109th Observation Squadron

109th Airlift Squadron
109th Airlift Squadron C-130 in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, prior to airlifting the Mars Institute Humvee
Active	27 August 1917-Present
Country	United States
Allegiance	Minnesota
Branch	Air National Guard
Type	Squadron
Role	Airlift
Part of	Minnesota Air National Guard
Garrison/HQ	Minneapolis–Saint Paul Joint Air Reserve Station, Minnesota
Tail Code	Dark Maroon tail stripe "Minnesota" in yellow letters
Engagements	World War I World War II
Insignia
109th Airlift Squadron emblem

The 109th Airlift Squadron (109 AS) is a unit of the Minnesota Air National Guard 133d Airlift Wing located at Minneapolis–Saint Paul Joint Air Reserve Station, Minnesota. The squadron is equipped with the C-130H Hercules. The 109th AS is the oldest unit in the Minnesota Air National Guard, having over 90 years of service to the state and nation. It is a descendant organization of the World War I 109th Aero Squadron, established on 27 August 1917. It was reformed on 17 January 1921, as the 109th Observation Squadron, being the first of 29 National Guard aviation squadrons to receive federal recognition following World War I.

The 109th Airlift Squadron traces its origins to the 109th Aero Squadron, being organized on 28 August 1917 at Kelly Field, Texas. The men of the squadron were from almost every section of the United States, recruited largely though the Columbus Barracks, Ohio and the Recruit Depot at Fort Thomas, Kentucky. At Kelly Field, the squadron was put into indoctrination training, with drills, hikes, guard duty, fatigue work and other things that are done in military training camps. Once basic indoctrination training was completed, the 109th was ordered for overseas duty, being ordered to report to the Aviation Concentration Center, Garden City, Long Island on 24 October. It was there that final arrangements were made for the trip overseas, complete equipment was drawn and a final few transfers were made. The squadron left Garden City on 7 December 1917 in a train bound for St. John's, Newfoundland, arriving on 10 December. There, it boarded on the it boarded the SS Tuscania, and proceeded across the Atlantic and arrived at Liverpool, England on 26 December. It then moved by train to the English Channel port of Southampton, where it waited at a Rest Camp for several days before crossing to Le Havre, France on 28 December. It again waited for transportation at Le Havre before finally arriving at the Replacement Concentration Center, AEF, St. Maixent Replacement Barracks, France, arriving on 2 January 1918.