The 3d Space Support Wing (3 SSW) was a

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

active from 1986 to 1992 at

Peterson Air Force Base Peterson Space Force Base, previously Peterson Air Force Base, Peterson Field, and Army Air Base, Colorado Springs, is a United States Space Force base that shares an airfield with the adjacent Colorado Springs Municipal Airport and is home t ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

as part of

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 ...

.Lineage at USAF FOIA site

History

The wing was constituted as the 3d Space Support Wing on 8 Oct 1986 and activated on 15 Oct 1986. It was inactivated on 15 May 1992 along with the

1st Space Wing The 1st Space Wing was a wing of the United States Air Force active from 1983 to 1992 at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado as part of Air Force Space Command. The Wing was constituted on 18 Oct 1982 and activated on 1 January 1983 with assignm ...

. The

21st Space Wing The 21st Wing (21 WG) is an inactive wing of the United States Air Force. It was established in 1953 as the 21st Fighter-Bomber Wing, deploying to Europe to join NATO's Allied Command Europe, before being inactivated in 1958. It reactivated i ...

, a unit with a more historic lineage, took their place.

Components

* Cheyenne Mountain Support Group * USAF Clinic, Peterson AFB * 1002d Special Security Squadron, Falcon AFS (according to Air Force Address Directory AFR 10-4 15 July 1987, p176) * 1003d Comptroller Squadron (AFAD AFR 10-4 1987) * 1003d Mission Support Squadron * 1003d Mobile Command and Control Squadron * 1003d Space Support Group, Peterson AFB (AFAD AFR 10-4 1987) ** 1003d Security Police Squadron, Peterson AFB (AFAD AFR 10-4 1987) ** 1003d Civil Engineering Squadron, Peterson AFB (AFAD AFR 10-4 1987) ** 1003d Services Squadron, Peterson AFB (AFAD AFR 10-4 1987) ** 1003d Transportation Squadron * 1004th Space Support Group * 1012th Air Base Group (at

Thule Air Base Pituffik Space Base ( ; ; ), formerly Thule Air Base (), is a United States Space Force base located on the northwest coast of Greenland in the Kingdom of Denmark under a defense agreement between Denmark and the United States. 150 United Stat ...

, Greenland) ** 1015th Air Base Squadron * 2163d Communications Group

Emblem

Blazon

Azure, resting on a pillar issuing from base or, detailed argent, a globe celeste (blue turquoise) grid-lined of the second and outlined of the third within two

orbital ring An orbital ring is a concept of an artificial ring placed around a body and set rotating at such a rate that the apparent centrifugal force is large enough to counteract the force of gravity. For the Earth, the required speed is on the order of ...

s saltirewise of the like each charged in chief with a polestar gold; all between three mullets and a plate argent, the plate in dexter chief; all within a diminished bordure or.

Symbolism

Blue and yellow are the Air Force colors. Blue alludes to the sky, the primary theater of Air Force operations. Yellow refers to the sun and the excellence required of Air Force personnel. The globe represents the earth as viewed from space. The latitude and longitude lines emphasize the global nature of Air Force space operations. The ellipses and stars represent the orbital paths traced by satellites. The pillar represents the support mission of the wing.

References