102nd Intelligence Wing
The United States Air Force's 102nd Intelligence Wing (102 IW), of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, is a military intelligence unit located at Otis Air National Guard Base, Massachusetts. Its primary subordinate operational unit is the 101st Intelligence Squadron. The 102nd Fighter Wing was formally re-designated the 102nd Intelligence Wing on 6 April 2008 and was planned to reach full operational capacity in 2010.[3]
Mission
The wing mission is "to provide world wide precision intelligence and command and control, along with trained and experienced airmen for expeditionary combat support and homeland security." In addition, the website says that their Air Force based mission is in line with the ability of joint force commanders to keep pace with information and incorporate it into a campaign plan.[4] In addition to its strictly military role, the wing shares the overall Air National Guard mission of providing assistance during national emergencies such as natural disasters and civil disturbances.[4]
However, the 102nd Intelligence Wing has been ordered to halt its intelligence-gathering mission.[5][6] Secretary Austin has ordered a DoD-wide review of the military intelligence practices to be completed in 45 days.[7][8]
Units assigned
Current
102nd Intelligence Wing [9] | ||||
102nd Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance Group | 202nd Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance Group | 102nd Mission Support Group | 102nd Medical Group | 253rd Cyberspace
Engineering Installation Group |
101st Intelligence Squadron | 267th Intelligence Squadron | 102nd Force Support Squadron | 102nd Guard Medical Unit | 212th Engineering Installation Squadron |
102nd Intelligence Support Squadron | 203rd Intelligence Squadron | 102nd Security Forces Squadron |
102nd EMEDS-CM | 202nd Weather Flight |
102nd Operations Support Squadron | 202nd Intelligence Support Squadron | 102nd Civil Engineer Squadron | ||
102nd Communications Flight | ||||
102nd Contracting Office | ||||
102nd Environmental Management Office | ||||
102nd Logistics Readiness Flight |
Former
102nd Fighter Wing [10] | |||
102nd Operations Group | 102nd Maintenance Group | 102nd Mission Support Group | 102nd Medical Group |
101st Fighter Squadron |
102nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron | 102nd Civil Engineering Squadron | 102nd Medical Squadron |
102nd Operations Support Flight | 102nd Maintenance Squadron | 102nd Communications Squadron | |
202nd Weather Flight | 102nd Maintenance Operations Flight | 102nd Security Forces Squadron | |
102nd Mission Support Flight | |||
102nd Student Pilot Flight | |||
102nd Services Flight |
History
According to the Air Force, the history of the 102nd begins with the 318th Fighter Group, which was active during World War II. After the war, the 318th was inactivated, and eventually the 102nd Fighter Wing was formed, which had a direct lineage link. In 1946, the 102nd was activated at Logan International Airport where it stayed until 1968, when it moved to Otis Air Force Base. Beginning in 1946, the wing began regular patrols of the Northeastern United States which took place in conjunction with Air Force active duty units. In 1968, the 102nd was moved to Otis, where it continued its regular patrols until 1973.
During the time that the wing had a flying mission, the wing deployed to many locations around the globe to assist in missions for the Air Force. In 1961, the wing deployed to France during the
Over the years, the wing has controlled many other Air National Guard units. Following the inactivation of the
Military downsizing through the
After a large-scale
Roots of the 102nd
The 102nd Intelligence Wing traces its roots to the
The wartime 318th Fighter Group was re-designated as the 102nd Fighter Group, and was allotted to the
From October 1946 the 102nd (previously the 67th Fighter Wing) was commanded by General Louis E. Boutwell until his death in July 1947. From July 1947 until 1956 the 102nd was commanded by Brigadier General Lyle E. Halstead.
Cold War
In 1946-47 the National Guard Bureau began a major expansion of its air units. Massachusetts was allotted the
Guard units were generally neglected when the
From 195, the 102nd was commanded by
Berlin Wall Crisis
On 16 August 1961, when the
In late October, the 102nd departed Logan for
During its time in Europe, the 102nd participated in several
The 102nd returned to the United States in August 1962.
Relocation to Otis
In 1968, the 102nd Tactical Fighter Wing moved to
The wing intercepted
In 1976, the 102nd Fighter Interceptor Group was inactivated and reformed as the 102nd Fighter Interceptor Wing. It assumed authority for the
The 102nd Fighter Interceptor Wing lost its F-106s on 5 January 1988. Between January and April 1988, the wing converted to the
On 24 January 1989, airmen monitoring the radar at the
Post-Cold War
Local defense
The wing continued its air defense mission after the
On 11 February 1993, jets were scrambled to intercept the hijacked Lufthansa Flight 592, which eventually landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport without incident. The planes were joined by F-16s from the 177th Fighter Wing in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The F-15s initially intercepted the aircraft off the coast of eastern Canada. The planes then began to trail the jet at a distance of 10-mile (16 km). As they approached the airport, the distance decreased to 5-mile (8.0 km). The fighters then did a low fly-by as the plane landed. They continued to circle around the airport until they returned to Otis.[23]
In 1994, the 102nd received more
Deployments
Between 1991 and 1995, the 102nd deployed to Panama as part of Operation Coronet Nighthawk, which was a drug interdiction operation. In 1992 the wing became simply the 102nd Fighter Wing as part of an Air Force-wide renaming of units.[24] The wing was deployed from 1995 to 1998 to Iceland for periodic 45-day deployments. In 1998, the wing's members also trained and deployed to Iceland, Canada, Korea, and Europe. The next year, the 102nd participated in Operation Northern Watch and was deployed to Turkey in order to enforce the no-fly zone over Iraq north of the 36th Parallel. In 2000, personnel were deployed to the Middle East and Europe in order to participate in Operation Southern Watch.[1]
9/11 terrorist attacks
Around 8:30 on the morning of 11 September 2001, the Otis Air Base Operations Center received a call from the
Soon after, the commander of the
Difficulties in accurately locating Flight 11 caused a delay of five minutes, to 8:43 am, before the scramble order was given and pilots Duffy and Nash could respond. When Flight 11 hit the North Tower at 8:46, the two jets were still readying for flight and did not take off until 8:52 am.
Major Naspany was then asked what to do with the fighters and he responded by saying, "Send 'em to New York City still. Continue! Go! This is what I got. Possible news that a 737 just hit the World Trade Center. This is a real-world...Continue taking the fighters down to the New York City area, JFK [International Airport] area, if you can. Make sure that the FAA clears it—your route all the way through...Let's press with this."
Between 9:09 and 9:13, the jets stayed in a holding pattern. Soon after, they headed toward Manhattan and arrived at 9:25, where they established a Combat Air Patrol over the city.[25][26][27]
While all of this was going on, senior battle staff at
Meanwhile, at the battle cab, a maintenance squadron officer was told, "Listen, I want you to generate as many airframes [i.e. fighter jets] as you can!" This immediately caused all personnel to be called back and they were ordered to work on the remaining jets. This rush involved the placement of missiles on all jets, including some newer missiles which were rarely pulled out. Six jets which were on a training mission were traversing through the Whiskey Airspace when they were told by the Boston Air Route Traffic Control Center to head back to Otis immediately. Once landed, the pilots were told to park their jets but leave the engines running. Finally, the first planes took off at 10:20 in the morning.[23]
After a while, an order was received to launch all available fighters. Pilots were briefed on the national emergency and the potential that they might have to take out an aircraft. At this point, someone then ran into the room and said that there had been an order that was received from the
Conspiracy link
After the initial shock of the attacks had passed, questions arose about how the military handled the hijacking and subsequent response with the jets. Some thought that the jets had been purposely kept from flying immediately to New York City.[29] The questions arising from the response time of the jets come from the practice of Cold War era policies which prohibited the immediate response to an emergency like a hijacking.[30] First responder and pilot Daniel Nash said that he could not recall being told that the North Tower was hit but he did remember seeing the smoke over 70-mile (110 km) away.[29] It is also claimed by conspiracists that the calculations of North American Aerospace Defense Command were incorrect because according to their own calculations, the planes were flying at 24% of their maximum speed.[29] This statement takes into account the time in which the planes were in a holding pattern over military airspace. The jets were also prohibited from going supersonic over land by Federal Aviation Administration rules. These rules are meant to prevent damage to buildings from the shock wave a sonic boom produces.[31][32]
Global War on Terror
Operation Noble Eagle
More than 600 wing members were mobilized for
In the buildup to the invasion of Afghanistan, six F-15s and 161 personnel were sent to the
BRAC 2005
The Base Realignment and Closure 2005 commission originally planned to close
In May 2006 it trained with the Israeli Air Force's 115 Squadron.[37]
The wing hosted the
On 24 January 2008, the 102nd Fighter Wing flew its last patrol mission.[19] The unit is wing commander, Colonel Anthony Schiavi, led the flight, accompanied by Major Daniel Nash, who was one of the first responders for 9/11. Fire trucks were on hand when the team landed a half-hour later, giving the planes and the pilots the customary ceremonial hose-down for the last time.[19]
2008: new mission
When it was announced that the wing would be restructured and
Eventually, Governor Deval Patrick announced that the wing would adopt an intelligence role as soon as the aircraft left.[42]
Original Base Realignment and Closure commission plans only hinted at a Distributed Common Ground System being created at Otis.[43] These plans did not include the air guardsmen affected by the loss of their jobs. The issue was resolved when the Air Force announced its plans, right before the F-15s started to leave for Barnes.[42]
Members of the wing had the option of moving with the F-15s to Barnes, but most decided to stay behind and train for new missions. The crash trucks went to Barnes, leaving the
On 6 November 2009, ground was broken on new facilities for the 102nd Intelligence Wing. The building was to eventually replace the temporary facilities in which the wing was then operating.[44]
Intelligence leak
In an article published on April 13, 2023, the
The detachment commander and operations commander of the 102nd Intelligence Support Squadron have both been suspended, pending completion of the Inspector General's investigation into the leak; both commanders have also lost their access to classified data.[48] Other airmen from the unit are sidelined from the primary mission of the 102nd.[49]
Texeira was observed making notes on the intelligence stream and was warned about his behavior.[50] Texeira has been indicted on six counts; after the warnings, authorities were baffled over how long Texeira was allowed to continue to operate at the Air National Guard Base.[47][51][52] See Need to know
In response, the Pentagon is instituting °Top Secret Control Officers,[53] °plans for electronic device detection systems suitable for classified, secret, and top secret areas, and °an office to address insider threats. The Justice department said each violation for "Unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000".[53] [54]
On 11 December 2023 Wing Commander Sean Riley was relieved of command, and 14 others were disciplined.[55]
Formation of A-staff
On 28 June 2023 the 102nd Wing commander announced the formation of an A-staff to operate in parallel with wing staff;
References
- ^ a b c Middleton, Ken (22 January 2008). "102nd Fighter Wing". Archived from the original on 3 October 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
- ^ "Commander Environmental Statement" (PDF). 102IW Public Affairs office. 22 January 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 September 2008. Retrieved 29 May 2008.
- ^ "A change of the Guard at Otis". Massachusetts National Guard. 7 April 2008. Archived from the original on 18 May 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2008.
- ^ a b "102 IW Mission". 102nd Intelligence Wing Public Affairs Office. Archived from the original on 14 July 2009. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
- ^ Reuters (19 Apr 2023) Alleged leaker Teixeira's unit ordered to halt intelligence mission -Air Force
- ^ AP (18 Apr 2023) Air Force unit in document leaks case loses intel mission
- ^ LOLITA C. BALDOR and TARA COPP (19 Apr 2023) Air National Guardsman age not key in Pentagon leaks: Austin
- ^ Leo Shane III (1 Jun 2023) Top National Guard officer vows intel leaks 'will never happen again'
- ^ "Units". Falmouth, Massachusetts: 102nd Intelligence Wing Public Affairs Office. 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
- ^ "FY05 Annual Report Final" (PDF). Massachusetts National Guard. 29 May 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 August 2008. Retrieved 29 May 2008.
- ^ Martinez, Luis (18 April 2023). "Air Force opens own investigation into secret documents leak". ABC News. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
- ^ a b c "Air Force Combat Units of World War II – Part 5". Maurer, Maurer. 1986. Archived from the original on 27 December 2007. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Commonwealth of Massachusetts Military Division, Air National Guard History". National Guard Museum & Archives. 29 May 2008. Archived from the original on 29 October 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
- ^ a b "Today in Guard History (August) History". National Guard. 2008. Archived from the original on 10 November 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f "The 102nd Fighter Wing". Philippe Colin. 22 January 2008. Archived from the original on 27 August 2008. Retrieved 29 May 2008.
- ^ "390th Fighter Squadron". GlobalSecurity.org. 26 April 2005. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
- ^ a b c "Otis Air National Guard Base and the Massachusetts Military Reservation". 102nd Intelligence Wing Public Affairs Office. Archived from the original on 14 July 2009. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
- ^ "History of the 102nd Intelligence Wing". United States Air Force. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
- ^ a b c d Deluzuriaga, Tania (29 May 2008). "Otis sees its last landing". Boston News. Retrieved 29 May 2008.
- ^ a b Baugher, Joe (15 April 2000). "Service of F-15 Eagle with USAF and ANG". Joe Baugher. Archived from the original on 24 November 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
- ^ McKenna, Pat. "The Border Guards-NORAD: The eyes and ears of North America". Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station: United States Air Force. Archived from the original on 11 January 2005. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
- ^ "Global Security History of the 101st Fighter Squadron". Global Security. 29 May 2008. Archived from the original on 7 May 2008. Retrieved 29 May 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Profile: Otis Air National Guard Base". Falmouth, Massachusetts: Historycommons.org. 2010. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
- ISBN 1-85780-197-0
- ^ "Flight Path Study – American Airlines Flight 11" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. 19 February 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 May 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2008.
- ^ "'We Have Some Planes'". National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. July 2004. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2008.
- ^ "9/11 recordings chronicle confusion, delay". CNN. 17 June 2004. Retrieved 24 May 2008.
- ^ "US considered 'suicide jet missions'". Falmouth, Massachusetts: BBC. 29 August 2002. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
- ^ a b c "Conspiracies!". The Daily Telegraph. London. 7 July 2008. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2008.
- ^ Eggen, Dan (2 August 2006). "9/11 Panel Suspected Deception by Pentagon". Washington Post. Retrieved 7 November 2008.
- ^ Pike, John (22 January 2009). "Supersonic Transports (SST)". GlobalSecurity.org. Archived from the original on 6 June 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
- ^ Blackburn, A.W. (July 1988). "High-Speed Environmental Cruise Concerns". Transportation Research Circular (333). Transportation Research Board of the National Archives. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
- ^ Haskell, Bob (28 January 2008). "Air Guard wing ends fighter mission, embraces intelligence". The National Guard. Archived from the original on 10 November 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
- ^ "U.S. force buildup under way". USA Today. 20 September 2001. Retrieved 22 November 2008.
- ^ "102nd Fighter Wing, Massachusetts ANG". The AMARC Experience. 16 August 2006. Archived from the original on 10 December 2008. Retrieved 22 November 2008.
- ^ "Global Security History of the 102nd Fighter Wing". Global Security. 29 May 2008. Archived from the original on 31 May 2008. Retrieved 29 May 2008.
- ^ Weiss, Raanan (September 2010). "Dogfighting over the Dunes". Air Forces Monthly (269).
- ^ a b c "Displays". capecodairshow2007.org. 2007. Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 7 January 2009.
- United States Air National Guard. p. 2. Archived from the original(PDF) on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
- ^ a b "'A Falcon for an Eagle". airforce-magazine.com. 14 December 2007. Retrieved 7 November 2008.
- ^ a b "New Otis Mission in Limbo". Cape Cod Times. 2 June 2007. Retrieved 29 May 2008.
- ^ a b Lehmert, Amanda (17 September 2007). "Otis Air Base 'Secure'". Cape Cod Times. Archived from the original on 9 November 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2008.
- ^ "Department of the Air Force" (PDF). United States Air Force. August 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 January 2009. Retrieved 7 November 2008.
- ^ Brennan, George (7 November 2009). "Mission breakthrough at Otis". Cape Cod Times. Otis Air National Guard Base. Archived from the original on 9 November 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
- ^ Harris, Shane (13 April 2023). "Suspected leaker of top-secret Pentagon documents arrested". The Washington Post. Retrieved 15 April 2023. (subscription required)
- ^ a b c Geoff Ziezulewicz (13 April 2023) Deputy defense secretary to troops: Don't share classified information
- ^ Haley Britzky, Oren Liebermann and Natasha Bertrand, CNN (26 April 2023) Air Force suspends leadership for unit of suspected Pentagon document leaker
- ^ Thomas Novelly (19 Apr 2023) Air National Guard Unit Where Alleged Leaker Worked Sidelined from Intelligence Work
- ^ Alexander Smith and Ken Dilanian (18 May 2023) Intel leak suspect was caught twice taking notes on classified info but allowed to keep access, prosecutors say
- ^ Holmes Lybrand, CNN (15 Jun 2023) 21-year-old guardsman indicted on six counts after allegedly posting classified documents online 21-year-old Texeira's response to the warnings: "IDGAF"
- ^ Robert Legare, Andres Triay (29 Feb 2024) Jack Teixeira, alleged Pentagon leaker, to plead guilty 15 superiors enabled the leaks.
- ^ a b Reuters (5 July 2023) Pentagon to Tighten Controls on Classified Information After Leak
- ^ Caitlin M. Kenney (5 Jul 2023) Pentagon will create office to monitor users and insider threats in wake of leaks "the Joint Management Office for Insider Threat and Cyber Capabilities"
- ^ Audrey Decker (11 Dec 2023) USAF cracks down on 'need to know' violations in wake of Discord leaks; WCVB (11 Dec 2023) Members of Mass. Air National Guard unit had opportunities to blunt document leak, Air Force IG finds; Video by Timothy Sandland, 102nd Intelligence Wing (1 Mar 2023) Command Message - March 2023 - Colonel Enrique Dovalo not relieved of command; Brian MacQuarrie (17 Apr 2023) With leak case, Massachusetts Air National Guard is thrust into the spotlight; Photo by Airman 1st Class Julia Ahaesy 102nd Intelligence Wing (4 Jun 2023) 102nd ISRG participates in Resiliency Tactical Pause Image 7 of 7; Jeff Schogol, Task & Purpose (11 Dec 2023) Wing commander relieved over Teixeira classified document leak; 102nd ISRG (2023) 102nd Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group;
- ^ a b c d Airman 1st Class Julia Ahaesy, 102nd Intelligence Wing (11 Aug 2023) 102nd IW establishes an A-Staff
- ^ Rear Admiral Patrick Piercey, U.S. Navy (Retired) (Sep 2023) Planning for the Next War Must Be a Mixture of Art & Science "In recent decades, military planning has leaned more heavily on science than art, but success in a peer-level fight will depend on commander’s intent and the art of warfare". Proceedings of US Naval Institute vol 149 (9) #1,447
- ^ Greg Hadley (19 Sep 2023) USAF Will Test Out a New Way to Organize Deployments: Air Task Forces
Further reading
- Cann, Donald J.; Galluzzo, John (2010). Camp Edwards and Otis Air Force Base. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-7214-7.
- Dildy, Steve Davies; Dildy, Doug (2007). F-15 Eagle Engaged: The World's Most Successful Jet Fighter. Oxford: Osprey. ISBN 978-1-84603-169-4.
- Donald, David, ed. (1992). US Air Force Air Power Directory (World Air Power Journal). London: Aerospace Publishing. ISBN 1-880588-01-3.
- Rogers, Brian (2005). US Air Force Designations Since 1978. Hinckley, England: Midland. ISBN 1-85780-197-0.
- Skaarup, Harold A. (2010). New England Warplanes: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut. [S.l.]: iUniverse.com. ISBN 978-1-4502-7386-2.
- Spencer, Lynn (2008). Touching History: The Untold Story of the Drama That Unfolded in the Skies Over America on 9/11 (Hardcover ed.). New York: Free Press. ISBN 978-1-4165-5925-2.
- Williams, Robert E. (Winter 1995). "American Aviation". AAHS Journal. 40 (4). American Aviation Historical Society. ISSN 0882-9365.
External links