The 913th Airlift Group is a United States Air Force Reserve unit. It is assigned to 22d Air Force and is stationed at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas. It was activated 13 July 2014.
Mission
The 913th Airlift Group trains and equips Air Force Reservists to perform the combat missions of tactical airlift and aerial resupply.
Subordinate organizations of the 913th AG are: 327th Airlift Squadron 913th Operations Support Squadron 913th Maintenance Squadron 913th Force Support Squadron 913th Aerospace Medical Squadron 96th Aerial Port Squadron
History
Need for reserve troop carrier groups
During the first half of 1955, the Air Force began detaching Air Force Reserve squadrons from their parent wing locations to separate sites. The concept offered several advantages. Communities were more likely to accept the smaller squadrons than the large wings and the location of separate squadrons in smaller population centers would facilitate recruiting and manning. Continental Air Command (ConAC)'s plan called for placing Air Force Reserve units at fifty-nine installations located throughout the United States. When these relocations were completed in 1959, reserve wing headquarters and wing support elements would typically be on one base, along with one (or in some cases two) of the wing's flying squadrons, while the remaining flying squadrons were spread over thirty-five Air Force, Navy and civilian airfields under what was called the Detached Squadron Concept.
Although this dispersal was not a problem when the entire wing was called to active service, mobilizing a single flying squadron and elements to support it proved difficult. This weakness was demonstrated in the partial mobilization of reserve units during the Berlin Crisis of 1961 To resolve this, at the start of 1962, ConAC determined to reorganize its reserve wings by establishing groups with support elements for each of its troop carrier squadrons. This reorganization would facilitate mobilization of elements of wings in various combinations when needed. However, as this plan was entering its implementation phase, another partial mobilization occurred for the Cuban Missile Crisis, with the units being released on 22 November 1962. The formation of troop carrier groups occurred in January 1963 for units that had not been mobilized, but was delayed until February for those that had been.
Activation of 913th Troop Carrier Group
As a result, the 913th Troop Carrier Group was established at Willow Grove Naval Air Station, Pennsylvania on 11 February 1963, as the headquarters for the 327th Troop Carrier Squadron, which had been stationed there since July 1958. Along with group headquarters, a Combat Support Squadron, Materiel Squadron and a Tactical Infirmary were organized to support the 327th.
The group's mission was 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 Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcars for Tactical Air Command airlift operations.
The 913th was one of three C-119 groups assigned to the 512th Troop Carrier Wing in 1963, the others being the 912th Troop Carrier Group also at Willow Grove, and the 914th Troop Carrier Group at Niagara Falls International Airport, New York.
Redesignation as 913th Tactical Airlift Group
The 913th was redesignated as the 913th Tactical Airlift Group (913 TAG) and performed air transportation for airborne forces, airdrops, , and extraction delivery of equipment and supplies, as well as airlift of personnel and cargo. During the Vietnam War the group also helped train Republic of Vietnam Air Force C-119 aircrews in 1967 and ferried aircraft to Southeast Asia in March 1968 and to Taiwan in January 1969.
In 1970, the 913th transitioned from the C-119 to the Lockheed C-130 Hercules. Beginning in 1977 the 913th participated in rotational "Coronet Oak" operations in the Panama Canal Zone flying airlift in support of U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) at Howard AFB. In addition, it has performed humanitarian airlift and supported contingency operations worldwide, including operations in Southwest Asia and the Balkans.