929th Troop Carrier Group

The 929th Troop Carrier Group is an inactive United States Air Force Reserve unit. It was last active with the 433d Troop Carrier Wing, based at Davis Field, Oklahoma. It was inactivated on 1 July 1966

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 929th 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 group was one of three C-119 groups assigned to the 403d TCW in 1963, the others being the 927th Troop Carrier Group, at Selfridge AFB, Michigan and the 928th Troop Carrier Group at O'Hare International Airport, Illinois.

In 1963, it moved US troops to the Dominican Republic and airlifted Christmas gifts destined for US servicemen in Vietnam. Reassigned to the 433d TCW at Kelly AFB, Texas in 1964; the unit, however remained at Davis Field.

In November 1965, Defense Secretary Robert McNamara announced that the 929th Troop Carrier Group would be moved from Davis Field because the facility was inadequate for the Air Force’s newer transport jets. Instead of being moved, the unit was instead inactivated due to budget reductions caused by the cost of the Vietnam War. The closure which was completed the following June, affected 798 reservists, eight active-duty personnel and 181 civilians.

Lineage

 * Established as 929th Troop Carrier Group, Medium, and activated, on 15 January 1963
 * Organized in the Reserve on 11 February 1963
 * Inactivated on 1 July 1966

Assignments

 * Continental Air Command, 15 January 1963
 * 403d Troop Carrier Wing, 11 February 1963-1 January 1964
 * 433d Troop Carrier Wing, 1 January 1964-1 July 1966

Components

 * 65th Troop Carrier Squadron, 11 February 1963-1 July 1966

Stations

 * Davis Field, Oklahoma, 11 February 1963-1 July 1966

Aircraft

 * C-119 Flying Boxcar, 1963-1966