The 18th Air Support Operations Group is a combat support group of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

. It is located at

Pope Field Pope Field is a U.S. military facility located 12 miles (19 km) northwest of the central business district of Fayetteville, in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States.. Federal Aviation Administration. effective 15 November 2012 ...

, North Carolina. The group was originally the 18th Air Support Communications Squadron and served in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

and European Theaters of Operations during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as an air communications squadron. The 18th ASOG provides tactical command and control of air power assets for the U.S. Army's

XVIII Airborne Corps The XVIII Airborne Corps is a corps of the United States Army that has been in existence since 1942 and saw extensive service during World War II. The corps is designed for rapid deployment anywhere in the world and is referred to as "America ...

. In this role its subordinate squadrons provide tactical combat

command and control Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... hatemploys human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or en ...

to the

Joint Forces Air Component Commander Joint force air component commander (JFACC) is a United States Department of Defense doctrinal term. It is pronounced "Jay-Fack". It refers to a senior officer who is responsible for the air forces within a joint force; i.e., a military force com ...

and

Joint Forces Land Component Commander Joint Force Land Component Commander (JFLCC), is a United States Department of Defense doctrinal term. It is pronounced "Jay-Flick". It refers to an individual of general officer rank that is responsible for land forces within a joint operations e ...

History

The organization was originally activated in April 1943 as the 18th Air Support Communication Squadron. The squadron trained in the southeastern United States under

Third Air Force The Third Air Force (Air Forces Europe) (3 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA). Its headquarters is Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It is responsible for all U.S. air forces in E ...

until February 1944, when it deployed to the

Mediterranean Theater of Operations The Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army (MTOUSA), originally called the North African Theater of Operations, United States Army (NATOUSA), was a military formation of the United States Army that supervised all U.S. Army forc ...

and was assigned to

XII Air Support Command The XII Tactical Air Command was a formation of the United States Army Air Forces. Its last assignment was with the United States Air Forces in Europe at Bad Kissingen, Germany, where it was inactivated on 10 November 1947. History The 12th Gr ...

. The unit was redesignated the 18th Tactical Air Communications Squadron and moved to Italy in April. It was disbanded in Italy in June 1944. The squadron was reconstituted and activated in Germany on 15 April 1945, where it became part of

Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint De ...

. It returned to the United States in July and was inactivated in the summer of 1946. The squadron was disbanded while inactive in October 1948. In June 1992, the unit was reconstituted and redesignated as the 18th Air Support Group. It assumed much of the responsibilities of the inactivating

507th Air Control Wing 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typical humans have five digits on eac ...

. It was redesignated 18th Air Support Operations Group on 1 July 1994.

Organization

In addition to group headquarters, the 18th ASOG includes a number of subordinate squadrons. These units are located at Pope Field except as indicated and include the following. : 14th Air Support Operations Squadron (supports

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

) : 15th Air Support Operations Squadron ::

Fort Stewart Fort Stewart is a United States Army post in the U.S. state of Georgia. It lies primarily in Liberty and Bryan counties, but also extends into smaller portions of Evans, Long and Tattnall counties. The population was 11,205 at the 2000 census. Th ...

, Georgia (supports 1st, 2nd & 4th Brigade Combat Teams, 3rd Infantry Division) ::

Fort Benning Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...

, Georgia (supports 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division) : 18th Combat Weather Squadron ::

Simmons Army Airfield Simmons Army AirfieldSimmons Army Airfield
at Fort Bragg. United States Army. Accessed 14 October 2009. ...

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...

, North Carolina (supports 82nd Airborne Division and XVIII Airborne Corps) ::: Detachment 1,

Fort Drum Fort Drum is a U.S. Army military reservation and a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson County, on the northern border of New York, United States. The population of the CDP portion of the base was 12,955 at the 2010 census. It is home t ...

, New York (supports

10th Mountain Division The 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) is a light infantry division in the United States Army based at Fort Drum, New York. Formerly designated as a mountain warfare unit, the division was the only one of its size in the US military to re ...

) ::: Detachment 2,

Fort Polk Fort Polk is a United States Army installation located in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, about 10 miles (15 km) east of Leesville and 30 miles (50 km) north of DeRidder in Beauregard Parish. It was named to honor Leonidas Polk, the first ...

, Louisiana (supports

) ::: Detachment 3,

, Georgia (supports 3rd Infantry Division) :::: Detachment 3 - Operating Location A,

Hunter Army Airfield Hunter Army Airfield , located in Savannah, Georgia, United States, is a military airfield and subordinate installation to Fort Stewart located in Hinesville, Georgia. Hunter features a runway that is 11,375 feet (3,468 m) long and an aircr ...

, Georgia (supports 3rd Infantry Division) ::: Detachment 4,

Fort Campbell Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky, Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee, Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). F ...

, Kentucky (supports

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...

) :::Operating Location A,

Shaw AFB Shaw Air Force Base (Shaw AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located approximately west-northwest of downtown Sumter, South Carolina. It is one of the largest military bases operated by the United States, and is under the jurisdict ...

, South Carolina (supports

US Army Central Command The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilities of the Rapid Deployment Joint Tas ...

) :::Operating Location B,

Fort Belvoir Fort Belvoir is a United States Army installation and a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. It was developed on the site of the former Belvoir plantation, seat of the prominent Fairfax family for whom Fair ...

, Virginia (supports The Army Aviation Brigade) :::Operating Location C,

Fort Rucker Fort Rucker is a U.S. Army post located primarily in Dale County, Alabama, United States. It was named for a Civil War officer, Confederate General Edmund Rucker. The post is the primary flight training installation for U.S. Army Aviators and ...

, Alabama (supports The US Army Aviation Center of Excellence) :::Operating Location D,

, Georgia (supports The US Army Maneuver Center of Excellence) : 19th Air Support Operations Squadron :: Fort Campbell, Kentucky (supports

) (Air Assault) : 20th Air Support Operations Squadron :: Fort Drum, New York (supports 1st, 2nd & 3rd Brigade Combat Teams,

) :: Detachment. 1 Fort Polk, Louisiana (supports 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division) : 818th Operations Support Squadron

Lineage

* Constituted as the 18th Air Support Communication Squadron on 24 March 1943 : Activated on 1 April 1943 * Redesignated 18th Tactical Air Communications Squadron on 1 April 1944 * Disbanded on 10 June 1944 * Reconstituted on 19 March 1945 : Activated on 15 April 1945 : Inactivated on 12 August 1946 * Disbanded on 8 October 1948 * Reconstituted, redesignated 18th Air Support Group, and activated on 15 June 1992 * Redesignated 18th Air Support Operations Group on 1 July 1994

Assignments

III Air Support Command The III Tactical Air Command was a United States Army Air Forces formation. Its last assignment was with Third Air Force stationed at Barksdale Field, Louisiana. It was disbanded on 24 October 1945. The command was established in 1941 as the 3rd ...

(later III Reconnaissance Command): 1 April 1943 *

I Tactical Air Division The I Tactical Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Second Air Force, based at Biggs Field, Texas. It was inactivated on 22 December 1945. History General Headquarters Air Force (GHQ AF) reorganize ...

: 3 November 1943 *

(later XII Tactical Air Command): c. 12 February 1944 - 10 June 1944 *

: 15 April 1945 *

XXIX Tactical Air Command The XXIX Tactical Air Command (Provisional) was a provisional United States Army Air Forces unit, primarily formed from units of IX Fighter Command. Its last assignment was with Ninth Air Force at Weimar, Germany, where it was inactivated on 25 O ...

(Provisional): 3 Jul 1945 *

Fourth Air Force The Fourth Air Force (4 AF) is a numbered air force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). It is headquartered at March Air Reserve Base, California. 4 AF directs the activities and supervises the training of more than 30,000 Air Force Reser ...

: c. 24 August 1945 * Third Air Force: 8 March 1946 * Ninth Air Force: 28 March 1946 - 12 August 1946 * 23d Wing: 15 June 1992 * Ninth Air Force: 1 February 1994 – present

Stations

Birmingham Army Air Field Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West M ...

, Alabama, 1 April 1943 *

Lebanon, Tennessee Lebanon is the county seat of Wilson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 38,431 at the 2020 census. Lebanon is located in Middle Tennessee, approximately east of downtown Nashville. Lebanon is part of the Nashville Metropolit ...

, 4 September 1943 *

Morris Field Charlotte Douglas International Airport (IATA: CLT, ICAO: KCLT, FAA LID: CLT), typically referred to as Charlotte Douglas, Douglas Airport, or simply CLT, is an international airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, located roughly six miles west ...

, North Carolina, 26 November 1943 - 15 January 1944 *

Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

, Algeria, 12 February 1944 * Ain-el-Turck, Algeria, 10 March 1944 * Oran, Algeria, 1 April 1944 *

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, Italy, 9 April 1944 *

Caserta Caserta () is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. It is an important agricultural, commercial, and industrial ''comune'' and city. Caserta is located on the edge of the Campanian plain at the foot of the Camp ...

, Italy, 11 April 1944 - 10 Jun 1944 *

Haltern Haltern am See (''Haltern at the lake'', before December 2001 only Haltern) is a town and a municipality in the district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the Lippe and the Wesel–Datteln Canal, approx. nor ...

, Germany, 1 April 1945 * Brunswick, Germany, May 1945 - July 1945 * Lemoore Army Air Field, California, 24 August 1945 *

Camp Pinedale Pinedale is a previously unincorporated community in Fresno County, California. It lies at an elevation of 348 feet (106 m). It was once a rural community located on the Southern Pacific Railroad north-northwest of Clovis but has since become s ...

, California, 8 September 1945 *

Biggs Field Biggs Army Airfield (formerly Biggs Air Force Base) is a United States Army military airbase located on the Fort Bliss military base in El Paso, Texas. History Biggs Field/Biggs Army Airfield (1916–47) On 15 June 1919, following an attack b ...

, Texas, 9 March 1946 - 12 August 1946 *

Pope Air Force Base Pope Field is a U.S. military facility located 12 miles (19 km) northwest of the central business district of Fayetteville, in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States.. Federal Aviation Administration. effective 15 November 2012 ...

(later Pope Field), North Carolina, 15 Jun 1992–present

References

{{USAF Air Support Operations 018 Military units and formations established in 1992 018