It was one of the first Army Air Forces units to operate in the South West Pacific Area after Pearl Harbor.

However, President Truman’s reduced 1949 defense budget required reductions in the number of combat units in the Air Force to 48,[6] and the 38th was inactivated on 1 April 1949.

[1] The wing was reactivated on 1 January 1953 at Laon-Couvron Air Base, France,[1] where it assumed the mission, personnel and equipment of the 126th Bombardment Wing,[citation needed] an Illinois Air National Guard unit that had been mobilized during the Korean War and was being returned to state control.

The wing received its first Martin B-57B Canberra in June 1955, and began to replace its aging Douglas B-26 Invaders.

[citation needed] In 1958, President de Gaulle announced that all nuclear weapons and delivery aircraft had to be removed from French soil by July 1958.

However, Laredo was marked for closure as Air Force pilot training requirements were reduced with the winding down of the War in Vietnam.

The 38th performed pilot training until 21 November 1975, when preparations to transfer Moody to Tactical Air Command were completed.

In April 1985, the 38th Tactical Missile Wing, was activated at Wüschheim Air Station, West Germany.

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with the Soviet Union which went into effect on 1 June 1988, led to inactivation of the wing on 22 August 1990.

The wing was inactivated in February 2000 and its functions were transferred to its subordinate 38th Engineering Installation Group at Tinker.

But a review found the wing actually created an extra layer of bureaucracy and isolated units would be better served without it.

Also studies showed that larger, neighboring bases could offer better support for airmen scattered across the continent.