We are The 908th: The 25th Aerial Port Squadron

  • Published
  • By Bradley J. Clark
  • 908th Airlift Wing

Editor’s note: “We are The 908th” is a 16 part series, running biweekly, detailing the workings of the various units in the 908th Airlift Wing. This is part 10, giving insight on the 25th Aerial Port Squadron.

The 25th Aerial Port Squadron is the unit responsible for all management and movement of cargo and passengers transported on any of the 908th Airlift Wing’s nine C-130s.

They do this by providing such functions as: processing personnel and cargo, rigging for airdrop, packing parachutes, loading equipment, preparing air cargo and load plans, loading and securing aircraft, ejecting cargo for inflight delivery, and supervising units engaged in aircraft loading and unloading operations.

Commanded by Lt. Col. Jason Johnson, the squadron’s mission is to, “deploy highly trained, equipped, professional Airmen in support of worldwide aerial port operations and our national security priorities.” Their vision is to be, “the gold standard for the Air Force Reserve Command’s Aerial Port Squadrons, exceeding expectations and goals in all areas and providing unrivaled expertise across the spectrum of military operations.”

According to Johnson, the 25th APS priorities are, “Airdrops, Deployment Readiness, Air Terminal Operations, Base Support.”

In order to accomplish those priorities, the squadron takes its nearly 100 members, six of which are full-timers and more than 90 being traditional reservists, and divides them into six different sections including the air terminal operations center, the load planning section, the special handling section, the ramp section, the passenger section, and the cargo section.

“The air terminal operations center works as a command element in charge of information control and dissemination,” explained Johnson.

“The load planning section is in charge of configuring all of the aircraft loads,” said Johnson.

“The special handling section inspects and processes hazardous materials transiting aircraft,” explained Johnson.

“The ramp section has our material handling equipment operators that load the aircraft,” said Johnson.

“The passenger section runs the passenger terminal, processing passengers for air travel,” explained Johnson.

“The cargo section is in charge of pallet buildup and cargo manifesting,” said Johnson.

That’s all for the 25th Aerial Port Squadron. Check back in a couple of weeks to see what unit will be featured next in “We are The 908th.”