| 183rd Airlift Squadron | |
|---|---|
 C-17 Globemaster III from the 183rd Airlift Squadron | |
| Active | 1 July 1953 – present |
| Country |  United States |
| Allegiance |  Mississippi |
| Branch |  Air National Guard |
| Type | Squadron |
| Role | Airlift |
| Part of | Mississippi Air National Guard |
| Garrison/HQ | Allen C. Thompson ANGB Field, Jackson, Mississippi |
| Nickname | Flying Jumbos |
| Tail Code | Blue tail stripe, "Mississippi" in yellow letters |
| Decorations | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
| Insignia | |
| 183rd Airlift Squadron emblem |  |
The183rd Airlift Squadron is a unit of the172nd Airlift Wing of theMississippi Air National Guard, stationed atAllen C. Thompson Field Air National Guard Base, Mississippi. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by theUnited States Air ForceAir Mobility Command.
Its mission is to provide airlift and supporting units; provide for the airlift of troops and passengers, military equipment, cargo and aeromedical airlift and to participate in operations involving the airland or airdrop of troops, equipment and supplies when required.
It was called to federal service during the firstGulf War. The 183rd was the first Air National Guard unit to convert to theC-17 Globemaster III.[1]
Thesquadron was constituted as the183rd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron in 1953 and allotted to theAir National Guard. It was organized atHawkins Field, Mississippi and extended federal recognition on 1 July 1953. The squadron was assigned to the117th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, of theAlabama Air National Guard, but operational control was exercised by theMississippi Air National Guard.[2]
The 183rd was initially equipped withWorld War II-eraDouglas RB-26C Invader night photographic reconnaissance aircraft. The black RB-26s werelight bombers that were modified foraerial reconnaissance in the late 1940s Most of the aircraft received were unarmedKorean War veterans, which carried cameras and flash flares for night aerial photography. Upon mobilization, the squadron would be gained byTactical Air Command (TAC).
In 1957, the B-26 was reaching the end of its operational service. The squadron's mobilization gaining command becameMilitary Air Transport Service when it was redesignated the183rd Aeromedical Transport Squadron and was equipped withFairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar[2] transports configured for medical transport and reassigned to the106th Aeromedical Transport Group. Five years later the unit was upgraded with theLockheed C-121 Constellation long-range transport in 1962, becoming the183rd Air Transport Squadron and beginning to carry personnel to overseas locations in Europe and the Caribbean. The 183rd and its support elements expanded into a group level later that year, when the172nd Air Transport Group was activated. The 183rd became the group's flying squadron. Support elements assigned into the group were the 183rd Material Squadron, 183rd Air Base Squadron, and the 183rd USAF Dispensary. The squadron moved from Hawkins toAllen C. Thompson Field, another field nearJackson, Mississippi in 1963.[2]
The group received theDouglas C-124 Globemaster II heavy intercontinental transport was received in 1966 which meant supplies and equipment could be carried around the world along with personnel.[2] 1966 was also marked by a change of mobilization command toMilitary Airlift Command (MAC) and the name to183rd Military Airlift Squadron[2]
The C-124 was being retired in the early 1970s and the 183rd was realigned to a theater transport mission, and equipped withLockheed C-130E Hercules aircraft as the183rd Tactical Airlift Squadron in May 1972. Once more, TAC gained the unit if it was called to federal service. It was upgraded to new 1979 production C-130H aircraft from 1980 and continued to fly tactical airlift missions until the mid-1980s.
On 12 July 1986 the firstLockheed C-141B Starlifter to be released from the active duty Air Force was assigned to the Mississippi Air National Guard. With a total of eight aircraft, the unit resumed a global airlift mission and was gained by MAC when mobilized.[2]
In March 1988 the squadron took part in the airlift of approximately 3200 troops and almost 1000 tons of cargo on an exercise toPalmerola Air Base, Honduras. The 183rd was the only Air National Guard unit to participate in this airlift of troops to Honduras. On 6 December 1988 the Soviet Republic of Armenia suffered a powerful earthquake. The first Air Guard aircraft to fly toArmenia was a C-141B from the 183rd. Before relief missions to Armenia ended, the unit would fly six missions with its planes and crew and additionally would furnish a crew to fly aUnited States Air Force C-141 whose crew had reached the maximum flying hours permitted without rest. In September 1989 a devastating hurricane struck the tiny island ofSt. Croix, leaving the island crippled, the squadron flew eleven emergency relief missions to St. Croix, hauling 465 tons of cargo and 472 passengers.[2]
From 20 December 1989 to 12 January 1990 the 183rd flew 21 sorties in support ofOperation Just Cause, the operation to replaceManuel Noriega with a democratically elected government in Panama. The unit transported 403.6 tons of cargo and 1,274 passengers during the operation. On 7 August 1990 the 172nd's support ofOperation Desert Shield and Desert Storm began when Approximately 98aircrew members began flying voluntary missions.[3] On 24 August 1990 the 183rd Airlift Squadron was one of the first two units to be called into active federal service and moved toCharleston Air Force Base, South Carolina. Until May 1991, shen the squadron was returned to state control the 148 members of the 183rd flew 2,880 sorties which transported 15,837 passengers and 25,949.2 tons of cargo.[2]
In 2000, the squadron received the C-141C with an electronic "glass cockpit". In October 2000 after theUSSCole bombing in Yemen, seventeen members of the unit and the 183rd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron deployed toRamstein Air Base Germany. They picked up four injured sailors from Ramstein and flew them toNorfolk Naval Station, Virginia. In February 2003 the 183rd retired its last Starlifter in preparation for the arrival of the wing's firstBoeing C-17 Globemaster III.[2]
On 17 December 2003, Lt. Gen. Daniel James III, Director, Air National Guard, handed off the "keys" of the first C-17 Globemaster III (S/N 02-1112) to Maj. Gen. James H. Lipscomb III, adjutant general of the Mississippi National Guard. This plane was also the first Globemaster III assigned to the Air National Guard and was named the "Spirit of the Minutemen".[2]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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