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 910th 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 911th Troop Carrier Group at Pittsburgh International Airport, Pennsylvania.
The 910th participated in tactical exercises, airlift operations, and joint operations with Army airborne forces in U.S. and overseas, 1963-1969. The group trained as a forward air control unit, 1970–1971; as a special operations group, 1971–1973; and as a fighter group, 1973-1981. It converted again to an airlift mission in 1981 and received its first C-130 aircraft on 27 March 1981.
The 910th periodically deployed to Panama to support Air Force missions in Central and South America, beginning in 1983. It has trained to airdrop and airland personnel and materiel and added the only full-time, fixed-wing aerial spray in the Department of Defense in January 1992. It has deployed personnel and equipment worldwide to support contingency operations, exercises, and humanitarian missions.
Read more about this topic: 910th Airlift Wing
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