The wing was first activated at Birmingham Municipal Airport, Alabama in June 1949 as the 514th Troop Carrier Wing, assuming the resources of the 19th Air Division, while its 514th Troop Carrier Group replaced the inactivating 99th Bombardment Group. It trained under the supervision of the 2587th Air Force Reserve Training Center. Only four months after activation, it moved on paper to Mitchel Air Force Base, New York, where it replaced the 84th Fighter Wing, while the 319th Bombardment Wing assumed its personnel and equipment in Birmingham.
