728th Air Control Squadron

The 728th Battle Management Control Squadron (formerly Air Control Squadron) is an active United States Air Force unit that since February 2023 provides command and control of aircraft in United States Central Command by performing 24/7 real-time radar surveillance along with airspace deconfliction, air-refueling positioning, and tactical reconnaissance.

It was previously assigned to the 552d Air Control Group, 552d Air Control Wing and was inactivated on 17 May 2013. On 13 February 2023 the unit was activated at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia as the new primary mission of the 461st Air Control Wing and was redesignated as 728th Battle Management Control Squadron.

From 1950 to 2013, the unit was a Control and Reporting Center.

History

The squadron was activated on 2 September 1950 at Turner Air Force Base, Georgia. The unit, originally designated 728th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron moved to Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina on 2 November 1950 followed by a move to Donaldson Air Force Base, South Carolina on 16 January 1954. On 12 June 1956, the squadron was stationed at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. In the early 1960s, as Army airborne units were training for deployment to Vietnam, Detachment 1 of the 728th Squadron operated out of a field deployment on Fort Bragg and set up mobile communications systems for Army field exercises. This detachment moved to McCoy Air Force Base, Florida in 1965 and provided radio relay communications for the Inter-American Peace Force at San Isidro Air Base in the Dominican Republic. The detachment relocated to Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, South Carolina in 1967. The 728th, in those days, was an element of Tactical Air Command and supported the Composite Air Strike Force. The Detachment at Myrtle Beachwas discontinued in 1969 and its personnel were sent to tactical control squadrons at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico; Eglin Air Force Base, Florida; Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas and other bases. The 728th moved to Eglin Air Force Base Auxiliary Field No. 3 (Duke Field) on 15 August 1977.

Awards and activities

Since the squadron's creation, the 728th has received six Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards and has participated in several major command, U.S. Readiness Command and Joint Chiefs of Staff directed exercises and deployments throughout the world. During Operations Desert Shield/Storm, the 728th fulfilled a vital role in the coalition effort while they were deployed to King Kalid Military City, Saudi Arabia. The 728th also participated in Operation Deny Flight, the suppression of flight activities over Bosnia, while deployed to Monte Jacotenente, Italy. Additionally, the 728th contributed to the fight against illegal narcotics in Central and South America and supported an ongoing rotation to Kuwait as part of Operation Desert Calm. They also have been deployed six times to Iraq to support Operation Iraqi Freedom.

With the transition of the 33d Fighter Wing from an Air Combat Command (ACC) unit operating the McDonnell F-15 Eagle to an Air Education and Training Command unit operating the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, as well as a push to consolidate all stateside control and reporting centers under one Wing, on 1 May 2008 the 728th Air Control Squadron was reassigned to the newly activated 552d Air Control Group at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. The 552d Air Control Group's parent wing is the 552d Air Control Wing also at Tinker Air Force Base which also operates the majority of the USAF's fleet of E-3B/C Sentry AWACS aircraft. The resulting wing consolidated all ACC tactical command and control and air Battle Management capabilities under one parent organization allowing for continuity among CRCs. The unit was inactivated in 2013. On 13 February 2023 the unit was redesignated as the 728th Battle Management Control Squadron and activated at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It was assigned to the 461 Operations Group of the 461st Air Control Wing.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 728th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron on 30 August 1950
: Activated on 2 September 1950
: Redesignated 728th Tactical Control Squadron on 1 July 1964
: Redesignated 728th Air Control Squadron on 1 November 1991
: Inactivated on 17 May 2013
* Redesignated 728th Battle Management Control Squadron on 12 December 2022
: Activated on 13 February 2023

Assignments

* 507th Tactical Control Group (later 507th Communications and Control Group, 507th Tactical Control Group, 507th Tactical Air Control Group, 507th Tactical Air Control Wing, 507 Air Control Wing), 2 September 1950
* 33d Operations Group, 1 May 1992
* 552d Air Control Group, 1 May 2008 – 17 May 2013
* 461st Operations Group, 13 Feb 2023 – present

Stations

* Turner Air Force Base, Georgia, 2 September 1950
* Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina, 2 November 1950
* Donaldson Air Force Base, South Carolina, 16 January 1954
* Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, 12 June 1956
* Eglin Air Force Base Auxiliary Field No. 3 (Duke Field), Florida, 15 August 1977 – 17 May 2013
* Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, 13 February 2023 – present

Past Commanders

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes

; Citations

Sources

*http://ageranger.com/728ACS.htm
af.mil
*https://web.archive.org/web/20070205154227/http://www.33fw.acc.af.mil/

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