The 256th Intelligence Squadron (256 IS) is a unit of the

Washington Air National Guard The Washington Air National Guard (WA ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of Washington, United States. It is a reserve of the United States Air Force and along with the Washington Army National Guard an element of the Washington National Guard ...

Fairchild Air Force Base Fairchild Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force base, located in the northwest United States in eastern Washington, approximately southwest of Spokane. The host unit at Fairchild is the 92nd Air Refueling Wing (92 ARW) assigned ...

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

. It is a geographically separate unit (GSU) assigned to the 252d Combat Communications Group at

Camp Murray Camp Murray is a U.S. military installation located southwest of Tacoma, Washington, adjacent to Joint Base Lewis–McChord. It is home to the headquarters of the Washington Washington Army National Guard, Army and Washington Air National Guard, ...

, Washington. Prior to converting to an intelligence mission, the 256th was a combat communications squadron.

History

The 256th Mobile Communications Squadron was activated in 1971 at Paine Air National Guard Base in

Everett, Washington Everett (; ) is the county seat and most populous city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the Seattle metropolitan area, metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett ...

. In 1976, the squadron relocated to

near

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

. In 1980, the 256th was recognized by Governor

Dixy Lee Ray Dixy Lee Ray (September 3, 1914 – January 2, 1994) was an American academic, scientist, and politician who served as the 17th governor of Washington from 1977 to 1981. Variously described as idiosyncratic and "ridiculously smart," she was the s ...

for supporting the recovery efforts following the

1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens In March 1980, a series of volcanic explosions and pyroclastic flows began at Mount St. Helens in Skamania County, Washington, United States. A series of Phreatic eruption, phreatic blasts occurred from the summit and escalated until a major ...

. The unit was redesignated as the 256th Combat Communications Squadron in 1984. Several 256th personnel deployed to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

during the 1991

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

. In 1996, the 256th relocated to the Four Lakes Communications Station, a former

Nike missile 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 ...

site near

Cheney, Washington Cheney ( ) is a city in Spokane County, Washington, United States. The full-time resident population was 13,255 as of the 2020 census. Eastern Washington University is located in Cheney. When classes are in session at EWU, the city's populati ...

. The unit took over facilities formerly used by the 105th Air Control Squadron, which was inactivated at the same time. The

2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission preliminary list was released by the United States Department of Defense on May 13, 2005. It was the fifth Base Realignment and Closure ("BRAC") proposal generated since the process was created in ...

determined that Four Lakes should close and that the 256th should relocated to the nearby

. The move to Fairchild was completed in 2009. Before relocating, the 256th deployed to Iraq as part of the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

. After the move to Fairchild, the 256th began conversion to an intelligence mission, and it was redesignated as the 256th Intelligence Squadron in 2013.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 256th Mobile Communications Squadron (Air Force Component Command Post) on 22 February 1971 and allotted to the Air National Guard : Activated on 19 June 1971 : Redesignated 256th Mobile Communications Squadron (Air Force Component Headquarters) on 15 November 1972 : Redesignated 256th Combat Communications Squadron (Air Force Component Headquarters) on 1 April 1976 : Redesignated 256th Combat Information Systems Squadron c. 1 July 1984 : Redesignated 256th Combat Communications Squadron c. 1 October 1986 : Redesignated 256th Intelligence Squadron in 2013

Assignments

* 252d Mobile Communications Group (later, 252d Combat Communications Group), 1971–present *

, 1971–present : Gained by

Air Force Communications Command An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...

, 1981-1990 : Gained by

Tactical Air Command Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Lang ...

, 1990-1992 : Gained by

Air Combat Command The Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the prim ...

, 1992-2009 : Gained by

Air Force Space Command An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...

, 2009-2013 : Gained by

Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency The Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency (Air Force ISR Agency or AFISRA) was until 29 September 2014 a :Field Operating Agency, field operating agency of the United States Air Force headquartered at Lackland Air Force ...

, 2013-present

Stations

* Paine Air National Guard Base, 1971-1976 *

, 1976-1996 * Four Lakes Communications Station, Cheney, Washington, 1996-2009 *

, Washington, 2009–present

References

{{reflist United States Air National Guard Intelligence squadrons of the United States Air Force

History

Lineage

Assignments

Stations

See also

References