The

United States Space Force The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space force branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces, armed forces of the United States and one of the eight uniformed services of the Unite ...

's 5th Space Warning Squadron (5 SWS) is an in-theater

missile A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this ...

warning unit headquartered at

Buckley Space Force Base Buckley Space Force Base is a United States Space Force base in Aurora, Colorado named after United States Army Air Service First lieutenant, First Lieutenant John Harold Buckley. The base is run by Space Base Delta 2, with major units includin ...

, Colorado. It operates the Joint Tactical Ground Station (JTAGS) system via four forward-stationed combat detachments located in Italy, Qatar, South Korea, and Japan.

Assignments

21st Operations Group Mission Delta 2 (MD2) is the United States Space Force's space domain awareness Space Delta, delta, headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado. Mission Delta 2 tracks and monitors all human made objects from low Earth orbit to geosync ...

, 15 May 1992-8 Jun 1995 *

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 ...

, 8 Jun 1995-10 Aug 1999 *821st Space Group, 10 Aug 1999-12 Oct 1999 *

Mission Delta 4 Mission Delta 4 (MD4) is a United States Space Force unit responsible for providing strategic and theater missile warning and tracking to the United States and its international partners. It operates three constellations of Overhead Persistent I ...

, 13 Oct 2023-present

History

From 1992 to 1999, the 5th Space Warning Squadron operated the only ground station in the Southern Hemisphere for the

Defense Support Program The Defense Support Program (DSP) is a program of the United States Space Force that operated the reconnaissance satellites which form the principal component of the ''Satellite Early Warning System'' used by the United States. DSP satellite ...

, a space-based system that provides global missile warning. It used to be known as the 5th Joint Defense Space Communications Squadron.

Commanders

*Col John Harris, USAF, 1993–1995 *Col Henry W. Poburka, USAF, 12 Jul 1995-1997 *Unknown, 1997-1999 *Lt Col Michael A. Provencher, USSF, 13 Oct 2023-3 May 2024 *Lt Col Robert M. Smith, USSF, 3 May 2024-present

Station

*Woomera AS, Australia, 15 May 1992-12 Oct 1999 *Buckley SFB, Colorado, 13 Oct 2023-present

Decorations

Air Force Outstanding Unit Award The Air and Space Outstanding Unit Award (ASOUA) is one of the unit awards of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. It was established in 1954 as the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award and was the first independent Air Force ...

**1 Jan 2000-31 Aug 2001 **1 Jan 1999-31 Dec 1999 **1 Oct 1995-30 Sep 1997 **1 Oct 1992-30 Sep 1994 **1 Sep 1989-31 Aug 1991 **2 May 1973 – 1 May 1976 **17 Nov 1971-1 May 1973Department of the Air Force Special Order GB-830, 1973

References