410th Air Expeditionary Wing

The United States Air Force's 410th Air Expeditionary Wing (410 AEW) is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Combat Command (ACC) It may be activated or inactivated at any time. The unit was known to be active during the 2003 invasion of Iraq and in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. The wing began as the 410th Bombardment Group, a Douglas A-20 Havoc light bombardment group assigned to Ninth Air Force in Western Europe. The unit helped provide teeth to the IX Bomber Command bombing efforts. It earned the title of the world's best bomb unit for combat accuracy and was the first unit trained in both day and night tactics. The 410th was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for its actions during the Battle of the Bulge for the effectiveness of its bombing, 23–25 December 1944, when the group made numerous attacks on German lines of communications. It returned to the United States after the end of the war in Europe, inactivated on 7 November 1945. The group's heritage was continued in 1963 when the 410th Bombardment Wing was activated as a component of Strategic Air Command's deterrent force during the Cold War, as a strategic bombardment wing. It was inactivated with the closure of K. I. Sawyer AFB, Michigan in the first round of Base Realignment and Closure reductions in September 1995. The wing was activated as the 410th Bombardment Group, a Third Air Force Operational Training Unit for A-20 Havoc light bombers. It moved to England, March— April 1944, and was assigned to Ninth Air Force. The 410th entered combat in May 1944 and helped to prepare for the invasion of Normandy by assaulting coastal defenses, airfields, and V-weapon sites in France, and marshalling yards in France and Belgium. It supported the D-Day invasion in June by bombing gun positions and railway choke points. It also assisted ground forces at Caen and St Lo in July and at Brest in August and September by attacking bridges, vehicles, fuel and ammunition dumps, and rail lines.