Caribbean operations World War II The squadron was first activated in April 1941 as the
4th Observation Squadron. Initially planned to serve as the main observation unit for the
13th Composite Wing, the unit in fact led something of a nomadic existence, being successively attached or assigned to the
Puerto Rican Department, the
72d Observation Group, to the
Antilles Air Task Force from 23 March 1943 until 1 June 1943, and finally to the
Antilles Air Command itself from 1 June 1943 until the end of the war. In fact, this squadron was the only squadron to both start and finish the war in the Antilles throughout. The squadron was initially stationed at
Ponce Air Base, Puerto Rico when activated. The unit itself had been formed from
cadre drawn from
Air Corps units already in Puerto Rico. By 5 June 1943, the squadron strength had increased to 12 aircraft. By the end of the month, one of the
Curtiss O-52 Owls had been sent on detached service to Haiti, apparently in connection with the attempt that poor nation was making to establishing a coastal patrol of its territorial waters at the time. In early July 1943, the squadron received the first three of a number of
Bell P-39Q Airacobra fighters that it was to operate until the end of the war. On 27 October 1943, the squadron moved en masse to
Borinquen Field, as Losey Field was turned over to the Army Ground Forces due to its rather poorly situated runways. At this time, and since the squadron's assignment to Antilles Air Command on 1 June, the unit became one of the primary tactical operating units in the area. Fortunately, the command recognized the new importance of the unit, and lobbied for equipment more capable than previously assigned. The following month, reflecting the changing war situation, the squadron received a
North American B-25D Mitchell and four new B-25Gs, and in February 1943 added three more P-39Qs (for a total of nine), three new P-39Ns, and
Douglas B-18 Bolos. The squadron was occasionally tasked to perform flights throughout the Caribbean and, on one occasion, when the new airport was dedicated at
Ciudad Trujillo in the Dominican Republic, every available P-39 was sent over (with belly tanks) where they put on a very lengthy aerial display for the locals. By 10 March 1944, unit strength had been considerably depleted, and the on-hand aircraft census consisted of three B¬25Ds and B-25Gs, a B-18 and a B-18C, three P-39Ns, and three P-39Qs. In October 1944, the Squadron received additional B-25D's. Shortly thereafter, the squadron was redesignated the
4th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron. President
Truman's reduced 1949 defense budget required reductions in the number of units in the Air Force, and the squadron was inactivated on 14 March. The squadron was organized in November 1966 as part of the
75th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at
Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas. The squadron was an operational training unit and prepared aircrews for the
Vietnam War. In November 1969, it became an operational unit, maintaining a worldwide mobility capability and training for operational missions.
Expeditionary operations In January 2005, the squadron was converted to provisional status as the
4th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Flight and assigned to
Air Combat Command to activate or inactivate as needed for operations. It was activated as the
4th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron in June 2009 at
Kandahar Air Base, Afghanistan. In November 2009, it moved to
Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan Along with the
361st Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron, it was one of two MC-12 squadrons comprising Project Liberty. Airmen deploying to the squadron came from units flying other types of aircraft and went through flight training at
Key Field, Mississippi. The squadron flew over 40,000 combat flights in Afghanistan. In its last year of operation it participated in the capture or death of over 2400 enemy combatants, including 375 identified as "high value."
Return to regular status On 21 July 2020, the squadron returned to regular status, dropping the "expeditionary" and becoming the
4th Reconnaissance Squadron. Two days later, it was activated with station at
Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, where it took over the personnel, mission, and RQ-4 Global Hawks of Detachment 1,
319th Operations Group, which was discontinued. The activation ceremony took place, however, at
Yokota Air Base, Japan, where the unit was deployed at the time it activated. The change in designation also involved the transfer of maintenance of the squadron's RQ-4s to the military. Maintenance for Detachment 1 had been performed by civilian contractors. The unit deploys each year to bases in Japan during the typhoon season in Guam. ==Lineage==