It deployed aircraft and crews to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam for combat operations in Southeast Asia.

Joint STARS detects, locates, classifies, tracks and targets ground movements on the battlefield, communicating real-time information through secure data links with U.S.

As part of this increase, it organized the 461st Bombardment Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, in December 1953.

However, Hill's parking and hangar space was inadequate for the B-57s and even as they began to arrive, the unit anticipated a move to Blytheville Air Force Base, Arkansas, which was being developed by the Corps of Engineers for reopening in 1955.

The new aircraft was subject to several periods of grounding (the wing suffered four major accidents while converting to the Canberra), and faced shortfalls in the number of aircrew available.

On 5 January 1959, SAC established the 4128th Strategic Wing at Amarillo Air Force Base, Texas and assigned it to the 47th Air Division[9] as part of SAC's plan to disperse its Boeing B-52 Stratofortress heavy bombers over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for the Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike.

[15] Soon after detection of Soviet missiles in Cuba, On 20 October 1962, the 4128th Wing was directed to put two additional bombers on alert.

[18] On 21 November tensions from the Cuban Missile Crisis had eased, and SAC returned to normal airborne alert posture.

In 1962, in order to perpetuate the lineage of many currently inactive bombardment units with illustrious World War II records, Headquarters SAC received authority from Headquarters USAF to discontinue its Major Command controlled (MAJCON) strategic wings that were equipped with combat aircraft and to activate Air Force controlled (AFCON) units, most of which were inactive at the time, but which could carry a lineage and history.

Under the Dual Deputate organization,[note 3] all flying and maintenance squadrons were directly assigned to the wing, so no operational group element was activated.

[21] The wing trained with B-52s, maintained heavy bombardment proficiency and participated in numerous operational readiness inspections and military exercises.

[2] However, "[i]n December 1965, a few months after the first B-52Bs started leaving the operational inventory, Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of Defense [announced] another phaseout program that would further reduce SAC's bomber force.