Aerial Port Squadron (APS) is a

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

organization which operates and provides the military logistical functions assigned to aerial ports, including processing personnel and cargo, rigging for airdrop, packing parachutes, loading equipment, preparing air cargo and load plans, loading and securing aircraft, ejecting cargo for inflight delivery, and supervising units engaged in aircraft loading and unloading operations. In the

it may be referred to by several names including Air Mobility Support Squadron, Air Mobility Squadron, Small Air Terminal, Mobile Aerial Port Squadron, and others. Smaller units performing the same

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

may also be called Aerial Port Flights or Aerial Port Elements. Members of these units are normally graded by the

Air Force Specialty Code The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

(AFSC) of 2T2X1,(formerly 605X1) Air Transportation. These "

Air Transportation Specialist Air transportation specialists are members of the United States Air Force and responsible for inspecting, documenting, packaging, loading and unloading cargo on aircraft. Job description The duties of an Air transportation specialist include: * i ...

s" tend to refer to themselves as "Aerial Porters," "Porters," or "Port Dawgs." Aerial Ports are responsible for all management and movement of cargo and passengers transported in the Military Airlift System. Most Aerial Ports are divided into specific duty sections: Ramp Services, Cargo Processing, Passenger Service (PAX), Air Terminal Operations Center (ATOC), Special Handling and Fleet Service. Of these sections, the ATOC is the nerve center. In this section all flow of cargo and passengers being handled by the Aerial Port is managed, accounted for, and tracked by the In-Transit Visibility System. Some Aerial Ports also have an Aerial Delivery section that pack parachutes and rigs training loads for air drop missions. These training loads are designed to simulate cargo that is dropped to units in combat conditions by parachute over locations in which aircraft cannot land. One of the most important functions performed by Aerial Porters is the Joint Inspection of hazardous cargo and equipment. When any customer requires the movement of these types of shipments certain requirements must be met under

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regulations. Joint Inspectors ensure that all of these requirements are met and that the shipment is safe for

flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

. Because the logistical planning expertise they provide is so vital to the airlift mission, Aerial Porters may also be assigned or attached to other types of units that require their specific skills. Often these units are front line logistics units that have an Aerial Port function. Some of these units are Contingency Response Wingss (CRW), Air Mobility Operations Groups (AMOG), and Tanker Airlift Control Elements (TALCE). Official guidance on Aerial Port Squadrons can be found in Air Force Instruction (AFI) 24-101, Volume 18, Military Airlift - AMC Mobilized Aerial Port Forces and Aerial Delivery Flight

and "Back to Basics: A Handbook for Logistics Readiness and Aerial Port Squadron Commanders

References

{{Reflist Squadrons of the United States Air Force

See also

References