403rd Wing, US Air Force
403RD WING, US AIR FORCE
History: Established as 403 Troop Carrier Wing, Medium on 10 May 1949. Activated in the Reserve on 27 June 1949. Ordered to active duty on 1 April 1951. Inactivated on 1 January 1953. Activated in the Reserve on 1 January 1953. Ordered to active duty on 28 October 1962. Relieved from active duty on 28 November 1962. Redesignated as: 403 Tactical Airlift Wing on 1 July 1967; 403 Composite Wing on 31 December 1969; 403 Tactical Airlift Wing on 29 June 1971; 403 Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Wing on 15 March 1976; 403 Rescueand Weather Reconnaissance Wing on 1 January 1977; 403 Tactical Airlift Wing on 31 December 1987; 403 Airlift Wing on 1 February 1992; 403 Wing on 1 July 1994. Trained in the CONUS for airlift operations, 1949‑1952. During 1952, from a base in Japan, managed troop carrier resources in support of the Far East Command and the United Nations in the Korean War. Performed airborne assault, airdrop, air‑landed resupply, medical air evacuation, and other transport missions. Routine airlift training in the Reserve, 1953‑1962. During that time, the wing also supported Army airdrop training, ferried aircraft to various parts of the country and the world, took part in training exercises, and performed humanitarian missions as needed. Served on active duty during Cuban Missile Crisis, October‑November 1962. In 1963, it moved US troops to the Dominican Republic and airlifted Christmas gifts destined for US servicemen in Vietnam. After a period of uncertainty from 1969 to 1971, when it served as a composite wing with a variety of missions and aircraft, the 403d returned to tactical airlift missions. From 1971 to 1976, the wing took part in several tactical exercises and humanitarian airlift operations. During that time it also ferried aircraft, supplies, and equipment to US forces in Vietnam and other points in the Far East. In 1976 and 1977, the wing began to perform search and rescue, aeromedical evacuation, and weather reconnaissance missions. Its crews and aircraft flew into hurricanes to determine their intensities and movements. In 1978, after a mass suicide at Jonestown in Guyana, the wing helped recover the bodies of US citizens. After the eruption of Mount St. Helens (Washington) in 1980, the wing participated in search and rescue efforts. It supported deployments and the first shuttle launches in the 1980s by flying precautionary search and rescue missions. Occasionally the wing was called on to provide weather reconnaissance data to supplement that provided by satellites. In 1987, the wing gave up its search and rescue functions and returned to tactical airlift missions, but retained its weather reconnaissance capability. Supported rotations to Panama during the 1990s. The wing continued to fly tactical airlift missions as needed worldwide, including contingency and humanitarian airlift operations and weather reconnaissance for the National Hurricane Center. After the 11 September 2001 terrorist attack on the US, the 403 Wing supported the Global War on Terrorism in various capacities with some personnel deployed to Southwest Asia while other personnel deployed within the CONUS. On 29 August 2005, Hurricane Katrina caused extensive wind and water damage to Keesler AFB; the wing’s 53 Weather Reconnaissance Squadron flew 12 operational missions into the eye of Hurricane Katrina between 23-30 August 2005.
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Origin/meaning
The Emblem was approved on 19 December 1995.
Image from Wikimedia Commons
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