The 65th Special Operations Squadron is an Air Force Special Operations Command unit which flies the MQ-9 Reaper, currently stationed at Hurlburt Field, Florida. It was first activated in 1941 as the 65th Bombardment Squadron when United States increased its armed forces prior to entry into World War II. It briefly served in the antisubmarine role, then deployed to the Southwest Pacific Theater, where it participated in combat against Japan, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation and a Philippine Presidential Unit Citation. During this period, a crew from the 65th became the most-decorated aircrew in United States history, when their B-17 fought off more than a dozen Japanese fighters during a photo reconnaissance mission. The 65th remained in the Philippines after the war ended, and was in