908th Airlift Wing
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (January 2013) |
908th Airlift Wing | |
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Insignia | |
908th Airlift Wing emblem (approved 20 April 1976)[1] |
The 908th Airlift Wing is a
Units
The 908th Airlift Wing consists of the following major units:
- 908th Operations Group
- 357th Airlift Squadron
- 908th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron
- 908th Operations Support Squadron
- 908th Maintenance Group
- 908th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
- 908th Maintenance Squadron
- 908th Maintenance Operations Flight
- 908th Mission Support Group
- 25th Aerial Port Squadron
- 908th Civil Engineering Squadron
- 908th Logistics Readiness Squadron
- 908th Force Support Squadron
- 908th Security Forces Squadron
- 908th Aeromedical Staging Squadron[2]
Mission
The 908th operates eight
History
Need for reserve troop carrier groups
During the first half of 1955, the Air Force began detaching Air Force Reserve squadrons from their parent wing locations to separate sites. The concept offered several advantages. Communities were more likely to accept the smaller
Although this dispersal was not a problem when the entire wing was called to active service, mobilizing a single flying squadron and elements to support it proved difficult. This weakness was demonstrated in the partial mobilization of reserve units during the
Activation of 908th Troop Carrier Group
As a result, the 908th Troop Carrier Group was established at
The group's mission was to organize, recruit and train Air Force Reserve personnel in the tactical airlift of airborne forces, their equipment and supplies and delivery of these forces and materials by airdrop, landing or cargo extraction systems. The group was equipped with Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcars for Tactical Air Command airlift operations.
In October 1964, the unit moved to Brookley Air Force Base also in Mobile. There, the 908th built a substantial record of humanitarian airlifts, as well as taking care of regular cargo and mail missions to free Military Airlift Command aircraft committed to Southeast Asia.
On 16 July 1966, a 908th C-119 crashed near
In February 1969, another move was announced. The 908th would move to
The 800-member unit dropped down to a mere 275 people. However, another change was planned: to switch from the U-3H to the Cessna O-2 Skymaster, another twin-engine forward air control aircraft.
A year after the March 1970 conversion to O-2As, word arrived that the unit would convert to
The 908 TAG was declared combat ready in February 1973, the first C-7 unit in the Air Force Reserve to achieve that status. In its nearly 10 years in the C-7, the 908th won three
In October 1983, the 908th converted to
In January 1991, medical support personnel from the 908th Medical Squadron and the 35th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron were activated and deployed in support of Desert Storm. Sixty-two members (doctors, nurses, dentist and lab technicians) of the 908th Medical Squadron were deployed. About 20 members went to Saudi Arabia; the remainder went to Andrews AFB, MD. Members of the 35th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron (flight nurses and medical technicians) were deployed to the United Kingdom to provide in-flight medical care aboard C-130s and C-141s, to casualties evacuated from the battle zone to hospitals in Europe and CONUS.
In 1992 the 908th Tactical Airlift Group was redesignated the 908th Airlift Group (AG), reporting directly to Tenth Air Force. In 1994, under an Air Force Reserve restructuring, the 908 AG was upgraded to wing status.
Throughout the 1990s the 908 AW supported numerous contingencies, including repeated deployments of volunteers to Europe in support of airlift operations into the former Yugoslavia.
From November 1998 to January 1999, the 908 AW assisted in relief and recovery efforts following Hurricane Mitch in Central America.[1]
Within two days of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, 26 908th Security Forces Squadron members were called to active duty primarily augmenting the security forces at Maxwell and Gunter in their heightened security efforts. On 8 November, fifty-two 908th SFS personnel joined the legions of reservists and Guard members called to active duty in support of the homeland defense effort, Operation Noble Eagle.
In 2002, volunteers from the wing's 908th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. They were the first group of airmen to deploy to the war from the wing and received numerous awards including the Air Medal,
In December 2003, nearly 250 unit personnel from the wing's C-130 operations and maintenance units were called to active duty to support
Programmed mission change
The 908th Wing is the preferred location to host the Air Force's
Lineage
- Established as the 908th Troop Carrier Group, Medium and activated on 15 January 1963 (not organized)
- Organized in the Reserve on 11 February 1963
- Redesignated 908th Tactical Airlift Group on 1 July 1967
- Redesignated 908th Tactical Air Support Group on 25 April 1969
- Redesignated 908th Tactical Airlift Group on 15 December 1971
- Redesignated 908th Airlift Group on 1 February 1992
- Redesignated as: 908th Airlift Wing on 1 October 1994[1]
Assignments
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Components
- 908th Operations Group: 1 August 1992 – present
- 357th Troop Carrier Squadron (later 357th Tactical Airlift Squadron, 357th Tactical Air Support Squadron, 357th Tactical Airlift Squadron, 357th Airlift Squadron): 11 February 1963 - 1 August 1992[1]
Stations
- Bates Field, Alabama, 11 February 1963
- Brookley Air Force Base, Alabama, 1 October 1964
- Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, 25 April 1969 – present[1]
Aircraft
- Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar, 1963-1969
- Cessna U-3 Blue Canoe, 1969-1971
- Cessna O-2 Skymaster, 1970-1971
- de Havilland Canada C-7 Caribou, 1971-1983
- Lockheed C-130 Hercules, 1983–2022
- Boeing MH-139 Grey Wolf, 2023–Present
References
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f Robertson, Patsy (28 May 2010). "Factsheet 908 Airlift Wing (AFRC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
- ^ a b "908th Airlift Wing Factsheets: 908th Airlift Wing Mission". 908th Airlift Wing Public Affars. May 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
- ^ Cantwell, pp. 156, 169
- ^ Cantwell, pp. 189-191
- ^ Maurer, p. 444
- ^ WSFA Staff, no byline (20 November 2020). "'Game changer': Maxwell chosen as training unit location for new helicopter". WSFA 12 News. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
Bibliography
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- Cantwell, Gerald T. (1997). Citizen Airmen: a History of the Air Force Reserve, 1946-1994. Washington, D.C.: Air Force History and Museums Program. ISBN 0-16049-269-6. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
- 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.
- 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.