Description

72d Air Base Wing Patch – Plastic Backing

A 4.1″W x 3.9″H squadron patch of the 72d Air Base Wing with plastic backing.

The 72nd Air Base Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Sustainment Center at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. It has been the host unit at Tinker since activating there on 1 October 1994.

The first predecessor of the wing was organized in 1941 as the 72nd Observation Group during the Louisiana Maneuvers. After the Attack on Pearl Harbor, the group moved to the Panama Canal Zone, where it performed aerial reconnaissance and antisubmarine missions until disbanding in 1943. The group was reconstituted and served in the reserve from 1947 until 1949, when it was inactivated as the military budget was reduced.

The wing’s second predecessor was organized in June 1952 as the 72nd Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, operating Convair RB-36 Peacemaker aircraft from Ramey Air Force Base, Puerto Rico. The wing converted to the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress in 1959 on acted in the strategic deterrent role with bombers and tankers until inactivating in June 1971.
Mission
The 72nd Air Base Wing is the host organization for Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. It provides base installation and support services for the Air Force Sustainment Center, the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex and more than 45 associate units, including two operational flying wings of Air Combat Command and Air Force Reserve Command, the United States Navy Strategic Communications Wing One and several Defense agencies. The wing provides support services for nearly 27,000 civilian and military personnel at Tinker. It also provides services to approximately 18,000 dependents and more than 36,000 military retirees and their family members in the surrounding area and supports almost 2,400 contractors.[2]

The wing provides base functions including security, fire protection, medical services, civil engineering, communications and supply, transportation and airfield operations. It also offers a variety of recreational and leisure activities.

Organizations assigned to the Wing include the 72nd Medical Group, 72nd Mission Support Group, 72nd Operations Support Squadron and 72nd Logistics Readiness Squadron.