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363rd Air Expeditionary Wing
[ex 4404th Wing (Provisional)]

The 363rd Air Expeditionary Wing inactivated in the summer of 2003 as a result of the transfer of control of Prince Sultan Air Base on August 26, 2003.

The 363rd Air Expeditionary Wing was the new wing that hosted all units deployed to Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi and Al Jabber in Kuwait. It replaced the 4404th Wing (P) when the Air Force eliminated the 4XXX provisional designations. Effective 01 December 1998, the 4404th Wing (Provisional) at Prince Sultan Air Base inactivated and the Air Force activated the 363rd Air Expeditionary Wing.

The 4404th Wing (Provisional) was the air component responsible for enforcing the no-fly zone over southern Iraq. The wing was headquartered at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, and is comprised of combat aircraft, including F-15s, F-16s and C-130s. The wing was also responsible for operations at other sites in the Arabian Gulf region, including Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. More than 5,000 airmen make up the wing, which reports to Joint Task Force-Southwest Asia, a component of United States Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.

The mission of the 4404th Wing (Provisional) was to "...serve as the front line defense against possible Iraqi aggression. To enforce UN Security Council Resolutions 687, 688, and 949 and protect US forces stationed in Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia" The 4404th Wing (Provisional) consisted of six provisional groups and has over 5,000 personnel assigned at nine locations in three countries. From the start of Operation SOUTHERN WATCH, the Wing was structured and manned to carry out a temporary mission, insuring that Iraq complied with the post-Operation DESERT STORM United Nations sanctions. It is manned primarily by airmen who rotate on temporary duty assignments.

Although the 4404th Wing (Provisional) activated under Air Combat Command [ACC] on 2 June, 1992, on 13 March 1991 Headquarters Tactical Air Command [TAC] TAC activated the 4404th Tactical Fighter Wing (Provisional) at Al Kharj Air Base. The original assets of the 4404th TFW came from the 4th TFW (Provisional), which had operated during the Gulf War. In June of the same year the wing relocated to King Abdul Aziz Air Base, Dahran, where it was officially activated as the 4404th Wing (Provisional) on 2 August 1991. After a terrorist truck bomb killed 19 airmen at Dhahran, the wing was ordered to move to a safer location within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Prince Sultan [Al Kharj] Air Base was chosen as the relocation site.

Since the wing's activation, it has employed 16 different types of aircraft. Currently, the wing employs a diversified fleet consisting of F-15C, F15E, F-16, KC-135, KC-10, RC-135, E-3, U-2, C-130, HC-130, and C-21 aircraft which provide fighter, electronic combat, reconnaissance, command and control, air refueling, search and rescue, and cargo/troop transport capabilities.

Except for a brief period during Operation VIGILANT WARRIOR, when its strength peaked at over 7,000 airmen, the 4404th Wing (Provisional) was manned at minimum levels. This policy was intended to reduce the visibility of U.S. forces in Saudi Arabia, limit exposure to risk, reduce the impact on Air Force units worldwide from whom the airmen were assigned, and insure that they were fully committed during their short tours of duty. This manning provided little flexibility to respond to changes in threat or mission requirements.

In the Air Force, operational organizations deploy as units with existing chains of command, while the majority of support personnel, to include Air Force Security Police, rotate as individuals. Air Force flying squadrons are assigned as units to the 4404th Wing (Provisional) on 15-, 30-, 45-, 60-, and 90-day rotations depending on the type unit.

Air Expeditionary Force III forces that deployed to Qatar from July through August 1996 were under the operational control of the 4404th Wing (Provisional), under the tactical control of either the Commander, Joint Task Force-Southwest Asia or the Commander, Joint Task Force-Rugged Nautilus, but for force protection were under U.S. Liaison Office, Qatar which does not have the command authority to direct force protection actions.

Following Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, US forces began to pull out of Prince Sultan Air Base. On April 28 the CAOC was shifted from PSAB to Al-Udeid in Qatar. On April 29, Sec. Donald Rumsfeld announced that US forces would begin pulling out of Saudi Arabia and that forces in the country would be diverted to other locations. Rear Admiral David Nichols, the deputy commander of the air operation centre stated that much of the assets associated with the 363rd AEW would be relocated by the end of the Summer 2003.

The 363rd AEW completed its last operational mission supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom on May 28, 2003 completing a 13-year, continuous mission. An E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System deployed to the 363rd Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron from Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., flew the wing's last operational mission supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

U.S. officials transferred control of portions of Prince Sultan Air Base to Saudi officials at a ceremony Aug. 26, 2003. The ceremony also marked the inactivation of the 363rd Air Expeditionary Wing.