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NEXT SUMMER... |
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17th TC Squadron Moving to Alaska |
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The Air Force announced Monday in Washington that one C-130 troop carrier squadron will be transferred from Dyess AFB to Elmendorf AFB in Alaska next summer. The office of Rep. Omar Burleson of Anson was notified that three C-130 squadrons will remain at Dyess. |
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Photo by Nolan Bailey, April 64 |
Informed of the announcement Monday night, Col. Burl McLaughlin, commander of the 516th Troop Carrier Wing at Dyess, said that the unit to move to Alaska will be the 17th Troop Carrier Squadron, which he said is the smallest of the squadrons under his command. The announcement came as no surprise since such was indicated when the four squadrons of C-130s were moved into Dyess in the spring of 1962. |
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Dyess formerly was a base for B-47s of the Strategic Air Command. When the B-47s were phased out and Dyess was preparing its runways for SAC's heavier B-52s, the C-130 Tactical Air Command planes were able to continue operations from Dyess. Last week Dyess received 13 of its 17 B-52s. |
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The decision announced Monday will mean the move to Elmendorf AFB will decrease personnel by 490, but that the additional 240 personnel remaining from the 1962 transfer to Dyess will mean an increase in base personnel, the Air Force explained in Washington. |
Photo by Nolan Bailey, April 1964 |
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Col. McLaughlin said the 12 C-130D aircraft of the 17th TC Squadron are equipped with skis. Their function is to support stations along the DEW (Distance Early Warning) line. In that function the planes have been about 3,000 miles from the points they service and such a move to Alaska seems logical for the squadron, the colonel said. No more exact time for the transfer has been announced. |
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Press release circa January, 1964. Article courtesy of: EDITOR'S NOTE: The first 17th TCS crew was transferred from Dyess AFB to Elmendorf AFB on April 1, 1964. Crew members were Richard L.W. "Dick" Henry (Aircraft Commander), Nolan W. Bailey (Copilot), Lee Sorensen (Navigator), Dewey Palmer (Flight Engineer), and Andrew "Andy" Jones (Loadmaster).
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