Editing Davis–Monthan Air Force Base (section)

===Tactical Air Command===
On 1 October 1976, the base was transferred to [[Tactical Air Command]] (TAC) after 30 years under SAC, with SAC's [[390th Strategic Missile Wing]] becoming a tenant command of the base. It was also that year the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing accepted the first [[A-10 Thunderbolt II]]. Since 1979, D–M has been the training location for pilots in the A-10; the base was redesignated the '''355th Tactical Training Wing''' on 1 September 1979. The organization was later redesignated the '''355th Fighter Wing''' since it includes operational, deployable A-10 squadrons in addition to its CONUS training mission

The 1980s brought several diverse missions to D–M. The headquarters charged with overseeing them was now the '''836th Air Division''', which was activated 1 January 1981. The AD advised Air Force component commanders and land forces on A-10 aircraft tactics, training, employment and readiness, and subordinate units participated in exercises such as [[Red Flag exercise|Red Flag]] and Celtic Echo.

The '''41st Electronic Combat Squadron''' equipped with the [[Lockheed EC-130H Compass Call|EC-130H Compass Call]] aircraft, arrived on 1 July 1980, and reported to the [[552d Airborne Warning and Control Wing]]. In 1981 D–M welcomed the '''868th Tactical Missile Training Group''' (866 TMTG). The 868th was the only U.S.-based [[Ground Launched Cruise Missile]] (GLCM) unit and the source of the crews that staffed the forward deployed GLCM wings in [[NATO]] in 1982.

On 1 September 1982, the headquarters of the 602d Tactical Air Control Wing (TAIRCW) and its subordinate [[23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron]] (TASS), a unit responsible for the Air Force's tactical air control system west of the [[Mississippi River]] transferred from [[Bergstrom Air Force Base]], Texas, and stood up at D–M, bringing 16 [[Cessna A-37 Dragonfly|OA-37B]] aircraft and numerous new personnel to the base. The 23rd TASS became the Air Force's first [[Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II|O/A-10]] squadron in 1988, providing heavily armed airborne forward air control (FAC) capability for the first time. Unlike all other D–M aircraft at the time, the 23rd TASS fleet's tail flash read "NF", for "Nail FAC"; the squadron's radio call sign was "Nail".

In 1984, as a result of the first series of Strategic Arms Reduction Treaties [[START I]] between the United States and the Soviet Union, SAC began to decommission its Titan II missile system. In 1982, the 390 SMW began removing its 18 missiles and inactivating the associated sites in preparation for eventual demolition.

In October 1981, President Ronald Reagan announced that, as part of the strategic modernization program, Titan II systems were to be retired by 1 October 1987. Deactivation began at Davis–Monthan on 1 October 1982. During the operation, titled "Rivet Cap", the missiles were removed and shipped to [[Norton AFB]], California for refurbishment and storage. Explosive demolition began at the headworks of missile complex 570–7 on 30 November 1983. In May 1984, the 390 SMW's last Titan II at Davis–Monthan came off alert status. SAC subsequently inactivated the [[390th Strategic Missile Wing]] on 30 June 1984.

One site under the 390 SMW, known both as Titan II Site 571-7 and as Air Force Facility Missile Site 8, was initially decommissioned in 1982. Located approximately {{convert|12|mi|km}} south of Tucson in [[Sahuarita, Arizona]], it was saved from demolition and turned over to the Arizona Aerospace Foundation, a nonprofit organization which also administers the [[Pima Air and Space Museum]] immediately south of Davis–Monthan AFB. With a variety of items on loan from the [[National Museum of the United States Air Force]], including an inert [[LGM-25C Titan II|Titan II]] missile, Site 571-7 is now known as the [[Titan Missile Museum]] and is one of two remaining examples of a Titan II missile site in existence (the other being located at [[Vandenberg Space Force Base]], California; site 395-C). In 1994, the site was declared a [[National Historic Landmark]].

In 1987, the [[71st Special Operations Squadron]], an Air Force Reserve unit flying HH-3 Jolly Green Giants, was activated at the base. While it served after the [[invasion of Kuwait]] in Desert Shield/Storm,<ref>https://media.defense.gov/2017/Apr/05/2001727299/-1/-1/0/B_0102_WHITCOMB_COMBAT_SEARCH_RESCUE.PDF {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311040521/https://media.defense.gov/2017/Apr/05/2001727299/-1/-1/0/B_0102_WHITCOMB_COMBAT_SEARCH_RESCUE.PDF |date=11 March 2021 }}, 64-65.</ref> it did not survive the end of the Cold War drawdown, and disbanded in 1992.