Global Information834th Airlift Division information
| 834th Airlift Division | |
|---|---|
 C-123 Provider landing at Bien Hoa AB | |
| Active | 1957–1959; 1964–1971; 1972–1974; 1978–1992 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Command of airlift forces |
| Engagements | Vietnam War |
| Decorations | Presidential Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat V Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Gen William G. Moore Jr. Lt Gen Robert F. Coverdale[a] |
| Insignia | |
| 834th Airlift Division emblem[b][1] |  |
The 834th Airlift Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Military Airlift Command, assigned to Twenty-Second Air Force at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, where it was inactivated on 1 April 1992.
The division was first activated in September 1957 at England Air Force Base, Louisiana to command the two fighter-bomber wings stationed there and act as the host organization for England, providing support for all units on the station. It was inactivated in April 1959 when the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing was also inactivated, leaving only a single wing at England. Its support organizations were replaced by organizations assigned to the 401st Tactical Fighter Wing.
The division was activated again in 1964, when England once again supported two fighter wings. However, by 1966, the division's units had deployed overseas, primarily to support the War in Vietnam. By the summer of 1966, the division was stripped of its manning. In October, the 834th transferred on paper to Tan Son Nhut Airport, where it assumed responsibility for controlling all airlift in South Viet Nam.
The 834th was assigned two wings flying Fairchild C-123 Providers and de Havilland Canada C-7 Caribous and controlled Lockheed C-130 Hercules rotated to Vietnam from wings stationed elsewhere. The division earned two Presidential Unit Citations and an Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat "V" Device for its actions, as well as being decorated by the Government of the Republic of Viet Nam. One member of the division, Lt Col Joe M. Jackson, was awarded the Medal of Honor for rescuing a combat control team left behind when an airfield being overrun by the Viet Cong was evacuated.
As American forces were being withdrawn from Vietnam, the division moved to Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas and assumed command of tactical airlift wings located in the western portion of the United States. In December 1974, the division was transferred to Military Airlift Command (MAC) along with other theater airlift units. One month later, it was inactivated and its units transferred to Twenty-Second Air Force.
The division returned to the Pacific in 1978 as the 834th Airlift Division when it assumed responsibility for MAC assets in the Pacific and acted as the airlift adviser for Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). During Desert Storm its commander acted as the commander of airlift forces in Saudi Arabia. The 834th was inactivated when PACAF assumed responsibility for airlift in the Pacific from MAC.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ "Factsheet 834 Air Division". Air Force Historical Research Agency. 11 October 2007. Archived from the original on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2014.