The 477th Fighter Group will leverage the traditional Reserve Component strengths of experience and continuity to fly, fight, and win as Unrivaled Wingmen on the Total Force team at Elmendorf.

The 477th's new mission was to train what would become the legendary World War II African-American aviators known as the Tuskegee Airmen with Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighters and North American B-25 Mitchell bombers.

During World War II, continued pressure from African-American civilian leaders led the Army to let black servicemen train as members of bomber crews, a step that opened many more skilled combat roles to them.

On 5 May 1944, possibly out of fear of a repeat of the previous summer's race riot in nearby Detroit, the 477th was abruptly relocated to Godman Field on Fort Knox in Kentucky.

The morale of the 477th was poor because the field was not suited to be used by the B-25 and because black officers, including combat veterans of the 332nd Fighter Group who had transferred to the bomber unit, were not being advanced to command positions.