438th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group The United States Air Force ' s 438th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group ( 438 AEG ) is assigned to the 438th Air Expeditionary Wing of USAFCENT and is stationed at Kabul , Afghanistan . The 438th Air Expeditionary Group stood up on 15 January 2007 in Al Anbar province , Iraq to provide close - air support to coalition forces in the region with A - 10 Thunderbolt II aircraft . The unit ' s World War II predecessor unit , the 438th Troop Carrier Group was a C - 47 Skytrain transport unit assigned to Ninth Air Force in Western Europe . Overview . The unit was activated in Al Anbar province , Iraq to provide close - air support to coalition forces in the region with A - 10 Thunderbolt II aircraft . It is composed of deployed aircraft , equipment and personnel from Air Force units around the world . History . World War II . Constituted as 438th Troop Carrier Group on 14 May 1943 . Activated on 1 June 1943 . Trained with C - 47 ' s . Moved to RAF Langar , England in February 1944 and assigned to Ninth Air Force . At Langar , the group was assigned to the 53rd Troop Carrier Wing , however after a month the group was moved south to a new station at RAF Greenham Common . The 438th had the following Troop Carrier squadrons and fuselage codes : The squadrons had 18 airplanes apiece , mostly C - 47s but also a few C - 53s ( modified version of C - 47 ) . At Greenham Common the 438th TCG trained for and participated in airborne operations , flew resupply and reinforcement missions to combat zones , evacuated casualties , and hauled freight . D - Day Operations For its superior flying skills exhibited in extensive daylight and night training , the 438th TCG was selected to lead the IX Troop Carrier Command force in the American airborne landings in Normandy . Prior to the launch , both General Dwight D . Eisenhower and Lt Gen Lewis H . Brereton , Ninth Air Force Commanding General , visited Greenham Common to watch preparations and speak with the troops of the 502d Parachute Infantry Regiment . Eighty - one aircraft , divided into two serials of 36 and 45 aircraft and led by the 87th Troop Carrier Squadron ( 3X ) , took off from the main runway in 15 minutes , commencing at 23 : 48 hours on 5 June . Despite radio black - out , overloaded aircraft , low cloud cover and lack of marked drop zones , they carried 1 , 430 men of the US 101st Airborne Division ' s 502d Parachute Infantry Regiment , who were dropped soon after midnight in the area northwest of Carentan . Glider - borne reinforcement missions followed , and for its determined and successful work the group received a Distinguished Unit Citation . Losses amounted to one C - 47 and a C - 53 , both lost to flak on 7 June . Operation Dragoon On 20 July the air echelons of the 87th , 88th and 89th Troop Carrier Squadrons departed for Canino airbase in Italy in preparation for the August invasion of Southern France , Operation Dragoon . In the invasion , the squadrons dropped paratroops and towed gliders that carried reinforcements . The group also hauled freight in Italy . The 90th TCS stayed in the UK and operated from RAF Welford until the rest of the groups aircraft returned from Italy on 24 August . Operation Market - Garden In September the 368th group helped to supply the Third Army in its push across France , and transported troops and supplies when the Allies launched the airborne operation in Holland . As part of Operation Market Garden , 90 aircraft from the 438th dropped 101st Airborne paratroopers near Eindhoven without loss on 17 September . The next day , 80 aircraft towed gliders again without loss of aircraft , although two gliders aborted and 11 C - 47s suffered flak damage . However , when 40 C - 47s towing 40 CG - 4A Horsa Gliders left Greenham Common on 19 September , things did not go so well in adverse weather . Only half of the gliders were released in the landing zone area , and one C - 47 was shot down and several gliders were lost . A further glider mission by a similar number of aircraft fared no better and another C - 47 was lost . Re - supply missions were flown on 20 September and on the 21st to Overasselt and on the 21st to Son . During the Battle of the Bulge ( December 1944 – January 1945 ) , the group , again headed by the 87th Troop Carrier Squadron , flew air supply missions to battle areas , including the first two flights into beleaguered Bastogne . In February 1945 the groups of the 53d TCW were moved to France , the 438th going to A - 79 Advanced Landing Ground at Pronses . On the continent , the 438th TCG used the following Advanced Landing Grounds : The group evacuated Allied prisoners of war after V - E Day . It returned to Baer AAF Indiana on 16 September 1945 . Cold War . The 438th Troop Carrier Group ( Medium ) was established on 10 May 1949 , at Offut AFB , Nebraska . It was activated in the USAF reserve on 27 June 1949 . The group flew C - 45 , C - 46 and C - 47 aircraft . It was ordered to active service on 10 March 1951 . It was inactivated on 14 March 1951 . The 438th Fighter - Bomber Group was activated at General Billy Mitchell Field , Wisconsin in the reserves flying F - 80 Shooting Stars and later F - 86 Sabres on 15 June 1952 . It was inactivated 16 November 1957 . Modern era . On 1 December 1991 , the unit was activated as the 438th Operations Group as the operational component of 438th Airlift Wing as part of the objective wing implementation . . On 1 October 1993 , the 30th AS was moved w / o / p / e to the 374th Operations Group , Yokota AB , Japan , replacing the 20th AS as part of the Air Force illustrious units realignment . It was replaced by the 13th Airlift Squadron at McGuire which was transferred w / o / p / e from the 18th Operations Group , Kadena AB , Okinawa . A KC - 10 air refueling squadron , the 2d ARS , was assigned to the wing from the former 2d Bomb Wing at Barksdale AFB , Louisiana as part of a major Air Force realignment on 1 October 1994 to have KC - 10 bases with two squadrons of 10 aircraft each . On 1 October 1994 , the 438th Airlift Wing was inactivated , being replaced at McGuire by the 305th Air Mobility Wing which was transferred from Grissom AFB , Indiana when Grissom was realigned to the Air Force Reserve . Global War On Terrorism . The 438th Air Expeditionary Group was activated as part of the Global War On Terror in 2001 .