The 394th Combat Training Squadron provided the 509th Bomb Wing with qualified, mission-ready B-2 and Northrop T-38 Talon pilots to support worldwide Joint Chiefs of Staff taskings until its inactivation in 2018.

The unit supervised and oversaw all T-38 operations and performed quality assurance for all maintenance and aircrew training devices, including weapon system trainers.

[3] The squadron suffered devastating casualties and equipment damage during the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hickam Field and other targets on the island of Oahu on 7 December 1941.

[2] The squadron left Hawaii in November 1942 and operated in the South Pacific Theater with a mix of B-17C/D Flying Fortresses and early LB-30 aircraft.

It converted to very long-range Liberators in 1943 when the B-17s were withdrawn from combat in the Pacific and sent to Egypt for use in the Western Desert Campaign.

The squadron raided the heavily defended Japanese base on Woleai during April and May 1944 and received a Distinguished Unit Citation for the action.

It helped to neutralize enemy bases on Yap and in the Truk and Palau Islands in June through August 1944, preparatory to the invasion of Peleliu and Leyte.

Completed a variety of missions from October 1944 until the end of the war, these operations including raids on enemy bases and installations on Luzon, Ceram, Halmahera, and Formosa; support for ground forces in the Philippines and Borneo; and patrols off the China coast.

On 7 November 1996, the squadron was activated at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, as part of the 509th Operations Group of the 509th Bomb Wing.

From 23 March through 22 May 1999, the squadron sent its aircrews and aircraft almost nightly into harm’s way attempting to end the strife in the Kosovo region.

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