919th Operations Group
919th Special Operations Wing
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Wing MC-130E
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| Active | 1963–1965; 1971–present |
| Country |
 United States
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| Branch |
 United States Air Force
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| Type | Wing |
| Role | Special Operations |
| Size | 1,300 personnel |
| Part of | Air Force Reserve Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Duke Field, Florida |
| Decorations | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Colonel James M. Phillips |
| Insignia | |
| 919 Special Operations Wing emblem (approved 21 August 1980) |  |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Transport | MC-130E Combat Talon |
The 919th Special Operations Wing is an Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the Tenth Air Force, of Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Duke Field (Eglin Air Force Auxiliary Field #3), Florida.
The 919th SOW is an associate unit of the 1st Special Operations Wing, Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) and if mobilized the wing is gained by AFSOC.
The 919th SOW employs about 1,300 reservists. Air reserve technicians, commonly referred to as ARTs, are the nucleus of the wing. They provide management continuity to keep the units combat ready. ARTs carry dual status as full-time civil service employees for the Air Force who, as a condition of employment, must participate as reservists. More than 280 ARTs and 35 civilians support the wing in day-to-day operations.
During the first half of 1955, the Air Force began detaching Air Force Reserve squadrons from their parent wing locations to separate sites. The concept offered several advantages. Communities were more likely to accept the smaller squadrons than the large wings and the location of separate squadrons in smaller population centers would facilitate recruiting and manning. Continental Air Command (ConAC)'s plan called for placing Air Force Reserve units at fifty-nine installations located throughout the United States. When these relocations were completed in 1959, reserve wing headquarters and wing support elements would typically be on one base, along with one (or in some cases two) of the wing's flying squadrons, while the remaining flying squadrons were spread over thirty-five Air Force, Navy and civilian airfields under what was called the Detached Squadron Concept.
Although this dispersal was not a problem when the entire wing was called to active service, mobilizing a single flying squadron and elements to support it proved difficult. This weakness was demonstrated in the partial mobilization of reserve units during the Berlin Crisis of 1961 To resolve this, at the start of 1962, ConAC determined to reorganize its reserve wings by establishing groups with support elements for each of its troop carrier squadrons. This reorganization would facilitate mobilization of elements of wings in various combinations when needed. However, as this plan was entering its implementation phase, another partial mobilization occurred for the Cuban Missile Crisis, with the units being released on 22 November 1962. The formation of troop carrier groups occurred in January 1963 for units that had not been mobilized, but was delayed until February for those that had been.
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Wikipedia