Air Resupply And Communications Service The Air Resupply And Communications Service ( ARCS ) is an inactive United States Air Force organization . It was assigned to Andrews Air Force Base , Maryland . Mission . The mission of ARCS was : History . Background . By 1948 , it became apparent to US leadership that the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin could not be appeased , persuaded , or otherwise convinced to respect the territorial rights of its neighbor nations . The United States Air Force ( USAF ) and the Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA ) had been created by the National Security Act of 1947 and activated a short time later . Visionaries in the Pentagon reasoned that the next war would be fought and won ( or lost ) in the minds of those fighting it . Subsequently , the Psychological Warfare Division was established at the Air Staff in February 1948 . By definition psychological warfare in 1948 was synonymous with special operations as defined during World War II . The new Psychological Warfare Division ( also known as PW ) division immediately set about to develop plans to fight this " new " type of warfare , which came to be known as psychological warfare , or PSYWAR for short . In 1950 Air Staff / PW created two special operaions wings devoted to the PSYWAR mission and scheduled them to be activated in 1952 . The plan called for three additional wings to be activated in 1953 , with future growth programmed to seven wings . On 5 January 1951 the Military Air Transport Service ( MATS ) was tasked to organize , train , and equip these new wings . For security purposes , the special operations wings were designated " Air Resupply and Communications wings " . A new service was established to provide oversight for this new capability and was designated the Air Resupply and Communications Service ( ARCS ) . Activated on 23 February 1951 at Andrews AFB , Maryland , the ARCS represented the most ambitious commitment to special operations since World War II and was responsible for oversight of the PSYWAR mission of the US Air Force . The catalyst for this new capability was the requirement by the CIA for long - range air transport of guerrilla warfare agents and supplies into Soviet occupied Europe and Northwest Asia . ARCS was responsible for USAF unconventional warfare ( guerrilla warfare ) , direct action ( commando - type raids ) , strategic reconnaissance ( intelligence gathering ) , and PSYWAR operations . Equipment . Assigned to an Air Resupply Wing were 12 specially modified B - 29 heavy bombers , four C - 119 heavy transports , four SA - 16 amphibians , and four H - 19A helicopters . All aircraft were new , except for the B - 29s , which had been pulled from USAF storage at Warner Robins AFB , Georgia . Five other non - flying squadrons were assigned to support the wing ' s operations by providing maintenance , cargo airdrop rigging , long - range communications , and PSYWAR / leaflet production . One unique squadron was devoted to preparing guerrilla - type personnel for insertion into enemy occupied territory . Extensive modifications were required for the B - 29 Superfortress to enable it to perform the special operations mission . All turrets , except the tail turret , were removed from the aircraft , leaving the aircraft unarmed and incapable of self - defense . A parachutist ’ s exit was made where the belly gun turret was originally located . Resupply bundles were mounted on bomb racks inside the bomb bay , thus allowing the bundles to be dropped like bombs over the drop zone . Aircraft were painted black , and a crude HTR - 13 obstruction - warning radar was installed to warn the crew of approaching terrain . The major flaw in the B - 29 employed in the special operations role , however , was that it had been designed for high - altitude precision bombing , not low - level airdrop . Over the drop zone at drop airspeed , the aircraft was near its stall speed and was difficult to maneuver . A B - 29 was assigned to the 580th ARCW conducted trials at Eglin AFB , Florida , during the summer of 1951 to determine if the aircraft could be used to extract personnel utilizing the prototype Personnel Pickup Ground Station extraction system . The test aircraft was modified with a opening in place of the aft - belly turret and with an elongated tailhook at the rear of the aircraft . The system was similar to the one adopted in 1952 by Fifth Air Force for the C - 47s of the Special Air Missions detachment in South Korea . The tests proved technically feasible , but the project was dropped for the B - 29 aircraft due to aircraft size and safety considerations of flying it so close to the ground . Inactivation . By 1953 USAF interest in the unconventional warfare mission had run its course . The primary reason for this reduction was funding . The Air Force was essentially operating a national - level special operations program for an agency outside the Department of Defense — the CIA — with dollars needed for higher priority strategic forces . With the rapid buildup of the Strategic Air Command to counter Soviet Cold War aggression and the resulting funding requirements , the lesser priority PSYWAR mission was curtailed . In April 1953 the Air Staff directed ARCS to limit operations to Air Force only projects , thus ending support for such outside agencies as the CIA . Nine months later Department of the Air Force Letter 322 and Military Air Transport Service General Order 174 inactivated ARCS , effective 1 January 1954 . In September 1953 , after the Korean Armistice was signed that ended active conflict on the Korean peninsula and three months before inactivation of the ARCS , the three active wings were reduced to air resupply groups . The downsized groups were approximately one - half the size of the former wings and consisted of two squadrons — one flying squadron and one support squadron , as compared to six squadrons in each wing before the reorganization General Order 37 , Headquarters Seventeenth Air Force , dated 12 October 1956 , inactivated the 580th ARG in place in Libya . Third Air Force General Order 86 , dated 18 October 1956 , inactivated the 582d ARS , effective 25 October 1956 . With the inactivation of the 581st at Kadena AB in September 1956 , the USAF closed the book on the long - range unconventional warfare mission around which the ARCS and its associated wings were based . Air National Guard . The Air National Guard ' s introduction to the world of special operations began when MATS began phasing out its Air Resupply units . Despite the decision , there was still a need to maintain a limited number of crews and aircraft to support unconventional warfare missions . After lengthy deliberations , the Air Force decided in 1955 to establish four special air warfare units within the Air National Guard : the 129th Air Resupply Group in California , the 130th in West Virginia , the 143d in Rhode Island , and the 135th in Maryland . Air Commando and modern era . Eight years later , the United States found itself in the Vietnam War , and the formation of the Air Commando , later renamed Special Operations Wings . In 1990 , the Air Force formed the Air Force Special Operations Command .