1st Operations Group

1st Operations Group
F-22 Raptor, 27th Fighter Squadron
Active	5 May 1918 – present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Group
Role	Air Dominance
Part of	1st Fighter Wing Air Combat Command
Garrison/HQ	Langley Field, Joint Base Langley–Eustis, Virginia
Motto(s)	Aut Vincere Aut Mori – Conquer or Die
Tail Code	"FF"
Engagements	World War I Champagne-Marne Defensive Campaign Aisne-Marne Offensive Campaign St Mihiel Offensive Campaign Meuse-Argonne Offensive Campaign World War II (EAME Theater) Air Offensive, Europe Campaign Algeria-French Morocco Campaign Tunisia Campaign Sicily Campaign Naples-Foggia Campaign Anzio Campaign Rome-Arno Campaign Normandy Campaign Northern France Campaign Southern France Campaign North Apennines Campaign Rhineland Campaign Central Europe Campaign Po Valley Campaign Armed Forces Expeditionary Operation Northern Watch Operation Southern Watch Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Iraqi Freedom
Decorations	Distinguished Unit Citation Italy, 25 August 1943; 30 August 1943 Ploesti, Rumania, 18 May 1944 Air Force Outstanding Unit Award (4x)
Commanders
Notable commanders	Frank M. Andrews General Carl A. Spaatz
Insignia
1st Operations Group emblem
Aircraft flown
Fighter	F-22 Raptor

The 1st Operations Group (1 OG) is the flying component of the 1st Fighter Wing, assigned to the USAF Air Combat Command. The group is stationed at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. The 1st Operations Group is the oldest major air combat unit in the United States Air Force, being the successor organization of the 1st Pursuit Group. The 1st Pursuit Group was the first air combat group formed by the Air Service, American Expeditionary Force, on 5 May 1918.

The Group was first organized at Croix de Metz Aerodrome, near Toul, France, as a result of the United States entry into World War I. As the 1st Pursuit Group it saw combat on the Western Front in France, and during World War II as the 1st Fighter Group combat in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. Pilots of the 1st Group are credited by the USAF with destroying 554.33 aircraft and 50 balloons, and 36 pilots are recognized as being aces.

The pilots of the 1st Group included Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, credited as the top scoring American ace in France during World War I. During World War II, the 1st FG was among the first groups deployed overseas in the summer of 1942. The group flew missions in England as part of the Eighth Air Force, then was transferred to North Africa in November 1942. It experienced significant combat as part of the Twelfth Air Force, moved to Italy, and became part of the fighter force of the Fifteenth Air Force. The 1st FG was equipped with the first operational U.S. jet fighter aircraft, the P-80A Shooting Star, in 1946.

Inactivated in 1961, after 30 years the group was renamed the 1st Operations Group (OG) and activated on 1 October 1991 as a result of the 1st Fighter Wing implementing the USAF objective wing organization. In 2005, the 1st OG was the first operational combat unit to receive the F-22A Raptor, a fifth generation fighter aircraft that uses stealth technology.