922d Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron | |
|---|---|
 Deployed RC-135 refueling over theNorth Sea | |
| Active | 1942–1943; 1954–1958; 1959–1975: 1978–1994; 2010 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Reconnaissance |
| Part of | Air Combat Command |
| Motto | United for Peace |
| Decorations | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
| Insignia | |
| 922d Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron emblem[a][1] |  |
| Patch with 922d Air Refueling Squadron emblem |  |
The922d Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron is a provisionalUnited States Air Force unit, assigned toAir Combat Command to activate or inactivate as needed. It was last assigned to the474th Air Expeditionary Group atSan Isidro Air Base, Dominican Republic in 2010.
Thesquadron was first activated duringWorld War II as the22d Air Corps Ferrying Squadron at Morrison Field, Florida in 1942. In October 1943 the squadron and its parent group were disbanded and replaced as theAir Transport Command unit at Morrison by Station 11, Caribbean Wing, Air Transport Command.
The squadron was reconstituted in 1954 as the22d Air Transport Squadron, Medium, aDouglas C-54 Skymaster unit, atCharleston Air Force Base, South Carolina. The squadron was inactivated in 1958.
The922d Air Refueling Squadron operatedBoeing KC-135 Stratotankers atWright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio from 1959 to 1975, when its parent, the17th Bombardment Wing moved toBeale Air Force Base, California.
The 922d was reactivated three years later as the922d Strategic Squadron to control deployedStrategic Air Command (SAC) tanker and reconnaissance aircraft operating in the Mediterranean. In September 1985, the 922d and 22d squadrons were consolidated into a single squadron. When SAC inactivated in 1992, the squadron became areconnaissance unit, operatingBoeing RC-135s fromRAF Mildenhall until 1994.
The 922d was converted to provisional status as the922d Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron and assigned toAir Combat Command to activate or inactivate as needed. In 2010 it was activated as partOperation Unified Response. the military response to the earthquake in Haiti.
The squadron was first activated duringWorld War II as the22d Air Corps Ferrying Squadron at Morrison Field, Florida in 1942. The squadron ferried aircraft between Florida and points in western Africa. From 1943, the unit then focused on the air transportation mission as the22d Transport Squadron. Although the squadron was stationed at Morrison, its personnel were also used to man other stations of the Caribbean Wing. After a little more than a year of trying to use traditionalTable of Organization units like the 22d,Air Transport Command (ATC) found them too inflexible for its operations. It, therefore, decided to replace its groups and squadrons and assign personnel directly to each of its stations, based on the needs of the station.[2] Accordingly, in October 1943 the squadron and its parent group were disbanded as ATC combined its units at Morrison into Station 11, Caribbean Wing, Air Transport Command.[1]
The squadron was reactivated in March 1954 atCharleston Air Force Base, South Carolina as the22d Air Transport Squadron[3] with the responsibility of transporting personnel, materiel, mail and other strategic cargo for theArmy,Navy and civilian agencies.[1] The squadron was assigned to the1608th Air Transport Group, which had been activated two months earlier. However, shortages of personnel and equipment delayed the group from reaching operational status upon activation.[4] The squadron operatedDouglas C-54 Skymaster aircraft until inactivating in March 1958.[1]
The922d Air Refueling Squadron was activated on 1 September 1959 byStrategic Air Command (SAC) atWright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio[5] where it was assigned to the4043d Strategic Wing and equipped withBoeing KC-135 Stratotankers. The 4043d wing was established by SAC in a program to disperse itsBoeing B-52 Stratofortress bombers over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for the Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike.[6] SAC bases with large concentrations of bombers made attractive targets. SAC's response was to break up its wings and scatter their aircraft over a larger number of bases.[7]
The squadron providedair refueling support to theBoeing B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers of its parent wing and other USAF units as directed. Starting in 1960, one third of the squadron's aircraft were maintained on fifteen-minutealert, fully fueled and ready for combat to reduce vulnerability to a Soviet missile strike. This was increased to half the squadron's aircraft in 1962.[8]
In February 1963 The17th Bombardment Wing assumed the aircraft, personnel and equipment of the discontinued 4043d wing. The 4043d was a Major Command controlled (MAJCON) wing, which could not carry a permanent history or lineage,[9] and SAC wanted to replace it with a permanent unit. The 922d was assigned to the newly activated 17th wing.[10]
The squadron deployed aircraft and aircrews to the Western Pacific support combat operations of deployed SAC units and tactical aircraft overIndochina during theVietnam War from 1965 to 1975. In June 1975, its aircraft were taken off alert and the squadron phased down, and its aircraft were transferred elsewhere by 7 July.[10] The squadron inactivated in September as SAC ended its operations at Wright-Patterson.[1]
Three years later the squadron was reactivated as the922d Strategic Squadron atHellenikon Air Base, nearAthens, Greece. It was assigned to the306th Strategic Wing, which controlled SAC European operations from its station atRamstein Air Base, Germany. The squadron provided air refueling andreconnaissance support using aircraft and crews deployed from SAC bases in the United States.[11] It supported USAFE andNorth Atlantic Treaty Organizationexercises.[12] After a period of heightened tensions and anti-American activity in Greece, the Greek government notified the United States that American bases in mainland Greece would be closed by 1990.[13] With the closure of Hellenikon, the squadron moved toSouda Bay Naval Air Station on the Island ofCrete.[1] Two years later, in anticipation of the inactivation of SAC, the squadron moved toRAF Mildenhall.[14] and managed deployedBoeing RC-135s fromRAF Mildenhall as the922d Reconnaissance Squadron until 1994.
In 2007, the squadron was assigned toAir Combat Command as a provisional unit to activate or inactivate as needed.[1] In 2010, it was activated in the Dominican Republic forOperation Unified Response, responding to the earthquakes in Haiti on the western half ofHispaniola.[15]
22d Air Transport Squadron
922d Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron
| Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1963 – 31 Mar 1964 | 922d Air Refueling Squadron[1] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1969 – 30 June 1970 | 922d Air Refueling Squadron[1] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1971 – 30 June 1973 | 922d Air Refueling Squadron[1] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1979 – 30 June 1981 | 922d Strategic Squadron[1] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1985 – 30 June 1987 | 922d Strategic Squadron[1] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1987 – 30 June 1989 | 922d Strategic Squadron[1] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1989 – 30 June 1990 | 922d Strategic Squadron[16] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1990 – 28 February 1991 | 922d Strategic Squadron[1] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 March 1991 – 31 March 1992 | 922d Strategic Squadron[1] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1992 – 30 June 1994 | 922d Reconnaissance Squadron[1] |
| Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
.png) | American Theater without inscription | 3 April 1942 – 13 October 1943 | 22d Ferrying Squadron (later 22d Transport Squadron) |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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