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The 908th Flying Training Wing had an eventful month of September.
The wing remembered an event that took place on Sept. 4, 1977, when Col. Robert Q. Head became the 12th commander of the 908th.
Two days later the wing remembered two significant events from its history. First, on Sept. 6, 1994, the 908th Airlift Group flew 53 Cuban migrants from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to their new temporary home in Panama. This was the first of many flights in the airlift operation over the coming days. A 908th C-130 was prominently featured on the front page of the New York Times.
Then on Sept. 6, 2008, the 908th sent 51 members to Muniz Air National Guard Base, Puerto Rico to support Coronet Oak.
Then on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2023, the wing congratulated 20 members who promoted recently.
Also, on that same day, the 908th Operations Support Squadron held a Ready Airman Training exercise, which was a culmination event for the squadron, after having spent the previous five duty days, spread out since July 2024, covering items such as base defense, tactical combat casualty care, weapons handling, small arms tactics, survival, evasion, resistance and escape tactics and other agile combat employment priorities, giving leadership a chance to test and evaluate multi-capable Airman skills.
During that exercise, the wing made history, twice.
It was the first time an MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopter participated in a training exercise and it was the first time the Grey Wolf was flown by an aircrew made up entirely of Citizen Airmen.
On Sunday the wing remembered that on Sept. 8, 2005, 15 members from the 908th Security Forces Squadron were flown to New Orleans to augment security there in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
On that same day, but in the present, the wing welcomed 15 new members to the unit.
The ninth of September was a busy day for the 908th both in the past.
On Sept. 9, 1994, the 908th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron was constituted.
Then on Sept. 9, 1995, The Autaugaville drop zone was dedicated 12 miles west of Maxwell Air Force Base. 908th C-130s dropped paratroopers from the 20th Special Forces Group, Alabama National Guard to inaugurate the field.
Then running from Sept. 9 to 15, 2002, the 25th Aerial Port Squadron loaded more than 1 million pounds of cargo and 200 personnel in preparation for the 20th Special Forces Group of the Alabama Army National Guard’s deployment to the Middle East.
On Sept. 9, 2023, The 908th Aeromedical Staging Squadron had a change of command ceremony which saw the unit say farewell to outgoing commander, Col. Stephen Secraw, and welcome new incoming commander, Col. Katie Nason.
Then, later that day, the 908th hosted a town hall featuring the 22nd Air Force Command Team, consisting of Commander, (then) Brig. Gen. Melissa Coburn, and (then) Command Chief, Chief Master Sgt. Chin Cox.
Following the town hall, the wing then had a change of command ceremony which saw the wing say farewell to outgoing commander, Col. Craig W. Drescher, and welcome new incoming commander, Col. Christopher K. Lacouture, as the 27th commander of the 908th Airlift Wing.
On Sept. 15, 1995, following Hurricane Marilyn, the 908th flew numerous humanitarian missions to Caribbean islands affected by the storm.
From Sept. 16 to Sept. 20, 2024, the wing hosted the second annual Air Force Reserve Command Historian Symposium.
On Sept. 21, 2007, Aircraft, air crew, maintainers, flight nurses, and medical technicians from the 908th began serving for a year as part of the 775th Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron at Andrews AFB, Maryland. Their primary mission was to transport war-injured patients to care facilities near their homes or permanent duty stations.
On Friday, Sept. 22, 2023, the wing finished a weeklong partnership with the U.S. Army’s Montgomery Recruiting Battalion and the U.S. Army Golden Knights demonstration parachute team.
On Sept. 25 and 26, 2023, the wing highlighted the innovative approach that the 908th Maintenance Group took to enhance readiness via block training.
To close out the month, the wing remembered that on Sept. 30, 1966, the 908th Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, which would later become the 908th Maintenance Squadron, was activated at Brookley Air Force Base, in Mobile, Alabama.
| Date Taken: | 10.05.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 10.06.2024 08:29 |
| Story ID: | 482610 |
| Location: | MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 15 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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Maxwell Air Force Base
