US Air Force Security Service History
1950 -
The USAFSS concept and plan for production of tactical area intelligence was
approved by the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Vice Chief of Staff,
USAF, in April 1950.
Sergeant Christena Ogle, the first Women’s Air Force (WAF) to join USAFSS, was
assigned to the Command on 2 April 1950 for duty in the Directorate of Security.
Major Corinne E. Edwards became the Command’s first WAF officer on 1 May 1950
and was assigned as the Assistant Adjutant General. In May 1950, USAFSS
attempted to get the Director of Intelligence at HQ USAF to support the
publication of an Air Force regulation which would specify that USAFSS was
responsible for the production of Intelligence of interest to the Air Force and
that the USAFSS units would be attached to the air commanders to meet tactical
intelligence requirements. (Such a regulation was never published.) In June
1950, the Airways and Air Communications Service (later the Air Force
Communications Command) transferred to USAFSS the responsibility for service
testing USAF cryptological equipment, systems, and devices. Airways and Air
Communications Service also transferred the personnel and spaces authorized to
perform this function. The USAFSS Flight Section was organized on 1 September
1950 with the assignment of three administrative aircraft — two C-47s and one
B-25 — and nine personnel. In November 1950, USAFSS established a detachment
at Pyongyang, Korea (Detachment C, 1st Radio Squadron, Mobile), to provide
support to USAF organizations engaged in the Korean War.
Personnel of the Headquarters USAFSS Operations Production Division, Brooks AFB,
prepare a map depicting the Eurasian landmass, 1950. 1951 - USAFSS gained its
first units above squadron level with the activation of the 6910th Security
Group at Brooks Air Force Base, Texas, on 23 May 1951 and the 6920th Security
Group at Johnson AB, Japan, on 1 September 1951. The 6910th Security Group was
moved to Germany in July 1951 with the Group Headquarters going to Wiesbaden and
Group Operations going to Darmstadt. Brigadier General (later Lieutenant
General) Roy H. Lynn, who served as the first USAFSS Commander, returned as the
organization’s third commander effective 22 February 1951. There were two
incidents in 1951 in which support provided by USAFSS units in Korea resulted in
major U.S. air victories. The most significant of the two occurred on 29
November 1951 when a small USAFSS detachment provided 5th Air Force with
tactical support concerning the North Korean Air Force which contributed
directly to the largest single U.S. air victory of the war up to that point. In
a single air-to-air engagement, F-86s from the USAF fighter wing at Inchon shot
down eleven North Korean aircraft and damaged four more. The U.S. sustained only
one slightly damaged F-86. These incidents were aptly termed “turkey shoots”
by U.S. pilots. USAFSS senior commanders pose with world renowed cyrptologist
William Friedman (in suit, third from left) at Landsberg Air Base, Germany, 23
November 1951. (Photo courtesy of Brig. Gen. Hetherington, Ret.) USAFSS provided
Intelligence support at the Kaesong truce meetings which began on 10 July 1951
and dragged on for more than two years until a truce was signed on 27 July 1953.
During those two years, intelligence was provided to Vice Admiral C. Turner Joy,
who headed the U. S. delegation to the conference. The first Annual USAFSS
Commanders’ Conference was held at USAFSS headquarters from 12-16 November
1951. 1952 - On 24 October 1952, National Security Council Directive No. 9 was
revised. It redesignated the Armed Forces Security Agency (AFSA) as the National
Security Agency (NSA), delegated control of resources of the Department of
Defense (DoD) to the Director of NSA (DIRNSA), designated DoD as the executive
agent of the Government for SIGINT information, and authorized DIRNSA to
delegate control for close support purposes.
Intelligence operators of the 37th Radio Squadron Mobile, RAF Station,
Kirknewton, Scotland In March 1952, HQ USAF consolidated the Security Service
Liaison Office and the major command (MAJCOM) Special Security Office activities
into an Air Force Special Security Office system. The responsibility for the
development and operation of the Air Force Special Security Office System was
delegated to USAFSS in April 1952. At the time, the consolidated system
consisted of nineteen authorized offices worldwide. The USAFSS emblem was
approved in August 1952 after a command-wide contest to select a winning entry.
It was designed by Airman Second Class William Rogers. The motto, Freedom
Through Vigilance, was adopted in January 1964. The United States Air Force
Security Service flew its first Airborne Reconnaissance Program test mission in
the Pacific on 18 April 1952 using a converted B-29 aircraft. The aircraft was
later sent to Europe for additional testing before commencing regular
operational missions in the Pacific in March 1954. The United States Air Force
Security Service reorganized to operate with the procedural functions,
authorities, and responsibilities of a major Air Force command, which it had
been since its activation on 20 October 1948, but within policy constraints
required by tri-service relationships.
1953 - Brigadier General (later Major General) Harold H. Bassett replaced Major
General Roy H. Lynn as Commander effective 14 February 1953. On 1 July 1953, the
6901st Special Communications Center was activated at Brooks Air Force Base,
Texas, to perform the operational functions previously handled by the Analysis
and Disseminations Divisions, Deputy Chief of Staff/ Operations, HQ USAFSS.
Simultaneous with establishment of the 6901st Special Communications Center on 1
July 1953, the Air Force Communications Security Center was established to take
over the communications security operational functions of DCS/Operations. Two
USAFSS airmen — Staff Sergeant Donald G. Hill and Air Second Class Earl W.
Radlein, Jr. — were presumed killed on 29 July 1953 when the RB-50G-2 aircraft
of the 343d Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron on which they were serving was
shot down off the Soviet coast near Vladivostok. This marked the first loss of
USAFSS airborne operators as a result of hostile action. Headquarters USAFSS
closed out operations at Brooks Air Force Base, Texas, effective 31 July 1953
and began operations from its new headquarters building at Kelly Air Force Base,
Texas. A C-47 “Bluesky” Aircraft. Manned by USAFSS crews the platform began
experimental collection operations over Korea in early 1953.
The move into the newly constructed Headquarters building at Kelly Air Force
Base was accomplished during the first week in August 1953. On 8 August 1953,
the 6901st Special Communications Center was moved from Brooks Air Force Base,
Texas, to “Security Hill” at Kelly Air Force Base, Texas, and renamed the
Air Force Special Communications Center. Initially, the mission of the Air Force
Special Communications Center was: (1) producing and disseminating long-term
intelligence data; (2) operating the USAFSS School for training intelligence
specialists; (3) providing technical guidance and operational assistance to
USAFSS field units; (4) assisting the USAFSS Deputy Chief of Staff/Operations to
develop and test operational procedures and techniques for implementing the
USAFSS program for providin intelligence support for the Air Force; and (5)
directing and monitoring operation of the Special Security Office system. The
6900th Security Wing was activated at Landsberg Air Base, Germany, on 1 August
1953 as an intermediate Headquarters (numbered Air Force equivalent) to plan,
coordinate, and direct the activities of all USAFSS units in Europe. The 6920th
Security Group at Johnson Air Base, Japan, provided the same support to USAFSS
units in the Pacific. The USAFSS School was activated at Kelly Air Force Base,
Texas, on 1 August 1953 and placed under the operational control of the Air
Force Special Communications Center. One of the major functions of the school
was to train personnel in intelligence duties.
1954 - In March 1954, USAFSS initiated a new concept in reconnaissance
collection by implementing its Airborne Reconnaissance Program effort. One RB-29
began flying missions in the Far East in April 1954. This was the only aircraft,
Airmen assigned to the 6920th Security Group, Johnson, Air Base, Japan repair
radios--1953. which USAFSS already had jurisdiction over, engaged in the
Airborne Reconnaissance Program effort at that time; however, USAFSS had
personnel serving as operators aboard 343d Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron
RB-50G ECM aircraft. In March 1954, the USAFSS Commander submitted tentative
plans for expansion of processing activities at the squadron level and for
direct reporting to the using commands. In June 1954, the point of analysis and
reporting concept was implemented on a test basis at the 6901st Special
Communications Center in Europe (Germany) and the 6902d Special Communications
Center in the Pacific (Japan). In late August 1954, the point of intercept
analysis and reporting concept was approved. The objective was to facilitate a
direct and timely response to the requirements of military commands and other
organizations receiving intelligence support. By the end of 1954, the technical
training function and oversight of the Special Security Office system had been
transferred from the Air Force Special Communications Center to HQ USAFSS.
1955 - USAFSS deployed the 6926th Radio Squadron, Mobile, to Japan to
participate in Project GRAYBACK.
1956 - The USAFSS developed a new concept of mobile operations to satisfy
increased tasking for tactical support during contingencies. The first
deployment came in January 1957 in response to the unstable situation in the
Middle-East in late 1956 and early 1957. The Air Force Communications Security
Center was deactivated on 1 July 1956 and its personnel and communications
security monitoring, reporting and management mission became a part of the Air
Force Special Communications Center. This change reflected an effort to decrease
management overhead.
1957 - RB-50 aircraft were assigned to the Airborne Reconnaissance Program.
There were five RB-50s in Europe and five in the Pacific. Major General (later
Lieutenant General) Gordon A. Blake replaced Major General H. H. Bassett as
Commander effective 4 January 1957. The USAFSS School was moved from Kelly Air
Force Base, Texas, to March Air Force Base, California, on 1 July 1957.
1958 - A major milestone in the history of USAFSS occurred on 1 July 1958 when
the command assumed control of several bases throughout the world where its
units had previously been tenants. Included were: Misawa Air Base, Japan; San
Vito Air Station (AS), Italy; Iraklion AS, Crete; Royal Air Force (RAF) Station
Chicksands, United Kingdom; Karamursel AS, Turkey, Wakkanai AS, Japan; and Shu
Lin Kou AS, Taiwan. Later that year, Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas, was added
to the list. Through coordination with Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) in early 1958,
USAFSS increased its airborne capability in Korea by adding three more C-47s to
the Blue Sky effort, for a total of four platforms. Each C-47 staged from Osan
AB, Korea. They flew an average of 60 hours each month. During 1960, the project
name was changed from Blue Sky to Rose Bowl. This “primitive,” but
effective, Airborne Reconnaissance Program operation continued into 1962 when
the C-130s staging from Yokota AB, Japan, were able to provide the necessary
support of Korea and the C-47s were phased out. C-130s were sent to Europe to
replace the RB-50s in the Airborne Reconnaissance Program effort. The first two
arrived in Germany during July 1958. The USAFSS School was moved from March Air
Force Base, California, to Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas, on 15 October 1958.
The 6920th Security Wing (later redesignated HQ Pacific Air Forces Security
Region) was moved from Shiroi Air Base, Japan, to Wheeler Air Force Base,
Hawaii, on 1 November 1958. On 26 August 1958, USAFSS sent a unit to Taiwan to
augment the 6987th Radio Squadron, Mobile located at Shu Lin Kou Air Station,
Taiwan, due to the increased tension in the Taiwan Straits created by the
Chinese shelling of Quemoy. Soviet fighters shot down a C-130 Airborne
Reconnaissance Program aircraft on 2 September 1958 when it strayed off-course
over Soviet Armenia. All crew members were assumed killed, including 11 USAFSS
personnel. A B-50 Superfortress, also used by USAFSS as a reconnaissance
platform.
1959 - The replacement of RB-50s in Europe was completed in July 1959 with
arrival of the eighth C-130. The European RB-50s were moved to the Pacific,
giving that area nine RB-50 Airborne Reconnaissance Program aircraft. The
transfer of bases to USAFSS under the “Integrated Command Concept” was
completed on 1 July 1959 with the transfer of Wakkanai Air Station, Japan, and
Shu Lin Kou Air Station, Taiwan.
The United States Air Force Security Service first became involved in the war in
Southeast Asia in August 1959 when national intelligence authorities tasked the
command to make maximum effort to provide intelligence relating to North
Vietnamese or Laotian rebel movements. Existing USAFSS units were not in the
most favorable geographical locations to obtain such information; therefore, in
the spring of 1960, USAFSS sent a small team to Bangkok, Thailand.
1960's Source
Major
General Millard Lewis assumed command of USAFSS effective 21 September
1959, replacing Major General Gordon A. Blake who was reassigned to HQ
Pacific Air Forces as Chief of Staff effective 5 August 1959. 1960. The
6917th Radio Squadron, Mobile, became the first USAFSS unit in Italy
when it was activated at San Vito on 1 November 1960.
1961 - As the tempo of the Vietnam War increased, USAFSS became involved
in a program which eventually became known as the Airborne Radio
Direction Finding program. That year, General Curtis E. LeMay, Air Force
Chief of Staff, ordered several experimental aircraft, equipped with
radio homing equipment, into Southeast Asia.
1962 - In December 1961, PACAF asked USAFSS to send an Emergency
Reaction Unit to Da Nang Air Base, South Vietnam, to support a Tactical
Air Control System that was being set up there. USAFSS deployed the unit
in early 1962. Intelligence processed by the USAFSS Airborne
Reconnaissance Program provided the first significant intelligence data
concerning the extent of Soviet involvement in Cuba. The United States
Air Force Security Service deployed an Emergency Reaction Unit (ERU) to
Key West, Florida, to provide tactical support. Also, the command
increased its Cuban Airborne Reconnaissance Program coverage from one to
three aircraft. Strategic Air Command operated RC-135 aircraft began
flying reconnaissance missions in the Arctic. Major General (later
Lieutenant General) Richard P. Klocko assumed command of USAFSS
effective 1 September 1962, replacing Major General Millard Lewis who
retired from active duty.
1963 - USAFSS activated three Emergency Reaction Units, the 6948th
Security Squadron, Mobile, at Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas; the
6926th Security Squadron, Mobile, at Clark AB, the Philippines; and the
6911th Security Squadron, Mobile, at Darmstadt, Germany. The following
USAFSS communications functions were transferred to AFCS: (1) operation
and maintenance of the Critical Communications relay stations; (2)
operation and maintenance of terminal station technical control; and (3)
terminal station maintenance. In response to the Air Force problem of
how to reduce or eliminate intermediate echelons and separate units,
USAFSS initiated the “Operational Wing Concept.” Under this concept,
the mission unit was discontinued and a support squadron was organized.
The functions of the mission unit were absorbed into the wing structure.
The concept was implemented in Europe late in 1963 and in the Pacific in
1964.
1964 - The motto “Freedom Through Vigilance” was adopted in January
1964.
The Operational Wing Concept was implemented in the Pacific. In early
1964, the USAFSS commander, Major General Richard P. Klocko, asked the
Air Staff and the Strategic Air Command to support the addition of six
RC-135s to the airborne effort.
1965 - In June 1965, after many months of intense negotiations, the
Office of the Secretary of Defense approved the addition of six RC-135s
to the airborne effort. But even then, a debate arose over where to base
the RC-135s, and it took 18 more months of negotiations before a base of
operations was finally selected. With the air war in Vietnam heating up,
Japan, Thailand, and the Philippines, as well as Da Nang, South Vietnam,
and Kadena, Okinawa, were all considered. On 26 March 1965, USAF
headquarters issued instructions to USAFSS to transfer all Air Force
Special Security Officer functions to the using commands effective 1
July 1965. This resulted in the transfer of 811 USAFSS personnel at some
50 locations around the world to the consumer commands. The Gold Flow
problem, an Air Force-wide program to reduce overseas manning, resulted
in the reduction of 302 USAFSS personnel overseas. The loss of an RB-57
over the Black Sea on 15 December 1965 resulted in a Government of
Turkey ban on Airborne Reconnaissance Program flights from their
country. The RB-57 was one of two aircraft in the Little Cloud project
which were manned and maintained by the Pakistan Air Force at Peshawar.
United States Air Force Security Service Airborne Reconnaissance Program
missions in Southeast Asia increased from one to two daily, using four
RC-130s instead of two. The first AN/FLR-9 systems became operational
— at Misawa Air Base, Japan, in March 1965 and Clark Air Base, the
Philippines, in April 1965.
United States Air Force Security Service Airborne Reconnaissance Program
aircraft (C-130s) began participating in tactical operations in
Southeast Asia, supporting both USAF and Navy strike forces by providing
alert warnings. This was the first time the command became involved in a
regular program of providing tactical support to combat operations. The
USAFSS Airborne Reconnaissance Program unit in the Pacific area
performed the command’s first airborne transmission security
monitoring mission on a test basis. On 28 September 1965, the Air Force
Chief of Staff approved the release of communication security
violators’ names in transmission security reports. This was a first in
transmissions security reporting. The approval granted release of names
down to division level. Major General Louis E. Coira assumed command of
USAFSS effective 16 October 1965, replacing Major General Richard P.
Klocko who was reassigned as commander of the Air Force Communications
Service.
1966 - The USAF Airborne Radio Direction Finding Program was nicknamed
Phyllis Ann. The first Phyllis Ann EC- 47 Airborne Radio Direction
Finding Program aircraft arrived at Tan Son Nhut, Air Base, Vietnam, in
April 1966 for use by the newly activated 6994th Security Squadron. The
first AN/FLR-12 antenna system became operational. In 1966, Office of
the Secretary of Defense requested USAF to provide an objective
evaluation of its electronic warfare system effectiveness. Later that
year, the Chief of Staff, USAF, directed the establishment of an
Electronic Warfare evaluation function in USAFSS. CSAF assigned this
task to USAFSS because: (1) USAFSS was a disinterested command — it
neither built nor operated electronic warfare systems; (2) USAFSS had
the necessary core skills; (3) it had access to the critically needed
intelligence data; and (4) it had a close working relationship with NSA
as the Air Force component of the service’s cryptologic system. The
task was to assess the effectiveness of protective electronic
countermeasures employed by U.S. aircraft during air strikes against
North Vietnam.
United States Air Force Security Service Airborne Reconnaissance Program
units began performing airborne transmissions security monitoring on a
time available, non-interfering basis. In consonance with a USAF program
to increase the use of women in the Air Force, USAFSS assigned women to
its units in Karamursel, Turkey; Iraklion, Crete; Chicksands, United
Kingdom; Misawa, Japan; and Shu Lin Kou, Taiwan; as well as at
Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas, and Kelly Air Force Base, Texas. This
was the first time enlisted women were assigned to USAFSS operational
sites overseas. On 16 January 1967 the Air Force Special Communications
Center established a 24-hour/7-day per week function to provide direct
support to any agency needing information. This data base was the
culmination of several years of developmental effort by the Center. It
proved increasingly valuable in permitting rapid response to complex
queries for technical and intelligence data. The 6990th Security
Squadron was organized at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, to receive the six
RC-135 aircraft assigned to the Pacific Airborne Reconnaissance Program
effort. The first RC-135 Airborne Reconnaissance Program mission, named
Combat Apple, was flown on 12 September 1967. The Iron Horse system was
put into operation at Da Nang AB (6924th Security Squadron) and Monkey
Mountain, South Vietnam.
In 1967, USAFSS assigned its new electronic warfare evaluation mission
to the Air Force Special Communications Center (later AF Information
Warfare Center) at Kelly Air Force Base, Texas. The USAFSS assigned the
mission to the Air Force Special Communications Center because the
Center had a cadre of experienced analysts. In addition, the Center’s
analytic task was phasing down which made the necessary office space
available. This new mission was the first major change in the
command’s mission in many years. The initial evaluations were
disseminated electrically in Comfy Coat reports. Later, the effort was
expanded to cover evaluation of Navy and ground electronic warfare, and
Army, Navy, and Marine personnel were assigned to the Air Force Special
Communications Center. As the years passed, general usage of the term
Comfy Coat came to mean all operational electronic warfare effectiveness
evaluations being conducted by the Air Force Special Communications
Center.
1968 - The Government of Pakistan refused to renew the lease for the
USAFSS site at Peshawar (6937th Communications Group). The unit closed
by the end of 1969. The 6990th Security Squadron at Kadena Air Base,
Okinawa, won the Travis Trophy for its highly significant contributions
toward the fulfillment of both national and tactical cryptologic
objectives.
1969 - The Department of Defense decided to reduce forces in Turkey and
realign the intelligence posture there. This realignment caused the
subsequent closure of the USAFSS sites at Trabzon and Samsun and the
establishment of a USAFSS squadron (6934th Security Squadron) at Sinop.
Operations site of the 6924th Security Squadron, Da Nang, South Vietnam
in 1966.
The 6994th Security Squadron, Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Vietnam, received
the Travis Trophy for outstanding contributions to the cryptologic
efforts of the U.S. Major General Carl W. Stapleton replaced Major
General Louis E. Coira as commander effective 19 July 1969.
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