of 1951 and another in early 1953 (463d). One of those reserve wings, the 443d Troop Carrier, was deployed for active duty at Donaldson on 9 August 1951 as a training wing. For almost two years, the 443d participated in tactical exercises in operations, training troop carrier aircrews using C-46 Commandoes for assignment to the Far East and worked closely with other troop carrier groups to test and evaluate new troop carrier doctrine and procedures. With the end of the Korean War, the 443d was inactivated on 8 June 1953. With the departure of the 443d, it was decided to bring Donaldson up to being an operational transport base. On 15 October 1953 the 63d Troop Carrier Wing was transferred from Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma, to Donaldson. The 63d flew the longer-range C-124 "Globemaster II" and became the host unit at Donaldson AFB until its closure in 1963. Its attached units consisted of: Groups 61st Troop Carrier (25 August 1954 − 8 October 1959) 63d Troop Carrier (15 October 1953 − 18 January 1963) 64th Troop Carrier (15 October 1953 − 15 February 1954) Squadrons 9th Troop Carrier (1953–1957) 15th Troop Carrier (1954–1963) 52d Troop Carrier (1953–1957) 309th Troop Carrier (1954–1956) The 63d TCW participated in maneuvers, exercises and the airlift of personnel and cargo to many points throughout the world, it helped evacuate Hungarian refugees, supported the construction of the eastern mission test range, and the Distant Early Warning Line sites in the Arctic. The next year, the Eighteenth Air Force C-119s from the 483rd Troop Carrier Wing; flown by civilian crews employed by the Central Intelligence Agency Civil Air Transport airdropped supplies to besieged French paratroops at Dien Bien Phu. Some 483rd personnel flew missions in an unofficial capacity, some of whom would play key roles in the troop carrier mission in later years. After the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, 374th TCW and TAC C-124s airlifted wounded French soldiers out of Indochina to Japan. Throughout the mid-1950s, Donaldson Air Force Base supported USAF troop carrier participation in joint operations training. Eighteenth Air Force squadrons took part in joint exercises and provided support for airborne paratroop training. Additional endeavors were implemented to improve communications capabilities and to include AF medical air evacuation in joint exercises. Airlift support was provided to other USAF major commands and to other Tactical Air Command (TAC) organizations. Two helicopter squadrons, the 21st