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Happy birthday Marauders

  • Published
  • By Capt Greta Lewis
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing
Undisclosed location in Southwest Asia --  A cake to commemorate the birthday of the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing was cut by the Wing Commander, Wing Command Chief, and both the youngest officer and Airman on the Rock.

Col Michael Zick, 386th AEW commander, Chief Master Sgt Mitchell Balutski, Command Chief, First Lieutenant Jessica Barbee, and Airman First Class Cody Underwood sang "Happy Birthday" to the wing and cut the birthday cake in the dining facility while everyone present for lunch looked on.

Prior to cutting the cake, Col Zick took a few moments to address the lunch crowd. "It's about the boots on the ground," said Col Zick. "Doesn't matter who's wearing them - Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coasties. We support them, get them where they need to go, and get them home safely."

The 386th celebrated its ninth birthday as an Air Expeditionary Wing here in Southwest Asia. The 386th was originally stood up here as a group after replacing the 9th Air Expeditionary Group in 2000, and re-designated as a wing on August 12, 2002.
The 386th is the primary hub providing combat support by flying airlift and convoy missions supporting coalition operations throughout Iraq, Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf regions.

The wing is comprised of the 386th Expeditionary Operations Group, 386th Expeditionary Maintenance Group, the 386th Expeditionary Mission Support Group, the 386th Expeditionary Medical Group, and the 387th Air Expeditionary Group and consists of active duty Air Force, Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve, Department of Defense civilians and contractors.

The wing can trace its roots back to the 386th Bombardment Group (Medium) of World War II, established November 25, 1942 and activated December 1, 1942 at MacDill Field, Florida. The group flew its first combat mission in July 1943 using the B-26 Marauder. After converting to A-26s, the unit was redesignated as the 386th Bombardment Group, Light, on June 23, 1945 and inactivated November 7, 1945. On October 31, 1955, the unit was redesignated the 386th Fighter-Bomber Group and reactivated April 8, 1956 at Bunker Hill Air Force Base, Indiana using the F-86 airframe.

The 386th converted to the F-100 in 1957 and inactivated on July 8, later that year. The unit was redesignated the 386th Tactical Fighter Group on July 31, 1985, but remained inactive. Redesignated as the 386th Air Expeditionary Group, the unit was given provisional status on July 25, 2000 and activated in September of 2000.

The 386th AEW continues to be active with its diverse mission sets supporting Operations NEW DAWN and ENDURING FREEDOM and the Horn of Africa as the primary aerial hub for the entire U.S. CENTCOM area of operation.