The 17th Airlift Squadron was most recently one of four active duty Boeing C-17A Globemaster III units at Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina. The squadron was first activated during World War II 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 became Military Airlift Command, the squadron became the 17th Military Airlift Squadron.[note 3] The 17th was inactivated in 1969 as the C-124 Globemaster II was retired from active service. The squadron reactivated as a strategic airlift 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 transporters. Redesignated 17th Transport Squadron on 19 March 1943. Disbanded on 31 October 1943.
Redesignated 17th Air Transport Squadron, Heavy, on 18 June 1958 with Douglas C-124 Globemaster IIs; 17th Military Airlift Squadron on 8 Jan 1966. Inactivated on 8 Apr 1969. It flew missions to Southeast Asia, 1964–1969.[citation needed]
Jet airlift
Activated on 1 Aug 1987.
Redesignated 17th Airlift Squadron on 1 Oct 1991, flying C-141s.[2] It supported operations in Panama, 18–29 December 1989, and in Southwest Asia, August 1990 – December 1991[citation needed] It supported operations in Afghanistan, September 2001 – June 2015 and in Iraq, 2003 – June 2015[citation needed]
On 17 January 1995, the 17th Airlift Squadron was declared the first operationally ready C-17 squadron.[3]
The 17th was the first unit to set up forward deployed C-17 operations, at the start of Operation Enduring Freedom.[4]
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, and Enduring Freedom. The 817th area of Responsibility split. On 1 June 2006, the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron 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. 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, South Carolina.[5]
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 1991[2]
^Emblem description: On an Air Force Blue globe, grid lines White, issuing from the top of a white scroll, two hands flesh tone, winged at the wrists white, bearing supplies or cargo Air Force Golden Yellow; outlines and details Air Force Blue throughout.
^The 17th Military Airlift Squadron should not be confused with the 17th Tactical Airlift Squadron, a different unit that had a similar name.
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