hercules, 1969-1978
• A-37 Dragonfly, 1978-1982
• A-10/OA-10 Thunderbolt II, 1981-1992, 1996-2006
• F-16 Fighting Falcon, 1992-1996

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

• AFHRA 926th Group Factsheet