Lineage. Established as 9 Strategic Reconnaissance Wing on 25 Apr 1949. Activated on 1 May 1949. Redesignated as: 9 Bombardment Wing, Heavy, on 1 Apr 1950; 9 Bombardment Wing, Medium, on 2 Oct 1950; 9 Strategic Aerospace Wing on 1 Apr 1962; 9 Strategic Reconnaissance Wing on 25 Jun 1966; 9 Wing on 1 Sep 1991; 9 Reconnaissance Wing on 1 Oct 1993.
Assignments. 311 Air Division, 1 May 1949; Second Air Force, 1 Nov 1949; Fifteenth Air Force, 1 Apr 1950; 14 Air Division, 10 Feb 1951; Fifteenth Air Force, 1 May 1953 (attached to 7 Air Division, 23 May–11 Jul 1955; 3 Air Division, 3–22 Oct 1955 and 1 Oct 1957–c. 10 Jan 1958); 813 Air (later, 813 Strategic Aerospace) Division, 15 Jul 1959; 14 Strategic Aerospace (later, 14 Air) Division, 25 Jun 1966; Second Air Force, 1 Sep 1991; Twelfth Air Force, 1 Jul 1993; Eighth Air Force, 1 Oct 2002; Twelfth Air Force, (Air Forces Southern), 1 Oct 2009; Twenty-Fifth Air Force, 26 Sep 2014-.
Operational Components. Wing. 5 Strategic Reconnaissance: attached 12 Nov 1949–10 Feb 1951. Groups. 5 Strategic Reconnaissance: attached 9 Nov 1949–10 Feb 1951. 9 Strategic Reconnaissance (later, 9 Bombardment; 9 Operations): 1 May 1949–16 Jun 1952; 1 Sep 1991–. Squadrons. 1 Bombardment (later, 1 Strategic Reconnaissance): attached 10 Feb 1951–15 Jun 1952, assigned 16 Jun 1952–1 Sep 1991. 5 Bombardment (later, 5 Strategic Reconnaissance Training): attached 10 Feb 1951–15 Jun 1952, assigned 16 Jun 1952–25 Jun 1966; assigned 1 Jul 1986–30 Jun 1990. 9 Air Refueling: 16 Jun 1952–15 Dec 1965 (detached 16 Jun 1952–30 Apr 1953). 38 Reconnaissance: attached 26 May–1 Jun 1949. 95 Reconnaissance: 30 Jun 1991–15 Sep 1993. 97 Air Refueling: 15 Jul 1961–1 Jul 1962 (detached). 99 Bombardment (later, 99 Strategic Reconnaissance): attached 10 Feb 1951–15 Jun 1952, assigned 16 Jun 1952–1 Apr 1971; assigned 30 Jun 1976–1 Sep 1991. 349 Air Refueling: 15 Mar 1983–1 Sep 1991. 350 Air Refueling: 15 Mar 1983–1 Sep 1991. 569 Strategic Missile: 1 Jun 1961–25 Jun 1965. 658 Bombardment: 1 Oct 1958–1 Jan 1962. 4029 Strategic Reconnaissance Training: 1 Aug 1981– 1 Jul 1986. 4364 Support (later, 4364 Post Attack Command and Control): 20 Jul 1962–25 Mar 1965.
Stations. Fairfield-Suisun (later, Travis) AFB, CA, 1 May 1949; Mountain Home AFB, ID, 1 May 1953; Beale AFB, CA, 25 Jun 1966–.
Commanders. Col Raymond L. Winn, 1 May 1949; Brig Gen Robert F. Travis, 16 Jun 1949; Col Carlos L. Cochrane, 6 Aug 1950; Col Joe W. Kelly, 10 Aug 1950; Col Clifford J. Heflin, 10 Feb 1951; Brig Gen William C. Kingsbury, 5 Jan 1953; Col Robert V. DeShazo, 27 Jul 1957; Col Rufus H. Holloway, 15 Jul 1959; Col Walter Y. Lucas, 7 Jun 1960; Col William L. Gray, 5 Jul 1962; Col William R. Smith, 2 Apr 1964; Col Walter Y. Lucas, 10 Jun 1965; Maj Adelbert J. Lemke, c. May 1966; Col Douglas T. Nelson, 25 Jun 1966; Col William R. Hayes, 14 Dec 1966; Col Charles F. Minter Sr., 17 Jun 1969; Col Harold E. Confer, 1 Jul 1970; Col Jerome F. O’Malley, 31 May 1972; Col Patrick J. Halloran, 10 May 1973; Col John H. Storrie, 30 Jun 1975; Col Lyman M. Kidder, 30 Sep 1977; Col Franklin D. Shelton, 1 Feb 1979; Col David G. Young, c. 17 Jul 1980; Col Thomas S. Pugh, 20 Jul 1982; Col George V. Freese, 4 Aug 1983; Col David H. Pinsky, 28 Jan 1985; Col Richard H. Graham, 17 Jul 1987; Col James S. Savarda, 6 Dec 1988; Col Thomas J. Keck, 12 Jun 1990; Col Richard A. Young, 21 Nov 1991; Col Larry W. Tieman, 28 Jun 1993; Brig Gen John W. Rutledge, 15 Jul 1994; Brig Gen Robert H. Behler, 22 Sep 1995; Brig Gen Charles N. Simpson, 18 Apr 1997; Brig Gen Kevin P. Chilton, 2 Jun 1999; Brig Gen Stanley Gorenc, 15 Sep 2000; Brig Gen Thomas B. Wright, 21 Mar 2003; Brig Gen Lawrence L. Wells, 6 Aug 2004; Brig Gen Harry D. Polumbo Jr., 15 May 2006; Brig Gen Robert P. Otto, 2 Jun 2008; Brig Gen Paul H. McGillicuddy, 4 Apr 2010; Col Phillip A. Stewart, 10 May 2012-.
Aircraft and Missiles. B/RB-17, 1949-1950; B-29, 1949-1954; RB-29, 1949-1951; RB-36, 1949-1950, 1951; KB-29, 1953; B-47, 1954-1966; KC-97, 1954-1965; Titan, 1962-1965; EB-47, 1962-1965; T-38, 1969-; SR-71, 1966-1990; U-2, 1976-; TR-1, 1981-1993; KC-135, 1983-1993; SR-71, 1995-1999; RQ-4, 2002-; MC-12, 2011-.
Operations. Conducted strategic reconnaissance with assigned components, May 1949-Mar 1950, and with components of 5 Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, Nov 1949-Feb 1951. Conducted strategic bombardment training, Feb 1951-1965. Performed air refueling, May-Jul 1953, Sep 1954-Dec 1965, and Mar 1983-Oct 1993. Conducted Strategic Air Command (SAC) airborne communications relay missions, Dec 1962-Mar 1965. Deployed to Fairford RAF Station, England, May-Jul 1955; at Kadena AB, Okinawa, 3-22 Oct 1955; at Eielson AFB, AK, 18-22 Jan 1965; and at Andersen AFB, Guam, Oct 1957-Jan 1958. Controlled a Titan missile complex, Jun 1961-Jun 1965. Phased down operations at Mountain Home AFB, ID, Jan-Jun 1966; then moved to Beale AFB, CA. Equipped with SR-71 aircraft in 1966; performed strategic reconnaissance in Southeast Asia beginning in 1968; provided photographic intelligence for the Son Tay prison camp raid in North Vietnam, Nov 1970. Conducted humanitarian and scientific missions for Department of Defense (DOD) and other government agencies when requested. Added U-2 and U-2R aircraft in 1976 and specialized KC-135Q tankers in 1983 to become the only USAF wing so equipped. Participated in USAF operations worldwide, including Grenada, Oct-Nov 1983; and Libya, Apr 1986. Following the 1990 retirement of SR-71 aircraft, U-2 aircraft flew intelligence-gathering missions, Aug 1990-Mar 1991, in Southwest Asia, particularly during the Gulf War buildup and subsequent combat operations. Continued to provide worldwide reconnaissance as directed. In 1993, lost its air refueling capacity and specialized in global high altitude manned surveillance and reconnaissance missions for the National Command Authorities, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and theater commanders. While flying U-2s as its primary aircraft, it also flew SR-71s, the world’s fastest aircraft, from 1995 to 1999. Although the wing headquarters remained at Beale AFB, CA, it also operated components at several locations around the world. After the terrorist attack on the United States on 11 September, 2001, wing elements took part in reconnaissance missions in support of U. S. military efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq, flying both the manned U-2 and the unmanned RQ-4 Global Hawk aircraft. As the Air Force’s only U-2 training center, provided initial, requalification and proficiency training for all U-2 pilots and mission planners and all RQ-4 crewmembers, 2004-.
Service Streamers. None.
Campaign Streamers. Southwest Asia: Defense of Saudi Arabia; Liberation and Defense of Kuwait. Global War on Terrorism: GWOT-E.
Armed Forces Expeditionary Streamers. Grenada, 1983.
Decorations. Presidential Unit Citation: 31 Mar–31 Dec 1968. Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat “V” Device: 1 Jul 1972–30 Jun 1973. Meritorious Unit Awards: 1 Jun 2009-31 May 2011; 1 Jun 2016-31 May 2017. Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards: 1 Jan 1957–31 Jan 1958; 1 Jul 1967–30 Jun 1968; 1 Jul 1970–30 Jun 1971; 1 Jul 1971–30 Jun 1972; 1 Jul 1973–30 Jun 1975; 1 Jul 1975–30 Jun 1977; 1 Jul 1981–30 Jun 1982; 1 Jul 1983–30 Jun 1984; 1 Jul 1985–30 Jun 1986; 1 Jul 1986–30 Jun 1987; 1 Jul 1989–30 Jun 1990; 1 Jul 1993-30 Jun 1994; 1 Jul 1994-30 Jun 1995; 1 Jun 1996-31 May 1998; 1 Jun 1998-31 May 2000; 1 Jun 2000-31 May 2002; 1 Jun 2002-31 May 2004; 1 Jun 2005-31 May 2007; 1 Jun 2007-31 May 2009; 1 Jun 2011-31 May 2012; 1 Jun 2013-31 May 2014; 1 Jun 2014-31 May 2015; 1 Jun 2015-31 May 2016.
Bestowed Honors. Authorized to display honors earned by the 9 Operations Group prior to 1 May 1949. Service Streamers. None. Campaign
Streamers. World War II: Antisubmarine, American Theater; Eastern Mandates; Western Pacific; Air Offensive, Japan. Decorations. Distinguished Unit Citations: Kawasaki, Japan, 15/16 Apr 1945; Japan, 13–28 May 1945.
Lineage, Assignments, Components, Stations, and Honors through 6 July 2018.
Commanders, Aircraft, and Operations through Nov 2013.
Supersedes statement prepared on 15 Aug 2016.
Emblem. Approved on 1 Jul 1952; latest rendering, 30 Oct 2018.
Prepared by Daniel L. Haulman.