963d Airborne Air Control Squadron
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| 963d Airborne Air Control Squadron | |
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| Active | July 8, 1955 - Present |
| Country | United States of America |
| Allegiance | USA  |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Type | Air Squadron |
| Mascot | Blue Knights |
| Engagements | Vietnam War Desert Storm/Desert Shield Operation Provide Comfort Operation Southern Watch Afghanistan War Iraq War |
The 963d Airborne Air Control Squadron (963 AACS) is a squadron of the United States Air Force based at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. The squadron is a subordinate unit of the 552d Air Control Wing and it flies the E-3 Sentry, radar surveillance aircraft. The squadron currently falls under the authority of Air Combat Command and the Eighth Air Force.
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[edit] Emblem
The 963d's mascot is the Blue Knight which is represented on the unit's insignia as a blue colored winged chess knight. The background is a series of black and white squares that resembles a chess board. Three bolts of lightning emitted from the knight's eye shows the electronic surveillance nature of the squadron, and the knight's wings represents the flying mission of the unit.
[edit] History
The 963d Airborne Early Warning and Control Squadron (963 AEW&Cs) was activated, on 8 July 1955 at McClellan AFB, California[1]. The squadron flew the EC-121 Warning Star, which was a military version of the Lockheed Constellation aircraft, until the unit's deactivation in 1976.
It was inactivated on 30 April 1976.
On 5 May 1976, the inactivation lasted less than a week however, as the Air Force again activated the unit and redesignated it as the 963d Airborne Warning and Control Squadron (963 AWACS). On 1 July 1976, the squadron relocated to Tinker AFB, Oklahoma. The squadron was under the command of the 552 AWACW, which reported directly to Headquarters, Tactical Air Command (TAC).[1] The squadron began flying the new E-3 Sentry aircraft upon being reactivated. This new airframe is a military version of the Boeing 707 aircraft.
During the 1980s the squadron flew training missions in Saudi Arabia and throughout the Middle East.
In 1990 the squadron deployed to Riyadh AB, Saudi Arabia with the military build-up prior to Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm.
In 1992, the unit (and its superior unit the 552 ACW) came under the authority of the newly formed Air Combat Command (ACC). Throughout the early to mid 1990's, 963d aircrews routinely deployed to Incirlik AB, Turkey to support the northern Iraqi no-fly zone (Operation Provide Comfort). Crews from the 963d also continued operations in Saudi Arabia on the southern no-fly zone (Operation Southern Watch). They were also deployed to other trouble spots around the world as a modern form of Gunboat diplomacy. On April 14, 1994 an aircraft and crew from the 963d operating out of Incirlik AB, Turkey featured prominently in the 1994 Black Hawk shootdown incident.
In 1994, the squadron's name was redesignated to 963d Airborne Air Control Squadron (963 AACS).
The 963d AACS also participated in the invasion of Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
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