The 97th Operations Group (97 OG) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the 97th Air Mobility Wing of Air Education and Training Command . It is stationed at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma. Col. Cornelius Walter "Connie" Cousland served as the first commander of the 97th Bombardment Group once activated on 3 February 1942 at MacDill Field in Tampa, Florida through 29 July 1942 at Polebrook Field in England; and was replaced by Col. Frank Alton Armstrong, Jr. on 31 July 1942. During World War II the 97th Bombardment Group flew its first mission on 17 August 1942. It was the first Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombardment group to fly a mission from the United Kingdom against a European target, the marshalling yards at Sotteville-lès-Rouen in France. In late 1942 the group moved to the