The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is a member of the United States Intelligence Community and an agency of the United States Department of Defense. NRO is considered, along with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), National Security Agency (NSA), Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), to be one of the "big five" U.S. intelligence agencies. The NRO is headquartered in Chantilly, Virginia, 2 miles (3.2 km) south of the Washington Dulles International Airport.
The United States Air Force's Air Force Satellite Control Facility (AFSCF) was a space command and control unit located at Onizuka AFB, California. It has the distinction of being heavily involved in the world's first reconnaissance satellite program, CORONA. Due to geological hazards, and the terrorism threat from its proximity to a major transportation link, the facility's command and control functions were moved to Schriever AFB, Colorado.
Buckley Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Aurora, Colorado, that was established by the U.S. Army as an auxiliary field and bombing range in 1938, and activated as a designated installation in 1941. The base was named in honor of World War I Army pilot First Lieutenant John Harold Buckley.
The 480th Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Wing is headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia.
The Arizona Air National Guard is the aerial militia of the State of Arizona, United States of America. It is, along with the Arizona Army National Guard, an element of the Arizona National Guard.
The 6th Space Operations Squadron is an Air Force Reserve satellite command and control squadron located at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado. The squadron is a backup to NOAA for Defense Meteorological Satellite Program operations.
The United States Air Force's 3d Space Operations Squadron was a satellite operations unit located at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado.
The United States Air Force's 4th Space Operations Squadron is a satellite operations unit located at Schriever AFB, Colorado. 4 SOPS is responsible for command and control of the Milstar/Advanced Extremely High Frequency, Defense Satellite Communications System Phase III, and Wideband Global SATCOM satellite constellations. The 4th Space Operations Squadron's mission is to operate the Air Force's protected and wideband MILSATCOM systems. They provide warfighters global, secure, survivable, strategic and tactical communication during peacetime and throughout the full spectrum of conflict. The squadron also operates three mobile constellation control stations at various locations in conjunction with host partners. At higher readiness levels and during exercises, these personnel deploy with U.S. Strategic Command and U.S. Northern Command respectively.
The United States Air Force's 119th Command and Control Squadron is a space control unit located at McGhee Tyson ANGB, Tennessee. The unit augments the operations of USSTRATCOM on a continuous basis.
The United States Air Force's 153d Command and Control Squadron is a command and control unit located at F. E. Warren AFB, Wyoming.
The United States Air Force's 3d Command and Control Squadron was a command and control unit located at Offutt AFB, Nebraska.
The 280th Special Operations Communication Squadron is a geographically separated unit (GSU) of the Alabama Air National Guard, located at Dothan Regional Airport, Dothan, Alabama. The mission of the 280th SOCS is “To provide communications and information systems for command and control of Special Operations Forces worldwide, as well as respond to state emergencies as directed by the governor” [of Alabama]. The 280th SOCS provides tactical communication services to state, military and federal agencies utilizing state of the art information systems. Over 44% of Air Force Special Operations Command’s (AFSOC) deployed communication capabilities are provided by the 280th.
The 10th Aerospace Defense Group was inactivated on 31 December 1970 by the United States Air Force (USAF). Its last assignment was with Fourteenth Aerospace Force at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The 10th Aerospace Defense Group and Squadron were the sole operators of the United States' second nuclear-tipped anti-satellite weapon, Weapons System 437 (WS-437). For this reason the squadron continues the group history through temporary bestowal.
The United States Air Force's 236th Combat Communications Squadron is an Air National Guard combat communications unit located at Hammond, Louisiana. It is part of the Louisiana Air National Guard. In late 2011, approximately 30 members of the squadron deployed to Afghanistan.
Brigadier General Cary C. Chun is a retired senior officer of the United States Air Force. He served as the Deputy Commander, Operations and Interagency Integration, Joint Functional Component Command for Space, United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), and the Director for Mission Operations, National Reconnaissance Office. In this role, he led all Department of Defense space forces aligned with USSTRATCOM and provided tailored, responsive, local and global effects in support of national, USSTRATCOM and combatant commander objectives. As Director for Mission Operations, he led operations for all NRO overhead reconnaissance systems, ground stations, operational communications, and the operations center used to conduct intelligence activities essential for the national security of the United States and its allies.
Susan K. Mashiko is a retired United States Air Force major general who served as the Deputy Director, National Reconnaissance Office, Chantilly, Virginia. Her responsibilities include assisting the director and principal deputy director in managing the strategic and tactical operations of the NRO. Also, as the commander, Air Force Space Command Element, she manages all air force personnel and resources assigned to the NRO and serves as the senior adviser to the DNRO on all military matters. Mashiko is the first Japanese American woman to be promoted to flag rank.
The United States' National Reconnaissance Operations Center (NROC) is the focal point for the National Reconnaissance Office's current operations and for time-sensitive space-borne intelligence reporting for the United States Intelligence Community (USIC). The NROC was created in response to the September 11th terrorist attacks.
The Air National Guard's 280th Special Operations Communications Squadron is a communications unit located at Dothan Regional Airport, Alabama. The 280th SOCS provides over 44% of Air Force Special Operations Command's deployed communications capabilities.
William Gregg King Jr. was a brigadier general in the United States Air Force (USAF). After service with the United States Army in World War II, he joined the USAF in 1947. He helped establish the Eastern Test Range at Cape Canaveral, Florida, was project officer for the SM-62 Snark cruise missile, helped initiate the WS-117L military satellite program, worked on the SAMOS reconnaissance satellite, commanded the Air Force Satellite Control Facility, and was director of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Project A.
John Landrum Martin Jr. was a major general in the United States Air Force. He enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps in 1940 and flew combat missions in Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers in the China-Burma-India Theater.
