The 31st Fighter Wing first activated in 1947, but it traces its heritage to its World War II predecessor unit, the 31st Pursuit Group.

Number one in the Mediterranean theater of operations in terms of aerial victories, the group was involved in 15 WWII campaigns and earned two Distinguished Unit Citations.

The group prepares fighter pilots, controllers, and support personnel to execute US and North Atlantic Treaty Organization war plans and contingency operations.

It trains, equips, plans, and provides weather, intelligence, standardization/evaluation, and command and control sustaining global flying operations.

[9] The 31st Medical Group supports the readiness of 31st Fighter Wing and associated units throughout the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) southern region, ensuring the health of its community by providing patient-focused medical care from internal, Department of Defense and host nation resources.

The unit employs medical resources and preventive initiatives to ensure airmen remain mission ready to support the Expeditionary Air Force, US and NATO objectives worldwide.

In June 1942, the 31st Pursuit Group was transferred to England without planes and began training in British Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vbs at Achem and High Ercall air bases.

[19] One of the highlights of the group's time in North Africa was the selection of the 308th Fighter Squadron to provide combat air patrols for the arrival of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill at the Casablanca conference in Morocco.

January 1944 brought the Allied landing at Anzio with the 31st the sole provider of air cover for the invasion and beachhead.

The experiment proved successful and the Air Force adopted it on a permanent basis in the summer of 1948, making the wing its basic combat unit.

The unit then island-hopped across the rest of the Pacific with stops at Midway and Wake Islands, Eniwetok Atoll, Guam, Iwo Jima and Yokota Air Base, Japan.

[24] The sheer magnitude of this accomplishment was sufficient to name the 31st Fighter Escort Wing as the recipient of the first-ever Air Force Outstanding Unit Award.

The wing commander, Colonel David C. Schilling, won the Air Force Association Trophy, which was later named after him.

[19] During the Berlin Crisis in October and November 1961, the wing deployed its 309th Fighter Squadron to Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany to bolster the U.S. military forces in Europe.

[19] On 8 February 1964, the 308th Fighter Squadron flew a non-stop mission from Homestead to Cigli Air Base, Turkey.

The 6,600-mile trip required eight in-flight refuelings and set a new record for the longest mass flight of jet aircraft to cross the Atlantic.

[19] In June 1965, the wing deployed the 307th Tactical Fighter Squadron to Bien Hoa Air Base, South Vietnam.

On 15 October 1970, the wing returned to Homestead without people or equipment as part of the United States force reduction in Vietnam.

[26] The wing assumed a dual-role function with the primary mission of air defense of southern Florida and the secondary as a replacement training unit.

From April to August 1972, the 308th deployed to Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand to participate in Operation Linebacker, followed in July by the 307th TFS.

In June 1972, Captains John Cerak and David B. Dingee of the 308th Tactical Fighter Squadron were shot down and captured by North Vietnamese forces and were confirmed as prisoners of war.

On 15 October 1972, Captains James L. Hendrickson and Gary M. Rubus[29] of the 307th Tactical Fighter Squadron[30] shot down a MiG-21 northeast of Hanoi.

To avoid losing the wing's heritage and history as the highest scoring Army Air Force unit in the Mediterranean Theater in WWII, the impressive combat record in Vietnam and number of significant firsts they produced in the early years of the Air Force, the 31st was chosen to move rather than fade into obscurity.

A year later, a massive search and rescue operation took place to extract USAF captain Scott O'Grady[32] of the 555th FS from behind enemy lines.

Assigned under a joint task force, the 31st AEW, flew from Aviano and joined NATO allies in a 78-day air campaign against Serbia.

The wing accomplished much during Operation Allied Force as the two permanently assigned flying squadrons, the 510th and 555th, flew more than 2,400 combined sorties and more than 10,000 combat hours.

From March to September 2000, the 510th and 555th Fighter Squadrons conducted back-to-back deployments to Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base, Kuwait, in support of Operation Southern Watch.

From June through December 2001, the fighter squadrons deployed combat search and rescue capabilities three times and helped enforce the no fly zone over Iraq.

Simultaneously, the 555th deployed personnel and aircraft to Decimomannu Air Base, Sardinia while the runway at Aviano closed for repairs.

On 10 April 2004, insurgents launched a mortar attack on Balad, killing Airman First Class Antoine Holt[35] and injuring two other 603rd members.