89th Airlift Wing

89th Airlift Wing

89th Airlift Wing emblem
Active 19 January 1942-Present
Country United States
Branch United States Air Force
Type Airlift
Garrison/HQ Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility, Maryland
Motto EXPERTO CREDE ... "Trust one who has experience"
Decorations AFOUA
Commanders
Current
commander
Colonel Jacqueline D.van Ovost
Notable
commanders
Arthur Lichte

The 89th Airlift Wing (89 AW) of the United States Air Force is based at Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility and has an operational force of over 1,000 personnel. The 89 AW provides global Special Air Mission (SAM) airlift, logistics, aerial port and communications for the President, Vice President, Combat Commanders, senior leaders and the global mobility system as tasked by the White House, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and Air Mobility Command.

Contents

Mission

"Transporting our nation's senior civilian and military leaders to locations around the globe...during peace, crisis, and conflict... and providing combat ready forces to theater combatant commanders."

History

The 89th provided transition training for pilots from 1942 to 1944. It trained replacement crews in March-April 1944. The wing trained in the Reserve for troop carrier operations from June 1949 to May 1951. It was briefly called into active service in May 1951 to provide personnel to other units during the Korean War.

The 89th again trained in the Reserve for fighter-bomber operations from June 1952 to November 1957. From January 1966, it served as a special mission airlift wing charged with providing worldwide airlift for the Executive Department and high-ranking dignitaries of the U.S. Government and of foreign governments, as directed. (In taking over the special airlift mission, it replaced the 1254th Air Transport Wing, which had previously undertaken the task at Andrews from 1 October 1948 to 1966.)[1] It assumed an additional mission of controlling all T-39 administrative airlift within the United States from 1975 to 1978 and continued maintenance support to 1984. It gained a helicopter squadron in July 1976 and added rescue and medical evacuation (in the Washington, D.C. area) to its mission. In October 1976, the wing began training C-12 pilots for units in Alaska and Germany, and for duty with defense attaché offices and military assistance units.

The 89th was reduced in size in 1977 through transfer of many aircraft and inactivation of units, and became a group on 30 September 1977. Redesignated in 1980 as a selectively manned wing. In addition to primary mission of airlifting the President, Vice-President, cabinet members, other high U.S. government officials, and foreign dignitaries, the wing frequently participated in humanitarian missions at home and abroad. It provided transport for personnel and supplies to Southwest Asia from 1990 to 1991. In 1991, the 89th airlifted home 20 former prisoners of war from Iraqi captivity. It became host wing of Andrews Air Force Base in July 1991 and subsequently relinquished that responsibility to the 316th Wing in 2006.

Assignments

Major command

Numbered Air Force

Air division

Previous designations

Subordinate organizations

89th Operations Group (89 OG)

89th Communications Squadron (89 CS)

89th Maintenance Group (89 MXG)

89th Airlift Support Group (89 ASG)

Presidential Airlift Group (PAG)

Bases stationed

Aircraft and missiles operated

References

  1. ^ Globalsecurity.org, 89th Airlift Wing, accessed June 2009

External links

United States Air Force portal
Military of the United States portal