451st Air Expeditionary Group
| 451st Air Expeditionary Group | |
|---|---|
An MQ-1 Predator taxis for an Operation Enduring Freedom mission
|
|
| Active | 1943–1945; 1961–1965; 2002–present |
| Country |
 United States
|
| Branch |
 United States Air Force
|
| Role | Command of Air Expeditionary forces |
| Size | Wing |
| Part of | United States Air Forces Central |
| Garrison/HQ | Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan |
| Engagements |
World War II European Campaign (1943–1945)
|
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Col Lucey |
| Insignia | |
| 451st Air Expeditionary Wing emblem |  |
| 451st Strategic Missile Wing emblem (Approved 29 June 1962) |  |
| Unofficial 451st Bombardment Group emblem |  |
World War II European Campaign (1943–1945)
The 451st Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force USAFCENT unit. It is assigned to Kandahar Airfield and is also the host unit at Kandahar. It reports to the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing at Bagram Air Base.
The group provides an airpower presence in the Afghanistan area of operations. Its airmen provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, command and control, remotely piloted aircraft operations, and airborne data link capabilities.
During the Cold War, the Strategic Air Command 451st Strategic Missile Wing was the first fully operational HGM-25A Titan I ICBM wing in 1962. During World War II, the wing's predecessor unit, the 451st Bombardment Group was a Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombardment organization, assigned to Fifteenth Air Force in Italy.
Tenant Units
Constituted as 451st Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 6 April 1943. Activated on 1 May 1943. Activated as a B-24 Liberator heavy bombardment unit; assigned to II Bomber Command for training. Primarily trained in the midwest. Received deployment orders for the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) in November 1943.
Deployed to Southern Italy in January 1944; entered combat in January 1944, being assigned to Fifteenth Air Force. Air echelon training in Algeria for several weeks before joining the remainder of the group in Italy. Engaged in very long range strategic bombing missions to enemy military, industrial and transportation targets in Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, and Yugoslavia. Attacked such targets as oil refineries, marshalling yards, aircraft factories, bridges, and airfields in Italy, France, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, and Greece.
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