405th Air Expeditionary Group

405th Air Expeditionary Group
405th Air Expeditionary Group
	Emblem of the 405th Air Expeditionary Group
Active	1943–1945; 1952–1957; 2001–present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Mascot(s)	MOVERE ET AGGREDI – "Deploy and Attack"

A B-52 being refueled over the Indian Ocean in June 1998, as seen from the refueling operator on a KC-135. The KC-135 crew is from the 931st Air Refueling Group at McConnell Air Force Base, KS, and was deployed to the 405th Air Expeditionary Wing to hit Iraq-associated targets during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The 405th Air Expeditionary Group (405 AEG) was a provisional unit assigned to the United States Air Force Air Combat Command. The 405 EOG was believed to control Boeing B-1B Lancer and B-52 Stratofortress operations over combat areas in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The group's World War II predecessor unit, the 405th Fighter Group was assigned to Ninth Air Force in England, flying its first combat mission on 1 May 1944. The group received a Distinguished Unit Citation for a mission in France on 24 September 1944; answering a request from Third Army for support near Laneuveville-en-Saulnois, two squadrons flying on instruments through rain and dense overcast, were directed by ground control toward a furious tank battle where, in spite of severe ground fire, one squadron repeatedly bombed and strafed enemy tanks; the second squadron, unable to find this target because of the weather, attacked a convoy of trucks and armored vehicles; later the same day, the third squadron hit warehouses and other buildings and silenced ground opposition in the area. It flew its last mission in early May 1945.