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|   | ![]       | FACT SHEET                                           |
|   | (media/im |                                                      |
|   | age1.emf) | 302ND AIRLIFT WING                                   |
|   |           |                                                      |
|   |           | Public Affairs 860 Mitchell St. Ste 138 Peterson     |
|   |           | AFB, CO 80914-8010 Phone (719) 556-4117              |
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302nd Airlift Wing

Air Force Reserve

The 302nd Airlift Wing, the only Air Force Reserve flying unit in
Colorado, is the largest tenant organization at Peterson AFB.
Approximately 1,300 reservists and 200 full-time personnel are assigned
to the 302nd AW, which is one of 17 C-130 Reserve units located
throughout the nation.

The unit is authorized and assigned 16 C-130H3 Hercules aircraft. These
aircraft are flown by the 731st Airlift Squadron.

The mission of the 302nd AW is to train, equip, and employ airlift
forces in world-wide support of our nation's vital interests. In
wartime, the applicable military theater commander uses the aircrews and
C-130s to conduct those same operations. Airlift is critical to today's
Defense, since units are increasingly based in the United States instead
of pre-deployed as in the past. With the high quality airlift forces
available to the Total Force, a unit can be activated and deployed from
the U.S. to any location in the world within 72 hours.

Other 302nd AW missions include the Modular Airborne Firefighting System
(MAFFS), which supports the U.S. Forest Service; support of aeromedical
evacuations; and humanitarian flights. The 302nd AW is the only Air
Force Reserve unit trained and equipped for the MAFFS mission. The
unit's C-130s are loaded with a system designed to air-drop
fire-retardant chemicals used in fighting forest fires and fertilizing
the forest to generate quick regrowth. The 302nd AW has conducted
firefighting response in Colorado, California, Oregon and Idaho.

The 302nd AW also provides support to 310th Space Group, the Air Force
Reserve's only space operations group. Operating out of facilities at
SchrieverAFB, Colo., the 310^th^ SG supports active duty operations,
activities include: satellite emergencies, launch and early orbit,
day-to-day routine operations, support of the Global Positioning System
and Defense Support Program satellites, and the monitoring, directing
and integrating space unit systems.

The C-130H3 is the latest model of the reliable military cargo plane
produced since 1953. The C-130 has a crew of five people: pilot;
co-pilot; navigator; flight engineer; and loadmaster. The aircraft
carries 92 combat troops, 64 paratroops, or 71 patients and two medical
technicians when configured for aeromedical evacuation.

C-130H-model enhancements include features to improve maintainability,
reliability, protection and performance. The Lockheed aircraft boasts
state-of-the-art avionics and more powerful engines, which increase its
allowable cargo load, range and altitude capability. It was designed to
better protect its aircrews by using sensor equipment that warns of
oncoming aircraft or incoming missiles. It is also equipped with
dispensers that release chaff and flares that decoy enemy missiles away
from the aircraft. Other enhancements include Global Positioning System,
Low Power Color Radar and night-vision interior lighting that allows
aircrews to use night-vision goggles for operations in very low light
conditions.

The 302nd AW is assigned to 22nd Air Force, Dobbins ARB, Ga. The 302nd
AW comes under the operational control of Air Force Reserve Command,
Robins AFB, Ga. In the event the unit is called to active duty through
presidential order, the 302nd AW is currently gained by 15th Air Force,
Travis AFB, Calif., and would become an active-duty unit under Air
Mobility Command, headquartered at Scott AFB, Ill.

The 302nd AW is organized under the Objective Wing structure, with three
groups, the 302nd Operations, Logistics and Support Groups, which in
turn, have various squadrons assigned. Assigned unit functions include
flying operations, maintenance, human resources and other wing support
services. The 302nd Aeromedical Staging Squadron is also assigned to the
wing. Upon activation, they deploy world-wide and operate from
prepositioned facilities to provide medical care of transient patients,
along with transport of patients to and from aircraft.

-MORE-

Established as the 302nd Troop Carrier Wing on May 16, 1949, the 302nd
AW was first activated by the Reserve on June 27, 1949. In the
mid-1950s, the wing flew airlift operations in the U.S. and overseas.
The 302nd AW was called to active duty during the Cuban missile crisis
of 1962. During the 1960s, wing aircraft and crews performed world-wide
airlift missions and participated in numerous tactical exercises. The
unit was deactivated on April 1, 1981. In mid-1983, the unit, then
designated the 901st Tactical Airlift Group, located to
newly-constructed facilities on Peterson AFB. It was reactivated on
April 1, 1985.

The wing received one of its biggest tests in 1990-91 with Operations
Desert Shield and Storm. More than 600 wing members, including flying,
air cargo, medical and maintenance personnel, were deployed to the
Persian Gulf, England and stateside locations to support active duty
operations. At the end of the Gulf War, the 302nd AW supported Operation
Provide Comfort by air-dropping food and supplies to the Kurdish
refugees. The wing supported Operations Provide Relief and Restore Hope
in Somalia, Coronet Oak in Panama, Operation Provide Promise's
humanitarian airlift to Bosnia, and hurricane relief to Homestead AFB,
Fla. In addition, the 302nd AW provided support for Operation Restore
Democracy in Haiti. The 302nd AW has also participated in large-scale
exercises, such as Red Flag. Its support units deployed all over the
world to train and augment active duty-units.

With their proud heritage, highly-trained personnel and C-130 aircraft,
the 302nd "Airlifters" stand ready to support "Global Reach \-- Global
Power" wherever and whenever necessary.

(Current as of March 1999)