Cold War
On 1 December 1947, the 97th Bombardment Wing, Very Heavy was established, and the unit was reassigned to Mile 26 Air Field (later named Eielson Air Force Base (AFB), Alaska) on that date. The new wing reported to Fifteenth Air Force, Strategic Air Command (SAC), although the Yukon Sector of the Alaskan Air Command controlled its operations.
Operational squadrons of the 97th BW were the 340th, 341st and 342d Bomb Squadrons
The 97th was originally a temporary organization, made of components of the 97th Bombardment Group and the 519th Air Service Group, deployed from Smoky Hill Air Force Base, Kansas. The Air Force was conducting a service test of a combat wing structure that elevated the wing headquarters to the highest echelon of command on the base. This gave the wing commander the authority to direct activities rather than merely request that his flying mission receive support.
The wing consisted of a combat group, an airfield group, a maintenance and supply group, and a medical group. The unit's March 1948 history stated: "The mission of the 97th Bombardment Wing (VHB) is to man, train, and maintain a self-sustaining strategic bombardment group capable of operations in any theater." While in Alaska the 97th flew B-29 Superfortress training missions over the Arctic Ocean, testing the aircraft and maintenance crews in the harsh climate. At the end of the Alaskan deployment the wing returned to Smoky Hill AFB, near Salina, Kansas, in March 1948.
Throughout its existence the 97th contributed to the deterrence of nuclear war with the former Soviet Union by being prepared to execute Emergency War Order (EWO) assignments. It continually demonstrated its resolve in the same manner as other SAC bombardment wings, primarily by maintaining the "CHROME DOME" aerial alert capability and by keeping crews on ground alert, capable of launching bomber sorties within minutes. The wing's tankers participated in the Atlantic, Pacific, European, and Alaskan Tanker Task Forces, ensuring that the bombers would be able to reach their targets. Until the Soviet Union's demise in 1989 the crews of the 97th trained for war, unless other world events demanded their attention.
Read more about this topic: 97th Air Mobility Wing, History, Operational History
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—Albert Camus (1913–1960)