305th Air Mobility Wing
Encyclopedia
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
strategic airlift and air refueling wing under the operational control of the Air Mobility Command
Air Mobility Command
Air Mobility Command is a Major Command of the U.S. Air Force. AMC is headquartered at Scott AFB, Illinois, east of St. Louis....
(AMC). The 305 AMW is a tenant unit at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JB MDL) in central New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
Overview
The 305th Air Mobility Wing extends America's global reach by generating, mobilizing and deploying C-17 Globemaster IIIC-17 Globemaster III
The Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft. Developed for the United States Air Force from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas, the C-17 is used for rapid strategic airlift of troops and cargo to main operating bases or forward operating bases throughout...
and KC-10 Extender
KC-10 Extender
The McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender is the military adaptation of the three-engined DC-10 airliner for the United States Air Force . The KC-10 incorporates military-specific equipment for its primary roles of transport and aerial refueling. It was developed to supplement the KC-135 Stratotanker...
aircraft to conduct strategic airlift and air refueling missions. In addition to aircraft and aircrew generation, the 305th Air Mobility Wing controls one of the Air Force's busiest aerial ports, and the air operations at both McGuire and Lakehurst Fields.
The Wing's motto is "Can Do," a description formulated in World War II when its predecessor unit, the 305th Bombardment Group, earned its reputation as courageous, innovative warriors. The legendary 305th Bomb Group was first commanded by then-Colonel Curtis E. LeMay. Notably, the 305th is the only Air Force unit with two Congressional Medal of Honor recipients in its history (Lts William Lawley & Edward Michael who earned them on separate B-17 missions during WWII).
Units
The following squadrons make up the 305th Operations Group305th Operations Group
The 305th Operations Group is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the 305th Air Mobility Wing. It is stationed at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey....
(305 OG):
- 6th Airlift Squadron6th Airlift SquadronThe 6th Airlift Squadron is part of the 305th Air Mobility Wing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey. It operates the C-17 Globemaster III supporting the United States Air Force global reach mission world wide...
, flying C-17 Globemaster IIIC-17 Globemaster IIIThe Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft. Developed for the United States Air Force from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas, the C-17 is used for rapid strategic airlift of troops and cargo to main operating bases or forward operating bases throughout...
cargo aircraft - 2d Air Refueling Squadron2d Air Refueling SquadronThe 2d Air Refueling Squadron is a unit of the United States Air Force. It is part of the 305th Air Mobility Wing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey. It operates the KC-10 Extender aircraft conducting aerial refueling missions....
, flying KC-10 ExtenderKC-10 ExtenderThe McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender is the military adaptation of the three-engined DC-10 airliner for the United States Air Force . The KC-10 incorporates military-specific equipment for its primary roles of transport and aerial refueling. It was developed to supplement the KC-135 Stratotanker...
air refueling aircraft - 32d Air Refueling Squadron32d Air Refueling SquadronThe 32d Air Refueling Squadron is part of the 305th Air Mobility Wing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey. It operates the KC-10 Extender aircraft conducting aerial refueling missions.-History:...
, flying KC-10 ExtenderKC-10 ExtenderThe McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender is the military adaptation of the three-engined DC-10 airliner for the United States Air Force . The KC-10 incorporates military-specific equipment for its primary roles of transport and aerial refueling. It was developed to supplement the KC-135 Stratotanker...
air refueling aircraft - 305th Operations Support Squadron, supporting flying operations for wing aircrew
The following squadrons make up the 305th Maintenance Group (305 MXG):
- 305th Maintenance Operations Squadron
- 305th Maintenance Squadron
- 305th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
- 605th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
- 305th Aerial Port Squadron
Lineage
- Established as 305th Bombardment Wing, Medium, on 20 December 1950
- Activated on 2 January 1951
- Redesignated: 305th Air Refueling Wing on 1 January 1970
- Redesignated: 305th Air Refueling Wing, Heavy, on 1 February 1978
- Redesignated: 305th Air Refueling Wing on 1 September 1991
- Redesignated: 305th Air Mobility Wing on 1 October 1994
Assignments
- Second Air ForceSecond Air ForceThe Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....
, 2 January 1951 - 6th Air Division, 10 February 1951
- Attached to: 7th Air Division, 4 September-5 December 1953
- Attached to: 5th Air Division, 3 November 1955-8 January 1956 and 7 January-8 March 1957
- Second Air ForceSecond Air ForceThe Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....
, 1 June 1959 - 17th Air Division, 15 July 1959
- 19th Air Division, 1 January 1961
- 825th Strategic Aerospace Division825th Strategic Aerospace DivisionThe 825th Strategic Aerospace Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Strategic Air Command, assigned to Second Air Force, being stationed at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas...
, 1 September 1964 - 42d Air Division42d Air DivisionThe 42d Air Division was a unit of the United States Air Force. It was established as the 42 Bombardment Wing on 8 February 1943. The wing first saw combat in September 1943. It was inactivated in 1991.-History:...
, l January 1970 - 40th Air Division40th Air DivisionThe 40th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Fifteenth Air Force, stationed at Malmstrom AFB, Montana...
, 1 July 1973 - 42d Air Division42d Air DivisionThe 42d Air Division was a unit of the United States Air Force. It was established as the 42 Bombardment Wing on 8 February 1943. The wing first saw combat in September 1943. It was inactivated in 1991.-History:...
, 1 December 1982 - Eighth Air ForceEighth Air ForceThe Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
, 16 June 1988 - Fifteenth Air ForceFifteenth Air ForceThe Fifteenth Expeditionary Mobility Task Force is one of two EMTFs assigned to the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command . It is headquartered at Travis Air Force Base, California....
, 1 September 1991 - Twenty-First Air ForceTwenty-First Air ForceThe 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force is one of two EMTFs assigned to the Air Force’s Air Mobility Command. It is headquartered at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey$3...
, 1 July 1993 - Eighteenth Air ForceEighteenth Air ForceEighteenth Air Force is a Numbered Air Force component of the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command . It was activated on 1 October 2003 and headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois...
, 1 October 2003–present
- Second Air Force
Components
Groups- 305th Bombardment (later, 305th Operations): 2 January 1951-16 June 1952; 1 September 1991-15 October 1993; 1 October 1994–present
- 458th Operations: 1 October 1994- 1 July 1995
Squadrons
- 3d Airborne Command and Control: 1 April 1970-31 December 1975
- 68th Air Refueling Squadron68th Air Refueling SquadronThe 68th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 305th Bombardment Wing, stationed at Bunker Hill Air Force Base, Indiana. It was inactivated on 25 March 1965.-History:...
: 1 June 1959-25 March 1965 - 70th Air Refueling: 1 January 1970-1 September 1991
- 305th Air Refueling Squadron305th Air Refueling SquadronThe 305th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 305th Air Refueling Wing, stationed at McGuire AFB, New Jersey. It was inactivated on 1 September 1991...
: attached 2 July 1951-15 June 1952, assigned 16 June 1952-1 May 1959 (detached 4 January-c. 16 April 1955); assigned 25 March 1965-1 September 1991 - 364th Bombardment Squadron364th Bombardment SquadronThe 364th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 307th Strategic Wing, stationed at U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield, Thailand. It was inactivated on 30 June 1975-History:...
: attached 10 February 1951-15 June 1952, assigned 16 June 1952-1 January 1970 - 365th Bombardment Squadron365th Bombardment SquadronThe 365th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 307th Strategic Wing, stationed at U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield, Thailand. It was inactivated on 30 June 1975.-History:...
: attached 10 February 1951-15 June 1952, assigned 16 June 1952-1 January 1970 - 366th Bombardment Squadron366th Bombardment SquadronThe 366th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 305th Bombardment Wing, stationed at Grissom Air Force Base, Indiana. It was inactivated on 1 January 1970-History:...
: attached 10 February 1951-15 June 1952, assigned 16 June 1952-1 January 1970 - 422d Bombardment Squadron422d Bombardment SquadronThe 422d Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 305th Bombardment Wing, stationed at Bunker Hill Air Force Base, Indiana. It was inactivated on 15 February 1961-History:...
: 1 January-l October 1959; 8 March 1960-15 February 1961.
Bases assigned
- MacDill AFB, FL, 2 January 1951 – 1 June 1959
- Bunker Hill (later, Grissom) AFB, IN, 1 June 1959 – 1 October 1994
- McGuire AFB, NJ, 1 October 1994–present
Aircraft operated
- Boeing B-29 Superfortress, 1951–1953
- Boeing B-50 SuperfortressB-50 SuperfortressThe Boeing B-50 Superfortress strategic bomber was a post-World War II revision of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, fitted with more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360 radial engines, stronger structure, a taller fin, and other improvements. It was the last piston-engined bomber designed by Boeing for...
, 1951–1953 - Boeing KC-97 Stratotanker, 1951–1959
- Boeing B-47 Stratojet, 1952–1961, (RB-47, 1958)
- Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, 1959–1993, (EC-135, 1966–1992)
- Convair B/TB-58A HustlerB-58 HustlerThe Convair B-58 Hustler was the first operational supersonic jet bomber capable of Mach 2 flight. The aircraft was designed by Convair engineer Robert H. Widmer and developed for the United States Air Force for service in the Strategic Air Command during the 1960s...
, 1961–1970 - Lockheed C-141B Starlifter, 1994–2004
- McDonnell Douglas KC-10A Extender, 1995–present
- Boeing C-17A Globemaster IIIC-17 Globemaster IIIThe Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft. Developed for the United States Air Force from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas, the C-17 is used for rapid strategic airlift of troops and cargo to main operating bases or forward operating bases throughout...
, 2004–present
Bombardment Wing
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B-50 Superfortress
The Boeing B-50 Superfortress strategic bomber was a post-World War II revision of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, fitted with more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360 radial engines, stronger structure, a taller fin, and other improvements. It was the last piston-engined bomber designed by Boeing for...
, the 305th received its first Boeing KC-97 Stratotanker later that year. Following this, the group began training heavily in its new dual mission of strategic bombardment and aerial refueling.
In June 1952, the wing became the second Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
(SAC) wing to receive the Boeing B-47A Stratojet bomber. Operational squadrons of the wing were the 305th, 364th, 365th and 366th Bombardment Squadrons, while the 306th Bombardment Squadron was intended to act as a training unit to prepare future B-47 crews. The B-47As were primarily training aircraft and were not considered as being combat ready, since most of them were unarmed and were initially without almost any of their vital electronic components
In 1953, the 305th was upgraded to the B-47B production Stratojet and the wing began operational strategic bombardment and refueling missions from MacDill. The wing deployed overseas three times, once to England (September–December 1953) and twice to North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
(November 1955 – January 1956 and January–March 1957), in keeping with its mission of global bombardment and air refueling operations. The wing's deployments marked the first overseas deployment of the B-47B.
Two wing B-47s set speed records on 28 July 1953 when one flew from RCAF Goose Bay
CFB Goose Bay
Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay , is a Canadian Forces Base located in the town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador....
, Labrador
Labrador
Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...
, to RAF Fairford
RAF Fairford
RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force station in Gloucestershire, England. It is a standby airfield, not in everyday use. Its most prominent use in recent years has been as an airfield for United States Air Force B-52s during the 2003 Iraq War, Operation Allied Force in 1999, and the first Gulf War in...
, England, in 4:14 hours and the other flew from Limestone AFB, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, to RAF Fairford in 4:45 hours.
During this period, the 305th also figured prominently in the filming of the 1955 James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
and June Allyson
June Allyson
June Allyson was an American film and television actress, popular in the 1940s and 1950s. She was a major MGM contract star. Allyson won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her performance in Too Young to Kiss . From 1959–1961, she hosted and occasionally starred in her own CBS anthology...
film, Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command (film)
Strategic Air Command is a 1955 American film starring James Stewart and June Allyson, and directed by Anthony Mann. Released by Paramount Pictures, it was the first of four films that depicted the role of the Strategic Air Command in the Cold War era....
, a portion of which was filmed in and around both the 305th Bombardment Wing and 306th Bombardment Wing
306th Flying Training Group
The 306th Flying Training Group is a unit of the United States Air Force, assigned to the Air Education and Training Command's Nineteenth Air Force...
areas and their B-47 aircraft at MacDill AFB.
In 1955, SAC upgraded the 305th to the B-47E, the major production version of the Stratojet. In May 1959, the 305th Bomb Wing with B-47s was reassigned to Bunker Hill AFB, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
and assumed responsibility for operating the base. Later that same year, the first Boeing KC-135A Stratotankers were assigned to the unit, replacing the propeller-driven KC-97s that had difficulties keeping up with the B-47 jet aircraft. Began transferring it's Stratojets in early 1960 to other wings as replacement aircraft in a planned equipment change.
In September 1960, the 305th became the second USAF wing selected to receive the Convair B-58A Hustler
B-58 Hustler
The Convair B-58 Hustler was the first operational supersonic jet bomber capable of Mach 2 flight. The aircraft was designed by Convair engineer Robert H. Widmer and developed for the United States Air Force for service in the Strategic Air Command during the 1960s...
with the first aircraft received on 11 May 1961. Two months later, the first TB-58A trainer arrived. Three squadrons (364th, 365th and 366th) were equipped with B-58As, and the wing was declared operationally ready in August 1962.
A wing B-58 set a new speed record on 16 October 1963 by flying from Tokyo, Japan, to London, England (via Alaska and Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
), in 8:35 hours at an average speed of 938 mph.
In a little-known attempt to increase the flexibility of the B-58 as a weapons system, experiments were carried out in April 1964 under a program known as Operation Bullseye to see if the B-58 could carry and deliver conventional bombs. In coordination with Republic F-105Ds and McDonnell F-4C/Ds
F-4 Phantom II
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber originally developed for the United States Navy by McDonnell Aircraft. It first entered service in 1960 with the U.S. Navy. Proving highly adaptable,...
, sorties were flown using B-58s as lead ships and pathfinders and as independent strike aircraft. It was demonstrated that the B-58 could carry iron bombs on the wing root bomb racks that had earlier been added to accommodate four Mk. 43 nuclear weapons. Iron bombs of varying weights up to 3000 pounds were dropped, usually from low altitudes and at speeds of 600 knots. Almost all of the drops were visual, with the AN/ASQ-42 system rarely being used. However, the fear that the B-58's integral wing tanks would make it vulnerable to ground fire during low altitude delivery lead to the abandonment of the program.
The wing operated a B-58 combat crew training school (CCTS), August 1965 – December 1969, and gained an Boeing EC-135 Post-Attack Command Control System (PACCS) mission with the 3d PACCS Squadron in mid-1966.
After 26 years of bearing the name Bunker Hill, the base was renamed Grissom AFB on 12 May 1968 after Lieutenant Colonel Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom
Gus Grissom
Virgil Ivan Grissom , , better known as Gus Grissom, was one of the original NASA Project Mercury astronauts and a United States Air Force pilot...
, USAF, a native of Mitchell, Indiana who was one of the original seven Mercury astronauts. Having later commanded the Gemini 3 mission in 1965, Lieutenant Colonel Grissom was assigned as commander for the first manned Apollo mission, but was killed with the rest of his crew during a fire in his Apollo 1
Apollo 1
Apollo 1 was scheduled to be the first manned mission of the Apollo manned lunar landing program, with a target launch date of February 21, 1967. A cabin fire during a launch pad test on January 27 at Launch Pad 34 at Cape Canaveral killed all three crew members: Command Pilot Virgil "Gus"...
capsule during a pre-launch rehearsal on Pad 34 at Cape Kennedy, Florida
Cape Canaveral
Cape Canaveral, from the Spanish Cabo Cañaveral, is a headland in Brevard County, Florida, United States, near the center of the state's Atlantic coast. Known as Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated from it by the Banana River.It is part of a region known as the...
in January 1967.
The active service life of the B-58 was destined to be rather short. Phaseout of the B-58 fleet was ordered by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara
Robert McNamara
Robert Strange McNamara was an American business executive and the eighth Secretary of Defense, serving under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 to 1968, during which time he played a large role in escalating the United States involvement in the Vietnam War...
in December 1965, since it was felt that the high-altitude performance of the B-58 could no longer guarantee success against increasingly sophisticated Soviet air defenses, particularly high-altitude surface-to-air missiles such as the SA-2 Guideline. At that time, Secretary McNamara also announced that the F-111 would be built for both the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy. McNamara further proposed that a SAC variant of the new F-111, to be designated FB-111A, along with improvements in the Air Force Minuteman and Navy Polaris
Polaris
Polaris |Alpha]] Ursae Minoris, commonly North Star or Pole Star, also Lodestar) is the brightest star in the constellation Ursa Minor. It is very close to the north celestial pole, making it the current northern pole star....
missile systems and modernization of the subsonic Boeing B-52, would enhance strategic deterrence and make the B-58 superfluous to the needs of the USAF.
The first B-58 to go into long term storage was B-58A, AF Serial No. 59-2446, which flew to Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
on 5 November 1969. Once underway, the B-58 retirement program moved relatively rapidly. The retirement was completed on 16 January 1970, when the 305th Bomb Wing's last two B-58s (AF Serial No. 55-0662 and 61-0278) were flown to Davis-Monthan AFB for storage.
Refueling Wing
From the early 1970s the wing supported worldwide tanker task forces by deploying KC-135 aircraft to Europe, Alaska, Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
, and the Pacific. In 1975, the 3d ACCS was inactivated and its specialized EC-135s were transferred to the 70th Air Refueling Squadron
70th Air Refueling Squadron
The 70th Air Refueling Squadron is part of the 349th Air Mobility Wing at Travis Air Force Base, California. It operates the KC-10 Extender aircraft conducting aerial refueling missions as the reserve associate to the 60th Air Mobility Wing....
.
The wing provided tanker refueling support to units involved in the Invasion of Grenada
Invasion of Grenada
The Invasion of Grenada, codenamed Operation Urgent Fury, was a 1983 United States-led invasion of Grenada, a Caribbean island nation with a population of about 100,000 located north of Venezuela. Triggered by a military coup which had ousted a four-year revolutionary government, the invasion...
(October 1983) and the restoration of democracy in Panama
United States invasion of Panama
The United States Invasion of Panama, code-named Operation Just Cause, was the invasion of Panama by the United States in December 1989. It occurred during the administration of U.S. President George H. W...
(December 1989). From August 1990 to June 1991 deployed personnel and aircraft to provide refueling support for air operations to and in Southwest Asia
Southwest Asia
Western Asia, West Asia, Southwest Asia or Southwestern Asia are terms that describe the westernmost portion of Asia. The terms are partly coterminous with the Middle East, which describes a geographical position in relation to Western Europe rather than its location within Asia...
. The 305th Wing also delivered food to the Kurds in Northern Iraq, April–May 1991. Lost its PACCS mission in May 1992. It was redesignated the 305th Air Refueling Wing, Heavy on 1 September 1991.
Modern era
On 1 June 1992, Strategic Air CommandStrategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
(SAC) was inactivated and the 305th realigned to the newly established Air Mobility Command
Air Mobility Command
Air Mobility Command is a Major Command of the U.S. Air Force. AMC is headquartered at Scott AFB, Illinois, east of St. Louis....
(AMC), merging former SAC air refueling aircraft with strategic and tactical theater airlift aircraft operated by the former Military Airlift Command
Military Airlift Command
The Military Airlift Command is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command of the USAF which was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. It was constituted on 1 January 1966 and active until the end of the Cold War, when the Air Force table of organization was revised...
(MAC), the latter also having been inactivated on the same date. The wing was also redesignated as the 305th Air Mobility Wing (305 AMW).
The 1993 Base Realignment and Closure
Base Realignment and Closure
Base Realignment and Closure is a process of the United States federal government directed at the administration and operation of the Armed Forces, used by the United States Department of Defense and Congress to close excess military installations and realign the total asset inventory to reduce...
(BRAC) directed realignment of Grissom AFB to the Air Force Reserve and the 305th ARW phased out operations there in 1994. The KC-135R equipped 70th and 305th ARS were inactivated. In addition, the EC-135G/L radio relay aircraft as part of the PACCS system were also retired.
The 305 AMW was moved without personnel or equipment to McGuire AFB, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, replacing the 438th Airlift Wing
438th Air Expeditionary Group
The United States Air Force's 438th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group is assigned to the 438th Air Expeditionary Wing of USAFCENT and is stationed at Kabul, Afghanistan....
(438 AW) on 1 October 1994. At McGuire, the wing controls three squadrons of Boeing C-17A Globemaster III
C-17 Globemaster III
The Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft. Developed for the United States Air Force from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas, the C-17 is used for rapid strategic airlift of troops and cargo to main operating bases or forward operating bases throughout...
transports and Douglas KC-10A Extender air refueling aircraft.
The 305 AMW is currently operational at McGuire, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
with over 55 years of service. It also operates in parallel with its Air Force Reserve Command
Air Force Reserve Command
The Air Force Reserve Command is a major command of the U.S. Air Force with its headquarters at Robins AFB, Georgia.It stood up as a major command of the Air Force on 17 February 1997....
"Associate" wing, the 514th Air Mobility Wing
514th Air Mobility Wing
The 514th Air Mobility Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force based out of McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey.-History:...
(514 AMW), which operates the same KC-10 and C-17 aircraft. The 305 AMW also works with the 108th Air Refueling Wing
108th Air Refueling Wing
The 108th Air Refueling Wing is a unit of the New Jersey Air National Guard tasked with aerial refueling and other air mobility missions. It is based at McGuire Air Force Base and operationally gained by the Air Mobility Command . The current Commander of the 108th is...
(108 ARW) at McGuire, an Air Mobility Command
Air Mobility Command
Air Mobility Command is a Major Command of the U.S. Air Force. AMC is headquartered at Scott AFB, Illinois, east of St. Louis....
-gained unit of the New Jersey Air National Guard
New Jersey Air National Guard
The New Jersey Air National Guard consists of almost 2300 Guardsmen from New Jersey.The New Jersey Air National Guard is governed through the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs....
, operating the KC-135R Stratotanker.
On 3 March 2009, the 305 AMW underwent significant changes due to BRAC 2005. The wing no longer provides installation support for McGuire - the 87th Air Base Wing
87th Air Base Wing
The 87th Air Base Wing is the host wing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, and is physically located on McGuire, in the United States. The 87th ABW provides installation support to more than 80 mission commanders spread across at McGuire, Fort Dix , and Naval Air Engineering Station...
(87th ABW) now provides the installation support. When the two wings divided the 305th Mission Support and Medical Groups transferred to the 87th ABW to become the 87th Mission Support and Medical Groups. The 305th Maintenance and Operations Groups continue to provide a responsive, combat-ready mobility and expeditionary capability for United States. However, by virtue of the same BRAC 2005 legislation, the 305th Air Mobility Wing not only controls air operations at McGuire Field, but also those at Lakehurst Field (with the exception of the test strip). In effect, this places the 305 AMW Commander as the single airfield authority at both McGuire and Lakehurst.