582nd Helicopter Group
US Air Force unit / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 582nd Helicopter Group was activated in January 2015 at F. E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming to provide a unified headquarters for the helicopter squadrons located on the intercontinental ballistic missile bases of Air Force Global Strike Command.
582nd Helicopter Group | |
---|---|
Active | 1943-1958; 2015-present |
Country | United States |
Branch | United States Air Force |
Role | Helicopter support for missile wings |
Part of | Twentieth Air Force |
Garrison/HQ | F. E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming |
Nickname(s) | Snafu Snatchers |
Engagements | Southwest Pacific Theater |
Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation |
Commanders | |
Current commander | Col. David Smith[1] |
Insignia | |
582nd Helicopter Group emblem | |
2nd Emergency Rescue Squadron patch (World War II) | |
Aircraft flown | |
Multirole helicopter | Boeing MH-139A Grey Wolf |
Utility helicopter | Bell UH-1N Twin Huey |
The group was first activated in 1943 as the 2nd Emergency Rescue Squadron at Hamilton Field, and after training, moved to the South Pacific Theater, where it served until the end of World War II, earning two Distinguished Unit Citations and a Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation for combat search and rescue and special operations missions. Following the end of the war, the squadron served as part of the occupation forces at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa from 1947 until 1950.
In May 1950 the squadron, now designated the 2nd Rescue Squadron moved to Clark Air Base in the Philippines. In 1952, the unit was expanded to group level as the 2nd Air Rescue Group and its lettered flights became air rescue squadrons. The group provided rescue support for units of Thirteenth Air Force and the southwest Pacific until 1955, when it moved to Wheeler Air Force Base, where it became the headquarters for all rescue units in the Pacific. The group was inactivated at Wheeler in June 1958.
In 2015, the group was redesignated to its current name and activated at F. E. Warren, where it replaced a provisional unit that had been organized in 2014 to test the unification of helicopter units supporting missile wings under a single unit.