What stopped the 40th? Nothing. Little more history from Air Force Records from 1963 on following the missions to Sarajevo. The Best Of The Best! Move to Ohio In November 1963, the 317th Troop Carrier Groups began planning its move from Evreux-Fauville Air Base, France to its new home, Lockbourne Air Force Base, Columbus, Ohio. In June 1964, the 40th returned to the United States for the first time since January 1943. The 41st, however, did not move with the 317th, but continued west to spend several years in Southwest Asia. The 18th Troop Carrier Squadron joined the 39th and 40th as the third squadron in the 317th at Lockbourne AFB. During its many years away from the United States, the Squadron had flown combat operations stretching from the Far East to the Middle East, and humanitarian missions throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. It was now time for the Squadron to relax. Or so it thought. Invasion of the Dominican Republic In April 1965, the Dominican Republic elected a socialist president. The United States encouraged the Dominican military to stage a coup which degenerated into a civil war between the army and supporters of the democratic system. President Johnson used this situation as an excuse for American intervention. The initial plan called for a massive airdrop invasion of the island by over one hundred C-130s. Orders went out, and the 40th deployed all of its planes to Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina, where it joined the invasion force. After the formation became airborne, the President changed the invasion from an airdrop to an air land assault. The 40th diverted into Ramey Air Force Base, Puerto Rico to allow the crews to rerig the loads, then flew into the Dominican Republic to combat offload the cargo. For the remainder of the operation, the 40th flew from both Pope AFB as well as Ramey AFB. When the fighting ended in June, the 40th returned to Lockbourne. Beginning deployments In 1964, the 40th began Operation CROSS SWITCH Rotations to Europe. During these rotations, the entire Squadron deployed for two to four months each year from Ohio to Europe to augment the theater airlift forces. At first, the rotational base was located at Evreux-Fauville, France, but after the French left NATO in 1966, the rotation was split between RAF Mildenhall, England, and Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany. At the same time that the Squadron began its regular rotation to Europe, it also began a regular rotation of crews and planes to Panama. The rotation to Panama continued into the 1980s when the Air National Guard assumed responsibility for it. In October 1965, a C-130 Replacement Training Unit was established at Lockbourne. The 40th devoted a portion of its training to the unit. The Sixties and Seventies The late 1960s and early 1970s were a time of intense social unrest in the United States. On several occasions, the 40th carried troops into cities ravaged by riots or massive anti-Vietnam War demonstrations. The airlift of riot control troops, known as Operation Garden Plot took the 40th from Detroit to Washington, D.C., to New Haven, Connecticut. As the nation began to heal in the seventies these operations slowly dwindled, then faded away. The social changes that swept through American culture in the sixties impacted the Squadron in the seventies. In July 1970, Lockbourne Air Force Base received its first women. The base integrated the women into existing squadrons because it lacked a female-only squadron, which many other bases had. At first the commander were unsure of the roles of these new recruits, but soon found positions for them in squadron administration. In 1973, the All-Volunteer Force came into effect, and with higher pay, better living conditions, and improved facilities as the Air Force faced the fact that, if it did not improve the life style of its troops, they would leave. The seventies also saw an attempt to form “hard crews,” a dismal failure; the flight system, a management nightmare; and the removal of maintenance from the Squadron, then its return, then its removal again. The seventies also brought the move of all C-130s into Military Airlift Command (MAC), a reversal of the consolidation into Tactical Air Command which occurred in the sixties. Humanitarian operations Through all of the changes, the mission of the 40th remained the same. Hurricane Camille, the worst hurricane in the history of the United States, hit the east coast in August 1969. In the first of a series of hurricane relief efforts, the 40th launched aircraft full of supplies for the stricken area. Hurricanes continued to decimate the east coast of the United States, and the 40th continued to respond. Hurricanes David and Frederick in 1979, Hurricane Hugo in 1989, and Hurricane Andrew in 1992 all brought out the 40th on missions of mercy. From 1969 on, the 40th flew humanitarian mission for a litany of disasters. Mud slides in Bogota, Colombia in September 1970, an earthquake on the border between Peru and Ecuador a month later, floods in Bolivia, and a volcanic eruption in Nicaragua in 1971, floods in Virginia and Pennsylvania in July 1972, and an earthquake in Nicaragua six months later, in 1973-Operation AUTHENTIC ASSISTANCE-a massive drought and famine relief operation in Mali, an earthquake in Turkey in 1976, blizzards in New York in 1977, and again in Massachusetts in 1979 all proved the Squadron’s worth as an instrument of humanitarian relief as well as war. This is only a small hand full of the many humanitarian relief operations throughout the history of the 40th. To name them all would take far too much space, but this short list illustrates the immeasurable service the Squadron has given representing the United States to the world. Pope Air Force Base In June 1971, the 40th began preparations for the 317th Troop Carrier Wing’s move-this time to Pope Air Force Base. At Pope, the Squadron met rejoined the 41st which had just returned from six years in Southeast Asia. As part of the move from Lockbourne, the Squadron shed all of its personnel and aircraft, and moved only its flag and lineage to its new home, where it acquired the personnel and aircraft of the recently deactivated 435th Troop Carrier Squadron. The move to Pope AFB brought some mission changes as well. The Squadron lost its obligation as a Replacement Training Unit, but gained the Adverse Weather Aerial Delivery System (AWADS) mission. Previously, C-130 squadrons at several bases had AWADS, but it was gradually consolidated into the three squadrons at Pope. The 40th also gained a rotational commitment to Southeast Asia in addition to its regular rotations to Europe and Panama. It soon became common for crews to spend ninety days in Germany, come home for a few weeks, deploy to Panama for six weeks, come home again for a short rest, then depart for the Pacific. Vietnam deployments The 40th crews were first based at Ching Chuan Kang Air Base, Taiwan, and came under the control of the 61st Tactical Airlift Squadron. In 1974, they moved to Utapao Air Base, Thailand. From both bases, they flew high altitude AWADS drops in South Vietnam, as well as standard airlift missions. As many as eight 40th crews could be in the region at one time taking part in combat actions including the sieges of An Loc and Phnom Pen, and Operations EASTER BUNNY and CONSTANT GUARD. The squadron received no official recognition for its involvement in the Vietnam War because many of its action in the war came after the United States officially ended its participation. At the end of 1974, the 40th pulled its crews out of Southeast Asia, and turned over its responsibility for the adverse weather airdrop mission to the Thai Air Force and Bird Air-a regional civilian contract service flying C-130s. Iranian Revolution In 1979, while the Squadron was on rotation in Europe, radical Muslims overthrew the Shah of Iran. The 40th flew into Iran rescuing American citizens working in the country. The Squadron flew from Incirlik Air Base, Turkey and Tehran, Iran into small dirt strips carrying in supplies and evacuating both civilian and military personnel. Invasion of Grenada The Squadron gained its first combat experience in nearly a decade in 1983. Fighting among various factions among the island of Grenada’s communist government led to fear that American medical students on the island could be taken hostage. President Ronald Reagan responded with Operation Urgent Fury, an invasion of the island. The 40th provided two of the five crews for the initial airborne assault on Point Salines Airport. After the initial assault, the numerous Squadron crews flew follow on missions into the island carrying troops, supplies, food, and ammunition. On the return trips the crews carried out Cuban soldiers who had been working on several large military construction projects, and the American medical students who has been caught on the island by the unrest. Despite outrage on the part of Liberals Americans, the people of Grenada profusely thanked the United States from rescuing them from a government they did not want. Invasion of Panama Relations between the United States and Panama, a former staunch ally of the U.S., deteriorated in the late 1980s. By 1989, the two countries were in nearing a state of undeclared war as American military personnel in the Canal Zone were constantly harassed by Panamanian Defense Forces. That winter, patience with Panama came to an end after Panamanian President Manuel Noriega refused to relinquish power after losing an election, and President George H. W. Bush launched a massive invasion-Operation JUST CAUSE-to remove Noriega. On 19 December 1989, the 40th joined the other two Pope squadrons, and the 50 TAS from Little Rock Air Force Base, for a fifteen aircraft airborne assault on Rio Hato Airport, Panama. The aircraft launched for a late night assault of Army Rangers. After flying down the western Caribbean, across Panama, and out over the Pacific, the formation turned and began its run for Rio Hato. The first few aircraft flew unscathed across the drop zone, but Panamanian soldiers quickly found their range and poured a withering ground fire into the formation. Despite the intense fire, none of the crews deviated from their course, and every Ranger on target. After the drop, the formation flew to Howard Air Force Base, Panama where the aircraft received hasty repairs and fuel before launching back to the United States. Many of the planes managed to make it to the coast before landing at commercial airports because of severe battle damage. The Squadron continued to support JUST CAUSE into 1990. As the last of the fighting wound down in Panama, the 40th deployed to England for its 60 day rotation to RAF Mildenhall. The Squadron returned to Pope in June, and looked forward to some rest after a busy seven months. Desert Shield/Desert Storm On 2 August 1990, the 40th placed its crews on alert. Iraq had just invaded Kuwait, one of the United States’ strongest allies in the Middle East. Six days later, the Squadron launched all sixteen airplanes, and every member of the Squadron to the Middle East. On 9 August, the Squadron landed at Masirah Air Base, Oman. Seventeen hours later the Squadron launched its first mission in support of the American build up. For the first few weeks the Squadron flew up to twenty hour days carrying cargo throughout the Arabian Peninsula, living out of tents on the barren island of Masirah, known to the squadron as Moon Island. While the living conditions were miserable, and the missions long and tiring, the Squadron never gave up. Everyone pulled together and achieved one great milestone after another making the C-130 the backbone of the war effort. Without it, the war could never have happened. While cargo poured into the theater by way of strategic air and sealift, it took the C-130 to distribute it to the troops. In January, the 40th took part in one of the great deceptions in military history. While the fighters and bombers distracted the Iraqis, the Squadron’s C-130s carried the 82nd Airborne Division from northeast Saudi Arabia across the Iraqi front line to land the soldiers in the northwest corner of Saudi Arabia. All of these mission were flown under strict radio silence, with no navigational aids. Aircraft flew along corridors, often with little or no visibility at the same altitude as other aircraft flying the return route. In the face of an apparently insurmountable task, the 40th succeeded beyond anyone’s expectations. When the ground war began in February, the Iraqis were stunned to find a division on their western flank they thought was in front of them. If not for the 40th, and the other C-130 squadrons, it could not have been done. Humanitarian operations When the Squadron arrived home in March 1991, it was to a well deserved rest. But, as has been true for the life of the Squadron, that rest lasted only a few months before it was again back into action. This time to Turkey, where Operation PROVIDE COMFORT-a massive humanitarian relief effort to the Kurds in northern Iraq was taking place. Hard on the heels of that operation came Operation AUTHENTIC ASSISTANCE-aid to the Baltic Republics of Latvia and Lithuania, Operation PROVIDE TRANSITION-Angolan disarmament and election, the finally, Operation PROVIDE PROMISE-the United Nation’s relief operation to the former nation of Yugoslavia. The Squadron flew into the former Yugoslavia from the summer of 1992 until its deactivation in July 1993. At first, the effort consisted of airland missions into Zagreb and the ravaged city of Sarajevo. After Serbian forces blocked relief convoys from entering U.N. safe areas, the Squadron resorted to airdrops. The intense fighting forced the crews to reintroduce high-altitude AWADS airdrops, a procedure not used since Vietnam, and one which the Air Force had allowed to lapse because it was considered an irrelevant capability. Irrelevant or not, the Squadron quickly relearned the techniques associated with the demanding mission and became a reliable deliverer of humanitarian aid.
Posted on: Wed, 03 Dec 2014 20:43:58 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015