 | |
| Abbreviation | A/TA |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1969 |
| Type | 501(c)(3) organization |
| Location | |
| Website | www |
Formerly called | Airlift Association (1968–1991) |
The Airlift/Tanker Association (A/TA), formerly the Airlift Association, is an American non-profit organization that supports the United States Air Force's airlift and air mobility operations. The A/TA is a partner of the Air Mobility Command.
In July 1969, members of the 834th Airlift Division who served in the Vietnam War convened for a reunion in Las Vegas, where they formed the Airlift Association. [1] [2] The association was chartered in 1975. It later formed a partnership with the Air Force to train and develop airmen. [3]
The association was renamed the Airlift/Tanker Association in 1992. [2]
The A/TA's leadership included personnel like Air Force general Duane H. Cassidy, who served as Chairman of the Board of Officers from 1999 to 2003. [4]
The association is structured into chapters, which are typically formed on or adjacent to military bases. The chapter needs at least 20 A/TA members and a drafted charter that is presented to the association before it can be approved. [5] Chapters include Robins Air Force Base that was formed in 1992, [6] the Huyser Chapter at Scott Air Force Base named after Robert E. Huyser, [7] and overseas chapters like Luftbrücke and Berlin for air crew who flew in the Berlin Airlift. [8] [9] [10]
Events vary between chapters. Some collaborate with other societies for charity events on base, such as a golf tournament on Dyess Air Force Base between the A/TA's Big Country chapter and Meals on Wheels Plus in Abilene in 1987. [11] Other chapters own and operate historic aircraft like a Douglas DC-4 owned by the Berlin Airlift Association [8] and a Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar on display at Pope Field after its chapter raised money to acquire the plane from the Florence Air & Missile Museum in 1988. [12]
The A/TA hosts the Airlift/Tanker Association Symposium annually in partnership with the Air Mobility Command. [13] Other activities by the association included sponsoring the Air Force Ball in 2012. [14]
The headquarters are located in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It is a 501(c)(3) organization. [15]
The A/TA maintains a Hall of Fame, which has 37 inductees as of 2024 [update] . [16] The Hall of Fame was founded in 1989. [10]
Those enshrined have busts placed at Scott AFB. [17] The sculptures are part of the Airlift Association Hall of Fame Memorial and Walk of Fame, which opened in 1991 as part of the larger Berlin Airlift Memorial Garden. [18] It features a three-ton, eight-foot-by-four-foot slab of the Berlin Wall that was delivered by the association's German chapter Luftbrücke. [19] [10] Founding members of the A/TA also receive busts. [1]
| Year | Inductee | Rank | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Paul K. Carlton | General (Ret.) | [20] |
| 2023 | Civil Reserve Air Fleet | N/A | [21] |
| 2022 | No inductee | ||
| 2021 | Donald D. Brown | Major General | [22] |
| 2020 | Lawrence Lane | Colonel (Ret.) | [23] |
| 2019 | Aerial port squadrons | N/A | [23] |
| 2018 | Walter Kross | General (Ret.) | [19] |
| 2017 | Paul L. Williams | Major General (Ret.) | [24] |
| 2016 | Alan Cobham | N/A | [17] |
| 2015 | The C-17A Pathfinder Loadmasters [a] | N/A | [25] |
| 2014 | Earl B. Young | Colonel (Ret.) | [26] |
| 2013 | Ronald R. Fogleman | General | [27] |
| 2012 | William H. Pitsenbarger | Staff Sergeant | [28] |
| 2011 | Thomas M. Ryan Jr. | Major General (Ret.) | [29] |
| 2009 | The Pioneers of Aerial Refueling [b] | N/A | [30] |
| 2008 | Robert B. Patterson | Major General (Ret.) | [31] |
| 2007 | Aeromedical Evacuation Legacy Team [c] | N/A | [32] |
| 2006 | Duane H. Cassidy | General (Ret.) | [33] |
| 2005 | James I. Baginski | Major General (Ret.) | [34] |
| 2003 | John F. Shea | N/A | [35] |
| 2002 | Carl Spaatz | General | [36] |
| 2001 | Roy W. Hooe | Master Sergeant | [37] |
| 2000 | Winston P. Wilson | Major General | [38] |
| 1999 | Gail Halvorsen | Colonel (Ret.) | [39] |
| 1998 | John Levitow | Sergeant | [40] |
| 1997 | Joe M. Jackson | Colonel | [41] |
| 1997 | William G. Moore Jr. | General | [42] |
| 1996 | Nancy Harkness Love | N/A | [43] |
| 1995 | Joseph Smith | Lieutenant General | [44] |
| 1994 | Robert E. Huyser | General | [45] |
| 1993 | Ira C. Eaker | Lieutenant General | [46] |
| 1992 | C. R. Smith | Major General | [47] |
| 1991 | Harold L. George | Lieutenant General | [48] |
| 1990 | Donald Wills Douglas Sr. | N/A | [49] |
| 1990 | Laurence S. Kuter | General | [50] |
| 1989 | William H. Tunner | Lieutenant General | [51] |