Little - Keep Trees

24 Base Units
314th Airlift Wing
Who We Are
The 314th Airlift Wing, Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.,
is the nation’s tactical airlift “Center of Excellence” and
trains C-130 aircrew members from the Department
of Defense, Coast Guard and 42 nations to date. The
314th Airlift Wing is aligned under Air Education and
Training Command, reporting to the 19th Air Force
at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. The wing flies 15,600
hours annually and utilizes two local drop zones, two
local assault landing zones, 10 regional airfields and
20 flight simulators/training devices to train more than
1,800 students annually, including more than 300
international students in DoD’s largest international flight
training program.
The 314th Airlift Wing consists of approximately 900
military and 300 civilian personnel. The instructor force in
the 314th Airlift Wing is the most experienced cadre of C-
130 flight instructors in the world. Students receive
training in all five crew positions — aircraft commander,
pilot, navigator, flight engineer and loadmaster. Military
Training Leaders assigned to the 714th Training
Squadron provide continuous professional development
for non-prior-service loadmaster students in the initial
training pipeline.
The 314th Operations Group and the 314th Maintenance
Group operate and maintain the world’s largest
training fleet of C-130s. The 62nd Airlift Squadron flies
C-130H2 Hercules and the 48th Airlift Squadron flies
C-130J Hercules to accomplish the wing mission. The
714th Training Squadron manages an $845 million C-130
Aircrew Training System contract and oversees 124 specialized
graduate-level flying training courses ranging
in length from one week to seven months. The 314th
Aircraft Maintenance Squadron provides flight line
maintenance for assigned aircraft, and the 314th
Maintenance Operations Squadron oversees maintenance
programs.
Mission
The wing’s mission is to train the world’s best C-130
combat airlifters to fly, fight and win. The wing’s vision is
to build the foundation of America’s combat airlift
capability by instilling a combat airlift culture and warrior
ethos, and developing the skills to successfully function
in an operational unit.
Unit History
The 314th Airlift Wing was initially activated as the
314th Troop Carrier Wing Medium in 1948, but its roots
trace back to the early days of World War II. The 314th
actually began with the activation of the 314th Transport
Group in 1942, but was redesignated the 314th Troop
Carrier Group later that year to conduct stateside training
with C-47 and C-53 cargo aircraft, then transferred
overseas in 1943 for duty in the Mediterranean theater of
operations and the invasion of Europe.
During the invasions of Sicily and Italy, the group
dropped paratroopers and supplies and earned its first
Distinguished Unit Citation for a mission over Sicily
(Operation Husky) in the face of horrible weather and
heavy attack by ground and naval forces. In 1944, the
group formed part of the initial D-Day invasion, again
dropping paratroopers and flying resupply missions,
which earned a second Distinguished Unit Citation. Other
missions included the invasion of Holland and an
airborne and glider assault across the Rhine River into
Germany. When the war ended, the 314th evacuated
Allied prisoners from Germany before transferring back to
the United States in 1946.
Two years later, the group joined the newly activated
314th Troop Carrier Wing. When war broke out in Korea
in 1950, the group detached from the wing and relocated
to Ashiya, Japan, transporting troops and supplies to
Korea and evacuating wounded personnel for the
duration of the war. Major combat operations included
supporting allied forces in both offensive and defensive
struggles in missions over Sunchon, Pyongyang, the
Chosin Reservoir, Munsan-Ni, Chipyong-Ni, and many
other locations.
The airdrops over Chipyong-Ni were of particular
importance. In February 1951, an embattled team of
allied forces was completely surrounded, pinned down,
out of ammunition and vastly outnumbered. With a series
of resupply airdrops, 314th aircrews gave those forces a
fighting chance. They held the strategic position and
eventually recaptured the surrounding areas in a battle
known as the “Gettysburg of the Korean War.”
In 1957, the wing received the first of its Lockheed
C-130 “Hercules” aircraft, the same airframe it flies
today. Together with the U.S. Army, the 314th developed
tactics for assault airlift operations and participated in
air demonstrations, exercises, maneuvers and other
joint operations.
Nearly a decade later, the wing moved to Taiwan to fly
passengers and cargo throughout the Pacific as well as
combat airlift in Southeast Asia. While there, the wing
LITTLE ROCK 2013 AFB GUIDE