History Summary
The Air Force Reserve has had a presence at Hill Air Force Base since the 1940s and has maintained a flying mission here since 1955, logging missions in the T-33 Shooting Star, F-80 Shooting Star, F-84 Thunderjet, C-119 Flying Boxcar, C-124 Globemaster II, C-46 Commando, F-105 Thunderchief, and F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft.
Operational Firsts
-- First AF Reserve unit to employ precision guided munitions in combat (ONW 1999)
-- First AF unit to employ LITENING II targeting pods in combat (ONW 2000)
-- First F-16 unit to fly combat missions in OEF (2001)
- First AF F-16 unit to drop ordnance in OEF
- The longest duration single-sortie F-16 combat mission in history - 11.8 hours . The most total time for four-ship on a single mission - 39.2 hours
-- First F-16 unit to fly combat missions in OIF (2003)
- Multiple Bronze Stars and Distinguished Flying Crosses
Significant Milestones/Deployments
1984 - 2000
-- 419th FW became the first Reserve unit to fly the F-16 (1984)
-- More than 100 personnel were mobilized in support of Operations Desert Shield/Storm (1991-1992)
-- 350 personnel deployed to Incirlik, Turkey, in support of Operation Provide Comfort II to enforce the no-fly zone over northern Iraq (1994)
-- 400 personnel returned to Incirlik, Turkey to support Operation Northern Watch to deter the Iraqi military from terrorizing its neighbors (1997)
-- 100 personnel deployed to Kuwait in support of Operation Southern Watch (1998)
-- First AF Reserve unit to employ precision guided munitions in combat in Northern Iraq near Mosul (1999)
-- 251 personnel deployed to Turkey in support of Operation Northern Watch (2000)
2001 - Present
-- Since Sept. 11, 2001 nearly 3,000 personnel have deployed in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom and New Dawn
-- Wing pilots logged combat missions over Afghanistan the month following the 9/11 attacks (2001)
-- 20 members of the Security Forces and Civil Engineer squadrons were mobilized for 18 months in support of OIF and OEF (2001)
-- Wing pilots Civil Air Patrol mission over undisclosed locations (2002)
-- More than 100 personnel enforced the no-fly zone over southern Iraq. Once deployed, members were called to active duty in support of OIF. Several earned the Bronze Star and Distinguished Flying Cross (with heroism) for their actions (2003)
-- More than 100 personnel from the wing's Medical Squadron, Security Forces Squadron, and 67th Aerial Port Squadron supported OIF contingency operations (2004)
-- Nearly 200 operations and maintenance personnel deployed to Balad AB, Iraq in support of OIF for 45 days (2005)
-- 3 Medical Squadron personnel deployed to Balad, Iraq for a total of 105 days
-- The wing's fleet of F-16 aircraft was transferred to other units as part of the Total Force Integration initiative. Operations and maintenance personnel began flying and fixing aircraft alongside active duty counterparts in the 388th Fighter Wing (2007)
-- Since the TFI association, deployed operations and maintenance taskings have been performed through volunteerism; no mobilization required (Jul 2007-present)
-- Operations and maintenance personnel supported 388th FW in back to back deployments for 400 consecutive days to Balad, Iraq. Throughout the 15-month period, they flew more than 5,000 combat missions and 20,000 hours. During 24-hour-a-day operations, they responded to more than 3,000 requests for air support and provided precision-guided, air-to-ground support in more than 200 engagements (Aug 2007-Oct 2008)
-- Deployed pilots flew 134 combat missions and logged 563.6 hours of combat time in support of OIF - 100% success rate and produced time-sensitive intelligence resulting in 199 successful raids and 182 High Value Insurgents (2009)
-- Hundreds of support personnel deployed throughout Southwest Asia, including:
- PERSCO team to Manas, Kyrgyzstan (2009)
- Firefighters mobilized to Kirkuk, Iraq for 120 days (2009)
- Aerial Porters to Bagdad, Iraq (2009)
-- Maintenance personnel deployed for 3,670 total days - 200% over annual tour minimum standard (2009)
-- 10 operations and maintenance personnel supported first-ever F-16 Afghan tasking - provided security during Afghan elections (2009)
-- Mission support personnel deployed on humanitarian missions to the Caribbean, Africa, Central America, and within the United States (2009)
-- Explosive Ordnance Disposal team deployed to Washington D.C. to support President Obama's Inauguration ceremony (2009)
-- 15 Aerial Port Squadron personnel deployed to Port-au-Prince, Haiti to restore airfield operations following massive earthquake, earning the Humanitarian Service Medal (2010)
-- Nearly 50 maintenance personnel deployed to Bagram, Afghanistan for 90-180 days (2010)
-- 419th FW unveils heritage park honoring Reserve presence at Hill AFB, featuring refurbished F-16 and F-105 aircraft (2010)
-- 2 flight surgeons deployed to Afghanistan for 4-month stints; 2 medics deployed to Iraq for 6 months (2010)
-- More than 30 Civil Engineer personnel were mobilized to Bagram, Afghanistan for 263 days (2010 - present)
-- Nearly 30 pilots and operations support personnel deploy to Bagram, Afghanistan in support of 388 FW AEF rotations (2010-present)
-- About 23 Aerial Port Squadron personnel deployed to Balad, Iraq for 163 days (2010-present)
-- Explosive Ordnance Disposal team deployed to D.C. to support Pakistan president's visit to White House (2011)
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