HEADQUARTERS 516TH TROOP CARRIER WING (MED) (TAC) UNITED STATES AIR FORCE DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, TEXAS
REPLY TO ATTN OF: C	25 June 1964
SUBJECT: Recommendation for the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award TO: 839 Air Div (C)
1. The organization named below is recommended for award of the unit decora- tion indicated for meritorious service during the period 1 July 1962 through 15 June 1964.

		a. 17th Troop Carrier Squadron b. Air Force Outstanding Unit Award.
2. The 64th Troop Carrier Wing was activated at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, on 8 February 1961 with an initial manning cadre of 9 officers and 97 airmen. Concurrent with its parent wing, the 17th Troop Carrier Squadron was activated with a personnel complement of 3 officers and 26 airmen. From this date until the first of April 1961, the 17th Troop Carrier Squadron had only evolved to an organizational strength of 13 officers and 80 airmen and did not yet pos- sess any aircraft or really stable organization. However, it was scheduled to commence receiving the C-130D, ski-equipped Hercules, during the month of April and, even in the face of the imposing odds attendant to developing a fledgling flying squadron into a crack assault airlift unit, was also pro- grammed to perform operational missions that same month. This was a real challenge; the mastery of which would only be possible through professional and dedicated airmanship on a long sustained basis. The initial cadre of "ski-qualified" aircrew personnel drawn from Sewart Air Force Base, Tennessee, to man and organize the unit were certainly not lacking in these vital quali- ties. They at once entered into the serious business of assuming operational responsibility for the hazardous ice cap mission at the same time they were passing their hard won skills on to other crews being newly formed. Results were certainly not long in forthcoming. The combat ready date set for the new unit by the Tactical Air Command was met earlier, in fact, by several weeks. Even before, it attained its coveted C-l rating, it had assumed full responsibility for the ice cap mission. Nor was there any break in the con- tinuity of this vital life line while it was being transferred from the pio- neering unit at Sewart.
	a. While there is no intent to dwell on prior history, a knowledge of this unit's background and the remarkable progress it made in a year's time is essential to accurately depict the magnitude of its subsequent accomplish- ments. The 17th Troop Carrier Squadron commenced to hit full operational stride in the late spring of 1962. By early summer it had reached a standard of optimum operational effectiveness which it consistently maintained for the next two year period. The significant point which must be remembered through- out the narrative following is that the 17th Squadron was never a large unit.

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