517th Airlift Squadron The 517th Airlift Squadron ( 517 AS ) is part of the 3d Wing at Joint Base Elmendorf - Richardson , Alaska . It operates C - 12 Huron and C - 17 Globemaster III aircraft providing airlfit in the Pacific theater . Mission . The 517th Airlift Squadron provides tactical airlift operating C - 17 and C - 12F aircraft . Supporting worldwide airlift , airdrop , airland requirements while providing airlift for theater deployed forces and resupply of remote Alaskan long - range radar sites in support of PACOM , NORAD , and TRANSCOM . Provides aircrew qualification training for the U . S . Air Force . History . Activated in December 1940 flying converted Douglas DC - 2 transport aircraft as a GHQ Air Force transport squadron . Converted to C - 47 Skytrain s in early 1942 , trained under I Troop Carrier Command for combat operations . Assigned to VIII Air Support Command , Eighth Air Force and deployed to England in August 1942 , providing transport to the newly established American Air Force . Was transferred to Algiers , Algeria in November 1942 , and attached , being later assigned to Twelfth Air Force as part of the North African Campaign . The squadron ' s aircraft flew supplies to front - line units in Algeria and Tunisia during the as soon as suitable landing strips were available and evacuated casualties back to rear area field hospitals . A flight of the squadron deployed to Tenth Air Force in India during the fall of 1942 , to assist in the re - supply of Brigadier General Merrill and his men , affectionately known as " Merrill ' s Marauders " . It was during this Ceylon , Burma , India campaign that the squadron received its first Distinguished Unit Citation , returning to Tunisia by the end of the year . The squadron moved to Sicily , dropping airborne forces onto the island during Operation Husky , then moved to forward airfields in Italy during 1943 as part of the Italian Campaign . Just prior to " D " Day , part of the 16th left India for Italy to tow gliders into France on " D " Day . In July 1944 , the detached unit was joined by the remainder of the 16th TCS at Ciampino , Italy and as the European Theater closed in on Germany , part of the 16th again went on detached service to Rosignano , Italy , operating re - supply missions to Greek Partisans during September to October 1944 . In the fall of 1944 , moved to France in support of Operation Anvil , the Allied invasion of Southern France , and supported ground forces moving north through the Rhone Valley to link up with Allied forces moving east from Normandy . Returned to Northern Italy in early 1945 , supporting the drive into the Po River Valley and the end of combat in Italy during May 1945 . The squadron also hauled food , clothing , medicine , gasoline , ordnance equipment , and other supplies to the front lines and evacuated patients to rear zone hospitals . In late May 1945 , after V - E Day , the squadron was moved to Waller Field , Trinidad and attached to Air Transport Command . From Trinidad , the squadron ferried returning military personnel to Morrision Field , Florida , where they were sent on to other bases or prepared for separation after the war . Inactivated at the end of July 1945 . It was activated but unmanned from 1947 - 1948 . When reactivated again in the 1960 it resupplied Distant Early Warning ( DEW ) line sites in Northern Canada and radar sites in Greenland . Parts of the squadron deployed to South Vietnam from 1967 - 1968 to provide tactical airlift . It provided intratheater airlift within Alaska including support to forward operating bases , airland / airdrop of troops , equipment and supplies , and search and rescue as required . It provided C - 130 aircraft and crews for Pacific airlift to Southwest Asia , August – November 1990 . Since 1992 the 517th provided worldwide combat airdrop , tactical air / land , operational support airlift , airlift for theater deployed forces and resupply of remote Alaskan long - range radar sites in support of PACAF . It has provided continuous rotational airlift and airdrop support in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2004 . The 517th was among first United States units to participate in relief efforts following the Asian tsunami that occurred on 26 December 2004 .