7th Expeditionary Airborne Command and Control Squadron

The 7th Expeditionary Airborne Command and Control Squadron is part of the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar. It operates the E-8 Joint STARS aircraft, conducting airborne command and control missions. The squadron has performed the airborne command and control mission since 1968, when it was activated in Vietnam. In 1985, the squadron was consolidated with three earlier units: The 7th Ferrying Squadron, which helped deliver aircraft to the Soviet Union from 1942 until 1944; the 7th Combat Cargo Squadron, which performed combat airlift missions in the Southwest Pacific Theater from 1944 until V-J Day, then became part of the Occupation Forces in Japan until inactivating in 1948; and the 7th Air Transport Squadron, Special, which provided airlift support for the United States' special weapons porograms from 1954 to 1966.

7th Expeditionary Airborne Command and Control Squadron
EC-130E Hercules of the 7th ACCS at Korat[note 1]
Active1942-1944; 1944-1946; 1954-1966; 1968-1998; 2008-present
Country United States
Branch United States Air Force
RoleAirborne Command and Control
Part ofAir Force Combat Command
Nickname(s)Moon Beam (SEA era)
DecorationsPresidential Unit Citation
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat "V" Device
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Philippine Presidential Unit Citation
Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm[1]
Insignia
7th Expeditionary Airborne Command and Control Squadron emblem (approved 17 February 1977, revised 1994)[1]
7th Airborne Command Control Squadron emblem (Southeast Asia)
7th Logistic Support Squadron emblem (approved 28 February 1956)[2]
7th Combat Cargo Squadron emblem (approved 5 July 1945)[2]
7th Ferrying Squadron emblem

History

World War II ferrying operations

The squadron's first predecessor was activated at Seattle Airport, Washington in March 1942 as the 7th Ferrying Squadron. The 7th ferried lend-lease aircraft to Alaska for turnover to the Soviet Union from June 1942 until disbanding in March 1944.

Southwest Pacific combat airlift

The second predecessor of the squadron was activated at Syracuse Army Air Base, New York on 1 May 1944 as the 7th Combat Cargo Squadron. It deployed to the Southwest Pacific Theater later that year and performed airlift until September 1945. It became part of the Occupation Forces in Japan until inactivating in early 1946. It was disbanded in inactive status on 8 October 1948.

Special weapons airlift

The 7th Logistic Support Squadron is the squadron's third predecessor. It was established at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia in 1954 as an Air Materiel Command unit. Its mission was to provide worldwide airlift of nuclear weapons and related equipment, with a secondary mission to airlift other Department of Defense cargo as required when space was available, using its Douglas C-124 Globemaster IIs. The squadron also provided airlift support during Cuban Missile Crisis from 17–28 October 1962.[1]

In 1963, the squadron was transferred to Military Air Transport Service (MATS) in a trial to see if MATS airlift units could perform the special weapons transport mission. C-124 Globemaster II strategic transport squadron flying worldwide airlift operations. A year later it became the 7th Air Transport Squadron, Special. The squadron was inactivated on 8 January 1966, when MATS became Military Airlift Command and its squadrons became Military Airlift Squadrons. Its personnel and equipment were transferred to the 58th Military Airlift Squadron, which was simultaneously activated.[note 2]

Airborne command and control

The 7th Airborne Command and Control Squadron was activated at Da Nang Air Base, South Vietnam in March 1968 and performed airborne battlefield command and control (ABCCC) mission in Southeast Asia from its activation until 15 August 1973 and controlled airborne forces during the recovery of the SS Mayagüez in May 1975, in Grenada from, 23 October–21 November 1983, in Panama from, December 1989–January 1992, and in Southwest Asia from, 1 September 1990 – 16 March 1991.[1]

In 1994, the 7th flag was moved from Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, to Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska where it transitioned from Lockheed EC-130 aircraft flying the ABCCC mission to the Boeing EC-135 aircraft flying the Operation Looking Glass mission in support of nuclear command and control for United States Strategic Command.[1] The EC-130E aircraft and all squadron personnel moved to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona where they continued performing the ABCCC mission as the 42d ACCS. In October 1998, the Looking Glass mission was transferred to the Navy's Boeing E-6 Mercury fleet, the last of the US Air Force's EC-135 fleet was retired, and the 7th was inactivated.

In March 2008, the unit was converted to provisional status and reactivated - this time as the 7th Expeditionary Airborne Command and Control Squadron to be the forward operating squadron for E-8 Joint STARS, supporting the United States Central Command Area of Responsibility.

Lineage
7th Ferrying Squadron
  • Constituted as the 7th Air Corps Ferrying Squadron on 18 February 1942
Activated on 24 March 1942
Redesignated 7th Ferrying Squadron on 12 May 1943
Disbanded on 1 April 1944
  • Reconstituted and consolidated with the 7th Combat Cargo Squadron, the 7th Air Transport Squadron and the 7th Airborne Command and Control Squadron as the 7th Airborne Command and Control Squadron on 19 September 1985[1]
7th Combat Cargo Squadron
Constituted as the 7th Combat Cargo Squadron on 25 April 1944
Activated on 1 May 1944
Inactivated on 15 January 1946
Disbanded on 8 October 1948
  • Reconstituted and consolidated with the 7th Ferrying Squadron, the 7th Air Transport Squadron and the 7th Airborne Command and Control Squadron as the 7th Airborne Command and Control Squadron on 19 September 1985[1]
7th Air Transport Squadron
Constituted as the 7th Logistics Support Squadron on 22 June 1954
Activated on 18 October 1954
Redesignated 7th Air Transport Squadron, Special on 1 July 1964[note 3]
Discontinued and inactivated on 8 January 1966
  • Consolidated with the 7th Ferrying Squadron, the 7th Combat Cargo Squadron and the 7th Airborne Command and Control Squadron as the 7th Airborne Command and Control Squadron on 19 September 1985[1]
7th Expeditionary Airborne Command and Control Squadron
  • Constituted as the 7th Airborne Command and Control Squadron and activated on 13 February 1968 (not organized)
Organized on 1 March 1968
Consolidated with the 7th Ferrying Squadron, the 7th Combat Cargo Squadron and the 7th Air Transport Squadron on 19 September 1985[1]
Inactivated on 1 October 1998
  • Redesignated 7th Expeditionary Airborne Command and Control Squadron and converted to provisional status on 19 March 2008
Activated on 27 March 2008[1]

Assignments
379th Air Expeditionary Wing, 27 March 2008 – present[1]

Stations

Aircraft

Operations

See also

References

Notes
Explanatory notes
  1. Aircraft is Lockheed EC-130E-LM Hercules serial 62-1857, taken 10 May 1974. This aircraft survived the Vietnam War and was converted to C-130E-II, later EC-130E in 1976 at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona
  2. The squadron could not be redesignated as a Military Airlift Squadron because the 7th Troop Carrier Squadron took the designation 7th Military Airlift Squadron.
  3. This squadron is not related to the 7th Airlift Squadron, which was designated the 7th Air Transport Squadron, Heavy from 1 January 1965 to 8 January 1966, or to the 7th Air Transport Squadron (Transition Training Unit), which was organized by Military Air Transport Service at Great Falls Air Force Base, Montana on 1 June 48 and redesignated 1272d Transition Training Unit on 1 October 1948.
Citations
  1. Haulman, Danniel L. (20 May 2019). "Factsheet 7 Expeditionary Airborne Command and Control Squadron (ACC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  2. Endicott, p. 380

Bibliography

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

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