General Old hastily flew to England, where he took command of the 7th Division until Maj Gen John P. McConnell could arrive.

[4] In 1953, shortly after the death of Stalin, the first Boeing B-47 Stratojets, from the 306th Bombardment Wing, arrived in England for 90 days duty, beginning what would be known as Reflex operations in the United Kingdom.

It also assumed responsibility for air base construction and improvement, which included building complexes to accommodate bombers, fighters, and special functions such as communications, weapons storage, aircraft parts, and navigational aids.

[8] The number of B-47 wings capable of sending aircraft to Reflex operations at the division's bases began to decline after 1958.

It also assured that assigned units could conduct strategic reconnaissance and air refueling and function as the nucleus of a SAC advanced echelon in event of contingency operations.

After activation on 1 July 1978, the division controlled aircraft such as the: KC-135 Stratotanker, B-52 Stratofortress, RC-135V/W Rivet Joint, SR-71 Blackbird, and U-2 Dragon Lady.