One Hundred Years of Flight USAF Chronology ... - The Air University

1997
Group, airlifted 1,160 peacekeepers and 452 tons of their cargo from
various African countries to Liberia.
March 17: Operation GUARDIAN RETRIEVAL evacuated U.S. citizens and
other foreigners from Zaire, where civil unrest threatened them. Special
Operations Command provided personnel and aircraft for the
joint task force, including MC–130s and MH–53s. Air Mobility Command
C–5s, C–17s, C–141s, and KC–135s also took part. By the end of
March, the operation had flown 57 missions and had transported 532
passengers.
March 21: At Pensacola, Florida, Lt. Col. Marcelyn A. Atwood became the
first woman to command a training squadron and the first USAF officer
to command a Navy squadron. The squadron trained both Air
Force and Navy pilots.
April 1: B–2s became operational at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri,
where six of the aircraft were initially based to serve with the 509th
Bomb Wing.
The Air Force’s B–2 Spirit, with an unrefueled range of approximately 6,000 nautical
miles, can deliver a variety of precision-guided munitions.
April 1: Air Mobility Command acquired all stateside C–130 units from Air
Combat Command.
June 10: An MC–130 crew from the 352d Special Operations Group evacuated
56 people, including 30 U.S. citizens, from Brazzaville, Congo, to
save them from civil strife. Under the command of Lt. Col. Frank J.
Kisner, USAF, the crew earned the Mackay Trophy for the outstanding
flight of the year.
August 1: The aircraft corporations Boeing and McDonnell Douglas
merged, leaving only one U.S. manufacturer of large airliners.
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