The 97th Maintenance Squadron provides on and off-equipment aircraft and component maintenance to ensure safe, reliable aircraft for the Air Force’s mobility aircrew formal training mission. The squadron is comprised of five flights: Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory, Fabrication, Accessories, Maintenance, and Aerospace Ground Equipment. These diverse work centers interact seamlessly to create C-17, KC-135, and KC-46 aircraft availability for mobility aircrews.
Today’s 97th Maintenance Squadron began its modern organizational history when Military Airlift Command’s 443rd Military Airlift Wing and Strategic Air Command’s 340th Air Refueling Wing combined on October 1, 1992, to create the 97th Air Mobility Wing under Air Mobility Command. On July 1, 1993, the 97th Air Mobility Wing realigned under Air Education and Training Command.
On July 1, 1996, the 97th Logistics Group began transition from a military to a civil service organization that ultimately became today’s 97th Maintenance Group. At that time, what is now the 97th Maintenance Squadron consisted only of Accessories and Fabrication Flights, aligned under the 97th Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Unit.
On August 30, 2002, the 97th Logistics Group inactivated and the 97th Air Mobility Wing Maintenance Directorate formed. As part of that organizational action, Accessories and Fabrication Flights were renamed Component Repair and Equipment Maintenance Divisions, two of five divisions under the Maintenance Directorate. On October 1, 2005, Component Repair and Equipment Maintenance Divisions combined to form the Maintenance Division.
Over the years, the 97th Maintenance Division continued to change. On January 1, 2011, the current-day Maintenance Flight transferred from the Aircraft Maintenance Division to the Maintenance Division. In 2016, the Munitions Flight was reassigned from the Maintenance Operations Division to the Maintenance Division. In November of 2017, the 97th Maintenance Division was officially redesignated 97th Maintenance Squadron.