1.
United States Geological Survey
–
The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its resources. The organization has four science disciplines, concerning biology, geography, geology. The USGS is a research organization with no regulatory responsibility. The USGS is a bureau of the United States Department of the Interior, the USGS employs approximately 8,670 people and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia. The USGS also has major offices near Lakewood, Colorado, at the Denver Federal Center, the current motto of the USGS, in use since August 1997, is science for a changing world. The agencys previous slogan, adopted on the occasion of its anniversary, was Earth Science in the Public Service. Prompted by a report from the National Academy of Sciences, the USGS was created, by a last-minute amendment and it was charged with the classification of the public lands, and examination of the geological structure, mineral resources, and products of the national domain. This task was driven by the need to inventory the vast lands added to the United States by the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the legislation also provided that the Hayden, Powell, and Wheeler surveys be discontinued as of June 30,1879. Clarence King, the first director of USGS, assembled the new organization from disparate regional survey agencies, after a short tenure, King was succeeded in the directors chair by John Wesley Powell. Administratively, it is divided into a Headquarters unit and six Regional Units, Other specific programs include, Earthquake Hazards Program monitors earthquake activity worldwide. The National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado on the campus of the Colorado School of Mines detects the location, the USGS also runs or supports several regional monitoring networks in the United States under the umbrella of the Advanced National Seismic System. The USGS informs authorities, emergency responders, the media, and it also maintains long-term archives of earthquake data for scientific and engineering research. It also conducts and supports research on long-term seismic hazards, USGS has released the UCERF California earthquake forecast. The USGS National Geomagnetism Program monitors the magnetic field at magnetic observatories and distributes magnetometer data in real time, the USGS operates the streamgaging network for the United States, with over 7400 streamgages. Real-time streamflow data are available online, since 1962, the Astrogeology Research Program has been involved in global, lunar, and planetary exploration and mapping. USGS operates a number of related programs, notably the National Streamflow Information Program. USGS Water data is available from their National Water Information System database
2.
Strategic Air Command
–
At a lower echelon, headquarters divisions included Aircraft Engineering, Missile Concept, and Strategic Communications. In 1992, as part of an overall post-Cold War reorganization of the U. S. Planning to reorganize for a separate and independent postwar U. S. Air Force had begun by the fall of 1945, with the Simpson Board tasked to plan. the reorganization of the Army, SAC initially totaled 37,000 USAAF personnel. S. Air Force as an independent service, kenney, initial units reporting to the Strategic Air Command headquarters on 21 March 1946 included the Second Air Force, the IX Troop Carrier Command and the 73d Air Division. In addition to the bombing mission, SAC also devoted significant resources to aerial reconnaissance. An F-13 squadron, the F-13 later re-designated as the RB-29 Superfortress, was also established, SAC conducted routine aerial reconnaissance missions near the Soviet borders or near the 12-mile international waters limit, although some missions actually penetrated into Soviet airspace. The flight profiles of these missions—above 30,000 feet and in excess of 300 knots—made interception by Soviet air forces difficult until the Soviets 1948 introduction of the MiG-15 jet fighter. Project Nanook, the Cold War’s first Top Secret reconnaissance effort, used the first RB-29 missions for mapping and visual reconnaissance in the Arctic, later missions were Project LEOPARD along the Chukchi Peninsula, followed by Projects RICKRACK, STONEWORK, and COVERALLS. In 1946, the US possessed only nine atomic bombs and twenty-seven B-29s capable at any one time of delivering them, unfortunately, postwar budget and personnel cuts had had an insidious effect on SAC as its Deputy Commander, Major General Clements McMullen, implemented mandated force reductions. This continued to wear down SAC as a command and morale plummeted, as a result, by the end of 1947, only two of SACs eleven groups were combat ready. In terms of overall Air Force basing and infrastructure, SAC continued to acquire a share of USAF infrastructure. In 1947, before the USAF was established as an independent service, construction commenced on Limestone AAF, Maine, fort Dix AAF, New Jersey, Spokane AAF, Washington, and Wendover Field, Utah were also transferred to SAC between 30 April and 1 September 1947. Following establishment of the USAF as a service, SAC bases in the United States consisted of
3.
29th Air Division
–
The 29th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command, being stationed at Duluth International Airport and it was inactivated on 15 November 1969. Assigned to Air Defense Command for most of its existence, the mission was the air defense of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and parts of Nevada, Utah. By 1953, the changed to include North Dakota, South Dakota. The 29th supervised the training of its units, and participated in training exercises. afhra. af. mil/. Cornett, Lloyd H, Johnson, Mildred W, a Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization,1946 -1980. Peterson AFB, CO, Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, winkler, David F. Webster, Julie L. Searching the skies, The legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program, champaign, IL, US Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories
4.
15th Expeditionary Mobility Task Force
–
The Fifteenth Expeditionary Mobility Task Force was one of two EMTFs assigned to the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command and was headquartered at Travis Air Force Base, California. The 15 EMTF was inactivated on 20 March 2012 and its functions,15 EMTF provided strategic and theater airlift for all United States Department of Defense agencies as well as air refueling for the Air Force in both peace and wartime. Primary aircraft assigned to its units were the C-5 Galaxy, C-9 Nightingale, C-17 Globemaster III, C-21, C-130 Hercules, KC-10 Extender,15 EMTF was a redesignation of Fifteenth Air Force, effective 1 October 2003. During the Cold War,15 AF was one of three Numbered Air Forces of the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command, commanding USAF strategic bombers and missiles on a global scale. Elements of 15th Air Force engaged in operations during the Korean War, Vietnam War. The first commander was General Jimmy Doolittle, 15th AF resulted from a reorganization of Doolittles Twelfth Air Force into the 15th with Doolittle in command, and the Ninth Air Force with Lewis H. Brereton in command. The new air force was activated with a strength of ninety B-24 Liberators and 210 B-17 Flying Fortresses, inherited from the Twelfth Air Force, in December, new groups, most of which were equipped with B-24s soon started arriving from the United States. It was hoped that the 15th AF stationed in the Mediterranean would be able to operate when the Eighth Air Force in England was socked in by bad English weather. The 9th AF would later move to England to serve as a unit to take part in the invasion of Europe. Assigned to the 15th Special Group in January 1945, on 1 December 1943, the Headquarters was moved to Bari Airfield, Italy. On 4 January 1944, Fifteenth, along with Twelfth Air Force were organized into Mediterranean Allied Air Forces, MAAF was the southern component of U. S. Strategic Air Forces, Europe, the overall USAAF command and control organization in Europe. The first major operation carried out by Fifteenth Air Force was bombing missions in support of the Anzio Landings in Italy, strikes on German and fascist Italian targets were carried out and caused widespread damage to Axis forces. Big Week was the name of an intense Eighth and Fifteenth Air Forces series of attacks on Germany in a series of co-ordinated raids on the German aircraft industry, on 22 February 1944, Fifteenth Air Force made its first attack on Germany, with an attack on Regensburg. The Fifteenth dispatched a force of 183 bombers to the Oberstraubing Messerschmidt assembly plant, some 118 bombed with good results but fourteen were shot down. The next day the 15th sent 102 bombers to the Steyr ball-bearing works in Austria where they destroyed twenty percent of the plant, on 24 February, over 180 Liberators inflicted considerable damage to the Messerschmitt Bf 110 assembly plant at Gotha, losing 28 aircraft. On 25 February 114 B-17s and B-24s were dispatched to Steyr again, but the force became separated, despite these losses, it was believed that the USSTAF had dealt the German aircraft industry a severe blow. In April, General Eisenhower ordered the USSTAF to attack German fuel production centers by striking both the oil refineries and the factories producing synthetic fuels. The 15th started the offensive on 5 April when it dispatched 235 B-17s, the refineries were attacked again on 15 and 24 April, inflicting additional damage
5.
810th Strategic Aerospace Division
–
The 810th Strategic Aerospace Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Strategic Air Command, assigned to Fifteenth Air Force at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, the division was first activated in 1952 to manage Biggs Air Force Base, Texas and to command the two SAC bombardment wings stationed there. From 1954 to 1956 it also commanded a squadron that operated from bases in Japan. The division assumed command of the strategic wing at Amarillo Air Force Base, Texas. In 1962, SAC assumed control of bases in the northern United States from Air Defense Command and the moved to Minot. Later that year it added a Minuteman missile wing and was redesignated the 810th Strategic Aerospace Division, the divisions components were the 95th and 97th Bombardment Wings, and the newly activated 810th Air Base Group. The 97th Bomb Wings tactical squadrons flew the Boeing B-50 Superfortress, the divisions 95th Bomb Wing was not manned, but was also nominally a medium bombardment wing. In July 1953, the 95th wing began to receive personnel, the division assured the manning, training, and equipping of its two assigned wings to conduct long-range bombardment missions using either nuclear or conventional weapons. Each wing deployed to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, the 97th wing deployed all its squadrons from December 1952 until March 1953 and again from December 1953 until July 1954. The 95th wing deployed from July to November 1955, the 97th Bomb Wing continued to fly B-50s until 1955, when it converted to the Boeing B-47 Stratojet. Beginning in 1954, the wings 340th Bombardment Squadron maintained detachments at RAF Lakenheath, England and Yokota Air Base, Japan, flying electronic reconnaissance models of the B-29, as the 340th re-equipped with jet bombers, SAC formed the 4024th Bombardment Squadron to operate these planes. Although the 4024th was assigned directly to the division, the 97th Bomb Wing continued to exercise control of the squadron. The 4024th was inactivated in 1956, but it shared an Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with the 340th squadron for its operations, once the 97th converted to B-47s it deployed as a unit to RAF Upper Heyford from May to July 1956. Although deployments of its planes and crews continued, that was the deployment as a complete wing while assigned to the 810th Air Division. In 1958 the division began a transformation of its bomber force, the 97th Bomb Wing began to lose its B-47s. In January 1959 it became non-operational, in July the 97th moved to Blytheville Air Force Base, Arkansas, where it re-equipped with Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses and was assigned to another division. Meanwhile, starting in 1959, the 95th wing replaced its B-36s with B-52s, two of the 95th wings three bombardment squadrons moved, one to Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas and the other to Turner Air Force Base, Georgia. The move of the 97th Bomb Wing left only a single wing, the 4128th was a strategic wing that had been organized when B-52s at Ellsworth Air Force Base were dispersed
6.
821st Strategic Aerospace Division
–
The 821st Strategic Aerospace Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Fifteenth Air Force at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, in 1962, the 44th Strategic Missile Wing was activated at Ellsworth and assigned to the division along with a second Minuteman missile wing in Montana. At the same time, the B-52 wings formerly assigned to the division were transferred, the divisions units assumed a heightened alert role during the Cuban Missile Crisis, including the first SAC LGM-30A Minuteman I to be put on alert. The division continued at Ellsworth until June 1971, when SAC organized its divisions on a weapons system basis, starting in 1957, the 28th Bombardment Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base began to upgrade from the Convair B-36 Peacemaker to the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. However, Strategic Air Command was concerned that bases with large concentrations of the new jet bombers made attractive targets. In 1958 SAC established strategic wings at Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota, Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, the 821st Air Division was activated at Ellsworth in January 1959 to command these new strategic wings and the 28th Wing at Ellsworth. However, the establishment of wings did not immediately disperse the bomber force and it would be 1960 before the 28th Wings 717th and 718th Bombardment Squadrons were transferred from Ellsworth to other bases. Although Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers were assigned earlier, Minot and Glasgow only received their bombers in 1961 and this was increased to half their aircraft in 1962. However, the squadron never became operational while assigned to the 28th,1962 was a year of change for the divisions responsibilities. On 1 January, the 44th Strategic Missile Wing was activated at Ellsworth, the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron was assigned to the new wing. The same day, the division assumed support responsibility for Ellsworth through its 821st Combat Support Group, the following month, the division became the 821st Strategic Aerospace Division when SAC added the term aerospace to the names of its units with both bomber and missile strike elements. On 23 July, the 341sts first Minuteman was placed in its silo, on 23 October 1962, in response to the Cuban Missile Crisis, the 341st placed its first two Minuteman missiles on alert. The 341st was in the process of accepting their first flight of missiles from Air Force Systems Command, eventually Malmstrom was able to place six missiles on alert for the duration of the crisis. These were the first and only SAC Minutemen to stand alert during the crisis, on 20 October SAC had directed its B-52 wings, including the 28th, to put two additional planes on alert. Two days later 1/8 of the divisions B-52s were placed on airborne alert, additional KC-135s were also placed on alert to replace the KC-135s devoted to maintaining the B-52 airborne alert. On 24 October SAC increased its readiness status to DEFCON2, on 21 November SAC returned to normal airborne alert posture. And on 27 November SAC returned to normal alert posture. The division lost the first Minuteman wing, the 341st, in 1964, in 1965, the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron was inactivated as the Titan I was withdrawn from service and its parent, the 44th Strategic Missile Wing, became an entirely Minuteman equipped unit
_is_refueled_by_Boeing_KC-135A-BN_(SN_55-3127)_061127-F-1234S-009.jpg)
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
