The squadron was activated on 1 May 1944 as the
318th Troop Carrier Squadron (Commando) at
Camp Mackall, North Carolina and serving under the
3d Air Commando Group. The unit participated in the
Southwest Pacific Theater, flying the
Waco CG-4 glider and
C-47 Skytrain transport. The squadron was inactivated 25 March 1946. Reactivated on 15 November 1971 at
Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina, the unit was stood up as the
318th Special Operations Squadron, serving under
1st Special Operations Wing. The unit's mission was to provide
unconventional warfare support in Vietnam with the
Lockheed C-130 Hercules until inactivation on 1 June 1974. The unit was most recently reactivated on 16 May 2008. The unit replaced a detachment that had operated the
Pilatus PC-12 since 27 July 2007, first at
Hurlburt Field, Florida as
1st Special Operations Group, Detachment 4, then after 30 December 2007 at
Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico as
27th Special Operations Group, Detachment 2. Flying the PC-12, crews planned, prepared, and executed nonstandard aviation missions in support of joint special operations forces while directly supporting
theater special operations commanders by conducting
night vision infiltration,
exfiltration, resupply and other combat taskings on unimproved
runways. In the same role and at the same time, the squadron also operated the
C-145A Combat Coyote. Eventually the squadron transitioned to the
U-28A Draco, with the last PC-12 mission being flown in September 2016. The squadron's C-145s were moved to the
6th special operations squadron in 2013. The U-28 is a modified PC-12 which provides
tactical airborne ISR to special operations forces on the ground. ==Lineage==