817th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron The 817th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron ( 817 EAS ) is a provisional United States Air Force unit . It is currently engaged in combat operations in Southwest Asia ; its current assignment and station being undisclosed . During World War II as the 817th Bombardment Squadron , it was one of the last B - 17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber squadrons deployed to Southern Italy as part of the Fifteenth Air Force 483d Bombardment Group in March 1944 . Mission . The 817 EAS is equipped with C - 17 Globemaster III transports and supports Coalition forces engaging in combat operations as part of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom , and also operates in the Horn of Africa . The mission of the 817h EAS is to provide global strategic airlift , airdrop , aeromedical evacuation and humanitarian relief , to create an air bridge for personnel , equipment and supplies throughout their assigned areas of responsibility . History . Established in late 1943 as a B - 17 Flying Fortress heavy bombardment squadron , trained under Third Air Force in Florida . Was deployed to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations ( MTO ) , being assigned to Fifteenth Air Force in Southern Italy . Engaged in long - range strategic bombardment of enemy military , industrial and transport targets , including oil refineries and production oilfields in Italy ; France ; Southern Germany ; Austria and the Balkans . Continued strategic bombardment until German capitulation in May 1945 . After V - E Day , was assigned to Air Transport Command Green Project which was the movement of troops from Pisa Airfield staging area in Morocco . B - 17s were dearmed with flooring and seats for 25 passengers installed . Crew consisted of Pilot , Co - Pilot , Navigator and Flight Engineer . Carried passengers from Pisa to Port Lyautey Airfield , French Morocco where ATC transports moved them across the Atlantic or to Dakar for movement via South Atlantic Transport Route . Inactivated in Italy in September 1945 . Reactivated by Far East Air Force in 1952 in Japan as a C - 119 Troop Carrier squadron . Engaged in combat operations in South Korea transporting personnel and supplies to front - line units , under hazardous conditions . Also evacuated wounded personnel to hospital facilities in South Korea and Japan . Remained in Japan after the 1953 Armistice , providing intra - theater transport within Japan , South Korea and Okinawa . Moved to Okinawa in 1958 , re - equipped with C - 130A Hercules aircraft . Continued intra - theater transport operations , also flying to locations in the Philippines , Thailand and Indochina , supporting United States civilian and military personnel assigned to the region . As the United States increased its combat presence in Indochina in the early 1960s , made frequent flights to airfields in South Vietnam and to locations within the country . As in South Korea , the flights within South Vietnam were extremely hazardous as the squadron operated within combat areas and frequently were under fire from communist forces during takeoff , landing and ground operations . Inactivated in 1970 as part of the drawdown of US forces in Southeast Asia . Reactivated in 2002 as a C - 17 Globemaster III squadron as part of the Global War on Terrorism . Provides intra - theater transport within Southwest Asia and other locations as directed in support of units engaged in combat operations .