12th Space Warning Squadron

Last updated

12th Space Warning Squadron
12th Space Warning Squadron emblem (2).png
Squadron emblem
Active1967 – present
CountryFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
BranchFlag of the United States Space Force.svg  United States Space Force
RoleMissile Detection and Warning
Part of Space Delta 4
Headquarters Pituffik Space Base, Greenland
Motto(s)Top of the World
Decorations Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Commanders
Current
commander		Lt Col Marcus Losinski
Insignia
Former 12th Missile Warning Squadron emblem 12th Space Warning Squadron.png
Former 12th Missile Warning Squadron emblem, c. 1994 12 Space Warning Sq emblem (1994).png
12th Missile Warning Group emblem 12 Missile Warning Gp emblem.png

The 12th Space Warning Squadron is a United States Space Force ground-based radar used for missile warning, missile defense, and space situation awareness, stationed at Pituffik Space Base, Greenland.

Contents

Overview

The primary mission of the 12th SWS is to provide critical, real-time missile warning, defense, and space surveillance to the President of the United States, Secretary of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, NORAD, and unified commands by operating a phased-array radar—which continuously provides warning of submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) and intercontinental ballistic missile attacks against North America—and detect, track, and identify earth-orbiting objects in support of USSTRATCOM's space control mission, thus "knitting a blanket of freedom".

The 12th Space Warning Squadron is a unit of the Space Delta 4 which is under Air Force Space Command.

To accomplish its mission, the squadron operates the solid-state phased-array radar located at the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS), Site I. The BMEWS site is located approximately 11 miles northwest of Pituffik SB 76°34′08″N68°19′05″W / 76.569°N 68.318°W / 76.569; -68.318 . It provides early warning detection of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launches from the Russian land mass and submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) launches from the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans against North America. Additionally, BMEWS keeps track of polar orbiting satellites. The operational crews report through the Missile Warning Center to the NORAD/USNORTHCOM Center.

The Operation Support Flight (DOO) provides direct operational support to the missile warning crews. The flight's Operations Training Section (DOT) provides all crew force initial, recurring, and supplemental training. Other flight responsibilities include hardware, software and maintenance support (MA), operational test and evaluation (DOV), and crew force management (DOU).

History

The 12th SWS was formed in January 1967 as a successor organization to the Air Defense Command 931st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, which was inactivated at the end of 1965. The 931st AC&WS operated a series of Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) radar sites in Greenland to detect intrusion of unknown aircraft. The squadron relayed information to the 64th NORAD Region Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system DC-31 Direction Center, and interceptor squadrons stationed at Thule Air Base.

With the development of ICBM and SLBM technologies, the mission to monitor aircraft coming over the horizon from the Soviet Union was transferred to other units, and the 931st AC&WS at Thule AB was inactivated.

Lineage

Activated on 1 January 1967
Redesignated 12th Missile Warning Group on 31 March 1977
Redesignated 12th Missile Warning Squadron on 15 June 1983
Redesignated 12th Missile Warning Group on 1 October 1989
Redesignated 12th Space Warning Squadron on 15 May 1992

Assignments

Bases stationed

Equipment operated

Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) [1]

List of commanders

StartEndCommander
June 2002June 2003Lt Col Shawn Barnes
June 2003June 2004Lt Col Thomas Doyne
June 2004June 2005Lt Col Franklin "Joey" Hinson Jr
June 2005June 2006Lt Col Scott Peel
June 2006June 2007Lt Col Timothy Lincoln
June 2007June 2008Lt Col James Forand
June 200826 June 2009Lt Col David O. Meteyer
26 June 2009February 2010Lt Col James Oldenburg
February 20103 June 2010Lt Col Kimberly Damalas (appointed)
3 June 201016 June 2011Lt Col Jeffrey Van Sanford
16 June 201121 June 2012Lt Col Christopher S. Putman
21 June 201211 July 2013Lt Col Gregory G. Karahalis
11 July 2013June 2014Lt Col Kelly S. Easler [2]
June 2014June 2015Lt Col Jason Resley [3]
June 2015June 2016Lt Col Marc A. Brock [4]
June 2016June 2017Lt Col David L. Ransom
8 June 2017June 2018Lt Col Carl B. Bottolfson [5]
7 June 2018June 2019Lt Col Neil A. Menzie [6]
~June 201924 June 2020Lt Col Jared Smith [7]
24 June 2020~June 2021Lt Col Brandon Alford [8]
June 2021June 2022Lt Col Christopher R. Hill [9]
June 2022June 2023Lt Col April Foley [10]
June 2023June 2024Lt Col Brian Moore
June 2024PresentLt Col Marcus Losinski

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PAVE PAWS</span> Early warning radar

PAVE PAWS is a complex Cold War early warning radar and computer system developed in 1980 to "detect and characterize a sea-launched ballistic missile attack against the United States". The first solid-state phased array deployed used a pair of Raytheon AN/FPS-115 phased array radar sets at each site to cover an azimuth angle of 240 degrees. Two sites were deployed in 1980 at the periphery of the contiguous United States, then two more in 1987–95 as part of the United States Space Surveillance Network. One system was sold to Taiwan and is still in service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fourteenth Air Force</span> Numbered air force of the United States Air Force responsible for space forces

The Fourteenth Air Force was a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Space Command (AFSPC). It was headquartered at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ballistic Missile Early Warning System</span> US Cold War Early Warning Radar for ballistic missile defense

The RCA 474L Ballistic Missile Early Warning System was a United States Air Force Cold War early warning radar, computer, and communications system, for ballistic missile detection. The network of twelve radars, which was constructed beginning in 1958 and became operational in 1961, was built to detect a mass ballistic missile attack launched on northern approaches [for] 15 to 25 minutes' warning time also provided Project Space Track satellite data.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pituffik Space Base</span> US space base in Greenland

Pituffik Space Base, formerly Thule Air Base, is the United States Space Force's northernmost base, and the northernmost installation of the U.S. Armed Forces, located 750 mi (1,210 km) north of the Arctic Circle and 947 mi (1,524 km) from the North Pole on the northwest coast of Greenland. Pituffik's Arctic environment includes icebergs in North Star Bay, two islands, a polar ice sheet, and Wolstenholme Fjord – the only place on Earth where four active glaciers join. The base is home to a substantial portion of the global network of missile warning sensors of Space Delta 4, and space surveillance and space control sensors of Space Delta 2, providing space awareness and advanced missile detection capabilities to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the United States Space Force, and joint partners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clear Space Force Station</span> US Space Force station in Alaska

Clear Space Force Station is a United States Space Force radar station for detecting incoming ICBMs and submarine-launched ballistic missiles to NORAD's command center and to provide Space Surveillance data to the United States Space Force. Clear's AN/FPS-123 Upgraded Early Warning Radar is part of the Solid State Phased Array Radar System (SSPARS) which also includes those at Beale AFB, Cape Cod Space Force Station, RAF Fylingdales and Thule Site J. The "historic property" was one of the Alaska World War II Army Airfields and later a Cold War BMEWS site providing NORAD data to Colorado's BMEWS Central Computer and Display Facility (CC&DF).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aerospace Defense Command</span> Former U.S. Air Force major command

Aerospace Defense Command was a major command of the United States Air Force, responsible for air defense of the continental United States. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was established in 1946, briefly inactivated in 1950, reactivated in 1951, and then redesignated Aerospace rather than Air in 1968. Its mission was to provide air defense of the Continental United States (CONUS). It directly controlled all active measures, and was tasked to coordinate all passive means of air defense.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">21st Space Wing</span> Inactive United States Air Force wing

The 21st Wing is an inactive wing of the United States Air Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">9th Space Division</span> Military unit

The 9th Space Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Force Space Command, being stationed at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. It was inactivated on 1 October 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">21st Air Division</span> Military unit

The 21st Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Tactical Air Command, being stationed at Griffiss Air Force Base, New York. It was inactivated on 23 September 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">13th Space Warning Squadron</span> Military unit

The 13th Space Warning Squadron (13SWS) is a missile warning unit assigned to the United States Space Force and located at Clear Space Force Station 5 miles (8 km) south of Anderson, Alaska

<span class="mw-page-title-main">6th Space Warning Squadron</span> Military unit

The 6th Space Warning Squadron is located at Cape Cod Space Force Station, in Sagamore, Massachusetts, United States. It operates the PAVE PAWS radar to watch for missiles launched toward North America. The squadron is assigned to Space Delta 4. The squadron was first organized in October 1979 as the 6th Missile Warning Squadron

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7th Space Warning Squadron</span> Military unit

The 7th Space Warning Squadron (SWS) is the premier Space Domain Awareness sensor on the West Coast. The unit was originally established to guard the U.S. West Coast against sea-launched ballistic missiles from the eastern outskirts of Beale Air Force Base approximately 8 miles (13 km) east of Marysville, California. 7 SWS is a geographically separated unit of Space Delta 4.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4734th Air Defense Group</span> Discontinued United States Air Force organization

The 4734th Air Defense Group is a discontinued United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the 64th Air Division (AD) at Thule Air Base, Greenland, where it was discontinued in 1958. The group was formed in 1957 when ADC assumed responsibility for air defense of Greenland from Northeast Air Command. It controlled a fighter-interceptor squadron at Thule and a squadron operating a radar at nearby Pingarsuak Mountain. It was discontinued in 1958 and its mission transferred to the 64th AD in Newfoundland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4683d Air Defense Wing</span> Military unit

The 4683d Air Defense Wing is a discontinued United States Air Force (USAF) organization. Its last assignment was with Aerospace Defense Command (ADC)'s Goose Air Defense Sector at Thule Air Base, Greenland, where it was discontinued in 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">9th Space Warning Squadron</span> Military unit

The United States Air Force's 9th Space Warning Squadron was a United States Air Force missile warning unit located at Robins AFB, Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thule Air Station</span>

Thule Air Station is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 9.2 miles (14.8 km) south of Thule Air Base, Greenland. It was closed in 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">213th Space Warning Squadron</span> Unit of the Alaska Air National Guard

The 213th Space Warning Squadron of the Alaska Air National Guard provides early warning of Intercontinental ballistic missiles and Submarine-launched ballistic missiles to the Missile Correlation Center of North American Aerospace Defense Command. The squadron is a geographically separated unit assigned to the 168th Wing at Eielson Air Force Base.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solid State Phased Array Radar System</span> American radar network

The Solid State Phased Array Radar System is a United States Space Force radar, computer, and communications system for missile warning and space surveillance. There are SSPARS systems at five sites: Beale Air Force Base, CA, Cape Cod Space Force Station, MA, Clear Space Force Station, AK, RAF Fylingdales, UK, and Pituffik Space Base, Greenland. The system completed replacement of the RCA 474L Ballistic Missile Early Warning System when the last SSPAR was operational at then-Clear Air Force Station in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thule Site J</span> United States Space Force radar station in Greenland

Thule Site J (J-Site) is a United States Space Force (USSF) radar station in Greenland near Pituffik Space Base for missile warning and spacecraft tracking. The northernmost station of the Solid State Phased Array Radar System, the military installation was built as the 1st site of the RCA 474L Ballistic Missile Early Warning System and had 5 of 12 BMEWS radars. The station has the following structures:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Missile Warning Center</span> Military unit

The Missile Warning Center (MWC) is a center that provides missile warning and defense for United States Space Command's Combined Force Space Component Command, incorporating both space-based and terrestrial sensors. The MWC is located at Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station.

References

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

  1. ↑ 12th Space Warning Squadron Fact Sheet Archived 15 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ "Kelly S. Easler". LinkedIn .[ user-generated source ]
  3. ↑ "Jason Resley". LinkedIn .[ user-generated source ]
  4. ↑ "Colonel Marc A. Brock".
  5. ↑ "12th Space Warning Squadron welcomes new commander".
  6. ↑ "12 SWS Change of Command".
  7. ↑ "Front Range commanders visit Thule".
  8. ↑ "12th SWS changes command at Thule AB".
  9. ↑ "Christopher R. Hill". LinkedIn .[ user-generated source ]
  10. ↑ "This past month, the 12th Space Warning Squadron, Thule AFB, Greenland, thanked Lt Col Christopher Hill for his service as Commander of 12SWS and welcome Lt Col April Foley as she officially takes command". Facebook . 15 July 2022.[ user-generated source ]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.