380th Expeditionary Operations Group
Introduction Boeing E-3B Sentry (80-0137) from Tinker AFB, Oklahoma attached to the 968th Expeditionary Airborne Air Control SquadronMcDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender (85-0034) from McGuire AFB, New Jersey attached to the 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling SquadronRQ-4 Global Hawk from Beale AFB, California attached to the 12th Expeditionary Reconnaissance SquadronLockheed U-2S nicknamed '''Dragon Lady''' (80–1077) attached to the 99th Expeditionary Reconnaissance SquadronThe '''380th Expeditionary Operations Group)''' is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 380th Air Expeditionary Wing. It is a provisional unit stationed at Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, and is assigned to the United States Air Forces Central component of Air Combat Command.The unit was first activated in 1991 at Plattsburgh Air Force Base, New York as the 380th Wing's operational element. It managed the wing's tankers until the fall of 1994, when flying operations at Plattsburgh ended in preparation for the base's closure in response to the 1993 BRAC recommendations
Overview The 380 EOG conducts combat air refueling, airborne C2, and ISR in a joint and coalition environment. Its component squadrons are:* Detachment 1* 380th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron* 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron (KC-10 Extender)* 968th Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron (E-3 Sentry)* Expeditionary Fighter Squadron (F-15C)** 159th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, Florida Air National Guard, from Jacksonville International Airport, FL. * Expeditionary Fighter Squadron (F-15E)**336th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base (June 2019 – November 2019)** 494th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron from RAF Lakenheath (October 2019 – 2020)* Expeditionary Fighter Squadron (F-22A)** 94th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron from Joint Base Langley–Eustis* Expeditionary Fighter Squadron (F-35)** 4th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron from Hill Air Force Base (April 2019 -)
History The group was activated at Plattsburgh Air Force Base, New York and assigned to the 380th Air Refueling Wing in 1991.This was because Strategic Air Command (SAC) was reorganizing its wings under the Objective Wing Organization. When it was disestablished the following year, the group became part of Air Mobility Command. This assignment did not last long, for the 1993 Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended the closure of Plattsburgh AFB and the group was inactivated in October 1994.The group was reactivated and redesignated as the '''380th Expeditionary Operations Group''' in early 2002 to support the War in Afghanistan. The group participated in Operation Enduring Freedom focused on Afghanistan; and the Iraq War from 2003, including the Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017), which the U.S. Department of Defense codenamed Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn.===Lineage===* Established as the '''380th Operations Group''' on 29 August 1991: Activated on 1 September 1991: Inactivated on 1 October 1994* Redesignated '''380th Expeditionary Operations Group''' and converted to provisional status on 4 December 2001* Redesignated as '''380th Expeditionary Operations Group''' in early 2002 and activated.===Assignments===* 380th Air Refueling Wing, 1 September 1991 – 1 October 1994* Air Combat Command to activate or inactivate as needed after 4 December 2001:: 380th Air Expeditionary Wing, c. January 2002–present===Units===* 12th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron: 2002-Undetermined* 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron: 2002-Undetermined* 964th Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron: 2002-Undetermined* 99th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron: 2002-Undetermined* 380th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron: 2002-Undetermined===Stations===* Plattsburgh Air Force Base, New York, 1 September 1991 – 1 October 1994* Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, c. January 2002 – present===Aircraft===* KC-135R/T Stratotanker, 1991–1994, 2002-Undetermined* KC-10A Extender, 2002-Undetermined
References ===Citations======Bibliography===* Fain, James E.(ed.). ''The History of the 380th Bomb Group (H), AAF, Affectionately Known as the Flying Circus, November 1942 – September 1945''. New York: Commandy-Roth Co., 1946. * Horton, Glenn R. Jr. ''The Best in the Southwest: The 380th Bomb Group in World War II''. Savage, Minnesota: Mosie Publications, 1995. * King of the Heavies – 380th Bomb Group, 1942–1945, by Glenn R. Horton Jr., and Gary L. Horton. Library of Congress Card Number 83–90348.Privately published, 1983, 184 pp. * Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. . * Williams, Theodore J., and Gotham, Barbara J., WE WENT TO WAR: A WWII Wartime Roster of the 380th Bombardment Group (H), PART II: A Roster of the Flight Crews of the 380th Bomb Group (H), published by Theodore J. Williams, West Lafayette, Indiana, September 1999. * Williams, Theodore J., Gotham, Barbara J., and Goble, Sue, WE WENT TO WAR: A WWII Wartime Roster of the 380th Bombardment Group (H), PART IV: A Listing of MOS/SSNs (Military Occupational Specialties/Service Speciality Numbers) Which Personnel of an Isolated Heavy Bombardment Group Would Probably Need During WWII, published by Theodore J. Williams, West Lafayette, Indiana, September 1999. * Williams, Theodore J., and Gotham, Barbara J., WE WENT TO WAR: A WWII Wartime Roster of the 380th Bombardment Group (H), PART VII: Keep 'Em Flying, published by Theodore J. Williams, West Lafayette, Indiana, September 2004. * Williams, Theodore J., and Gotham, Barbara J., WE WENT TO WAR: A WWII Wartime Roster of the 380th Bombardment Group (H), PART X: Why We Were in the Southwest Pacific Area:  A Review, published by Theodore J. Williams, West Lafayette, Indiana, October 2006. * Williams, Theodore J., and Gotham, Barbara J., WE WENT TO WAR: A WWII Wartime Roster of the 380th Bombardment Group (H), PART XI: Our Opposition ~ Japanese Anti-Aircraft Artillery and Fighter Units in the Southwest Pacific, published by Theodore J. Williams, West Lafayette, Indiana, March 2007. *  380th.org*  380th Expeditionary Operations Group Factsheet
External links *  The 380th Bomb Group Association*  The 380th Bomb Group from the 5th Air Force History*  380 History*  Snowflakes in the Desert, Airman Magazine, March 2004*  Deployed wing counts down to ‘The Move’