The 28th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron is a provisional

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 ...

unit. It was last known to be assigned to the 40th Air Expeditionary Group. Diego Garcia Air Base,

British Indian Ocean Territory The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean, halfway between Tanzania and Indonesia. The territory comprises the seven atolls of the Chagos Archipelago with over 1,000 ...

. Its current status is at

Al Udeid Air Base Al Udeid Air Base ( ar, قاعدة العديد الجوية) is one of two military bases southwest of Doha, Qatar, also known as Abu Nakhlah Airport (). It houses the Qatar Emiri Air Force, United States Air Force, Royal Air Force, and othe ...

under the 379th Expeditionary Operations Group.

History

World War II

The first predecessor of the squadron, the 28th Ferrying Squadron was activated at Hamilton Field, California in 1942. It soon moved to Long Beach Army Air Field, California, near the production facilities of

Douglas Aircraft The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer based in Southern California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas; it then operated as ...

. It ferried aircraft within the United States until a major reorganization of the

Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

(AAF) in 1944 replaced the squadron and other

Air Transport Command Air Transport Command (ATC) was a United States Air Force unit that was created during World War II as the strategic airlift component of the United States Army Air Forces. It had two main missions, the first being the delivery of supplies and ...

units at Long Beach with an AAF Base Unit. Shortly after this, the second predecessor of the squadron, the 328th Ferrying Squadron was activated in Italy to ferry aircraft in 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 ...

. It continued operations until shortly after the end of

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 ...

, when it was inactivated. It was disbanded in October 1948.

Cold War

During the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, the 28th Air Refueling Squadron was assigned to the 28th Bombardment Wing at

Ellsworth Air Force Base Ellsworth Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force base located about northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota, just north of the town of Box Elder, South Dakota, Box Elder. The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing (28 BW). Assi ...

, South Dakota. It was inactivated on 15 March 1994. The squadron was formed from the personnel and equipment of the

928th Air Refueling Squadron 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

, which was simultaneously inactivated, on 1 October 1960. The 28th supported the 28th Bombardment Wing providing refueling to its

Boeing B-52 Stratofortress The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air ...

aircraft with

Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It is the predominant variant of the C-135 Stratolifter family of transpor ...

s between 1960 and the retirement of the wing's "Buffs" in 1990. In 1962, SAC organized four

Post-Attack Command and Control System The Post Attack Command and Control System (PACCS) was a network of communication sites (both ground and airborne) for use before, during and after a nuclear attack on the United States. PACCS was designed to ensure that National Command Authorit ...

(PACCS) squadrons and equipped them with

Boeing EB-47 Stratojet The Boeing B-47 Stratojet (Boeing company designation Model 450) is a retired American long- range, six-engined, turbojet-powered strategic bomber designed to fly at high subsonic speed and at high altitude to avoid enemy interceptor aircraf ...

s. The establishment of

Boeing EC-135 The Boeing EC-135 is a retired family of command and control aircraft derived from the Boeing C-135 Stratolifter. During the Cold War, the EC-135 was best known for being modified to perform the Looking Glass mission where one EC-135 was always ...

airborne command post aircraft at SAC

headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

and at each of its

Numbered Air Force A Numbered Air Force (NAF) is a type of organization in the United States Air Force that is subordinate to a List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, major command (MAJCOM) and has assigned to it operational units such as wings, squ ...

s resulted in the inactivation of the less capable B-47 units by 1965. The communications relay mission of the B-47 units was assumed by the 28th and

906th Air Refueling Squadron The 906th Air Refueling Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit. It is an active associate squadron and part of the 375th Air Mobility Wing at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. The squadron was first activated in United States milita ...

s, which received a variety of EC-135s for this mission. By the mid-1960s, improved accuracy of Soviet ballistic missiles made underground

Minuteman missile The LGM-30 Minuteman is an American land-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in service with the Air Force Global Strike Command. , the LGM-30G Minuteman III version is the only land-based ICBM in service in the United States and r ...

launch control centers more vulnerable, so the Airborne Launch Control System (ALCS) was created to provide a survivable launch capability. The ALCS was eventually installed aboard all PACCS aircraft assigned to the 28th. Launch crews came from the

68th Strategic Missile Squadron The 68th Missile Squadron (68 MS) is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 44th Operations Group, stationed at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota. The 68 MS was equipped with the LGM-30F Minuteman II Intercontinental ...

. In April 1970, the squadron's ALCS aircraft were transferred to the new

4th Airborne Command and Control Squadron Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

at Ellsworth. In 1985 the 28th Air Refueling Squadron was consolidated with the 28th Ferrying Squadron and the 328th Ferrying Squadron.Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 662q, 19 September 85, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Tactical Squadrons The 28th continued its air refueling mission as part of the 28th Operations Group at Ellsworth until

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...

was inactivated in June 1992. The squadron was reassigned to the

43d Operations Group The 43rd Air Mobility Operations Group is an active duty air mobility unit at Pope Field (formerly Pope AFB), Fort Bragg, North Carolina and is part of the Air Mobility Command (AMC) under the USAF Expeditionary Center. The unit is composed of fi ...

Air Mobility Command Air Mobility Command (AMC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the U.S. Air Force. It is headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, east of St. Louis, Missouri. Air Mobility Command was established on 1 June 1992, and was formed from elements ...

Malmstrom Air Force Base Malmstrom Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place (CDP) in Cascade County, Montana, United States, adjacent to the city of Great Falls. It was named in honor of World War II POW Colonel Einar Axel Malmstrom. ...

, Montana until 1994.

Global War on Terrorism

The squadron was reactivated as a provisional KC-135 organization as part of the

Global War on Terrorism The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant ...

approximately 2002. The squadron has taken part in

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...

and

Operation Iraqi Freedom {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

. It may have inactivated in 2006. The squadron was reactivated under the command of LtCol. Menola Guthrie and joined the 379th Expeditionary Operations Group at

Lineage

28th Ferrying Squadron * Constituted as the 28th Ferrying Squadron c. 9 July 1942 : Activated on 10 July 1942 : Disbanded 31 March 1944 * Reconstituted on 19 September 1985 and consolidated with the 328th Ferrying Squadron and 928th Air Refueling Squadron as the 928th Air Refueling Squadron 328th Ferrying Squadron * Constituted as the 328th Ferrying Squadron : Activated c. 1 June 1944 : Inactivated c. June 1946 : Disbanded 8 October 1948 * Reconstituted on 19 September 1985 and consolidated with the 28th Ferrying Squadron and 928th Air Refueling Squadron as the 928th Air Refueling Squadron 28th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron * Constituted as the 28th Air Refueling Squadron, Heavy on 19 April 1960 and activated (not organized)A 28th Air Refueling Squadron, Heavy was constituted on 22 August 1958 for assignment to the 28th Bombardment Wing, but this action was revoked : Organized on 1 October 1960 * Consolidated on 19 September 1985 with the 28th Ferrying Squadron and 328th Ferrying Squadron : Redesignated 28th Air Refueling Squadron on 1 September 1991 : Inactivated on 15 May 1994 : Redesignated 28th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron and converted to provisional statuson 12 June 2002DAF/XPM Letter 303s, 12 June 2002, Subject: Air Mobility Command Expeditionary Units : Active during 2003

Assignments

* Domestic Wing, Air Transport Command: 10 July 1942 * 6th Ferrying Group: September 1942 – 31 March 1944 * Mediterranean Air Transport Service: c. 1 June 1944 – c. June 1946 * Strategic Air Command: 19 April 1960 (not organized) * 28th Bombardment Wing: 1 October 1960 * 28th Operations Group: 1 September 1991 * 43d Operations Group: 1 June 1992 – 15 May 1994 *

to activate or inactivate as needed, 12 June 2002 :: 40th Air Expeditionary Wing: c. 2003 :: 379th Expeditionary Operations Group: c. 2018

Stations

* Hamilton Field, California, 10 July 1942 * Long Beach Army Air Field, California, September 1942 – 31 March 1944 * Unknown, c. 1 June 1944 * Capodichino Airport Aug 1944 – c. June 1946 * Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, 1 October 1960 – 15 May 1994 * Diego Garcia Naval Station, British Indian Ocean Territories, c. 2003 * Al Udeid Air Base, c. 2018

Aircraft

* Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, 1960–1994, 2003, 2018 * Boeing EC-135, c. 1966–1970

References

Notes

Explanatory notes Footnotes

Bibliography

* {{Strategic Air Command 028 Units and formations of Strategic Air Command Military units and formations established in 1960