The 902d Troop Carrier Group is an inactive

United States Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commiss ...

unit. It was last active with the

94th Troop Carrier Wing The Type 094 (; Chinese designation: 09- IV; NATO reporting name: Jin class) is a class of ballistic missile submarine developed by China for the People's Liberation Army Navy Submarine Force. The Type 094 succeeds the Type 092 submarine and ...

at Grenier Air Force Base, Massachusetts, where it was inactivated on 25 January 1966.

History

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 Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

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 The Berlin Crisis of 1961 (german: Berlin-Krise) occurred between 4 June – 9 November 1961, and was the last major European politico-military incident of the Cold War about the occupational status of the German capital city, Berlin, and of po ...

To resolve this, at the start of 1962, Continental Air Command, (ConAC) determined to reorganize its reserve wings by establishing

groups A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

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 The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United S ...

, 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 902d Troop Carrier Group

As a result, the 902d Troop Carrier Group was established at Grenier Air Force Base, New Hampshire on 11 February 1963, as the headquarters for the 732d Troop Carrier Squadron, which had been stationed there since November 1957, when it replaced the 81st Troop Carrier Squadron.Maurer, p. 409 Along with group headquarters, a Combat Support Squadron, Materiel Squadron and a Tactical Infirmary were organized to support the 732d. The group 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

C-119 Flying Boxcar The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar (Navy and Marine Corps designation R4Q) was an American military transport aircraft developed from the World War II-era Fairchild C-82 Packet, designed to carry cargo, personnel, litter patients, and mechaniz ...

s for

Tactical Air Command Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. It was inactivated on 1 J ...

airlift operations. The 902d was one of two Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar groups assigned to the 94th Wing in 1963, the other being the

901st Troop Carrier Group 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

at Hanscom Field, Massachusetts. Inactivated in January 1966 with the closure of Grenier Air Force Base.

Lineage

* Established as the 902d Troop Carrier Group, Medium and activated on 15 January 1963 (not organized) : Organized in the Reserve on 11 February 1963 : Inactivated on 25 January 1966 * Redesignated 902d Military Airlift Group on 31 July 1985Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 648q, 31 July 1985, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Organizations

Assignments

* Continental Air Command, 15 January 1963 (not organized *

, 11 February 1963 – 25 January 1966

Components

* 732d Troop Carrier Squadron, 11 February 1963 – 25 January 1966

Stations

* Grenier Air Force Base, New Hampshire, 11 February 1963 – 25 January 1966

Aircraft

* Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar, 1963-1966

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* * * {{cite book, last=Ravenstein, first=Charles A., title=Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977, url=https://archive.org/details/airforcecombatwi0000rave, year=1984, publisher=Office of Air Force History, location=Washington, DC, isbn=0-912799-12-9, url-access=registration

External links

AFHRA history 902d Troop Carrier Group

Military units and formations established in 1962

902 __NOTOC__ Year 902 (Roman numerals, CMII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Adalbert II, Margrave of Tuscany, Adalbert II, margr ...

Military units and formations of the United States Air Force Reserves