2d Airborne Command and Control Squadron
Encyclopedia
The United States Air Force
's 2d Airborne Command and Control Squadron (2 ACCS) was an airborne command and control unit located at Offutt AFB, Nebraska
. 2 ACCS ("Two Axe") was an integral part of the United States' Post Attack Command and Control System
, performing the LOOKING GLASS mission with the EC-135
aircraft.
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
's 2d Airborne Command and Control Squadron (2 ACCS) was an airborne command and control unit located at Offutt AFB, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
. 2 ACCS ("Two Axe") was an integral part of the United States' Post Attack Command and Control System
Post Attack Command and Control System
The Post Attack Command and Control System was a network of communication sites for use before, during and after a nuclear attack on the United States. PACCS was designed to ensure that National Command Authority would retain sole, exclusive, and complete control over US nuclear weapons...
, performing the LOOKING GLASS mission with the EC-135
Boeing EC-135
The Boeing EC-135 was a command & control version of the C-135 Stratolifter. Modified for the "Looking Glass" program, during the Cold War EC-135 were airborne 24 hours a day to serve as flying command platforms for the military in the event of nuclear war...
aircraft.
Bases stationed
- Hensley Field, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
(18 February 1942) - Love Field, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
(8 September 1942-16 January 1943) - Fairfax AirportFairfax AirportFairfax Airport was an airport in Kansas City, Kansas from 1921 until it closed in 1985. It is most famously associated with the construction of most of the B-25 Mitchell bombers....
, KansasKansasKansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
(16 January 1943-31 March 1944) - Langley AFB, VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
(25 October 1949-22 July 1952) - Shaw AFB, South CarolinaSouth CarolinaSouth Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
(22 July 1952-18 June 1954) - Offutt AFB, NebraskaNebraskaNebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
(1 April 1970-19 July 1994)
Decorations
- Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
- 1 July 1970 - 30 June 1971
- 1 July 1972 - 30 June 1974
- 1 July 1974 - 30 June 1976
- 1 July 1976 - 30 June 1978
- 1 July 1978 - 30 June 1980
Aircraft & Missiles Operated
- Various aircraft (1942–1944)
- C-45 (1949–1952)
- L-13 (1949–1952)
- L-20 (1952–1954)
- H-19 (1953–1954)
- EC-135Boeing EC-135The Boeing EC-135 was a command & control version of the C-135 Stratolifter. Modified for the "Looking Glass" program, during the Cold War EC-135 were airborne 24 hours a day to serve as flying command platforms for the military in the event of nuclear war...
(1970–1994)
See also
- Post Attack Command and Control SystemPost Attack Command and Control SystemThe Post Attack Command and Control System was a network of communication sites for use before, during and after a nuclear attack on the United States. PACCS was designed to ensure that National Command Authority would retain sole, exclusive, and complete control over US nuclear weapons...
(PACCSPost Attack Command and Control SystemThe Post Attack Command and Control System was a network of communication sites for use before, during and after a nuclear attack on the United States. PACCS was designed to ensure that National Command Authority would retain sole, exclusive, and complete control over US nuclear weapons...
) - Airborne Launch Control SystemAirborne Launch Control SystemThe United States' Airborne Launch Control System is a method of assured command and control of nuclear weapons, specifically ICBMs and SLBMs...
(ALCSAirborne Launch Control SystemThe United States' Airborne Launch Control System is a method of assured command and control of nuclear weapons, specifically ICBMs and SLBMs...
) - Survivable Low Frequency Communications SystemSurvivable Low Frequency Communications SystemThe AN/FRC-117 Survivable Low Frequency Communications System was a communications system designed to be able to operate, albeit at low data transfer rates, during and after a nuclear attack....
(SLFCSSurvivable Low Frequency Communications SystemThe AN/FRC-117 Survivable Low Frequency Communications System was a communications system designed to be able to operate, albeit at low data transfer rates, during and after a nuclear attack....
) - Ground Wave Emergency NetworkGround Wave Emergency NetworkThe Ground Wave Emergency Network was a command and control communications system intended for use by the United States government to facilitate military communications before, during and after a nuclear war...
(GWENGround Wave Emergency NetworkThe Ground Wave Emergency Network was a command and control communications system intended for use by the United States government to facilitate military communications before, during and after a nuclear war...
) - Minimum Essential Emergency Communications NetworkMinimum Essential Emergency Communications NetworkThe Minimum Essential Emergency Communications Network is a network of systems providing uninterrupted communications throughout the pre-, trans-, and post-nuclear warfare environment...
(MEECNMinimum Essential Emergency Communications NetworkThe Minimum Essential Emergency Communications Network is a network of systems providing uninterrupted communications throughout the pre-, trans-, and post-nuclear warfare environment...
) - Emergency Rocket Communications SystemEmergency Rocket Communications SystemThe Emergency Rocket Communications System was a back-up communications method for the United States National Command Authority, using a UHF repeater placed atop a Blue Scout rocket or Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile. ERCS was deactivated as a communication means when President...
(ERCSEmergency Rocket Communications SystemThe Emergency Rocket Communications System was a back-up communications method for the United States National Command Authority, using a UHF repeater placed atop a Blue Scout rocket or Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile. ERCS was deactivated as a communication means when President...
) - The Cold War
- Game theoryGame theoryGame theory is a mathematical method for analyzing calculated circumstances, such as in games, where a person’s success is based upon the choices of others...
- Continuity of governmentContinuity of governmentContinuity of government is the principle of establishing defined procedures that allow a government to continue its essential operations in case of nuclear war or other catastrophic event....