316th Operations Group

The 316th Operations Group is the flying component of the Air Force District of Washington's 316th Wing, stationed at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. It provides rotary-wing contingency response support capability to the United States National Capital Region while also supporting regional and global customers with critical airfield infrastructure and aviation services. The group consists of two squadrons of aircrew and support personnel.

As the 316th Troop Carrier Group, it was a decorated Douglas C-47 Skytrain unit that served with Ninth and Twelfth Air Force in the European and the Mediterranean theaters. As part of Operation Avalanche, the Allied invasion of Italy, the 316th dropped paratroops over the beachhead south of the Sele River on the night of 14 September 1943. Later during Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of France, the group dropped paratroops near Ste-Mere-Eglise a few hours before the main landings on 6 June 1944. It also dropped paratroops and released gliders carrying reinforcements during the airborne invasion of the Netherlands, Operation Market-Garden in September 1944. By the end of the war, the 316th Troop Carrier Group was awarded three Distinguished Unit Citations.