445 AW left mark during Desert Shield/Desert Storm Published Jan. 21, 2016 By 445th Airlift Wing Public Affairs WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- As the Nation and Air Force reflects back on the 25th Anniversary of Desert Storm, the men and women of the 445th Airlift Wing that served during this time were key contributors to earn a spot in history for the wing. On August 2, 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. Almost immediately, local proficiency training took a back seat to the real world mission of the wing deploying troops and equipment in support of Operation Desert Shield. There was an initial surge of troops and equipment reflected in the hours flown from a scheduled 1,069.6 to actually flying 2,233.3 hours for August 1990 alone. On January 16, 1991, Desert Shield became Desert Storm and the air attacks of Iraq began. The military was already mobilizing many Reserve and Guard units including a number of the wing's personnel. To support this mass mobilization effort, the wing flew more than 2,500 hours January 1991 and peaked in February with almost 3,700 hours. On February 23, 1991, the ground forces assaulted Iraq for 100 hours ending on February 27. Over the next few months, the flying squadrons continued to fly support missions stateside and to the Middle East. They also flew many missions to redeploy troops back to the states. By the end of July 1991, most of the mobilized troops were home. During the 12 months ending on July 31, 1991, the wing flew a total of 25,346.4 hours, which was equivalent to 425 percent of their pre-scheduled hours. Aircrews flew 16,051.5 of those hours from the first of January to the end of May, or 823 percent of their pre-scheduled hours. From August 8, 1990 to June 11, 1991, aircrews flew 441 missions for a total of 21,393.7 hours in direct support of Operations Desert Shield and Storm. The wing deployed more than 200 Airmen from the 68th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron to form medical crews consisting of two nurses and five technicians. These crews were deployed to several bases throughout England and Germany. The 445th also deployed more than 100 people from the 42nd Aeromedical Patient Staging Squadron into the theater of operations. Although the 906th Fighter Group was not called up as a group to support Desert Storm, requests for individual volunteers from the 401st Combat Logistics Support Squadron came down with the squadron offering 104 volunteers. Based on the need for only certain job specialties, the Air Force activated only 18 of those volunteers. In total, 486 members - almost 38 percent - of the 906th TFG volunteered for active duty in support of Desert Shield. Prior to December 14, 1990, all wing personnel involved in the operation were volunteers. The following reflects all deployed troops from the 445th Military Airlift Wing and where they went: - 42nd Aeromedical Patient Staging Squadron, 113 people, mobilized December 14, 1990 to March 8, 1991 to Southwest Asia - 68th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, 207 people, mobilized January 21 - March 14, 1991 to Europe and Southwest Asia - 445th Airlift Control Flight, 8 people, mobilized March 11-June 5, 1991, stateside - 445th Civil Engineer Squadron, 30 people, mobilized January 19 - May 15, 1991, stateside - 445th Combat Support Squadron, 2 people, mobilized February 15 - March 8, 1991, assisted their active duty counterparts in the transportation, fuels and administrative areas - 445th Security Police Flight, 44 people, mobilized January 24 - April 11, 1991, home station - 445th USAF Clinic (Associate), 83 people, mobilized January 25 - March 8, 1991, home station - 729th Military Airlift Squadron, 191 people, mobilized February 24 - June 15, 1991, home station - 730th Military Airlift Squadron, 193 people, mobilized February 19 - June 15, 1991, home station - The 40th Mobile Aerial Port Squadron and the 87th Aerial Port Squadron filled in to help with the giant airlift of the operations More than 250 Airmen from five units attached to the 907th Tactical Airlift Group deployed to Southwest Asia from January 25 to June 14, 1991 in support of Operation Desert Storm. While in Southwest Asia, the group worked alongside other Military Airlift Command units to shuttle Desert Storm cargo and personnel around the theater on C-130 Hercules aircraft. The 356th Tactical Airlift Squadron (deployed) flew more than 2,000 sorties, compiling more than 3,600 flight hours. The unit hauled more than 4,400 tons of cargo and transported more than 13,000 passengers in performance of its wartime mission. Following the cessation of hostilities, the wing's flying squadrons continued to fly support missions stateside and to the Middle East, but they also flew many missions to redeploy troops back to the states. The 906th conducted 16 deployments, six of which were in support of Desert Storm, either as back-fill for deployed active duty or for direct logistics and maintenance support.