1.
United States Air Force
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The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a branch of the military on 18 September 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947. It is the most recent branch of the U. S. military to be formed, the U. S. Air Force is a military service organized within the Department of the Air Force, one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense. The Air Force is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Air Force, who reports to the Secretary of Defense, the U. S. Air Force provides air support for surface forces and aids in the recovery of troops in the field. As of 2015, the service more than 5,137 military aircraft,406 ICBMs and 63 military satellites. It has a $161 billion budget with 313,242 active duty personnel,141,197 civilian employees,69,200 Air Force Reserve personnel, and 105,500 Air National Guard personnel. According to the National Security Act of 1947, which created the USAF and it shall be organized, trained, and equipped primarily for prompt and sustained offensive and defensive air operations. The stated mission of the USAF today is to fly, fight, and win in air, space and we will provide compelling air, space, and cyber capabilities for use by the combatant commanders. We will excel as stewards of all Air Force resources in service to the American people, while providing precise and reliable Global Vigilance, Reach and it should be emphasized that the core functions, by themselves, are not doctrinal constructs. The purpose of Nuclear Deterrence Operations is to operate, maintain, in the event deterrence fails, the US should be able to appropriately respond with nuclear options. Dissuading others from acquiring or proliferating WMD, and the means to deliver them, moreover, different deterrence strategies are required to deter various adversaries, whether they are a nation state, or non-state/transnational actor. Nuclear strike is the ability of forces to rapidly and accurately strike targets which the enemy holds dear in a devastating manner. Should deterrence fail, the President may authorize a precise, tailored response to terminate the conflict at the lowest possible level, post-conflict, regeneration of a credible nuclear deterrent capability will deter further aggression. Finally, the Air Force regularly exercises and evaluates all aspects of operations to ensure high levels of performance. Nuclear surety ensures the safety, security and effectiveness of nuclear operations, the Air Force, in conjunction with other entities within the Departments of Defense or Energy, achieves a high standard of protection through a stringent nuclear surety program. The Air Force continues to pursue safe, secure and effective nuclear weapons consistent with operational requirements, adversaries, allies, and the American people must be highly confident of the Air Forces ability to secure nuclear weapons from accidents, theft, loss, and accidental or unauthorized use. This day-to-day commitment to precise and reliable nuclear operations is the cornerstone of the credibility of the NDO mission, positive nuclear command, control, communications, effective nuclear weapons security, and robust combat support are essential to the overall NDO function. OCA is the method of countering air and missile threats, since it attempts to defeat the enemy closer to its source
2.
Air Force Space Command
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Air Force Space Command is a major command of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. AFSPC supports U. S. military operations worldwide through the use of different types of satellite, launch. Operationally, AFSPC is an Air Force component command subordinate to U. S. Strategic Command, composition consist of approximately 22,000 military personnel and 9,000 civilian employees, although their missions overlap. AFSPC gained the cyber operations mission with the stand-up of 24th Air Force under AFSPC in August 2009, according to AFSPC, its mission is to Provide resilient and affordable Space and Cyberspace capabilities for the Joint Force and the Nation. As a result, AFSPCs activities make the space domain reliable to United States warfighters by assuring their access to space, in 1991, Operation Desert Storm provided emphasis for AFPSCs new focus on support to the warfighter. ICBM forces previously assigned to the inactivated Strategic Air Command were merged into AFSPC in 1993 until moved into Air Force Global Strike Command in 2009, the Space Command was the subject of a 60 Minutes News segment on CBS in April 2015. When speaking with 60 Minutes reporter David Martin, commanding General John E. Reporter David Martin also asked about the new Boeing X-37 space plane the US Air Force had been testing. This CBS interview was a peek into the secretive Space Command that protects the billion-dollar US satellites that provide essential global navigation, in 2016 Space Command began their Space Mission Force concept of operations to respond quickly to attacks in space. Each Space Wing undergoes special training then serves a four to six month rotation, Air Force Space Command has two active Numbered Air Forces. The Fourteenth Air Force provides space warfighting forces to U. S. Strategic Command in its capacity as Air Forces Strategic-Space and it is headquartered at Lackland AFB, Texas. AFSPC is the major command providing space forces and trained cyber warfare forces for U. S. Strategic Command, the Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles AFB, California, designs and acquires all Air Force and most Department of Defense space systems. It oversees launches, completes on-orbit checkouts, then turns systems over to user agencies and it supports the Program Executive Office for Space on the NAVSTAR Global Positioning, Defense Satellite Communications and MILSTAR systems. SMC also supports the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program and the Follow-on Early Warning System, in addition, it supports development and acquisition of land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles for the Air Force Program Executive Office for Strategic Systems. This includes obtaining spectrum access critical for all Air Force core functions, the AFSPC headquarters is a major unit located at Peterson AFB, Colorado. Through the command and control of all DOD satellites, satellite operators provide force-multiplying effects—continuous global coverage, low vulnerability, satellites provide essential in-theater secure communications, weather and navigational data for ground, air and fleet operations and threat warning. Ground-based radar and Defense Support Program satellites monitor ballistic missile launches around the world to guard against a missile attack on North America. Space surveillance radars provide vital information on the location of satellites and space debris for the nation, General Shelton has said that in order to protect against attacks, Space Situational Awareness is much more important than additional hardening or armoring of satellites. As of 2013, Air Force Space Command is considering Space Disaggregation and this could be used to defend against ASATs, by increasing the number of targets that needed to be attacked. S
3.
Fourteenth Air Force
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The Fourteenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Space Command. It is headquartered at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, established on 5 March 1943 at Kunming, China,14 AF was a United States Army Air Forces combat air force deployed to the Pacific Theater of World War II. It engaged in primarily in China. After World War II Fourteenth Air Force subsequently served Air Defense Command, Continental Air Command,14 AF is commanded by Lt Gen John W. Raymond. Its Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sgt, in 1993, Fourteenth Air Force became part of Air Force Space Command responsible for performing space operations. The overall mission is control and exploit space for global and theater operations, in 1997,14 AF established the Space Operations Center at Vandenberg AFB in California for the 24-hour command and control of all space operations resources. In 2002,14 AF became the Air Force space operational component of United States Strategic Command, in 2005,14 AF officially opened up its newly renovated operations center. The new command and control capabilities of the Joint Space Operations Center ensured unity of effort for all space capabilities supporting joint military operations around the globe, Bissell was General Henry H. ‘Hap’ Arnolds choice to command the USAAFs proposed combat organization in China. As early as 30 December 1941, the U. S, War Department in Washington, D. C. had authorized the induction of the Flying Tigers into the U. S. Army Air Forces. Chennault was opposed to inducting the Flying Tigers into the Army, Stilwell and Bissell made it clear to both Chennault and Chiang that unless the AVG became part of the U. S. Army Air Force, its supplies would be cut off. Chennault agreed to return to duty but he made it clear to Stilwell that his men would have to speak for themselves. Chiang Kai-shek finally agreed to induction of the AVG into the USAAF, with the situation in Burma rapidly deteriorating, Stilwell and Bissell wanted the AVG dissolved by 30 April 1942. Chennault, wanting to keep the Flying Tigers going as long as possible, proposed the group disband on 4 July, Chennault was recalled to active duty in the USAAF on 15 April 1942. He was promoted eight days later, on 23 April, from colonel to brigadier general, Chennault was told that he would have to be satisfied to command a China Air Task Force of fighters and bombers as part of the Tenth Air Force. Its mission was to defend the supply operation over the Himalayan mountains between India and China — nicknamed the Hump — and to provide air support for Chinese ground forces. Bissell had been promoted to brigadier general with one days seniority to Chennault in order to command all American air units in China as Stillwells Air Commander, friction developed when Chennault and the Chinese government were disturbed by the possibility that Chennault would no longer control combat operations in China. The CATF had 51 fighters in July 1942,31 81A-1 and P-40B Tomahawks, both fighters were good medium-altitude day fighters, with their best performance between 15,000 and 18,000 feet, and they were excellent ground-strafing aircraft. Chennault also had seven B-25C Mitchell medium bombers, out of an original 12 sent from India, the AVG was disbanded on 4 July 1942, simultaneous with the activation of the 23rd FG
4.
Wing (military aviation unit)
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In military aviation, a wing is a unit of command. In most military services, a wing is a relatively large formation of planes. In Commonwealth countries a wing usually comprises three squadrons, with several wings forming a group, each squadron will contain around 20 planes. On its establishment in 1912, the British Royal Flying Corps was intended to be an inter-service, combined force of the British Army and Royal Navy. Given the rivalry existed between the army and navy, new terminology was used, in order to avoid marking the corps out as having an army or navy ethos. While the term wing had been used in the cavalry, its general use predominated. Accordingly, the wing, with its allusion of flight, was chosen as the term of subdivision and the corps was split into a Military Wing. Each wing consisted of a number of squadrons, by 1914, the naval wing had become the Royal Naval Air Service, and gained its independence from the Royal Flying Corps. The Royal Flying Corps was amalgamated with the Royal Naval Air Service in 1918, the RFC usage of wing was maintained in the new service. In most Commonwealth air forces, as well as some others, in these air forces a wing is inferior to a group. Originally all wings were commanded by a wing commander. From World War II onwards, operational flying wings have usually been commanded by group captains, a wing may also be used for non-flying units, such as the infantry forces of the RAF Regiment. Additionally, RAF stations are divided into wings. In 2006, expeditionary air wings were established at the RAFs main operating bases and these expeditionary air wings consist of the deployable elements of the main operating base and other supplementary forces. Expeditionary air wings may be subordinated to an air group. In the British Air Training Corps, a wing consists of a number of squadrons within a geographical area. In this context, a wing is inferior to a region which is made up of six wings, in all, there are 36 Air Training Corps wings in six regions within the United Kingdom, each of which is commanded by a RAFVR wing commander. The size of a wing follows US usage, it varies greatly, in the 1990s, the Canadian Forces Air Command altered the structure of those bases under its control, declaring them to be Wings under the overall control of 1 Canadian Air Division in Winnipeg
5.
Schriever Air Force Base
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Schriever Air Force Base is a base of the United States Air Force located approximately 10 miles east of Peterson AFB near Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States. This Air Force Base is named in honor of General Bernard Adolph Schriever, also housed at Schriever AFB are the Missile Defense Integration and Operations Center and the Space Innovation & Development Center. Schriever AFB is the control point for the Global Positioning System. Schriever AFB is manned by more than 8100 active duty and guard/reserve personnel, civilian employees,4 Space and Missile Defense Command-Space and Ballistic Missile Defense Forces U. S. It was originally called the Consolidated Space Operations Center during the development phase and this wing took operational control of the Air Force Satellite Control Network in a phased system turn over that began in October 1987 and lasted several years. In June 1988, Falcon Air Force Station was redesignated Falcon Air Force Base, on 30 January 1992 the 2nd Space Wing inactivated and the 50th Tactical Fighter Wing, redesignated as the 50th Space Wing, activated at Falcon AFB. Schriever AFB is the only Air Force base that was named for an Air Force veteran who was living at the time, General Schriever died June 20,2005
6.
Air Force Satellite Control Network
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The Air Force Satellite Control Network provides support for the operation, control, and maintenance of a variety of United States Department of Defense and some non-DoD satellites. This involves continual execution of Telemetry, Tracking, and Commanding operations, the AFSCN provides tracking data to help maintain the catalog of space objects and distributes various data such as satellite ephemeris, almanacs, and other information. The AFSCN consists of satellite control centers, tracking stations, Satellite Operations Centers are located at Schriever Air Force Base near Colorado Springs, Colorado, and various other locations throughout the continental United States. These SOCs are manned around the clock and are responsible for the command, the SOCs are linked to remote tracking stations around the world. Space vehicle checkout facilities are used to test launch vehicles and satellite platforms to ensure that the systems operate within specifications. The RTSs provide the link between the satellites and the SOCs, a similes, especially those in geostationary orbit, never come within view of their control center. Each antenna at an RTS is referred to as a side, previously, Side A typically included a 60-foot-diameter dish antenna. Side B typically included a 46-foot-diameter antenna, at some sites, the B side included a 33-foot-diameter antenna. Over time, however, as the network upgraded and/or replaced the antennas, AFSCN was originally activated to support the CORONA program in 1959. Schriever AFB, Colorado – Primary C2 Node Ellison Onizuka Satellite Operations Facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California – Secondary C2 Node. The AFSCN maintains a number of tracking stations, which are used to track US government agency & military satellites, as well as receive and process telemetry, said facilities are intended to support all Department of Defense satellites. Most tracking stations are operated by detachments of the 21st Space Operations Squadron. Many scientific and research satellites are supported as well, Colorado Tracking Station, Schriever AFB, Colorado, callsign PIKE. As of 2008, this site transitioned from a location to a testing facility. This site formally ceased operational support on 2 August 2012 and it used to support various DoD satellites and previously included enhancement equipment that was used to support the Global Positioning System satellites. On 30 September 2014, the site was deactivated and closed. Diego Garcia Station, Diego Garcia, BIOT, callsign REEF, the Diego Garcia Station has two sides to provide enhanced tracking for the AFSCN users. This site also includes a GPS Ground Antenna site, Guam Tracking Station, Guam, callsign GUAM
7.
50th Space Wing
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The 50th Space Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force under the major command of Air Force Space Command. It was activated on 30 January 1992, replacing the 2nd Space Wing, the unit is the host wing at Schriever Air Force Base, located east of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Their primary responsibility is to track and maintain the command and control, warning, navigational, the 50th Space Wing also manages the Global Positioning System. The wing also operates satellite operation centers at Schriever AFB and remote tracking stations and other command, the group is composed of five active-duty and two Reserve squadrons, as well as one Air National Guard squadron. The group is composed of four squadrons, six detachments and the Program Management Office, 50th Mission Support Group Provides security, civil engineering, fire, personnel, contracting, force support and logistic readiness support to Schriever AFB. The group is composed of four squadrons and a flight providing base support of the wings sites worldwide, the wing was formed at Otis AFB, Massachusetts. The 50th Fighter Group was assigned to the newly formed 50th Fighter Wing upon activation under the Hobson Plan and it trained in the Reserve between June 1949 and June 1951, being a corollary of the active-duty Air Defense Command 33d Fighter Wing. The wing was ordered to service on 1 June 1951 due to the Korean War. The 50th Fighter Wing was inactivated the next day,2 June 1951, on 1 January 1953, the 50th Fighter-Bomber Wing was reactivated as part of the active-duty Tactical Air Command. The 50th Fighter-Interceptor Group activated as the 50th Fighter-Bomber Group and became the primary combat element. The groups squadrons were equipped with North American F-86F Sabres, once training levels for pilots and aircrews had reached operational levels, the 50th FBW began preparations for its move to West Germany. On 10 August 1953, the 50th FBW arrived at its new home, the 50th was assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe Twelfth Air Force. The wing became the first tactically operational Air Force wing in 12th Air Forces jurisdiction, the 50th FBG consisted of the 10th, 81st and 417th Fighter-Bomber squadrons. The first of the wings new F-86H Sabres arrived at Hahn AB21 October 1955, conversion continued throughout the winter of 1955 and spring of 1956, ending in May. The 50th FBG received seventy-four F-86Hs, and also had two C-47 transports which were assigned to the Wing for courier and supply operations. The primary mission of the 50th FBW at Hahn was the delivery of nuclear weapons against Warsaw Pact forces in the event of an invasion of Western Europe. Its secondary missions were tactical air defense and support for NATO ground forces, while 50th FBW prepared for and converted to the newer F-86H, the wing expanded its mission responsibility to include supporting 12th Air Forces 7382d Guided Missile Group. The wing had previously supported the 69th Tactical Missile Squadron at Hahn, new aircraft would not be the only change for the personnel of the 50th, however
8.
Colorado
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Colorado is a state in the United States encompassing most of the Southern Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains. Colorado is part of the Western United States, the Southwestern United States, Colorado is the 8th most extensive and the 21st most populous of the 50 United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Colorado was 5,540,545 on July 1,2016, the state was named for the Colorado River, which Spanish travelers named the Río Colorado for the ruddy silt the river carried from the mountains. The Territory of Colorado was organized on February 28,1861, Colorado is nicknamed the Centennial State because it became a state in the same year as the centennial of the United States Declaration of Independence. Colorado is noted for its landscape of mountains, forests, high plains, mesas, canyons, plateaus, rivers. Denver is the capital and the most populous city of Colorado, residents of the state are properly known as Coloradans, although the term Coloradoan has been used archaically and lives on in the title of Fort Collins newspaper, the Coloradoan. Colorado, Wyoming and Utah are the states which have boundaries defined solely by lines of latitude and longitude. The summit of Mount Elbert at 14,440 feet elevation in Lake County is the highest point in Colorado, Colorado is the only U. S. state that lies entirely above 1,000 meters elevation. The point where the Arikaree River flows out of Yuma County, Colorado and this point, which holds the distinction of being the highest low elevation point of any state, is higher than the high elevation points of 18 states and the District of Columbia. A little less than one half of the area of Colorado is flat, East of the Rocky Mountains are the Colorado Eastern Plains of the High Plains, the section of the Great Plains within Nebraska at elevations ranging from roughly 3,350 to 7,500 feet. The Colorado plains were mostly prairies, but they have many patches of forests, buttes. Eastern Colorado is presently covered in farmland and rangeland, along with small farming villages. Precipitation is fair, averaging from 15 to 25 inches annually, corn, wheat, hay, soybeans, and oats are all typical crops, and most of the villages and towns in this region boast both a water tower and a grain elevator. Irrigation water is available from the South Platte, the Arkansas River, and a few other streams, however, heavy use of ground water from wells for irrigation has caused underground water reserves to decline. As well as agriculture, eastern Colorado hosts considerable livestock, such as cattle ranches. Roughly 70% of Colorados population resides along the edge of the Rocky Mountains in the Front Range Urban Corridor between Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Pueblo, Colorado. This region is protected from prevailing storms that blow in from the Pacific Ocean region by the high Rockies in the middle of Colorado. The Front Range includes Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, Loveland, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Greeley and other townships, on the other side of the Rockies, the significant population centers in Western Colorado are the cities of Grand Junction, Durango, and Montrose
9.
6th Space Operations Squadron
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The 6th Space Operations Squadron is an Air Force Reserve satellite command and control squadron located at Schriever AFB, Colorado. 6 SOPS is a backup to NOAA for Defense Meteorological Satellite Program operations, the 6th Space Operations Squadron provides a backup command and control center for the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program. DMSP is the longest running production satellite program ever, the DMSP satellite constellation provides strategic and tactical weather prediction to aid military operations planning at sea, on land, and in the air. The satellites can image visible and infrared cloud cover, measure precipitation, surface temperature, in addition, it collects specialized global meteorological oceanographic and solar-geophysical information in all weather conditions. It also has sensors for space weather data that is used to assist in communications, over-the-horizon radar and spacecraft drag. The 6 SOPS is located at Schriever Air Force Base, Colo, the 4000th Support Group was organized and established on 1 February 1963 as a component of Strategic Air Command. It was reassigned to the 1st Strategic Aerospace Division on 1 January 1966, on 1 January 1973, the organization was redesignated 4000th Aerospace Application Group without change in assignment or location. It was redesignated 4000th Satellite Operations Group on 3 April 1981, the group was reassigned to the 2d Space Wing on 1 April 1986. In May 1989, Detachment 1 at Fairchild AFB, Washington, was upgraded to squadron status, on 30 January 1992, the group was reassgned to the 50th Space Wing. On 31 July 1992, the 1000th Satellite Operations Group redesignated, the unit was still a Regular Air Force unit and was still stationed at Offutt AFB, NE. In 1994, President William Clinton signed a bill that merged federal weather programs, prior to the merge, federal programs were deemed to be redundant. This merger would save the government money and allow one entity to control national weather products, the merger also moved weather operations to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration located in Suitland, MD. On 30 September 1998, the 6th Space Operations Squadron was inactivated and it activated in the Air Force Reserve with assignment to the 310th Space Group and assignment at Schriever AFB, Colorado on 1 October 1998. The squadrons operations have been command and control of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program satellites since 1 February 1963
10.
50th Network Operations Group
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The 50th Network Operations Group is a United States Air Force unit of the 50th Space Wing at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado. 50th NOG is the focal point for operating and maintaining the $8.2 billion Air Force Satellite Control Network and all 50 SW communications. Specific mission responsibilities are accomplished through the four squadrons, six detachments. The unit moved to its present location, then named Falcon Air Force Station, the 1879th assumed the resources of the 2184th Communications Squadron at Falcon. When the 2d Space Wing was inactivated in 1992 the 1879th was inactivated with it, the expanded space communications mission at Schriever Air Force Base led to the reactivation of the unit, now designated the 50th Communications Group. In 2002 the group was inactivated and its components transferred to the 50th Maintenance Group and this action was reversed less than a year later. The group received its current designation in March 2004
11.
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
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The Air Force Outstanding Unit Award is one of the unit awards of the United States Air Force. It was established in 1954 and was the first independent Air Force decoration created, the Air Force Longevity Service Award would follow in 1957 with most of the standard Air Force awards established in the early to mid 1960s. The Outstanding Unit Award is awarded to any unit of the U. S, multiple awards of the Outstanding Unit Award are denoted by oak leaf clusters on the ribbon. Until 2004, the Outstanding Unit Award was the senior most unit award in the U. S. Air Force and it is awarded to personnel who were assigned or attached to the unit receiving the award during the period it was awarded for. Non-USAF personnel personnel assigned to USAF units awarded the Outstanding Unit Award are also eligible to wear the ribbon on their uniforms, however, the ribbon does not come in the larger size of unit awards common to the U. S. Army
12.
Orbital ring
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An orbital ring is a concept for a space elevator that consists of an artificial ring placed around the Earth that rotates at an angular rate that is faster than the rotation of the Earth. It is a giant formation of astroengineering proportions, the structure is intended to be used as a space station or as a planetary vehicle for very high speed transportation or space launch. The original orbital ring concept is related to the space fountain, in the 1870s Nikola Tesla, while recovering from malaria, conceived a number of inventions including a ring around the equator, although he did not include detailed calculations. Clarkes novel The Fountains of Paradise is about space elevators, the idea apparently did not work, but this inspired further research. Paul Birch published a series of three articles in the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society in 1982, Anatoly E. Yunitskiy also published a similar idea in Russia in 1982 and later explored it in detail in his book published in 1995. Andrew Meulenberg and his students, from 2008 to 2011, presented and published a number of based on types. An overview mentions four applications of orbital rings, a simple unsupported hoop about a planet is unstable. The orbital ring concept requires cables to the surface to stabilize it, with the centrifugal force providing tension on the cables. In the simplest design of a ring system, a rotating cable or possibly an Inflatable space structure is placed in a low Earth orbit above the equator. Not in orbit, but riding on this ring, supported electromagnetically on superconducting magnets, are ring stations that stay in one place above some designated point on Earth. Hanging down from these stations are short space elevators made from cables with high tensile strength to mass ratio materials. By precessing the ring once every 24 hours, the Orbital Ring will hover above any meridian selected on the surface of the Earth, the cables which dangle from the ring are now geostationary without having to reach geostationary altitude or without having to be placed into the equatorial plane. This means that using the Orbital Ring concept, one or many pairs of Stations can be positioned above any points on Earth desired or can be moved everywhere on the globe, thus, any point on Earth can be served by a space elevator. Also a whole network of orbital rings can be built, which, by crossing over the poles, could cover the planet and be capable of taking over most of freight. By an array of elevators and several geostationary ring stations, asteroid or Moon material can be received, the systems cost per kilogram to place payloads in orbit would be around $0.05. General Planetary Vehicle - a Anatoly Yunitskiys project for the removal of weight at low circumplanet orbit, GPV is a ring located on the equator of the Earth consisting of individual segments connected by hydraulic cylinders. Inside the ring there are cells for placing the payload. The heart of the GPV consists of two circular channels passing through all the segments of the ring, high vacuum is kept up in the channels and they are completely isolated from the environment
13.
Wayback Machine
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The Internet Archive launched the Wayback Machine in October 2001. It was set up by Brewster Kahle and Bruce Gilliat, and is maintained with content from Alexa Internet, the service enables users to see archived versions of web pages across time, which the archive calls a three dimensional index. Since 1996, the Wayback Machine has been archiving cached pages of websites onto its large cluster of Linux nodes and it revisits sites every few weeks or months and archives a new version. Sites can also be captured on the fly by visitors who enter the sites URL into a search box, the intent is to capture and archive content that otherwise would be lost whenever a site is changed or closed down. The overall vision of the machines creators is to archive the entire Internet, the name Wayback Machine was chosen as a reference to the WABAC machine, a time-traveling device used by the characters Mr. Peabody and Sherman in The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, an animated cartoon. These crawlers also respect the robots exclusion standard for websites whose owners opt for them not to appear in search results or be cached, to overcome inconsistencies in partially cached websites, Archive-It. Information had been kept on digital tape for five years, with Kahle occasionally allowing researchers, when the archive reached its fifth anniversary, it was unveiled and opened to the public in a ceremony at the University of California, Berkeley. Snapshots usually become more than six months after they are archived or, in some cases, even later. The frequency of snapshots is variable, so not all tracked website updates are recorded, Sometimes there are intervals of several weeks or years between snapshots. After August 2008 sites had to be listed on the Open Directory in order to be included. As of 2009, the Wayback Machine contained approximately three petabytes of data and was growing at a rate of 100 terabytes each month, the growth rate reported in 2003 was 12 terabytes/month, the data is stored on PetaBox rack systems manufactured by Capricorn Technologies. In 2009, the Internet Archive migrated its customized storage architecture to Sun Open Storage, in 2011 a new, improved version of the Wayback Machine, with an updated interface and fresher index of archived content, was made available for public testing. The index driving the classic Wayback Machine only has a bit of material past 2008. In January 2013, the company announced a ground-breaking milestone of 240 billion URLs, in October 2013, the company announced the Save a Page feature which allows any Internet user to archive the contents of a URL. This became a threat of abuse by the service for hosting malicious binaries, as of December 2014, the Wayback Machine contained almost nine petabytes of data and was growing at a rate of about 20 terabytes each week. Between October 2013 and March 2015 the websites global Alexa rank changed from 162 to 208, in a 2009 case, Netbula, LLC v. Chordiant Software Inc. defendant Chordiant filed a motion to compel Netbula to disable the robots. Netbula objected to the motion on the ground that defendants were asking to alter Netbulas website, in an October 2004 case, Telewizja Polska USA, Inc. v. Echostar Satellite, No.02 C3293,65 Fed. 673, a litigant attempted to use the Wayback Machine archives as a source of admissible evidence, Telewizja Polska is the provider of TVP Polonia and EchoStar operates the Dish Network
14.
1st Space Wing
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The 1st Space Wing was a wing of the United States Air Force active from 1983 to 1992 at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado as part of Air Force Space Command. The Wing was constituted on 18 Oct 1982 and activated on 1 January 1983 with assignment to Space Command. It was inactivated on 15 May 1992 along with the 3d Space Wing, also at Peterson AFB, and the 21st Space Wing, the globe represents the earth as viewed from space, the earth being both the origin and control point for all man-made space activities. The lines of latitude and longitude emphasize the nature of Air Force space operations. The two uneven ellipses represent both low and high orbital paths traced by satellites in earth orbit shown as four-point stars, the two yellow rays depict space surveillance and communications capability from ground base sensors. The larger of the two stars represents the Space Command, and the smaller and closest star to earth represents the 1st Space Wing of the Space Command, the two stars also along with the distinctive blue shading and small globe symbolize the space environment. 2d Space Wing 3d Space Wing
15.
3d Space Wing
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The 3d Space Wing was a wing of the United States Air Force active from 1986 to 1992 at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado as part of Air Force Space Command. The wing was constituted as the 3d Space Support Wing on 8 Oct 1986 and it was inactivated on 15 May 1992 along with the 1st Space Wing. The 21st Space Wing, a unit with a historic lineage. Blue and yellow are the Air Force colors, blue alludes to the sky, the primary theater of Air Force operations. Yellow refers to the sun and the excellence required of Air Force personnel, the globe represents the earth as viewed from space. The latitude and longitude emphasize the global nature of Air Force space operations. The ellipses and stars represent the paths traced by satellites. The pillar represents the mission of the wing. 1st Space Wing 2d Space Wing
16.
Numbered Air Force
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A Numbered Air Force is a type of organization in the United States Air Force that is subordinate to a Major Command and has assigned to it operational units such as wings, squadrons, and groups. A Component Numbered Air Force has the role as an Air Force Component Command exercising command and control over air. Unlike MAJCOMs, which have a management role, a NAF is a organization with an operational focus. Numbered air forces are commanded by a major general or a lieutenant general. Numerical designations for Numbered Air Forces are written out, but Arabic numerals are used in abbreviations, units directly subordinate to a NAF are generally numbered 6XX. For example, the 618th Air and Space Operations Center is a subordinate to the Eighteenth Air Force. Numbered air forces began as named organizations in the United States Army Air Corps before World War II, the first four NAFs were established as the Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest Air Districts on 19 October 1940 to provide air defense for the United States. These Air Districts were redesignated as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Air Forces, respectively, on 26 March 1941. Over a year after the establishment of the United States Army Air Forces on June 20,1941, the Arabic numerals were changed to the First, Second, Third, after World War II, the US Air Force continued to use both named and numbered air forces. While named air forces were used in tactical and support roles, numbered air forces were generally employed only in tactical roles. These commands reflected the air combat missions that evolved during the war, and each reported directly to General Carl Spaatz. Numbered air forces served as an intermediate headquarters between these commands and the wings and groups. Eleven of the sixteen wartime air forces remained, Second Air Force would later be transferred to SAC in 1949. The numbered air forces had both operational and administrative authority, and existed as a level between major commands and air divisions. Although variations existed, and number air forces were often reassigned, the role of numbered air forces changed in the 1990s during the Air Force reorganization initiated by Air Force Chief of Staff General Merrill McPeak. The goal of the reorganization was to streamline, take out, flatten organizational charts. Numbered air forces were reorganized into tactical echelons focused on operations and this reorganization also reduced the number of major commands, and eliminated the air divisions to place numbered air forces directly in command of operational wings. The role of numbered air forces was changed in 2006 with the implementation of the Component Air Force concept
17.
Twenty-Fourth Air Force
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The Twenty-Fourth Air Force - Air Forces Cyber is a Numbered Air Force with the United States Air Force. The USAF has consolidated its cyberspace combat and support forces into 24 AF, the Twenty-Fourth Air Force is the Air Force component of U. S. Cyber Command. The current commander is Major General Christopher Wedge Weggeman, who assumed command June 2016. The Twenty-Fourth Air Force was originally intended to be a part of the now-defunct Air Force Cyber Command, one key element under 24 AF is the Air Forces primary network warfare wing, the 67th Cyberspace Wing, headquartered at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. Over 14,000 Airmen make up the force of 24 AF. Many of these are in place at other organizations, and Air Force units host cyber specialists from other organizations, before the command was officially activated, the Air Force had announced six possible locations for the headquarters of 24 AF. The candidate locations were, Barksdale AFB, LA, Lackland AFB, TX, Langley AFB, VA, Offutt AFB, NE, Peterson AFB, CO and Scott AFB, IL. On 15 May 2009, Air Force officials announced that Lackland is the alternative. The organization officially stood-up on 18 August 2009, on 22 January 2010,24 AF was certified by AFSPC/CC for its Initial Operational Capability. Full Operational Capability was declared on 1 October 2010, in 2014, the 24th provided the Cyber Mission Force for the Red Flag exercise for the first time. During U. S. Strategic Commands Global Lightning 14, the 24th operated as a Joint Force Headquarters - Cyber in support of a combatant commander during a joint exercise for the first time. Webber, August 2009 -29 April 2011, first commander Maj Gen Suzanne M. Vautrinot,29 April 2011 - June 2013 Maj Gen J. Kevin McLaughlin, June 2013 - July 2014 Maj Gen Burke E. afhra. af. mil/
18.
Space and Missile Systems Center
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The Space and Missile Systems Center is a part of Air Force Space Command of the United States Air Force, located at Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo, Los Angeles County, California. SMC is the Air Force’s product center for the development and acquisition of space, the Center was established in 1954 as the Western Development Division, tasked with the development of missile systems and especially the ICBM. It took on numerous roles during the unfolding of the Space Age, the Space and Missile Systems Center traces its roots to the Western Development Division, activated by Brigadier General Bernard Schriever on 1 July 1954. During this period, the Western Development Division underwent multiple reorganizations, until finally being designated in 1992 as the Space, on 1 September 1982, Air Force Space Command was established to serve as the Air Force’s operational command for military space systems. In the years followed, the Command gradually assumed operational functions previously performed by SMC field units, including satellite operations, launch ranges. Operation Desert Storm demonstrated the far reaching applications and benefits of space capabilities in joint military operations, ultimately, these reforms proved to be flawed, and the community experienced a series of launch failures, serious program delays, and cost overruns in the late 1990s. All these factors led to a “perfect storm” within the space enterprise, in 2001, the Center was realigned under Air Force Space Command, thus bringing the developers and the operators of military space and missile systems together under one major command. In the first decade of the new millennium, SMC has aimed to reinvigorate its workforce and its programs to recover from the flaws of the acquisition reforms in the 1990s. SMC has led the “Back to Basics” campaign – an initiative to reestablish rigor and discipline in space systems development. ”As part of this initiative, the directorate is responsible for the development and procurement of over 250,000 receiver systems and the United States nuclear detonation detection system. Annual funding is $1 billion and total value is $32 billion. GP manages the fleet of NAVSTAR GPS satellites as well as their ground control equipment. Day-to-day operations of the constellation are provided by the 50th Space Wing at Schriever AFB, GPS satellites, in one of six medium earth orbits, circle the earth every 12 hours transmitting continuous ranging signals. As a service to GPS users, the Department of Transportation has established the Navigation Information Service as a point of contact for civil GPS users. Operated and maintained by the United States Coast Guard, the NIS can be reached at 313-5900, seven days a week, 24-hours a day, and at www. navcen. uscg. gov. The mission of the Launch Enterprise Directorate is to acquire, operate and sustain affordable expendable launch and this capability provides assured access to space for the nation. After the Challenger accident, the Air Force initiated a program to develop a fleet of expendable launch systems. This program led initially to the development of the Delta II rocket, the EELV program was initiated in the mid-90s as a launch system modernization program which led to the development of the Boeing Delta IV rocket and Lockheed Martin Atlas V. All of these launch system programs are managed through the Launch Systems Directorate, beginning in December 2006, Boeing and Lockheed Martin merged their launch services into the United Launch Alliance joint venture which provides Delta II, Delta IV, and Atlas V launch systems
19.
Space Innovation and Development Center
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The Space Innovation & Development Center, formerly the Space Warfare Center, was a military unit of the United States Air Force. It was directly under Air Force Space Command and resides at Schriever Air Force Base, in 2013, AFSPC and ACC restructured the SIDC. Effective 1 April,2013, the SIDC transitioned into several Operating Locations at Schriever AFB under ACCs United States Air Force Warfare Center, headquartered at Nellis Air Force Base, the centers mission was to advance full-spectrum warfare through rapid innovation, integration, training testing, and experimentation. In the fall of 1992, an Air Force Blue Ribbon Panel on space recommended establishing a dedicated Space Warfare Center to exploit the capabilities of space-based assets, in order to better exploit space capabilities, the SWC was stood-up and officially dedicated on Nov.1,1993. The SWC was redesignated as the SIDC in March 2006, today, the SIDC supports the Global War on Terror by expeditiously transitioning innovative combat effects to the warfighter. The center also improves exploitation of air, space and cyberspace capabilities through wargaming, exercises, experiments, the SIDC provides independent, thorough space and missile operational testing results for Headquarters Air Force Space Command. TENCAP is responsible for keeping abreast of the latest technologies and influencing emerging space systems to make them more supportive of fielded combat forces. The Integration Division, or ID, brings space to the fight by focusing on the integration of air, space, DMOC-S support includes space injects, such as missile launches, blue-force tracking data, and Combat Search and Rescue injects. The DMOC-S is designed to provide support and testing. The Aerospace Fusion Center provides real-time data fusion systems for targeting, intelligence, weapons of mass destruction warning, iDs Wargaming Branch promotes the understanding and effective use of space power through modeling, simulation and analysis. A principal focus of the division is to provide models, simulations, plans, Programs and Requirements, or XR, is the backbone of the SIDC, providing overarching support to all other SIDC divisions. XR manages SIDC communications and computers, security, acquisition, logistics, policy, planning, programming, financial support, manpower, XR also serves as the SIDCs representative for the Chief of Staff of the Air Forces Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st century initiatives. As the lead SIDC programming and requirements agency, XR integrates SIDC views, as the SIDCs executive agent for the submitting program objective memorandum inputs, XR develops strategy, policy, doctrine and long-range plans to control and exploit space. XR programs and advocates manpower, resources and organizational development for long-term success of the SIDCs mission, the 595th SG is responsible for planning, managing and executing HQ AFSPCs intercontinental ballistic missile and space systems operational test and evaluation activities. The 595th SG is the point for coordinating all test activities between HQ AFSPC, 14th Air Force, 20th Air Force, space wings, test squadrons. The 595th SG comprises four squadrons and one flight, 595th Operations Support Flight, 17th Test Squadron, 14th Test Squadron, 25th Space Range Squadron, the mission of the Space Battlelab was to directly support combat operations in space through innovative and revolutionary applications of space systems. Its goal was to turn around projects at low cost within 18 months, the Concepts Development Flight ensured that the Space Battlelab was focused on the most pressing operational problems and determined the best available solutions. They produced a campaign plan as a guide for the second flight
20.
614th Air and Space Operations Center
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The 614th Air and Space Operations Center is a United States Air Force operations center. It is a unit of the Fourteenth Air Force / (Air Forces Strategic. Its mission is to To defend the United States and its Allies through the creation of space situational awareness, all of these efforts are in continuous around-the-clock support of global and theater operations. April 1996 Thirty-seven members were assigned to the 614th Space Operations Flight and were housed in two temporary facilities. November 1997 The 614 SOPF christened a new operations center. 614 SOPF was later redesignated 614 SOPS, in May 2005, the 614 SOPG took responsibility for the 1st Space Control Squadron and its mission of tracking and cataloging all man-made objects in space. July 1999 The Space Operations Center was redesignated as the 14th Air Force Air, with the support of Headquarters Air Force Space Command, Space AOC manpower grew to over 100 positions. May 2005 The Space AOC was redesignated as the Joint Space Operation Center and moved into a new, larger facility still within the 14th Air Force HQ building. 21 September 2007 The ribbon is cut on a new center, in a new building. General Kevin P. Chilton presided, Maj Gen William L. Shelton was also present, the 614 AOC is co-located with and forms the core of the JSpOC. S. operations in space. The USV is made up of officer, enlisted, civil servant and contract personnel from Air Force, Army, statement of Space Posture by Lt Gen Shelton to the SASC Subcommittee on Strategic Forces,4 Mar 2008
21.
624th Operations Center
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The 624th Operations Center located at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas serves as the 24 AFs operational arm to provide a robust full-spectrum and integrated cyberspace operations capability. On 20 August 2009, the Secretary of the Air Force issued a letter announcing the re-alignment of Air Force Cyberspace activities, the letter announced the inactivation of the 608th Air Force Network Operations Center, and activation the 624th Operations Center. In addition, the new 624th Operations Center would report to Twenty-Fourth Air Force, designated as 145th Airways and Air Communications Service Squadron on 14 May 1948. Redesignated as 624th Operations Center on 11 Aug 2009
22.
Air Force Network Integration Center
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Through these specialized technical services, AFNIC supports the nations warfighters with decisive cyber capabilities for mission success. As part of its mission, AFNIC also leads the Air Forces #1 cyber priority. As part of process, a robust, holistic assessment of security, interoperability, supportability, sustainability, usability, policy compliance. Cyber Simulation, AFNIC provides simulator-based education, training, crew certification and exercise capabilities to develop cyber warriors skills in protection, AFNIC engineers provide technical expertise to integrate ground, air and space networks as well as produce AFNet compliant network designs. Approximately 110 military, civilian and contractor cyber professionals are assigned to perform the AFNIC mission, AFNIC is composed of five directorates, Network Architecture, Designs and documents future AFNet infrastructure plans and standardizes network service capabilities. Network Engineering, Provides technical network consulting to all Air Force organizations to help them properly connect their systems, NV also leverages AFNICs advanced simulation capabilities to support cyber training and exercises. Networthiness, Leads the Networthiness assessment of all systems, applications, plans and Programs, Leads all operational, concept, functional and strategic support functions relating to local and enterprise strategic and integration planning. The AFNIC has a long and proud lineage, and now serves as the sixth generation AF central communications and information organization. AFNIC traces its history back to the Army Airways Communications System, the official lineage of the AACS as a separate unit, began on April 13,1943 with the constitution of the AACS Wing. The wing was reassigned directly to HQ Army Air Forces. Major command status was reached with the addition of Headquarters to the AACS name on April 26,1944, on March 13,1946, AACS was redesignated Air Communications Service and reassigned to the Air Transport Command. The ACS was then redesignated the Airways and Air Communications Service on September 11,1946, Airways and Air Communications Service became an Air Force major command again on July 1,1961, and was simultaneously redesignated Air Force Communications Service. AFCS was redesignated Air Force Communications Command on November 15,1979, AFCC became a field operating agency on July 1,1991, reporting to Headquarters United States Air Force. Around this time, it lost all the units that had been gathered under it for many years. These units went to the groups or wings they had worked for, AFCA was reassigned to HQ United States Air Force on October 1,2000. AFCA was reassigned to HQ Air Force Space Command, the Air Forces designated lead for cyber, on May 4,2009, AFNIC works closely with Twenty-Fourth Air Force on cyber issues. In 2012 it was announced that AFNIC would be restructured, divesting some of its mission to Air Force Space Command. Other functions transferred to the new 92d Information Operations Squadron and 38th Cyberspace Readiness Squadron, Air Force Network Integration Center USAF Wire & Cable Dawgs USAF Communications Troops Unofficial USAF Satellite, Wideband and Telemetry Communications Career Field Page
23.
Buckley Air Force Base
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Buckley Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Aurora, Colorado, that was established by the U. S. Army in 1943. The base was named in honor of World War I Army pilot First Lieutenant John Harold Buckley, Buckley Air Force Base is an Air Force Space Command base that serves more than 92,000 active duty, National Guard, Reserve and retired personnel throughout the Front Range community. The host unit is the 460th Space Wing, Buckley AFB has air operations, space-based missile warning capabilities, space surveillance operations, space communications operations and support functions. During the early years of World War II the city of Denver purchased a 5, 740-acre parcel of land several miles east of the city and donated it to the Department of the Army. The site was named Buckley Field after 1st Lt. John Harold Buckley, a Longmont, Colorado, native, under the command of the 336th AAF Base Unit, construction on the base began in early 1942, and that resulted in the construction of over 700 buildings. On 1 July 1942, the U. S. Army Air Corps Technical Training School opened there, Technical training at the base was under the jurisdiction of the Western Technical Training Command. During World War II, Buckley Field also trained over 50,000 airmen in basic training. After World War II, Buckley Fields military role quickly diminished, Lowry in turn transferred control of the base to the Colorado Air National Guard that same year. Air National Guard ownership lasted less than one year, and then in 1947 the Department of the Navy took charge of the base and renamed it Naval Air Station Denver. The renamed base was the location of Naval Air Reserve aviation squadrons, as well as for veterans, thousands of veterans returned to civilian life here over the next four years, while Naval Air Reservists concurrently conducted operational training. The Navy remained here for 12 years before decommissioning its base on June 30,1959, and transferring it back to the U. S. Air Force, which renamed the facility Buckley Air Force Base. However, the Naval Reserve remained at Buckley as tenant activity known as Naval Air Reserve Center Denver, Buckley Field once again became the Buckley Air National Guard Base on April 18,1960. At the same time, it became the first stand-alone Air National Guard base in the country, the Colorado Air National Guard remained in control of Buckley Field for the next 40 years, operating it as a fighter base. During the 1950s and 1960s, the growth of Aurora, Denver’s eastern neighbor, the land of the air base was annexed to Aurora in 1965 and 1966, however, the installation is US Government property under Federal jurisdiction. The 154th Group had its own truck-mounted tactical radar units and radar-control vans, although the Cold War ended in the early 1990s, the 120th Tactical Fighter Wing did not see any decrease in its responsibilities. On 1 October 2000, the United States Air Force took control of the base and it was renamed Buckley Air Force Base. A year later, control of Buckley AFB was transferred to the newly reactivated 460th Air Base Wing, since the return of Buckley Field to the Air Force in 2000, the air base has seen an unprecedented amount of new construction and modernization. In late 2016, the Air Force approved a version of the Space-Based Infrared System ground system from Lockheed Martin
24.
Los Angeles Air Force Base
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Los Angeles Air Force Base is a non-flying United States Air Force Base located in El Segundo, California. Los Angeles Air Force Base houses and supports the headquarters of the Air Force Space Commands Space, the center manages research, development and acquisition of military space systems. The 61st Air Base Wing provides support functions for the base, Los Angeles Air Force Base is headquarters to the Space and Missile Systems Center, part of Air Force Space Command. SMC is responsible for research, development, acquisition, on-orbit testing and sustainment of military space, SMC turns these systems over to the appropriate operating command. SMC also serves as the center for the Strategic Defense initiative within Air Force Material Command. It monitors progress in more than 70 Space Defense Initiative efforts throughout AFMC, SMC itself has direct management responsibility for more than half of those efforts. Los Angeles AFB is the active duty installation in Los Angeles County. In addition to assigned to the base, it serves all active-duty military personnel in the Greater Los Angeles area. The base, located in El Segundo, houses the main installation, Fort MacArthur, which is located 20 miles south, is a separate part of the base. It consists of five squadrons and six staff agencies, totaling more than 790 personnel with $608 million in plant assets, Space and Missile Systems Center SMC is the birthplace of military space and center of military space acquisition excellence. Their mission is to deliver resilient and affordable space capabilities for the nation, the directorate is responsible for the development and procurement of over 250,000 receiver systems and the United States nuclear detonation detection system. Annual funding is $1billion and total value is $32 billion. The directorate executes cradle-to-grave responsibility for weapon systems development, fielding, the directorate conducts satellite mission integration and provides reliable, integrated tools to test and support the nations space launch, ballistic missile and aeronautical testing. The satellites and ground stations provides global surveillance, tracking, and targeting information to warfighters, the $3. 5-billion program develops, tests, acquires, and sustains satellites, sensors and ground systems to meet warfighter requirements. It provides launch support, early operations and spacecraft anomaly resolution of DoDs sole operational weather satellite system. MILSATCOM systems consists of satellites, terminals, and control stations, worth more than $42 billion providing communication for approximately 16,000 aircraft, ships, mobile and fixed sites. As a jointly-manned directorate, it interfaces with major commands from each of the Armed Services, HQ Air Force, serves as primary provider of launch, spaceflight, hosted payloads and on-orbit operations for the entire DoD space research and development community. Co-located at LAAFB and Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, Space Logistics Directorate Located at Peterson AFB, Colorado, the Space Logistics Directorate has 550 people and a $500 million annual budget
25.
Patrick Air Force Base
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Patrick Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation located between Satellite Beach and Cocoa Beach, in Brevard County, Florida, in the United States. It was named in honor of Major General Mason Patrick, USAAC, an Air Force Space Command base, it is home to the 45th Space Wing. In addition to its host wing responsibilities at Patrick AFB, the 45 SW controls and operates Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and it was originally opened and operated from 1940-1947 as Naval Air Station Banana River, a U. S. Navy airfield. It was then deactivated as an installation in 1947 and placed in caretaker status until it was transferred to the Air Force in late 1948. Additional tenant activities at Patrick AFB include the 920th Rescue Wing, the Air Force Technical Applications Center, there are 13,099 military, dependents, civilian employees and contractors on base. The base is a place and had a resident population of 1,222 at the 2010 census. The host wing for Patrick AFB is the 45th Space Wing, whose officers, previously an activity of the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency, AFTAC is now a subordinate unit of 25th Air Force and the Air Combat Command. AFTAC is the sole Department of Defense agency operating and maintaining a network of nuclear event detection sensors. The 920th Rescue Wing, part of Air Force Reserve Command, is another tenant command headquartered at Patrick AFB and is the only military flying unit. The 920 RQW is a participant in the Air Forces Air. Under this concept, the bulk of the deployed to Iraq in 2003 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Subsequent AETF deployments have included Djibouti and Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, the U. S. State Departments Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Air Wing helps foreign countries combat drugs and narcotics criminals. The Navy bought 1,900 acres of land south of Cocoa Beach. With the advent of war with Japan and Germany in December 1941, PBMs returned to training duty in March 1942 when replaced on patrol by OS2U Kingfisher seaplanes. Landing strips were constructed in 1943, thereby allowing for concurrent operation of shore based aircraft, Officers of the Free French Naval Air Service also trained in PBMs at NAS Banana River at this time. NAS Banana River hosted and an aircraft repair and maintenance facility. Later in the war, a detachment of German POWs from Camp Blanding worked at NAS Banana River on cleanup details. At its peak, the base complement included 278 aircraft,587 civilian employees, when the flight failed to return to home station, a search and rescue operation was undertaken by multiple air and naval units
26.
Peterson Air Force Base
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Peterson AFB has flight operations by the 302d Airlift Wing. In May 1942, units such as the 5th Mapping Squadron arrived and used city facilities, the Second Photographic Group Reconnaissance transferred to Colorado Springs, and the 2nd Group. Land at the Broadmoor was used for maneuvers, and the 2nd Group initially operated without aircraft, personnel were also housed temporarily at Colorado College and a youth camp near the Woodmen sanitorium. The 373d Base HQ and Air Base Sq was activated as the operating unit on 20 Jun 1942. On July 7,1942, HQ PROTU was on the Army Air Base, during air base construction, the 20th Combat Mapping Squadron was activated on July 23,1942, and used the Alamo Garage on Tejon Street. Runways were completed in August 1942, and eponym 1st Lt Edward J. under the control of the Director of Photography since April 1942. The 263rd AAF Base Unit became the Peterson base operating unit on 8 March 1945, designated surplus on 29 July 1946, the U. S. Government returned control of the field to the City of Colorado Springs). In 1946, Tonopah AAF, Clovis AAF, and Casper AAF became detached installations of the base for a short period. The base with new construction was activated 29 September 1947 –15 January 1948, the 23 Photo Sq 19 May 43-9 Aug 48 remained throughout both inactive/surplus periods, and the 4600 Maint & Sup Sq was established at the surplus base on 1 December 1950). The military base at the municipal field reactivated as an installation of Ent AFB,1 Jan 1951 and was operated by Ents 4600 Air Base Group. The military base at Peterson Field gained its own base commander on 28 February 1975. Designated Peterson Air Force Base on March 1,1975, when Ent AFB was being closed, Peterson was the last of the April 1945 Continental Air Forces airbases to be named an air force base
27.
Thule Air Base
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Thule Air Base is the US Armed Forces northernmost installation, located 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Thules arctic environment includes icebergs in North Star Bay, two islands a polar ice sheet, and Wolstenholme Fjord — the only place on Earth where four active glaciers join together. Thule Air Base is also home to the 821st Air Base Group and is responsible for air support within the Thule Defense Area for the multinational population of Team Thule. The base hosts the 12th Space Warning Squadron which operates a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System designed to detect, Thule is also host to Detachment 1 of the 23rd Space Operations Squadron, part of the 50th Space Wings global satellite control network. The airfields 10, 000-foot runway handles more than 3,000 US, finally, Thule is home to the northernmost deep water port in the world. Thule is the only Air Force Base with an assigned tugboat, the tugboat is used to assist ship movements in the harbor during the summer, and is hauled onto shore during the winter season. The tugboat is used for daily sightseeing tours of Northstar Bay during the summer. Additionally, for a fee, there is a Danish tour boat that runs in the summer and it also was essential in the construction and resupply of High Arctic weather stations, including CFS Alert and Station Nord. In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area, james Saunderss expedition aboard North Star was marooned in North Star Bay 1849–50 and named landmarks. Robert Peary built a station by a protected harbor at the foot of iconic Mount Dundas in 1892. It served as a camp for his expeditions and attracted a permanent population. In 1910 explorer Knud Rasmussen established a missionary and trading post there and he called the site “Thule” after classical Ultima Thule, the Inuit called it Umanaq, and the site is commonly called Dundas today. The United States abandoned its claims in the area in 1917 in connection with the purchase of the Virgin Islands. Denmark assumed control of the village in 1937, a cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951. The affected locals moved to Thule. ”In a Danish Supreme Court judgment of 28 November 2003 the move was considered an expropriative intervention and it was during the proceedings recognized by the Danish government that the movement was a serious interference and an unlawful act against the local population. The Thule tribe was awarded damages of 500,000 kroner, a Danish radio station continued to operate at Dundas, and the abandoned houses remained. The USAF only used that site for about a decade, Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport. USAAF Colonel Bernt Balchen, who built Sondrestrom Air Base, knew Rasmussen, Balchen led a flight of two Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boats to Thule on 24 August 1942 and then sent a report advocating an air base to USAAF chief Henry Hap Arnold
28.
Vandenberg Air Force Base
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Vandenberg Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base 9.2 miles northwest of Lompoc, California. It is under the jurisdiction of the 30th Space Wing, Air Force Space Command, Vandenberg AFB is a Department of Defense space and missile testing base, with a mission of placing satellites into polar orbit from the West Coast using expendable boosters. Wing personnel also support the Services LGM-30G Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Force Development Evaluation program, in addition to its military mission, the base also leases launch pad facilities to SpaceX, as well as 100 acres leased to the California Spaceport in 1995. Established in 1941, the base is named in honor of former Air Force Chief of Staff General Hoyt Vandenberg, the host unit at Vandenberg AFB is the 30th Space Wing. The 30th SW is home to the Western Range, manages Department of Defense space and missile testing, Wing personnel also support the Air Forces Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Force Development Test and Evaluation program. The Western Range begins at the boundaries of Vandenberg and extends westward from the California coast to the Western Pacific. Operations involve dozens of federal and commercial interests, the wing is organized into operations, launch, mission support and medical groups, along with several directly assigned staff agencies. 30th Launch Group The 30th Launch Group is responsible for booster and satellite technical oversight and launch processing activities to launch, integration. The group consists of a military, civilian and contractor team with more than 250 personnel directly supporting operations from the Western Range. 1st Air and Space Test Squadron 4th Space Launch Squadron 30th Operations Group The 30th Operations Group provides the capability for West Coast spacelift. Operations professionals are responsible for operating and maintaining the Western Range for spacelift, missile test launch, aeronautical, 30th Mission Support Group The 30th Mission Support Group supports the third largest Air Force Base in the United States. It is also responsible for quality-of-life needs, housing, personnel, services, civil engineering, contracting, 30th Medical Group The 30th Medical Group provides medical, dental, bio-environmental and public health services for people assigned to Vandenberg Air Force Base, their families and retirees. It is Vandenbergs only National Historic Landmark that is open for scheduled tours through the 30th Space Wings Public Affairs office. The current display area is made up of two exhibits, the Chronology of the Cold War and the Evolution of Technology, there are plans to evolve the center in stages from the current exhibit areas as restorations of additional facilities are completed. In 1941 the United States Army sought more and better training centers for the development of its armored. In March 1941, the Army acquired approximately 86,000 acres of open ranch lands along the Central Coast of California between Lompoc and Santa Maria, most of the land was purchased. Smaller parcels were obtained either by lease, license, or as easements, with its flat plateau, surrounding hills, numerous canyons, and relative remoteness from populated areas, the Army was convinced it had found the ideal training location. Construction of the Army camp began in September 1941, although its completion was still months away, the Army activated the camp on 5 October, and named it Camp Cooke in honor of Major General Phillip St. George Cooke
29.
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
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Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is an installation of the United States Air Force Space Commands 45th Space Wing, headquartered at nearby Patrick Air Force Base. Located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida, CCAFS is the primary head of Americas Eastern Range with three launch pads currently active. The Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Skid Strip provides a 10, 000-foot runway close to the launch complexes for military airlift aircraft delivering heavy, a number of American space exploration firsts were launched from CCAFS, including the first U. S. Earth satellite, first U. S. astronaut, first U. S. astronaut in orbit, first two-man U. S. spacecraft, first U. S. unmanned lunar landing, and first three-man U. S. spacecraft. The CCAFS area had used by the United States government to test missiles since 1949. On June 1,1948, the U. S. Navy transferred the former Banana River Naval Air Station to the U. S. Air Force, with USAF renaming the facility the Joint Long Range Proving Ground Base on June 10,1949. On October 1,1949, the Joint Long Range Proving Ground Base was transferred from the Air Materiel Command to the Air Force Division of the Joint Long Range Proving Ground. On May 17,1950, the base was renamed the Long Range Proving Ground Base, in 1951, the Air Force established the Air Force Missile Test Center. Early American sub-orbital rocket flights were achieved at Cape Canaveral in 1956 and these flights occurred shortly after sub-orbital flights launched from White Sands Missile Range, such as the Viking 12 sounding rocket on February 4,1955. Following the Soviet Unions successful Sputnik 1, the US attempted its first launch of a satellite from Cape Canaveral on December 6,1957. However, the rocket carrying Vanguard TV3 blew up on the launch pad, NASA was founded in 1958, and Air Force crews launched missiles for NASA from the Cape, known then as Cape Canaveral Missile Annex. The row of Titan and Atlas launch pads along the coast came to be known as Missile Row in the 1960s, nASAs first manned spaceflight program was prepared for launch from Canaveral by U. S. Air Force crews. Mercurys objectives were to place a spacecraft in Earth orbit, investigate human performance and ability to function in space. Suborbital flights were launched by derivatives of the Armys Redstone missile from LC-5, Orbital flights were launched by derivatives of the Air Forces larger Atlas D missile from LC-14. The first American in orbit was John Glenn on February 20,1962, three more orbital flights followed through May 1963. Flight control for all Mercury missions was provided at the Mercury Control Center located at Canaveral near LC-14 and he had also convinced Gov. C. Farris Bryant to change the name of Cape Canaveral to Cape Kennedy and this resulted in some confusion in public perception, which conflated the two. This name was used through the Gemini and early Apollo programs, however, the geographical name change proved to be unpopular, owing to the historical longevity of Cape Canaveral
30.
Cape Cod Air Force Station
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Cape Cod Air Force Station is a US Air Force station located in the northwest corner of Joint Base Cape Cod, United States, on Flatrock Hill in Massachusetts. It consists of one PAVE PAWS radar station and is in continuous operation, the facility became operational April 4,1980 as Cape Cod Missile Early Warning Station, but was renamed Cape Cod Air Force Station on January 5,1982. The facility became home to the 6th Space Warning Squadron after the closure of the North Truro Air Force Station in North Truro and its main mission is to track space debris, intercontinental ballistic missiles, and submarine-launched ballistic missiles. It also tracked the spy satellite USA-193 before it was shot down and its secondary mission is tracking Earth-orbiting objects such as the International Space Station, the Space Shuttle, any object that deviates from its known orbit, or any new orbiting objects
31.
Cavalier Air Force Station
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The AN/FPQ-16 Perimeter Acquisition Radar Attack Characterization System is a powerful phased-array radar system located in North Dakota. It is the most powerful of the US Air Forces fleet of five used for missile warning. PARCS was built by General Electric as the Perimeter Acquisition Radar, PAR provided early warning of incoming ICBMs at ranges up to 2,000 miles, feeding data to the interceptor station, equipped with a shorter-range radar. The PAR and other systems were known as the Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex. With the signing of the ABM Treaty in 1972, the U. S. was limited to a single ABM base protecting missile fields, in 1975 the House Appropriations Committee voted to close Mickelsen and shut down Safeguard, which occurred in July 1976. After Mickelsen was shut down, the Air Forces Aerospace Defense Command took over the PAR site and it was later transferred to Strategic Air Command. The site was known as the Concrete Missile Early Warning System after the town of Concrete. The satellite tracking role was added, and in that mission PARCS monitors. PARCS was initially slated for closure in 1992, but was upgraded with newer electronics to become EPARCs. EPARCS is operated by the 10th Space Warning Squadron, 21st Space Wing, in addition to contractors, NORAD has U. S. and Canadian military members assigned to the facility. Original PAR equipment included, a Beam Forming Network, the array of 6888 elements—originally 6144 GE crossed-dipoles of beryllium copper mounted on the buildings sloping wall. Each element consists of a rod and two crossed dipoles, bent back at 45 degrees to form an arrow head shape. A microstrip high power UHF phaser was later developed for the BFN, in addition to the PAR, the system includes a 14 megawatt electricity system with five,16 cylinder diesel/natural gas Cooper Bessemer engines for 5 GE generators. A small antenna measuring radar with radome was on the top which was later replaced by a satellite communications antenna. EPARCS also includes an electrical substation and heat sink. and was listed as a separate procurement item from the Perimeter Acquisition Radar by the Congressional Record, the PAR design traces its history to the Nike-X ABM program of the early 1960s. Nike-X was at attempt to address problems with the earlier Nike Zeus ABM system, Bell Labs proposed replacing the Zeus radars with a phased array system in 1960, and were given the go-ahead for development in June 1961. The result was the Zeus Multi-function Array Radar, an example of an active electronically steered array radar system. MAR was made of a number of small antennas, each one connected to a separate computer-controlled transmitter or receiver
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Cheyenne Mountain Complex
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Also located in Colorado Springs is Peterson Air Force Base, where the North American Aerospace Defense Command and United States Northern Command headquarters are located. The military complex has included, in the past, many units of NORAD, Space Command, Aerospace Defense Command, Air Force Systems Command, Air Weather Service, and Federal Emergency Management. The complexs communication center is used by the nearby U. S. Civil Defense Warning Center. The complex was built under 2,000 feet of granite on 2 hectares, a total of more than 1,000 springs are designed to prevent any of the 15 buildings from shifting more than one inch. The complex is the high altitude Department of Defense facility certified to be able to sustain an electromagnetic pulse. There is a quantity of cots for most of the personnel. Amenities include a facility, store, cafeteria, and fitness centers inside and outside the mountain. The bunker is built to deflect a 30 megaton nuclear explosion as close as 2 kilometers, within a mountain tunnel are sets of 25-ton blast doors and another for the civil engineering department. The doors were built so that they can always be opened when needed, should a nuclear blast hit the building, they are designed to withstand a blast wave. There is a network of blast valves with unique filters to capture air-borne chemical, biological, radiological, outside of the military complex are the parking lots, a heliport, a fire station, and outdoor recreational facilities. The recreational amenities include Mountain Man Park, picnic areas, a facility, softball field, sand volleyball court, basketball court, a putting green. A military gate limits NORAD Road usage from the State Highway 115 interchange, the least likely events are the most hazardous. There is more produced by mountain springs than the base needs. A reservoir of 4.5 million gallons of water is used as a heat sink, there is a massive reservoir for diesel fuel and a huge battery bank with redundant power generators. The North American Air Defense Command was established and activated at the Ent Air Force Base on September 12,1957 and this command is a bi-national organization, of Canadian and United States Air Defense Command units, in accordance with NORAD Agreements first made on May 12,1958. The Space Defense Center and the Combat Operations Center achieved full operational capability on February 6,1967, the total cost was $142.4 million. Its systems included a command and control system developed by Burroughs Corporation, the electronics and communications system centralized and automated the instantaneous evaluation of aerospace surveillance data. The Space Defense Center moved from Ent AFB to the complex in 1965, the NORAD Combat Operations Center was fully operational April 20,1966 and The Space Defense Commands 1st Aerospace Control Squadron moved to Cheyenne Mountain that month
33.
Clear Air Force Station
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Clears AN/FPS-123 Upgraded Early Warning Radar is part of the Solid State Phased Array Radar System which also includes those at Beale AFB, Cape Cod AFS, RAF Fylingdales and Thule Site J. The historic property was one of the Alaska World War II Army Airfields and later a Cold War BMEWS site providing NORAD data to Colorados BMEWS Central Computer and Display Facility. In addition to the camp area with buildings still in use today, areas of the station include the airfield, the SSPARS Site the technical site. In addition to the Air National Guard unit, Clear has active duty USAF, Royal Canadian Air Force, civilian, and contractor personnel. The sites land with the 1918 Alaska Railroad was purchased by the Department of the Interior in 1949 for Alaskan Air Commands Clear Air Force Auxiliary Field for use as a Ladd Field gunnery range. Total costs for the planned Thule and Clear BMEWS stations in a May 1958 estimate were ~$800 million--an October 13,1958, an additional 10-by-40-mile area was appropriated for BMEWS Site II. Clear Missile Early Warning Station construction began in August 1958 with 700 workers--e. g, in 1959 after the original White Alice Communications System contract, the next segment of WACS. was series of TD-2 microwave installations to support. Two routes linked the Ballistic Missile Early Warning Site at Clear AFB, three GE AN/FPS-50 Radar Sets were installed with antenna reflectors 165 by 400 feet that each weigh 1,000 short tons. The Building Two middle transmitter building had the control room and room with the Sylvania AN/FSQ-28 Missile Impact Predictor Set. By mid-1962, BMEWS quick fixes for ECCM had been installed at Thule and Clear and by June 30,1962, Ent AFB integration of BMEWS and SPADATS data was completed. In 1966, the last of the 5 BMEWS tracking radars was installed an RCA AN/FPS-92 Radar Set with an 84-foot diameter antenna housed in a 42. 7-meter diameter radome. Clear subsequently provided measurements for a University of Alaska experiment which injected sulfur hexafluoride into the atmosphere to see if the Aurora Borealis could be affected. After a Thule radome fire, Clears FPS-92 radome was replaced in 1981 by first disassembling the tracker, constructing the new radome, and reconstructing the FPS-92. On April 16,1998, groundbreaking for installing 1987 AN/FPS-115 PAVE PAWS components from Texas was held at Clear for the more advanced Raytheon AN/FPS-120 with 2500 solid state transmitter modules, media related to Clear Air Force Station at Wikimedia Commons
34.
Eldorado Air Force Station
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Eldorado Air Force Station located 35 miles south of San Angelo, Texas was one of the four unique AN/FPS-115 PAVE PAWS, early-warning phased-array radar systems. The 8th Space Warning Squadron, 21st Space Wing, Air Force Space Command operated at Eldorado Air Force Station, the Station was associated with Goodfellow Air Force Base,35 miles north, and was part of the NORAD at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex command structure. 8th Missile Warning Squadron As of 2006 the station was in mothballs awaiting possible future re-activation, fASs Eldorado Air Force Station site Article by Eldorado TX resident on simulating the effect of a nuclear attack on the Eldorado AFS
35.
Kaena Point Satellite Tracking Station
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The Kaena Point Satellite Tracking Station is a United States Air Force military installation in Kaena Point on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. The station originally opened in 1959 to support CORONA, a reconnaissance satellite program. Detachment 3, 22d Space Operations Squadron, part of the 50th Space Wing and it was constructed in 1959, one of three built that year. The facility is placed near the westernmost point of the island of Oahu, atop a 1, the two radomes are locally known as the golf balls, and are a popular landmark for fishing vessels in the surrounding waters. Yokohama Bay state park is at the base of the ridge, with a trail that goes to the point and around to the northern side of the ridge. By permit only, the station provide access to state hiking and hunting trails. Permits to enter through the station to hike, hunt, or camp on the surrounding State lands can be obtained from the Hawaii Department of Land, permission form Historic American Engineering Record No. HI-97, Kaena Point Satellite Tracking Station, Kaena Point, Waianae Mountains above Keawaula Bay, Waialua, Honolulu County, HI,10 photos,22 data pages,2 photo caption pages HAER No. HI-97-A, Kaena Point Satellite Tracking Station, Building 20, Kaena Point, Waianae Mountains above Keawaula Bay, Waialua, Honolulu County, HI,13 photos,2 photo caption pages HAER No. HI-97-B, Kaena Point Satellite Tracking Station, Building 14111, Kaena Point, Waianae Mountains above Keawaula Bay, Waialua, Honolulu County, HI,9 photos,1 photo caption page HAER No. HI-97-C, Kaena Point Satellite Tracking Station, Building 21, Kaena Point, Waianae Mountains above Keawaula Bay, Waialua, Honolulu County, HI,5 photos,1 photo caption page HAER No. HI-97-D, Kaena Point Satellite Tracking Station, Building 11, Kaena Point, Waianae Mountains above Keawaula Bay, Waialua, Honolulu County, HI,8 photos,7 data pages,1 photo caption page HAER No. HI-97-E, Kaena Point Satellite Tracking Station, Building 35, Kaena Point, Waianae Mountains above Keawaula Bay, Waialua, Honolulu County, HI,14 photos,9 data pages,2 photo caption pages HAER No. HI-97-G, Kaena Point Satellite Tracking Station, Building 39006, Kaena Point, Waianae Mountains above Keawaula Bay, Waialua, Honolulu County, HI,11 photos,8 data pages,2 photo caption pages
36.
New Boston Air Force Station
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New Boston Air Force Station is a United States Air Force facility located in Hillsborough County in south central New Hampshire. It occupies more than 2,800 acres in three towns, New Boston, Amherst, and Mont Vernon and it was established in 1942 as a practice area for bombers and fighter planes from nearby Grenier Army Air Field. Starting in 1959, it was turned into a satellite-tracking station, during the late 1970s and early 1980s it was known as Detachment 1 of the 2014th Communications Squadron located at Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, Massachusetts. New Boston AFS is operated by the 23d Space Operations Squadron, the New Boston Air Force Station dates back to 1942, when Grenier Field - now Manchester–Boston Regional Airport - was preparing to meet the demands of World War II. On Sept.5,1941, Col. John Moore, commanding officer of the U. S. Army Air Corps at Grenier Field, wrote a letter proposing the government create a bombing range in New Boston near Joe English Pond. The nature of the terrain around the pond is such that aerial bombing thereon would offer the elements of surprise, concealed approach and navigation to a point and it is believed that Joe English Hill would be a satisfactory stop for any ricochet bullets from ground machine gun targets. Eventually, land belonging to 16 families,12 of them in New Boston, was taken at a cost of $23,200, there was no electricity on site, and water had to be brought from Dodges store in the center of New Boston. Nail kegs were used as chairs, locals felt so sorry for the soldiers that they donated used furniture. During World War II, local residents remember watching fighters and bombers train at the Air Force station, id watch from the kitchen window, 89-year-old Evelyn Barss told the Nashua Telegraph newspaper in a 2005 story. They would come in across the hill and drop their bombs and these little black specks would go down, and you would hear a small discharge - they didnt use a lot of powder because it was scarce during the war. Roland Goodwin worked at the base on and off for three decades and he remembers seeing the tail fins of bombs sticking out of the pond, planes at one time practiced dropping depth bombs for sinking submarines. Every building we built down there in the early days and we usually ran into a buried bomb of some kind. Wed have to bring people up from Fort Devens to detonate it, After the war, the bombing range was deactivated and after a long debate about the sites future, it became home to new satellite tracking antennas. The first antennas went up around 1960 and remain, protected by a dome resembling a golf ball about six stories high. In previous years portions of the station have been open to fisherman, hunters, and loggers, a few working farms are in the vicinity, however, most of the area is heavily wooded with pockets of residential development. Commercial development consists primarily of shopping centers with a few office complexes along NH State Route 101 to the southeast. New Boston AFS consists mostly of undeveloped, forested land with extensive wetlands, local, state, and federal laws governing the preservation of natural, cultural, and environmental resources play a major role in limiting development on and around the station. The station lies within the Merrimack River watershed, fourteen freshwater ponds fed by springs or streams, which occupy approximately 100 acres, and seven miles of streams exist on the station
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Onizuka Air Force Station
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It was operational from 1960 to 2010. Its distinguishing feature was Building 1003, known locally as the Blue Cube or simply the Cube given its size, color, operations commenced in the late 1950s. By 1958, the United States Air Force sought a permanent home with larger facilities, ultimately, the United States Air Force purchased roughly 19 acres of land from Lockheed Corporation, which included Lockheed Building 100, and was named Sunnyvale Air Force Station. Construction of the original facilities was completed in 1960. Over time, additional structures were built as operations expanded, the station was home to the Air Force Systems Command operational unit known as the Air Force Satellite Test Center, and other non-Air Force Systems Command operational organizations. By 1979, the Air Force Satellite Test Center was renamed the Air Force Satellite Control Facility, the non-Air Force System Command operational organizations remained under their respective commands. When the station was opened in 1960, the Sunnyvale area was rural, by the late 1970s, the region had become Silicon Valley and the stations physical security vulnerabilities became apparent. Spacecraft operations would be split between the two locations and each location would serve as a backup to the other, upon completion of this transition, Onizuka Air Force Station was ceremonially closed on July 28,2010, and officially closed on September 30,2010. Realignment of Onizuka Air Force Station was recommended and accepted as part of the 1995 round of the Base Realignment and Closure Program. On May 13,2005, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld recommended closing the Onizuka Air Force Station in Sunnyvale as part of a round of military base closures. The date by which the realignment and closure must be completed was September 15,2011, in April 2007, the mission of the National Reconnaissance Office at Onizuka AFS ended after 46 years. On or about April 15,2014, the site began full-scale demolition,4.4 acres of the land will be used by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The remaining 5 acre parcel is now owned by the City of Sunnyvale for a future use. Onizuka Air Force Station 750th Medical Squadron at Onizuka Roster of 750 MDS Staff BRAC2005, Closings, Realignments to Reshape Infrastructure
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689th Combat Communications Wing
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The 689th Combat Communications Wing was a wing of the United States Air Force stationed at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. The wing was activated on 9 October 2009 and it was a subordinate unit of the Twenty-Fourth Air Force. On 5 June 2013 the wing was inactivated, along with the 3rd Combat Communication Group at Tinker Air Force Base, the 5th Combat Communications Group at Robins now a reports directly to 24th Air Force. Its units included the 3d Combat Communications Group, at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, a Salute to Air Force Communications Command, Leaders and Lineage. Scott AFB, IL, Office of AFCC History, lackland AFB, TX, 24th Air Force Office of History
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688th Cyberspace Wing
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The United States Air Forces 688th Cyberspace Wing is an information operations unit located at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas. The wing delivers information operations and engineering infrastructure for air, space and it supports national, joint and Air Force operations. The wing is assigned two groups, in July 1953, United States Air Force Security Service organized the 6901st and 6902d Special Communications Centers at Brooks Air Force Base, Texas. One month later, these two organizations were replaced by the Air Force Special Communications Center, located on the side of San Antonio. The center became the Air Force Electronic Warfare Center in July 1975, in May 2007, after 54 years of being aligned with United States Air Force Security Service and its successors, the center became part of Air Combat Command and was reassigned to Eighth Air Force. This assignment did not last long, for in August 2009 the center was redesignated the 688th Information Operations Wing and was assigned to Twenty-Fourth Air Force of Air Force Space Command. The Air Force Information Operations Center became the 688th Information Operations Wing on 18 August 2009 as planned by the initial Air Force Cyber Command plan of 2007 and 2008. Today the wing has a staff of nearly 1,400 civil and military personnel and it is currently commanded by Colonel Michelle Hayworth and is subordinate to Twenty-Fourth Air Force. afhra. af. mil/. Air Force Bases, Vol. I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982, washington, DC, Office of Air Force History. 688th Information Operations Wing web site
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67th Cyberspace Wing
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The 67th Cyberspace Wing is a United States Air Force wing stationed at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. It was activated in October 1993 as an intelligence unit and is assigned to Twenty-Fourth Air Force. The wing was first activated at March Field as the 67th Reconnaissance Wing as part of the base organization system. However, only its 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group ever became operational and it was inactivated in the 1949 Truman reductions in the Department of Defense budget. It moved to Korea and served in combat until the armistice was signed in July 1953, following the war, it returned to Japan and by 1957 was the only reconnaissance unit assigned to Far East Air Forces. The wing was inactivated in 1960 and its squadrons assigned to other units. The wing was reactivated at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho in 1966 and it became Tactical Air Commands replacement training unit for the McDonnell RF-4C Phantom II. From 1968 to 1970, it acquired a fighter unit and also trained fighter aircrews on the F-4 and it continued its reconnaissance mission at Bergstrom until inactivating on 30 September 1993. The wing activated the day at Kelly Air Force Base as the 67th Intelligence Wing and has continued the electronic intelligence mission since then. The 67th Cyberspace Wing operates, manages, and defends global Air Force networks, the wing trains and readies airmen to execute computer network exploitation and attack. It also executes full-spectrum Air Force network operations, training, tactics and it provides network operations and network warfare capabilities to Air Force, joint task force, and Unified Combatant Commands. Additionally, it performs electronic systems security assessments for the Air Force, 67th Network Warfare Group Provides forces to conduct Air Force computer network operations for United States Strategic Command, United States Cyber Command and other combatant commands. The group conducts computer network operations and warfare planning for the Air Force, joint task forces, the group also conducts Secretary of Defense-directed special network warfare missions. 26th Network Operations Group Operates, manages and secures the network battlespace as part of Air Force network operations, 690th Cyberspace Operations Group Delivers and sustains continuous worldwide network operations and security for air, space and cyberspace forces. It was made a permanent unit and redesignated the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group in August 1948, during this period, only the wings 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group was operational and the entire wing was attached to the 1st Fighter Wing. The wing was equipped with models of the Douglas B-26 Invader, North American F-6 Mustang. President Truman’s reduced 1949 defense budget required reductions in the number of groups in the Air Force to 48, by 1951, Fifth Air Force had combined its reconnaissance units under the 543d Tactical Support Group, which was stationed in Korea. In late January, the 543d headquarters moved to Komaki Air Base Japan, and the month it was inactivated
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21st Space Wing
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The 21st Space Wing is a unit of the Air Force Space Command based at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. On 12 August 2013, the Wing was told that it would stop operation of the aging Air Force Space Surveillance Systems by October due to budget cuts, the 21 SW operate and maintain a complex system of U. S. The 21st Operations Group manages all operation units in the 21st Space Wing, SLBM warning units are the 6th SWS, Cape Cod AFS, Mass. and the 7th SWS, Beale AFB, Calif. Their mission is mainly to watch Americas coasts for incoming sea-launched or intercontinental ballistic missiles, the wings two BMEWS radar units are the 12th Space Warning Squadron, Thule AB, and the 13th Space Warning Squadron at Clear AFS. The 21st SW also has a detachment at RAF Fylingdales, U. K. to coordinate cooperative missile warning, the wings PARCS unit is the 10th Space Warning Squadron, Cavalier AFS, N. D. Space surveillance is an element of the space control mission and will be vitally important to support future theater missile operations. As part of the surveillance mission, the wing operates surveillance units. More than 20,000 manmade objects in orbit around the earth, knowing the orbits of those objects is essential to prevent collisions when a new satellite is launched. The 20th Space Control Squadron, Eglin AFB, Fla. provides dedicated active radar space surveillance, in addition, other collateral and contributing missile warning and research radars are used to support the surveillance mission. Besides the three commands, the Wing directs and supports Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Thule Air Base, Greenland, Clear AFS, Alaska. The 21st also provides community support to 302d Airlift Wing, the 50th Space Wing, Schriever AFB, Colo and to its neighbors in the Colorado Springs area. 21st Operations Group, The mission of the 21st OG as Air Force Space Commands largest, most weapon-system diverse, the group provides real-time missile warning, attack assessment, and space control to the President, Secretary of Defense, JCS, combatant commands, and foreign allies. They develop future combat counterspace capabilities in support of theater campaigns, 21st Mission Support Group, The 21st MSG is made up of the people who make sure the base runs smoothly and effectively. It consists of airborne, land-based and space-based systems which sense and report on all activities in air and space. 821st Air Base Group, The mission of the 821st Air Base Group is to operate and maintain Thule Air Base, Greenland, in support of missile warning and space surveillance operations missions. For additional history and lineage see 21st Operations Group On 1 January 1953 the 21st Fighter-Bomber Wing as part of Tactical Air Command at George AFB, the wings operational component was the 21st Fighter-Bomber Group, comprised three fighter-bomber squadrons, the 72d, 416th, and 531st. The 72d and 531st previously had been components of the World War II 21st Fighter Group, during its first six months, the 21st Fighter-Bomber Wing upgraded from the F-51 to the F-86F “Sabrejet, ” which had become famous for its prowess in the Korean War. Throughout 1953 and into the first months of 1954, the 21st participated in a series of tactical exercises through which the unit obtained operational readiness
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30th Space Wing
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The 30th Space Wing is an air force wing forming a subordinate unit of the Fourteenth Air Force of the Air Force Space Command of the United States Air Force. The 30th Space Wing is based at Vandenberg Air Force Base, the 30 SW is the Air Force Space Command organization responsible for all Department of Defense space and missile launch activities on the West Coast. All U. S. satellites destined for polar orbit are launched from Vandenberg. The wing supports West Coast launch activities for the Air Force, Department of Defense, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the wing launches a variety of expendable vehicles including the Delta II, Pegasus, Taurus, Atlas, Titan II and Titan IV. The wing also supports Force Development and Evaluation of all ballistic missiles. The Western Range begins at the boundaries of Vandenberg and extends westward from the California coast to the western Pacific including sites in Hawaii. Operations there involve dozens of federal and commercial interests, the Western Range is operated by the 2nd Range Operations Squadron and maintained by the 30th Range Management Squadron. It is a vast tracking, telemetry, and command complex whose boundary begins along Vandenbergs California coastline, the range consists of electronic and optical tracking systems located along the Pacific Coast that collect and process launch-related data for a variety of users. Additionally, the 30th Comptroller Squadron reports directly to the wing commander, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California,15 May 1964 –1 April 1970,1 October 1979–present Upon activation in 1964 the future 30th SW operated and maintained the Western Test Range. The 30th conducted strategic missile test programs, including Minuteman force reliability assessment, the Wing maintained launch and support facilities for the Space Shuttle from 1984–1987. It conducted other aerospace systems launching and tracking operations at the California launch site and at several fixed, the 30th also provided support personnel to USAF units deployed to Southwest Asia from August 1990 – April 1991, and to Saudi Arabia on a rotational basis thereafter. Most recently it has deployed personnel in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. On 20 January 2011, the 30th Space Wing and their commercial partners successfully launched a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket into space from Vandenberg AFB and this was the first-ever West Coast launch of the Delta IV Heavy. The 235-foot-tall launch vehicle, the largest ever fired from the US West Coast, carried a classified US intelligence satellite, USA-224 and this article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http, //www. afhra. af. mil/. Vandenberg AFB Home Page 30th Space Wing YouTube channel
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45th Space Wing
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The 45th Space Wing is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the Fourteenth Air Force, stationed at Patrick Air Force Base and it commands Patrick AFB and the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The mission of the 45th Space Wing is to access to the high frontier. The wing formerly operated the recently discontinued Titan IV rocket and it employs 9,512 military and civilians. Since August 4,2015, it is under the command of Brigadier General Wayne R. Monteith, the wing commander formerly served as the deputy DOD manager for the Department of Defense Manned Space Flight Support Office. 45th Medical Group 45th Mission Support Group See also, 45th Operations Group, 45th Launch Group, 6555th Aerospace Test Group for additional lineage, organized to maintain and operate the proving ground facilities in coordination and collaboration with other agencies of the national guided missile program. Provided static and flight testing to meet requirements of Army, Navy, from May 1950 to May 1951, had separate operating agency status, assigned directly to Headquarters, United States Air Force. Operated Down-Range facilities at Antigua, Ascension Island, and Cape Canaveral AFS, Florida, 1951–1977, after Oct 1979, launched DOD payloads into orbit and collected flight data for evaluation of ballistic missile systems launched from Eastern Launch sites for DOD, NASA, and commercial customers. Patrick AFB Home Page 45th Space Wing
44.
310th Space Wing
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The 310th Space Wing is an Air Reserve Component of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the Tenth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Schriever Air Force Base, the 310th SW is mission partnered with the 21st Space Wing, Air Force Space Command, 30th Space Wing, 50th Space Wing, and 460th Space Wing. If mobilized, the wing is gained by AFSPC, the 310 SW is the only space wing in the Air Force Reserve. It provides specialized expertise, continuity and combat ready personnel, projecting space power for U. S. interests worldwide. The 310th has a long and rich heritage dating back to World War II, the 310th Bombardment Group was inactivated in September 1945. The 310th Bombardment Wing was reactivated in 1952 as part of Strategic Air Command and it trained on the Boeing B-29 Superfortress before converting to the Boeing B-47 Stratojet. It was inactivated in June 1965 with the phaseout of the B-47 from the U. S. Air Force inventory, the 310th Space Group was re-designated the 310th Space Wing on 7 March 2008. The 310th Space Wing is commanded by Colonel Traci L. Kueker-Murphy and its Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sergeant Imelda B. Johnson. Used B-25s in preparing for duty overseas, moved to the Mediterranean theater by single aircraft between October 1942 and March 1943 and assigned to Twelfth Air Force. Sufficient aircraft were on hand by 2 December, when it conducted its first operation against antiaircraft concentrations at Gabes, engaged primarily in support and interdictory operations in Tunisia, Sicily, Italy, Corsica, Sardinia, and southern France. The 310th Bomb Group also flew missions to Austria and Yugoslavia. The unit attacked harbors and shipping to help defeat Axis forces in North Africa, bombed airdromes, landing grounds, and gun emplacements on Pantelleria, Lampedusa, and Sicily, May–July 1943. The unit supported the Allied landing at Salerno, September 1943, assisted the drive toward Rome, January–June 1944. Supported the invasion of Southern France, August 1944, struck German communications— bridges, rail lines, marshalling yards, viaducts, tunnels, and road junctions in Italy, August 1943 – April 1945. Also dropped propaganda leaflets behind enemy lines, the 310th Bomb Group was inactivated in Italy on 12 September 1945. The unit was redesignated the 310th Bombardment Group, Light and allotted to the reserve, activated in the US on 27 December 1946. The 310th Bombardment Wing was activated in 1952 as a Strategic Air Command unit, receiving Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombardment training from 90th Bombardment Wing, from February through May 1953, the 310th Bomb Wing provided bombardment training to the 40th Bombardment Wing. Participated in SAC REFLEX deployments, deploying to RAF Upper Heyford, England,10 March –8 June 1955, the wing gained a strategic missile squadron in April 1961
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460th Space Wing
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The 460th Space Wing is located at Buckley Air Force Base, east of Aurora, Colorado. The 460th delivers global infrared surveillance, provides worldwide missile warning and tracking for homeland defense purposes, the 460th Space Wing is directed by Air Force Space Command. The wing is divided into three groups, the 460th Operations Group, the 460th Mission Support Group, and the 460th Medical Group, the 460th Operations Group provides missile warning, missile defense, technical intelligence, satellite command and control, and robust aerospace communications. The group operates the Defense Support Program and Space-Based Infrared System satellites, providing persistent global surveillance, tracking, the 460th Mission Support Group provides trained personnel to support the Air Expeditionary Forces and Homeland Defense. Specific capabilities include force protection, human management, contracting. Since the 460th is the host unit at Buckley AFB, the 460th MSG also maintains the bases infrastructure, the 460th Medical Group supports military readiness to the Air Expeditionary Forces and Homeland Defense missions by ensuring base personnel are medically qualified for deployments. Space operators use a network of ground stations around the world to communicate with the SBIRS. SBIRS is to consist of six dedicated satellites operating in geosynchronous earth orbit, SBIRS will replace the Defense Support Program satellites and is intended primarily to provide enhanced strategic and theater ballistic missile warning capabilities. The DSP satellites are in geosynchronous orbits, and are equipped with infrared sensors operating through a wide-angle Schmidt camera, the entire satellite spins so that the linear sensor array in the focal plane scans over the earth in a radial pattern. The last DSP satellite was launched in 2007 aboard the first operational flight of the Delta IV Heavy rocket, constituted as 460th Bombardment Group in May 1943. Activated as a B-24 Liberator heavy bombardment unit, assigned to II Bomber Command for training, primarily trained in New Mexico and Utah. Received deployment orders for the Mediterranean Theater of Operations in August 1943, moved to Georgia and Virginia where the group flew coastal patrol missions over the Southeast, October 1943 – January 1944 while station in Italy was being constructed. Deployed to Southern Italy in January 1944, entered combat in January 1944, the group flew its last World War II combat mission on 26 April 1945. After V-E Day, was assigned to Green Project which was the movement of troops from Europe to the United States via the South Atlantic Transport Route. B-24s were modified with sealed bomb bays, removal of all defensive armament, was assigned to Air Transport Command at Waller Field, Trinidad and to Natal, Brazil. Moved personnel from Dakar in French West Africa where personnel were transported across the South Atlantic to Brazil and eventually to Morrison Field, provided air transport until the end of September when the unit was inactivated. See also, Tan Son Nhut Air Base On 2 February 1966 and its headquarters shared the Seventh Air Force Headquarters and the Military Assistance Command Vietnam. When it stood up, the 460th TRW, alone, was responsible for the reconnaissance mission
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61st Air Base Group
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The 61st Air Base Group is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the 61st Air Base Wing of Air Force Space Command. The unit is stationed at Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, the 61st Air Base Group operates Los Angeles Air Force Base and supports the Space and Missile Systems Center. The units World War II predecessor unit, the 61st Troop Carrier Group was a C-47 Skytrain transport unit assigned to both Twelfth and Ninth Air Forces in North Africa, Italy and Western Europe. Was deployed to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations and flew missions in the North African and Tunisian Campaigns under Twelfth Air Force. It flew airborne assault and resupply missions during the invasions of Sicily and Italy in 1943 and transported cargo. Reassigned to Ninth Air Force and was moved to England in the European Theater of Operations, flew airborne assault missions during the Normandy invasion and later supported Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands. In 1945 it participated in the assault across the Rhine. Also provided transport services in the European theater, hauling gasoline, ammunition, food, medicine, and other supplies, moved to Trinidad in May 1945. Used C-47s to transport troops returning to the US, inactivated in Trinidad on 31 July 1945 It was reactivated in Germany on 30 September 1946. Assigned to United States Air Forces in Europe, redesignated 61st Troop Carrier Group in July 1948, and 61st Troop Carrier Group in August 1948. In Germany, the participated in the Berlin Airlift, from June 1948 to May 1949, the groups C-54 aircraft ferried coal, flour. In 1950, the moved to the United States shortly after the outbreak of the Korean War for duty with Military Air Transport Service. Returned to the US in November 1952 to join Tactical Air Command, converted from C-54 to C-124 aircraft and carried out worldwide strategic airlift operations from 1952–1959. The 61st Military Airlift Group was reactivated at Howard Air Force Base, at Howard, the group was the parent unit for the 310th Military Airlift Squadron with a diverse array of aircraft. The C-21 and CT-43 provided VIP airlift support for the Commander-In-Chief, the C-130s and C-27s flew tactical airlift operations in Central and South America from 1984–1992. The unit was inactivated and its assets absorbed by the 24th Wing when the 310ths mission was transferred to Air Combat Command on 1 June 1992, the 61st Air Base Group has operated Los Angeles Air Force Base and supported the Space and Missile Systems Center since 1994. C-47 Skytrain, 1942–1945, 1946–1948 CG-4 Waco, 1942–1945 C-54 Skymaster, 1948–1952 C-124 Globemaster, 1952–1959 C-130 Hercules, 1985-1990 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http, //www. afhra. af. mil/. Air Force Combat Units Of World War II, Maxwell AFB, Alabama, Office of Air Force History
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3d Combat Communications Group
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The United States Air Forces 3d Combat Communications Group was a United States Air Force combat communications unit located at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma. The 3 CCG inactivated 30 September 2013, affecting more than 700 military billets, media reports state that the 3 CCG was inactivated by order of the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act. However, no part of the act addresses the inactivation of the unit and their absence, however, was short lived. In 1948, in response to the Berlin blockade, the US deployed long-range B-29 strategic bombers to four East Anglian bases. The 3d Combat Communications Group lineage stems from the 3d Communications Group, the 3d Communications Group was established on 16 May 1957 and was activated on 8 July 1957. At the times of its activation in 1957 the 3d Communications Group consisted of the 603d Communications, the 1960s saw continuous fluctuations in the US Air Force presence in the United Kingdom. In 1961, some bases were returned and numbered air force activities merged, support squadrons were eliminated at South Ruislip. On 1 July 1962 the 3d Communications Group was inactivated, the 3d was then reactivated and redesignated as the 3d Mobile Communications Group on 20 May 1964. The 3d Mobile Communications Group took the void of the 3d Airways and Air Communications Service Mobile Squadron that was established at Tinker AFB, OK on 1 December 1952. Upon establishment of AFCS, the 3d AACS was redesignated 3d Mobile Communications Squadron, although no former recognized lineage with the 3d AACS and 3d Mobile Communications Squadron exist, it shares a common history of people, equipment and Tinker AFB. Since 1964 it has been assigned to organizations of the Air Force Communications Service/Command, on 1 October 1990 it became part of the Tactical Air Command. On 5 October 2009, the 3d CCG was realigned underneath the newly activated 689th Combat Communications Wing, headquartered at Robins Air Force Base, with this realignment, the group now fell under the Twenty-Fourth Air Force and Air Force Space Command. The 3d Combat Communications Group inactivated on 30 September 2013, gen. Harold M. McClelland Award Please visit www. 3drherd. org for articles, pictures, and stories about the Herd for historical purposes. There will be pictures, videos, and an archive of material for viewing, editing and contributing
48.
5th Combat Communications Group
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The 5th Combat Communications Group is a specialized unit of the United States Air Force. The 5th Mob is currently based at Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, the 5th Combat Communications supports United States United States Air Forces Central Command and Joint Chiefs of Staff worldwide. It also responds to contingencies, emergencies and natural disasters, the group also deploys to a variety of sites around the southeastern United States during training exercises. The unit has approximately 500 people and can be a combat unit. The group can provide its own security, electrical power. The 5th has more than 100 of its members deployed to locations of the world at any given time in support of ongoing operations. In addition, the group advises two Air National Guard Combat Communications Groups composed of more than 2,300 people in units throughout the Eastern U. S. from Maine to the Virgin Islands. The group was first organized in July 1964 as the 5th Mobile Communications Group and it has had its current name since 1976, except for the period from 1984 to 1986 when Air Force Communications Command units were designated as Information Systems units. Their mission was to establish and operate air navigation systems at Desert One, the controllers remained deployed until new civilian controllers were trained to replace those who had been dismissed. During the 1980s until the end of the Iran–Iraq War, the Air Force maintained a deployed Airborne Warning, the deployment was referred to as ELF One. 5th Mob personnel rotated to ELF One during this period to provide support for the operation. In September 1988, the group reorganized, transferring its people into three combat communications squadrons, each squadron is assigned approximately 180 persons. The 51st Combat Communications Squadron provides communications and air control support to an Air Force Headquarters. The 52d and 53d Squadrons provide communications and air control support for deployed bases. In 1990, when Air Force Communications Service was disestablished as a command, the 5th Group became part of Tactical Air Command. In 2009, combat units, including the group, were made part of Air Force Space Command. The 5th also lent its communications expertise to the Operation Bright Star in Egypt in 1995, more than 120 members of the 52d Combat Communications Squadron, along with augmentees from the groups other squadrons, participated in the largest multinational exercise of its kind. During Operation Desert Storm, the 5th deployed more than 600 people to a dozen locations and it was the first communications unit in theater
49.
226th Combat Communications Group
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The United States Air Forces 226th Combat Communications Group is a combat communications headquarters unit located at Abston Air National Guard Station in Montgomery, Alabama, USA. The Group is one of two Air National Guard Combat Communications Groups nationwide, which constitute over 60% of the U. S. Air Forces tactical communications capability. The 226 CCG is one of three organizations that make up the Alabama Air National Guard. The 226 CCG was originally organized on 18 June 1954 as part of the 225th Radio Relay Squadron, the 225th was initially organized in March 1953 in Greenville, Mississippi, as part of the Mississippi Air National Guard. The unit was organized on 18 June 1954, and was eventually transferred to the Alabama Air National Guard. On 22 February 1971, an element of the 225th was reorganized as the Headquarters, 226th Mobile Communications Group, the unit received federal recognition on 29 September 1971. In 1986, the 226th was renamed, becoming the 226th Combat Communications Group, the group headquarters moved to Abston Air National Guard Station in February 1996. The 226th gained seven additional squadrons on 1 October 2013, when the 281st Combat Communications Group was inactivated, blue and yellow are the Air force colors. Blue alludes to the sky, the theater of Air force operations. Yellow refers to the sun and the excellence required of Air Force personnel, the red X is reminiscent of the Alabama state flag and reflects the unit’s home location. The sword surmounting the globe represents the Group’s support to the tactical units, the large star at the pommel of the sword handle stands for the Group’s headquarters. The six smaller stars denote the elements of the Group. Air National Guard/Military Air Transport Service Air National Guard/
