The squadron operates the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III strategic airlift cargo plane from Stewart Air National Guard Base.

It flew escort for Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombers during its first five weeks of operations, and afterwards flew escort missions to cover operations of medium and heavy bombers that struck strategic objectives, interdicted enemy lines of communication, and provided air support for ground forces.

It strafed and dive bombed vehicles, locomotives, marshaling yards, flak batteries, and troops while Allied forces fought to break out of the beachhead in France.

It attacked transportation targets during Operation Cobra, the July breakout at Saint Lo, and the subsequent Allied drive across France.

It flew area patrols during Operation Market-Garden, the airborne landings attempting to secure a bridgehead across the Rhine in the Netherlands in September.

In March 1945 it supported Operation Varsity, the assault across the Rhine in Germany, patrolling the area to prevent German air attacks.

[6] The remaining squadron members left the theater in September,[3] preceding the remainder of the 339th Group, which sailed on the RMS Queen Mary in October.

[14] In 1954, the Mustang was ending its service life and Air Defense Command (ADC) was re-equipping its fighter-interceptor squadrons with jet aircraft.

[e][16] In October 1954, the squadron began augmenting the Regular Air Force, maintaining a Starfire on alert from dawn to dusk daily.

The new assignment involved a change in the group's training mission to include high-altitude interception, air-to-ground rocketry, ground strafing and tactical bombing.

With the C-97s, the 137th augmented MATS airlift capability worldwide in support of the Air Force's needs, flying missions weekly.

In the spring of 1964, it airlifted men and materiel to and from the maneuver areas for Operation Desert Strike, which was the second largest military exercise since World War II, involving over 100,000 service members.

The squadron also airlifted members of the National Guard to and from their annual training sites, which previously had to be done by ground transport or commercial air.

[citation needed] In 1969 the C-97s were reaching the end of their operational lifetime and in March, the 105th became the 105th Tactical Air Support Group and was again gained by TAC.

[citation needed] The squadron mission was to train forward air controllers and to maintain proficiency in the unit aircraft.

[citation needed] As part of the drawdown of forces in Southeast Asia, aircraft from the Vietnam War were added to make up the allocated number to the squadron.

[25] The 105th was awarded the Governor's Trophy for 1974, signifying the outstanding flying unit of the New York Air National Guard for that year.

The State's Division of Military and Naval Affairs started negotiations with National Guard Bureau to relocate the unit.

As a result, USAF and the Air National Guard approved a unit relocation to Stewart International Airport, Newburgh, New York.

[citation needed] The squadron's C-5s were first tapped for humanitarian relief, when it flew emergency supplies to Puerto Rico in October 1985, following Hurricane Isabel.

In September 1992 the unit responded to Hurricane Andrew, delivering food, tents, mobile kitchens, vehicles, and emergency services personnel to Homestead , Florida.

In February 1992 the unit participated in Operation Provide Hope, the airlift of humanitarian aid to the Commonwealth of Independent States (former Soviet Union), delivering relief materials to Saint Petersburg, Russia and Yerevan, Armenia.

[citation needed] In 1989, the squadron performed its wartime mission in support of Operation Just Cause, the invasion of Panama to replace Manuel Noriega.

[citation needed] On 7 August 1990 Governor Mario Cuomo announced that the Department of Defense had requested, and he had approved, the participation of the personnel and C-5A aircraft of the 137th in support of Operation Desert Shield in the Persian Gulf region.

In August 1993 the unit airlifted relief supplies and equipment to Southern Turkey to be used to help Kurdish refugees from Iraqi terrorism.

[citation needed] In October 1993 the 105th returned to Somalia, delivering military personnel and equipment non-stop with triple air refueling directly from bases in the United States to Mogadishu.

The 105th played a key role in July 1995 for Operation Quick Lift when it airlifted cargo and British troops from RAF Brize Norton, UK to Split, Croatia in support of the United Nations' Rapid Reaction Deployment Force.

[citation needed] On 27 November 2010, the USAF selected the squadron and Stewart as its preferred base for eight Boeing C-17 Globemaster III aircraft.

[citation needed] In 2024, the squadron transported members of the New York Army National Guard and vehicles to help with the recovery effort in North Carolina following Hurricane Helene.

While evading hostile enemy fire, the squadron evacuated 2,524 men, women and children, including over 800 Afghan nationals.