Need for reserve troop carrier groups After May 1959, the reserve flying force consisted of 45 troop carrier squadrons assigned to 15 troop carrier wings. The squadrons were not all located with their parent wings, but were spread over thirty-five Air Force, Navy and civilian airfields under what was called the Detached Squadron Concept. 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. However, under this concept, all support organizations were located with the wing headquarters. Although this 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,
Continental Air Command, (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.
Activation of the 939th Troop Carrier Group As a result, the
939th Troop Carrier Group was established at
Portland International Airport, Oregon on 11 February 1963 as the headquarters for the
313th Troop Carrier Squadron, which had been stationed there since November 1957. Along with group
headquarters, a Combat Support Squadron, Materiel Squadron and a Tactical Infirmary were organized to support the 313th. The group was equipped with
Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcars for
Tactical Air Command airlift operations. The group was one of four C-119 groups assigned to the
349th Troop Carrier Wing in 1963, the others were the
938th Troop Carrier Group at
Hamilton Air Force Base, California,
940th Troop Carrier Group at
McClellan Air Force Base, California, and the
941st Troop Carrier Group at
Paine Air Force Base, Washington. The 939th performed routine reserve airlift operations, being upgraded to the
C-124 Globemaster II intercontinental airlifter in 1966. On 26 January 1968 the group was activated for combat duty in the
Vietnam War. The group flew overseas missions, particularly to the Far East and Southeast Asia during that period, being relieved from active service in June 1969. Inactivated on 1 July 1973 as part of a reorganization of Military Airlift Command assets, personnel and equipment being assigned directly to its host 349th MAW.
Air rescue operations On 1 April 1985 the group was again activated as the
939th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Group when the
304th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron at Portland International Airport equipped with
Lockheed HC-130 Hercules aircraft transferred from
March Air Force Base, California in addition to its
Bell HH-1 Hueys. The mobilization gaining command for the group was
Military Airlift Command, with the intermediate command being
Twenty-Third Air Force until August 1989, then
Air Rescue Service. In December 1986, the group began converting its helicopter element to
Sikorsky HH-3 Jolly Green Giants. Following the devastation of
Hurricane Andrew in the same month, the 301st Rescue Squadron provided extensive service, but was forced to abandon Homestead and move to
Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. The 939th also deployed aircrews from each of its rescue squadrons to provide
search and rescue coverage worldwide, including to
Naval Air Station Keflavik, Iceland, during and after the
Southwest Asia War and to provide combat search and rescue coverage in the
Persian Gulf area between 1993 and 2003. In April 1997, the active duty Regular Air Force's
1st Rescue Group at Patrick AFB inactivated and a second reserve rescue squadron to strictly fly the HC-130, the
39th Rescue Squadron, was formed there. Both squadrons were placed under the
920th Rescue Group, which was assigned to the wing.
Air refueling operations In 2003, the 939th converted to the
air refueling mission with
Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker aircraft and was redesignated as the
939th Air Refueling Wing. Some of its rescue squadrons were inactivated while others, including the 304th Rescue Squadron (304 RQS) at Portland ARS, were reassigned to the 920th, which was expanded as the 920th Rescue Wing and became the new headquarters for Air Force Reserve rescue units. The 939th was inactivated in 2008 following the recommendations of the
2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission and its KC-135Rs redistributed to other units. ==Lineage==