The 36th OG assumed the mission of the 36th Expeditionary Operations Group on 14 February 2007 and established a permanent command structure for deployed Air Force units assigned to Andersen AFB.

The group was moved to Losey Army Airfield, Puerto Rico in January 1941 where it was equipped with Bell P-39 Airacobras and Curtiss P-40 Warhawks.

In Puerto Rico, the 36th served as part of the defense force for the Caribbean area and Panama Canal, and flew antisubmarine patrols.

Operational missions included strafing and dive-bombing armored vehicles, trains, bridges, buildings, factories, troop concentrations, gun emplacements, airfields, and other targets in preparation for the invasion of Normandy.

The 36th FG also flew some escort missions with Eighth Air Force Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Consolidated B-24 Liberator strategic bombers.

The 36th participated in the June 1944 D-Day invasion of France in by patrolling the air over the landing zones and by flying close-support and interdiction missions.

The 36th Fighter Group participated in the Battle of the Bulge during December 1944 and January 1945 by flying armed reconnaissance and close-support missions.

By V-E Day, the group was based at Kassel/Rothwesten airfield, Germany (ALG R-12), where it remained until February 1946 as part of the United States Air Forces in Europe Army of Occupation.

The squadron was assigned to Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base West Germany on 13 August 1948, being the first USAFE unit to be jet-equipped with the Lockheed F-80 "Shooting Star".

The 36th FBG remained at Fürstenfeldbruck until 1952 when it was reassigned to the new Bitburg Air Base, in the Eifel mountains west of the Rhine River.

In 1956, the group received the North American F-100 "Super Sabre," marking the first time a wing in USAFE flew supersonic jets.

In July 1993, HQ USAFE announced the closure of Bitburg Air Base and the pending inactivation of the 36th Fighter Wing.