455th Air Expeditionary Wing
The 455 Air Expeditionary Wing’s primary mission is to project effective airpower in support of combat operations in the theater of operation combating the war on terrorism in Afghanistan. Another mission at Bagram is to support airfield operations.
The 455th Air Expeditionary Wing was growing to match the organizational structure more common to other Air Force wings. The restructuring marked the move from a temporary presence to an enduring presence for the unit whose primary mission is to provide aerial cover for US and coalition ground troops in Afghanistan.
The wing got a little larger during 2005 we the Air Force consolidated operations in this area of the world to just a few bases to save personnel and resources.
On 30 November 2004, the wing, more than 600 people strong, gained an expeditionary mission support group which included senior leaders focused on living conditions and mission support for deployed Airmen. The new group also freed operations leaders to concentrate solely on providing the best possible support to the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines on the ground.
Airmen at one forward-deployed location in the region pulled up stakes. The base that once provided an operationally strategic advantage in the fight against terrorism closed 19 November 2004. Deployments were cut short for some of those Airmen, sending them back home in time for the holidays. About 65 of them moved on to bolster manpower at other locations including Kandahar, Afghanistan, and to bases in Iraq. A select 35 Airmen moved here to support new missions and fill increased manning requirements.
Rather than deploy new people from home bases to fill those billets, the Air Force decided to move some of them to Bagram to balance requirements.
The 455th AEW will probably be at Bagram for a long time to come. After Afghanistan is stable, the 455th may start to slowly get smaller, but the wing will be in Afghanistan for many years to come. It wouldn’t be a surprise if some of the Airmen came back to the 455th again in a year or two.
Air Expeditionary Force rotation 1/2 ‘turns on final,’ as approximately 700 Airmen assigned to AEF 3/4 hit the ground at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan in January 2005. This new team of Airmen was tasked with carrying on the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing’s mission for 120 days – January through May 2005. The Airmen came from all over. They’ve got various specialties, which they must transfer to the battle rhythm of Operation Enduring Freedom. The goal for AEF 3/4 is a successful deployment – both personal and operational. As for the mission, the AEW continued to provide aerial support and protection for the coalition effort on the ground, specifically in support of the upcoming regional and provincial elections in the spring.
