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 908th Troop Carrier Group As a result, the
908th Troop Carrier Group was established at
Bates Field, Alabama on 11 February 1963, as the headquarters for the
357th Troop Carrier Squadron, which had been stationed there since May 1961. Along with group headquarters, a Combat Support Squadron, Materiel Squadron and a Tactical Infirmary were organized to support the 357th. 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. In October 1964, the unit moved to
Brookley Air Force Base also in Mobile. There, the 908th built a substantial record of humanitarian airlifts, as well as taking care of regular cargo and mail missions to free
Military Airlift Command aircraft committed to Southeast Asia. On 16 July 1966, a 908th C-119 crashed near
Jacksonville, Florida, after losing an engine in a fire. The four crewmen and all 30 Florida
National Guard members on board bailed out safely, thanks to the pilot, Maj Robert C. Coyle of
Biloxi, Mississippi. Before ditching the aircraft, Major Coyle saw to it that every passenger and his three crewmen had jumped. For his heroism, he was awarded the
Distinguished Flying Cross and the Florida Cross. In February 1969, another move was announced. The 908th would move to
Maxwell Air Force Base,
Montgomery, Alabama, the following spring and fly the small, twin-engine
Cessna U-3 Blue Canoe, a forward control aircraft. The 800-member unit dropped down to a mere 275 people. However, another change was planned: to switch from the U-3H to the
Cessna O-2 Skymaster, another twin-engine forward air control aircraft. A year after the March 1970 conversion to O-2As, word arrived that the unit would convert to
Cessna A-37 Dragonfly jets. Amid plans for receiving the jets, there was yet another change: the 908th would return to the airlift business flying the
de Havilland Canada C-7 Caribou, a twin-engine utility transport. In December 1971, the 908th was redesignated the 908th Tactical Airlift Group, and the first "Bou" came on board in March 1972. The 908 TAG was declared combat ready in February 1973, the first C-7 unit in the Air Force Reserve to achieve that status. In its nearly 10 years in the C-7, the 908th won three
Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards and dozens of other unit and individual honors. In October 1983, the 908th converted to
Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft in its C-130E version. Less than three years later, in June 1986, the unit began receiving new C-130Hs. The transition to the new aircraft culminated in May 1987 at the International
Airlift Rodeo competition at
Pope Air Force Base, N.C., where the 908th placed as first overall C-130 unit in the world, and fourth place overall among all aircraft competing. This winning tradition continued in 2000 with the 908th winning best C-130/C-160 airdrop aircrew. The 908th operated eight
Lockheed C-130H Hercules cargo aircraft. It had approximately 1,200 officers and airmen who serve the unit as reservists, normally spending one weekend a month and two weeks of annual tour per year with the unit. The day-to-day operations of the 908th were handled by a group of 175 civil servants known as Air Reserve Technicians, who also served as reservists, and a small number of civilian employees who do not have reserve status. 908th reservists trained and performed
airlift missions in support of U.S. humanitarian and peacekeeping efforts worldwide. The first MH-139A Grey Wolf arrived on April 3, 2024. ==Lineage==