Based at Patrick Space Force Base, Florida, the 920th Rescue Wing is the only Air Force Reserve Command that trains and equips Airmen who carry out its mission; plan, lead and conduct military rescue operations and missions to deny competitors and adversaries exploitation of isolated personnel. Air Force rescue is the only DoD entity specifically organized, trained and equipped to conduct personnel recovery operations into hostile or denied areas as a primary mission.
The 920th Rescue Wing is comprised of 28 subordinate groups and squadrons, including three geographically separated units; one at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, one at Portland, Oregon, and one at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia.
The wing is responsible for a demanding and compelling array of missions, and the men and women who serve here must maintain a high level of proficiency and be ready to deploy at moment’s notice. The unit’s peacetime missions include search-and-rescue support for civilians in distress at sea, in the desert or upon mountains. The wing also provides worldwide humanitarian relief, supporting rescue efforts in the aftermath of disasters such as hurricanes, floods and earthquakes.
With over 35 deployments and mobilizations since 1990, the men and women that comprise the wing have more than 4,000 saves. The wing has been mobilized for the Gulf War and operations including Southern Watch, Provide Comfort, Northern Watch, Allied Force, Noble Eagle, Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom and Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa.
The Rescue Wing has also been a mainstay in humanitarian relief, rescuing 137 South Florida residents in the days following Hurricane Andrew (1992); saving 93 elderly residents from rising flood waters at a Tampa-area retirement community (1993); rescuing more than 200 people after Hurricane Floyd (1999); pulling 1,043 people from New Orleans and the Gulf Coast after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (2005); saving 17 lives from the aftermath of Hurricane Ike in Texas; Rescuing 235 victims of catastrophic flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey in Southeast Texas (2017); saving more than 200 people after multiple avalanches hit the Salang Pass, the main route between northern Afghanistan and Kabul province; and as part of the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa, where Rescue Wing Airmen have been part of several successful search and rescues, as well as anti-pirate activity, through their ongoing deployments supporting Inherent Resolve, Operation Freedom’s Sentinel and JTF-HOA through today.
Lineage
Established as the 920th Troop Carrier Group, Assault and activated, Jan. 15, 1963 (not organized)
Organized in the reserve, Feb. 11, 1963
Discontinued and inactivated Dec. 15, 1965
Redesignated 920th Tactical Airlift Group, March 2, 1973
Activated in the reserve April 15, 1973
Redesignated 920th Weather Reconnaissance Group, Jan. 1, 1976
Inactivated, Nov. 1, 1983
Redesignated 920th Rescue Group, April 1, 1997
Activated in the Air Force Reserve, April 15, 1997
Redesignated 920th Rescue Wing, April 1, 2003
Assignments
Continental Air Command, 15 January 1963 (not organized)
445th Troop Carrier Wing (later 445th Air Transport Wing, 445th Military Airlift Wing), 11 February 1963 – 15 December 1965
459th Tactical Airlift Wing, 25 April 1973
Eastern Air Force Reserve Region, 1 January 1976
Western Air Force Reserve Region, 15 February 1976
Fourth Air Force, 1 October 1976
403d Rescue and Weather Reconnaissance Wing, 1 January 1977
Fourth Air Force, 1 July 1981
403d Rescue and Weather Reconnaissance Wing, 1 March – 1 November 1983
Tenth Air Force, 15 April 1997
939th Rescue Wing, 16 April 1997
Tenth Air Force, 1 Apr 2003 – present
- Groups
920th Operations Group: 1 April 2003 – present
920th Maintenance Group: 1 April 2003 – present
920th Mission Support Group: 1 April 2003 – present
943d Rescue Group: 12 February 2005 – present
- Squadrons
39th Rescue Squadron: 15 April 1997 – 1 April 2003
--Shifted to 920th Operations Group on 1 April 2003
301st Rescue Squadron: 15 April 1997 – 1 April 2003
--Shifted to 920th Operations Group on 1 April 2003
308th Rescue Squadron: 15 April 1997 – 1 April 2003
--Shifted to 920th Operations Group on 1 April 2003
920th Operations Support Squadron: 15 April 1997 – 1 April 2003
--Shifted to 920th Operations Group on 1 April 2003
702d Troop Carrier Squadron: 11 February 1963 – 15 December 1965
815th Tactical Airlift Squadron (later 815th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron): 25 April 1973 – 1 November 1983
920th Aerospace Medicine Squadron: 5 Aug 2012 – present
Stations
Memphis Municipal Airport, Tennessee, 11 February 1963 – 15 December 1965
Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, 25 April 1973 – 1 November 1983
Patrick Space Force Base, Florida, 15 April 1997 – present
Aircraft
Fairchild C-123 Provider (1963 – 1965)
C-130E Hercules (1973 – 1977)
WC-130H Hercules (1976 – 1983)
HC-130P/N Hercules Combat King (1974 – 2019)
HC-130J Hercules Combat King II (2 April 2020 – present)
HH-60G Pave Hawk (1997 – present)