732nd Air Expeditionary Group

732nd Air Expeditionary Group
732nd Air Expeditionary Group
	A member of the 732nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron with Iraqi police officers
Active	1940–1945; 2004–2010
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Air Expeditionary Group
Part of	Air Combat Command
Engagements	European Theater of Operations Global War on Terrorism
Decorations	Meritorious Unit Citation; Air Force Meritorious Unit Award
Insignia
732nd Air Expeditionary Group emblem

The 732nd Air Expeditionary Group is an inactive provisional United States Air Force unit. It was last active at Joint Base Balad, where it provided support for airmen supporting units of other services in Iraq.

The group was first activated as the 32nd Air Base Group in 1940. As the 32nd Service Group, it provided support for Ninth Air Force Units in the European Theater of Operations until it was inactivated shortly after VE Day.

History

World War II

The group was first activated in 1940 at March Field, California as the 32nd Air Base Group with an air base squadron and two materiel squadrons assigned. In June 1942, along with other air base groups, its air base squadron was reassigned and it was converted into the 32nd Service Group, a support unit designed to provide support for two combat groups. After training in the United States, It moved to England, where it served with IX Air Force Service Command until it was disbanded in June 1945, when the Army Air Forces replaced its service groups with air service groups consisting entirely of Air Corps personnel and designed to support a single combat group.^[5]

War in Iraq

The 732nd Air Expeditionary Group was a subordinate unit to the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, whose heritage is tied to the famous 332nd Fighter Group led by the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II. Its mission and traditions were carried out by airmen headquartered at Joint Base Balad, Iraq with the motto "Tuskegee Airmen...The Legend Continues."

The 732nd Air Expeditionary Group was composed of roughly 1,800 Air Force personnel spread across six squadrons with detachments tactically assigned to U.S. Army, Marine Corps and Coalition units at 44 locations throughout Iraq. Originally the 732 Expeditionary Mission Support Group, the unit was re-designated an air expeditionary group to reflect its theater-wide combat and combat support responsibilities at the height of the 2006–2007 US military surge. The six squadrons of the 732 AEG conducted combat and combat support for or in lieu of US Army, Marine Corps and Iraqi Army and Police Forces, at locations including downtown Baghdad; Camp Speicher; Al Asad Air Base; Camp Anaconda (Balad Air Base); Camp Habbaniyah; Camp Bucca; Camp Caldwell (Kirkush); Tallil Air Base; Mosul Air Base; Camp Rustamiyah; Baghdad International Airport; Green Zone; Kirkuk Air Base; Camp Hadithah; Taji Air Base and numerous forward operating bases.

Colonel Larry Jackson assumed command of the 732 EMSG in July 2006 and, after December 2006, served as the first 732 AEG commander until July 2007 during which the brigade-level group's Airmen included security forces, Red Horse and civil engineers, military working dog teams, intelligence specialists, explosive ordnance disposal specialists, logisticians and transportation specialists, airfield managers, judge advocate and legal services specialists and interrogators. The 732 AEG's motto was "Combat Airpower with a Hooah...Right Here, Right Now!"

Reflecting its active combat and combat support mission, the 732 AEG suffered 42 battle casualties from July 2006 to July 2007 including six killed-in-action: Capt. Kermit O. Evans, Master Sgt. Brad A. Clemmons, Staff Sgt. John T. Self, Army Sgt. Keith E. Fiscus, Airman 1st Class LeeBernard E. Chavis, and Airman 1st Class Jason D. Nathan.^[6] Redesignated 732nd Air Expeditionary Group in December 2006 with Colonel Lawrence M. Jackson II as its first commander. The group was inactivated in November 2010 and the 467th Air Expeditionary Group was activated in its place.^[7]

Lineage

Constituted as the 32nd Air Base Group (Reinforced) on 20 November 1940^{[note 1]}

Activated on 15 January 1941

Redesignated 32nd Air Base Group on 6 November 1941

Redesignated 32nd Service Group on 13 June 1942

Disbanded on 11 June 1945
Reconstituted, redesignated 732nd Expeditionary Mission Support Group and converted to provisional status on 14 January 2004. Allotted to Air Combat Command to activate or inactivate as needed.

Activated on 2 March 2004

Redesignated 732nd Air Expeditionary Group in December 2006

Inactivated on 12 November 2010^[7]

Assignments

GHQ Air Force (later, Air Force Combat Command), 15 January 1941
4th Air Force Service Command (later, 4th Air Base Command), 1 October 1941
Western Theater of Operations, Air Service Command, 30 December 1941
Mobile Air Service Area Command, c. January 1943
Warner Robins Air Service Area Command, 1943
Eighth Air Force (later United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe), 28 January 1944
IX Air Force Service Command, 4 February 1944 – 11 June 1945
332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, 2 March 2004 – 12 November 2010

Stations

March Field, California, 15 January 1941
Dale Mabry Field, Florida, 31 December 1942
Venice Army Air Field, Florida, 9 October 1943 – 27 December 1943
RAF Zeals (Station 450),^[8] England, 31 January 1944
RAF Kingsnorth (Station 418),^[8] England, 11 March 1944
Brucheville Airfield (A-16),^[9] France, 8 July 1944
Le Mans Airfield (A-35),^[9] France, 29 August 1944
Athis Airfield (A-76),^[9] France, 30 September 1944
Juvincourt Airfield (A-68),^[9] France, 6 October 1944
Le Culot Airfield (A-89),^[9] France, 27 October 1944
- Detachment A

Aachen, Germany, 29 March 1945

Niedermendig, Germany, 9 April 1945

Kassel, Germany, 22 April – 11 June 1945

- Detachment B

Venio, Netherlands, 16 March 1945

Lippstadt, Germany, 23 April 1945

Munich, Germany, 26 May – 11 June 1945

- Detachment C

Charleroi, Belgium, 20 March 1945

Maastricht, Netherlands, c. March 1945

Wiesbaden, Germany, 20 April – 11 June 45

Joint Base Balad, Iraq 14 January 2004 – 12 November 2010

Honors

Service Streamers: World War II American Theater
Campaign Streamers.
- World War II:
  - Normandy 1944
  - Northern France 1944
  - Rhineland 1944–1945
  - Central Europe 1945
Armed Forces Expeditionary Streamers. None
Decorations. Meritorious Unit Citation: England, France, Belgium, 18 January – 30 November 1944.

References

Notes

^ This unit is not related to the 32nd Air Base Group that was constituted on 10 August 1948 and activated at Kadena Air Base 18 Aug 1948, inactivated 1 April 1949 and reactivated at Minot Air Force Base from 1 February 1961 to 1 July 1962. See Fletcher, p. 63; Mueller, p. 421.

Citations

^ "Special Order G-33994, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Campaign Credit" (PDF). United States Air Forces Central Command. 14 July 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
^ AF Pamphlet 900-2
^ "Air Force Personnel Services: Unit Awards". Air Force Personnel Center. Retrieved 29 January 2017. (search)
^ "Uniformed Services: U.S. Air Force:732nd Air Expeditionary Group". The Institute of Heraldry. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
^ See Coleman, p. 208 (replacement of service groups with air service groups).
^ "Fact Sheets : 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing : 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing". Archived from the original on 5 November 2007. Retrieved 9 February 2008.
^ ^a ^b Allen, SSG Sanjay (22 November 2010). "467th AEG provides world-class support to IA, JET Airmen". U.S. Air Forces Central Public Affair. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
^ ^a ^b Station number in Anderson.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Station number in Johnson.

Bibliography

Anderson, Capt. Barry (1985). Army Air Forces Stations: A Guide to the Stations Where U.S. Army Air Forces Personnel Served in the United Kingdom During World War II (PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
Coleman, John M (1950). The Development of Tactical Services in the Army Air Forces. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
Johnson, 1st Lt. David C. (1988). U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO) D-Day to V-E Day (PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2015.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
Fletcher, Harry R (1993). Air Force Bases , Vol. II, Air Bases Outside the United States of America (PDF). Washington, DC: Center for Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-53-6. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
Mueller, Robert (1989). Air Force Bases, Vol. I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982 (PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-53-6. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
"AF Pamphlet 900-2, Unit Decorations, Awards and Campaign Participation Credits" (PDF). Washington, DC: Department of the Air Force Index. 15 June 1971. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 August 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2016.