ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. -- An official ceremony was held May 20 at Arnold Air Force Base, headquarters of Arnold Engineering Development Complex, to activate the 804th Test Group as part of reorganizing AEDC to align with the traditional Air Force structure.
“The activation of the 804th Test Group at Arnold Air Force Base underscores the importance of their critical mission in support of the national defense strategy,” said Col. Jeffrey Geraghty, AEDC commander. “The stand-up of a new group and reactivation of its subordinate squadrons represent the culmination of multiple years of effort from a wide-ranging team at AEDC. Leaders made a strategic decision to bring our organization into closer alignment with our sister test wings and the rest of the Air Force, and this team made it happen. I’m very proud of my teammates and the work they perform to ensure U.S. Air and Space power remain second to none.”
The 804th Test Group was formerly designated the Test Division and prior to that the Test Operations Division. The new group structure will initially include four squadrons and retain three branches.
The 804th Test Group, consists of the 716th Test Squadron, formerly the Aerodynamic Test Branch; the 717th Test Squadron, formerly the Propulsion Test Branch; the 718th Test Squadron, formerly the Space Test Branch; and the 804th Test Support Squadron, formerly the Test Systems Branch and was previously the Test Systems Sustainment Division.
The ICBM Developmental Test Branch at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, will remain a branch, but may be activated at a later date as the 719th Test Squadron. The Integrated Analysis Branch, formerly the Technology, Analysis and Evaluation Branch, and the Hypersonic Systems Test Branch will not be re-designated at this time.
AEDC was previously organized as groups and squadrons in 2006. At that time there were four groups and nine squadrons, which replaced the former directorates and divisions.
These groups and squadrons were subsequently inactivated in May 2010, reverting back to divisions and branches, inactivating the 704th Test Group, the 704th Mission Support Group, the 704th Test Systems Group, the 704th Maintenance Group and squadrons of those units.
In 2016, The 704th Test Group, located at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, formerly the 96th Test Group, under the 96th Test Wing, was re-assigned and re-designated under AEDC as part of the Air Force Test Center organizational change. During this time, the McKinley Climatic Lab, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, and the Hypersonic Combined Test Force, Edwards Air Force Base, California, were both reassigned to what is now the 804th Test Group.
The 804th Test Group is commanded by Col. Lincoln Bonner.