315th Operations Group The 315th Operations Group ( 315 OG ) is a United States Air Force Reserve unit assigned to the 315th Airlift Wing . The unit is stationed at Charleston Air Force Base , South Carolina . The 315 OG controls all operational C - 17 Globemaster III flying squadrons of the 315 AW . The unit ' s World War II predecessor unit , the 315th Troop Carrier Group was a C - 47 Skytrain transport unit assigned to Ninth Air Force in Western Europe . The 315 TCG was highly decorated for its combat parachute infantry drops during the Invasion of France ( Operation Overlord ) ; the airborne invasion of the Netherlands ( Operation Market - Garden ) ; and the airborne crossing of the Rhine River , ( Operation Varsity ) . History . World War II . After training in the US , moved to England , October – November 1942 , for service with Eighth Air Force . Encountering bad weather while flying the North Atlantic route , the air echelon remained for about a month in Greenland , where it searched for missing aircraft and dropped supplies to downed crews . After the air and ground echelons were united in Dec , the group began ferrying cargo in the British Isles and training with airborne troops and gliders . In May 1943 a " detachment " comprising almost all the group aircraft , aircrews , and most support personnel , deployed to North Africa to support Twelfth Air Force and other Mediterranean Theater of Operations organizations during the invasions of Sicily and Italy . Although the group did not participate in the airborne phase of the invasions , it did support those operations by transporting supplies in the theater . In March 1944 the detachment returned to England and rejoined the group , which had been reassigned to Ninth Air Force in October 1943 . Prepared for the invasion of the Continent , and dropped paratroops near Cherbourg early on 6 June 1944 , earning a Distinguished Unit Citation ( DUC ) for its action in the Normandy invasion . Dropped paratroops of the 82d Airborne Division on 17 September 1944 when the Allies launched the air attack on Holland ; flew reinforcement missions on succeeding days , landing at Grave on 26 September to unload paratroops and supplies . Airlifted gasoline and other critical supplies to Antwerp and Liege during the Battle of the Bulge , December 1944 – January 1945 . Released British paratroops near Wesel during the airborne assault across the Rhine in March 1945 . Following each airborne operation , the group resumed transport activities , hauling cargo and evacuating wounded personnel . Moved to France in April 1945 . Transported cargo and evacuated allied former prisoners of war until after V - E Day . Moved to Trinidad in May 1945 and transported troops returning to the US . Inactivated on 31 July 1945 . Cold War . Activated in 1947 , the group was not manned or equipped , and inactivated again in 1948 . Next activated in Japan in 1952 , assigned to Far East Forces , for duty during the Korean War . Flew troop and cargo airlift and airdrop , leaflet drops , spray missions , air evacuation , search and rescue , and other aerial missions between Japan and Korea . Remained in the Far East after the war to fly transport missions and paratroop training flights . Flew missions in Japan , Korea , French Indo - China , and other points until December 1954 . Inactivated in Japan on 18 January 1955 . Organized in South Vietnam in December 1962 , replacing a provisional troop carrier group . Exercised control over USAF airlift resources in Vietnam , using attached squadrons until permanent squadrons were assigned in July 1963 . Provided combat evaluation of YC - 123 aircraft , February – April 1963 . Exercised control of some CV - 2 aircraft of US Army , July – December 1963 and of a CV - 2 Royal Australian Air Force detachment , 1964 – 1966 . Gained the Ranch Hand defoliation mission in July 1964 . Replaced in March 1966 by the 315th Air Commando Wing . Modern era . Activated at Charleston AFB , SC , in the Reserve in August 1992 to control the airlift operations of the 315th Airlift Wing . Flew contingency operation , humanitarian airlift missions , and exercises worldwide , 1992 – . In 1993 , the 315th was the first Air Force Reserve group to fly the C - 17 Globemaster III . It took part in the first US - Russian joint military exercise in 1994 .