8th Airlift Squadron
8th Airlift Squadron | |
---|---|
McChord Air Force Base, Washington | |
Motto(s) | First in War First in Peace [citation needed] |
Engagements | European-African-Middle East Campaign World War II
|
Decorations | Meritorious Unit Award Air Force Outstanding Unit Award (13x) Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm[1] |
Insignia | |
8th Airlift Squadron emblem (approved 12 June 1943)[1] | |
8th Airlift Squadron emblem (approved 1994)[1][2] | |
8th Troop Carrier Squadron emblem (approved 12 June 1943)[1] |
The 8th Airlift Squadron is part of the
Mission
Train and equip Boeing C-17 Globemaster III aircrews for global airland and airdrop operations.
History
Initial organization
The
World War II
After the
In combat, the squadron performed resupply and evacuation missions across Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia during the
The squadron supported the
Cold War
The squadron returned to the United States in September 1946, being assigned to the troop carrier squadron training school at
On 1 June 1950, its parent 62d Wing was inactivated, while the 62d Troop Carrier Group, less the
By 1955 the
Vietnam War
In a realignment of assets, the squadron's parent 62d Troop Carrier Wing moved back to McChord in June 1960. During the early 1960s, the squadron found itself back in Indochina by April 1962. At a time when overt American participation in the war in Vietnam was minimized, the squadron began carrying Army supplies and equipment from
With the ending of the United States involvement in the Vietnam War in the early 1970s, the squadron flew missions in support of
Return to peacetime support
During the 1970s, the squadron returned to a peacetime status, with routine flights around the world carrying personnel, equipment and supplies as needed. This was interrupted in 1978 following the mass murder-suicide of more than 900 people at the Jonestown religious compound in Guyana, South America. The squadron airlifted bodies to a morgue at Dover Air Force Base (most of the victims were U.S. Citizens). Crew members reported using their oxygen masks during the flight, in an effort to stifle the stench of decaying bodies in the cargo compartment.[4]
In 1980, the squadron began to exchange its Lockheed C-141A Starlifters for newer, "stretched" C-141B models. This new version of the aircraft increased its cargo carrying capacity by inserting two fuselage plugs, one forward, one aft of the wings, totaling just over 23 feet in length. The B series modification also added an air refueling receptacle, giving yet longer range to the C-141.[4]
Desert Storm
In August 1990, totalitarian Iraq invaded Kuwait, on the shores of the Persian Gulf. Within days the squadron began flying missions to the Middle East as part of
Recent operations
In early 1992, squadron crews and aircraft began participating in
In late 1995, President
On the night of 15 May 1996, aircrews took part in Big Drop III, the largest airdrop since World War II. The squadron helped deploy members of the Army
In 2000, the squadron retired its Starlifters for the new Boeing C-17 Globemaster III airlifter. In a response to the terrorist attacks against America on 11 September 2001, President George W. Bush initiated war against terrorism named Operation Infinite Justice, later renamed Operation Enduring Freedom. The squadron supported these efforts by airlifting troops and supplies destined for Afghanistan. It also flew humanitarian airdrops that hundreds of thousands of the rations for starving Afghans. Flights in support of Coalition efforts in Afghanistan continue to the present day.[5]
In January 2003 additional personnel and aircraft would deploy to locations all around the world in support airlift operations. By the end of January all aircraft supporting this effort would fly their missions from
Lineage
- Constituted as the 8th Transport Squadron on 1 October 1933
- Activated on 1 February 1940
- Redesignated 8th Troop Carrier Squadron on 4 July 1942
- Inactivated on 11 November 1945
- Activated on 7 September 1946
- Redesignated 8th Troop Carrier Squadron, Medium on 23 June 1948
- Redesignated 8th Troop Carrier Squadron, Heavy on 12 October 1949
- Redesignated 8th Air Transport Squadron, Heavy on 1 January 1965
- Redesignated 8th Military Airlift Squadron on 8 January 1966
- Redesignated 8th Airlift Squadron on 1 December 1991[1]
Assignments
- 10th Transport Group, 1 February 1940
- 62d Transport Group (later 62d Troop Carrier Group), 11 December 1940 – 11 November 1945
- 62d Troop Carrier Group, 7 September 1946 (attached to Alaskan Air Command until 1 December 1948,[note 3] 62d Troop Carrier Wing after 8 January 1960)
- 62d Troop Carrier Wing (later 62d Air Transport Wing,[6] 62d Military Airlift Wing), 15 January 1960
- 62d Operations Group, 1 December 1991 – present[7]
Stations
|
|
Aircraft
|
References
Notes
- Explanatory notes
- Fort Bragg, North Carolina on 28 April 2010.
- ^ Regular Army Inactive units were units that were constituted in the regular army. Although they were not activated, they were organized with reserve personnel during the 1920s and early 1930s. Even though they had reserve personnel assigned, they were not Organized Reserve units. Because they had no regular personnel they were still considered inactive in the regular army. Clay, p. vi
- ^ Bailey says the attachment began on 2 September 1946, but the squadron was not active until 7 September.
- Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Bailey, Carl E. (2 December 2010). "Factsheet 8 Airlift Squadron (AMC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
- ^ Endicott, p. 391
- ^ Clay [page needed]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "62d Airlift Wing office of history". Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
- ^ a b McChord Air Museum, 2000 to 2010
- ^ Ravenstein, p. 98
- ^ Assignment information in Bailey, except as noted.
Bibliography
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- Clay, Steven E. (2011). US Army Order of Battle 1919–1941 (PDF). Vol. 3 The Services: Air Service, Engineers, and Special Troops 1919–1941. Fort Leavenworth, KS: Combat Studies Institute Press. OCLC 637712205. Archived from the original(PDF) on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
- Endicott, Judy G. (1998). Active Air Force Wings as of 1 October 1995 and USAF Active Flying, Space, and Missile Squadrons as of 1 October 1995 (PDF). Air Force History and Museums Program. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ASIN B000113MB2. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. LCCN 61060979. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
- Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. OCLC 72556. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
- Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9. Retrieved 17 December 2016.