30th Operations Group
Encyclopedia
The 30th Operations Group (30 OG) is an operational component of the United States Air Force
30th Space Wing
, stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base
, California.
The group provides the core capability for West Coast spacelift and range operations. Operations Group professionals are responsible for operating and maintaining the Western Range for spacelift, missile test launch, aeronautical and space surveillance missions.
Patrolled west coast, 1942–1943, while training crews for other units.
Began operations in the Pacific in November 1943. Attacked enemy installations on the Gilbert Islands in support of U.S. invasion; raided enemy airfields in the Marshalls to prevent Japanese airplanes launching against Tarawa. From January–March 1944, bombed installations in the Marshalls in preparation for their occupation. During April–Jul, raided airfields and navy facilities in the Truk Islands to keep them neutralized during the U.S. attack on the Marianas; also bombed Wake, Guam, and Saipan. From August 1944 until the U.S. took Iwo Jima in early 1945, the group attacked airfields and shipping in the Bonin and Volcano Islands and hit bypassed islands in the Carolines and Marianas until March 1945, when group returned to Hawaii for routine patrols and training until inactivated.
Search, rescue, and recovery missions in area of Vandenberg AFB, CA, 1993–. Launched meteorological and surveillance satellites into polar earth orbit, 1990–. Launched first interceptor missile in Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) program, September 2006. Deployed airmen worldwide to meet national commitments, 2005–.
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...
30th Space Wing
30th Space Wing
The 30th Space Wing is an air force wing forming a subordinate unit of the Fourteenth Air Force of the Air Force Space Command of the United States Air Force...
, stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base
Vandenberg Air Force Base
Vandenberg Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base, located approximately northwest of Lompoc, California. It is under the jurisdiction of the 30th Space Wing, Air Force Space Command ....
, California.
The group provides the core capability for West Coast spacelift and range operations. Operations Group professionals are responsible for operating and maintaining the Western Range for spacelift, missile test launch, aeronautical and space surveillance missions.
Units
- 30th Standardization and Evaluation Division (30th OGV)
- Responsible for standardizing operations across the spectrum of Western Range operations. 30th OG evaluators administer the combat mission ready program for wing operators and conduct evaluations of mission-ready crew members, validating their operational proVciency. They validate unit training programs and ensure wing compliance with Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) guidance.
- 2nd Range Operations Squadron (2nd ROPS)
- Controls and operates the Western Range for spacelift, ballistic missile test launch, aeronautical test, air defense exercise, missile defense test launch and space surveillance operations. The 2nd ROPS directs over 1,000 Air Force and contractor personnel at four geographically separated locations spanning more than 450 miles. The squadron ensures optimum conVguration and performance of tracking, telemetry, communications, data analysis and meteorological assets valued at over $1.5 billion.
- 30th Weather Squadron (30th WS)
- Provides 30th Space Wing and tenant units a full range of weather services supporting launch, air and ground operations. Major services include daily weather forecasting, toxic hazard zone forecasting, surface and upper-air observing, technical support and around-the-clock resource protection from severe weather. The 30th WS provides planning and day-of-launch on-console weather support to the Western Range Control Center for all Western Range launch operations. The 30th Operations Support Squadron (30th OSS) is the most diverse squadron in AFSPC. The squadron leads the wing spacelift operations training program, operates a $3.5 billion airVeld complex, develops weapon system tactics for the 30th OG and provides intelligence services for the wing and tenant units. The 30th OSS operates the Air Force's only space Training Device Design and Engineering Center, producing most of the space and missile training devices used throughout AFSPC and Air Education and Training Command. The squadron also prepares and executes all hostbase support for AFSPC's annual Guardian Challenge competition.
- 30th Space Communications Squadron (30th SCS)
- Is a key partner in the successful launching of satellites for combatant commanders' requirements and other test range activities. The squadron is focused on the operation and maintenance of the Western Range network segment enabling Wight test, spacelift and ballistic missions. The 30th SCS manages the budget for optical tracking, land mobile radio, airVeld systems, RF spectrum management, missile silo communications, base secure and non-secure voice/video/data network operations, network defense, computer systems support, personal wireless communications systems, base-level services, information management, small computers, visual information and communications security for AFSPC, the 14th Air Force, 30th SW, Western Range and tenant units. Additionally, the 30th SCS provides support for telephone services and infrastructure management/upgrades.
- 30th Range Management Squadron (30th RMS)
- Manages day-to-day contractor operations and maintenance of the range, launch complexes and payload facilities. The unit provides acquisition program management and quality assurance expertise on all 30th SW and Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) mission support contracts and space programs. Additionally, the 30th RMS provides technical requirements development, systems integration, operational acceptance testing and sustainment services for 30th SW range systems. The squadron interfaces with SMC for all range sustainment, integration and development efforts.
History
- For additional history and lineage, see 30th Space Wing30th Space WingThe 30th Space Wing is an air force wing forming a subordinate unit of the Fourteenth Air Force of the Air Force Space Command of the United States Air Force...
Patrolled west coast, 1942–1943, while training crews for other units.
Began operations in the Pacific in November 1943. Attacked enemy installations on the Gilbert Islands in support of U.S. invasion; raided enemy airfields in the Marshalls to prevent Japanese airplanes launching against Tarawa. From January–March 1944, bombed installations in the Marshalls in preparation for their occupation. During April–Jul, raided airfields and navy facilities in the Truk Islands to keep them neutralized during the U.S. attack on the Marianas; also bombed Wake, Guam, and Saipan. From August 1944 until the U.S. took Iwo Jima in early 1945, the group attacked airfields and shipping in the Bonin and Volcano Islands and hit bypassed islands in the Carolines and Marianas until March 1945, when group returned to Hawaii for routine patrols and training until inactivated.
Search, rescue, and recovery missions in area of Vandenberg AFB, CA, 1993–. Launched meteorological and surveillance satellites into polar earth orbit, 1990–. Launched first interceptor missile in Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) program, September 2006. Deployed airmen worldwide to meet national commitments, 2005–.
Lineage
- Established as 30 Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 20 November 1940
- Activated on 15 January 1941
- Redesignated as: 30 Bombardment Group, Heavy, on 20 August 1943
- Inactivated on 25 June 1946
- Redesignated 30 Operations Group on 1 November 1991
- Activated on 19 November 1991.
Assignments
- 1st Bombardment Wing, 15 January 1941
- 21st Bombardment Wing, 24 May 1941
- III Bomber CommandIII Bomber CommandThe III Bomber Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Third Air Force stationed at MacDill Field, Florida. It was inactivated on 8 April 1946.-Lineage:...
, 5 September 1941 - Fourth Air ForceFourth Air ForceThe Fourth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Reserve . It is headquartered at March Air Reserve Base, California....
, December 1941 - IV Bomber CommandIV Bomber CommandThe IV Bomber Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Fourth Air Force, based at San Francisco, California. It was inactivated on 31 March 1944.-Lineage:...
, 20 January 1942
- Seventh Air ForceSeventh Air ForceThe Seventh Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea....
, 11 October 1943 - VII Bomber CommandVII Bomber CommandThe VII Bomber Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Seventh Air Force, based on Okinawa. It was inactivated on 31 March 1946.-Lineage:...
, 17 October 1943 - Army Air Forces, Pacific Ocean Area, 17 March 1945
- 7th Fighter Wing, 15 August 1945 – 25 June 1946
- 30th Space Wing30th Space WingThe 30th Space Wing is an air force wing forming a subordinate unit of the Fourteenth Air Force of the Air Force Space Command of the United States Air Force...
, 19 November 1991–present
Components
- 2 Space Launch Squadron: 19 November 1991 – 1 December 2003
- 4 Space Launch Squadron: 15 April 1994 – 29 June 1998
- 2nd Reconnaissance Squadron (Heavy) (later 392nd Bombardment Squadron)92d Air Refueling SquadronThe 92d Air Refueling Squadron is part of the 92d Air Refueling Wing at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington.-Mission:The squadron operates the KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft conducting aerial refueling missions.-History:...
attached 15 January 1941 – 21 April 1942, assigned 22 April 1942 – 30 November 1945 - 21st Bombardment Squadron21st Bombardment SquadronThe 21st Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 501st Bombardment Group, based at Northwest Field, Guam in the Mariana Islands. It was inactivated on 10 June 1946....
: 15 January 1941 – 1 November 1943 (detached, 9 January 1942 – September 1943) - 27th Bombardment Squadron27th Bombardment SquadronThe 27th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 30th Bombardment Group, based at Kahuku Army Airfield, Hawaii Territory...
: 15 January 1941 – 20 March 1946 - 38th Bombardment Squadron38th Bombardment SquadronThe 38th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 30th Bombardment Group, based at Kahuku Army Airfield, Hawaii Territory...
: 15 January 1941 – 20 March 1946 - 819th Bombardment Squadron819th Bombardment SquadronThe 819th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 30th Bombardment Group, based at Kahuku Army Airfield, Hawaii Territory...
: 11 October 1943 – 30 November 1945
Stations
- March Field, California, 15 January 1941
- New Orleans Army Airbase, LouisianaLouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, c. 7 June 1941 - Muroc Army Air Field, California, 14 December 1941
- March Field, California, 7 February 1942 – 28 September 1943
- Hickam Field, Hawaii (Territory)HawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, 20 October 1943 - Funafuti Airfield, NanumeaNanumeaNanumea is the northwesternmost atoll in the Polynesian nation of Tuvalu, a group of nine coral atolls and islands spread over about four hundred miles of Pacific Ocean just south of the equator and west of the International Date Line.-Geography:...
, Gilbert IslandsGilbert IslandsThe Gilbert Islands are a chain of sixteen atolls and coral islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are the main part of Republic of Kiribati and include Tarawa, the site of the country's capital and residence of almost half of the population.-Geography:The atolls and islands of the Gilbert Islands...
, 12 November 1943 - Abemama Airfield, AbemamaAbemamaAbemama is an atoll in the central part of the Kiribati Group located 152 kilometres southeast of Tarawa and just north of the Equator.- Geography :...
, Gilbert IslandsGilbert IslandsThe Gilbert Islands are a chain of sixteen atolls and coral islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are the main part of Republic of Kiribati and include Tarawa, the site of the country's capital and residence of almost half of the population.-Geography:The atolls and islands of the Gilbert Islands...
, 4 January 1944
- Kwajalein Airfield, KwajaleinKwajaleinKwajalein Atoll , is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands . The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island. English-speaking residents of the U.S...
, Marshall Islands, c. 20 March 1944 - East FieldEast Field (Saipan)East Field is a former World War II airfield on Saipan in the Mariana Islands.-History:Saipan had been occupied by the Japanese since World War I, and by mid-1944, the Americans had advanced inside the Japanese ring of defense in the Pacific Theater...
, SaipanSaipanSaipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
, Mariana IslandsMariana IslandsThe Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...
, 4 August 1944 - Wheeler Field, Hawaii (Territory)HawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, 17 March 1945 - Kahuku Field, Hawaii (Territory)HawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, 29 September 1945 - Wheeler Field, Hawaii (Territory)HawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
,, February −25 June 1946 - Vandenberg AFB, California, 19 November 1991–present
Aircraft and Missiles
- B-18 BoloB-18 BoloThe Douglas B-18 Bolo was a United States Army Air Corps and Royal Canadian Air Force bomber of the late 1930s and early 1940s. The Bolo was built by Douglas Aircraft Company and based on its DC-2 and was developed to replace the Martin B-10....
, 1941–1942 - A-29 Hudson, 1941–1942
- YB-17 Flying Fortress, 1941
- LB-30 Liberator, 1941, 1942
- B-25 MitchellB-25 MitchellThe North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.The B-25 was named...
, 1942 - B-24 LiberatorB-24 LiberatorThe Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
, 1942–1946 - SM-65 Atlas Missile, 1990–1995
- UH-1 Huey Helicopter, 1993–2007
- LGM-25C Titan II Missile, 1997–1999, 2002–2003
- Titan IVTitan IVThe Titan IV family of space boosters were used by the U.S. Air Force. They were launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. At the time of its introduction, the Titan IV was the "largest unmanned space booster used by the Air Force."The...
Missile, 1995–1997, 1999–2003 - Atlas IIAtlas IIAtlas II was a member of the Atlas family of launch vehicles, which evolved from the successful Atlas missile program of the 1950s. Atlas II was the last Atlas to use a three engine, "stage-and-a-half" design: two of its three engines were jettisoned during ascent, but its fuel tanks and other...
Missile, 2000–2003 - Delta IIDelta IIDelta II was an American space launch system, originally designed and built by McDonnell Douglas. Delta II is part of the Delta rocket family and was in service from 1989 until November 1, 2011...
Missile, 2000–2003 - Pegasus Missile, 2000–2003
- LGM-30 MinutemanLGM-30 MinutemanThe LGM-30 Minuteman is a U.S. nuclear missile, a land-based intercontinental ballistic missile . As of 2010, the version LGM-30G Minuteman-III is the only land-based ICBM in service in the United States...
Missile, 2000–2003 - Minotaur IMinotaur IThe Minotaur I, or just Minotaur is an American expendable launch system derived from the Minuteman II missile. It is used to launch small satellites for the US Government, and is a member of the Minotaur family of rockets produced by Orbital Sciences Corporation.Minotaur I rockets consist of the...
Missile, 2000–2003