17th Airlift Squadron
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The 17th Airlift Squadron was most recently one of four active duty
Boeing C-17A Globemaster III The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) between the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of two previ ...
units at
Charleston Air Force Base Charleston Air Force Base is a United States military facility located in the City of North Charleston, South Carolina. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force's 628th Air Base Wing (628 ABW), a subordinate elem ...
, South Carolina. The squadron was first activated during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
as the 17th Air Corps Ferrying Squadron, redesignating as the 17th Transport Squadron a few months later. Until disbanding in 1943, it transported cargo and ferried aircraft in the Pacific. The squadron was again activated in 1945 as the 17th Air Transport Squadron in 1954 at Charleston. When
Military Air Transport Service The Military Air Transport Service (MATS) is an inactive United States Department of Defense, Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy's Naval Air Transport Service (NA ...
became Military Airlift Command, the squadron became the 17th Military Airlift Squadron.The 17th Military Airlift Squadron should not be confused with the 17th Tactical Airlift Squadron, a different unit that had a similar name. The 17th was inactivated in 1969 as the
C-124 Globemaster II The Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed "Old Shaky", is a retired American heavy-lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California. The C-124 was the primary heavy-lift transport for United States Air Forc ...
was retired from active service. The squadron reactivated as a strategic
airlift An airlift is the organized delivery of Materiel, supplies or personnel primarily via military transport aircraft. Airlifting consists of two distinct types: strategic and tactical. Typically, strategic airlifting involves moving material lo ...
unit in 1987.


History


World War II

Constituted 17th Air Corps Ferrying Squadron on 18 February 1942. Activated on 27 April 1942 at Hamilton Field, California flying
Curtiss C-46 Commando The Curtiss C-46 Commando is a low-wing, twin-engine aircraft derived from the Curtiss CW-20 pressurized high-altitude airliner design. Early press reports used the name "Condor III" but the Commando name was in use by early 1942 in company p ...
transporters. Redesignated 17th Transport Squadron on 19 March 1943. Disbanded on 31 October 1943.


Cold War strategic airlift

Reconstituted, and redesignated 17th Air Transport Squadron, Medium, on 22 March 1954. Activated on 18 Jul 1954 with
Douglas C-54 Skymaster The Douglas C-54 Skymaster is a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and the Korean War. Like the Douglas C-47 Skytrain derived from the DC-3, the C-54 Skymaster was derived from a civilia ...
s at
Charleston Air Force Base Charleston Air Force Base is a United States military facility located in the City of North Charleston, South Carolina. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force's 628th Air Base Wing (628 ABW), a subordinate elem ...
, South Carolina. It performed worldwide
airlift An airlift is the organized delivery of Materiel, supplies or personnel primarily via military transport aircraft. Airlifting consists of two distinct types: strategic and tactical. Typically, strategic airlifting involves moving material lo ...
beginning 1954 Redesignated 17th Air Transport Squadron, Heavy, on 18 June 1958 with
Douglas C-124 Globemaster II The Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed "Old Shaky", is a retired American heavy-lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California. The C-124 was the primary heavy-lift transport for United States Air Forc ...
s; 17th Military Airlift Squadron on 8 Jan 1966. Inactivated on 8 Apr 1969. It flew missions to Southeast Asia, 1964–1969.


Jet airlift

Activated on 1 Aug 1987. Redesignated 17th Airlift Squadron on 1 Oct 1991, flying
C-141 The Lockheed C-141 Starlifter is a retired military strategic airlifter that served with the Military Air Transport Service (MATS), its successor organization the Military Airlift Command (MAC), and finally the Air Mobility Command (AMC) of t ...
s. It supported operations in Panama, 18–29 December 1989, and in Southwest Asia, August 1990 – December 1991 It supported operations in Afghanistan, September 2001 – June 2015 and in Iraq, 2003 – June 2015 It also supported humanitarian missions, including tsunami relief in India and Sri Lanka; Pakistan earthquake relief;
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...
relief in United States; and evacuated American Citizens from Lebanon On 17 January 1995, the 17th Airlift Squadron was declared the first operationally ready C-17 squadron. The 17th was the first unit to set up forward deployed C-17 operations, at the start of
Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...
. The 17th Airlift Squadron recently stepped up to the plate once more and created another expeditionary squadron. For the first time, two C-17 squadrons deployed in forward theater locations, supporting
Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...
, and Enduring Freedom. The 817th area of Responsibility split. On 1 June 2006, the
816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron The 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron was a provisional United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 385th Air Expeditionary Group, stationed at Al Udeid Air Base, Doha, Qatar. It was last engaged in combat operations in Southwest Asi ...
was created and launched its first crew 15 minutes later. Unlike previous C-17 deployments, this one actually had the squadron itself doing all the flying from "an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia." The 17th helped initiate a whole new concept in C-17 operations in that this was the first time that the airframe was employed like traditional intratheater airlift assets such as the C-12, C-20, C-21 or the
C-130 The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...
. However, unlike traditional tactical airlift assets that are under the direct command of the theater commander, the 817th EAS is headquartered out of theater. The ceremony marking the inactivation of the 17th Airlift Squadron was held on 25 June 2015 at
Joint Base Charleston Joint Base Charleston is a United States military facility located partly in the city of North Charleston, South Carolina, and partly in the city of Goose Creek, South Carolina. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air ...
, South Carolina.


Lineage

* Constituted as the 17th Air Corps Ferrying Squadron on 18 February 1942 : Activated on 27 April 1942 : Redesignated 17th Transport Squadron on 19 March 1943 : Disbanded on 31 October 1943 * Reconstituted and redesignated 17th Air Transport Squadron, Medium on 22 March 1954 : Activated on 18 July 1954 : Redesignated 17th Air Transport Squadron, Heavy on 18 June 1958 : Redesignated 17th Military Airlift Squadron on 8 January 1966 : Inactivated on 8 April 1969 * Activated on 1 August 1987 : Redesignated 17th Airlift Squadron on 1 October 1991Lineage information, including assignments, stations and aircraft through 2008 in Factsheet, 17 Airlift Squadron. : Inactivated c. 25 June 2015


Assignments

* Army Air Forces Ferrying Command (later
Air Transport Command Air Transport Command (ATC) was a United States Air Force unit that was created during World War II as the strategic airlift component of the United States Army Air Forces. It had two main missions, the first being the delivery of supplies a ...
), 27 April 1942 *
11th Ferrying Group In music theory, an eleventh is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a fourth. A perfect eleventh spans 17 and the augmented eleventh 18 semitones, or 10 steps in a diatonic scale. Since there are only seven degrees in a diaton ...
(later 11th Transport Group), 28 July 1942 – 31 October 1943 * 1608th Air Transport Group, 18 July 1954 *
1608th Air Transport Wing The 1608th Air Transport Wing is a discontinued United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Eastern Transport Air Force of Military Air Transport Service (MATS) at Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina. It performed strategic ...
, 18 January 1963 *
437th Military Airlift Wing The 437th Airlift Wing (437 AW) is an active unit of the United States Air Force, assigned to 18th Air Force, Air Mobility Command. It is the mission wing at Charleston Air Force Base, Joint Base Charleston, in the City of North Charleston, So ...
, 8 January 1966 – 8 April 1969 * 437th Military Airlift Wing, 1 August 1987 *
437th Operations Group The 437th Operations Group (437 OG) is an active United States Air Force unit. It is the flying component of the Eighteenth Air Force 437th Airlift Wing, stationed at Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina. The unit's World War II predecess ...
, 1 October 1991 – c. 25 June 2015


Stations

* Hamilton Field, California, 27 April 1942 – 31 October 1943 * Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina, 18 July 1954 – 8 April 1969 * Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina, 1 August 1987 – c. 25 June 2015


Aircraft

*
Curtiss C-46 Commando The Curtiss C-46 Commando is a low-wing, twin-engine aircraft derived from the Curtiss CW-20 pressurized high-altitude airliner design. Early press reports used the name "Condor III" but the Commando name was in use by early 1942 in company p ...
, 1942–1943 *
Douglas C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II. During the war the C-47 was used for tro ...
, 1942–1943 *
Douglas C-54 Skymaster The Douglas C-54 Skymaster is a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and the Korean War. Like the Douglas C-47 Skytrain derived from the DC-3, the C-54 Skymaster was derived from a civilia ...
, 1954–1958 *
Douglas C-124 Globemaster II The Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed "Old Shaky", is a retired American heavy-lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California. The C-124 was the primary heavy-lift transport for United States Air Forc ...
, 1958–1969 *
Lockheed C-141 Starlifter The Lockheed C-141 Starlifter is a retired military strategic airlifter that served with the Military Air Transport Service (MATS), its successor organization the Military Airlift Command (MAC), and finally the Air Mobility Command (AMC) of the ...
, 1987–1993 * Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, 1993–2015


Awards and campaigns


Decorations

Air Force Outstanding Unit Award The Air and Space Outstanding Unit Award (ASOUA) is one of the unit awards of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. It was established in 1954 as the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award and was the first independent Air Force ...
s: *1 January 1963 – 1 February 1964 *11 July 1966 – 10 July 1967 *11 July 1967 – 10 July 1968 *11 July 1968 – 8 April 1969 *1 July 1988 – 30 June 1989 *1 July 1989 – 30 June 1990 *21 September 1989 – 31 October 1989
Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross The Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross also known as the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross or Vietnam Cross of Gallantry () is a military decoration of the former Government of South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam). The medal was created on August 15, 1 ...
with Palm: 1 April 1966 – 8 April 1969


Service Streamers

World War II American Theater


Campaign streamers

Southwest Asia: Defense of Saudi Arabia; Liberation and Defense of Kuwait


Armed Forces Expeditionary Streamers

Panama, 1989–1990


References


Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations


Bibliography

*


External links


517th Airlift Squadron History
Elmendorf Air Force Base

at the AFHRA
17th Airlift Squadron web site817th Airlift Squadron
Air Mobility Command {{US Air Force navbox 0017