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Tactical Air Command's Busiest I Who Won His Wings in 1935, Year Since Its Inception in 1946

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Tactical Air Command's Busiest I Who Won His Wings in 1935, Year Since Its Inception in 1946 An Air Force Major Air Command . The Toe Lica]. Air Command NCREASING importance of tactical airpower as an Gen. Walter C. Sweeney, Jr., instrument of national military policy was dramati- a 1930 West Point graduate cally reflected in Tactical Air Command's busiest I who won his wings in 1935, year since its inception in 1946. Fiscal year 1964 was was named Commander an unchanging pattern of dynamic growth for TAC- of Tactical Air Command in in resources, responsibilities, and combat capabilities. 1961. A native of West It was the year that more than 1,000 TAC aircraft Virginia, he took part in crossed the Atlantic and Pacific, the year of birth of the Pacific combat in World War Tactical Air Warfare Center, an unprecedented effort II, later served as SAC to improve across-the-board support for the Army. It Director of Plans and Com- was a year of rapid buildup of resources for coping mander of Fifteenth and with any contingency ranging from subtle insurgency Eighth Air Forces before his assignment to TAC. to all-out limited war, and a year of growing awareness of TAC's emerging role as a fast-reacting, flexible com- bat force within the framework of the United States Everything accomplished since then came into sharp Strike Command ( STRICOM ). focus at TAWC. Operating in the vast Air Force Too much happened during FY '64 to point out any Proving Ground complex at Eglin AFB, Fla., TAWC one single development as the outstanding event of the has a vital mission, one that can be stated in simple year. However, establishment in November of the Tac- terms: To test, evaluate, refine, and improve TAC's tical Air Warfare Center ( TAWC ) was the focal point capabilities for providing the ground forces greater for all TAC activities. TAWC's establishment reflects battlefield mobility, firepower, and survivability. implementation of a basic policy laid down by Gen. Organized as a result of the Secretary of Defense's Walter C. Sweeney, Jr., when he assumed command of directive to improve use of aviation in support of TAC in the fall of 1961. At that time, General Sweeney ground forces, TAWC's job is to test and evaluate declared that the first order of TAC business was to every aspect of air-ground combat operations: fire increase the command's combat capabilities in quality support, aerial reconnaissance, command and control, and quantity in order to ensure maximum support for strategic and tactical air movement, and logistic sup- the Army. port. Working with elements of the Army's 1st In- fantry Division, TAWC is conducting a series of realistic exercises code-named Indian River. Each of three Supersonic Indian River phases will increase in size, scope, and RF-101 Voodoo importance, from a command-post exercise ( CPX ) swoops over an involving 650 Army personnel, to a battalion-size test Army tank column with 2,725 soldiers, to brigade-level with 5,500 ground during Exercise personnel. TAC will utilize comparable personnel and Polar Siege in every type of tactical aircraft and equipment necessary Alaska. The swift reconnaissance for actual battlefield operations. New equipment, tech- aircraft provide niques, tactics, and procedures will be employed in combat intelli- the Indian River series, after which STRICOM will gence for air direct an advanced series of tests, dubbed Gold Fire, and ground to make final evaluation of Air Force doctrine and con- commanders. cepts in joint air-ground tactical operations. Maj. Gen. Gilbert L. Meyers, Commander of the Tao. 74 AIR FORCE Magazine • September 1964 tical Air Warfare Center, recently summed it up thus: Behind this expression of determination—and confi- "The current test-and-evaluation program. will dence—stand long years of devoted effort on the part be of great assistance to us in improving our combat of tactical air experts to improve TAC's combat effec- capabilities. We in the Air Force are fully aware that tiveness and responsiveness to an ever-increasing level the test program may bring to light some gaps in our of responsibility. This effort started in Korea when an total capability to fulfill our responsibilities within the acute shortage of tactical airpower proved a dangerous Joint Force—this is the purpose of the program and liability. Wartime acceleration helped fill the glaring we welcome it. We stand ready to fill the gaps with gap, and afterward TAG began a slow uphill climb. additional or totally new equipments and techniques. The advent of supersonic jets, coupled with refined in- We look upon these tests as an opportunity to work flight refueling, permitted TAG to meet the need for toward an even more successful air-ground team." (Continued on following page) TACTICAL AIR COMMAND Headquarters, Langley AFB, Va. Commander Gen. Walter C. Sweeney, Jr. 9th Air Force 12th Air Force Hq., Shaw AFB, S. C. Hq., Waco, Tex. Maj. Gen. Marvin L. McNickle Maj. Gen. John C. Meyer Commander Commander MacDill AFB, Fla. Shaw AFB, S. C. George AFB, Calif. Cannon AFB, N. M. 836th Air Division 837th Air Division 831st Air Division 832d Air Division Tactical Air Reconnaissance Center 1 Pope AFB, N. C. Sewart AFB, Tenn. Holloman AFB, N. M. (SAC) McConnell AFB, Kan. 838th Air Division 839th Air Division 366th Tactical Fighter Wing 388th Tactical Fighter Wing Seymour Johnson AFB, N. C. Homestead AFB, Fla. (SAC) Williams ArB, Ariz. (ATC) Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. (SAC) 4th Tactical Fighter Wing 31st Tactical Fighter Wing 4441st Combat Crew 4453d Combat Crew Training Squadron Training Wing 1 Myrtle Beach AFB, S. C. England AFB, La. Luke AFB, Ariz. Nellis AFB, Nev. 354th Tactical Fighter Wing 401st Tactical Fighter Wing 4510th Combat Crew 4520th Combat Crew Training Wing Training Wing Lockhourne AFB, Ohio (SAC) Langley AFB, Va. Dyess AFB, Tex. (SAC) 317th Troop Carrier Wing 463d Troop Carrier Wing 64th Troop Carrier Wing Orlando AFB, Fla. (MATS) 4504th Missile Training Wing 19th Air Force Langley AFB, Va. Eglin AFB, Fla. (AFSC) Hq., Seymour Johnson AFB, N. C. 4500th Air Base Wing USAF Special Air Warfare Center Maj. Gen. Don 0. Darrow Tactical Air Warfare Center Commander Air-Ground Operations School FORCE Magazine • September 1964 75 TACTICAL AIR COMMAND CONTINUED TAC's growth pattern. The qualitative side of the story is equally dramatic. For instance, the concept of making all of TAC s numbered air forces—Ninth, Twelfth, and Nineteenth —ready for immediate deployment and combat action now is a reality. Nineteenth has, of course, always had the unique distinction of being poised for deployment —that is its basic purpose. Now the Ninth and Twelfth, with Mobile Component Command Post, Tactical Air Control Center, and Direct Air Support Center "per- sonnel packages" assigned, are similarly ready for worldwide actions. In the same way, TAC's Command and Control ( Command Post) at Langley AFB headquarters has significantly advanced the art of positive control over Pilots of TAC's 354th Tactical Fighter Wing of Myrtle TAC forces worldwide. Eventually, the system, in con- Beach, S. C., race for their F-100 Supersabres. Since Leb- anon crisis of 1958, TAC fighter units have supported US cert with TAC's Airborne Command Post, will provide commitments overseas on rotation and played major roles maximum responsiveness and permit rapid changes in in exercises in US under direction of Strike Command. plans to cope with the ever-widening range of the command's commitments. a global striking force to deter or fight limited war. This increased capability was tested repeatedly dur- The Composite Air Strike Force—a packaged tactical ing FY '64 when TAC forces—including Air National air force tailored for worldwide deployment—was de- Guard units—were deployed overseas with greater veloped in 19154 and proved in 1958 in Lebanon and frequency than ever before. In addition to the normal Formosa. Thus, TAC had become a global force with flow of rotational squadrons to support USAFE and emphasis on nuclear striking power. PACAF, TAC participated in four major overseas In 1961 there came a change in national emphasis. training exercises involving strike forces and the TAC The late President Kennedy called for a buildup of Airborne Command Post element: Big Lift ( Europe), flexible, mobile "general-purpose" forces to meet any Delawar (Iran), Shiksha ( India ), and Northern Ex- level of threat in the lower spectrum of conflict. Actions press ( Norway ). The TAC ACP also controlled five were swift and purposeful—the unified US Strike Com- separate deployments of Air National Guard units to mand was created to blend tactical air and ground Alaska, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. combat-ready forces into a first-class team, TAC be- Perhaps the most significant of TAC active force de- came for the first time in its history an integral part of ployments, in terms of reaction and mobility, came in a combatant command, and the expansion-moderniza- January and February, when two normal rotational Fox tion program quickly got under way. This was FY '62, Ables established nonstop distance and time marks. In the beginning of a new era for TAC and US tactical Fox Able 159 a squadron of eighteen F-104s flew non- airpower. stop from California to Spain, a distance of 6,150 miles, Programs initiated that year were further developed in ten hours and twenty-four minutes. A month later, and improved upon the following year, and FY '64 saw Fox Able 160 sent eighteen F-100s from Florida to TAC move forward at an accelerated pace in growth Turkey on a 6,600-mile nonstop journey in just under and combat efficiency. Here are some highlights of twelve hours. In both cases, the TAC Airborne Com- expansion in FY '64: mand Post maintained positive control throughout the • Three tactical fighter wings were added, to make mission, from takeoff to landing.
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