World War II ferrying operations

The squadron's first predecessor was activated at Seattle Airport, Washington in March 1942 as the 7th Ferrying Squadron. The 7th ferried lend-lease aircraft to Alaska for turnover to the Soviet Union from June 1942 until disbanding in March 1944.

Southwest Pacific combat airlift

The second predecessor of the squadron was activated at Syracuse Army Air Base, New York on 1 May 1944 as the 7th Combat Cargo Squadron. It deployed to the Southwest Pacific Theater later that year and performed airlift until September 1945. It became part of the Occupation Forces in Japan until inactivating in early 1946. It was disbanded in inactive status on 8 October 1948.

Special weapons airlift

The 7th Logistic Support Squadron is the squadron's third predecessor. It was established at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia in 1954 as an Air Materiel Command unit. Its mission was to provide worldwide airlift of nuclear weapons and related equipment, with a secondary mission to airlift other Department of Defense cargo as required when space was available, using its Douglas C-124 Globemaster IIs. The squadron also provided airlift support during Cuban Missile Crisis from 17–28 October 1962.^[1]

In 1963, the squadron was transferred to Military Air Transport Service (MATS) in a trial to see if MATS airlift units could perform the special weapons transport mission. C-124 Globemaster II strategic transport squadron flying worldwide airlift operations. A year later it became the 7th Air Transport Squadron, Special. The squadron was inactivated on 8 January 1966, when MATS became Military Airlift Command and its squadrons became Military Airlift Squadrons. Its personnel and equipment were transferred to the 58th Military Airlift Squadron, which was simultaneously activated.^{[note 2]}

Airborne command and control

The 7th Airborne Command and Control Squadron was activated at Da Nang Air Base, South Vietnam in March 1968 and performed airborne battlefield command and control (ABCCC) mission in Southeast Asia from its activation until 15 August 1973 and controlled airborne forces during the recovery of the SS Mayagüez in May 1975, in Grenada from, 23 October–21 November 1983, in Panama from, December 1989–January 1992, and in Southwest Asia from, 1 September 1990 – 16 March 1991.^[1]

In 1994, the 7th flag was moved from Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, to Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska where it transitioned from Lockheed EC-130 aircraft flying the ABCCC mission to the Boeing EC-135 aircraft flying the Operation Looking Glass mission in support of nuclear command and control for United States Strategic Command.^[1] The EC-130E aircraft and all squadron personnel moved to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona where they continued performing the ABCCC mission as the 42d ACCS. In October 1998, the Looking Glass mission was transferred to the Navy's Boeing E-6 Mercury fleet, the last of the US Air Force's EC-135 fleet was retired, and the 7th was inactivated.

In March 2008, the unit was converted to provisional status and reactivated - this time as the 7th Expeditionary Airborne Command and Control Squadron to be the forward operating squadron for E-8 Joint STARS, supporting the United States Central Command Area of Responsibility.

Assignments

• Northwest Sector, Ferrying Command (later 7th Ferrying Group), 18 February 1942 – 1 April 1944
• 2d Combat Cargo Group, 1 May 1944 – 15 January 1946
• Warner Robins Air Materiel Area, 18 October 1954
• 3079th Aviation Depot Wing, 6 February 1955
• 39th Logistics Support Group, 1 July 1962
• 62d Troop Carrier Wing, 1 July 1963
• 63d Troop Carrier Wing, 1 July 1964 – 8 January 1966
• Pacific Air Forces, 13 February 1968 (not organized)
• Seventh Air Force, 1 March 1968
• 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, 31 October 1968 (attached to Seventh Air Force)
• 388th Tactical Fighter Wing, 30 April 1972 (attached to Seventh Air Force to 15 August 1973, U.S. Support Activities Group/Seventh Air Force to c. 21 May 1974)
• 374th Tactical Airlift Wing, 22 May 1974 (attached to Thirteenth Air Force)
• 3d Tactical Fighter Wing, 31 March 1975 (attached to Thirteenth Air Force)
• 507th Tactical Air Control Group, 14 August 1975
• 552d Airborne Warning and Control Wing (later 552d Airborne Warning and Control Division), 1 October 1976
• 28th Air Division, 1 April 1985 (attached to Air Division Provisional, 15, 5 December 1990 – c. 16 March 1991)
• 552d Operations Group, 29 May 1992
• 55th Operations Group, 19 July 1994 – 1 October 1998
• Air Combat Command to activate or inactivate any time after 19 March 2008

379th Air Expeditionary Wing, 27 March 2008 – present^[1]

Stations

Aircraft

• Douglas C-47 Skytrain (1944–1945)
• Curtiss C-46 Commando (1944–1945)
• Douglas C-124 Globemaster II (1954–1966)
• Lockheed EC-130 (1968–1994)
• Boeing EC-135 (1994–1998)
• Boeing E-8 Joint STARS (2008–present)^[1]

Operations

• World War II
• Vietnam War
• Operation Urgent Fury
• Operation Just Cause
• Operation Desert Storm
• Operation Deny Flight
• Operation Deliberate Force
• Operation Decisive Endeavor
• Operation Uphold Democracy
• Operation Iraqi Freedom
• Operation Enduring Freedom

Notes

Explanatory notes

Citations

Bibliography

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Endicott, Judy G. (1998). Active Air Force Wings as of 1 October 1995 and USAF Active Flying, Space, and Missile Squadrons as of 1 October 1995 (PDF). Air Force History and Museums Program. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ASIN B000113MB2. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
• Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9. Retrieved 17 December 2016.