67th Cyberspace Wing
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 the Sixteenth 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.
In February 1951, the wing was reactivated in Japan as the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, 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 were assigned to other units.
In 1966, the wing was reactivated at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho 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 reactivated the following day at Kelly Air Force Base as the 67th Intelligence Wing under Air Intelligence Agency and continued the electronic intelligence mission. It has been redesignated multiple times since then, including a change to 67th Information Operations Wing and being assigned to Eighth Air Force. It was later redesignated as the 67th Network Warfare Wing. When the Twenty-Fourth Air Force was activated in 2009, it was reassigned from Eighth Air Force to Twenty-Fourth Air Force. It is currently assigned to Sixteenth Air Force and is currently designated as the 67th Cyberspace Wing.
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.The wing comprises four groups and a support squadron.
- The 67th Cyberspace Operations Group provides forces to conduct Air Force computer network operations for United States Strategic Command, United States Cyber Command and other combatant commands. The group conducts computer network operations and warfare planning for the Air Force, joint task forces and combatant commanders. The group also conducts Secretary of Defense-directed special network warfare missions.
- The 318th Cyberspace Operations Group's role is to innovate, partner and deliver combat capability in, through and from cyberspace through the development, testing, training and operational employment of materiel and non-materiel solutions.
- The 567th Cyberspace Operations Group prosecutes cyberspace operations and provides mission assurance for national, joint and service-level mission partners.
- The 867th Cyberspace Operations Group executes defensive cyber operations to Protect The Nation, including US allies and joint partners.
- The 67th Operations Support Squadron executes operational support for the 67th Cyberspace Wing and all Cyber Protection Teams. This unit develops and standardizes of operations training, synchronization and management of the wing's exercise, weapons and intelligence and tactics programs.
Component units
67th Wing Staff
- 67th Operations Support Squadron
- 91st Cyberspace Operations Squadron
- 305th Cyberspace Operations Squadron
- 352nd Cyberspace Operations Squadron
- 367th Cyberspace Operations Squadron
- 375th Cyberspace Operations Squadron
- 390th Cyberspace Operations Squadron
- 39th Information Operations Squadron
- 90th Cyberspace Operations Squadron
- 318th Range Squadron
- 346th Test Squadron
- 92nd Cyberspace Operations Squadron
- 834th Cyberspace Operations Squadron
- 835th Cyberspace Operations Squadron
- 837th Cyberspace Operations Squadron
- 315th Cyberspace Operations Squadron
- 341st Cyberspace Operations Squadron
- 833rd Cyberspace Operations Squadron
- 836th Cyberspace Operations Squadron
History
As a wing, it was first activated in November 1947 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 service in 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 reconnaissance. 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. The 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing was deployed to Taoyuan Air Base, Taiwan from 13 to 23 July 1959, and aircraft were deployed to Kung Kuan Air Base, Taiwan from 10 – 20 May 1960.
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.