445th Airlift Wing

The 445th Airlift Wing is an Air Reserve Component of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the Fourth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. If mobilized, the wing is gained by the Air Mobility Command.

The 445th Airlift Wing flies the Boeing C 17 Globemaster III, which is capable of delivering troops and cargo to main operating bases or forward operating bases. Despite the wing's "Fighter Bomber" designation, reserve fighter bomber wings had an air defense role if mobilized. In 1956, The Joint Chiefs of Staff were pressuring the Air Force to provide more wartime airlift. At the same time, about 150 Fairchild C 119 Flying Boxcars became available from the active force. Consequently, in November 1956 the Air Force directed Continental Air Command (ConAC) to convert three fighter bomber wings to the troop carrier mission by September 1957. In addition, within the Air Staff was a recommendation that the reserve fighter mission given to the Air National Guard and replaced by the troop carrier mission. Cuts in the budget in 1957 led to a reduction in the number of reserve wings from 24 to 15. As a result of these reductions, the 445th's fighter operations at Niagara Falls ceased, and it began to train with the Fairchild C 119 Flying Boxcar. In November, the wing was replaced by a single squadron, the 64th Troop Carrier Squadron.

The termination of reserve fighter operations at Niagara Falls did not end the wing's life. Shortly before the termination of wing level operations there, another reserve fighter wing, the 482d Fighter Bomber Wing at Dobbins Air Force Base, Georgia, inactivated and transferred its personnel and equipment to the 445th, which moved to Dobbins on paper. Since 1955, the Air Force had been detaching Air Force Reserve squadrons from their parent wing locations to separate sites. Communities were more likely to accept the smaller squadrons than the large wings and the location of separate squadrons in smaller population centers would facilitate recruiting and manning. In time, the detached squadron program proved successful in attracting additional participants When the wing moved to Dobbins, only the 700th Troop Carrier Squadron was located with wing headquarters. The 701st, and 702d Troop Carrier Squadron were both stationed at Memphis Municipal Airport under what was called the Dispersed Squadron Concept. The wing began to use inactive duty training periods for Operation Swift Lift, transporting high priority cargo for the air force and Operation Ready Swap, transporting aircraft engines, between Air Materiel Command's depots. It was reorganized in September 1958 under the Dual Deputy model. The 445th Troop Carrier Group was inactivated, and the flying squadrons were assigned directly to the wing. Simultaneously, the wing was redesignated as an assault troop carrier organization and began conversion to Fairchild C 123 Providers. The wing initially trained with the 2589th Air Reserve Flying Center,

Although the dispersal of flying units under the Detached Squadron Concept was not a problem when the entire wing was called to active service, mobilizing a single flying squadron and elements to support it proved difficult. This weakness was demonstrated in the partial mobilization of reserve units during the Berlin Crisis of 1961. To resolve the mobilization problem, at the start of 1962 ConAC determined to reorganize its reserve wings by establishing groups with support elements for each of its troop carrier squadrons. This reorganization would facilitate mobilization of elements of wings in various combinations when needed. However, as this plan was entering its implementation phase, another partial mobilization, which included the 445th Wing, occurred for the Cuban Missile Crisis, with the units being released on 22 November 1962. The formation of troop carrier groups was delayed until February for wings that had been mobilized. In their place, the 915th Air Transport Group at Homestead Air Force Base, Florida became part of the wing when the 435th Troop Carrier Wing at Homestead inactivated. With the change to heavy airlift the wing's gaining command changed from Tactical Air Command briefly to Military Air Transport Service, then to Military Airlift Command, accompanied by redesignations as the 445th Air Transport Wing, then the 445th Military Airlift Wing.

The 445th Airlift Wing was activated at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, 1 October 1994 and again flew the C 141 Starlifter. It was composed primarily of personnel from the 906th Fighter Group at Wright Patterson and the 907th Tactical Airlift Group at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base, which were both inactivated the previous day. From its new location, the wing provided support to Operation Southern Watch, the enforcement of the no fly zone in southern Iraq, and Operation Deny Flight, the United Nations no fly zone over Bosnia Herzegovina.

The wing was active in the wake of the 11 September attacks in 2001 by providing emergency airlift of supplies, medical teams and Federal Emergency Management Agency personnel to McGuire Air Force Base, to assist with operations after the World Trade Center collapse. The wing was also an active participant in Operation Enduring Freedom by being the first wing to fly Taliban and al Qaeda detainees to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. Since the initial detainee flights, the 445th Airlift Wing has delivered about half of the detainees housed at Guantanamo Bay. The wing also served in the mission of evacuating wounded personnel from battlefield in Asia to regional treatment facilities and bringing fallen service members home for burial. The first C 17 arrived 24 January 2011 from Charleston Air Force Base. The wing's first Globemaster III arrived on 20 January 2011 and it flew its last Galaxy mission on 28 September 2011. The wing was fully equipped with the C 17 in February 2012.