Size Wing | Role Information operations | |
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Active 1947–49; 1951–60; 1966–93; 1993–present Part of Air Force Space Command | ||
The 67th Cyberspace Wing is a United States Air Force wing stationed at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. It was activated in October 1993 as a military intelligence unit and is assigned to Twenty-Fourth Air Force. The wing was first activated at March Field as the 67th Reconnaissance Wing as part of the wing base organization system. However, only its 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group ever became operational and it relied on another wing for support. It was inactivated in the 1949 Truman reductions in the Department of Defense budget.
Contents
- Mission
- Units
- History
- Initial activation
- Korean War and the Pacific
- Reconnaissance in the United States
- Desert Storm and inactivation
- Lineage
- Components
- References
The wing was reactivated in Japan as the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing in February 1951, replacing the 543d Tactical Support Group as the headquarters for tactical reconnaissance units during the Korean War. It moved to Korea and served in combat until the armistice was signed in July 1953. Following the war, it returned to Japan and by 1957 was the only reconnaissance unit assigned to Far East Air Forces. The wing was inactivated in 1960 and its remaining squadrons assigned to other units.
The wing was reactivated at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho in 1966 and trained for reconnaissance missions. It became Tactical Air Command's replacement training unit for the McDonnell RF-4C Phantom II. From 1968 to 1970, it acquired a fighter unit and also trained fighter aircrews on the F-4. In July 1971, Mountain Home became a fighter base and the wing moved without personnel or equipment to Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas, where it absorbed the assets of the 75th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, which was inactivated. It continued its reconnaissance mission at Bergstrom until inactivating on 30 September 1993. The wing activated the following day at Kelly Air Force Base as the 67th Intelligence Wing and has continued the electronic intelligence mission since then.
Mission
The 67th Cyberspace Wing operates, manages, and defends global Air Force networks. The wing trains and readies airmen to execute computer network exploitation and attack. It also executes full-spectrum Air Force network operations, training, tactics, and management. It provides network operations and network warfare capabilities to Air Force, joint task force, and Unified Combatant Commands. Additionally, it performs electronic systems security assessments for the Air Force.
Units
History
For associated history, see 67th Network Warfare GroupInitial activation
The wing was first activated in November as the 67th Reconnaissance Wing at March Field, California during the experimental implementation of the wing base organization. It was made a permanent unit and redesignated the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group in August 1948. During this period, only the wing's 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group was operational and the entire wing was attached to the 1st Fighter Wing. The wing was equipped with various models of the Douglas B-26 Invader, North American F-6 Mustang and Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star. President Truman’s reduced 1949 defense budget required reductions in the number of groups in the Air Force to 48 and the wing was inactivated in March 1949.
Korean War and the Pacific
By 1951, Fifth Air Force had combined its reconnaissance units under the 543d Tactical Support Group, which was stationed in Korea. In late January, the 543d headquarters moved to Komaki Air Base Japan, and the following month it was inactivated and the 67th was activated in its place and absorbed its personnel and equipment. The 543d's 45th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was transferred to the 67th, while its other squadrons were replaced by newly activated units.
The wing immediately began to fly combat reconnaissance missions over Korea, By August, the wing had consolidated its subordinate elements at Kimpo Air Base. Gradually overcoming difficulties, it soon was providing adequate aerial intelligence for both air and ground units. However, the wing was hampered by a lack of suitable photographic equipment and aircraft and shortages of trained personnel. For a short time, the wing had to use North American T-6 Texan trainers and Douglas C-47 Skytrain cargo planes for visual resonnaissance. The wing sought to cure its problems using resources within the theater, managing its own training classes for inexperienced personnel and experimenting with aircraft, cameras and tactics. It sought to cure its lack of high speed reconnaissance aircraft by acquiring six Sabres modified for reconnaissance missions.
The 67th continued flying combat missions until the armistice in late July 1953. It provided photographic coverage of enemy front lines, battlefield positions, installations, airfields and rail lines, with weather reconnaissance as a secondary task.
After the war, the wing remained in the Pacific theater, moving from Korea to Itami Air Base, Japan in December 1954, continuing to provide reconnaissance as needed. Wing elements were dispersed to various bases in Japan. The 45th Squadron remained in Korea until March 1955, when it moved to Misawa Air Base on Hokkaido, while the 12th Squadron moved to Yokota Air Base in August 1956, and the 15th Squadron was at Komaki Air Base and, later, at Kadena Air Base. Only the 11th Squadron was stationed with the wing headquarters.
On 1 July 1957, the 67th moved to Yokota Air Base, Japan as US operations at Itami came to a close. At Yokota, it absorbed the resources of the 6007th Reconnaissance Group, which was discontinued in August, becoming the sole reconnaissance wing in the Far East. In September, the wing converted to the Dual Deputate organization, and all flying squadrons were directly assigned to the wing when its 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group was inactivated. The 67th Group had moved to Yokota in 1956 and became nonoperational upon the wing's move to Yokota and its squadrons were attached to the wing before being assigned. It also added air refueling and airlift to its mission in September, with these new tasks continuing until the wing inactivated in Dec 1960.
Reconnaissance in the United States
After activation at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho in 1966, the wing began training in the United States for aerial, visual, optical, electronic, thermal, and radar reconnaissance. In May, the wing added training of replacement McDonnell RF-4C Phantom II reconnaissance aircrews to its mission, and between June 1968 and November 1970, it also trained tactical fighter crews with the F-4D. Preparing to turn Mountain Home Air Force Base over to the 347th Tactical Fighter Wing, the 67th served as headquarters for both organizations for its final two months at Mountain Home.
The wing moved to Texas in 1971, replacing the 75th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at and absorbing its personnel and equipment. At Bergstrom, it concentrated on maintaining tactical reconnaissance mission forces capable of meeting worldwide operational requirements. It conducted reconnaissance training of Air Force, United States Marine Corps, and allied reconnaissance aircrews between 1982 and 1989.
The wing acted as an advisor to Air National Guard reconnaissance units until 1992. It performed reconnaissance missions supporting the US Customs Service from 1983 until 1992. The wing hosted the Tactical Air Command sponsored worldwide tactical reconnaissance competition at its home base in 1986, 1988 and 1990.
Desert Storm and inactivation
The wing deployed personnel and equipment in support of Desert Storm in 1991, photographing enemy targets, conducting searches for enemy missile sites, tracking movement of the Iraqi Republican Guard and oil slicks, and conducting overall battle damage assessment. The wing ended flying operations in August 1992, but remained active until Bergstrom Air Force Base closed the following year.
Between 1993 and 2000, the wing's mission included directing planning of all-source intelligence, electronic combat, and security support for the Air Intelligence Agency. Since 2000, it has collected and analyzed intelligence and provided it to decision makers and the test and acquisition community. The wing also attacked adversary information and information systems while defending its own.