The 924th Air Refueling Squadron was activated at Castle in 1959. Through most of its existence it served as the tactical refueling component of the 93d Bombardment Wing, while its companion 93d Air Refueling Squadron was the "schoolhouse" for Boeing KC-135 Stratotankeraircrews, although in the 1980s, these roles were reversed. In 1985 the 24th and 924th squadrons were consolidated into a single unit. The unit was inactivated in 1992, shortly before Strategic Air Command was inactivated and responsibility for the air refueling mission transferred to Air Mobility Command.
History
World War II
The earliest predecessor of the squadron was the 24th Transport Squadron which was activated at Morrison Field, Florida in 1943. The squadron supported the South Atlantic ferrying route of Air Corps Ferrying Command (later Air Transport Command) as Morrison served as the western terminus of the route, processing personnel and equipment for deployment overseas.[2] Although the squadron was stationed at Morrison, its personnel were also used to man other stations of the Caribbean Wing. After a little more than a year of trying to use traditional Table of Organization units like the 24th, Air Transport Command found them too inflexible for its operations. It, therefore, decided to replace its groups and squadrons and assign personnel directly to each of its stations, based on the needs of the station.[3] The squadron was therefore disbanded and its personnel transferred to Station 11, Caribbean Wing, Air Transport Command.
Later, the 93d Air Refueling Squadron assumed the bulk of the tanker training mission[8] and the squadron deployed crews and aircraft to the Western Pacific region to support combat operations during the Vietnam War. The squadron also supported the Pacific, European, and Alaskan Tanker Task Forces.[8] During periods when the 924th was not the primary tanker training unit of the 93d wing, it kept half of the squadron's aircraft on fifteen-minute alert, fully fueled and ready for combat to reduce vulnerability to a Soviet missile strike.[9]
In 1985 the squadron was consolidated with the World War II 24th Transport Squadron.[10] It deployed personnel and equipment to the Middle East in 1990 as part of Operation Desert Shield, and in 1991 for combat operations during Operation Desert Storm.
The 924th had the distinction of having Strategic Air Command's first all-female crew in June 1982,[11] named "Fair Force One". The squadron was inactivated in 1992 as part of drawdown of United States strategic forces after the end of the Cold War and in anticipation of the closure of Castle transfer of air refueling training to Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma.
^Currently a display aircraft, Boeing KC-135A-BN Stratotanker, serial 55-3130, Ole Grandad, was assigned to the 924th from September 1959 to July 1962 and continued to be flown by the squadron until September 1968. "Exhibits/Aircraft: KC-135A". March Field Air Museum. Archived from the original on 21 April 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
^The Air Force Personnel Services web site gives different dates for this award.
^ abcDepartment of the Air Force/MPM Letter 662q, 19 September 85, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Tactical Squadrons
Carter, John D (1955). "The Early Development of Air Transport and Ferrying". In Craven, Wesley F; Cate, James L (eds.). The Army Air Forces in World War II(PDF). Vol. I, Plans and Early Operations. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. LCCN48003657.
Fredrikson, John C. (2011). The United States Air Force: A Chronology. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, LLC. ISBN978-1-59884-682-9.
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