61st Air Base Wing The 61st Air Base Wing ( 61 ABW ) is a wing of the United States Air Force stationed at Los Angeles Air Force Base , El Segundo , California . The 61st is the host unit as Los Angeles AFB , and commands all the Air Force support groups and units assigned to the base . Much of its history and traditions stems from the wartime 61st Troop Carrier Group . Its mission is to provide effective and efficient base operating support to improve wartime readiness and the quality of life of LAAFB customers . History . The wing was activated by the United States Air Forces in Europe in 1948 to control USAFE C - 47 Skytrain and C - 54 Skymaster units . Was controlling organization at Rhein - Main Air Base , West Germany ( 1 July 1948 – 2 June 1951 ) ; Tempelhof Air Base , American Occupation Zone , Berlin ( 1 July - 5 November 1948 ) , and Tulln Air Base , American Occupation Zone , Austria ( 1 July - 10 December 1948 ) . Its initial mission was to coordinate Berlin Airlift operations for USAFE in conjunction with units deployed from the United States and the Royal Air Force . With the end of Berlin Airlift operations in 1949 , flew theater airlift missions within USAFE and participated in numerous exercises . With the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950 , wing deployed its operational component , the 61st Troop Carrier Group to Ashiya Air Base , Japan on 21 July 1950 to reinforce Far East Air Force transport units and perform combat transport operations within South Korea and Japan . With the group deployed to FEAF , the Wing component of the organization was inactivated in West Germany in June 1951 . Reactivated at Hickam AFB , Hawaii in 1966 under Military Airlift Command , replacing inactivated Military Air Transport Service 1502d Air Transport Wing in January 1966 . Provided air transport and support functions for airlift operations in the entire Pacific Ocean area , Alaska to Antarctica , and the United States to Southeast Asia . Supported both scheduled and unscheduled airlifts , primarily in support of United States military forces in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War . The Hickam Aerial Port was a primary destination for United States military personnel on Rest and Recreation ( R & R ) leave from South Vietnam during the Vietnam War , the 61st MAW operating the aerial port and coordinating R & R flights by civilian contract airlines to and from bases in South Vietnam . Assigned airlift squadrons were inactivated in 1968 and 1969 , after which became a Military Airlift Support Wing for Military Airlift Command flights within Pacific Air Forces as well as Naval and Marine Transports supporting their respective organizations in Hawaii . Inactivated 1 July 1993 as a result of the reorganization of Air Mobility Command assets at the end of the Cold War , with equipment and most personnel being reassigned to the 15th Airlift Wing . On 1 October 1994 , the 61st Air Base Wing was reactivated as a non - flying unit at Los Angeles AFB under Air Force Space Command . It has supported the Space and Missile Systems Center from 1994 to the present . Today its units include : Lineage and assignments . Lineage Assignments Components . Groups Squadrons Military Airlift Support Squadrons were support units that had no aircraft of its own , but rather supported the forward operations of aircraft from other MAC units , principally from the CONUS . Furthermore , the support squadron was a consolidation of all the operations and maintenance functions that state - side airlift wings had organized as separate units .