Continental Air Defense Command
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Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) was a
Unified Combatant Command A unified combatant command (CCMD), also referred to as a combatant command, is a joint military command of the United States Department of Defense that is composed of units from two or more service branches of the United States Armed Forces, an ...
of the
United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...
, tasked with air defense for the
Continental United States The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...
. It comprised Army, Air Force, and Navy components. It included Army
Project Nike Project Nike (Greek: Νίκη, "Victory") was a U.S. Army project, proposed in May 1945 by Bell Laboratories, to develop a line-of-sight anti-aircraft missile system. The project delivered the United States' first operational anti-aircraft mi ...
missiles (Ajax and Hercules) anti-aircraft defenses and USAF interceptors (manned aircraft and
BOMARC missile The Boeing CIM-10 BOMARC (Boeing Michigan Aeronautical Research Center) (IM-99 Weapon System prior to September 1962) was a supersonic ramjet powered long-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) used during the Cold War for the air defense of North ...
s). The primary purpose of continental air defense during the CONAD period was to provide sufficient attack warning of a Soviet bomber air raid to ensure
Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...
could launch a counterattack without being destroyed. CONAD controlled nuclear air defense weapons such as the 10 kiloton
W-40 nuclear warhead The W40 nuclear warhead was an American fusion-boosted fission nuclear warhead developed in the late 1950s and which saw service from 1959 to 1972. The W40 design was reportedly the common Python primary or fission core used by the US B28 nucle ...
on the CIM-10B BOMARC. The command was disestablished in 1975, and
Aerospace Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was established in 1946, briefly inac ...
became the major U.S. component of
North American Air Defense Command North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection ...
(NORAD).


Background

As the new U.S. Air Force was being established in 1947, consideration of a joint command for air defense began. After the USAF initiated the development of the " 1954 interceptor" (WS-201) to counter expected Soviet bomber advances, the Army deployed M-33 Fire Control for AA artillery in 1950. A proposal for a joint/unified command for air defense was initiated (and failed) in 1950. The new
Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was est ...
(ADC) at
Ent AFB Ent Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base located in the Knob Hill neighborhood of Colorado Springs, Colorado. A tent city, established in 1943 during construction of the base, was initially commanded by Major General Uzal Girar ...
, and
Army Antiaircraft Command An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
(ARAACOM) staffed in the nearby Antlers Hotel (Colorado) was established in 1951. The same year, the Priority Permanent System began replacing the post-war
Lashup Radar Network The Lashup Radar Network was a United States Cold War radar netting system for air defense surveillance which followed the post-World War II "five-station radar net" and preceded the "high Priority Permanent System". ROTOR was a similar expedient ...
. A direct telephone line was installed in mid-July 1950 between
CONAC Conac or CONAC may refer to: * Konak (Sečanj), known in Romanian as ''Conac'', a village in Serbia * Continental Air Command Continental Air Command (ConAC) (1948–1968) was a Major Command of the United States Air Force (USAF) responsible pri ...
headquarters and the
26th Air Division The 26th Air Division (26th AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Tactical Air Command, assigned to First Air Force, being stationed at March Air Force Base, California. It was inacti ...
HQ at
Roslyn Air Warning Station Roslyn Air National Guard Station (ADC ID: P-3) is a closed United States Air Force station. It was located in East Hills, New York, on Long Island. It was originally part of Clarence MacKay's Harbor Hill estate. It was closed in 2000. History ...
. This marked "the beginning of the Air Force air raid warning system." When the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
broke out, the USAF established a direct telephone line between the
Air Force Command Post The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...
in the Pentagon and the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
. By 1953, continental air defenses included assets of five organizations, the U.S. ones responsible to the U.S.
Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...
: *ADC's "
SAGE radar stations The SAGE radar stations of Air Defense Command (Aerospace Defense Command after 1968) were the military installations operated by USAF squadrons using the 1st automated air defense environment (Semi-Automatic Ground Environment) and networked by th ...
, fighter interceptor squadrons, and the
Air Defense Direction Center An Air Defense Direction Center (ADDC) was a type of United States command post for assessing Cold War radar tracks, assigning height requests to available height-finder radars, and for "Weapons Direction": coordinating command guidance of aircra ...
" *
Army Antiaircraft Command An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
(ARAACOM)'s AAA artillery, MIM-3 Nike Ajax surface-to-air missiles, and the network of fire control centers and target acquisition radars *
Alaskan Air Command Alaskan Air Command (AAC) is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command originally established in 1942 under the United States Army Air Forces. Its mission was to organize and administer the air defense system of Alaska, exercise direct ...
(AAC) with interceptors and radars at North America's northwest *
Northeast Air Command The Northeast Air Command (NEAC) was a short-lived organization in the United States Air Force tasked with the operation and defense of air bases in Greenland, Labrador and Newfoundland. It was formed in 1950 from the facilities of the United St ...
(NEAC) of the USAF in northeast Canada and Thule Air Force Base, Greenland *
Air Defence Command Air Defence Command was a command (military formation), command of the Royal Canadian Air Force and later the Canadian Armed Forces, active from 1951 to 1975. Originally, post-war plans called for air defence to be the responsibility of reserve, au ...
of the
Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...
with its interceptor aircraft and radars


Debate over operational control

The
United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...
agreed that the USAF would assume operational control of all U.S. air defense weapons during an attack. However, the Army complained the USAF command and control network (e.g., the 1950 Strategic Operational Control System (SOCS) telephone/teletype system was "insufficiently reliable." In response to the "enemy capabilities to inflict massive damage on the continental United States by surprise air attack", the
National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...
formulated President
Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
's " The New Look" strategy in 1953-54. To minimize the Soviet threat, the New Look strategy aimed to allow
Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...
(SAC) bombers "to get into the air not be destroyed on the ground" to make
massive retaliation Massive retaliation, also known as a massive response or massive deterrence, is a military doctrine and nuclear strategy in which a state commits itself to retaliate in much greater force in the event of an attack. Strategy In the event of a ...
possible. Thus the major purpose of air defense was not actually to shoot down enemy bombers, but merely gain time for SAC to respond.


Planning

By October 16, 1953, the
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: app ...
requested the services' input regarding formation of a joint air defense command, but the USAF Chief of Staff on December 16, 1953 "concluded that no change was needed or advisable". (cited and quoted by Wainstein p. 198-9) Under "political pressures for greater unity and effectiveness in the national air defense system", the Chairman-- a Navy Admiral—disagreed with the USAF and in January 1954 "recommended that the JCS approve in principle the establishment of a joint air defense command": :"In an era when enemy capabilities to inflict massive damage on the continental United States by surprise air attack are rapidly increasing, I consider that there is no doubt whatsoever as to the duty of the Joint Chiefs to establish a suitable "joint" command…. The command will be composed of forces of each of the services and provide for the coordinated accomplishment of functions of each of the services for the air defense of the United States." The command was planned to include:Memorandum from Chairman JCS to Chiefs of Staff, CM-47-54 15 January 1954, Subject: "Command Arrangements for the Air Defense of the United States" (Citation 5 at Wainstein pp. 199,262) *all air forces regularly assigned to the air defense of the United States *land based early warning stations and sea-based forces assigned to contiguous radar coverage; *antiaircraft forces of the Army involved in the permanent air defense of the United States *the exercise of operational control of Army and Marine Corps units "which can temporarily augment the air defense forces in event of emergency." *CINCLANT/CINCPAC and CINCAL/CINCNE responses as needed from their "seaward extensions of the early warning system…and early warning installations in Alaska and the NE Command".


Operational control

The Joint Chiefs directed the establishment of CONAD on August 2, 1954. The Secretary of Defense announced the command's formation publicly later in the month to integrate "the air defense capabilities of the three military departments into an air defense system responsible to the control of one military commander" (Wainstein). CONAD was established effective September 1, 1954, primarily to defend the continental United States against air attack. It was also tasked to support U.S. commanders in the Pacific, Atlantic, Caribbean, Alaska, Northeast, and of
Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...
in their missions to the maximum extent consistent with its primary mission. ADC's commander, General Benjamin Chidlaw, became the first CINCONAD, and the USAF was designated as the executive agency. From 1954 to 1956, CONAD consisted of the USAF
Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was est ...
,
Army Antiaircraft Command An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
, and the Naval Forces, Continental Air Defense Command (NAVFORCONAD). The USAF ADC Headquarters was additionally designated as Headquarters CONAD. CONAD's operational control covered: # Direction of the tactical air battle # Control of fighters # Specifying the alert condition # Stationing early warning units # Deploying combat units of the command. ADC's main battle control center was moved out of the former hallway/latrine in the Ent AFB headquarters building and into a new-built blockhouse in 1954. At Ent, offices for both HQ CONAD and a new HQ NAVFORCONAD were prepared in the building with the ADC and ARAACOM HQs. NAVFORCONAD was placed under command of Rear Admiral
Albert K. Morehouse Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert ...
. The
Experimental SAGE Subsector The Experimental Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) Sector (ESS, Experimental SAGE Subsector until planned Sectors/Subsectors were renamed NORAD Regions, Divisions, and Sectors) was a prototype Cold War Air Defense Sector for developing the ...
received a prototype IBM computer in July 1955. for development of a "national air defense network", A late 1955 CONAD plan for USAF
Semi-Automatic Ground Environment The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) was a system of mainframe computer, large computers and associated computer network, networking equipment that coordinated data from many radar sites and processed it to produce a single unified image ...
control of Army Nike missiles caused an interservice dispute but later in 1956 the Secretary of Defense approved CONAD's plan for USAF units at computerized Army nuclear bunkers. The 1959 Missile Master Plan resolved the dispute to have separate
Nike Hercules The Nike Hercules, initially designated SAM-A-25 and later MIM-14, was a surface-to-air missile (SAM) used by U.S. and NATO armed forces for medium- and high-altitude long-range air defense. It was normally armed with the W31 nuclear warhead, bu ...
missile command posts in the bunkers. On February 13, 1956, CINCONAD advocated "an eventual combined organization…of the Air Defense Force of all countries and services in and adjacent to North America." December 1956 planning requested "six prime and 41 gap-tiller radars
o be O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), pl ...
located in Mexico. By 1956, CONAD had designated 3 "SAC Base Complexes" to be defended: in the Northwestern United States, in a Montana-through-North Dakota area, and the largest in a nearly-triangular "South Central Area" from Minnesota to New Mexico to Northern Florida.


1956 reorganization

On September 4, 1956, the JCS changed the Terms of Reference for CONAD to be "more in line
ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is immediatel ...
..a joint task force" and separated command of the USAF Air Defense Command from CINCONAD. The CONAD staff were separated from the ADC HQ staff on October 1, 1956. The JCS also transferred "the air defense systems in Alaska and the Canadian Northeast" from those unified commands to CONAD. On January 1, 1957, CINCONAD placed the U.S. defenses in a geometric "Canadian Northeast Area" under the operational control of the Canadian
Air Defence Command Air Defence Command was a command (military formation), command of the Royal Canadian Air Force and later the Canadian Armed Forces, active from 1951 to 1975. Originally, post-war plans called for air defence to be the responsibility of reserve, au ...
. In March 1957, CONAD said "that an adequate and timely defense system against the intercontinental ballistic missile was "the most urgent future CONAD requirement." CONAD identified a requirement "for a defense against cruise and ballistic missiles launched from submarines or surface ships" on June 14, 1957 The 1957
Gaither Report ''Deterrence & Survival in the Nuclear Age'', commonly referred to as the Gaither report, is a report submitted in November 1957 to the United States National Security Council and the U.S. president concerning strategy to prepare against the perce ...
identified "little likelihood of SAC's bombers surviving since there was no way to detect an incoming attack until the first CBMwarhead landed". In keeping with these recommendations, the BMEWS General Operational Requirement was issued on November 7, 1957. On 6 September 1957, CONAD advised all appropriate agencies that the
North American Air Defense Command North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection ...
(NORAD) was to be established at Ent Air Force Base effective 0001 Zulu 12 September. This would integrate the headquarters of CONAD and RCAF ADC. General
Earle E. Partridge Earle Everard "Pat" Partridge (July 7, 1900 – September 7, 1990) was a four-star general in the United States Air Force and a Command Pilot. Biography Earl Partridge graduated Ashby High School, Ashby, Massachusetts in 1917. Partridge enliste ...
, the CONAD/ADC commander, became Commander-in-Chief of NORAD. At the same time, Canadian officers agreed that the command's primary purpose would be "early warning and defense for SAC's retaliatory forces." The CONAD blockhouse at Ent became a "master station" of the 1958
Alert Network Number 1 Alert or ALERT may refer to: * Alertness, the state of active attention by high sensory awareness. Places * Alert, Iran * Alert, Indiana, U.S. * Alert, North Carolina, U.S. * Alert, Ohio, U.S. * Alert, Nunavut, Canada ** Alert Airport * ...
, ( ARDC's ADSMO was redesignated as the
Air Defense Systems Integration Division The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Gravity of Earth, Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating Atmo ...
on February 24, 1958.)
Ground zero In relation to nuclear explosions and other large bombs, ground zero (also called surface zero) is the point on the Earth's surface closest to a detonation. In the case of an explosion above the ground, ''ground zero'' is the point on the ground ...
footage for CONAD was shot during the
Operation Plowshare Project Plowshare was the overall United States program for the development of techniques to use nuclear explosives for peaceful construction purposes. The program was organized in June 1957 as part of the worldwide Atoms for Peace efforts. As ...
nuclear detonation. When the ICBM threat had sufficiently developed, the June 1959 Continental Air Defense Program reduced the number of
Super Combat Center A Super Combat Center (SCC) was a planned Cold War command and control facility for ten NORAD regions/Air Divisions in Canada and the United States. For installation in nuclear bunkers, the command posts were to replace the last of the planned Ai ...
s to 7, then all were cancelled on March 18, 1960. The Canadian nuclear bunker started at CFS North Bay was completed in 1963 with vacuum tube computers.


Space defense

CONAD was assigned "operational command" of the
Space Detection and Tracking System Space Detection and Tracking System, or SPADATS, was built in 1960 to integrate defense systems built by different branches of the United States Armed Forces and was placed under North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). The Air Force had a ...
(SPADATS) on November 7, 1960. SPADATS included
Project Space Track Project Space Track was a research and development project of the US Air Force, to create a tracking system for all artificial satellites of the Earth and space probes, domestic and foreign. Project Space Track was started at the Air Force Cambri ...
and NAVSPASUR sensors. The "Improved Hercules system" for
surface-to-air-missiles A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...
was first deployed in 1961, and in 1962 the command manned the alternate US command post (CONAD ALCOP) at
Richards-Gebaur AFB Richards-Gebaur Memorial Airport is a former airport that operated alongside Richards-Gebaur Air Reserve Station (also Richards-Gebaur Air Force Station) until the base's closure in 1994, and until it was closed in 1999. Formerly, it was oper ...
. CONAD HQ moved from Ent AFB to the nearby
Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
'
Chidlaw Building The Chidlaw Building is a former United States Air Force facility located in the Knob Hill neighborhood of Colorado Springs, Colorado. The building was close to, but not within, the Ent Air Force Base complex, and was leased by the military for ...
in 1963, where a new NORAD/CONAD "war room" (''Combined'' Operations Center) with
Iconorama Iconorama was a Cold War electronic projection system for graphic presentation ("stylized display using an etched plate to produce symbols") developed by the firm Fenske, Fedrick and Miller. The Iconorama was ordered by the United States Air For ...
was used until the under-construction Command Center and Missile Warning Center became operational at
Cheyenne Mountain Complex The Cheyenne Mountain Complex is a Space Force installation and defensive bunker located in unincorporated El Paso County, Colorado, next to the city of Colorado Springs, at the Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station, which hosts the activities o ...
in 1966. NORAD HQ moved to the
Chidlaw Building The Chidlaw Building is a former United States Air Force facility located in the Knob Hill neighborhood of Colorado Springs, Colorado. The building was close to, but not within, the Ent Air Force Base complex, and was leased by the military for ...
on February 15, 1963. The CONAD and NORAD offices were consolidated on March 7, 1963. CONAD agreed to allow the FAA to control military aircraft for "scramble, flight en route to target nemy aircraft and recovery" (handed off to military directors for actual intercept) effective February 1, 1964. By January 12, 1965, CONAD had a "Space Defense Center Implementation Plan" (in 1967 the 1st Aero moved Ent's
Space Defense Center The Space Defense Center (SDC) was a space operation center of the North American Aerospace Defense Command. It was successively housed at two Colorado locations, Ent Air Force Base, followed by Cheyenne Mountain's Group III Space Defense Center ...
operations to
Cheyenne Mountain Complex The Cheyenne Mountain Complex is a Space Force installation and defensive bunker located in unincorporated El Paso County, Colorado, next to the city of Colorado Springs, at the Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station, which hosts the activities o ...
's Group III Space Defense Center.) CONAD continued using the same name with "air defense" after
Aerospace Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was established in 1946, briefly inac ...
(ADCOM) was designated the new USAF "space" command name in 1968 with most of CONAD's missile warning and space surveillance assets (cf. the 1959
Naval Space Surveillance System The AN/FPS-133 Air Force Space Surveillance System, colloquially known as the Space Fence, was a U.S. government multistatic radar system built to detect orbital objects passing over America. It is a component of the U.S. space surveillanc ...
until transferred to the USAF in 2004).


Aftermath

BOMARC alerts ended in 1972, and the post-Vietnam war drawdown closed most CONUS NIKE missile sites during the 1974
Project Concise Project Concise was a United States Army program to close military installations after the Vietnam War. The closures included Nike missile launch sites and command posts including Highlands Army Air Defense Site, Fort Lawton, Fort MacArthur, Fort ...
. At the very end of the command's existence, the SAFEGUARD ABM system was being deployed. It became operational on October 1, 1975. CONAD was disestablished on June 30, 1975. General
Lucius D. Clay Jr. General Lucius DuBignon Clay Jr. (July 6, 1919 – February 7, 1994) was a United States military leader who held the positions of commander-in-chief of the North American Air Defense Command, the Continental Air Defense Command, the United Sta ...
, the last commander, remained Commander-in-Chief of NORAD, and
Aerospace Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was established in 1946, briefly inac ...
personnel manned combined NORAD/ADCOM staff organizations. ADCOM was broken up 1979-80 with interceptors transferring to
Air Defense, Tactical Air Command Air Defense, Tactical Air Command (ADTAC) was a Named Unit of the United States Air Force, and operated at the Numbered Air Force echelon of Tactical Air Command. It was responsible for the air defense of the United States, and was last statione ...
, missile warning stations transferring to SAC (e.g., the new PAVE PAWS sites), electronics units transferring to the
Air Force Communications Service The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...
(AFCS), and the NORAD/ADCOM "Air Force Element" forming the new
Aerospace Defense Center The Aerospace Defense Center (ADC) was a unit of the United States Air Force. It was under the command of the general that also commanded both North American Aerospace Defense Command and Aerospace Defense Command (ADCOM). The center included the ...
. Remaining ADCOM HQ functions continued as combined NORAD/ADCOM organizations, e.g., "HQ NORAD/ADCOM" J31 subsequently manned the Cheyenne Mountain Space Surveillance Center in the same room as the
Missile Warning Center The Missile Warning Center (MWC) is a center that provides missile warning and defense for United States Space Command's Combined Force Space Component Command, incorporating both space-based and terrestrial sensors. The MWC is located at Cheyenn ...
, separated by partitions. In 1982, the Aerospace Defense Center was incorporated into the new
Air Force Space Command The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...
.


References

{{Reflist , refs= {{Cite book , last=Leonard , first=Barry , title=History of Strategic and Ballistic Missile Defense , volume=I: 1945–1955 , url=http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/bmd/BMDV1.pdf , page=31 {{Cite report , last=McMullen , first=Richard F. , date=15 February 1980 , title=History of Air Defense Weapons 1946–1962 , number=ADC Historical Study No. 14 , publisher=Historical Division, Office of information, HQ Air Defense Command {{Cite NORAD Historical Summary , version=1959b , accessdate=30 April 2013 {{Cite report , last=Schaffel , first=Kenneth , year=1991 , title=Emerging Shield: The Air Force and the Evolution of Continental Air Defense 1945-1960 , url=https://archive.org/details/TheEmergingShield , format=45MB
pdf Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...
, work=General Histories , publisher=
Office of Air Force History An office is a space where an Organization, organization's employees perform Business administration, administrative Work (human activity), work in order to support and realize objects and Goals, plans, action theory, goals of the organizati ...
, isbn=0-912799-60-9 , access-date=2011-09-26 , quote=President Truman's Executive Order of July 26
947 Year 947 ( CMXLVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – A Hungarian army led by Grand Prince Taksony campaigns in Italy, heading ...
implementing the statute emphasized the Air Force's responsibility to "provide means for coordination of air defense among the services."84 … The day the war began, the U.S. Air Force Operations Staff set up an emergency command post on the fourth floor of the Pentagon to serve as a reception point for radio messages between Vandenberg and his FEAF commanders during Air Staff after-duty hours. In mid-July 1950, the installation of direct telephone lines between Whitehead's headquarters and the 26th Air Division's headquarters marked the beginning of the Air Force air raid warning system. It became a rudimentary national warning network in August when President Truman had a direct telephone line installed between the Air Force Pentagon post and the White House.2 … June 19, 1959, the Master Air Defense Plan. Key features of the plan included a reduction in BOMARC squadrons, cancellation of plans to upgrade the interceptor force, and a new austere SAGE program. In addition, funds were deleted for gap-filler and frequency-agility radars. … When ADC had moved to Ent Air Force Base in January 1951, COC facilities were located in an office building and consisted of a latrine with the plumbing removed and part of a hallway. A much improved 15,000-square-foot concrete block COC became operational on Ent in May 1954." , url-access=registration NOTE: Schaffel's history uses the same name as "The Emerging Shield: The Air Defense Ground Environment," Air University Quarterly Review 8, no. 2 (spring 1956).
{{Cite report , last1=Wainstein , first1=L. (Project Leader) , date=June 1975, number=Study S-467 , publisher=
Institute for Defense Analyses The Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) is an American non-profit corporation that administers three federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) – the Systems and Analyses Center (SAC), the Science and Technology Policy Institute ...
, title=The Evolution of U.S. Strategic Command and Control and Warning, 1945-1972 , quote=After seven years of consideration, the JCS authorized the creation of a joint command to control air defense, directing in August 1954 the establishment at Colorado Springs of the jointly manned Continental Air Defense Command, under the USAF as executive agent.46 … In strategic air defense, the SAGE system of internetted, semiautomatic centers for warning, communications, and antiaircraft action was coming into full operation, and a new, modernized NORAD combat operations center was under construction.3 … the 1958 reorganization of the unified command structure, including the switch from the service "executive agent" system of command to the direct channel from the President and the Secretary of Defense through the JCS for operational direction of the forces.
1954 establishments in the United States 1975 disestablishments in Colorado Military units and formations in Colorado Unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense Air defence commands of the United States Military units and formations disestablished in 1975