54th Pursuit Group

54th Fighter Group (Air Defense)
F-16 Fighting Falcon as flown by the 54th Fighter Group
Active	1941–1944, 1955–1958, 2014
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Fighter Training
Size	800 people
Part of	Air Force Reserve Command
Garrison/HQ	Holloman Air Force Base
Engagements	American Theater of World War II Pacific Theater of Operations
Decorations	Distinguished Unit Citation
Insignia
54th Fighter Group emblem (Approved 8 March 1957)
Emblem of the 54th Fighter Group as originally approved

The 54th Fighter Group is an active United States Air Force unit, stationed at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico and assigned to the 56th Fighter Wing of Air Education and Training Command. The group was reactivated in March 2014.

The group was first activated as the 54th Pursuit Group during the buildup of the Air Corps just prior to World War II. It served in Alaska during the Aleutian Islands Campaign, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation. It then returned to the United States and served as a training unit.

The group was again activated in 1955 as part of Air Defense Command's Project Arrow, replacing the 500th Air Defense Group. It served in the air defense role until 1958 when it was inactivated.

The group was activated once again as a training unit for the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon in 2014.

The group was activated as the 54th Pursuit Group (Interceptor) at the beginning of 1941 at Hamilton Field, California. with the 42d, 56th, and 57th Pursuit Squadrons assigned. It trained with Curtiss P-36 Hawks and Curtiss P-40 Warhawks, then moved to Everett Army Air Field, where it served as a part of the air defense force for the northwest Pacific coast during the first few months of World War II. The group and its squadrons were redesignated as fighter units in May 1942.