918th Armament Systems Group

The 918th Armament Systems Group is an United States Air Force unit, stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.

The group was formerly the 918th Tactical Airlift Group, which was last active with the 94th Tactical Airlift Wing, based at Dobbins Air Force Base, Georgia.

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 918th 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 918th was one of three C-119 groups assigned to the 455th Troop Carrier Wing in 1963, the others being the 919th and 920th Troop Carrier Groups at Memphis Municipal Airport, Tennessee.

Transferred from TAC to Military Air Transport Service (later Military Airlift Command) control, being upgraded to a C-124 Globemaster II long range intercontinental transport group in 1965. Operated aircraft on flights to Europe, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. Supported Vietnam War, by the end of 1966, the unit had flown several missions into Tan Son Nhut Air Base in South Vietnam. Supported airlift to Japan and South Korea in 1968 in support of the Pueblo incident.

In April 1971 its parent 445th MAG was inactivated at Dobbins, and was transferred to control of the 459th Tactical Airlift Wing at Andrews Air Force Base, although the group remained at Dobbins, becoming the host unit at the base. It became part of the new Reserve 94th Tactical Airlift Wing at Dobbins in July 1972. The C-124s were retired in 1972 and the group received de Havilland Canada C-7 Caribou light transports which were withdrawn from service in the Vietnam War. Operated the C-7s until the group was inactivated in 1975, personnel and equipment being assigned to the host 94th Tactical Airlift Wing.

Systems management
In May 2006, the group was redesignated the 918th Armament Systems Group and activated at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida as an element of the 308th Armament Systems Wing.

Lineage

 * Established as the 918th Troop Carrier Group, Assault and activated on 15 January 1963 (not organized)
 * Organized in the Reserve on 11 February 1963
 * Redesignated 918th Troop Carrier Group, Heavy on 8 July 1965
 * Redesignated 918th Air Transport Group, Heavy on 1 December 1965
 * Redesignated 918th Military Airlift Group on 1 January 1966
 * Redesignated 918th Tactical Airlift Group on 29 June 1971
 * Inactivated on 1 September 1975


 * Redesignated 918th Armament Systems Group on 3 May 2006
 * Activated on 15 May 2006

Assignments

 * Continental Air Command, 15 January 1963 (not organized)
 * 445th Troop Carrier Wing (later, 445th Air Transport Wing), 11 February 1963 (attached to 459th Military Airlift Wing after 1 April 1971)
 * 459th Military Airlift Wing (later Tactical Airlift Wing), 21 April 1971
 * 94th Tactical Airlift Wing, 1 July 1972 - 1 September 1975

Components

 * 700th Troop Carrier Squadrion (later 700th Air Transport Squadron, 700th Military Airlift Squadron, 700th Tactical Airlift Squadron), 11 February 1963 - 1 September 1975

Stations

 * Dobbins Air Force Base, Georgia, 11 February 1963 - 1 September 1975
 * Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, 15 May 2006 -

Aircraft

 * Fairchild C-123 Provider, 1963-1965
 * Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, 1965-1972
 * de Haviland Canada C-7A Caribou, 1972-1975