The 701st Air Defense Squadron was an Air National Guard

Air National Guard

The Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...

 unit stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base

Tyndall Air Force Base

Tyndall Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base located east of Panama City, Florida. The base was named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lt Frank Benjamin Tyndall...

 near Panama City

Panama City, Florida

-Personal income:The median income for a household in the city was $31,572, and the median income for a family was $40,890. Males had a median income of $30,401 versus $21,431 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,830...

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

. As part of First Air Force

First Air Force

The First Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida....

, it was responsible for the operation of NORAD's Continental United States Region Air Operations Center. The 701st was inactivated in 2007 and replaced with the 601st Air Operations Group.

History

Before becoming the 701st ADS, the unit was known as the 701st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron and the 701st Radar Squadron. For most of its existence, the unit was located at Fort Fisher Air Force Station

Fort Fisher Air Force Station

Fort Fisher Air Force Station was a US Air Force installation located on the Atlantic coast southwest of Kure Beach, North Carolina. Its primary mission was as a radar complex...

 near Kure Beach, North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

. With the closure of Fort Fisher AFS in the late 1980s, the 701st was moved to Langley Air Force Base, Virginia

Virginia

The 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...

 and collocated with First Air Force headquarters. During this time the unit also became the 701st Air Defense Squadron. In 1991, both First Air Force and the 701st relocated to Tyndall AFB. Between 1995 and 1997, both organizations transitioned from the US Air Force to the Air National Guard

Air National Guard

The Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...

. As part of the transition, active duty 701st military pesonnel were replaced with members of the Florida Air National Guard. After the events of 11 September 2001, the role of homeland defense was greatly expanded necessitating a restructuring of First Air Force units. Part of this expansion was the inactivation of the 701st and its replacement by the 601st Air Operations Group.

Lineage

• Established as the 701st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron

Activated on 1 December 1953

Redesignated 701st Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 1 July 1962

Inactivated on 1 March 1970.

Redesignated 701st Radar Squadron

Activated on 17 January 1974

Inactivated on 30 June 1988

Redesignated 701st Air Defense Squadron

Activated 1990

Redesignated 701st Air Defense Squadron (ANG) on or abut 16 October 1995 and allotted to the Air National Guard

Inactivated 1 November 2007

Stations

• Dobbins AFB, GA, 1 December 1953
• Fort Fisher AFS, NC, 1 Aug 1955 - 1 March 1970
• Fort Fisher AFS, NC 17 January 1974 - 30 June 1988
• Langley AFB, VA 1990
• Tyndall AFB, FL 12 September 1991 - 1 November 2007

Assignments

• 35th Air Division, 1 December 1953
• 85th Air Division, 1 March 1956
• 35th Air Division, 1 September 1958
• 32d Air Division, 15 November 1958
• Washington Air Defense Sector
  Washington Air Defense Sector
  The Washington Air Defense Sector is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 26th Air Division, being stationed at Fort Lee Air Force Station, Virginia...
  
  , 1 July 1961
• 33rd Air Division, 1 April 1966
• 20th Air Division, 19 November 1969 - 1 March 1970
• 20th Air Division, 17 January 1974
• 23d Air Division, 1 March 1983
• First Air Force, 1 July 1987
• Southeast Air Defense Sector
  Southeast Air Defense Sector
  The Southeast Air Defense Sector , was a unit of the US Air Force located at Tyndall Air Force Base near Panama City, Florida. It provided air defense and surveillance of the southeastern region of the US...
  
  , December 1987 - 30 June 1988
• First Air Force 1990 - 1 November 2007 (attached to Air Forces, Northern)

External links

• Cornett, Lloyd H. and Johnson, Mildred W., A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 - 1980, http://www.usafpatches.com/pubs/handbookofadcorg.pdf Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson AFB, CO (1980).
• First Air Force information
• Information on Fort Fisher Air Force Station
• Interview with MG Larry Arnold regarding First AF and air defense after 9/11