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{{use dmy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{use American English|date=December 2018}}
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name= 968th Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron
[[File:ACC Shield.svg|center|60px]]
|image=968th EAACS E-3G PSAB.jpg
|image_size=300
|caption=A squadron E-3G Sentry sits on the flightline at {{nowrap|Prince Sultan AB}}, March 2022
|dates=1943-1945; 1958–1962; 2002–2003; 2013–present
|country={{USA}}
|branch={{air force|USA}}
|type=
|role=[[AEW&C]]
|size=
|command_structure=[[Air Combat Command]]
|current_commander=Lt Col Steven Bailey<ref name="AFMMAY22-17">{{cite book|title=[[AirForces Monthly]]|year=May 2022|publisher=[[Key Publishing]]|location=[[Stamford, Lincolnshire]], England|page=17}}</ref>
|garrison=[[Prince Sultan AB]], {{nowrap|Saudi Arabia}}
|nickname=
|motto=
Line 27 ⟶ 26:
|decorations=[[Distinguished Unit Citation]]<br/>[[Croix de guerre 1939-1945 (France)|French Croix de Guerre with Palm]]<ref name=Maurer858BS/>
<!-- Insignia -->
|identification_symbol=[[File:968 Expeditionary Air Control Sq emblem.png|165px]]
|identification_symbol_label=968th Expeditionary Air Control Squadron emblem{{efn|Approved 18 August 1961.}}<ref name=968EAACSfacts>{{cite web |url= https://www.afhra.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/431977/968-expeditionary-airborne-air-control-squadron-acc/ |last1=Robertson|first1=Patsy|title=Factsheet 968 Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron (ACC)|date=October 15, 2017|publisher=Air Force Historical Research Agency|access-date=December 15, 2018}}</ref>
|identification_symbol_2=
|identification_symbol_2_label=
}}
The '''968th Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron''' (968 EAACS) is a provisional unit of the [[United States Air Force]], flying the [[Boeing E-3 Sentry|Boeing E-3G Sentry]].<ref name="50kHours"/> Since March 2022, the squadron is stationed at [[Prince Sultan Air Base]], Saudi Arabia.<ref name="transferPSAB">{{Cite web |title=New aircraft, Airmen arrive at PSAB |url=https://www.dvidshub.net/image/7084236/new-aircraft-airmen-arrive-psab |date=2022-03-06 |access-date=2022-07-04 |website=DVIDS |language=en}}</ref> It has been activated twice
The first predecessor of the 968th is the '''858th Bombardment Squadron''', first activated in October 1943 as a [[Consolidated B-24 Liberator]] heavy bomber unit. After deploying to England, the [[squadron (aviation)|squadron]] entered the [[strategic bombing during World War II#US bombing in Europe|strategic bombing campaign against Germany]], but was transferred to [[VIII Composite Command]] in June 1944, where it replaced the [[422d Bombardment Squadron]] on special operations, dropping propaganda leaflets over Occupied Europe. In August 1944, the [[492d Bombardment Group]], which had suffered the most severe losses of an [[United States Air Forces Europe|Eighth Air Force]] bomber group was withdrawn from combat 858th began to engage in [[Operation Carpetbagger]], dropping agents and supplies behind German lines, primarily in France. As American forces advanced in France during September 1944, this special operations mission diminished, but operations resumed in Germany during the last months of the war.
The 968th's other predecessor is the '''658th Bombardment Squadron''', which flew [[Boeing B-47 Stratojet]]s from 1958 to 1962 during the [[Cold War]]. The two squadrons were consolidated in 1985 as the '''968th Airborne Warning and Control Squadron''', and were converted to provisional status as the '''968th Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron''' in 2002.
==History==
===World War II===
====Training and strategic bombing====
[[File:Consolidated B-24J-150-CO Liberator 44-40159 492nd BG 858th BS Battling Boop.jpg|thumb|Consolidated B-24 Liberator of the 858th Bombardment Squadron{{efn|Aircraft is Consolidated B-24J-150-CO Liberator, serial 44-40159 ''Battling Boop''. This plane landed in Sweden after attacking an airfield at [[Bremerhaven]], Germany on 18 June 1944 and was interned.}}]]
The squadron was first organized in October 1943 at [[Alamogordo Army Air Field]], New Mexico, as one of the original squadrons of the [[492d Bombardment Group]]. Its [[cadre (military)|cadre]] was drawn from the [[859th Bombardment Squadron]], a former [[antisubmarine]] unit whose mission had transferred to the [[United States Navy|Navy]].<ref name=Maurer859BS>Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 785</ref> By January 1944, most of the ground echelon of the squadron had been used to form other bomber units. [[2d Bombardment Division]], which controlled [[VIII Bomber Command]]'s Liberator units in England, began to form a new ground echelon for the squadron from personnel of bomber units already in England,<ref name=Freeman262>Freeman, p. 262</ref> while the air echelon of the 858th continued training at Alamogordo.<ref name=Maurer492BG>Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp 361-362</ref> The air echelon began to depart Alamogordo on 1 April 1944, following the southern ferry route, while the few remaining members of the ground echelon departed on 11 April, sailing on the {{RMS|Queen Elizabeth}} on 20 April.<ref name=Freeman262/>
On 14 April, the ground echelon that had been formed in England arrived at [[RAF North Pickenham]]
====Special operations====
[[File:Consolidated B-24D-65-CO Liberator - 42-40509 -Cookie - 492bg 858 bs.jpg|thumb|858th Squadron B-24D marked for Carpetbagger operations
On 18 June the squadron moved without personnel or equipment, to [[RAF Cheddington]], where it assumed the night leaflet operations that had been performed by the [[422d Bombardment Squadron]].<ref>Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 517-518</ref> Only a cadre of the 858th actually transferred, and the squadron was filled out by veterans of the 422d, who joined on 24 June.<ref>Warren, p. 141</ref> On leaflet missions, called Nickling, squadron aircraft would fly at high level and drop cardboard canisters with leaflets that would explode at 2–3000 feet above ground level to disperse the materials. The squadron lost one aircraft on these missions. This was the first loss for the Eighth Air Force night leaflet squadron and all ten crewmembers were lost.<ref>Warren, pp. 146, 149</ref>
The 858th Squadron returned to the 492d Group in early August, but at [[RAF Harrington]], where it assumed the [[Operation Carpetbagger]] missions of the [[406th Bombardment Squadron]],<ref>Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 497-498</ref> which became the night leaflet squadron in the equivalent of a swap in unit identity. With the 492d Group, the squadron flew 131 [[Operation Carpetbagger]] missions by the middle of September.<ref>Warren, Appendix 9, p. 217</ref> With black-painted aircraft configured with engine flame dampeners and optimized for night operations, the group operated chiefly over France with B-24's and C-47's, transporting agents, supplies, and propaganda leaflets to patriots. As [[allies of World War II|Allied]] forces moved forward through northern France and into Belgium, the need for Carpetbagger missions decreased and operations ended on 16 September 1944.<ref>Warren, p. 63</ref> The squadron's support for the [[French Resistance]] earned it the [[Croix de guerre 1939-1945 (France)|French Croix de Guerre with Palm]]. With the drawdown of the Carpetbagger mission, the squadron concentrated on hauling gasoline to advancing [[mechanized infantry|mechanized]] forces in France and Belgium.<ref name=968EAACSfacts/><ref name=Maurer492BG/><ref name=Freeman263>Freeman, p. 263</ref> After December 1944, the squadron began limited night bombing operations.<ref name=Freeman263/>
The squadron resumed limited special operations when some of its crews began operations from [[Dijon Airfield]], France on 19 March 1945, flying agents into Germany under the names Operation Red Stocking and Operation Skywave. These operations continued until 26 April 1945.<ref>Warren, p. 65</ref><ref name=Freeman263/> The squadron left England for the United States in July 1945. In August 1945 it began to reform at [[Kirtland Field]], New Mexico as a [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress]] very heavy bomb squadron, however it became unnecessary when the Pacific War ended and it was inactivated on 17 October 1945.<ref name=968EAACSfacts/><ref name=Freeman263/>
===Strategic Air Command===
[[File:B-47E.jpg|thumb|B-47s of Strategic Air Command]]
From 1958, the [[Boeing B-47 Stratojet]] wings of [[Strategic Air Command]] (SAC) began to assume an [[alert status|alert]] posture at their home bases, reducing the amount of time spent on alert at overseas bases. The SAC alert cycle divided itself into four parts: planning, flying, alert and rest to meet General [[Thomas S. Power]]’s initial goal of maintaining one third of SAC's planes on fifteen minute ground alert, fully fueled and ready for combat to reduce vulnerability to a Soviet missile strike.<ref name=Schake>Schake, p. 220 (note 43)</ref> To implement this new system, B-47 [[wing (military aviation unit)|wings]] reorganized from three to four squadrons.<ref name=Schake>Schake, p. 220 (note 43)</ref><ref name=strategicbomber>{{cite web |url= http://www.airforcehistoryindex.org/data/001/010/802.xml|title=Abstract (Unclassified), History of the Strategic Bomber since 1945 (Top Secret, downgraded to Secret)|date=1 April 1975|publisher=Air Force History Index|access-date=March 4, 2014}}</ref> The '''658th Bombardment Squadron''' was activated at [[Mountain Home Air Force Base]] as the fourth squadron of the [[9th Bombardment Wing]].<ref name=Ravenstein9SRW>Ravenstein, pp. 23-24</ref> The SAC alert commitment was increased to half the wing's aircraft in 1962 and the four squadron pattern no longer met the alert cycle commitment, so the squadron was inactivated on 1 January 1962.<ref name=968EAACSfacts/><ref name=strategicbomber/>
In September 1985, the '''858th Bombardment Squadron''' and the '''658th Bombardment Squadron''' were consolidated as the '''968th Airborne Warning and Control Squadron'''.<ref name=
===Expeditionary Operations===
[[File:968th EAACS E-3G Exercise Red Sands.jpg|thumb|A 968th EAACS E-3G Sentry conducts [[air refueling]] during Exercise Red Sands, June 2022]]
The 968th was converted to provisional status and redesignated the '''968th Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron''' in late January 2002. It was assigned to [[Air Combat Command]] (ACC) to activate or inactivate as needed. ACC activated the squadron at [[Thumrait Air Base]], Oman and equipped it with the [[Boeing E-3 Sentry]] in December to provided early warning of enemy activity and to control friendly aircraft over the Gulf area in December 2002, inactivating it in May 2003.<ref name=968EAACSfacts/>
It was again activated with the E-3 to provide airborne warning and air control in 2013, when it replaced the 963d Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron at [[Al Dhafra Air Base]], United Arab Emirates. The 963d was the last of several units that had rotated to perform the warning and control mission at Al Dhafra, but [[United States Air Forces Central Command]] believed that keeping an enduring unit there would provide greater stability to [[Operation Inherent Resolve]] missions.<ref name=968EAACSfacts/><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.afcent.af.mil/Units/380th-Air-Expeditionary-Wing/News/Display/Article/445097/from-expeditionary-to-enduring-new-awacs-squadron-activated/ |last1=Boyer|first1=TSG Timothy|title=From expeditionary to enduring – new AWACS squadron activated|date=April 2, 2013|publisher=U.S. Air Forces Central Command Public Affairs|access-date=December 16, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.dvidshub.net/image/3176107/awacs-aircrew-controls-skies |last1=Fredericks|first1=SSG Matthew|title=AWACS aircrew controls the skies (image 4 of 6)|date=February 13, 2017|publisher=Defense Visual Image Distribution Service|access-date=December 16, 2018}}</ref> On 21 November 2015, the squadron flew the first combat mission using the E-3G Block 40/45, equipped with upgraded hardware and software.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.centcom.mil/MEDIA/NEWS-ARTICLES/News-Article-View/Article/885264/new-sentry-completes-first-combat-sortie-in-southwest-asia/ |last1=Brackin|first1=SSG Kentavist|title=New Sentry completes first combat sortie in Southwest Asia|date=December 1, 2015|publisher=U.S. Central Command Public Affairs|access-date=December 16, 2018}}</ref>
In February 2020, the 968th EAACS surpassed 50,000 combat flying hours since being activated seven years prior, of which 36,360 hours were spent "on-station" supporting operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and the Persian Gulf.<ref name="50kHours">{{Cite web|title=968th EAACS hit 50k combat flying hours in under 7-years|url=https://www.afcent.af.mil/Units/380th-Air-Expeditionary-Wing/News/Display/Article/2092698/968th-eaacs-hit-50k-combat-flying-hours-in-under-7-years/|access-date=2022-01-08|website=U.S. Air Forces Central|language=en-US}}</ref>
In March 2022, the squadron relocated to [[Prince Sultan Air Base]], Saudi Arabia after having spent 9 years at Al Dhafra.<ref name="transferPSAB"/>
==Lineage==
Line 65 ⟶ 75:
: Activated on 1 October 1943
: Redesignated '''858th Bombardment Squadron''', Very Heavy on 5 August 1945
: Inactivated on 17 October 1945
* Consolidated with the '''658th Bombardment Squadron''' as the '''968th Airborne Warning and Control Squadron''' on 19 September 1985<ref name=
; 968th Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron
Line 72 ⟶ 82:
: Activated on 1 October 1958
: Discontinued, and inactivated on 1 January 1962
* Consolidated with the '''858th Bombardment Squadron''' as the '''968th Airborne Warning and Control Squadron''' on 19 September 1985
* Redesignated '''968th Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron''' and converted to provisional status, on 25 January 2002
: Activated on 13 December 2002
: Inactivated on 22 May 2003
: Activated on 20 February 2013<ref name=968EAACSfacts/>
===Assignments===
*
* VIII Air Force Composite Command, 19 June 1944
* 492d Bombardment Group, 5 August 1944 – 17 October 1945
* 9th Bombardment Wing, 1 October 1958 – 1 January 1962
* Air Combat Command to activate or inactivate as needed after 25 January 2002
:: [[380th Expeditionary Operations Group]], 26 February 2013 – present<ref name=968EAACSfacts/>
===Stations===
*
* RAF North Pickenham (Station 143),<ref name=Anderson>Station number in Anderson.</ref> England, 1 January 1944
*
*
* [[Sioux Falls Army Air Field]],
*
* Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, 1 October 1958 – 1 January 1962
* Thumrait Air Base, Oman, 13 December 2002 – 22 May 2003
* Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, 26 February 2013 – March 2022<ref>Station information in Robertson, except as noted.</ref>
* Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, March 2022 – present<ref name="transferPSAB"/>
===Aircraft===
*
* [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain]], 1944–1945
* [[Douglas A-26 Invader]], 1945
* [[de Havilland Mosquito]], 1945
* Boeing B-47
* Boeing E-3 Sentry, 2002-2003, 2013–present<ref name=968EAACSfacts/>
===Awards and campaigns===
{{unit awards table
|award_image1=AF PUC
|award_name1=[[Distinguished Unit Citation]]
|award_date1=20 March 1945-25 April 1945
|award_notes1=(German Occupied Territory) 858th Bombardment Squadron<ref name=968EAACSfacts/>
|award_image2=AF MUA
|award_name2=[[Air Force Meritorious Unit Award]]
|award_date2=26 February 2013-19 June 2013
|award_notes2=968th Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron<ref name=AFawards>{{cite web |url= http://access.afpc.af.mil/AwardsDMZNet40/SearchAwards.aspx |title=Air Force Personnel Services: Unit Awards|publisher=Air Force Personnel Center|access-date=December 18, 2018}} (search)</ref>
|award_image3=AF MUA
|award_name3=Air Force Meritorious Unit Award
|award_date3=1 July 2014-30 June 2015
|award_notes3=968th Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron<ref name=AFawards/>
|award_image4=Croix de guerre WWII
|award_name4=[[Croix de guerre 1939-1945 (France)|French Croix de Guerre with Palm]]
|award_date4=6 August 1944-16 September 1944
|award_notes4=858th Bombardment Squadron<ref name=968EAACSfacts/>
}}
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="background:#efefef;"
! Campaign Streamer
! Campaign
! Dates
! Notes
|-
|[[Image:Streamer EAMEC.PNG|200px]]||Air Offensive, Europe||1 January 1944 – 5 June 1944||858th Bombardment Squadron<ref name=968EAACSfacts/>
|-
|[[Image:Streamer EAMEC.PNG|200px]]||Air Combat, EAME Theater||1 January 1944 – 11 May 1945||858th Bombardment Squadron<ref name=968EAACSfacts/>
|-
|[[Image:Streamer EAMEC.PNG|200px]]||Central Europe||22 March 1944 – 21 May 1945||858th Bombardment Squadron<ref name=968EAACSfacts/>
|-
|[[Image:Streamer EAMEC.PNG|200px]]||Normandy||6 June 1944 – 24 July 1944||858th Bombardment Squadron<ref name=968EAACSfacts/>
|-
|[[Image:Streamer EAMEC.PNG|200px]]||Northern France||25 July 1944 – 14 September 1944||858th Bombardment Squadron<ref name=968EAACSfacts/>
|-
|[[Image:Streamer EAMEC.PNG|200px]]||Southern France||15 August 1944 – 14 September 1944||858th Bombardment Squadron<ref name=968EAACSfacts/>
|-
|[[Image:Streamer EAMEC.PNG|200px]]||Rhineland||15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945||858th Bombardment Squadron<ref name=968EAACSfacts/>
|-
|[[Image:Streamer gwotE.PNG|200px]]||Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal||||968th Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.af.mil/Portals/1/documents/news/GWOT-E%20Campaign.pdf?timestamp=1441284353101 |title=Special Order G-33994|date=14 July 2014|publisher=United States Air Forces Central Command |access-date=February 21, 2016}}</ref>
|}
==See also==
* [[List of A-26 Invader operators]]
* [[B-24 Liberator units of the United States Army Air Forces]]
* [[List of Douglas C-47 Skytrain operators]]
==References==
===Notes===
; Explanatory notes
{{notelist}}
; Citations
{{reflist|
===Bibliography===
{{Air Force Historical Research Agency}}
* {{cite book|last=Anderson|first=Capt. Barry|title= Army Air Forces Stations: A Guide to the Stations Where U.S. Army Air Forces Personnel Served in the United Kingdom During World War II|url=http://www.afhra.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-081010-027.pdf |year=1985|publisher=Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center|location=Maxwell AFB, AL yes|
* {{cite book|last=Freeman|first = Roger A. |author-link1=Roger A. Freeman|title=The Mighty Eighth: Units, Men and Machines (A History of the US 8th Army Air Force)|year=1970 |publisher=Macdonald and Company|location=London, England, UK |isbn= 978-0-87938-638-2
* {{cite book|editor=Maurer, Maurer|title=Air Force Combat Units of World War II|
* {{cite book|editor=Maurer, Maurer|title=Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II|
* {{cite book|last=
* {{cite book|
* {{cite web |url= https://www.afhra.af.mil/Portals/16/documents/Studies/101-150/AFD-090522-060.pdf |last1=Warren|first1=Maj Harris G.|title=Special Operations: AAF Aid to European Resistance Movements 1943-1945, USAF Historical Study No. 121 (formerly AAF Reference History No. 21)|date=June 1947|publisher=Army Air Force Historical Office|access-date=October 29, 2018}}
; Further reading
* {{cite book|last1=Parnell|first1=Ben|title=Carpetbaggers: America's Secret War in Europe|year=1993|publisher=Eakin Press|location=Austin, TX|isbn= 978-0890155929}}
{{USAF Air Combat Command}}
{{Strategic Air Command}}
{{USAAF 8th Air Force UK}}
{{USAAF 2d Air Force World War II}}
[[Category:Air expeditionary squadrons of the United States Air Force]]
[[Category:Air control squadrons of the United States Air Force|0968]]
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