HIstory of 30th Reconnaissance Squadron (Beast of Kandahar handlers)

30th RECONNAISSANCE SQUADRON (ACC)

Lineage. Constituted 30 Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron on 5 Feb 1943. Redesignated 30 Photographic Squadron (Light) on 6 Feb 1943. Activated on 1 May 1943. Redesignated 30 Photo Reconnaissance Squadron on 11 Aug 1943. Inactivated on 7 Nov 1945. Redesignated 30 Reconnaissance Squadron, Photo, on 11 Mar 1947. Activated in the Reserve on 25 Jul 1947. Redesignated 30 Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, Electronics, on 27 Jun 1949. Ordered to Active Service on 1 May 1951. Inactivated on 16 May 1951. Redesignated 30 Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Night-Photo, on 15 Nov 1952. Activated on 1 Jan 1953. Redesignated: 30 Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Night Photo-Jet, on 8 Jan 1957; 30 Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron on 1 Oct 1966. Inactivated on 1 Apr 1976. Redesignated 30 Reconnaissance Squadron on 17 Jun 2005. Activated on 1 Sep 2005.

Assignments. 7 Photographic (later, Photographic Reconnaissance and Mapping) Group, 1 May 1943; Third Air Force, 21 Jun 1943; III Reconnaissance Command, 12 Oct 1943; Ninth Air Force, 4 Feb 1944; 10 Photographic Group, 21 Feb 1944 (attached to 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group after 9 Jun 1944); 67 Tactical Reconnaissance (later, Reconnaissance) Group, 13 Jun 1944-7 Nov 1945. 66 Reconnaissance (later, Strategic Reconnaissance) Group, 25 Jul 1947-16 May 1951. 66 Tactical Reconnaissance Group, 1 Jan 1953; 66 Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, 8 Dec 1957 (attached to 10 Tactical Reconnaissance Wing from 8 Jan 1958); 10 Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, 8 Mar 1958-1 Apr 1976. 57 Operations Group, 1 Sep 2005-.

Stations. Peterson AAFld, CO, 1 May 1943; Will Rogers Field, OK, 10 Oct 1943; Camp Kilmer, NJ, 3-17 Jan 1944; Chalgrove, England, 1 Feb 1944; Middle Wallop, England, 17 May 1944; Le Molay, France, 3 Jul 1944; Toussus Le Noble, France, 31 Aug 1944; Charleroi-Gosselies, Belgium, 22 Sep 1944 (operated from Florennes Juzaine, Belgium, 8-18 Dec 1944); Vogelsang, Germany, 24 Mar 1945; Limburg, Germany, 2 Apr 1945; Eschwege, Germany, 11 Apr-Jul 1945; Drew Field, Fla, 20 Sep-7 Nov 1945. Newark AAB, NJ, 25 Jul 1947; McGuire AFB, NJ, 27 Jun 1949; Barksdale AFB, LA, 10 Oct 1949-16 May 1951. Shaw AFB, SC, 1 Jan 1953; Sembach AB, Germany, 8 Jul 1953; Spangdahlem AB, Germany, 8 Jan 1958; RAF Station (later, RAF) Alconbury, England, 25 Aug 1959 (operated from Moron AB, Spain, 9 May-10 Jun 1968)-1 Apr 1976. Tonopah Test Range, NV, 1 Sep 2005-.

Commanders. 1Lt William D. Mitchell, 1 May 1943; Major Richard S. Leghorn, 21 Aug 1943; Lt Col William D. Mitchell, 23 Jul 1944; Unkn, Jul-Nov 1945. Unkn, Jul 1947-May1951. Lt Col Clason B. Saunders, by Mar 1953; Maj Oliver T. Hayes, Jr., 16 Nov 1953; Maj Harold E. Grant, 9 Jul 1956; Maj Warren A. Williams, 22 Jul 1957; Maj Robert L. Hopkins, Feb 1958; Lt Col Steven R. Wilkerson, 13 Dec 1958; Lt Col Chester B. Hackett, 12 Jul 1960; Maj Philip V. Howell Jr., 1 May 1961; Maj Richard J. Saile, 4 Jan 1963; Lt Col Delbert C. Hainley, 15 Jan 1964; Lt Col Austin C. Ayotte, 26 Jun 1966; Lt Col Frank M. Kelley, 10 Feb 1967; Lt Col Bill M. Davies, 11 May 1967; Lt Col Robert C. Caudry, 10 Aug 1970; Lt Col Norman P. Huggins, 27 Jul 1971; Lt Col Curtis L. Behrend, 15 Mar 1972; Lt Col Thomas J. Wicker, 31 Oct 1972; Lt Col Alexander M. Milligan IV, 22 Jul 1974-1 Apr 1976.

Aircraft. P-38/F-4, 1943; P-38/F-5, 1943-1945. RB-26, 1953-1955;
B/RB-57, 1955-1957; RB-66, 1957-1965; RF-4, 1965-1976.

Operations. Trained in U.S., May-Dec 1943. Began flying photo reconnaissance in ETO on 25 Feb 1944. Mapped 6,000 square miles of the Netherlands and flew bomb-damage assessment missions over marshalling yards and gun emplacements in Belgium, Holland, and France, in Apr 1944. Earned DUC for participation with 10th Photographic Group, 7-20 May 1944, in photo reconnaissance of Normandy invasion beaches. The citation read, in part: "Employing specially modified equipment installed in unarmed P-38 type aircraft, the intrepid pilots of the 10th Photographic Reconnaissance Group undertook the most hazardous missions. Flying unarmed and unescorted and at altitudes as low as twenty-five feet, they fearlessly piloted their aircraft over the difficult photographic runs in the face of intense fire from some of the strongest anti-aircraft installations in western Europe." Flew sorties over France on D-Day making visual and photographic reconnaissance of bridges, artillery, road and rail junctions, traffic centers, airfields, and other targets. Flew weather missions, made visual reconnaissance for ground forces, and photographed enemy positions to assist the First and Third Armies, Twelfth Army Group, and other Allied forces in the drive to Germany. Flew its first mission over Germany on 24 Aug 1944. Took part in the offensive against the Siegfried Line, Sep-Dec 1944, and in the Battle of the Bulge (Ardennes-Alsace), Dec 1944-Jan 1945. From then until the close of the war in Europe, the squadron photographed dams and bridges on the Roer River in preparation for the ground offensive to cross the river, and aided the Allied assault across the Rhine River and into Germany. Flew its 2,000th operational mission on 22 Mar 1945. Flew missions to Berlin on 8 April and to Dresden on 10 Apr 1945. From 1947 to 1951, the squadron served as an Air Reserve corollary unit under the guidance of active duty units in order to train and maintain currency in reconnaissance operations for its reserve personnel. Provided tactical reconnaissance for USAFE and NATO, 1953-1976.

Service Streamers. None.

Campaign Streamers. World War II: Air Offensive, Europe; Normandy; Northern France, Rhineland; Ardennes-Alsace; Central Europe; Air Combat, EAME Theater.

Armed Forces Expeditionary Streamers. None.

Decorations. Distinguished Unit Citation: [7]-20 May 1944. Citation in the Order of the Day, Belgian Army, [10] Jun-[29] Sep 1944; [17] Dec 1944-25 Jan 1945. Belgian Fourragere. Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards: 31 Dec 1959-1 Jan 1962; 15 Jul 1968-15 Jul 1969; 1 Jun 1972-1 Jun 1973.

Lineage, Assignments, Stations, and Honors through 1 Sep 2005.

Commanders, Aircraft, and Operations through 30 Sep 1976.

Supersedes statement prepared on 24 Oct 1969.

Emblem. Approved on 17 Jul 2007.

Prepared by William M. Butler.

Reviewed by A. Timothy Warnock.

RELATED STORY LINK

TSA: The Stupid Agency? TSA Breach Exposes Passenger Screening Manual

By Stefanie Hoffman, ChannelWeb
8:21 PM EST Tue. Dec. 08, 2009

A redacted U.S. Transportation Security Administration manual posted online inadvertently revealed agency secrets regarding airport passenger screening practices, The Washington Post reported.
The breach made the TSA's most sensitive screening practices public. Altogether, the 93-page TSA screening manual revealed how TSA employees should do their jobs, including how bags are checked for explosives, who should be screened, and how to deal with CIA agents.

The document also included images of numerous identification cards that screeners would be required to recognize, including those used by member of Congress, the Federal Air Marshals, the CIA and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, in an effort to discern and catch individuals who attempt to illegally replicate them.

The TSA Standard Operating Procedures manual initially was published online in redacted form, however digital redactions were inadequate and hackers were able to uncover the blacked out information this week. Users started blogging Sunday that the complete version of the TSA manual had been posted online.

TSA officials said the agency failed to adequately post the report on the government Web sites by simply overlaying black boxes to the PDF document, which enabled users with a fundamental knowledge of Adobe (NSDQ:ADBE) Acrobat to easily remove the redactions. Federal officials called the incident an 'embarrassing mistake.'

"The release of a Standard Operating Procedures manual for TSA officers is an embarrassing mistake that calls into question the judgment of agency managers," said Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee chairman, in a statement. "A security manual, redacted or not, is not the type of document we want to share with the world. That it was incompetently redacted only compounds the error."

Additionally, the manual stated that travelers from 12 different countries, including Cuba, North Korea, Somalia and Yemen, are always subjected to additional and more intensive screening.

The TSA manual also provided details such as to how often to conduct hand searches, the technical limitations of the screening and surveillance equipment and procedures used for various protected foreign officials.

TSA officials have stated that the manual, which was issued in May 2008, was out of date. Since then, the document has been updated six times, the agency said. However, TSA officials asserted that the screening manual was intended for insiders and should never have been made available online for the public knowledge. The agency is currently investigating the security breach.


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Taliban Plans: Thanks for the heads up!

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- The Pakistani Taliban are waiting the weather out and will take on the military when winter arrives in Pakistan's tribal region, said Taliban leader Hakeemullah Mehsud in a phone call with CNN.

"We will wait till January for our offensive since we are stronger during the snowing season," Mehsud said.
He told CNN he remains confident despite the large-scale military operation currently targeting him and his fighters in the province of South Waziristan.
"We have conserved our energy and have not lost our morale," he said.

The leadership of his organization is safe, he said, but he didn't say where they are taking refuge.
He neither denied nor confirmed that the Pakistani Taliban was responsible for Monday's suicide blast outside the district courthouse in Peshawar.

"Being occupied in other matters, I have not been able to contact my colleagues there, so I will not be able to take responsibility at this time," Mehsud said.

Eleven people died and 36 were wounded in the Monday terror attack, according to a count by the hospital where victims were taken. Two of the dead were police officers.

Peshawar is the capital of the Northwest Frontier Province, where the Pakistani government has also waged its recent military offense against Taliban militants.

Spaceship Two Unveiled

Yesterday was a big day at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. Sir Richard Branson unveiled the SpaceShipTwo VSS Enterprise, Virgin Atlantic's first suporbital spaceliner designed to take tourists into space.

Space.com reports that New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson was joined by California Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger for the honor of christening the VSS Enterprise. "I have to tell you that there's a lot of cool things you get to do when you're Governor," said Schwarzenegger. "But today is one of the coolest things that I've ever done."

The VSS Enterprise is in high demand. Monday's unveiling was attended by roughly 300 potential passengers who have already put down at least a deposit on a $200,000 Virgin Galactic ticket.

National Geographic cites ticket holder Adrian Reynard—an Indy-car designer, vehicle-engineering consultant, and in a joint venture with Branson's Virgin Atlantic airline, a supplier to airliner builders—as saying the spaceship is, "aerodynamically beautiful."

"The first thing that strikes you is its size," Reynard said. "It's far bigger than SpaceShipOne," he continued, referring to the reusable manned spacecraft designed by aviation designer Burt Rutan, which won the U.S. $10-million Ansari X Prize in 2004. "This is a massive vehicle, and I can fully understand how [six passengers] will be able to float around in the cabin area."

While the date for the first trip has yet to be decided, it is expected to be sometime in 2011.