57th Wing

The 57th Wing (57 WG) is an operational unit of the United States Air Force (USAF) Warfare Center, stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.

57th Wing
57th Wing Shield
ActiveNovember 20, 1940 – present
CountryUnited States
BranchAir Force
TypeOperational Test and Evaluation
Part ofAir Combat Command
Garrison/HQNellis Air Force Base
Decorations DUC
AFOUA
Commanders
Current
commander		Brig Gen Richard Goodman
Notable
commanders		John P. Jumper
T. Michael Moseley
Joseph Ashy
Jeannie Leavitt
A flight of Aggressor F-15 Eagles and F-16 Fighting Falcons fly in formation. The jets are assigned to the 64th and 65th Aggressor squadrons at Nellis Air Force Base. Identified aircraft are F-16C Block 32C 86-251; Block 25E 84-1299; F-15C-27-MC 80-0010 and F-15D-39-MC 85-129.
The USAF Thunderbirds at the dedication of the United States Air Force Memorial 14 October 2006
An F-22A Raptor and F-15C Eagle from the U.S. Air Force Weapons School's 433rd Weapons Squadron pull into a vertical climb over the Nevada Test and Training Range July 16, 2010.
26th Weapons Squadron MQ-1 Predator
65th Aggressor Squadron F-35A on their way to their inaugural training mission

The 57 WG's mission is to provide well trained and well equipped combat forces ready to deploy into a combat arena to conduct integrated combat operations.

Mission

The 57 WG is home to advanced air combat training. The wing provides training for composite strike forces which include every type of aircraft in the USAF inventory. Training is conducted in conjunction with air and ground units of the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and air forces from US allied nations. The crews do not come to learn how to fly, but instead learn how to be combat aviators.

Units

The wing was reorganized in 2005 to reflect its current structure.

The 57th OG consists of Aggressor squadrons that replicate adversary threat tactics while training combat air forces aircrews.
64th Aggressor Squadron: 15 Sep 2005-Present
65th Aggressor Squadron: 9 June 2022-Present
57th Adversary Tactics Support Squadron
57th Information Aggressor Squadron
507th Air Defense Aggressor Squadron
547th Intelligence Squadron
Composed of 16 squadrons, the U.S. Air Force Weapons School teaches graduate-level instructor courses that provide advanced training in weapons and tactics employment to officers of the combat air forces.
"America's Ambassadors in Blue," the Thunderbirds have performed for more than 300 million people in all 50 states and 60 countries around the world.
  • 57th Maintenance Group
USAF's most diverse maintenance group with over 2,200 Airmen, civilians and contractors in 3 squadrons, 8 Aircraft Maintenance Units, 13 flying hour programs and Air Combat Command's largest A-76 backshop service provider contract worth over $230M. Provides sortie generation, munitions and on- and off-equipment maintenance for 132 assigned A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-15 Eagle, F-15E Strike Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-35A Lightning II and F-22A Raptor aircraft to support the test, tactics and training missions.
  • United States Air Force Advanced Maintenance and Munitions Operations School
Provides graduate-level instruction to maintenance and munitions officers and senior non-commissioned officers to perform as expert field level logistics leaders.

The Thunderbirds and the USAF Advanced Maintenance and Munitions Operations School report directly to the 57th Wing commander.

History
See 57th Operations Group for complete lineage and timeline information.
See 57th Adversary Tactics Group and USAF Weapons School for the flying components of the 57th Wing.
See USAF Air Demonstration Squadron for the United States Air Force Thunderbirds.

Established on 15 March 1948, the 57th Fighter Wing replaced 57th Fighter Wing (Provisional) in April 1948. It operated Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, and several satellite bases, and provided air defense of Alaska, April 1948-December 1950. In addition, the wing provided intra-theater troop carrier and airlift support, 1948–1950, using several attached troop carrier squadrons. In January 1951, it was replaced by 39th Air Depot Wing.

The 57th moved to Nevada and replaced the 4525th Fighter Weapons Wing at Nellis Air Force Base, in October 1969. At Nellis, it trained tactical fighter aircrews, conducted operational tests and evaluations, demonstrated tactical fighter weapon systems, and developed fighter tactics and from February 1970 to October 1979 and operated Nellis AFB for all base tenants. The USAF Air Demonstration Squadron (the "Thunderbirds") was assigned to the wing in February 1974 and has remained an integral part of the wing to present. The 57th assumed operational control of "Red Flag" exercises in October 1979; developing realistic combat training operations featuring adversary tactics, dissimilar air combat training, and electronic warfare. It incorporated intelligence training after March 1980. In 1990 the aggressor mission transferred to 4440th TFTG and later to the 414th CTS. The wing added instruction in hunter/killer counter electronic warfare tactics until 1996.

Modern era

From 1992–1999, the wing operated detachments at Cannon AFB, New Mexico, Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, and Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, that flew and tested the F-111 Aardvark, B-1B Lancer and B-52 Stratofortress respectively. It added the 66th Rescue Squadron, equipped with HH-60 helicopters, on February 1, 1993, while the squadron was deployed in Southwest Asia. From 1991 to present, the 57th provided combat aircrew capabilities, operating the USAF Weapons and the USAF Combat Rescue Schools, developing techniques and procedures and conducting operational test and evaluation on all major aircraft in the AF inventory.

With the reactivation of the 432d Wing at Creech Air Force Base on May 1, 2007, the elements that comprised the 57th Operations Group, were transferred to the 432nd Wing.

The 57th Adversary Tactics Group, which was established in 2005, merged into the 57th Operations Group on 31 March 2020.[1]

Lineage
  • Established as 57th Fighter Wing c. 15 March 1948*
Organized on 20 April 1948
Redesignated 57th Fighter-Interceptor Wing on 20 January 1950
Inactivated on 1 January 1951
  • Redesignated 57th Fighter Weapons Wing on 22 August 1969
Activated on 15 October 1969 by redesignation of 4525th Fighter Weapons Wing
Redesignated: 57th Tactical Training Wing on 1 April 1977
Redesignated: 57th Fighter Weapons Wing on 1 March 1980
Redesignated: 57th Fighter Wing on 1 October 1991
Redesignated: 57th Wing on 15 June 1993.

*Note: The 57th Fighter Wing (Provisional) was established on 16 April 1947 at Fort Richardson, Alaska, as one of the "Base-Wing" concept provisional Table of Distribution (T/D) organizations. The provisional wing was inactivated and replaced by the 57th Fighter Wing in March 1948 (exact date unknown).

Assignments
  • Alaskan Air Command, 20 April 1948 – 1 January 1951
  • USAF Tactical Fighter Weapons (later, USAF Fighter Weapons; USAF Weapons and Tactics; Air Warfare) Center, 15 October 1969–present

Components

Groups

April 20, 1948 – January 1, 1951 (detached December 10, 1950 – January 1, 1951)
November 1, 1991 –
  • 57th Adversary Tactics Group, 1 July 2005–present
  • 57th Test Group: November 1, 1991 – October 1, 1996
  • 4440th Tactical Fighter Training Group (Red Flag)
Attached October 1, 1979 – February 28, 1980
Assigned March 1, 1980 – November 1, 1991
  • 4443d Tactical Training Group: January 26, 1990 – November 1, 1991.

Squadrons

Schools

Stations

Aircraft operated

List of commanders

Brig Gen Joel T. Hall

References
  1. West, Master Sgt. Heidi (3 April 2020). "57th OG, ATG merge functions, streamlines mission readiness". US Air Force. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  2. "GENERAL JOSEPH W. ASHY". www.af.mil.
  3. "LIEUTENANT GENERAL STEPHEN L. HOOG". www.af.mil.
  4. "New 57th commander takes charge". Nellis Air Force Base.
  5. "57th Wing welcomes new commander". Nellis Air Force Base.
  6. "57th Wing welcomes new commander". Nellis Air Force Base.
  7. "Short takes command of 57th Wing". Nellis Air Force Base.
  8. "Nellis Air Force Base welcomes 57th Wing's first woman commander". April 16, 2016.
  9. "57th Wing bids farewell to Leavitt, welcomes Novotny". Nellis Air Force Base.
  10. "57th WG welcomes new commander". Nellis Air Force Base.

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

  • Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
  • Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9.
  • Rogers, Brian (2005). United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978. Hinkley, England: Midland Publications. ISBN 1-85780-197-0.
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