701st Tactical Missile Wing
501st Combat Support Wing
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BGM-109G Gryphon ready for launch
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| Active | 1944–46, 1956–58, 1982–91, 2005–present |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Part of | United States Air Forces Europe |
| Garrison/HQ | RAF Alconbury |
| Motto(s) | Family first, Mission focused |
| Engagements | World War II Asiatic-Pacific Campaign (1945) |
| Decorations |
Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
| Insignia | |
| 501st Combat Support Wing emblem (approved 27 July 2004) |  |
| 701st Tactical Missile Wing emblem. (approved 20 June 1957) |  |
The 501st Combat Support Wing is a United States Air Forces in Europe unit based at RAF Alconbury, England. The wing traces its history to a World War II bombardment group which served in the Pacific, mostly bombing mainland Japan, in 1944–45. Successor tactical missile units carrying the 501st's heritage served in Europe during the Cold War.
Today the 501st CSW ensures three UK-based Air Base Groups are resourced, sustained, trained and equipped to exacting command standards in order to provide mission support that enables US and NATO war fighters to conduct full spectrum flying operations during expeditionary deployments, theater munitions movements, global command and control communications to forward deployed locations, support for theater intelligence operations and joint/combined training.
The 501 CSW currently oversees and supports four Air Base Groups operating a total of seven installations and operating locations in the U.K. and Norway. These are:
The wing has almost 2,600 U.S. military and civilian employees directly assigned, including non-appropriated fund employees. There are also 117 U.K. personnel who work directly for the wing in appropriated and non-appropriated positions and more than 180 U.K. Ministry of Defense police assigned, along with a wide range of contractor support positions, This does not include personnel working for vital support agencies such as Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES), Defense Commissary Agency, Department of Defense Schools and our many tenant units along with family members and retirees who reside in the United Kingdom. See the unit's public website at [1]
The wing's lineage and honors can be traced not just through its own history, but through the history of three earlier organizations:
The 501st BG was a World War II United States Army Air Forces combat organization serving primarily in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II. The 501st BG was part of Twentieth Air Force and engaged in very heavy bombardment B-29 Superfortress operations against Japan. Its aircraft were identified by a "Y" inside a diamond painted on the tail.
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Wikipedia