The 49th Fighter Wing supports national security objectives with mission-ready F-117A Stealth Fighters, an Air Transportable Clinic, and Bare Base assets; deploys worldwide for peacetime and wartime contingencies; trains USAF aircrews in F-117A and T-38A aircraft and allied aircrews in F-4F Fighter Transition and Weapons Instructor Courses; and provides support to more than 18,000 personnel, including German Air Force Tornado operations. Its history reaches back to 1942, when the 49th Fighter Group flew P-40s near Port Moresby, Australia, and by the end of World War II the 49th Fighter Wing had destroyed 678 enemy aircraft; Major Richard Bong, congratulated by Major General Douglas MacArthur, became America’s top fighter pilot with 38 air victories. During World War Two, Alamogordo Army Air Field trained B-17, B-24, and B-29 aircrews, and on 13 January 1948 it was renamed Holloman Air Force Base in honor of research and development pioneer Colonel George Holloman. Construction of the Holloman Test Track began in 1949 to evaluate jet fighter ejection seats, and more than 10,500 tests have been conducted on the 50,788-foot track. During the Korean War, the 49th Fighter-Bomber Wing moved to Taegu Air Base, South Korea, participated in every major air campaign, and destroyed 27 aircraft, 239 tanks, 150 locomotives, 3000 railroad cars, and more than 2000 vehicles. In 1968 the 49th Fighter Wing arrived at Holloman AFB with 66 F-4D aircraft, and in 1992 the F-117A Stealth Fighter arrived at Holloman AFB after years in Nevada and became part of the wing.