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.
History 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. The association was chartered in 1975. It later formed a partnership with the Air Force to train and develop airmen.
The association was renamed the Airlift/Tanker Association in 1992.
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.
The headquarters are located in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It is a 501(c)(3) organization.
Activities 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. Chapters include Robins Air Force Base that was formed in 1992, the Huyser Chapter at Scott Air Force Base named after Robert E. Huyser, and overseas chapters like Luftbrücke and Berlin for air crew who flew in the Berlin Airlift.
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. Other chapters own and operate historic aircraft like a Douglas DC-4 owned by the Berlin Airlift Association 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.
The A/TA hosts the Airlift/Tanker Association Symposium annually in partnership with the Air Mobility Command. Other activities by the association included sponsoring the Air Force Ball in 2012.
In 2023, the A/TA held the annual four-day Professional Military Education Convention & Symposium, which includes 36 educational seminars, individual and organizational awards for educational, skills, valor and leadership recognition.
The 56th annual Airlift/Tanker Association Symposium was held from 31 October to 3 November 2024 in Grapevine, Texas and was attended by Air Force and Joint Force leaders, industry partners and more than 1,000 Airmen. At the event, Air Mobility Command and the A/TA provided recognition to 28 individuals, two wings and one group. The Lt. Gen. James E. Sherrard III Award was presented to the 439th Airlift Wing, the Abilene Trophy was presented to the Leadership Council of Southwestern Illinois, and the Tampa Bay Trophy was presented to Chairman Mark Kern.
The A/TA publishes a serial publication called the Airlift/Tanker Quarterly.
Hall of Fame The A/TA maintains a Hall of Fame, which has 37 inductees . The Hall of Fame was founded in 1989.
Those enshrined have busts placed at Scott AFB. 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. 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. Founding members of the A/TA also receive busts.
Year Inductee Rank Ref 2026 No inductee 2025 Colonel 2024 General (Ret.) 2023 Civil Reserve Air Fleet N/A 2022 No inductee 2021 Major General 2020 Colonel (Ret.) 2019 Aerial port squadrons N/A 2018 General (Ret.) 2017 Major General (Ret.) 2016 N/A 2015 The C-17A Pathfinder Loadmasters N/A 2014 Colonel (Ret.) 2013 General 2012 Staff Sergeant 2011 Major General (Ret.) 2009 The Pioneers of Aerial Refueling N/A 2008 Major General (Ret.) 2007 Aeromedical Evacuation Legacy Team N/A 2006 General (Ret.) 2005 Major General (Ret.) 2003 N/A 2002 General 2001 Master Sergeant 2000 Major General 1999 Colonel (Ret.) 1998 Sergeant 1997 Colonel 1997 General 1996 N/A 1995 Lieutenant General 1994 General 1993 Lieutenant General 1992 Major General 1991 Lieutenant General 1990 N/A 1990 General 1989 Lieutenant General
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