The 97th Maintenance Operations Division, under the 97th Maintenance Directorate at Altus Air Force Base, Okla., traces its history back to the era of the Military Airlift Command and the Strategic Air Command.

On Oct. 1, 1991, 443rd Military Airlift Wing and the 340th Air Refueling Wing were inactivated and replaced by the 97th Air Mobility Wing.

Under the newly formed wing, the deputy commander for maintenance staff was redesignated as the 97th Logistics Support Squadron. On July 1, 1993, the 97th Air Mobility Wing was realigned under the Air Education and Training Command, and exactly three years later, on July 1, 1996, the 97th Logistics Support Squadron was privatized and began its transition into a civil service organization.

Upon fully assuming duties of the logistics support squadron, the management support flight stood up as one of the five flights under the 97th Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Unit, or the A-Team, as it was more commonly known. During a formal ceremony Aug. 30, 2002, the 97th Logistics Group was inactivated and the newly-activated 97th Maintenance Directorate became a sole civilian entity equivalent to the other three groups assigned to the wing.

In the same ceremony, the management support flight was designated as the 97th Maintenance Operations Division, one of five divisions assigned to the 97th Maintenance Directorate.

Today, the 97th Maintenance Operations Division is one of three maintenance directorate divisions providing mission operational and management support. This includes maintenance operations, plans & scheduling, maintenance analysis, engine analysis, production control, due in from maintenance, aircraft parts tail number bin, mission capable, local manufacturing, munitions, manpower/personnel, budget, facilities, plans, information technology, training and computer security, security and administration for the directorate. The 97th Maintenance Operations Division's motto is, "Mission First, People Always."