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403rd Wing
The 403rd Wing is a unit of the United States Air Force assigned to the Air Force Reserve Command. It is located at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi and employs a military manning authorization of more than 1,400 reservists, including some 250 full-time air reserve technicians. The 403rd Wing is a subordinate unit of the 22nd Air Force at Dobbins Air Reserve Base.
The 403rd Wing provides command and staff supervision to assigned squadrons and flights that support tactical airlift missions. These missions include airlift of personnel, equipment and supplies. Additionally, the wing is the only unit in the Department of Defense tasked to organize, equip, train and perform all hurricane weather reconnaissance in support of the Department of Commerce.
The 403rd is gained upon mobilization by the Air Mobility Command and will execute missions in support of the theater commander, such as resupply, employment operations within the combat zone or forward area, and when required, aeromedical, refugee evacuation and augmentation of other airlift forces.
As of 2021 the 403rd's mission is to Develop Exceptional Airmen Ready to Respond to Every Challenge, Every Time.
The Wing's vision is Wing of Choice...Airmen First Mission Always.
The 403rd Wing has three subordinate groups, 12 squadrons, and three flights.
Established on 7 December 1942 and activated on 12 December 1942, the 403rd Troop Carrier Group mobilized in Bowman Field, Kentucky, as a response to U.S. involvement in World War II. The unit quickly moved to Alliance, Nebraska, for further training. Airmen of the 403rd Troop Carrier Group called themselves “The Sandmen,” after their beloved commander Colonel Harry Sands Jr., whom they called “The Old Man,” “The Colonel,” and “Colonel Bud.” They all agreed that Colonel Sands was a “great leader” and a “Good Joe,” and they followed his leadership into battle after only a few months of training in the heartland.
The 403rd Troop Carrier Group first entered the Pacific Theater of Operations on 27 July 1943, and was assigned to the XIII Air Force Service Command. The group became the first U.S. troop carrier unit to enter the South Pacific, the first and only troop carrier unit to enter both the South and Southwest Pacific Areas, and Airmen conducted the first parachute drop and first air evacuation in the South Pacific. Airmen at first were sent to Tontouta, New Caledonia, where the group provided immediate support of cargo and passengers to Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides Islands and Guadalcanal. 403rd Airmen also provided paratrooper drop support of U.S. and Australian paratroopers during the Lae Campaign in New Guinea in September 1943. 403rd Airmen were also involved in the February 1944 invasion of the Philippines to liberate the islands from Japanese control. Flying C-47s, Airmen brought in cargo and high priority personnel into the archipelago and evacuated wounded personnel on their way back. Airmen continued to work throughout 1944 to move troops, supplies, and other cargo to advance bases in the Pacific. Over the course of two years of flying during the war, the Group flew 247,660 hours and completed 201,422 missions. Airmen flew approximately 43, 211, 326 mission miles, and Airmen earned 546 Distinguished Flying Cross Medals, 1 Soldier’s Medal, and 1 Legion of Merit.
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403rd Wing
The 403rd Wing is a unit of the United States Air Force assigned to the Air Force Reserve Command. It is located at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi and employs a military manning authorization of more than 1,400 reservists, including some 250 full-time air reserve technicians. The 403rd Wing is a subordinate unit of the 22nd Air Force at Dobbins Air Reserve Base.
The 403rd Wing provides command and staff supervision to assigned squadrons and flights that support tactical airlift missions. These missions include airlift of personnel, equipment and supplies. Additionally, the wing is the only unit in the Department of Defense tasked to organize, equip, train and perform all hurricane weather reconnaissance in support of the Department of Commerce.
The 403rd is gained upon mobilization by the Air Mobility Command and will execute missions in support of the theater commander, such as resupply, employment operations within the combat zone or forward area, and when required, aeromedical, refugee evacuation and augmentation of other airlift forces.
As of 2021 the 403rd's mission is to Develop Exceptional Airmen Ready to Respond to Every Challenge, Every Time.
The Wing's vision is Wing of Choice...Airmen First Mission Always.
The 403rd Wing has three subordinate groups, 12 squadrons, and three flights.
Established on 7 December 1942 and activated on 12 December 1942, the 403rd Troop Carrier Group mobilized in Bowman Field, Kentucky, as a response to U.S. involvement in World War II. The unit quickly moved to Alliance, Nebraska, for further training. Airmen of the 403rd Troop Carrier Group called themselves “The Sandmen,” after their beloved commander Colonel Harry Sands Jr., whom they called “The Old Man,” “The Colonel,” and “Colonel Bud.” They all agreed that Colonel Sands was a “great leader” and a “Good Joe,” and they followed his leadership into battle after only a few months of training in the heartland.
The 403rd Troop Carrier Group first entered the Pacific Theater of Operations on 27 July 1943, and was assigned to the XIII Air Force Service Command. The group became the first U.S. troop carrier unit to enter the South Pacific, the first and only troop carrier unit to enter both the South and Southwest Pacific Areas, and Airmen conducted the first parachute drop and first air evacuation in the South Pacific. Airmen at first were sent to Tontouta, New Caledonia, where the group provided immediate support of cargo and passengers to Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides Islands and Guadalcanal. 403rd Airmen also provided paratrooper drop support of U.S. and Australian paratroopers during the Lae Campaign in New Guinea in September 1943. 403rd Airmen were also involved in the February 1944 invasion of the Philippines to liberate the islands from Japanese control. Flying C-47s, Airmen brought in cargo and high priority personnel into the archipelago and evacuated wounded personnel on their way back. Airmen continued to work throughout 1944 to move troops, supplies, and other cargo to advance bases in the Pacific. Over the course of two years of flying during the war, the Group flew 247,660 hours and completed 201,422 missions. Airmen flew approximately 43, 211, 326 mission miles, and Airmen earned 546 Distinguished Flying Cross Medals, 1 Soldier’s Medal, and 1 Legion of Merit.