15th Airlift Squadron The 15th Airlift Squadron ( 15 AS ) is part of the 437th Airlift Wing at Charleston Air Force Base , South Carolina . It operates C - 17 Globemaster III aircraft supporting the United States Air Force global reach mission world wide . 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 Twelfth Air Force and deployed North Africa during May 1943 . The squadron ' s aircraft flew supplies to front - line units in Algeria and Tunisia during the North African Campaign as soon as suitable landing strips were available and evacuated casualties back to rear area field hospitals . Squadron engaged in combat operations , dropping airborne units into Sicily during the Operation Husky invasion and later into areas around Anzio , Italy as part of Operation Shingle , the invasion of mainland Italy and the initiation of the Italian Campaign , January 1944 . Moved north though Italy , in 1943 in support of Allied ground forces , evacuated wounded personnel and flew missions behind enemy lines in Italy and the Balkans to haul guns , ammunition , food , clothing , medical supplies , and other materials to the partisans and to drop propaganda leaflets . Was moved to England in February 1944 , assigned to IX Troop Carrier Command , Ninth Air Force . Prepared for the invasion of Nazi - occupied Europe . In June 1944 , subordinate units dropped paratroops in Normandy , subsequently flying numerous missions to bring in reinforcements and needed supplies . During the airborne attack on The Netherlands ( Operation Market Garden , September 1944 ) , the squadron dropped paratroops , towed gliders , and flew resupply missions . Several of its subordinate units also participated in the invasion of southern France in August 1944 . The 50th supported the 101st Airborne Division in the Battle of the Bulge by towing gliders full of supplies near Bastogne on 27 December 1944 . When the Allies made the air assault across the Rhine River in March 1945 , each aircraft towed two gliders with troops of the 17th Airborne Division and released them near Wesel . 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 . During the Cold War the 4th was involved in the Berlin Airlift from 1948 – 1949 ; aerial transport from the U . S . to Japan , August – December 1950 ; and between Japan and Korea , 13 December 1950 – November 1952 . It has carried out worldwide airlift since 1953 , including to Southeast Asia from 1966 – 1973 and supporting military operations in Grenada , October – November 1983 ; Panama , 18 December 1989 – 8 January 1990 and to Southwest Asia , August 1990 – January 1991 .