| 249th Airlift Squadron | |
|---|---|
 249th Airlift SquadronC-17 Globemaster III[note 1] | |
| Active | 2009–2018 |
| Country |  United States |
| Allegiance |  Alaska |
| Branch |  Air National Guard |
| Role | Airlift |
| Part of | Alaska Air National Guard |
| Garrison/HQ | Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, Anchorage, Alaska |
| Tail Code | White tail stripe "Elmendorf" in black "AK" |
| Insignia | |
| 249th Airlift Squadron emblem |  |
The249th Airlift Squadron is an inactive unit of theAlaska Air National Guard, formerly located atJoint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, Alaska and assigned to the176th Wing. The 249th was an associate unit of the517th Airlift Squadron, which was equipped with theBoeing C-17 Globemaster III.
The 249th's mission was strategic airlift of troops and cargo to main operating bases or forward locations worldwide. It also conducted theater airlift,aeromedical evacuation and tactical airdrop missions. Tactics to accomplish the mission includeair refueling, low-level contour navigation and use ofnight vision goggles. Its crews mix with crews from the active-duty Air Force517th Airlift Squadron to fly eightBoeing C-17 Globemaster III jets around the world. In the event of mobilization the squadron would become an element ofPacific Air Forces.[1]
In association with the 517th, theAlaska Air National Guard established a detachment of the176th Operations Group in 2007 to fly airlift missions. The detachment was organized under the "classic" association model in which the 517th retained principal responsibility for the aircraft flown. Although the 517th and the detachment were administratively separate, they were operationally and functionally integrated for performance of missions.[1] Missions flown by the detachment included combat missions in support ofOperation Iraqi Freedom andOperation Enduring Freedom in mid-summer of 2007.[citation needed]
On 1 September 2009, with the expansion of the mission, the249th Airlift Squadron was activated and absorbed the personnel and mission of the detachment. The squadron achieved initial operational capability sixteen days later.[1]
Following the January2010 Haiti earthquake members of the 249th and three C-17s deployed toJackson Air National Guard Base to fly cargo and relief assistance personnel to the destroyed areas of Haiti. At Jackson, they integrated with the183rd Airlift Squadron of theMississippi Air National Guard. Squadron members flew equipment like fire trucks and fork lifts into Haiti, while evacuating more than 800 refugees on the return trips.[2] In July of that same year, a C-17 flown by a joint crew of the 249th and 517th crashed while practicing for an airshow, killing the fourcrewmembers aboard the plane.[3]
In the fall of 2011, the squadron once again participated in a major disaster relief operation, when it transportedSikorsky HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters of the 176th Group to the northeastern United States to assist in recover fromHurricane Irene.[4]
In 2017, the144th Airlift Squadron, the oldest flying squadron in the Alaska Air National Guard transferred itsLockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft. In order to maintain the 144th as an active unit, the 249th was inactivated and its personnel and equipment were transferred to the 144th in August 2018.[5]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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