It is the oldest bomb group of the Air Force, having fought on the Western Front during World War I, entering combat on 12 September 1918.

The 2 OG (Tail Code: LA) consists of the following squadrons: Organized as the 1st Day Bombardment Group as part of the Air Service, United States First Army on 10 September 1918 at Amanty Airdrome, France.

Other patrols of the group were flown by conducting bombing operations that helped to protect Allied ground forces by diverting German pursuit planes from the battle zone.

[2] The final bombardment mission of the group took place on 5 November when three formations of DH-4s were dispatched to raid Mousson and Roucourt, Belgium in the morning.

Planes from the 11th Squadron failed to cross the lines, however the others reached their assigned objective and at Mouzon, where the weather permitted observation, accurate bomb hits and many fires, with a large number of explosions were noted.

From 13 to 21 July 1921, the 2d Group's four bombardment squadrons were detached to General Mitchell's 1st Provisional Air Brigade to conduct controversial tests to determine the efficiency of aircraft against naval warships.

The aircraft successfully bombed and sank three ex-German warships, including the formidable 22,437-ton battleship Ostfriesland, off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

[4][5] In February 1938, a goodwill tour to Argentina by six B-17s, (pilots including Olds, Williams, and LeMay), and a flight to Colombia by three B-17s in August of the same year highlighted the late 1930s.

A second MacKay trophy was won in February of the following year when a crew flew medical supplies aboard the XB-15 to Chile following a catastrophic earthquake.

In November 1942, the squadrons were sent to satellite bases in Montana for additional training as units, the 20th to Great Falls, the 49th to Lewistown, the 96th to Glasgow, and the 429th to Cut Bank.

The Flight Echelon left the above bases for Morrison Field West Palm Beach, Florida; Natal, Brazil; Marrakech, Morocco and arriving at Navarin, Algeria on 22 April 1943.

The Ground Echelon were disbursed at Camp Kilmer in several ships arriving at Casablanca and Port Lyautey in March/April 1943, thence motor and train convoy to Navarin, Algeria.

Missions flown included bombing such targets as marshalling yards, airdromes, troop concentrations, bridges, docks, and shipping.

Engaged primarily in long-range bombardment of strategic targets in Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Rumania, and Greece.

Participated in the drive toward Rome, January–June 1944; the invasion of Southern France, August 1944, and the campaigns against German forces in northern Italy, June 1944 – May 1945.

On 10 February 1951 the group became a "paper organization" with its squadron components attached directly to the 2 Bombardment Wing as part of the Air Force tri-deputate reorganization.

Continued to deploy aircraft and personnel to southwest Asia to support the Allied watch on the southern and northern "no-fly" zones in Iraq.

In October 1999 began deploying personnel in support of aerospace expeditionary forces worldwide and maintaining on-call elements at home.

After the terrorist attacks against the U.S. on 11 September 2001, group elements, including the 20 Bomb Sq, deployed to the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

On 7 October flew early attacks on targets in Afghanistan in Operation Enduring Freedom to rid that country of terrorist bases and its extremist Taliban rulers.