• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

3rd Airlift Squadron (3rd AS)

The 3d Airlift Squadron provides global reach with unique, outsized and oversized airlift capability. The Squadron provides worldwide airlift to meet Department of Defense, Department of State and Presidential mobility requirements. The unit supports global engagement through direct delivery of time-critical theater deployment assets and ensures combat readiness of AMC active-duty C-17 airlift crews. The 3rd Airlift Squadron's mission capability includes clandestine delivery, extraction and airdrop of special operations forces and equipment.

Prior to the arrival of the unit's first C-17 on 4 June 2007, as one of 3 flying units assigned to the 436th Airlift Wing, the 3rd Airlift Squadron was composed of some 250 aircrew members and support people. They performed a variety of worldwide airlift missions in the Air Force's largest plane, the C-5 Galaxy.

The 3rd Airlift Squadron dates back to the days of World War II when it was activated at Pope Field, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, in March 1942, as a ferrying squadron. During the war, the Squadron was stationed at Chabau, Upper Assam, India. Later, it transferred to the India-China Wing of the Air Transport Command and carried supplies and equipment back and forth across the treacherous "Hump." The Squadron was disbanded in late 1943.

During the Korean War, the 3rd was reconstituted at Brookley Field, Alabama, and began flying regularly scheduled airlift missions in its 8 C-124 Globemasters to the Arctic, Caribbean, and South America. In June 1958, the Squadron moved to Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina, where it continued to fly C-124s until August 1965, when it transitioned into jets with the arrival of the first C-141 Starlifter.

In June 1970, the 3rd Military Airlift Squadron received the first operational C-5 Galaxy to be assigned to a Military Airlift Command flying organization. Three years later, the Squadron was transferred to the 436th Airlift Wing at Dover Air Force Base.

The 3rd Airlift Squadron aircrews flew support missions for French troops in the Zaire peacekeeping effort. For their efforts, they were co-recipients with a 9th Military Airlift Squadron crew of the MacKay Trophy for the 1978 airlift operation.

The Squadron had proven itself and the C-5 to be highly mission-ready by setting AMC records for departure reliability. In 1986, the Squadron received the 436th Military Airlift Wing's Flying Eagle award 4 times for having the highest percentage of on-time departures.

In April 1988, a 3rd Military Airlift Squadron crew, overcoming the difficulties of flying into unfamiliar territory, airlifted drilling equipment into Semipolitinsk, USSR. The mission was part of a joint nuclear weapons detonation monitoring agreement signed by the United States and the Soviet Union. The crew was subsequently awarded the Mackay Trophy for the "most meritorious flight of the year".

The 3rd Airlift Squadron continued its distinct history and its support of AMC by flying humanitarian and contingency missions into such places as Southwest Asia, Somalia, Rwanda, and Haiti. The 3rd Airlift Squadron also participated in the first-ever 6-ship formation flights of C-5's in support of the Strategic Brigade Airdrop Test.

On 4 June 2007, the unit recieved its first C-17 Globemaster III, beginning a transition to the type from the C-5 Galaxy.