The 39th was originally established as the 39th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Wing in 1969 as an Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service unit under Military Airlift Command, to include rescue sorties during the Vietnam War from January 1970 until mid-1971, and also provided helicopter support to Strategic Air Command intercontinental ballistic missile sites in the United States. After moving to Eglin Air Force Base, Florida in June 1971, the wing assumed responsibility for numerous rescue detachments in the Western Hemisphere and Europe.