26th Space Aggressor Squadron
| 26th Space Aggressor Squadron | |
|---|---|
 26th Space Aggressor Squadron heraldry |
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| Active | 1914-present |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Type | Squadron |
| Role | Aggressor (Space) |
| Garrison/HQ | Schriever AFB, Colorado |
| Motto | RESISTERE FUTILE EST - "Resistance is Futile" |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Lt Col Robert J. Rysavy II |
The 26th Space Aggressor Squadron (26 SAS) is a unit of the United States Air Force located at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado. It is part of the 926th Group and is the Reserve Associate of the 527th Space Aggressor Squadron.[1]
The mission of the 26th Space Aggressor Squadron is to replicate enemy threats to space-based and space-enabled systems during tests and training exercises. By using Global Positioning System and satellite communications jamming techniques, it provides Air Force, joint and coalition military personnel with an understanding of how to recognize, mitigate, counter and defeat these threats.
The 26 SAS serves to know, teach and replicate a wide array of terrestrial and space threats to the U.S. military's space enablers. The squadron trains the modern warfighter to operate in an environment where critical systems like GPS and SATCOM are interfered with or denied—preparing them for the current and future fights, and guaranteeing U.S. battlefield dominance well into the 21st century.
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[edit] History
The 26 SAS is the oldest squadron in the Air Force Reserve and one of the oldest in the United States Air Force.
The squadron was organized as the 1st Reserve Aero Squadron on 26 May 1917 the first squadron of what would become the United States Air Force Reserve in 1948. Elements of the squadron date to 1914 when it was organized as part of the New York National Guard as the 1st Aero Company.
The state unit was brought to Federal Service on 13 July 1916 with personnel and equipment being merged into the 1st Aero Squadron under the control of the Aeronautical Division of the U.S. Army Signal Corps. The unit was sent to Mexico where it joined the Punitive expedition under general John J. Pershing which attempted to quell the Villista forces that had raided United States territory. Operations in Mexico continued until February 1917 when the national guard personnel were returned to state control.
The New York reservists were again brought under Federal Control after the United States entry into World War I in May 1917, being organized at Hazelhurst Field on Long Island. Deployed to France, the unit assembled, serviced, and repaired aircraft, being redesignated as the 26th Aero Squadron in October 1917 as part of a reorganization of the Air Service. Remained in France until May, 1919 when the unit returned to the United States and was demobilized.
The squadron was reformed and reactivated as the 26 Squadron (Attack) on 30 Aug 1921; being assigned to the 3rd Attack Group at Kelly Field, Texas. Assigned various World War I era biplanes and experimental American aircraft of the 1920s, the squadron patrolled the Mexican Border, delivered airmail and performed other missions as assigned throughout the 1920s. Deployed to the Hawaii Territory in 1930, the squadron was equipped with A-3 Curtiss Falcons, which were used as fighter-bombers in the 1930s as part of the defense of the islands. Newer Douglas B-18 Bolos were assigned in late 1939, and the unit was redesignated as the 25th Bombardment Squadron. The B-18s were relegated to second-line patrol duty over the approaches to Oahu in 1941 when B-17E Flying Fortresses arrived in Hawaii.
During the Pearl Harbor Attack, many of the squadrons aircraft were damaged at Hickam Field, and the survivors were reformed at Wheeler Field, where they were retained as part of the defense force of the territory under the new Seventh Air Force. The squadron deployed B-17s to Midway Island in late May 1942 to strengthen the island's defenses, however they were withdrawn prior to the Japanese attack on the airfield. They returned to Midway and attempted to raid the attacking Japanese naval forces with little success, and returned to Wheeler Field after the battle ended on 8 June.
The squadron deployed to the South Pacific and came under the new Thirteenth Air Force. Operating from the New Hebrides, the B-17s attacked enemy targets in the Solomon Islands during late 1942 as well as targets in New Guinea and other enemy controlled areas in the South Pacific AOR; The B-17s were flown to Australia from New Guinea in early 1943; and the squadron personnel returned to Hawaii for re-equipping and replacement personnel. Was re-equipped with very long range B-24 Liberators optimized for long-range missions in the Pacific. Operated in the Central Pacific AOR, flying very long-range heavy bombing missions over the Gilbert and Marshall Islands; moving west to Guam in the Northern Mariana Islands in October 1944. Carried out very long range bombing attacks on Okinawa in early 1945, eventually being stationed on Okinawa after the Japanese Capitulation in August 1945. Ferried former prisoners of war to Manila, Sep 1945. Squadron was demobilized on Okinawa after the war, the aircraft being sent to the Philippines for reclamation. Was carried on the books as an administrative, paper B-29 Very Heavy Bomb squadron by Far East Air Force until inactivation in late 1948, never being equipped or manned.
Reactivated under Strategic Air Command in December 1948 at Carswell AFB, Texas; received the new B-36B Peacemaker intercontinental strategic bomber. Upgraded to the jet-assisted B-36D in 1950, then the B-36J-III Featherweight in 1954; Trained in heavy bombardment operations and participated in many SAC exercises and deployments. In 1958 was reassigned to Altus AFB, Oklahoma and re-equipped with new B-52E Stratofortresses and continued operations as well as standing nuclear alert. Remained at Altus on alert status until B-52Es were phased out of SAC service and consigned to storage in 1968. Afterward the squadron was inactivated.
Reactivated under Pacific Air Forces at Clark AB, Philippines in 1973 with a training mission to provide dissimilar air combat training (DACT) to PACAF fighter squadrons using Soviet-style fighter tactics. Was carried in non-operational status until the end of August 1975, by which time the 405th Fighter Wing had been replaced by the 3rd TFW at Clark. Even then, it did not start training activities until January 1976, using a number of T-38 Talon DACT aircraft made surplus by the arrival of the F-5E Tiger IIs at Nellis AFB, Nevada. Eventually, the squadron also received the F-5E, with some of the planes coming from stocks destined for the South Vietnamese Air Force but never delivered and an embargoed Ethiopian Air Force order. By that time it had been redesignated Tactical Fighter Training Squadron, and secondly as a Tactical Fighter Training and Aggressor Squadron. Eventually, it became the 26th Aggressor Squadron. The aggressor F-5Es were painted in a variety of colorful camouflage schemes designed to mimic those in use by Warsaw Pact aircraft. Two-digit Soviet-style nose codes were applied to most aggressor aircraft, and these coincided with the last two digits of the serial number. When there was duplication, three digits were used. Squadron was among the first to apply the star and bar in toned-down or stencil form.
By the late 1980s, the aircraft were becoming worn out after years of high-performance fighter training, with some aircraft being grounded for structural failures. In addition, the F-5E no longer could provide the training as a new generation of Soviet aircraft were becoming operational. The 26th AS at Clark was scheduled to dispose of its F-5Es in favor of F-16C/D Falcons and transfer to Kadena AB, Okinawa, in October 1988. The unite was minimally manned at Kadena while the squadron awaited new aircraft, flying a few borrowed aircraft from the 18th Tactical Fighter Wing. However, in 1990, the decision was made to terminate the entire USAF aggressor program. The 26th AS was disbanded on 21 Feb 1990 before it could receive its new F-16s.
Reactivated under Air Force Space Command in 2003 as a Space Aggressor Squadron as part of the 310th Space Group at Schriever AFB, Colorado. In 2007 the unit was reassigned to the 926th Group at Nellis and was transferred to the Air Combat Command. However, the 26th remained at Schriever AFB, despite the reorganization as a geographically separated unit.
[edit] Lineage
- Organized as 1st Reserve Aero Squadron on 26 May 1917
- Redesignated 26th Aero Squadron on 1 Oct 1917
- Demobilized on 7 Jun 1919
- Reconstituted, and consolidated (8 Apr 1924), with unit authorized as 26th Squadron (Attack) on 30 Aug 1921.
- Organized on 15 Sep 1921
- Redesignated 26th Attack Squadron on 25 Jan 1923
- Inactivated on 27 Jun 1924
- Activated on 1 Sep 1930
- Redesignated: 26th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 6 Dec 1939
- Redesignated: 26th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 11 Dec 1940
- Redesignated: 26th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy in 1944
- Redesignated: 26th Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy on 30 Apr 1946
- Inactivated on 20 Oct 1948
- Redesignated 26th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy, and activated, on 1 Dec 1948
- Discontinued, and inactivated, on 2 Jul 1968
- Redesignated 26th Tactical Fighter Squadron on 24 Sep 1973
- Activated on 30 Sep 1973
- Redesignated: 26th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron on 31 Aug 1975
- Redesignated: 26th Tactical Fighter Training Aggressor Squadron on 30 Nov 1977
- Redesignated: 26th Aggressor Squadron on 22 Apr 1983
- Inactivated on 21 Feb 1990
- Redesignated 26th Space Aggressor Squadron on 21 Feb 2003
- Activated in the Reserve on 1 Oct 2003.
[edit] Assignments
- Eastern Department, 26 May 1917
- Third Aviation Instruction Center, c. Sep 1917
- Unkn, Apr-7 Jun 1919
- 3rd Attack Group, 15 Sep 1921-27 Jun 1924
- 5th Composite (later, 5 Bombardment) Group, 1 Sep 1930
- Attached to 18th Pursuit Group, 1 Sep 1930-
- 18th Wing, 12 Oct 1938
- Remained attached to 18th Pursuit Group to c. 10 Dec 1939
- 11th Bombardment Group, 1 Feb 1940-20 Oct 1948; 1 Dec 1948
- Attached to 11th Bombardment Wing, 16 Feb 1951-15 Jun 1952
- 11th Bombardment (later, 11th Strategic Aerospace) Wing, 16 Jun 1952-2 Jul 1968
- 405th Fighter Wing, 30 Sep 1973
- 3rd Tactical Fighter Wing, 16 Sep 1974
- 18th Tactical Fighter Wing, 1 Oct 1988-21 Feb 1990
- 310th Space Group, 1 Oct 2003–Present
[edit] Stations
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[edit] Aircraft
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[edit] Service Streamers
World War I Theater of Operations.
[edit] Campaign Streamers
World War II: Central Pacific; Air Offensive, Japan; Papua; Guadalcanal; Northern Solomons; Eastern Mandates; Western Pacific; Ryukyus; China Offensive; Air Combat, Asiatic-Pacific Theater.
[edit] Armed Forces Expeditionary Streamers
None.
[edit] Decorations
- South Pacific, 31 July-30 November 1942
- Navy Presidential Unit Citation
- Pacific Theater, 7 August-9 December 1942
- 6 August 1954-15 July 1957
- 27 October 1958-16 September 1960
- 1 May 1980-30 April 1982
- 22 March-1 April 1986
- 1 June 1987-31 May 1989
[edit] See also
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[edit] References
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
- Mauer, Mauer (1969), Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II, Air Force Historical Studies Office, Maxwell AFB, Alabama. ISBN 0-89201-097-5
- Rogers, B. (2006). United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978. ISBN 1-85780-197-0
- World Airpower Journal. (1992). US Air Force Air Power Directory. Aerospace Publishing: London, UK. ISBN 1-880588-01-3
[edit] External links
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