Minneapolis–Saint Paul Joint Air Reserve Station

In 1928 Naval Reserve Air Station Minneapolis was created At Wold Chamberlain Field.[2] That same year the name changed to Naval Reserve Air Base (NRAB) Minneapolis.[2] In 1943 it was changed to NAS Minneapolis. During WWII it served as a training facility for aviation cadets.[2] In 1946 the Navy established VP-911 at the base and changed the name to NAS Twin Cities.[2] The squadron flew Consolidated PBY-5A and PBY-6A Catalinas until 1954.[3] In 1979 the name changed to NARC Twin Cities.[2]

In February 1942, after the United States' entry into World War II, the United States Army Air Corps 1454th Base Unit was assigned to Wold-Chamberlain Field to conduct a survey about the usefulness of the airport to the war effort. The unit's mission was to organize, coordinate and supervise the movement of cargo and passengers travelling though the airport by contract airlines and to and from Ferrying Command. Northwest Airlines remained in control of the control tower and flight facilities. Other construction was initiated to expand flight facilities, base operations, passenger service facilities, customs and port of entry facilities. The Army Corps of Engineers was authorized to expand the ramp facilities and also to expand the airfield.

Personnel from the Alaskan Wing, Air Transport Command arrived at the airport on 29 December 1942 to organize a control detachment.[4] On 20 September 1943, the detachment was re designated as Station No. 11, Alaskan Wing, Air Transport Command.[5] The airport became a key stop on what was designated the "Alaskan Route", in which aircraft were ferried north to Edmonton Airport in Northern Alberta on the Alaska Route, to support the Alaskan Campaign against the Japanese, and also for eventual transport to Siberia as part of Lend-Lease aid to the Soviet Union.

Minneapolis was also a stop on ATC's "Crimson Route", the ferrying route between the manufacturing facilities in Southern California and the combat bases being constructed in the United Kingdom. It operated as a refueling and maintenance base on the transport route north to Crystal II in the Canadian Northern Territories or Goose Air Station in Labrador to support the combat forces in the United Kingdom, North Africa and other destinations.

With the end of the war in September 1945, the military mission of the airport was changed on 1 January 1946 to be a supply depot for Air Transport Command cargo aircraft throughout the upper Great Lakes region and to serve as a terminus for transcontinental planes and their upkeep.[6]

On 1 July 1948 with the inactivation of Air Transport Command, control of the military facilities was transferred to Continental Air Command (ConAC), with the 2465th Air Force Reserve Training Center being activated 28 August. Its mission was to conduct reserve training.[7] The 440th Troop Carrier Group (Medium) was activated at the field on 3 September equipped with C-47 Skytrains. The 440th trained for troop carrier operations in the Reserve, and became part of the 440th Troop Carrier Wing when it activated in June 1949. It was called to active duty on 1 May 1951 and inactivated four days later with its personnel and equipment being reassigned to other units as a result of the Korean War. After its federal service ended in January 1953, it was reactivated and after a short period as a Fighter-Bomber Group, it transitioned to C-119 Flying Boxcars in 1954. The 440th remained in Minneapolis until November 1957 when it was transferred to the new Air Reserve Station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

With the inactivation of the 440th Troop Carrier Group in May 1951, the active-duty Air Defense Command (ADC) brought the federalized Kentucky Air National Guard's 123d Fighter-Interceptor Wing to the airport later in May. The 123d FIG's 165th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was equipped with F-51 Mustangs and trained until the end of its federal service in February 1952.

The F-51s were taken over by the active-duty 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, under ADC's 514th Air Defense Group in February 1952. These World War II fighters, used as interceptors, were replaced by F-86F Sabre jet interceptors in 1953. The 514th was redesignated as the 475th Fighter-Interceptor Group (Air Defense) on 18 August 1955 as part of an ADC program to reactivate notable World War II combat units. The 18th FIS was also redesignated as the 432d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron. The F-94 Starfire-equipped 337th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron became the second interceptor squadron at Minneapolis later in 1955.

In late 1957, Air Defense Command began to wind down operations at Minneapolis, due to the expansion of the civilian airport and jet noise of the interceptors over the urban area surrounding the facility. The 475th FIG was inactivated on 2 January 1958.

The USAF Reserve returned to Minneapolis on 11 February 1963 when the 934th Tactical Airlift Group was activated. Initially flying the C-119 Flying Boxcar, the unit has also periodically deployed to Panama, and later Puerto Rico, to fly cargo and personnel throughout Central and South America since 1979.

Upgraded to the C-130 in 1970, the 934th deployed personnel and aircraft to participate in allied operations in the Persian Gulf area and the Balkans in 1990 and later. It has also participated in numerous joint airborne training exercises and humanitarian airlifts.

The Minnesota 109th Fighter Squadron was allocated to the Air National Guard on 24 May 1946 at Minneapolis. During the Korean War it was activated, contributing pilots to Korea's "Mig Alley."

In the 1950s and early 1960s, the 109th Fighter Interceptor Squadron was providing active air defense commitments with 24-hour alert status. Threats by the Soviet Union to oust Western troops from West Berlin in 1961 prompted the "Berlin Crisis" and a call-up of selected National Guard forces throughout the nation. Included in this mobilization were members of the 133rd Air Transport Wing, Minnesota Air National Guard, who served in federal active service for 11 months while operating out of their home station at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport.

During the Vietnam War, although never officially mobilized, the Air Guard flew hundreds of supply and transport missions to Southeast Asia.