62nd Airlift Wing: Difference between revisions

62d Airlift Wing
Active	1947-1950; 1951-Present
Country	United States
Branch	Air Force
Type	Airlift
Size	~3000 Airmen
Part of	Air Mobility Command
Garrison/HQ	McChord Air Force Base
Motto(s)	Combat Airlift
Decorations	MUA AFOUA
Commanders
Current commander	Colonel Jeffrey Stephenson
Notable commanders	Duncan McNabb George Scratchley Brown

The 62d Airlift Wing (62 AW) is a wing of the United States Air Force stationed at McChord Air Force Base, Washington. It is assigned to the Eighteenth Air Force of Air Mobility Command and is active duty host wing on McChord.

The 62nd Airlift Wing is composed of more than 7,200 active duty military and civilian personnel. It is tasked with supporting worldwide combat and humanitarian airlift contingencies. The wing also provides base support to the 446th Airlift Wing (Associate) and the Western Air Defense Sector.

Aircraft of the 62d fly around the world, conducts airdrop training out of Pope AFB, North Carolina, continues to carry out the delicate mid-winter Antarctic airdrop successfully, and, almost everyday, flies into and around Grant County Airport, once known as Larson AFB.

62d Operations Group (62 OG)

• 4th Airlift Squadron (4 AS)
• 7th Airlift Squadron (7 AS)
• 8th Airlift Squadron (8 AS)
• 10th Airlift Squadron (10 AS)
• 62d Operations Support Squadron (62 OSS)

62d Maintenance Group (62 MXG)

• 62d Maintenance Squadron (62 MXS)
• 62d Aircraft Maintenance Squadron (62 AMXS)
• 62d Maintenance Operations Squadron (62 MOS)

62d Mission Support Group (62 MSG)

• 62d Contracting Squadron (62 CONS)
• 62d Security Forces Squadron (62 SFS)
• 62d Aerial Port Squadron (62 APS)
• 62d Logistics Readiness Squadron (62 LRS)
• 62d Force Support Squadron (62 FSS)
• 62d Communications Squadron (62 CS)
• 62d Civil Engineering Squadron (62 CES)

62d Medical Squadron (62 MDS)

62d Comptroller Squadron (62 CPTS)

For additional history and lineage, see 62d Operations Group

• Established as 62 Troop Carrier Wing on 28 Jul 1947

Organized on 15 Aug 1947

Redesignated: 62 Troop Carrier Wing, Medium, on 22 Aug 1948

Redesignated: 62 Troop Carrier Wing, Heavy, on 12 Oct 1949

Inactivated on 1 Jun 1950

• Activated on 17 Sep 1951

Redesignated: 62 Air Transport Wing, Heavy, on 1 Jan 1965

Redesignated: 62 Military Airlift Wing on 8 Jan 1966

Redesignated: 62 Airlift Wing on 1 Dec 1991.

• Designated 62d Air Expeditionary Wing in September 2001 when wing elements deployed to combat areas.

Wings

• 302 Troop Carrier: attached 27 Jun 1949-5 May 1950

Groups

• 61 Troop Carrier: attached 21 Nov 1952-24 Aug 1954
• 62 Troop Carrier (later, 62 Operations): 15 Aug 1947-1 Jun 1950 (detached 2 May-1 Jun 1950); 1 Oct 1951-15 Jan 1960; 1 Dec 1991-Present

Squadrons

• 4 Troop Carrier (later, 4 Air Transport; 4 Military Airlift; 4 Airlift): attached 8-14 Jan 1960, assigned 15 Jan 1960-1 Dec 1991
• 7 Troop Carrier (later, 7 Air Transport; 7 Military Airlift): attached 8-14 Jan 1960, assigned 15 Jan 1960-22 Dec 1969
• 8 Troop Carrier (later, 8 Air Transport; 8 Military Airlift): attached 8-14 Jan 1960, assigned 15 Jan 1960-1 Dec 1991. * 19 Logistic Support (later, 19th Air Transport; 19th Military Airlift): 1 Jul 1963-22 Dec 1969
• 28 Military Airlift: attached 1-7 Jul 1967, assigned 8 Jul 1967-8 Apr 1969
• 36 Tactical Airlift (later, 36 Military Airlift): 1 Jul 1975-1 Dec 1991.

The 62nd Airlift Wing was first constituted as the 62nd Troop Carrier Wing on 28 July 1947, at McChord Field, Washington. It owes its numerical designation, and its first seven years of history prior to 1947, to the present day 62nd Operations Group.

Since the wing was established in 1947 it conducted troop carrier operations, tactical exercises, and humanitarian missions. The wing trained at McChord Air Force Base, Washington until late 1951 when it moved to Larson Air Force Base. From Larson the 62d routinely performed troop carrier, air transport, and humanitarian missions on a global scale: fling mail to Japan for U.S. troops in Korea in 1952; bringing medical supplies to the flooded areas of Pakistan in 1954; and transporting French troops and equipment from France to Indochina as part of Operation Bali-Hai from April-May 1954. The wing airlifted radar equipment and supplies for the construction of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line in northern Alaska and Canada from, 1955-1956, and thereafter periodically resupplied DEW stations. During the International Geophysical Year 1957-1958, and subsequently through 1962 the wing supported scientific stations in the Arctic Ocean by airlanding and airdropping supplies on the drifting ice. It helped transport United Nations troops and supplies to the Congo in 1960. In 1963 the wing assumed responsibility for worldwide airlift of nuclear weapons and associated equipment, continuing this mission through early 1971. It also assumed airlift of Minuteman missiles from depots to operating sites in April 1971. In 1972 it supported Presidential trips to China and the Soviet Union. From 12 February to 1 April 1973 the wing transported former prisoners of war from North Vietnam to the Philippines and the United States. That same year it transported United Nations troops from Indonesia to Israel and Egypt as part of a peacekeeping effort. From October 1975 to October 1977, the wing maintained a detachment of C-130s in the Panama Canal Zone to support USAF needs in Central and South America. The 62d airlifted troops and supplies during invasion of Grenada and airlifted university students to safety from, October-November 1983. During 1988 62 AW aircraft were used to transport inspectors to the Soviet Union under terms of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. 62 AW aircraft were also used that year to transport firefighters and supplies to Wyoming to fight major forest fires in Yellowstone National Park. It participated in the airdrop of heavy equipment and personnel during military action in Panama, 20 December 1989. During Operation Desert Shield the 62d airlifted personnel and equipment to Southwest Asia and operated airlift control elements at Zaragoza, Spain, to direct cargo and personnel destined for Southwest Asia from, August 1990-March 1991. Additionally, during 1991 62 AW personnel and aircraft facilitated the evacuation of Clark Air Base and Subic Bay Naval Station following the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines.

In 1992 the 62 AW flew relief mission to Guam following Typhoon Omar, Hawaii following Hurricane Iniki, Florida following Hurricane Andrew, as well as Somalia, the former Yugoslavia, and the former Soviet Union. In 1994 the 62 AW dispatched personnel and aircraft to deliver equipment and supplies in support of Operation Support Hope in Rwanda. During 1995 the 62 AW deployed personnel and aircraft to the U.S. Virgin Islands following Hurricane Marilyn and to Bosnia in support of Operation Joint Endeavor. 62 AW personnel delivered relief supplies to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam following torrential following spawned by Typhoon Linda in 1997. In 1998 the 62 AW delivered relief supplies to Guam following Super Typhoon Paka, to Papua New Guinea following tidal waves, to Changsha, China following sever flooding, and to Nairobi, Kenya following the bombing of the U.S. Embassy there. Following the 11 September 2001 attacks the 62 AW has been flying missions in support of the Global War on Terror, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Nobel Eagle, and Operation Infinite Justice. In 2003 the 62 AW assisted in the troop buildup leading up to Operation Iraqi Freedom and conducted the airdrop of the 173rd Airborne Brigade into northern Iraq at the onset of the war. In late 2004 and early 2005 the 62 AW was dispatched with emergency relief supplies to areas throughout Southeast Asia in response to the tsunami that struck on 26 December 2004.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Ravenstein, Charles A. Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories, 1947–1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1984. ISBN 0-91279-912-9.
• Rogers, Brian. United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978. Hinkley, UK: Midland Publications, 2005. ISBN 1-85780-197-0.
• McChord AFB Home Page