236th Combat Communications Squadron

236th Combat Communications Squadron
	236th Combat Communications Squadron members assemble a Ground Multi-Band Terminal in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico during a training exercise
Active	1953 – present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Combat Communications
Part of	Louisiana Air National Guard
Garrison/HQ	Hammond, Louisiana
Decorations	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Insignia
236th Combat Communications Squadron emblem

Last updated April 29, 2019

The United States Air Force's 236th Combat Communications Squadron (236 CBCS) 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.^[1]

The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerial and space warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the five branches of the United States Armed Forces, and one of the seven American uniformed services. Initially formed as a part of the United States Army on 1 August 1907, the USAF was established as a separate branch of the U.S. Armed Forces on 18 September 1947 with the passing of the National Security Act of 1947. It is the youngest branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, and the fourth in order of precedence. The USAF is the largest and most technologically advanced air force in the world. The Air Force articulates its core missions as air and space superiority, global integrated intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, rapid global mobility, global strike, and command and control.

Air National Guard Air warfare component of the United States National Guard

The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force as well as the militia air force of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It, along with each state's, district's, commonwealth's or territory's Army National Guard component, makes up the National Guard of each state and the districts, commonwealths and territories as applicable.

Hammond is the largest city in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, United States, located 45 miles (72 km) east of Baton Rouge and 45 miles (72 km) northwest of New Orleans. Its population was 20,019 in the 2010 census. Hammond is home to Southeastern Louisiana University and is the principal city of the Hammond Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Tangipahoa Parish.

Assignments

Major Command/Gaining Command

14th Air Force (1953 – 1979)
Air Force Communications Command (1979–1993?)
Air National Guard/Air Force Communications Service/254th Combat Communications Group (1978 – present)
Air Force Space Command (? – present)

The 254th Combat Communications Group a unit of the Texas Air National Guard located at Hensley Field, Dallas, Texas. If activated to federal service, the wing is gained by the Air Combat Command.

Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) is a major command of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. AFSPC supports U.S. military operations worldwide through the use of many different types of space operations. Operationally, AFSPC is an Air Force major command subordinate to U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), a unified combatant command. As of 2019 it is the primary space force for the U.S. Armed Forces.

Previous designations

236th Airways Air Communication Service Flight (1953–1976)
236th Combat Communications Flight (1976–1982)
236th Combat Communications Squadron (1982–1985)
236th Combat Information Systems Squadron (1985–1986)
236th Combat Communications Squadron (1986 – present)

Bases stationed

New Orleans Airport (1953–1954)
Hammond Airport (1954 – present)

Hammond Northshore Regional Airport is a city-owned, public-use, joint civil-military, general aviation airport located three nautical miles (6 km) northeast of the central business district of Hammond, a city in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, United States. The airport was previously an uncontrolled facility utilizing VHF-band UNICOM as a Common Traffic Advisory Frequency (CTAF). As a result of the relocation of Army National Guard flight operations from Lakefront Airport to Hammond, a new control tower was constructed at the airport. This tower, manned by military air traffic controllers from the Air Operations Department of the Louisiana Army National Guard's Army Aviation Support Facility #1 at the airport, became operational on 15 December 2014.

Equipment Operated

MPN-14 Mobile Air Traffic Control Radar System throughout the 1980s.
Mobile Air Traffic Control Tower (1980s).
Mobile Crypto Communications System (1980s).
Satellite Communications Arrays (1980s).

Awards/Decorations

Air Force Outstanding Unit Award: 1 May 1976 – 30 April 1978;^[2] 1 January 1989 – 31 December 1990;^[3] 1 May 1992 – 30 April 1993;^[4] 1 May 1993 – 30 April 1994;^[5] 1 May 1995 – 30 April 1996;^[6] 1 July 1998 – 30 June 2000;^[7] 1 October 2006 – 30 September 2008.^[8]

The Air Force Outstanding Unit Award is one of the unit awards of the United States Air Force. It was established in 1954 and was the first independent Air Force decoration created. The Air Force Longevity Service Award would follow in 1957 with most of the standard Air Force awards established in the early to mid 1960s.

Emblem

Blue and yellow are the Air Force colors. Blue alludes to the sky, the primary theater of Air Force operations. Yellow refers to the sun and the excellence required of Air Force personnel. The fleur-de-lis represents the Squadron and alludes to the French heritage of the unit's home location. The three stars on the fleur-de-lis stand for the professionalism, dedication, and military preparedness exhibited by the personnel of the unit. The globe suggests the unit's worldwide deployment capability. The polestar symbolizes the North Star and represents the unit's wartime air traffic control and navigational aids mission.

The fleur-de-lis or fleur-de-lys is a stylized lily that is used as a decorative design or motif. Many of the Catholic saints of France, particularly St. Joseph, are depicted with a lily. Since France is a historically Catholic nation, the fleur-de-lis became "at one and the same time, religious, political, dynastic, artistic, emblematic, and symbolic", especially in French heraldry.

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