World War II The
617th Bombardment Squadron was activated in June 1943 at
MacDill Field, Florida. but was never fully manned and was inactivated in August. It was the second combat group to be activated with African American personnel and would be the only African-American bombardment group. The group moved to
Godman Field, Kentucky, just after 617th was activated in April. Although designated a "colored" squadron, some officers, including the squadron leadership were white. The initial commander of the 477th group enforced racial segregation on the posts where the squadron was stationed. The squadron's members were involved in the civil rights action referred to as the
Freeman Field Mutiny; the "mutiny" came about when African-American aviators became outraged enough by
racial segregation in the military that they resorted to mass insistence that military regulations prohibiting discrimination be enforced. The Freeman Field Mutiny was a crucial event in the African-American struggle for equal civil rights. In 1945 after the 477th became a composite group formed of the
99th Fighter Squadron and the 617th Bombardment Squadron, Colonel
Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., a black officer, assumed command of the group. The squadron was inactivated in 1947 when the 477th was replaced by the
332d Fighter Group.
Cold War The
917th Air Refueling Squadron was activated on 1 May 1959 by
Strategic Air Command (SAC) at
Biggs Air Force Base, Texas and equipped with
KC-135 Stratotankers. This was part of SAC's program to disperse its
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bombers over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for the Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike. When the squadron was activated, the 95th wing was in the process of converting from the
Convair B-36 Peacemaker to the B-52 and the 917th's tankers were briefly the only operational aircraft assigned to the wing. Starting in 1960, one third of the squadron's aircraft were maintained on fifteen-minute
alert, fully fueled and ready for combat to reduce vulnerability to a Soviet missile strike. This was increased to half the squadron's aircraft in 1962. The 917th continued to maintain an alert commitment when not deployed until the end of the
Cold War. The squadron mission was to provide air refueling to the
B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers of its parent
95th Bombardment Wing and other USAF units as directed. This included support for
Operation Chrome Dome missions. The squadron was also tasked from time to time to perform other missions, including emergency
aeromedical evacuation flights. In its first year of operation, the squadron was named the best refueling unit in SAC at the annual bombing/navigation competition. The squadron supported reflex deployments to forward Tanker Task Forces beginning in 1960, including deployments to
Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska and the Alaskan Task Force. The squadron also supported the European and Pacific Tanker Task Forces. During the
Vietnam War, the squadron deployed to the Pacific to support
Operation Arc Light and the Young Tiger Task Force. In 1965, the
431st Air Refueling Squadron, a
Tactical Air Command unit stationed at Biggs and flying
Boeing KB-50J Superfortress aircraft was inactivated. To accommodate the loss of refueling capability caused by the inactivation of the 421st, the 917th's strength was increased by five additional KC-135As. In 1961, it was to be moved to
March Air Force Base, California. But each move was cancelled and the unit remained at Biggs. Finally, at the beginning of 1965, the 917th moved to
Dyess Air Force Base, Texas and fifteen days later was reassigned to the
96th Strategic Aerospace Wing. In 1985, the 96th wing converted from the B-52 to the
Rockwell B-1B Lancer and the unit focused on training on techniques for refueling the new bomber. Later that year, the
917th Air Refueling Squadron and the
617th Bombardment Squadron were consolidated. Six of the squadron's aircraft and associated crews deployed to Southwest Asia in the fall of 1990 to support
Operation Desert Shield. In September 1991 SAC implemented the Objective Wing reorganization and the wing's operational squadrons, including the 917th, were assigned to the
96th Operations Group. although the squadron remained at Dyess until 1994, when it was inactivated. ==Lineage==