The organization was first established in June 1942 as the
23rd Army Air Forces Ferry Wing, ferrying aircraft before changing missions to airlift personnel and cargo the next month. Under
Military Air Transport Service, Eastern Transport Air Force (EASTAF), headquartered at
McGuire AFB, New Jersey, controlled all strategic airlift operations between the
Mississippi River and the east coast of Africa and in
Central and South America. When MATS became
Military Airlift Command, EASTAF was redesignated Twenty-First Air Force, with the same area of responsibility. In addition to
Dover AFB, other major 21st AF bases were
Charleston AFB, South Carolina and McGuire AFB, NJ. Depending upon command organization at different times, airlift and airlift support units in Europe, the
Azores,
Bermuda and throughout the southeastern United States also reported to EASTAF or 21st AF. In October 1983 Charleston AFB Security Police Airbase Ground Defense Team conducted security operations in Grenada (Operation Urgent Fury) at Point Salinas Airport. In
Operation Just Cause, Twenty-first Air Force units conducted the largest night airdrop since World War II, leading to the successful seizure of
Panama. From August 1990, Twenty-first Air Force controlled the largest airlift in history, moving forces for
Operation Desert Shield and, later,
Operation Desert Storm. Later in the decade Twenty-First Air Force was involved in operations in
Bosnia and repeated deployments to the Middle East directed against Iraq. The command also supported peaceful, humanitarian missions. Twenty-first Air Force units flew relief missions after
Hurricane Hugo (1989) and
Andrew (1992), earthquakes in
Armenia and San Francisco, and many other natural disasters. In addition, it controlled the
Operation Provide Comfort airlift missions to the Kurds following the Persian Gulf War, the
Operation Provide Hope airlift in the aftermath of the collapse of the
Soviet Union, and participated in
Operation Restore Hope, the humanitarian airlift of food and supplies into
Somalia. The ETF supported numerous exercises around the world, one of which was CENTRAZBAT, in which C-17's flew multi-national paratroopers non-stop from
Pope AFB, North Carolina, airdropping them directly into the Central Asian countries of
Uzbekistan and
Kazakhstan demonstrating the capabilities of direct delivery. The command could operate in remote, often austere locations throughout Europe, Africa, and South America. On 1 October 2003, the 21st Air Force was redesignated as the 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force and given a new mission set as a component of the
Eighteenth Air Force. In this capacity, the organization supported
United States Joint Forces Command,
United States European Command, and
United States Central Command. The 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force was inactivated on 19 March 2012, with its responsibilities and subordinate units being transferred to the
United States Air Force Expeditionary Center.
Lineage • Established as
23rd Army Air Forces (AAF) Ferrying Wing on 12 June 1942 : Activated on 18 June 1942 : Redesignated
North Atlantic Wing on 5 July 1942 : Redesignated
North Atlantic Division on 27 June 1944 : Redesignated
Atlantic Division on 20 September 1945 : Redesignated
Atlantic Division on 1 June 1948 : Redesignated
Eastern Transport Air Force on 1 July 1958 : Redesignated
Twenty-First Air Force on 3 January 1966 : Redesignated
21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force on 1 October 2003 •
362d Airlift Support Group (Rhein-Main, 1992-1994) •
721st Air Mobility Operations Group, 1 April 1994 – 4 September 2008 •
521st Air Mobility Operations Wing, 4 September 2008 – 19 March 2012
Stations •
Presque Isle AAF, Maine, 12 June 1942 •
Fort Totten, New York, 20 September 1945 •
Westover AAF (later, AFB), Massachusetts, 1 October 1947 •
McGuire AFB, New Jersey, 1 June 1955 ==References==