United States Air Force Security Service Air Force Intelligence was first established as the
United States Air Force Security Service (USAFSS) on 20 October 1948. and the
Strategic Air Command's
Boeing RB-50 Superfortress and
Boeing RC-135. The USAFSS established communications stations in Germany, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Scotland, and later installed
AN/FLR-9 "Elephant Cage" radar sites in Alaska, England, Italy, Japan, the Philippines, and Turkey. The USAFSS became involved in the
Vietnam War when the
Pacific Air Forces asked it to establish an Air Force Special Security Office at
Tan Son Nhut Airport near
Saigon in 1961. By the following year, a USAFSS squadron and three subordinate detachments were operating in Vietnam and Thailand, and USAFSS personnel supported
College Eye threat warning operations. USAFSS crews also flew on
Douglas EC-47 Skytrain missions to search for aircrew shot down in North Vietnam; RC-130BII Hercules Airborne Communications Reconnaissance Program (ACRP)
SIGINT platforms launched out of Thailand and Da Nang Air Base, Viet Nam; and, commencing in 1967, SAC RC-135s deployed to and operating out of
Kadena Air Base, Okinawa.
Electronic Security Command On 1 August 1979, the Air Force redesignated the USAFSS as the
Electronic Security Command (ESC), reflecting the organization's additional mission of improving the Air Force's use of
electronic warfare technology in combat. In 1985, the Air Force tasked ESC with computer security, in addition to its intelligence and electronic warfare missions. ESC provided intelligence support to the
United States invasion of Panama in 1989 and were among the first U.S. military personnel to arrive in
Saudi Arabia for the
Gulf War. During that conflict, ESC personnel operated at three different locations in Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
Air Force Intelligence Command On 1 October 1991, the Air Force redesignated ESC as the
Air Force Intelligence Command (AFIC) and consolidated Air Force intelligence functions and resources into a single command. AFIC merged ESC with the Air Force Foreign Technology Center at
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, the Air Special Activities Center at
Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and elements of the Air Force Intelligence Agency, Washington, D.C. With the combined missions, AFIC was tasked with intelligence, security, electronic combat, foreign technology, and treaty monitoring.
Air Intelligence Agency The organization was redesignated again when it became the
Air Intelligence Agency on 1 October 1993. During the 1990s, AIA personnel deployed to support
NATO operations during the
Bosnian War and
Kosovo War, and as part of Operations
Southern Watch and
Northern Watch in Southwest Asia. In February 2001, the Air Force assigned AIA to
Air Combat Command, where it provided support to combat operations in the
war on terror, the
War in Afghanistan, and the
Iraq War.
Air Force ISR Agency In August 2006, General
T. Michael Moseley, the
Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, directed that the Air Force intelligence efforts stress intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities. AIA was eventually redesignated the
Air Force ISR Agency (AFISRA) on 8 June 2007. The organization change included transforming AFISRA into a field operating agency and reassigning it from Air Combat Command to Headquarters Air Force. With the change, AFISRA reported to the Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance. Beginning in 2009, AFISRA personnel deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan to support
MC-12W as part of Project Liberty.
Lineage • Established as
United States Air Force Security Service on 20 October 1948 : Organized as a major command on 26 October 1948 : Redesignated:
Electronic Security Command on 1 August 1979 : Redesignated:
Air Force Intelligence Command on 1 October 1991 : Redesignated:
Air Intelligence Agency on 1 October 1993 : Redesignated:
Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Agency on 8 June 2007 : Redesignated:
Twenty-Fifth Air Force on 1 October 2014 • Inactivated on 11 October 2019
Assignments • United States Air Force, 26 October 1948 •
Air Combat Command, 1 February 2001 • United States Air Force, 8 June 2007 • Air Combat Command, 1 October 2014
Components Wings • 6900th Security Wing,
Landsberg AB, Germany, 1 August 1954 – Unknown • 6910th Electronic Security Wing,
Lindsey AS, Germany, 1 July 1981 – 15 July 1988 • 6910th Security Wing,
Darmstadt, Germany, Unknown – 1 February 1970 • 6920th Security Wing,
Wheeler AFB, Hawaii, 1 November 1958 – Unknown • 6920th Security Wing,
Misawa AB, Japan, 1 February 1976 – 1 October 1978 • 6921st Security Wing, Misawa AB, Japan, 1 September 1962 – 1 February 1976 • 6922d Security Wing,
Kadena AB, Okinawa, then
Clark AB, Philippines, 1 July 1963 – 28 January 1973 • 6931st Security Wing, Iraklion Air Station, Crete, Greece prior to November 1971 and after 23 May 1973 • 6933d Security Wing,
Karamursel AS, Turkey, 1 July 1963 – April 1970 • 6937th Communications Group, Peshawar Pakistan 1959 – Jan 1971 • 6940th Air Base Wing (later 6940th Technical Training Wing and 6940th Security Wing),
Goodfellow AFB, TX, 1 October 1958 – 1 July 1978 • 6940th Electronic Security Wing,
Fort Meade, MD, 1 February 1980 – 1 October 1991 • 6944th Security Wing,
Offutt AFB, NE, 1 April 1974 – 1 March 1979 • 6960th Electronic Security Wing,
Kelly AFB, TX, 1 January 1980 – 1 October 1986
Groups and Centers • 6901st Special Communications Center, Brooks Air Force Base (to 1 August 1953) Kelly Air Force Base, Texas, 1 July 1953 – 8 August 1953 • 6902nd Special Communications Center, Brooks Air Force Base (to 1 August 1953) Kelly Air Force Base, Texas, 1 July 1953 – 8 August 1953 •
Air Force Special Communications Center (later Electronic Warfare Center, Air Force Information Warfare Center, Air Force Information Operations Center), Kelly AFB, Texas, 8 August 1953 – 1 May 2007 • 6917th Electronic Security Group,
San Vito dei Normanni Air Station, Italy, until July 1993
Stations •
Arlington Hall,
Washington, D.C., 26 October 1948 •
Brooks Air Force Base,
San Antonio, TX, 18 April 1949 • Kelly Air Force Base (now
Kelly Field Annex), San Antonio, TX, 1 August 1953 == List of commanders ==