| 533rd Training Squadron | |
|---|---|
 Squadron emblem | |
| Active | 1942–1945; 1962–1986; 1994–present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Space Force |
| Type | Squadron |
| Role | Undergraduate space training |
| Part of | Space Delta 1 |
| Headquarters | Vandenberg Space Force Base,California, U.S. |
| Nickname | Centurions[1] |
| Engagements | European Theater of Operations[2] |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation[2] Air Force Outstanding Unit Award[citation needed] |
| Commanders | |
| Commander | Lt Col Adam Jodice |
| Insignia | |
| World War II fuselage code[3] | VP |
The533rd Training Squadron (533 TRS) is aUnited States Space Force unit. It is assigned to theSpace Training and Readiness Command,California, where it trains Space Force personnel on space systems. It was activated in this role in 1994.
Thesquadron was first activated in 1942 as the533d Bombardment Squadron. It moved to England in 1943 and served in combat until 1945, earning twoDistinguished Unit Citations for its actions in combat. FollowingV-E Day, the squadron returned to the United States, where it was inactivated.
In 1962, the squadron became the533d Strategic Missile Squadron. It was equipped withLGM-25C Titan II missiles and stood alert during theCold War until inactivating in 1986. In 1978, one of its sites was destroyed, when one of itsmissiles exploded.
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The mission of the unit is to conduct technical training for the nation's space operators going into theUnited States Space Force. It provides a pipeline into three Space Force Warfighter shredouts- Orbital Warfare, Space Battle Management, and Electronic Warfare.
Thesquadron was first activated on 3 November 1942 atGowen Field, Idaho as the533d Bombardment Squadron, one of the four original squadrons of the381st Bombardment Group. It gathered its initialcadre at Gowen, but only began training for combat with theBoeing B-17 Flying Fortress after moving toPyote Army Air Field, Texas at the end of the year. On 8 May 1943, the ground echelon began moving to the port of embarkation atCamp Kilmer, New Jersey, and boarded theRMS Queen Elizabeth for theEuropean Theater of Operations on 27 May. The air echelon marshalled atSalinas Army Air Field, Kansas, and began movement by theNorth Atlantic Ferry Route on 15 May.[2][4][5]
The air echelon of the squadron arrived atRAF Bovingdon in late May 1943. The following month, the squadron was reunited atRAF Ridgewell, which was to be its combat station for the rest of the war. The squadron entered thestrategic bombing campaign against Germany, when it flew its first mission on 21 June, a diversionary attack againstAntwerp.[5][6] Its targets in France included an aircraft assembly plant nearVillacoublay, and an engine plant atLe Mans,locks atSaint-Nazaire, andAmiens – Glisy Aerodrome. It also attacked an aircraft plant inBrussels, Belgium. DuringBlitz Week, it bombednitrate factories inHeroya, Norway, stopping production for over three months.[4][7]
The squadron also flew deeper penetration missions into Germany. It hit oil refineries atGelsenkirchen,submarine pens atKiel, aircraft plants atKassel andLeipzig, industrial targets inMünster,marshalling yards atOffenberg, and theball bearing plants at Schweinfurt. On 8 October 1943, despite heavy enemyinterceptor opposition, it accurately struckshipyards atBremen, for which it was awarded theDistinguished Unit Citation (DUC).[4] All squadron bombers that returned from this mission[note 2] received battle damage.[8] It received a second DUC for attacks on aircraft plants in Germany on 11 January 1944. In late February 1944, the unit participated inBig Week, the intensive attacks on the German aircraft industry.[4]
The squadron was occasionally taken off strategic operations to performair support andinterdiction missions. It bombed bridges and airfields near the beachhead to supportOperation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy, in June 1944. The following month, it attacked positions of enemy forces opposingOperation Cobra, the breakout atSaint Lo. It supportedOperation Market Garden, the airborne attacks in the Netherlands nearArnhem, in the fall. From December 1944, through January 1945, it attackedlines of communications and airfields near the battle zone during theBattle of the Bulge. It also supported theAllied crossing of theRhine and push through central Germany in March 1945.[4]
The squadron flew its last mission on 26 April 1945 and the majority of the unit's aircraft departed the theater on 24 May 1945. Ground personnel sailed on the RMSQueen Elizabeth on 24 June, arriving in the US by the end of the month. The squadron was located atSioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota a few days later and was inactivated on 24 August 1945.[2][5][4]
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The unit was redesigned the533d Strategic Missile Squadron and organized atMcConnell Air Force Base, Kansas on 1 August 1962 as a part of the 381st Strategic Missile Wing. The squadron began training in preparation forLGM-25C Titan II, and the 381st Wing put its first Titans on alert in July 1963.[9] It operated nine Titan II underground silos constructed beginning in 1960; the first site going operationally ready in October 1963 The nine missiles remained onalert for over 20 years during theCold War. On 24 August 1978, an accident at Site 533-7 involving an oxidizer leak killed two Air Force personnel, and caused the temporary evacuation of local communities. The damage to the site was determined to be unrepairable and the silo was permanently closed.[citation needed]
The squadron operated the following missile sites:
In October 1981, PresidentRonald Reagan announced that as part of the strategic modernization program, Titan II systems were to be retired by 1 October 1987.[citation needed] Inactivation of the sites began in September 1984,[citation needed] In November 1985, the squadron was inactivated and its remaining active missiles were transferred to the532d Strategic Missile Squadron.[10]
After removal from service, the silos had reusable equipment removed by Air Force personnel, and contractors retrieved salvageable metals before destroying the silos with explosives and filling them in. Access to the vacated control centers was blocked off. Missile sites were later sold off to private ownership after demilitarization. Today the remains of the sites are still visible in aerial imagery, in various states of use or abandonment.[citation needed]
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Redesignated and activated on 1 October 1994 as the533d Training Squadron,Air Education and Training Command the 533d provided initial qualification training for attack warning, space surveillance, and counterspace missions. Until 2003, The534th Training Squadron trained crews in satellite command and control. That year, the 534th inactivated and the 533d assumed its training responsibilities.[10]
The 533d trains approximately 400 space professionals a years in both an officer and enlisted course. Beginning in October 2019 the 533d started its newest iteration of Space Training called UST Next. The UST Next course teaches topics in space law, history, orbital mechanics, rocketry, space systems, physics, RF technology, doctrine, and space capabilities.
On 1 September 2020 the 533d transitioned from theUnited States Air Force into theUnited States Space Force underSpace Training and Readiness Delta (Provisional).
| Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Distinguished Unit Citation | 8 October 1943 | Bremen, 533d Bombardment Squadron[2] |
| Distinguished Unit Citation | 11 January 1944 | Germany, 533d Bombardment Squadron[2] |
 | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 January 1966-30 June 1967 | 533d Strategic Missile Squadron[15] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1971-30 June 1972 | 532d Strategic Missile Squadron[16] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1974-30 June 1975 | 532d Strategic Missile Squadron[16] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1981-30 June 1983 | 533d Strategic Missile Squadron[17] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1984-1 November 1985 | 533d Strategic Missile Squadron[17] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1997-30 June 1999 | 533d Training Squadron[17] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 2000-30 June 2001 | 533d Training Squadron[17] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 2005-30 June 2006 | 533d Training Squadron[17] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 2008-30 June 2010 | 533d Training Squadron[17] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 2010-30 June 2011 | 533d Training Squadron[17] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 2011-30 June 2013 | 533d Training Squadron[17] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 2013-30 June 2015 | 533d Training Squadron[17] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 2015-30 June 2017 | 533d Training Squadron[17] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 2017-30 June 2019 | 533d Training Squadron[17] |
| Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Air Offensive, Europe | 2 June 1943 – 5 June 1944 | 533d Bombardment Squadron[2] |
| Air Combat, EAME Theater | 2 June 1943 – 11 May 1945 | 533d Bombardment Squadron[2] |
| Normandy | 6 June 1944 – 24 July 1944 | 533d Bombardment Squadron[2] |
| Northern France | 25 July 1944 – 14 September 1944 | 533d Bombardment Squadron[2] |
| Rhineland | 15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945 | 533d Bombardment Squadron[2] |
| Ardennes-Alsace | 16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945 | 533d Bombardment Squadron[2] |
| Central Europe | 22 March 1944 – 21 May 1945 | 533d Bombardment Squadron[2] |
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This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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