903d Military Airlift Group

The 903d Military Airlift Group is an inactive United States Air Force Reserve unit. It was last active with the 514th Military Airlift Wing, based at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey. It was inactivated on 1 July 1973.

History
Following the mobilizations in 1961 and 1962 for the Berlin Crisis and the Cuban Missile Crisis, Continental Air Command (ConAC) realized that it was unwieldy to mobilize an entire wing unless absolutely necessary. Their original Table of Organization for each Wing was a wing headquarters, a troop carrier group, an Air Base Group, a maintenance and supply group, and a medical group. In 1957, the troop carrier group and maintenance and supply groups were inactivated, with their squadrons reassigned directly to the wing headquarters - despite the fact that many wings had squadrons spread out over several bases due to the Detached Squadron Concept dispersing Reserve units over centers of population.

To resolve this, in late 1962 and early 1963, ConAC reorganized the structure of its reserve Troop Carrier Wings by establishing fully deployable Troop Carrier Groups and inserting them into the chain of command between the Wing and its squadrons at every base that held a ConAC troop carrier squadron. At each base, the group was composed of a material squadron, a troop carrier squadron, a tactical hospital or dispensary, and a combat support squadron. Each troop carrier wing consisted of 3 or 4 of these groups. By doing so, ConAC could facilitate the mobilization of either aircraft and aircrews alone, aircraft and minimum support personnel (one troop carrier group), or the entire troop carrier wing. This also gave ConAC the flexibility to expand each Wing by attaching additional squadrons, if necessary from other Reserve wings to the deployable groups for deployments.

As a result, the 903d Troop Carrier Group was established with a mission to organize, recruit and train Air Force Reserve personnel in the tactical airlift of airborne forces, their equipment and supplies and delivery of these forces and materials by airdrop, landing or cargo extraction systems. The group was equipped with C-119 Flying Boxcars for Tactical Air Command airlift operations.

The 903d TCG was one of three C-119 groups assigned to the 514th TCW in 1963, the others being the 904th Troop Carrier Group at Stewart AFB, New York and 905th Troop Carrier Group at Bradley Field, Connecticut.

In 1970, was re-aligned to Military Airlift Command, becoming reserve C-141 Starlifter intercontinental heavy-lift transport group along with the assigned 943d Troop Carrier Group at Dover AFB, Delaware. Inactivated in 1973 as part of the drawdown of forces after the Vietnam War.

Lineage

 * Established as 903d Troop Carrier Group, Medium, and activated, on 28 December 1962
 * Organized in the Reserve on 17 January 1963
 * Re-designated: 903d Tactical Airlift Group on 1 Jul 1967
 * Re-designated: 903d Military Airlift Group (Associate) on 25 Sep 1968
 * Inactivated on 1 July 1973

Assignments

 * Continental Air Command, 28 December 1963
 * 514th Troop Carrier (later: Tactical Airlift; Military Airlift) Wing, 17 January 1963-1 July 1973

Components

 * 335th Troop Carrier (later: Tactical Airlift; Military Airlift) Squadron, 17 January 1963-1 Apr 1970
 * 732d Military Airlift Squadron, 1 Apr 1970-1 July 1973

Stations

 * McGuire AFB, New Jersey, 17 January 1963-1 July 1973

Aircraft

 * C-119 Flying Boxcar, 1963-1970
 * C-141 Starlifter, 1970-1973