3d Operations Group
| 3d Operations Group | |
|---|---|
 90th Fighter Squadron Lockheed Martin F-22A Block 30 Raptor 05-4105  517th Airlift Squadron Boeing C-17A Lot XI Globemaster III 99-0168  62nd Airborne Air Control Squadron E-3B |
|
| Active | 1919–1957; 1991–present |
| Country |
 United States
|
| Branch |
 United States Air Force
|
| Type | Operations Group |
| Motto(s) | Non Solum Armis Latin Not by Arms Alone |
| Engagements |
|
| Decorations |
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| Insignia | |
| 3d Operations Group emblem |  |
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The 3d Operations Group is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 3d Wing. It is stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, and is assigned to Pacific Air Forces' Eleventh Air Force.
The group is a composite organization that provides air superiority and defense for Alaska flying F-22A Raptor stealth aircraft. In addition, the group supports Pacific Air Forces in the Pacific Command area of responsibility flying C-17 Globemaster III transports and E-3B sentry airborne early warning and control (AWACS) aircraft.
The group is a direct successor organization of the 3d Attack Group, one of the 15 original combat air groups formed by the Army before World War II. It is the oldest active group in the USAF, and the first created after the establishment of the U.S. Air Service. Based in Texas after World War I, the group patrolled the Mexican Border from Brownsville, Texas, to Nogales, Arizona. The group pioneered dive bombing, skip-bombing, and parafrag attacks in the 1920s—the earliest forms of precision guided attack from aircraft—and put this work to good use in World War II.
The World War II 3d Bombardment Group moved to Australia early in 1942 and served primarily in the Southwest Pacific Theater as a light bombardment group assigned to Fifth Air Force. The group participated in numerous campaigns during the war, engaging in combat over Japan; Netherlands East Indies; New Guinea; Bismarck Archipelago; Western Pacific; Leyte; Luzon and the Southern Philippines. On 2 November 1943, the group encountered heavy opposition from Japanese forces at Simpson Harbor, New Britain. In that attack Major Raymond H. Wilkins, commander of the 8th Bombardment Squadron, sank two ships before he was shot down as he deliberately drew the fire of a destroyer so that other planes of his squadron could withdraw safely-an action for which Maj Wilkins was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
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