Boeing EC-135H Airborne Command Post
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Boeing EC-135H Airborne Command Post
The Boeing EC-135 is a retired family of command and control aircraft derived from the Boeing C-135 Stratolifter. During the Cold War, the EC-135 was best known for being modified to perform the Looking Glass mission where one EC-135 was always airborne 24 hours a day to serve as flying command post for the Strategic Air Command in the event of nuclear war. Various other EC-135 aircraft sat on airborne and ground alert throughout the Cold War, with the last EC-135C being retired in 1998. The EC-135N variant served as the tracking aircraft for the Apollo program. The Boeing E-6B Mercury "TACAMO" replaced the EC-135C. Missions Looking Glass Officially known as "Operation Looking Glass", at least 11 EC-135C command post aircraft were provided to the Commander in Chief, Strategic Air Command (CINCSAC), and were based at various locations throughout the United States and worldwide. Operations began in 1961 with the 34th Air Refueling Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base (Nebraska), ...
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WikiProject Aircraft
A WikiProject, or Wikiproject, is an affinity group for contributors with shared goals within the Wikimedia movement. WikiProjects are prevalent within the largest wiki, Wikipedia, and exist to varying degrees within Wikimedia project, sibling projects such as Wiktionary, Wikiquote, Wikidata, and Wikisource. They also exist in different languages, and translation of articles is a form of their collaboration. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CBS News noted the role of Wikipedia's WikiProject Medicine in maintaining the accuracy of articles related to the disease. Another WikiProject that has drawn attention is WikiProject Women Scientists, which was profiled by ''Smithsonian Magazine, Smithsonian'' for its efforts to improve coverage of women scientists which the profile noted had "helped increase the number of female scientists on Wikipedia from around 1,600 to over 5,000". On Wikipedia Some Wikipedia WikiProjects are substantial enough to engage in cooperative activities with outsi ...
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2d Airborne Command And Control Squadron
The United States Air Force's 2d Airborne Command and Control Squadron was an airborne command and control unit located at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. The squadron was an integral part of the United States' Post Attack Command and Control System, performing the Operation Looking Glass mission with the Boeing EC-135 aircraft. History World War II From its activation in April 1942 until it was disbanded in 1944, the 2d Ferrying Squadron received aircraft at their factory of origin and ferried them to the units to which they were assigned. (updated after 1994) Liaison duties in the 1950s The 2d Liaison Squadron provided emergency air evacuation, search and rescue, courier and messenger service, routine aerial reconnaissance, reconnaissance and transportation of personnel. It regularly operated between Langley Air Force Base, Virginia and Fort John Custis with one Beechcraft C-45 Expeditor and several Stinson L-13s. In July 1952, the squadron closed at Langley and reopened a ...
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301st Air Refueling Squadron
The 301st Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force (USAF) unit. It was last assigned to the 301st Air Refueling Wing at Rickenbacker Air Force Base, Ohio, where it was inactivated on 31 December 1975. In 1985 the 301st was consolidated with the World War II 301st Transport Squadron and 322d Transport Squadron. The squadron has not been active since consolidation. The 301st Transport Squadron was an Air Transport Command airlift that operated C-47 transports flying The Hump route from India to China from Sookerating Airfield in the Assam Valley of India during 1943. The 322d Transport Squadron performed a similar mission for United States Strategic Air Forces in England in late 1943 and early 1944. The 301st Air Refueling Squadron performed air refueling missions to support of USAF operations on a worldwide basis. The squadron was one of the first Strategic Air Command (SAC) air refueling squadrons. It was inactivated in 1962 with the phaseout of the p ...
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70th Air Refueling Squadron
The 70th Air Refueling Squadron is an Air Force Reserve Command unit, assigned to the 349th Operations Group at Travis Air Force Base, California. It is an Air Force Reserve Command#Associate Program, associate of the active duty 9th Air Refueling Squadron, United States Air Force, and operates the McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender aircraft conducting mobility, and air refueling missions. The squadron has served in this role since 1994. The squadron was activated as a Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter unit in August 1955. It provided global air refueling for Strategic Air Command (SAC) with the KC-97, and later with the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker. After 1970, it also provided command and control, airborne command and control support for SAC. It supported contingency operations and deployed aircraft and aircrews for Desert Storm. In 1985, the squadron was consolidated with the 470th Bombardment Squadron, a World War II medium bomber training unit. The squadron was inactivated in 1993, a ...
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Minot Air Force Base
Minot Air Force Base ( ; ) is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation in Ward County, North Dakota, north of the city of Minot via U.S. Route 83. In the 2020 census, the base was counted as a CDP with a total population of 5,017, down from 5,521 in 2010. Minot AFB is the home of two major wings: the 5th Bomb Wing and 91st Missile Wing, both of the Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). Originally opened in 1957 as an Air Defense Command (ADC) base, Minot AFB became a major Strategic Air Command (SAC) base in the early 1960s, with both nuclear armed intercontinental ballistic missiles and manned bombers and aerial refueling aircraft. When SAC was inactivated in 1992, the nuclear mission of the base was divided between two commands, with missiles going to the Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) and manned bombers to the Air Combat Command (ACC). With the establishment of AFGSC in 2009, missiles and manned bombers (excluding the B-1 Lancer) were transferred f ...
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906th Air Refueling Squadron
The 906th Air Refueling Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit. It is an active associate squadron and part of the 375th Air Mobility Wing at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. The squadron was first activated in United States military buildup just before World War II as the 16th Reconnaissance Squadron. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the squadron participated in the Antisubmarine Campaign of the American Theater of Operations. As the 406th Bombardment Squadron it also served in the Aleutian Islands Campaign of the Pacific Theater of Operations and several campaigns in the European Theater of Operations. The squadron was unusual in that it received campaign credit in three different theaters of operation. The 906th Air Refueling Squadron was activated as part of Strategic Air Command's nuclear deterrent force. It maintained aircraft on alert throughout the Cold War. The squadron deployed aircrews and aircraft to support combat operations in Southeast Asia f ...
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Airborne Launch Control Center
Airborne Launch Control Centers (ALCC—pronounced "Al-see") provide a survivable launch capability for the United States Air Force's LGM-30 Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) force by utilizing the Airborne Launch Control System (ALCS) on board which is operated by an airborne missileer crew. Historically, from 1967–1998, the ALCC mission was performed by United States Air Force Boeing EC-135 command post aircraft. This included EC-135A, EC-135C, EC-135G, and EC-135L aircraft. Today, the ALCC mission is performed by airborne missileers from Air Force Global Strike Command's (AFGSC) 625th Strategic Operations Squadron (STOS) and United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM). Starting on October 1, 1998, the ALCS has been located on board the United States Navy's E-6B Mercury. The ALCS crew is integrated into the battle staff of the USSTRATCOM " Looking Glass" Airborne Command Post (ABNCP) and is on alert around-the-clock. Aircraft The ALCS mission has been he ...
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General View Of Looking Glass Aircraft In The Project Looking Glass Historic District
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED Online. March 2021. Oxford University Press. https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/77489?rskey=dCKrg4&result=1 (accessed May 11, 2021) The adjective ''general'' had been affixed to officer designations since the late medieval period to indicate relative superiority or an extended jurisdiction. French Revolutionary system Arab system Other variations Other nomenclatures for general officers include the titles and ranks: * Adjutant general * Commandant-general * Inspector general * General-in-chief * General of the Air Force (USAF only) * General of the Armies of the United States (of America), a title created for General John J. Pershing, and subsequently granted posthumously to George Washington and Ulysses S. Grant * (" general admiral" ...
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Westover Air Reserve Base
Westover Air Reserve Base is an Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) installation located in the Massachusetts communities of Chicopee and Ludlow, near the city of Springfield, Massachusetts. Established at the outset of World War II, today Westover is the largest Air Force Reserve base in the United States, home to approximately 5,500 military and civilian personnel, and covering 2,500 acres (10 km²). Until 2011, it was a backup landing site for the NASA Space Shuttle and in the past few years has expanded to include a growing civilian access airport ( Westover Metropolitan Airport) sharing Westover's military-maintained runways. The installation was named for Major General Oscar Westover who was commanding officer of the Army Air Corps in the 1930s. The host unit is the 439th Airlift Wing (439 AW) of the Fourth Air Force (4 AF), Air Force Reserve Command. Outside of the AFRC command structure, the 439 AW and Westover are operationally gained by the Air Mobility Command (A ...
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99th Air Refueling Squadron
The 99th Air Refueling Squadron is part of the 6th Air Mobility Wing at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, but is stationed at Birmingham Air National Guard Base, Alabama. It is an Active Associate Unit, an active duty component attached to the Alabama Air National Guard's 117th Air Refueling Wing. The 99th Air Refueling Squadron works with, supports and flies the 117th Air Refueling Wing's Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker aircraft. The first predecessor of the squadron was organized during World War II as the 9th Reconnaissance Squadron. Redesignated the 399th Bombardment Squadron, it served as a crew training unit until inactivated in May 1944. The 99th Air Refueling Squadron was activated in July 1957 and served with Strategic Air Command (SAC) until 1973, and again from 1983. In 1985, it was consolidated with the 399th Bombardment Squadron. When SAC was inactivated in 1992, the squadron became an element of Air Mobility Command. The squadron was inactivated in 2008, but was ...
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Ellsworth Air Force Base
Ellsworth Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located about northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota, just north of the town of Box Elder. The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing (28 BW). Assigned to the Global Strike Command's Eighth Air Force, the 28 BW is one of the USAF's two B-1B Lancer wings, along with the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess AFB, Texas. In 2023, the 28th Bomb Wing is commanded by Colonel Derek Oakley; its command chief master sergeant was Chief Master Sergeant Adam Vizi. Ellsworth has a population of about 8,000 military members, family members and civilian employees. Rapid City itself has a population of 78,824. There are about 3,800 military retirees in western South Dakota. For decades, Ellsworth's main entrance included a symbolic B-52 Stratofortress, a gift from the citizens of Rapid City. This entrance has recently been replaced. An expansion of a bomber training area encompassing the Northern Plains known as the Powder Ri ...
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Grissom Air Force Base
Grissom Air Reserve Base is a United States Air Force base, located about north of Kokomo in Cass and Miami counties in Indiana. The facility was established as a U.S. Navy installation, Naval Air Station Bunker Hill, in 1942 and was an active Air Force installation, Bunker Hill Air Force Base from 1954 to 1968, and Grissom Air Force Base from 1968 to 1994. Pursuant to a BRAC 1991 decision, the installation was downsized to an Air Force Reserve installation and renamed Grissom Air Reserve Base. Since then it has been a joint-use civil airport/military base. Approximately 1700 acres plus the runway and taxiways comprise the current military installation, with the Grissom Aeroplex comprising the civilian aviation activities providing general aviation and charter service. Originally named Bunker Hill Air Force Base, the base was renamed Grissom Air Force Base in 1968 in memory of astronaut and Indiana native Lieutenant Colonel Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, USAF, who, along with fe ...
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