911th Airlift Wing
| 911th Airlift Wing | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 28 December 1962 — present |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | Air Force |
| Type | Airlift |
| Size | 1,200 Personnel |
| Part of | Air Force Reserve Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve Station |
| Decorations |
 AFOUA  RVGC w/ Palm |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Colonel Jeffrey T. Pennington |
The 911th Airlift Wing (911 AW) is an Air Mobility Command (AMC)-gained unit of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC), based out of Pittsburgh Air Reserve Station at the Pittsburgh International Airport, Pennsylvania.
Overview
The 911th Airlift Wing's mission is to organize, recruit and train Air Force Reserve personnel to provide tactical airlift of airborne forces, their equipment and supplies and delivery of these forces and materials by airdrop, landing or cargo extraction systems.
Units
- 911th Operations Group (911 OG)
- 758th Airlift Squadron (758 AS)
- 911th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron (911 AES)
- 911th Maintenance Group (911 MXG)
- 911th Mission Support Group (911 MSG)
History
Following the mobilizations in 1961 and 1962 for the Berlin Crisis and the Cuban Missile Crisis, Continental Air Command (ConAC) realized that it was unwieldy to mobilize an entire wing unless absolutely necessary. Their original Table of Organization for each Wing was a wing headquarters, a troop carrier group, an Air Base Group, a maintenance and supply group, and a medical group. In 1957, the troop carrier group and maintenance and supply groups were inactivated, with their squadrons reassigned directly to the wing headquarters - despite the fact that many wings had squadrons spread out over several bases due to the Detached Squadron Concept dispersing Reserve units over centers of population.
To resolve this, in late 1962 and early 1963, ConAC reorganized the structure of its reserve Troop Carrier Wings by establishing fully deployable Troop Carrier Groups and inserting them into the chain of command between the Wing and its squadrons at every base that held a ConAC troop carrier squadron. At each base, the group was composed of a material squadron, a troop carrier squadron, a tactical hospital or dispensary, and a combat support squadron. Each troop carrier wing consisted of 3 or 4 of these groups. By doing so, ConAC could facilitate the mobilization of either aircraft and aircrews alone, aircraft and minimum support personnel (one troop carrier group), or the entire troop carrier wing. This also gave ConAC the flexibility to expand each Wing by attaching additional squadrons, if necessary from other Reserve wings to the deployable groups for deployments.
As a result, the 911th Troop Carrier Group was established with a mission 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 C-119 Flying Boxcars for Tactical Air Command airlift operations.
The 910th TCG was one of three C-119 groups assigned to the 459th TCW in 1963, the others being the 909th Troop Carrier Group at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, and the 910th Troop Carrier Group at Youngstown Municipal Airport, Ohio.
The 911th trained for and participated in air transport of airborne forces, equipment and supplies with delivery by airdrop, extraction, and airlanding, as well as air evacuation within a theater of operations. It provided airlift to Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War and for other contingency operations, such as the Dominican Republic crisis in 1965, as well as numerous humanitarian flights. Beginning in 1973, it periodically rotated flight crews and other personnel to Panama, and later Puerto Rico, to support United States Southern Command commitments. Since the early 1990s it has frequently deployed personnel in support of contingency operations in Southwest Asia and the Balkans.
A news story in the April 10, 2012 edition of the Air Force Times stated the 911th's base is being considered for closure by 2013.[1] As of November, 2014, the future of the base is on solid ground. There are no plans to close it.[2]
Lineage
- Established as the 911th Troop Carrier Group, Medium and activated on 28 December 1962
- Organized in the Reserve on 17 January 1963
- Redesignated 911th Military Airlift Group on 1 January 1967
- Redesignated 911th Tactical Airlift Group on 1 March 1972
- Redesignated 911th Airlift Group on 1 February 1992
- Redesignated 911th Airlift Wing on 1 October 1994
Assignments
- Continental Air Command, 28 Dec 1962
- 459th Troop Carrier (later, 459th Military Airlift) Wing, 17 Jan 1963
- 94th Military Airlift Wing, 21 Apr 1971
- 302d Tactical Airlift Wing, 25 Feb 1972
- 439th Tactical Airlift (later, 439th Military Airlift; 439th Airlift) Wing, 1 Oct 1980
- 94th Airlift Wing, 1 Aug 1992
- Tenth Air Force, 1 Oct 1994
- Twenty-Second Air Force, 1 Apr 1997–Present
Components
- 911th Operations Group: 1 Aug 1992–Present
- 758th Tactical Airlift Squadron: 17 Jan 1963-1 Aug 1992.
Stations
- Pittsburgh International Airport, Pennsylvania, 17 Jan 1963–Present
Aircraft
- C-119 Flying Boxcar (1963–1967)
- C-124 Globemaster II (1966–1972)
- C-123 Provider (1972–1980)
- C-130 Hercules (1980 – Present)
References
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
External links
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