| Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency | |
|---|---|
 Shield of the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency | |
| Active | 20 October 1948 to 29 September 2014 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Type | Field Operating Agency |
| Role | Intelligence,Surveillance &Reconnaissance |
| Part of | United States Air Force |
| Garrison/HQ | Lackland Air Force Base,Texas |
| Motto | Freedom Through Vigilance |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Major GeneralJohn N.T. "Jack" Shanahan (Final Commander)[1] |
TheAir Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency (Air Force ISR Agency orAFISRA) was until 29 September 2014 afield operating agency of theUnited States Air Force headquartered atLackland Air Force Base, Texas. On that date it was redesignatedTwenty-Fifth Air Force and aligned as anumbered air force (NAF) of theAir Combat Command.[2]
Its primary mission was to provideintelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) products, applications, capabilities and resources, to include cyber and geospatial forces and expertise. Additionally, it was the service cryptologic component (SCC) responsible to theNational Security Agency andCentral Security Service for Air Forcecryptographic activities.[3]
Originally called theUnited States Air Force Security Service, the Air Force ISR Agency was activated on 20 October 1948, atArlington Hall, Washington, D.C., with a mission ofcryptology andcommunications security.[4]
AFISRA was last commanded by Major General John Shanahan.[5] Its Command Chief Master Sergeant was Chief Master Sergeant Arleen Heath.[6] Both continued in their positions upon the creation of 25 AF.
The agency organizes, trains, equips, presents, and deploys assigned forces and capabilities to conduct intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for combatant commanders and the nation. It also implements and oversees the execution of Air Force policies intended to expand ISR capabilities.
The agency's 17,000 people serve at about 65 locations worldwide.
On 14 July 2014, theSecretary andChief of Staff of the Air Force announced that the Air Force ISR Agency would be reorganized into theTwenty-Fifth Air Force (25 AF), anumbered air force assigned toAir Combat Command, on 1 October 2014.[7][8]
Two active duty wings, one group, and two centers were assigned to the Air Force ISR Agency.[3]
AFISRA is responsible for mission management and support of signals intelligence operations for oneNumbered Air Force and three wings.[3]
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The Air Force ISR Agency was established as theUnited States Air Force Security Service (USAFSS) on 20 October 1948.[4] The service was headquartered atArlington Hall, a former girls' school and the headquarters of the United States Army'sSignals Intelligence Service (SIS) cryptography effort duringWorld War II. The USAFSS was tasked with thecryptology andcommunications security missions of the newly formedUnited States Air Force. The USAFSS moved toBrooks Air Force Base, inSan Antonio, Texas, in April 1949, and then to "Security Hill" at nearbyKelly Air Force Base in August 1953.
During theKorean War, the USAFSS personnel providedUnited Nations Command units with intelligence on the movements of majorKorean People's Army forces fromManchuria toWonsan. USAFSS personnel receivedKorean Language training atYale University, and flew on theDouglas C-47 Skytrain to relay communications to allied ground forces on theKorean Peninsula.
During the early days of theCold War, USAFSS crews flew missions on several aircraft converted for intelligence missions, including theBoeing B-29 Superfortress, theLockheed C-130A-II Combat Talon, and theStrategic Air Command'sBoeing RB-50 Superfortress andBoeing RC-135. The USAFSS established communications stations in Germany, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Scotland, and later installedAN/FLR-9 "Elephant Cage" radar sites in Alaska, England, Italy, Japan, the Philippines, and Turkey.
The USAFSS became involved in theVietnam War when thePacific Air Forces asked it to establish an Air Force Special Security Office atTan Son Nhut Airport nearSaigon in 1961. By the following year, a USAFSS squadron and three subordinate detachments were operating in Vietnam and Thailand, and USAFSS personnel supportedCollege Eye threat warning operations. USAFSS crews also flew onDouglas EC-47 Skytrain missions to search for aircrew shot down in North Vietnam and additional SAC RC-135s deployed toKadena Air Base, Japan.
On 1 August 1979, the Air Force redesignated the USAFSS as theElectronic Security Command (ESC), reflecting the organization's additional mission of improving the Air Force's use ofelectronic warfare technology in combat. In 1985, the Air Force tasked ESC with computer security, in addition to its intelligence and electronic warfare missions.
ESC provided intelligence support to theUnited States invasion of Panama in 1989 and were among the first U.S. military personnel to arrive inSaudi Arabia for theGulf War. During that conflict, ESC personnel operated at three different locations in Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
On 1 October 1991, the Air Force redesignated ESC as theAir Force Intelligence Command (AFIC) and consolidated Air Force intelligence functions and resources into a single command. AFIC merged ESC with the Air Force Foreign Technology Center atWright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, the Air Special Activities Center atFort Belvoir, Virginia, and elements of the Air Force Intelligence Agency, Washington D.C. With the combined missions, AFIC was tasked with intelligence, security, electronic combat, foreign technology, and treaty monitoring.[citation needed]
The organization was redesignated again when it became theAir Intelligence Agency on 1 October 1993. During the 1990s, AIA personnel deployed to supportNATO operations during theBosnian War andKosovo War, and as part of OperationsSouthern Watch andNorthern Watch in Southwest Asia.
In February 2001, the Air Force assigned AIA toAir Combat Command, where it provided support to combat operations in thewar on terror, theWar in Afghanistan, and theIraq War.
In August 2006, GeneralT. Michael Moseley, theChief of Staff of the United States Air Force, directed that the Air Force intelligence efforts stress intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities. AIA was eventually redesignated theAir Force ISR Agency (AFISRA) on 8 June 2007. The organization change included transforming AFISRA into a field operating agency and reassigning it from Air Combat Command to Headquarters Air Force. With the change, AFISRA reported to the Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance.
Beginning in 2009, AFISRA personnel deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan to supportMC-12 aircraft as part of Project LIBERTY.
In July 2014 the Air Force announced that the Air Force Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency was being realigned from Headquarters Air Force as a Field Operating Agency to become part of a new operational numbered air force under Air Combat Command. AFISRA became 25th Air Force on 29 September 2014 at a ceremony held at JBSA-Lackland.[2]
Chairman of the Senate Armed Forces committeeJohn McCain would later call this move "a shell game" designed to comply with a DoD requirement to cut excess staff, without actually cutting any positions or saving any money at all.[9]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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