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111-542: Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 62 (VR-62) , nicknamed the Nomads , is one of five U.S. Navy Reserve squadrons operating the Lockheed C-130T Hercules medium-lift cargo aircraft. Based at Naval Air Station Jacksonville , Florida, the squadron is crewed by a combination of traditional part-time drilling Selected Reservists (SELRES) and a full-time active duty Navy Reserve cadre known as Training and Administration of

222-589: A Bomb Approach School in October 1943, which incorporated teamwork between a pilot and bombardier. In addition, the 9000th WAC Company of the Women's Army Corps was used in the control tower as well as in the communications office of the base. In late 1944, the B-24 training was phased out at Fort Worth AAF, being replaced with a B-32 Dominator Flight Crew Conversion Training School. Training Command instructor pilots were flown to

333-803: A KC-130T configuration. United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve ( USNR ), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy . Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Selected Reserve (SELRES), the Training and Administration of the Reserve (TAR),

444-651: A change in course in 1794. A navy that helped give birth to the nation was now deemed essential to preserving its security, which faced its most serious threat during the War of 1812 . Not only did reservists raid British commerce on the high seas, but they also outfitted a fleet of barges called the Chesapeake Bay Flotilla in an effort to defend that vital body of water against British invasion. Though overwhelmed by an enemy superior in numbers, these men, most recruited from Baltimore , continued to wage war on land, joining in

555-546: A direct entry into the Reserve, or (c) no prior active military service. However, their educational (undergraduate and often postgraduate/ terminal degree ) and professional credentials will offset their either limited, or lack of, prior military service. These officers, in an already-commissioned status, will attend a 5-week Officer Development School on active duty orders at the Navy's OCS campus at Naval Station Newport , Rhode Island. In very rare instances, these officers, mostly from

666-507: A flight of eight B-29s of the 492nd Bomb Squadron deployed from Fort Worth AAF to Yokota AB , Japan. Shortly after this the detachment received orders to redeploy to Fort Worth AAF via Washington, D.C. The aircraft left Yokota AB on 2 August, flew over the Aleutian Islands , then into Anchorage , Alaska . From Anchorage the flight flew over Edmonton , Alberta, Canada, turned south and flew over Minnesota and Wisconsin . The bombers flew

777-716: A full mobilization (requiring a Presidential order). Some IRR personnel who are not currently assigned to SELRES billets, typically senior commissioned officers in the ranks of commander or captain for whom "with pay" status SELRES billets are limited, will serve in Volunteer Training Units (VTU) or will be support assigned to established active duty or reserve commands while in a VTU status. These personnel will drill for retirement for points but without drill pay and are not eligible for Annual Training with pay. However, they remain eligible for other forms of active duty with pay and mobilization. The largest source of IRR Officers in

888-591: A low-level flight between The Pentagon and Washington Monument in the Capital on 3 August. Completing this aerial demonstration, they headed for Fort Worth, landing 31 hours after launch from Japan and covering 7,086 miles. On 12 September, the group deployed 30 B-29s to Giebelstadt Army Airfield , near Würzburg , West Germany. This flight was the largest bomber formation flown from Fort Worth AAF overseas to date, landing in Germany on 13 September. During their ten-day stay,

999-474: A lucky combination, because the two wings continued to share Carswell Air Force Base until 13 December 1957, when the 11th moved to Altus Air Force Base , Oklahoma and began receiving Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses . During January 1958, the wing began transferring its B-36 bombers to various SAC wings. On 20 January, the wing transferred all B-52 equipment and property on hand to the 4123rd Strategic Wing in order to facilitate that organization's conversion, which

1110-628: A massive mobilization of "Weekend Warriors" filled out the complements of ships pulled from mothballs and in some cases sent carriers to sea with almost their entire embarked air groups consisting of Reserve squadrons. Other calls came during the Berlin Crisis and Vietnam , and with the Cold War defense build-up of the 1980s, presided over by Secretary of the Navy John Lehman , himself a Naval Reservist and Naval Flight Officer on active flying status,

1221-689: A modernization of the U.S. fleet and brought some of the first calls for an organized naval reserve to help man these more advanced ships. In the meantime, state naval militias represented the Navy's manpower reserve, demonstrating their capabilities during the Spanish–American War in which they assisted in coastal defense and served aboard ship. Militiamen from Massachusetts , New York , Michigan , and Maryland manned four auxiliary cruisers— Prairie , Yankee , Yosemite , and Dixie —seeing action off Cuba . All told, some 263 officers and 3,832 enlisted men of various state naval militias answered

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1332-562: A particular enlisted rating, or have achieved an enlisted rating through on-the-job qualification in the Fleet or Shore Establishment. These personnel are Honorably Discharged from the Regular Navy, typically in pay grades E-4 or E-5, and reenlist in the Navy Reserve in either a SELRES or TAR status. Prior service enlistees may be able to affiliate with the Navy Reserve in their active duty rating (job specialty) and paygrade. Persons who enlist in

1443-530: A permanent airfield, and, in 1946, constructed an 8,200 ft north–south extra heavy-duty runway for future use. The number of completed B-32s at the Consolidated plant had reached 74 production aircraft, along with the TB-32 trainers, many of which were parked at the field. These were ordered flown from Fort Worth directly to storage at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and Kingman Fields , Arizona for disposal, and,

1554-626: A second combat tour. They have served alongside Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard and service personnel from other countries, performing such missions as countering deadly improvised explosive devices, constructing military bases, escorting ground convoys, operating hospitals, performing intelligence analysis, guarding prisoners, and doing customs inspections for units returning from deployments. Between 2013 and 2021, two Navy Reserve maritime patrol squadrons, VP-62 and VP-69 flying P-3C BMUP+ aircraft, have also been repeatedly mobilized, either in part or as entire squadrons, and forward deployed to

1665-459: A shortage of equipment meant the B-32 training at Fort Worth was never fully realized, and, after V-J Day , officials eliminated the B-32 training program. In November 1945, jurisdiction of Fort Worth AAF was transferred to Second Air Force , which established its 17th Bombardment Operational Training Wing at the base, equipped with B-29A Superfortresses. The Air Force had decided to keep Fort Worth as

1776-405: A specific billet (job) in order to make their rating and rate permanent. Very few ratings are available to non-prior service personnel. Based upon their skill sets, members will enter into service at paygrades E-1 through E-3 . Although non-prior service recruits eligible for immediate advancement to E-2 or E-3 are paid from their first day at the advanced pay grade, they are not entitled to wear

1887-483: A stand down of all nuclear-alert duties. In January 1960, the USAF announced its intention to activate the first Convair B-58 Hustler wing. This was to be the 43d Bombardment Wing , (BW) at that time based at Davis-Monthan AFB , Arizona. The 43rd Bomb Wing would be moved to Carswell starting on 1 March. The 3958th Operational Test and Evaluation Group (then functioning as an integral unit at Carswell) would be transferred to

1998-547: A tenant activity at Selfridge Air National Guard Base , Michigan under the operational control of Commander, Fleet Logistics Support Wing at then- Naval Air Station Dallas , Texas. In February 1988, the squadron began providing logistics support flights operating the McDonnell Douglas C-9B Skytrain II aircraft, adopting the squadron nickname of Motowners in view of their proximity to Detroit. Following nine years of outstanding worldwide airlift service to

2109-663: A units such as a RESFORON, remains in place. Typically, an enlisted Navy Reservist is required to drill one weekend every month and spend a consecutive two-week period every year at a Regular Navy base or on board a ship. While training either for just a weekend or during the two weeks, the Reservist is on active duty and the full spectrum of rules and regulations, including the Uniform Code of Military Justice , apply. In certain states where such naval militia organizations exist, Navy Reservists are allowed to serve simultaneously in both

2220-407: Is practically indistinguishable from that of an active duty Regular Navy aviation squadron. The squadron's SELRES pilots and enlisted flight crewmembers readily perform twice the amount of military duty, if not three or four times as much, as the traditional one weekend drill a month and two weeks active duty per year model typically associated with most Reserve Component organizations and personnel in

2331-631: The U.S. Naval Academy (USNA), Naval ROTC (NROTC), Naval Officer Candidate School (OCS), or the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA). Prior to its disestablishment, many of the Navy Reserve's Naval Aviators, Naval Flight Officers, Air Intelligence Officers, and Aircraft Maintenance Duty Officers were also commissioned via Aviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS), to include its Aviation Reserve Officer Candidate (AVROC) and Naval Aviation Candidate (NAVCAD) sub-programs. A small cohort previously commissioned via officer accession programs of another U.S. military service will also occasionally enter

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2442-742: The 11 September attacks of 2001, Reservists were mobilized to support combat operations. The War on Terrorism has even seen the activation of an entire Navy Reserve strike fighter squadron, the VFA-201 Hunters , flying F/A-18C Hornet aircraft, which deployed on board the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) as part of Carrier Air Wing EIGHT ( CVW-8 ), flying multiple combat missions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. More than 52,000 Navy Reservists have been mobilized and deployed to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan, including more than 8,000 who have done

2553-777: The 301st Fighter Wing and its flying squadron the 457th Fighter Squadron continue to be based at the installation. The Wing is currently (2024) converting to the F-35 Lightning II after operating the F-16 for 32 years. The 136th Airlift Wing of the Texas Air National Guard and its flying component, the 181st Airlift Squadron, fly new stretch versions of the C-130J airlifter. MAG-41, a Marine Aircraft Group, with VMFA-112 (F-18C), VMGR-234 (KC-130J), VMR-1 (C-40A), and various ground units are also located at NAS Fort Worth JRB. VR-59 flies

2664-476: The F-35C CATOBAR variant strike fighter flown by both the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps from NIMITZ class and GERALD R. FORD class aircraft carriers. The C-130T also provides the U.S. Navy with the unique ability to deliver passengers and cargo to austere locations, including unprepared fields and runways less than 3,000 feet long. VR-62 was established on 1 July 1985 at then-Naval Air Facility Detroit,

2775-626: The Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), or the Retired Reserve . The mission of the Navy Reserve is to provide strategic depth and deliver operational capabilities to the Navy and Marine Corps team, and to the Joint forces, in the full range of military operations from peace to war. The Navy Reserve consists of 56,254 officers and enlisted personnel who serve in every state and territory as well as overseas as of June 2023. The largest cohort,

2886-792: The Merchant Marine Reserve , then called the Naval Auxiliary Reserve, in 1913. With the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels and his assistant, a young New Yorker named Franklin D. Roosevelt , launched a campaign in Congress to appropriate funding for such a force. Their efforts brought passage of legislation on 3 March 1915, creating the Naval Reserve Force, whose members served in

2997-902: The Selected Reserve (SELRES) , have traditionally drilled one weekend a month and performed two weeks of active duty annual training during the year, receiving base pay and certain special pays (e.g., flight pay, dive pay) when performing Inactive Duty Training (IDT, aka "drills"), and full pay and allowances while on active duty for Annual Training (AT), Active Duty for Training (ADT), Active Duty for Operational Support (ADOS), Active Duty for Special Work (ADSW), under Presidential Selected Reserve Call-up (PSRC) / Mobilization (MOB) orders, or when otherwise recalled to full active duty. Every state, as well as Guam and Puerto Rico , has at least one Navy Reserve Center (NRC, formerly known Naval Reserve Centers (NAVRESCEN) until 2005 and formerly known as Navy Operational Support Centers (NOSC) from 2005 to 2021), staffed by full-time active duty Training and Administration of

3108-590: The 11th Bombardment Wing was activated and the 11th Bombardment Group was assigned to it, although all group resources were transferred to the wing until the group was inactivated in June 1952. The wing deployed to Nouasseur Air Base , French Morocco from 4 May until 2 July 1955. The wing won the SAC Bombing Competition and the Fairchild Trophy in 1954, 1956 and 1960. The phrase "7–11" must have been considered

3219-691: The 1980s, the 7th received several new weapons systems, including modified B-52H aircraft. In 1983, B-52 crews began training with a new weapon system, the SRAM (Short Range Attack Missile) and later, in 1985, the ALCM (Air Launched Cruise Missile ). Also, the wing flew numerous atmospheric sampling missions during 1986 and 1987 in response to the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident; four B-52H aircraft (s/n 60-0024, 60-0033, 60-0051 and 60-0052) were modified to carry atmospheric sampling pods code-named "Giant Fish." These aircraft flew

3330-546: The 2005 BRAC Commission ordered the disestablishment and closure of NAS Brunswick and VR-62 relocated to their present homeport of NAS Jacksonville in 2009. With this move, the squadron adopted their current nickname of the Nomads , a tongue-in-cheek reference to the squadron's three previous BRAC-directed moves over a 15-year period. VR-62 continues to report to COMFLELOGSUPWING, the latter command now located at NAS JRB Fort Worth (former Carswell AFB ), Texas. Now equipped with six C-130T aircraft and crewed by 215 personnel,

3441-402: The 4123d Strategic Wing took possession of the first Boeing B-52 Stratofortress on Carswell. At the arrival ceremony on base, the bomber was named "The City of Fort Worth." It was subsequently assigned to the 98th Bombardment Squadron of the wing. Shortly following the arrival of B-52 bombers to the 4123rd Strategic Wing, the unit was moved to new facilities at Clinton-Sherman AFB , Oklahoma. With

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3552-494: The 43d was to operate a school to evaluate the new supersonic jet bomber. On 12 January 1961, Major Henry J. Deutschendorf (singer John Denver 's father) commanded a B-58 crew from the 43rd that set out to break six flight records; five of which the Soviet Union held. The Hustler flew two laps around a course with Edwards AFB , California, at one end and MCAS Yuma , Arizona at the other. The bomber set three speed records over

3663-418: The 43rd Bomb Wing upon its arrival. On 1 August 1960, the USAF finally formally assumed B-58 operations responsibility and began testing. 59-2436, the first fully operational Hustler equipped with all tactical systems, was delivered to the 43rd. Two weeks later, the first TB-58A was delivered to Carswell. After July 1961, the wing continued further B-58 evaluations until June 1962. One of the first duties of

3774-519: The 7th and 11th Wings at Carswell. On the same date, the 7th Group became a "paper organization," with all other flying squadrons reassigned directly to the 7th Bombardment Wing as part of the Tri-Deputate organization plan adopted by the wing. The 7th Bomb Group was inactivated on 16 June 1952. The 7th Bombardment Group was activated at Fort Worth Army Air Field on October 1, 1946 and transferred into SAC as part of 2nd Air Force. On November 3, 1947,

3885-573: The Air Force abandoned the old Group organization of World War II and introduced the Wing Organization. This resulted in all bomb groups being redesignated as wings. Thus the 7th Bomb Group became the 7th Bomb Wing, Very Heavy. The "very heavy," indicating it flew B-29s and B-50s. During this time, its home was renamed Carswell Air Force Base. The unit was equipped with B-29s and was responsible for global bombardment training. The wing's mission

3996-580: The Army Reserve/Army National Guard and Air Force Reserve/Air National Guard, Navy Reserve TAR personnel are on continuous active duty with a career track paralleling and mostly mirroring their Regular Navy counterparts until they either retire from active duty or opt to separate from the TAR program to transfer to SELRES status. TAR personnel first came into being in 1952 as a sub-category of Naval Reserve personnel retained on full-time active duty in

4107-509: The B-24 Liberator. The school was officially opened on 12 October 1942 and was under the jurisdiction of the 34th Flying Training Wing at San Angelo Army Air Field , Texas. The school was initially equipped with B-24Ds that were assembled across the runway at Consolidated; later it was upgraded to B-24Es that were manufactured at Consolidated's Willow Run Plant in Michigan, then flown to

4218-551: The B-29 had been flown in combat for nearly six months. The Army was quite unhappy about the Dominator and the production problems it was experiencing. Eventually 40 TB-32 trainers were produced for the training program to get underway. Prospective B-32 pilots underwent 50 hours training in the TB-32s, and co-pilots received 25 hours of flight time and 25 hours of observer training. Ultimately,

4329-505: The B-36s assigned to the 7th and 11th Wings comprised two thirds of SAC's intercontinental bomber force. On 1 September 1952, what was then thought to be a tornado rolled across the Carswell flight line, with winds over 90 miles per hour recorded at the control tower. By the time it had passed "the flight line was a tangle of airplanes, equipment and pieces of buildings." None of the 82 bombers on

4440-679: The B-52D, making them eligible for duty in Southeast Asia. B-52s assigned to combat duty in Vietnam were painted in a modified camouflage scheme with the undersides, lower fuselage, and both sides of the vertical fin being painted in a glossy black. The USAF serial number was painted in black on the fin over a horizontal red stripe across the length of the fin. The B-52 effort was concentrated primarily against suspected Viet Cong targets in South Vietnam, but

4551-626: The British merchant fleet as important as the sea battles of John Paul Jones in establishing the American naval tradition. Following the American Revolution , the expense of maintaining a standing navy was deemed too great, resulting in the selling of the last Continental Navy ship in 1785. However, attacks by Barbary pirates against American merchant vessels in the Mediterranean Sea prompted

VR-62 - Misplaced Pages Continue

4662-592: The C-130T, sending squadron detachments to Sicily, Japan and Bahrain in support of worldwide naval operations. The 1995 BRAC Commission ordered the disestablishment and closure of NAS South Weymouth and VR-62 was again ordered to change their homeport. In 1996, the squadron relocated to Naval Air Station Brunswick , Maine, and received yet another nickname as the Nor' Easters based on their new home station in Maine. Nine years later,

4773-640: The C-40A personnel and cargo transport. Aircraft types initially based at NAS Fort Worth JRB were the F-14 Tomcat , F/A-18 Hornet , C-9B Skytrain II , C-130 Hercules and KC-130 Hercules that relocated from the former NAS Dallas , joining extant F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft that were previously located at the installation while it was known as Carswell Air Force Base and later as Carswell Air Reserve Station . Currently based aircraft are Navy C-40 Clipper transports of

4884-751: The Chamber of Commerce. In August the War Department signed leases with the RFC on 3 sites around Fort Worth. Knows as the Flying Triangle, these sites were Hicks Field (#1), Barron Field (#2), and Benbrook (later Carruthers) Field (#3) based on their locations. In April 1918 these airfield were turned over to the Air Service, United States Army as training fields for American pilots. Hundreds of pilots learned their basic and primary flying skills at these airfields in

4995-702: The Consolidated manufacturing plant in San Diego to learn about the Dominator, which was planned as a stablemate of the B-29 Superfortress ; much like the B-17 Flying Fortress was teamed with the B-24 Liberator. The first B-32 arrived at Fort Worth in September 1944, however it was in the modification plant until January before it was released to the training school. By the end of 1944, only five production aircraft had been delivered by Consolidated; by comparison

5106-538: The Consolidated manufacturing plant. The Army wanted to have the airfield ready quickly before the plant was put into production and construction of the "Lake Worth Bomber Plant Airport" began almost immediately. However, after the Attack on Pearl Harbor , the Army changed its plans and instead of being an operational base, "Tarrant Field" as the facility was called, became a heavy-bomber training school. The first unit assigned to

5217-465: The Engineering Duty and Aeronautical Engineering Duty designators, may apply for orders to extended active duty and be permitted to apply for flight training to become Naval Aviators or Naval Flight Officers, or to apply for training to become Surface Warfare Officers or Submarine Warfare Officers, and integrate into the Regular Navy. NAS JRB Fort Worth NAS Fort Worth JRB is the successor to

5328-593: The Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce was trying to convince aircraft manufacturers to build an aircraft assembly plant in the area. Consolidated Aircraft , wanting to build in the area, suggested to the Air Corps that they jointly build an airfield adjacent to the heavy bomber plant they wanted to build in Fort Worth. On 16 June 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt approved $ 1.75 million to construct an airfield next to

5439-589: The Fort Worth area during the war. They were closed in 1919 when the war ended. In 1940 the City of Fort Worth had filed an application with the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA), asking for a primary pilot training airfield for the Army Air Corps. In May, General Jacob E. Fickel visited Fort Worth on an inspection visit. Fickel had learned to fly at Carruthers Field in 1918. At the same time,

5550-465: The Fort Worth plant for final modifications. During training, nine-member crews were assigned to each plane, and the crews ate, slept and trained together 24-hours a day. This allowed the crew to learn both the technical skills needed for aircraft operation as well as the other crew members' minds and reactions. Each day they trained five hours in the air and five hours on the ground. Each class lasted four and one-half weeks. Training officials added

5661-420: The Ho Chi Minh Trail and targets in Laos were also hit. During the relief of Khe Sanh, unbroken waves of six aircraft, attacking every three hours, dropped bombs as close as 900 feet (270 m) from friendly lines. Cambodia was increasingly bombed by B-52s from March 1969 onward. Rotational deployments to Guam, and also to U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield , Thailand continued on a reduced scale until 1975. In

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5772-435: The Naval Air Reserve, Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters of the Air Force Reserve Command, C-130 Hercules airlift aircraft of the Texas Air National Guard, Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet strike fighters and KC-130 Hercules aerial refueling and transport aircraft of the Marine Corps Reserve. The U.S. Army Reserve also has D Co, 6/52AVN flying UC-35 and C-12 aircraft on VIP transportation duties. Carswell Air Force Base

5883-425: The Naval Reserve not only expanded but also took steps towards greater interoperability with the Active Component with respect to equipment. Yet, despite these efforts, the divisions between the active duty Navy and Naval Reserve cultures remained distinct. This began to change in the 1990s as over 21,000 Naval Reservists supported the Persian Gulf War 's Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, which coincided with

5994-418: The Naval Reserve was ready. By the summer of 1941, virtually all of its members were serving on active duty, their numbers destined to swell when Japanese planes roared out of a clear blue sky over Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 . Navy reserve sailors from Minnesota aboard the USS Ward fired the first U.S. shots of World War II by sinking a Japanese mini-submarine outside the entrance to Pearl Harbor. Over

6105-423: The Navy Reserve are commissioned from the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA). USMMA graduates make up more than 75% of the Navy's Strategic Sealift Officer Community which is focused on strategic sealift and sea-based logistics. Reservists are called to active duty , or mobilized, as needed and are required to sign paperwork acknowledging this possibility upon enrollment in the reserve program. After

6216-478: The Navy Reserve via interservice transfer. Those officers who are Unrestricted Line (URL) officers will have typically attained a warfare qualification as a Naval Aviator, Naval Flight Officer, Surface Warfare Officer, Submarine Warfare Officer, Special Warfare (i.e., Sea, Air Land (SEAL)) Officer, or Special Operations (EOD Diver) through the same training and qualification process as their active duty counterparts. Most Restricted Line and Staff Corps officers exiting

6327-669: The Navy Reserve's Active Duty program first sign a contract to enter the Ready Reserve for a period of time that coincides with time served on Active Duty. Upon separation from Active Duty, members may still be obligated by their Reserve contract if it has not expired. The remainder of the contract may be served as a member of the Selected Reserve or the Individual Ready Reserve . Non-prior service enlistees are sent to Initial Active Duty Training (IADT), also known as Recruit Training or "boot camp," at Naval Training Center Great Lakes at Naval Station Great Lakes , Illinois (same location as Active Duty enlisted Recruit training) and qualify for

6438-717: The Regular Navy for the Navy Reserve will have also completed training on active duty associated with their respective designators and specialties. Another commissioned officer program unique to the Navy Reserve is the Direct Commissioned Officer (DCO) program. DCO is typically limited to Restricted Line specialties such as Intelligence, Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering Duty, or Public Affairs, or in Staff Corps roles as Medical Corps, Dental Corps, Medical Service Corps, Nurse Corps, Supply Corps, Civil Engineering Corps, Judge Advocate General Corps, or Chaplain Corps. These officers will typically have either (a) prior active duty enlisted service, (b) non-prior active duty enlisted service as

6549-625: The Reserve (TAR) personnel (previously known as Full Time Support (FTS) personnel from August 2006 to November 2021). The squadron is under the operational control of Commander, Fleet Logistics Support Wing (COMFLELOGSUPWING) at NAS JRB Fort Worth , Texas. VR-62 provides Navy Unique Fleet Essential Airlift (NUFEA), a capability totally resident in the Naval Air Force Reserve, comprising 24 C-130T Hercules aircraft in five squadrons and 17 Boeing C-40A Clipper aircraft in an additional six squadrons for responsive, flexible and rapidly deployable air logistics support to combat operations at sea and from

6660-934: The Reserve (TAR) personnel, where SELRES officers and Sailors typically come to do their weekend drills. The size of these centers varies greatly, depending on the number of assigned SELRES. Some NRCs may be collocated with Marine Corps Reserve Centers (MARESCEN) and were often known as Naval and Marine Corps Reserve Centers (NAVMARCORESCEN) prior to 2005. Other NRCs may be part of or tenant commands at Armed Forces Reserve Centers or Joint Reserve Centers with Army Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, and/or Army National Guard units. Navy Reserve Centers are intended mostly to handle administrative functions and classroom style training. However, some NRCs have more extensive training facilities, including SECRET or SCIF level intelligence centers, damage control trainers and small boat units. Some NRCs are co-located on existing military facilities, but many are "outside-the-wire" standalone facilities that are often

6771-409: The Reserve) personnel are Navy Reserve personnel who serve in uniform year round and provide administrative support to Navy Reserve SELRES and IRR (to include VTU) personnel, active duty Navy personnel in areas where there are no major naval installations (i.e., Navy Recruiting Command personnel and NROTC staff at civilian colleges and universities), retired military personnel and family members of all

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6882-420: The South and a campaign to secure control of the Mississippi River . By war's end the Navy had grown from a force numbering 9,942 in 1860 to one manned by 58,296 sailors. A total of 101,207 men from twenty-one states enlisted during the war and volunteers were present during some of the storied naval engagements of the American Civil War , including serving in Monitor during her battle with CSS Virginia and

6993-535: The U.S. Armed Forces. VR-62 remains an integral part of fleet support having transported in excess of 29,500 passengers and over 29 million pounds of cargo since receiving the C-130T aircraft. In 2021, the squadron is also slated to commence an aerial refueling mission with the installation of the NP2000 eight-bladed composite propeller system and the addition of an aerial refueling package to refuel USN, USMC and NATO/Allied fixed with rotary wing aircraft in flight, effectively converting VR-62's C-130T aircraft into

7104-452: The U.S. military services, and operational support for the Navy. TAR officers and Sailors are full-time career active duty personnel, but reside in the Reserve Component (RC) and perform a role similar to Active Guard and Reserve (AGR), Air Reserve Technician (ART) and Army Reserve Technician in the Air Force Reserve Command , the Air National Guard , the U.S. Army Reserve , and the Army National Guard . As opposed to most AGR personnel in

7215-489: The United States Navy Reserve and in the naval militia of their state of residence; however, when called into federal service, these Navy Reservists are relieved from service and duty in the naval militia until released from active duty. The vast majority of commissioned officers in the Navy Reserve, both SELRES and TAR, are initially trained in and accessed from the Regular Navy following four to over ten years of active duty service. Commissioning sources for these officers are

7326-440: The Western Pacific for six-month rotations to meet critical Navy Global Force Management (GFM) shortfalls. Reflecting the importance of Reservists in the naval history of the United States, the first citizen sailors put to sea even before the Continental Congress created the Continental Navy , forerunner of today's U.S. Navy . On 12 June 1775, inspired to act after hearing the news of Minutemen and British regulars battling on

7437-402: The acquisition of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, all new B-52 wings would operate with an air refueling squadron to support those bombers. As a result, SAC activated the 7th Air Refueling Squadron at Carswell on 1 April 1958, and assigned it to the wing. The squadron would be equipped with the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker later in the year. In January 1959, B-52s from Carswell were constantly in

7548-413: The air and flying to Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Air Force One ( VC-137C, serial number 62-6000 ) landed at Carswell AFB shortly after 11:00 pm on 21 November 1963 carrying President John F. Kennedy and his entourage to Fort Worth. The next morning, 22 November, President Kennedy returned to Carswell AFB at 11:25 am and boarded Air Force One for a 15-minute flight to Love Field , Dallas, Texas. It

7659-460: The base escaped damage, and SAC declared the entire 19th Air Division non-operational. Maintenance personnel of the 7th and 11th Wings went on an 84-hour weekly work schedule and began work to restore the least damaged aircraft to operational status. More heavily damaged aircraft were worked on by personnel from the San Antonio Air Materiel Area , where the depot for the B-36 was located. The planes that had been most heavily damaged were towed across

7770-576: The base was the Army Air Forces Training Command Combat Crew School on 1 July 1942. At the same time, the Consolidated plant began assembly of B-24D Liberator aircraft in May, with the first aircraft being assigned to the school in August. On 29 July, the base was again renamed, this time as Fort Worth Army Air Field . The Army Air Forces Combat Crew School (later redesignated Army Air Forces Pilot School, Specialized 4-Engine) took graduates of Training Command's advanced-pilot training schools and experienced 2-engine pilots, and, trained them on flying

7881-405: The call to arms. As successful as the state naval militias were in the Spanish–American War, which made the United States a world power, events unfolding in Europe following the turn of the century demonstrated that a modern war at sea required a federal naval reserve force. The first formally funded naval reserve force was organized around the United States Merchant Marine with the formation of

7992-660: The cockpits of biplanes and hunted enemy U-boats during the Great War. Though the financial difficulties of the Great Depression and interwar isolationism translated into difficult times for the Naval Reserve, the organizational structure persevered and expanded with the creation of Naval Aviation Cadet program and the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps. When World War II erupted on 1 September 1939,

8103-579: The consolidation of the Naval Air Reserve Force (NAVAIRESFOR) and Naval Surface Reserve Force (NAVSURFRESFOR) headquarters organizations at NAS New Orleans , Louisiana and Naval Support Activity New Orleans in April 1973. Prior to August 1989, all of the Flag Officers listed were active duty officers in the Regular Navy. In August 1989, RADM James E. Taylor became the first Reserve officer to hold

8214-501: The course of the ensuing four years, the Navy would grow from a force of 383,150 to one that at its peak numbered 3,405,525, the vast majority of them reservists, including five future U.S. presidents . The end of World War II brought a different struggle in the form of the Cold War , which over the course of nearly five decades was waged with the haunting specter of nuclear war. Cold War battlegrounds took Naval Reservists to Korea , where

8325-705: The daring mission to destroy the Confederate ironclad CSS Albemarle . The latter action resulted in the awarding of the Medal of Honor to six reserve enlisted men. With the lack of any major threat to the United States in the post-Civil War years, the U.S. Navy took on the appearance and missions of the force it had in 1860. Then came publication of naval theorist Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan 's landmark study The Influence of Sea Power Upon History , which in part prompted

8436-510: The defense of Washington, D.C. Having fought against a foreign power, naval reservists faced a much different struggle with the outbreak of the Civil War , which divided a navy and a nation. Within days of the attack, President Abraham Lincoln authorized an increase in the personnel levels of the Navy, which assumed an important role in the strategy to defeat the Confederacy with a blockade of

8547-527: The equivalent airspeed and compression tactics for heavy bombardment aircraft. The aircraft, staging through Limestone AFB , Maine, would land at RAF Lakenheath , United Kingdom, following a night radar-bombing attack on Heligoland , West Germany. From there the bombers would conduct a simulated bomb run on the Heston Bomb Plot, London, finally landing at RAF Lakenheath . This was the first deployment of wing and SAC B-36 aircraft to England and Europe. For

8658-525: The famed B-29) and named Lucky Lady II took off from Carswell for the first nonstop flight around the world. She returned to Carswell after mid-air refuelings, flying 23,108 miles, and remaining aloft for ninety-four hours and one minute. In January 1951, the 7th Bombardment Group took part in a special training mission to the United Kingdom. The purpose of the mission was to evaluate the updated B-36D under simulated war-plan conditions and further evaluate

8769-570: The field to the Convair plant where they had been manufactured. Within a month, 51 of the base's Peacemakers had been returned to service and the division was again declared operational. By May 1953, all but two of the planes had been returned to service. In 1954, Carswell was prominently featured and used as a filming location in the James Stewart and June Allyson film Strategic Air Command . 11th Bomb Group B-36s appeared with James Stewart who

8880-568: The fields of Lexington and Concord , citizens of the seaside town of Machias, Maine , commandeered the schooner Unity and engaged the British warship HMS Margaretta , boarding her and forcing her surrender after bitter close quarters combat. In the ensuing years of the American Revolution, the small size of the Continental Navy necessitated the service of citizen sailors, who put to sea manning privateers, their far-flung raids against

8991-586: The fleet from the home station at NAF Detroit, the 1991 BRAC Commission directed the realignment of NAF Detroit as Naval Air Reserve Center Detroit (NAVAIRESCEN Detroit) and the inactivation or transfer of all Naval Reserve aviation squadrons based there. As part of this BRAC decision, the VR-62 Motowners were ordered to change their homeport and transition from the C-9B to the C-130T Hercules aircraft. In 1994,

9102-724: The former Naval Air Station Dallas and incorporates other Reserve commands and activities, primarily those of the Air Force Reserve , that were present on site when the installation was known as Carswell Air Force Base , a former Strategic Air Command (SAC) facility later transferred to the Air Combat Command (ACC). Several United States Navy headquarters and operational units are based at NAS Fort Worth JRB, including Naval Air Reserve air wings and aviation squadrons , intelligence commands and Seabees . The Air Force Reserve Command 's Tenth Air Force (10 AF) headquarters and

9213-566: The group bombers participated in training operations over Europe, as well as a show-of-force display by the United States in the early part of the Cold War with the Soviet Union . The flight redeployed from Germany on 23 September. In 1947, shortly after the United States Air Force was established as a separate branch of the United States military, the Hobson Wing-Base Organization Plan was implemented. The 7th

9324-457: The insignia signifying that pay grade until they successfully complete boot camp. After graduating from boot camp, the Reservist usually trains at a Navy Reserve Center (NRC) or a commissioned Navy Reserve unit such as a Reserve Force Aviation Squadron (RESFORON) to complete final "Phase IV" requirements. After that, he the Sailor is either sent to a specific Navy Reserve unit or, if already assigned to

9435-726: The local community is one of the NRC's top two priority missions (the other being training and mobilization of SELRES). Many SELRES are assigned to front-line operational units outside of the NRC structure, many of them combat-coded, such as Naval Aviators , Naval Flight Officers , Naval Flight Surgeons , enlisted Naval Aircrewmen , and other officer and enlisted personnel assigned to Navy Reserve or Active-Reserve Integrated (ARI) aviation squadrons, air groups and air wings, or personnel assigned to major unified combatant command , Fleet and other major staff positions. These personnel, especially active flight crew, are typically funded for far more duty than

9546-573: The mission into the 1990s from various bases including Carswell. By 1984, Carswell was the largest unit of its kind in the Strategic Air Command. The 7th Bomb Wing contributed personnel to Operation Desert Storm in the Middle East in 1991. After an overwhelming victory in the Persian Gulf, the wing returned to Carswell. In September 1991 with the end of the Cold War , President Bush ordered

9657-518: The mission of the U.S. Navy. In 2005, the U.S. Naval Reserve was redesignated as the U.S. Navy Reserve. As Admiral William J. Fallon stated, "We must remember that the Reserves, which represent twenty percent of our warfighting force, are absolutely vital to our Navy's ability to fight and win wars now and in the future." Office of the Chief of Naval Reserve was established as Director of Naval Reserve, with

9768-568: The new group, consisting of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, were transferred to Fort Worth AAF from the 92nd Bombardment Group at Spokane AAF , Washington . On 1 November 1946, the Eighth Air Force moved its headquarters to Fort Worth AAF from MacDill Field , Florida. With its B-29s, the group prepared its people for any combat eventuality that might arise, flying simulated bombing missions over various cities. On 5 July 1947,

9879-400: The next four days the flight flew sorties out of England. The aircraft redeployed to the United States on 20 January arriving at Carswell on 21 January. On 16 February 1951, the ' 11th Bombardment Wing was activated, and, the 11th Bombardment Group was assigned to it. The 19th Air Division was organized the same day at Carswell. With this move, the division assumed responsibility over both

9990-528: The notional one weekend per month/two weeks per year construct typically associated with the Reserve and often perform military duty well in excess of 100-man-days per year. SELRES have also performed additional duty in times of war or national crisis, often being recalled to full-time active duty for one, two or three or more years and deploying to overseas locations or aboard warships, to include active combat zones, as seen during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom . TAR (Training and Administration of

10101-571: The ongoing collapse of the Soviet Union . Since that time, whether responding to the ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia or the threat of world terrorism, the latter coming to the forefront in the attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on 11 September 2001, the Naval Reserve transformed from a force in waiting for massive mobilization to an integral component in carrying out

10212-471: The only U.S. Navy representation in their communities or even the entire state, commonwealth or territory. Because of this, NRCs outside of the Navy's Fleet traditional Concentration Areas (e.g., Norfolk, VA; San Diego, CA; Jacksonville, FL, Honolulu, HI, etc.) are also heavily tasked to provide personnel, both TAR staff and SELRES, for participation in Funeral Honors Details . This service provided to

10323-449: The only such 3-star billet in the Navy Reserve. Most enlisted personnel in the Navy Reserve enter the SELRES or TAR programs following completion of an initial active duty enlistment in the Regular Navy, typically four years in length. These personnel have already completed Recruit Training (i.e., boot camp) and have completed either a Navy technical training school known as an "A" School for

10434-524: The partially assembled B-32 aircraft in the plant were ordered scrapped in place. Fort Worth Army Air Field was assigned to the newly formed Strategic Air Command in March 1946, and on 1 October 1946, the 7th Bombardment Group, Very Heavy was activated. With its activation, the 7th became part of the Fifteenth Air Force (15 AF), headquartered at Colorado Springs , Colorado. Personnel and aircraft of

10545-438: The post. In September 1992 RADM Taylor was relieved, in turn, by RADM Thomas F. Hall, another active duty officer in the Regular Navy. In September 1996, RADM Hall was relieved by another Reserve officer, RADM G. Dennis Vaughan. All subsequent Flag Officers in this role have been Reserve officers. Previously restricted to the 2-star rank of Rear Admiral (upper half), in 2002 the billet was upgraded to that of 3-star Vice Admiral,

10656-552: The production plant throughout 1948 while being assigned to the 7th Bomb Group . The group's last B-29 was transferred out on 6 December to the 97th Bombardment Group at Biggs Air Force Base in El Paso, Texas. For 10 years, Carswell's "Peacemaker" fleet cast a large shadow on the Soviet Iron Curtain and served as the United States' major deterrent weapons system. In February 1949, a Boeing B-50 Superfortress (developed from

10767-637: The sea. The C-130T fills the U.S. Navy's airlift requirements for outside cargo and, prior to the introduction of the Bell Boeing CMV-22B Osprey , was the only U.S. Navy aircraft capable of internally lifting all modules of the Pratt & Whitney F135 engine for the Lockheed Martin F-3B Lightning II STOVL variant strike fighter flown by the U.S. Marine Corps from WASP class and AMERICA class amphibious assault ships and

10878-516: The squadron changed its homeport from NAF Detroit to Naval Air Station South Weymouth , Massachusetts, and adopted a new nickname of Mass Transport , acknowledging their new home station in Massachusetts. VR-62 retired its C-9B aircraft and received their first of four C-130T aircraft in January 1995. Following several months of rigorous transition training, VR-62 began its operational commitments with

10989-551: The squadron consists of 85 full-time active duty TAR and 130 part-time drilling SELRES personnel. Of the officers, a total of 35 TAR and SELRES are pilots, all on operational flight status as Naval Aviators . The remaining 180 personnel perform various roles in aircraft maintenance, squadron administration, safety, and operations. A portion of the squadron's SELRES and TAR enlisted force are also on active flight status as Naval Aircrewmen , flying as C-130T flight engineers and loadmasters. In many respects, VR-62's operational tempo

11100-409: The wing. On 10 December 1957, the 98th Bombardment Squadron was detached from the wing and assigned to the newly activated 4123d Strategic Wing at Carswell. This would become the first Boeing B-52 Stratofortress unit at Carswell. The 7th Bomb Wing officially became a B-52 organization with the adoption of manning documents and equipping authorizations on 1 February 1958. On 19 February 1958,

11211-447: The years following World War II to administer the then-Naval Reserve infrastructure during the Cold War . In 2005, the term TAR was replaced with Full Time Support (FTS) . In November 2021, the term FTS was discontinued and the term TAR reinstated for this category of personnel. The Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) is composed of Navy Reserve personnel who do not typically drill or train regularly but can be recalled to service in

11322-546: Was also attached to the unit in the 1950s as a unit commander in his then-rank of Colonel in the Air Force Reserve. On 13 June 1955, the Strategic Air Command realigned its three numbered air forces resulting in Headquarters, 8 AF moving from Carswell to Westover AFB , Massachusetts. With that move, Carswell was reassigned under Second Air Force (2 AF), headquartered at Barksdale AFB , Louisiana. On 16 February 1951,

11433-533: Was named after Medal of Honor recipient Major Horace S. Carswell, Jr. , USAAF (1916–1944). Major Carswell was returning from an attack on Japanese shipping in the South China Sea on 26 October 1944 when he attempted to save a crewmember whose parachute had been destroyed by flak. He remained at the controls of his crippled bomber and died while crash-landing the B-24 Liberator near Tungchen, China. The base

11544-733: Was renamed Griffiss Air Force Base as a memorial to Lt. Col. Townsend Griffiss (1900–1942), a Buffalo native and 1922 West Point graduate who, in 1942, became the first U.S. airman to be killed in the line of duty in the European Theatre of World War II when his Consolidated B-24 Liberator was shot down by friendly fire over the English Channel. On 27 February, the base's name was changed again to memorialize native son and Medal of Honor winner, Major Horace S. Carswell, Jr. , who gave his life while attempting to crash land his crippled B-24 over China. The Rome Air Depot, near Rome, NY,

11655-555: Was renamed in his honor on 29 January 1948. Carswell's origins date back to the early years of aviation. After the United States' entry into World War I in April 1917, General John J. "Blackjack" Pershing invited the British Royal Flying Corps (RFC) to establish training fields in the southern United States where the warmer weather would be more conducive for flying year-round. In June, the War Department inspected 6 sites around Fort Worth, Texas which had been offered by

11766-451: Was scheduled several months ahead of the 7th Bomb Wing at Carswell. On 30 May, Memorial Day, the last of the B-36s in the wing was retired with appropriate ceremonies and an "Open House." Air Force and civilian personnel of the base, and civilians from surrounding communities, were on hand to bid the "Peacemaker" a fond farewell. This last flight of a B-36 phased-out completely the B-36 program for

11877-475: Was selected as one of the "Test Wings" to evaluate the new organization, and, on 17 November 1947 the 7th Bombardment Wing was established. The test was successful and the wing was made permanent on 1 August 1948. As part of the new organization both the 7th and 11th Bombardment Groups became its operational components. Upon becoming its own service, the USAF renamed many former Army Air Fields as memorials to deceased airmen. On 1 January 1948, Fort Worth Airfield

11988-405: Was shifted from Consolidated's San Diego, California plant to its government-leased plant in Fort Worth. By 1947 the initial production version B-36A was ready, and, in June 1948 the first Convair B-36A Peacemaker was delivered to the Air Force. The first B-36A was designated the "City of Fort Worth" (AF Serial No. 44-92015) and was assigned to the 492d Bomb Squadron. B-36s continued to roll out from

12099-684: Was the last use of Air Force One by President Kennedy before he was assassinated later that day in Dallas. On 13 April 1965, the 7th Bomb Wing deployed its forces to Andersen Air Force Base , Guam to bomb the Socialist Republic of Vietnam . Most of the wing's bombers and tankers, along with aircrews and some support personnel, were deployed. At Andersen, the wing flew more than 1,300 missions over Vietnam, and returned to Carswell in December 1965. B-52 crews were sent through an intensive two-week course on

12210-476: Was then rename for Griffiss. On 1 December 1948, the 11th Bombardment Group was reactivated by the Strategic Air Command (SAC) at Carswell and was equipped with B-36s. 7th Bomb Group personnel began training the new 11th Bomb Group people in the new aircraft and the 11th soon began receiving them. Since 1942, the XB-36 Peacemaker long range bomber had been under development by Consolidated, and work on it

12321-467: Was to prepare for global strategic bombardment in the event of hostilities. Under various designations, the 7th Bombardment Wing flew a wide variety of aircraft at the base until its inactivation in 1993. A five-ship B-36 formation was flown on 15 January 1949, in an air review over Washington, D.C., commemorating the inauguration of the President of the United States, Harry S. Truman . By September 1952,

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