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==History==
==History==
{{onesource|section}}
===United States Air Force Security Service===
The Air Force ISR Agency was established as the '''United States Air Force Security Service''' (USAFSS) on October 20, 1948.<ref name="legacy"/> The service was headquartered at [[Arlington Hall]], a former girl's school and the headquarters of the United States Army's [[Signals Intelligence Service]] (SIS) cryptography effort during [[World War II]]. The USAFSS was tasked with the [[cryptology]] and [[communications security]] missions of the newly-formed [[United States Air Force]]. The USAFSS moved to [[Brooks Air Force Base]], in [[San Antonio]], Texas, in April 1949, and then to “Security Hill” at nearby [[Kelly Air Force Base]] in August 1953.

During the [[Korean War]], the USAFSS personnel provided [[United Nations Command]] units with intelligence on the movements of major [[Korean People's Army]] forces from [[Manchuria]] to [[Wonsan]]. USAFSS personnel received [[Korean Language]] training at [[Yale University]], and flew on the [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain]] to relay communications to allied ground forces on the [[Korean Peninsula]].

During the early days of the [[Cold War]], USAFSS crews flew missions on several aircraft converted for intelligence missions, including the [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress]], the [[Lockheed MC-130|Lockheed C-130A-II Combat Talon]], and the [[Strategic Air Command]]'s [[Boeing RB-50 Superfortress]] and [[Boeing RC-135]]. The USAFSS established communications stations in Germany, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Scotland, and later installed [[AN/FLR-9]] “Elephant Cage” radar sites in Alaska, England, Italy, Japan, the Philippines, and Turkey.

The USAFSS became involved in the [[Vietnam War]] when the [[Pacific Air Forces]] asked it to establish an Air Force Special Security Office at [[Tan Son Nhut Airport]] near [[Saigon]] in 1961. By the following year, a USAFSS squadron and three subordinate detachments were operating in Vietnam and Thailand, and USAFSS personnel supported [[Lockheed_EC-121_Warning_Star#College_Eye|College Eye]] threat warning operations. USAFSS crews also flew on [[Douglas EC-47 Skytrain]] missions to search for aircrew shot down in North Vietnam and additional SAC RC-135s deployed to [[Kadena Air Base]], Japan.

===Electronic Security Command===
On 1 August 1979, the Air Force redesignated the USAFSS as the '''Electronic Security Command''' (ESC), reflecting the organization's additional mission of improving the Air Force’s use of [[electronic 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 the [[United States invasion of Panama]] in 1989 and were among the first U.S. military personnel to arrive in [[Saudi Arabia]] for the [[Gulf War]]. During that conflict, ESC personnel operated at three different locations in Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

===Air Force Intelligence Command===
On 1 October 1991, the Air Force redesignated ESC as the '''Air 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 at [[Wright-Patterson Air Force Base]], Ohio, the Air Special Activities Center at [[Fort 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.

===Air Intelligence Agency===
The organization was redesignated again when it became the '''Air Intelligence Agency''' on 1 October 1993. During the 1990s, AIA personnel deployed to support [[NATO]] operations during the [[Bosnian War]] and [[Kosovo War]], and as part of Operations [[Operation Southern Watch|Southern Watch]] and [[Operation Northern Watch|Northern Watch]] in Southwest Asia.

In February 2001, the Air Force assigned AIA to [[Air Combat Command]], where it provided support to combat operations in the [[War on Terror]], the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|War in Afghanistan]], and the [[Iraq War]].

===Air Force ISR Agency===
In August 2006, General [[T. Michael Moseley]], the [[Chief 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 the '''Air 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 support [[MC-12W|Beechcraft_C-12_Huron#King_Air_350-based_variants]] as part of Project Liberty.


===Lineage===
===Lineage===

Revision as of 04:31, 22 July 2014

Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency
Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency emblem
Active20 October 1948
CountryUnited States
BranchUnited States Air Force
TypeField Operating Agency
RoleIntelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance
Part ofUnited States Air Force
Garrison/HQLackland Air Force Base, Texas
Motto(s)Freedom Through Vigilance
Commanders
Current
commander		Major General John N.T. "Jack" Shanahan[1]

The Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency (Air Force ISR Agency or AFISRA) is a field operating agency of the United States Air Force. It is headquartered at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.

Its primary mission is to provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) products, applications, capabilities and resources, to include cyber and geospatial forces and expertise. Additionally, it is the service cryptologic component (SCC) responsible to the National Security Agency and Central Security Service for Air Force cryptographic activities.[2]

Originally called the United States Air Force Security Service, the Air Force ISR Agency was activated on October 20, 1948, at Arlington Hall, Washington, D.C., with a mission of cryptology and communications security.[3]

AFISRA is commanded by Major General John Shanahan.[4] Its Command Chief Master Sergent is Chief Master Sergeant Arleen Heath.[5]

Overview

The agency organizes, trains, equips and presents 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 July 14, 2014, the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Air Force announced that the Air Force ISR Agency would be reorganized into the Twenty-Fifth Air Force, a numbered air force assigned to Air Combat Command, on October 1, 2014.[6] [7]

Units

Assigned units

Two active duty wings, one group, and two centers are assigned to the Air Force ISR Agency.[2]

Wings

Groups

Centers

Supported units

AFISRA is responsible for mission management and support of signals intelligence operations for one Numbered Air Force and three wings.[2]

Numbered Air Forces

Wings

Air National Guard units

History

United States Air Force Security Service

The Air Force ISR Agency was established as the United States Air Force Security Service (USAFSS) on October 20, 1948.[3] The service was headquartered at Arlington Hall, a former girl's school and the headquarters of the United States Army's Signals Intelligence Service (SIS) cryptography effort during World War II. The USAFSS was tasked with the cryptology and communications security missions of the newly-formed United States Air Force. The USAFSS moved to Brooks Air Force Base, in San Antonio, Texas, in April 1949, and then to “Security Hill” at nearby Kelly Air Force Base in August 1953.

During the Korean War, the USAFSS personnel provided United Nations Command units with intelligence on the movements of major Korean People's Army forces from Manchuria to Wonsan. USAFSS personnel received Korean Language training at Yale University, and flew on the Douglas C-47 Skytrain to relay communications to allied ground forces on the Korean Peninsula.

During the early days of the Cold War, USAFSS crews flew missions on several aircraft converted for intelligence missions, including the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, the Lockheed C-130A-II Combat Talon, and the Strategic Air Command's Boeing RB-50 Superfortress and Boeing RC-135. The USAFSS established communications stations in Germany, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Scotland, and later installed AN/FLR-9 “Elephant Cage” radar sites in Alaska, England, Italy, Japan, the Philippines, and Turkey.

The USAFSS became involved in the Vietnam War when the Pacific Air Forces asked it to establish an Air Force Special Security Office at Tan Son Nhut Airport near Saigon in 1961. By the following year, a USAFSS squadron and three subordinate detachments were operating in Vietnam and Thailand, and USAFSS personnel supported College Eye threat warning operations. USAFSS crews also flew on Douglas EC-47 Skytrain missions to search for aircrew shot down in North Vietnam and additional SAC RC-135s deployed to Kadena Air Base, Japan.

Electronic Security Command

On 1 August 1979, the Air Force redesignated the USAFSS as the Electronic Security Command (ESC), reflecting the organization's additional mission of improving the Air Force’s use of electronic 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 the United States invasion of Panama in 1989 and were among the first U.S. military personnel to arrive in Saudi Arabia for the Gulf War. During that conflict, ESC personnel operated at three different locations in Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Air Force Intelligence Command

On 1 October 1991, the Air Force redesignated ESC as the Air 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 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, the Air Special Activities Center at Fort 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.

Air Intelligence Agency

The organization was redesignated again when it became the Air Intelligence Agency on 1 October 1993. During the 1990s, AIA personnel deployed to support NATO operations during the Bosnian War and Kosovo War, and as part of Operations Southern Watch and Northern Watch in Southwest Asia.

In February 2001, the Air Force assigned AIA to Air Combat Command, where it provided support to combat operations in the War on Terror, the War in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War.

Air Force ISR Agency

In August 2006, General T. Michael Moseley, the Chief 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 the Air 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 support Beechcraft_C-12_Huron#King_Air_350-based_variants as part of Project Liberty.

Lineage

Organized as a major command on 26 October 1948
Redesignated: Electronic Security Command on 1 August 1979
Redesignated: Air Force Intelligence Command on 1 October 1991
Redesignated: Air Intelligence Agency on 1 October 1993
Redesignated: Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Agency on 8 June 2007

Assignments

  • United States Air Force, 26 October 1948
  • Air Combat Command, 1 February 2001
  • United States Air Force, 8 June 2007

Components

Wings

  • 6900th Security Wing, Landsberg AB, Germany, 1 August 1954 - Unknown[8]
  • 6910th Electronic Security Wing, Lindsey AS, Germany, 1 July 1981 - 15 July 1988[9]
  • 6910th Security Wing, Darmstadt, Germany, Unknown - 1 February 1970
  • 6920th Security Wing, Wheeler AFB, Hawaii, 1 November 1958 - Unknow[10]
  • 6920th Security Wing, Misawa AB, Japan, 1 February 1976 - 1 October 1978[11]
  • 6921st Security Wing, Misawa AB, Japan, 1 September 1962 - 1 February 1976[9][12]
  • 6922d Security Wing, Kadena AB, Okinawa, then Clark AB, Philippines, 1 July 1963 - 28 January 1973[9][13]
  • 6933d Security Wing, Karamursel AS, Turkey, 1 July 1963 - April 1970[14]
  • 6940th Air Base Wing (later 6940th Technical Training Wing and 6940th Security Wing), Goodfellow AFB, TX, 1 October 1958 - 1 July 1978[15]
  • 6940th Electronic Security Wing, Fort Meade, MD, 1 February 1980 - 1 October 1991[16]
  • 6944th Security Wing, Offutt AFB, NE, 1 April 1974 - 1 March 1979[15]
  • 6950th Security Wing. RAF Chicksands, UK, 1 July 1963 - 1 April 1970[17]
  • 6960th Electronic Security Wing, Kelly AFB, TX, 1 January 1980 - 1 October 1986[18]

Centers

  • 6901st Special Communications Center (later Air Force Special Communications Center, Electronic Warfare Center, Air Force Information Warfare Center, Air Force Information Operations Center), Lackland AFB, Texas, 8 August 1953 - 1 May 2007[3]

Stations

See also

References

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

  1. ^ Amann, Wayne (06-07-2013). "Shanahan takes command of AFISRA". Air Force ISR Agency Public Affairs (afisr.af.mil). Retrieved 6 July 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ a b c "Factsheets: Air Force ISR Agency". 12 February 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  3. ^ a b c Myers, Harold; Marshall, Gabriel (2009), USAFSS to AF ISR Agency, 1948-2009: A Brief History of the AF ISR Agency and its Predecessor Organizations (PDF) (5th ed.), San Antonio, Texas: AF ISR Agency History Office, retrieved 20 July 2014
  4. ^ "Biograhies: Maj. Gen. John N.T. "Jack" Shanahan". June 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  5. ^ "Biograhies: Chief Master Sergeant Arleen K. Heath". July 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  6. ^ Chavana, Jarrod (14 July 2014), AF ISR Agency realigns as 25th AF, Air Force ISR Agency Public Affairs, retrieved 16 July 2014{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  7. ^ Everstine, Brian (14 July 2014). "Air Force to cut thousands of installation support jobs, create new command for surveillance". Air Force Times. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  8. ^ Abstract, Oral History Interview with Lt. Gen. Richard P. Klocko. Retrieved 28 August 2012
  9. ^ a b c Fletcher, Harry R. (1993). Air Force Bases , Vol. II, Air Bases Outside the United States of America (PDF). Washington, DC: Center for Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-53-6.
  10. ^ AFSS History. Retrieved 10 September 2012
  11. ^ Mission and Lineage and Honors of the 67th Network Warfare Group. Retrieved 10 September 2012
  12. ^ Abstract, History of 6013th Operations Wing May 1952. Retrieved 9 September 2012
  13. ^ Abstract, History of 313th Air Div, Jul-Dec 1965. Retrieved 28 August 2012
  14. ^ American Military in Turkey. Retrieved 10 September 2012
  15. ^ a b Mueller, Robert (1989). Air Force Bases, Vol. I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982 (PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-53-6.
  16. ^ Lineage & Honors History of 6940th Electronic Security Wing. Retrieved 10 September 2012
  17. ^ Willard, TSG Richard R. (1988) [1968]. Location of United States Military Units in the United Kingdom, 16 July 1948-31 December 1967. USAF Air Station, South Ruislip, United Kingdom: Historical Division, Office of Information, Third Air Force. LCCN 68061579.
  18. ^ See Lineage and Honors History of 68th Network Warfare Squadron. Retrieved 10 September 2012
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