403d Wing 403d Wing is a unit of the United States Air Force assigned to the Air Force Reserve Command . It is located at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi , and employs a military manning authorization of more than 1 , 400 reservists , including some 250 full - time air reserve technicians . It also controls an active duty " associate " airlift squadron consisting of active duty Regular Air Force personnel integrated into the operations of its AFRC airlift squadron . Mission . The 403d Wing provides command and staff supervision to assigned squadrons and flights that support tactical airlift missions . These missions include airlift of personnel , equipment and supplies . Additionally , the wing is the only unit in the Department of Defense tasked to organize , equip , train and perform all hurricane weather reconnaissance in support of the Department of Commerce . The 403d is gained upon mobilization by the Air Mobility Command and will execute missions in support of the theater commander , such as resupply , employment operations within the combat zone or forward area , and when required , aeromedical , refugee evacuation and augmentation of other airlift forces . History . Activated in 1949 as a C - 46 Commando Troop Carrier Wing . Ordered to Active Service on 1 April 1951 for duty during the Korean War . The 403d was one of the six units initially assigned to the Eighteenth Air Force , Tactical Air Command , was eventually sent to the Far East . The 403d mobilized at Portland Municipal Airport , Oregon . The wing trained at home in its C - 46s and participated in Eighteenth Air Force ’ s routine training exercises for the next eleven months . On 11 February 1952 , however , the Eighteenth Air Force directed it to transfer its C - 46s and prepare to move overseas by 25 March 1952 . By 14 April , it was in place at Ashiya AB , Kyushu , Japan . There it acquired a second group and some independent squadrons . Upon arrival at Ashiya , the 403d immediately converted to C - 119s . This action finally solved the Far East Air Force ’ s year - old problem of providing the Army with sufficient lift to handle the 187th Regimental Combat Team intact . The new arrangement was soon put to the test . In May 1952 , the 403d airlifted the 187th Regimnental Combat Team to Pusan in an expedited movement incident to the quelling of a communist prisoner - of - war riot at Koje - do Island . The wing ’ s subsequent operations encompassed airborne assault training , airdrop resupply , air landed resupply , and air movement of complete units in the Far East . It engaged in a number of airborne training missions with the 137th Regimental Combat Team . In October 1952 the wing participated in an airborne feint which was part of a United Nations Command amphibious demonstration off eastern Korea After it had served the prescribed twenty - one months on active military service , the 403d Troop Carrier Wing was inactivated on 1 January , and returned to reserve status . Cold War and after . Performed routine airlift training the Reserve , 1953 - 1962 . During that time , the wing also supported Army airdrop training , ferried aircraft to various parts of the country and the world , took part in training exercises , and performed humanitarian missions as needed . Served on active duty during Cuban Missile Crisis , Oct Nov 1962 . In 1963 , it moved US troops to the Dominican Republic and airlifted Christmas gifts destined for US servicemen in Vietnam . After a period of uncertainty from 1969 to 1971 , when it served as a composite wing with a variety of missions and aircraft , the 403d returned to tactical airlift missions . From 1971 to 1976 , the wing took part in several tactical exercises and humanitarian airlift operations . During that time it also ferried aircraft , supplies , and equipment to US forces in Vietnam and other points in the Far East . In 1976 and 1977 , the wing began to perform search and rescue , aeromedical evacuation , and weather reconnaissance missions . Its crews and aircraft flew into hurricanes to determine their intensities and movements . In 1978 , after a mass suicide at Jonestown in Guyana , the wing helped recover the bodies of US citizens . After the eruption of Mount St . Helens ( Washington ) in 1980 , the wing participated in search and rescue efforts . Its most memorable accomplishments , however , have been while flying reserve - status humanitarian airlift missions such as those flown during Operation Provide Relief , rescue missions supporting the space shuttle program , providing airlift support to U . S . Southern Command and U . S . embassies within Central and South America , and participating in real - world war contingencies such as Operations Just Cause , Desert Shield , Desert Storm , Provide Promise , Provide Comfort , Uphold Democracy , and Provide Relief . On 6 August 2010 the wing received operational control of the activated 345th Airlift Squadron " The Golden Eagles , " the first C - 130 active associate squadron in the Air Mobility Command , and began integrating its personnel with the operations of the AFRC 815th AS . However on 21 March 2013 the wing announced that beginning in October 2013 it would be redeploying its 10 C - 130J aircraft to Pope Air Force Base , North Carolina , in preparation for inactivation of the 815th AS under the Force Structure Action Implementation Plan . The status of the 345th AS remained undetermined , and that of the 53d Weather Reconnaissance Squadron was unaffected . Components . Groups Squadrons