The group fought in combat in the Pacific Theater of Operations with Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and Consolidated B-24 Liberators.

The 11th Bombardment Group earned a Navy Presidential Unit Citation for its actions in the South Pacific from 31 July to 30 November 1942.

The group, now fully equipped with new B-17s, moved to the Pekoa Airfield, Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides in July 1942 and became part of Thirteenth Air Force.

From July to November 1942 it struck airfields, supply dumps, ships, docks, troop positions, and other objectives in the South Pacific, and received a Distinguished Unit Citation for those operations.

It continued to attack Japanese airfields, installations, and shipping in the Solomon Islands, until late in March 1943.

In October 1944 the Group moved to Guam and attacked shipping and airfields in the Volcano and Bonin Islands.

In December 1951, six wing B-36s flew nonstop from Carswell to Sidi Slimane Air Base, Morocco in the first flight of B-36 aircraft to Africa.

[5] On 1 September 1952, what was then thought to be a tornado rolled across the Carswell flight line, with winds over 90 miles per hour recorded at the control tower.

"[5] None of the 82 bombers on the base escaped damage, and SAC declared the entire 19th Air Division non-operational.

More heavily damaged aircraft were worked on by personnel from the San Antonio Air Materiel Area, where the depot for the B-36 was located.

It soon began air refueling support for all USAF operations, deployments and redeployments, as well as participating in NATO exercises.

Operations staff and maintenance personnel were permanently assigned, but aircraft, aircrews and crew chiefs were assigned on a temporary duty basis to the 11th Strategic Group for the European Tanker Task Force on a rotational basis.

Aircraft and crews operated out of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Keflavik, Iceland; Zaragosa, Spain; Lajes Field, Azores; Sigonella NAS, Italy; and Hellenikon, Greece.

The 11th existed once again on paper as the 11th Support Wing on 2 June 1994 and fully activated on 15 July 1994 as a Direct Reporting Unit (DRU) to the Vice Chief of Staff at Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, DC.

As a mark of its service rather than a function, the 11th Wing's motto changed, with the approval of General Ronald Fogleman, to "The Chief's Own" on 6 February 1996.

[6] In 2010, the 11th Wing relocated to Joint Base Andrews Maryland, where it took on the roles as host unit for the installation and the parent organization of the 1st Helicopter Squadron.

The wing also provides United States Air Force ceremonial, music, protocol and funeral support for the region surrounding Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling.

This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency