384th Bombardment Wing

384th Air Expeditionary Wing
384th Air Expeditionary Wing emblem
Active	1942–2004
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Aerial refueling
Part of	CENTAF/9th Air Force
Garrison/HQ	Shaikh Isa Air Base, Bahrain
Motto(s)	Keep the Show on the Road
Commanders
Notable commanders	Charles T. Robertson, Jr.

The 384th Air Expeditionary Wing (384 AEw) is an inactive unit of the United States Air Force. Its last assignment was with to the United States Central Command Air Forces, being stationed at Shaikh Isa Air Base, Bahrain. It was inactivated in 2004.

The wing's mission is largely undisclosed; however, it is known that one of its missions was aerial refueling of combat aircraft.

The 384th Bombardment Wing of the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command was established at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas on 1 August 1955. With its establishment, the 384th Bomb Group was activated as the operational group of the wing, bestowing its World War II honors, heritage and colors to the new Wing. Operational squadrons of the wing were the 544th, 545th, and 546th Bomb Squadrons. It was equipped with the Boeing B-47E Stratojet.

The 384 BW accomplished a truly remarkable feat by being certified combat ready just nine months after receiving its first aircraft. Stringent SAC requirements called for a specified percentage of the crews to be certified in order for the wing to be considered combat ready. Since aircrew members were fresh out of student status, beginning to arrive about the same times the aircraft did, preparing the group to become fully combat ready was a tremendous task. The culture of the organization would accept nothing less than full effort, and when the newly formed wing was mission capable by September 1956, it became the first such SAC wing to do so in such a short time.

The 384 BW handled bomber alert duties, spending countless days and nights on alert status with their aircraft armed, fueled, and ready to go at a moment’s notice. 384th aircrews also commonly participated in REFLEX operations, spending short but continually recurring periods of time at forward locations around the world.

The era of the Stratojet ended on 1 September 1964 when the 384 BW inactivated with the phaseout of the B-47 from the USAF inventory.

The 384th was reactivated on 1 December 1972 as the 384th Air Refueling Wing, Heavy at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas with Boeing KC-135A Stratotankers and took command of the 91st Air Refueling Squadron (ARS). It was assigned to the 12th Strategic Missile Division, Fifteenth Air Force, Strategic Air Command.