140th Operations Group | |
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F-16s of the 140th TFW over Denver, Colorado
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Active | 1943-1945; 1946-1974; 1993-Present |
Country | United States |
Allegiance | Colorado |
Branch | Air National Guard |
Type | Group |
Role | Composite Fighter/Transport |
Part of | Colorado Air National Guard |
Garrison/HQ | Buckley Air Force Base |
Engagements |
European Theater of World War II Operation Northern Watch, Operation Southern Watch, Operation Noble Eagle, Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Iraqi Freedom. |
Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Belgian Fourragere Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
Insignia | |
140th Operations Group emblem | |
Tail Code | CO "Colorado" tail stripe |
The 140th Operations Group is a unit of the Colorado Air National Guard, stationed at Buckley Air Force Base, Aurora, Colorado. If activated to federal service, the group is gained by Air Combat Command of the United States Air Force.
The group's 120th Fighter Squadron was first organized as the World War I 120th Aero Squadron on 28 August 1917. It was reformed on 27 June 1923 as the 120th Observation Squadron, one of the 29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of the United States Army National Guard formed before World War II.
The group was activated as the 370th Fighter Group and served in the European Theater of World War II where it earned two Distinguished Unit Citations and was awarded the Belgian Fourragere after being cited twice in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army.
In 1946 the group, now redesignated the 140th Fighter Group, was one of the original twenty-seven regular Army Air Forces groups allotted to the National Guard. Since 1950 the group has controlled the operational squadrons of the 140th Wing, except for the period 1974-1993, when the group was inactive.
The 140th flies F-16C/D/ Fighting Falcons (Air Combat Command) fighter and C-21 Learjet (Air Mobility Command) airlift missions. It also controls the 137th Space Warning Squadron (Air Force Space Command).