96th Air Base Wing

96th Test Wing
96th Test Wing emblem
Active	1942-45, 1947-49, 1953-93, 1994–present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Weapons testing and base support
Size	More than 9,800 military, civilian, and contractor personnel
Part of	Air Force Materiel Command
Garrison/HQ	Eglin Air Force Base, Florida
Motto(s)	E Sempre L'ora Italian It Is Always The Hour
Engagements	European Theater of Operations
Decorations	Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Commanders
Current commander	Brig. Gen. Christopher P. Azzano
Notable commanders	Archie J. Old, Jr. George Lee Butler Merlyn Hans Dethlefsen

The 96th Test Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Test Center of Air Force Materiel Command at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The wing was activated at Eglin in 1994 as the 96th Air Base Wing, the headquarters for all support units on Eglin, the largest installation in the Air Force. In 2012, it absorbed the mission and resources of the 46th Test Wing and added the mission of testing and evaluating weapons, navigation and guidance systems and command and control systems.

The wing's first predecessor was organized during World War II as the 96th Bombardment Group. After training in the United States, the group flew Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses from England. The group led the first shuttle mission to Regensburg on 17 August 1943. The group earned two Distinguished Unit Citations for its combat performance. After VE Day, the group returned to the United States and was inactivated. The group was briefly active in the Air Force Reserve from 1947 until 1949.

The 96th Bombardment Wing was activated in 1953 at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma and received Boeing B-47 Stratojet bombers the following year as a component of Strategic Air Command's deterrent force. In 1957 the wing moved to Dyess Air Force Base, Texas where it converted to the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress in 1963 and the Rockwell B-1 Lancer in 1985. The wing also operated air refueling aircraft, and during the early 1960s was assigned a squadron of intercontinental ballistic missiles. In 1984, the World War II group was consolidated with the wing. The wing was inactivated in 1993 and its mission, personnel and equipment were transferred to the 7th Bomb Wing, which moved on paper to Dyess when Carswell Air Force Base became a reserve installation.