Equipped with C-131 Samaritan aircraft its mission was to move patients from rough combat airfield casualty staging bases and military installations in South Vietnam to destination treatment hospitals.

Conforming to the new policy of the Department of Defense, the Air National Guard began to play an even greater role in fulfilling total U.S. force requirements.

As a result of these actions, the 171st Aeromedical Airlift Group was re-designated as the 171st Air Refueling Wing (ARW) in October 1972, transitioning from the C-121G to the KC-97L Stratotanker.

In 1982, the ANG increased its mission capability through an interim program by retrofitting commercial Boeing 707 engines to their tankers re-designating the aircraft to the KC-135E.

Members of the 171 ARW volunteered for duty in Saudi Arabia in order to participate in air refueling missions for Operation Desert Shield.

With the consolidation, The 171st ARW consisted of 16 aircraft assigned to two squadrons, making it one of only three Super Tanker Wings within the Air National Guard.

In May 1999, the 171st activated over 500 members and fourteen aircraft to Budapest, Hungary and Frankfurt, Germany, in support of Operation Allied Force deterring ethnic aggression in Yugoslavia.

In November 2000, the 171st deployed 228 personnel to Istres AB, France in support of Operation Joint Forge, a NATO-led stabilization mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

A total of 1500 sorties, 11000 flying hours, and 70 million pounds of fuel transferred aircraft from more than ten countries was accomplished by this citizen-airmen volunteer militia force.

The wing had a consistent, non-stop presence of aircraft maintenance personnel deployed to the middle east in order to support the ongoing operations there.

This was a significant shift in the operational stance of the wing, as this was the first time tankers had been stationed inside the combat zone since the Vietnam War.