436th Airlift Wing

436th Airlift Wing
Active 23 March 1943 — present
Country United States
Branch Air Force
Type Airlift
Size 6,000
Part of Air Mobility Command
Garrison/HQ Dover Air Force Base
Nickname(s) Eagle Wing
Motto Go Bucks!
Decorations DUC
AFOUA
Commanders
Current
commander		 Colonel Michael W. Grismer Jr.
Notable
commanders		 William J. Begert
C-5 illuminated at night

The 436th Airlift Wing (436 AW) is an active United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the Air Mobility Command Eighteenth Air Force, and is based at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware.

Known as the "Eagle Wing", the 436 AW consists of the operations, logistics, support, and medical groups; in addition to 12 divisions and two detachments. The wing has over 4,000 active-duty military and civilian employees. The wing's C-5 Galaxy and C-17 Globemaster III aircraft provides 25 percent of the nation's inter-theater airlift capability, providing worldwide movement of outsized cargo and personnel on scheduled, special assignment, exercise and contingency airlift missions. The 436th is the only combat-ready C-5 Galaxy wing capable of employing airdrop and special operations tactics in support of worldwide airlift.

The wing routinely flies airlift missions throughout the world projecting global reach to more than 90 countries on six different continents including Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, North and South America. Additionally, the Eagle Wing operates the largest and busiest aerial port in the Department of Defense with its passenger terminal moving over 100,000 passengers in 1998.

Units

436th Operations Group (436 OG)

436th Maintenance Group (436 MXG)

436th Mission Support Group (436 MSG)

436th Medical Group (436 MDG)

Additionally, the 436th Comptroller Squadron (436 CPTS) reports directly to the wing staff.

History

For additional history and lineage, see 436th Operations Group

Cold War

1607th Air Transport Wing Emblem
436 MAW Douglas C-124C Globemaster II at RAF Wethersfield England in 1967
Lockheed C-141A-15-LM Starlifter 64-0630 of the 436th Military Airlift Wing, MAC, at Brisbane airport, Australia supporting the visit of President Lyndon B. Johnson on 22 October 1966. This aircraft was later converted to the stretched C-141B configuration, and eventually was retired to AMARC on 14 November 2000.
436th Airlift Wing Markings on a C-141A at Brisbane airport, Australia supporting the visit of President Lyndon B. Johnson, 22 October 1966.

The wing was activated as a Reserve troop carrier wing in June 1949, and until April 1951, trained under the supervision of the 2236th Air Force Reserve Training Center, and again during May 1955-November 1957, under supervision of the 2230th Air Reserve Flying Center. In between, ordered to active service and inactivated almost immediately, personnel serving as fillers for other USAF units during the Korean War.

In January 1966 the 436th was again activated at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware where it replaced the 1607th Air Transport Wing when Military Airlift Command replaced Military Air Transport Service. The wing initially flew strategic airlift missions with propeller-driven C-124 Globemaster II and C-133 Cargomaster aircraft. However the C-124s were replaced by C-141 Starlifter jet transports in the late 1960s, and the C-133s were replaced by the C-5 Galaxy in 1971. In 1973, the 436th exchanged their C-141s with the 437th Military Airlift Wing at Charleston AFB, South Carolina, which sent their C-5s to Dover, making the 436th an exclusively C-5 Galaxy wing.

During the Vietnam War, the wing flew numerous missions to Southeast Asia, although the wing flew routes worldwide to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. It participated in joint training with U.S. Army, taking part in numerous tactical exercises in the United States and overseas, particularly in support of NATO. Additionally, it flew worldwide airlift missions, including hauling mail and other high priority cargo, conducting aeromedical evacuation, serving as personnel transport, participating in humanitarian relief, and diplomatic missions.

Wing aircrews were also augmented by attached Reserve aircrews from the 512th Airlift Wing. It airlifted personnel and equipment for operations in Grenada, 24 October 1983 – 18 December 1983; and Panama, 19 December 1989-14 January 1990. The 436th deployed an Airlift Control Element (ALCE) at Tocumen International Airport, Panama on 19 December 1989. It also provided airlift of personnel and equipment, and logistical support for operations in Southwest Asia, August 1990-May 1991.

Modern era

In the years since Desert Storm and Military Airlift Command morphing into Air Mobility Command, the 436th has served as the only combat ready C-5 Galaxy airlift wing capable of airdrop and special operations procedures in support of tactical forces and national objectives.

The wing's 436th Operations Group, is Air Mobility Command's main active-duty heavy-lift organization, flying missions worldwide, and supporting combat operations in Southwest Asia and in Afghanistan.

On 26 April, 2015, the wing and its associate 512th Airlift Wing dispatched the first USAF aircraft, a Dover C-17, carrying cargo and personnel for humanitarian aid following the earthquake in Nepal. The plane carried a United States Agency for International Development Disaster Assistance Response Team, the Fairfax County, Virginia Urban Search and Rescue Team and 45 tons of cargo.[1]

Lineage

Activated in the Reserve on 27 June 1949
Ordered to active service on 1 April 1951
Inactivated on 16 April 1951
Inactivated on 15 May 1958
Organized on 8 January 1966
Redesignated 436th Airlift Wing on 1 December 1991.

Assignments

Components

Groups

Squadrons

Stations

Aircraft

Expeditions

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ "AF sends aircraft to support disaster-assistance operations in Nepal". Air Force News Service. April 26, 2015. Retrieved May 7, 2015.

Bibliography

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

External links

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