Hanscom Air Force Base - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

For the civil use of this facility and airport information, see Hanscom Field
Hanscom Field
Hanscom Field , also known by its full name Laurence G. Hanscom Field, is a public airport located in Bedford, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is operated by the Massachusetts Port Authority....

Hanscom Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force

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...

base located approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) south-southwest of Bedford, Massachusetts

Bedford, Massachusetts

Bedford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is within the Greater Boston area, north-west of the city of Boston. The population of Bedford was 13,320 at the 2010 census.- History :...

. The facility is a joint use civil airport/military base with Hanscom Field
Hanscom Field
Hanscom Field , also known by its full name Laurence G. Hanscom Field, is a public airport located in Bedford, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is operated by the Massachusetts Port Authority....

which provides general aviation

General aviation

General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...

and charter service.

The host unit at Hanscom is the non-flying 66th Air Base Group (66 ABG) assigned to Air Force Materiel Command

Air Force Materiel Command

Air Force Materiel Command is a major command of the United States Air Force. AFMC was created July 1, 1992 through the reorganization of Air Force Logistics Command and Air Force Systems Command....

. Electronic Systems Center

Electronic Systems Center

Electronic Systems Center is a product center of Air Force Materiel Command headquartered at Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts. Its mission is to develop and acquire command and control, communications, computer, and intelligence systems. ESC consists of professional teams specializing in...

(ESC) is the primary tenant on the installation. The 66 ABG provides services to the ESC; Air Force Reserve; National Guard and Department of Defense

United States Department of Defense

The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...

civilians who are assigned to the base.

Hanscom AFB was established in 1942. It was named in honor of Laurence G. Hanscom, an aviator and reporter for the Worcester Telegram-Gazette. He was killed in an aircraft accident on 9 February 1941.

The 66th Air Base Wing was stood down in June 2010 and re-designated as a Group. Command changes every two years.

Overview

Hanscom houses Headquarters Electronic Systems Center
Electronic Systems Center
Electronic Systems Center is a product center of Air Force Materiel Command headquartered at Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts. Its mission is to develop and acquire command and control, communications, computer, and intelligence systems. ESC consists of professional teams specializing in...

(ESC), one of the product centers of the Air Force Materiel Command

Air Force Materiel Command

Air Force Materiel Command is a major command of the United States Air Force. AFMC was created July 1, 1992 through the reorganization of Air Force Logistics Command and Air Force Systems Command....

(AFMC). In addition to this primary function, which is its host unit, Hanscom supports the Air Force Research Laboratory

Air Force Research Laboratory

The Air Force Research Laboratory is a scientific research organization operated by the United States Air Force Materiel Command dedicated to leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable aerospace warfighting technologies; planning and executing the Air Force science and...

's Sensors and Space Vehicles directorates, MIT

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...

Lincoln Laboratory

MIT Lincoln Laboratory, located in Lexington, Massachusetts, is a United States Department of Defense research and development center chartered to apply advanced technology to problems of national security. Research and development activities focus on long-term technology development as well as...

, the MITRE

MITRE

The Mitre Corporation is a not-for-profit organization based in Bedford, Massachusetts and McLean, Virginia...

corporation, and various other companies and groups related to the Department of Defense

United States Department of Defense

The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...

.

Hanscom's mission within the Air Force is unique; it is host to no regular Air Force flying activities. Its mission, rather, is to support research, acquisitions, and electronic systems instead of military aircraft.

Hanscom Field

Hanscom Field

Hanscom Field , also known by its full name Laurence G. Hanscom Field, is a public airport located in Bedford, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is operated by the Massachusetts Port Authority....

, a civilian general-aviation airport adjacent to the Air Force Base, and MASSPORT, are the primary operators of the air field and runways. Less than one percent of the aircraft that land at Hanscom Field are military aircraft.

Units

Electronic Systems Center
Electronic Systems Center
Electronic Systems Center is a product center of Air Force Materiel Command headquartered at Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts. Its mission is to develop and acquire command and control, communications, computer, and intelligence systems. ESC consists of professional teams specializing in...

Provides the latest in command and control and information systems for the Air Force, the Department of Defense and our allies. We currently manage approximately 200 programs, and have an annual budget of more than $3 billion. In June 2010, the wings were stood down and replaced with Directorates.

C2ISR

Cyber Netcentric

Enterprise Logistics

Battle Management

Enterprise Information Systems

ESC Acquisition Center of Excellence

ESC Functional and Command Staff Offices

Computer Accommodations Program

66th Air Base Group

Provides services to over 3,000 active duty, Reserve and National Guard military personnel, and DoD civilians who work and live at Hanscom Air Force Base. Additionally, the 66 ABG supports over 100,000 retired military personnel, annuitants and spouses living in the seven-state New England area.

Military Personnel Flight

Civil Engineering

Housing Office

66th Medical Squadron

66 ABG Public Affairs

66th Force Support Squadron

Airman and Family Readiness Center

Hanscom Education Center

Legal Office

Retirees Office

66 Security Forces Squadron

66 Comptroller Squadron

History

Hanscom Air Force Base is named after Laurence G. Hanscom (1906–1941) in honor of the pilot, aviation enthusiast, and State House

Massachusetts House of Representatives

The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. Representatives serve two-year terms...

reporter who was killed in a plane crash at Saugus, Massachusetts

Saugus, Massachusetts

Saugus is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. The population was 26,628 at the 2010 census.-History:Saugus was first settled in 1629. Saugus is an Indian name believed to mean "great" or "extended"...

when he had been lobbying for the establishment of an airfield in Bedford. Laurence G. Hanscom was a reporter for the Worcester Telegram-Gazette. Hanscom was active in early aviation, founding the Massachusetts Civil Air Reserve. The base was named in his honor on 26 June 1941.

Founded at the start of World War II, the focus of Hanscom had shifted from combat missions to radar

Radar

Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...

technology development by the end of the war. After the war, Hanscom encouraged the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

(MIT) to institute a research laboratory, Lincoln Laboratory

Lincoln Laboratory

, with which it collaborated to develop the Semi Automatic Ground Environment

Semi Automatic Ground Environment

The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment was an automated control system for tracking and intercepting enemy bomber aircraft used by NORAD from the late 1950s into the 1980s...

(SAGE) air defense system. In 1961, Hanscom became the headquarters for the Air Force's Electronic Systems Division. Hanscom developed several important systems for intelligence-gathering aircraft in the 1970s and 1980s, underwent significant expansion in the 1980s, and survived widespread base closures in the early 1990s.

Creation

The Bedford airport came into existence at a time when the U.S. was considering entry into World War II, when new airports were created across the country that could serve for future national defense.

On the recommendation of the Massachusetts Aeronautics Commission headed by Crocker Snow, Massachusetts Governor

Governor of Massachusetts

The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the executive magistrate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The current governor is Democrat Deval Patrick.-Constitutional role:...

Leverett Saltonstall

Leverett A. Saltonstall was an American Republican politician who served as the 55th Governor of Massachusetts and as a United States Senator .-Biography:...

advocated on 2 January 1941 that the Commonwealth’s Department of Public Works develop new airport facilities to serve as an auxiliary to Boston Airport

Logan International Airport

General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport is located in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts . It covers , has six runways, and employs an estimated 16,000 people. It is the 19th busiest airport in the United States.Boston serves as a focus city for JetBlue Airways...

. On 14 May of that year, the Massachusetts Legislature

Massachusetts General Court

The Massachusetts General Court is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the Colonial Era, when this body also sat in judgment of judicial appeals cases...

purchased 500 acres (2 km²) of farmland from the towns of Bedford

Bedford, Massachusetts

, Lincoln

Lincoln, Massachusetts

Lincoln is a town in the historic area of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,362 at the 2010 census, including residents of Hanscom Air Force Base that live within town limits...

, Concord

Concord, Massachusetts

Concord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 17,668. Although a small town, Concord is noted for its leading roles in American history and literature.-History:...

, and Lexington

Lexington, Massachusetts

Lexington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,399 at the 2010 census. This town is famous for being the site of the first shot of the American Revolution, in the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775.- History :...

for $60,000.

On 24 May, the federal Civil Aeronautics Administration told the Massachusetts Commissioner of Public Works that $229,000 was available to build the airport under the Defense Landing Act. This act, also known as Public Law 812, was passed on 9 October 1940 and appropriated $40,000,000 in federal funds for the development of 250 new public airports across the United States to support national defense. The groundbreaking ceremony, with Governor Saltonstall in attendance, was held on 17 July 1941.

On 1 July 1942, after the U.S. had entered the war, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts leased the airport to the U.S. War Department

United States Department of War

The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...

for use by the newly formed United States Army Air Forces. The next day, the 85th Fighter Squadron, equipped with Curtiss P-40

Curtiss P-40

The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was an American single-engine, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational...

fighter aircraft, arrived in Bedford to prepare for overseas deployment. It was one of several fighter squadrons, including the 318th Fighter Squadron, that would train at the Bedford Army Air Base in 1942 and 1943 and later go on to combat in North Africa and Europe. By the end of the war, there were 95 Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

and Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

planes and two large hangars at the Bedford facility.

Early radar innovations

Later in the war, Hanscom began to work more closely with MIT

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

on radar

Radar

systems. In 1944, the wartime Radiation Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology moved its local testing site for new airborne and ground radar

Radar

systems from Boston Airport

Logan International Airport

to Hanscom Field. 28 July 1945 marked Hanscom's first disaster. That Saturday, a Mitchell B-25 bomber

B-25 Mitchell

The 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...

took off from Hanscom Field bound for Newark, New Jersey

Newark, New Jersey

Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...

, became lost in the fog over New York City, and crashed into the 79th floor

B-25 Empire State Building crash

The B-25 Empire State Building crash was a 1945 aircraft accident in which a B-25 Mitchell piloted in thick fog crashed into the Empire State Building...

of the Empire State Building

Empire State Building

The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...

, starting a major fire that left 16 dead and twice as many injured.

On 20 September 1945, the Army Air Force created Cambridge Field Station, in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...

next to MIT. The Cambridge facility was charged with continuing the Army Air Force’s programs in radar, radio, and electronic research after the dissolution of the wartime laboratories of MIT and Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

. It recruited scientists and engineers from the laboratories and took over MIT’s experimental radar test facilities at Hanscom, which included the Microwave Early Warning ground radar located on "MEW Hill" next to a runway. The Cambridge Field Station was renamed the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories (AFCRL) on 5 July 1949. In 1950, it demonstrated technology for transmitting radar data to a computer. Aircraft echoes picked up by the MEW radar at Hanscom Field were sent over telephone lines back to the Barta Building at MIT where they were processed and displayed on the Whirlwind computer

Whirlwind (computer)

The Whirlwind computer was developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It is the first computer that operated in real time, used video displays for output, and the first that was not simply an electronic replacement of older mechanical systems...

’s cathode ray screen.

By 1947, East Coast Aviation Corporation was conducting a general aviation sales and service business, and an aviation flying school from Hanscom, while the Raytheon

Raytheon

Raytheon Company is a major American defense contractor and industrial corporation with core manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. It was previously involved in corporate and special-mission aircraft until early 2007...

Manufacturing Company was using a hangar there to conduct radio research and guided missile work for the Navy.

In 1947, the Army Air Force separated from the Army, and the United States Air Force was born. In 1951, the Air Defense Command (ADC) granted jurisdiction over both the AFCRL and Hanscom to the newly operational Air Research and Development Command (ARDC). The events of World War II exemplified the military importance of radar and led to Hanscom’s postwar role. After 1945, the facility became the Air Force’s center for the development and acquisition of electronic systems. Hanscom’s work also led to the development of a nationally important high-technology area along the new Route 128

Route 128 (Massachusetts)

Route 128, also known as the Yankee Division Highway , and originally the Circumferential Highway, is a partial beltway around Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The majority of the highway is built to freeway standards, and about 3/5 of it is part of the Interstate Highway System...

that was opened in 1951.

On 12 October 1951, the Secretary of the Air Force informed the Governor that there was a military requirement for most of Hanscom Field and requested that the Commonwealth donate the field to the Air Force. The Governor responded that the Commonwealth would prefer to lease the field to the Federal Government

Federal government of the United States

The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...

. After negotiations, a compromise dividing the 1,100 acres (4.5 km²) of land was finalized on 7 May 1952. According to the agreement, (a) 641 acres (2.6 km²) (the airfield facilities) were leased by the Commonwealth to the United States, (b) 396 adjacent acres (1.6 km²) were ceded by the Commonwealth to the United States, and (c) 93 acres (0.4 km²) were retained by the Commonwealth. The terms of the lease specified that it would last for 25 years and would be renewable for an additional 25 years, but would expire no later than 30 June 2002.

Lincoln Lab and SAGE

On 15 December 1950, General Hoyt Vandenberg

Hoyt Vandenberg

Hoyt Sanford Vandenberg was a U.S. Air Force general, its second Chief of Staff, and second Director of Central Intelligence....

, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force

Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force

The Chief of Staff of the Air Force is a statutory office held by a four-star general in the United States Air Force, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Air Force, and as such is the principal military advisor and a deputy to the Secretary of the...

, asked MIT to establish an electronics laboratory to work on an air defense system for the continental United States. MIT responded by initiating Project Charles on 6 February 1951. On 6 August of the same year, Project Charles’ final report was published, outlining a program for Project Lincoln. On 27 August, the ARDC assumed responsibility for the administration of Project Lincoln, delegating this responsibility to AFCRL on 7 September 1951. On 1 April 1952, the first building for Project Lincoln was occupied. The 6520th Test Support Wing, which had been assigned to AFCRL, was charged with flying test aircraft for Lincoln as well operating and maintaining Laurence G. Hanscom Field. Project Lincoln was renamed Lincoln Laboratory

Lincoln Laboratory

on 17 April. Lincoln Lab soon began work on the experimental "Cape Cod

Cape Cod System

The Cape Cod System was a computer system designed to simulate an air defense system covering southern New England. It was named after Cape Cod, the location of many of the radars.-History:...

" air defense network. Hanscom’s 6520th Test Support Wing logged in thousands of hours of flying time to provide test and evaluation for it. The 6520th Test Support Wing was later made the 6520th Air Base Group, and in the fall of 1957, Lincoln Laboratory’s experimental radar for detection of ballistic missiles began operations at the Laboratory’s Millstone Hill Field Station in Westford, Massachusetts

Westford, Massachusetts

Westford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,951 at the 2010 census.-History:Originally a part of neighboring Chelmsford, West Chelmsford soon grew large enough to sustain its own governance, and was officially incorporated as Westford on September 23,...

.

The renewal of the lease and the work of Lincoln Lab forced an expansion of the facilities at Hanscom Field. On 12 October 1953 the runways were reconfigured. "MEW Hill" was leveled, the main east-west runway was expanded, and two large new hangars were built over the old north-south runway. Military housing was constructed. On 26 April 1954, AFCRL's Electronics Research Directorate and the Research Services Division, were dedicated at Hanscom Field. On 12 June 1955, the official headquarters for AFCRL moved from Albany Street in Cambridge to Lawrence G. Hanscom Field. On the same day, AFCRL's headquarters building (Building 1600) and a base chapel were completed at Hanscom Field. In 1959, groundbreaking would occur for the new Base School facilities and military personnel and their families would begin moving into the newly constructed Capehart housing, now known as Flintlock Ridge. On 2 May 1960, AFCRL's Electronic and Geophysics Directorates would be reassigned from Cambridge to Hanscom Field, moving the last remnant of AFCRL to Hanscom.

In January 1956, Maj. Gen.

Major General

Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

Raymond C. Maude, AFCRC Commander at Hanscom, Admiral

Admiral

Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...

Edward Cochran, Dr. George E. Valley of Lincoln Laboratory, and Col.

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

Dorr Newton held a press conference announcing the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) System for air defense. SAGE was designed to meet the new postwar threat of attack by long-range, nuclear-armed bombers on the North American continent. To integrate the SAGE system, the Air Research and Development Command (ADRC) established the Air Defense Systems Management Office (ADSMO) at Hanscom with staff from the ADRC, Air Materiel Command (AMC), and Air Defense Command (ADC) on 3 June 1957. However, the organization did not have enough technical support or authority to work effectively. To correct these problems, ARDC redesignated ADSMO the Air Defense Systems Integration Division (ADSID) on 24 February 1958 and put a general officer, Major General Kenneth P. Bergquist

Kenneth P. Bergquist (United States Air Force)

Kenneth P. Bergquist was an officer of the United States Air Force, and its predecessor, the United States Army Air Forces, who ultimately attained the rank of Major General.-Biography:...

, in charge.

On 3 March 1958, Secretary of the Air Force James H. Douglas asked MIT to temporarily undertake responsibility as principal systems engineering advisor for the Air Force's part in integrating the SAGE air defense system, and to sponsor the formation of a permanent successor contract organization. MIT responded by forming MITRE

MITRE

The Mitre Corporation is a not-for-profit organization based in Bedford, Massachusetts and McLean, Virginia...

on 10 July. On 22 June, AFCCDD recommended to ARDC that the MITRE Corporation be permitted to contract with the Department of Defense and DoD agencies other than the Air Force. General Bernard Adolph Schriever

Bernard Adolph Schriever

General Bernard Adolph Schriever , also known as Bennie Schriever, was a United States Air Force general. He was born in Bremen, Germany, and after immigrating to the United States, played a major role in the U.S. Air Force programs for space and ballistic missile research.-Early years:Bernard...

, ARDC Commander, agreed in principle that July.

In early October, 1959, the ARDC was reorganized into the Air Force Research Division (later the Office of Aerospace Research or OAR) and three field organizations. To coordinate the command and control systems, one of the field organizations, the new Air Force Command And Control Development Division (AFCCDD) took over most of the responsibilities of ADSID, which was discontinued on 1 October 1960. AFCCDD was activated on 16 November with Colonel

Colonel

Herschel D. Mahon as commander. On 1 July, The Rome Air Development Center (RADC) at Griffiss Air Force Base

Griffiss Air Force Base

Griffiss Air Force Base, is a former United States Air Force base, located in Rome, New York, about NW of Utica. Missions at Griffiss AFB included fighter interceptors, electronic research, installation, and support activities, aerial refueling, and bombers...

, New York, was assigned to AFCCDD. MITRE was made principal contract advisor to AFCCDD in March 1960.

The SAGE system was completed in the early 1960s. It revolutionized air defense and also contributed significantly to advances in air traffic control

Air traffic control

Air traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...

systems. As the SAGE system matured, the Air Force pursued the development of a number of advanced command, control, and communications systems. SAGE continued to be used into the 1980s.

Electronic Systems Center

In early November 1959, Air Materiel Command’s Electronic Systems Center (ESC) was activated Hanscom Field as the counterpart of AFCCDD there. Major General

Major General

Clyde H. Mitchell was named ESC commander. The ESC became operation on 1 January 1960.

On 20 March 1961, the Secretary of the Air Forced announced that Air Materiel Command would be redesignated Air Force Logistics Command

Air Force Logistics Command

Air Force Logistics Command was a United States Air Force command. Its headquarters was located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio...

(AFLC) and that ARDC would become Air Force Systems Command

Air Force Systems Command

Air Force Systems Command is a former United States Air Force command. Its headquarters was located at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland...

(AFSC). At Hanscom, this combined ARDC’s AFCCDD and AMC's ESC into the Electronic Systems Division (ESD) of AFSC.

The ESD was activated on 1 April 1961 with Major General

Major General

Kenneth P. Bergquist

Kenneth P. Bergquist (United States Air Force)

Kenneth P. Bergquist was an officer of the United States Air Force, and its predecessor, the United States Army Air Forces, who ultimately attained the rank of Major General.-Biography:...

as ESD Commander and Brigadier General

Brigadier General

Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...

Charles H. Terhune, Jr., as Vice Commander. In addition to its headquarters at Hanscom, ESD included the 3245th Air Base Wing and the Rome Air Development Center. Staff elements of the former AFCCDD and ESC were combined over the next three months. For 1961, ESD had no financial plan of its own, using the approved financial plans for AFCCDD and ESC instead. ESD was created to meet the new threat of ballistic missiles carrying nuclear warheads. It was instrumental in the construction of the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) as well as the new NORAD headquarters in the Cheyenne Mountain complex. Later, ESD would grow to accommodate new weapons systems and space platforms.

MITRE dedicated its new main building on Route 62 in Bedford in honor of H. Rowan Gaither on 20 September 1962. The building had been completed the previous July. The cornerstone

Cornerstone

The cornerstone concept is derived from the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.Over time a cornerstone became a ceremonial masonry stone, or...

laying ceremony the new ESD headquarters building (Building 1606) at Hanscom Field occurred on 30 October. The building was accepted on 20 September of the next year and fully occupied by the middle of October. The principal street names at Hanscom Field were changed from alphabetical designations to the names of prominent Air Force bases around this time. On 8 October 1964, Lincoln Laboratory antenna on Haystack Hill, Tyngsborough, Massachusetts

Tyngsborough, Massachusetts

Tyngsborough is a town located in the northwest section of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Composed of of land and surface water, Tyngsborough borders the towns of Dunstable, Groton, Westford, Chelmsford, Dracut, and the City of Lowell, as well as the New Hampshire communities of Hudson,...

, located next to the Millstone Hill radar, was dedicated by General Bernard A. Schriever, Commander of AFSC. Later, in March 1969, Dr. John L. McLucas

John L. McLucas

John Luther McLucas was United States Secretary of the Air Force from 1973 to 1975, becoming Secretary of the Air Force on July 19, 1973. He had been Acting Secretary of the Air Force since May 15, 1973, and Under Secretary of the Air Force since March 1969...

, president of the MITRE Corporation, would be appointed Under Secretary of the Air Force.

James E. Webb

James E. Webb

James Edwin Webb was an American government official who served as the second administrator of NASA from February 14, 1961 to October 7, 1968....

, National Aeronautics and Space Administrator, announced NASA’s decision to build an electronics research center in the Greater Boston

Greater Boston

Greater Boston is the area of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts surrounding the city of Boston. Due to ambiguity in usage, the size of the area referred to can be anywhere between that of the metropolitan statistical area of Boston and that of the city's combined statistical area which includes...

area in a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives...

on 31 January 1964. On the same day, three New York members of the United States Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

(Senator

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

s Jacob Koppel Javits and Kenneth B. Keating and Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

Alexander Pirnie

Alexander Pirnie was an American congressman. He was born in Pulaski, New York, USA. He received his undergraduate and law degrees from Cornell University in 1924 and 1926, where he was also a member of the Quill and Dagger society...

) proposed to the Secretary of the Air Force that, in view of this decision, ESD should move to Griffiss AFB in Rome, New York

Rome, New York

Rome is a city in Oneida County, New York, United States. It is located in north-central or "upstate" New York. The population was 44,797 at the 2010 census. It is in New York's 24th congressional district. In 1758, British forces began construction of Fort Stanwix at this strategic location, but...

, so that NASA might occupy the ESD facilities at Hanscom Field. On 3 February, Webb, accompanied by Major General Don R. Ostrander, Commander of the Office of Aerospace Research, and Governor Endicott Peabody

Endicott Peabody

Endicott "Chub" Peabody was the 62nd Governor of Massachusetts from January 3, 1963 to January 7, 1965.-Early life:...

, visited Hanscom Field, calling on AFCRL, Lincoln Lab, and ESD headquarters. On 3 March, Major General John K. Hester, Air Force Assistant Vice Chief of Staff, asked the AFSC to "initiate a detailed cost-effectiveness study" of the impact on the ESD mission of the proposed move of ESD to Griffiss AFB. On 6 March, AFSC assigned this task to ESD. Colonel Francis J. Hoermann, ESD Comptroller

Comptroller

A comptroller is a management level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization.In British government, the Comptroller General or Comptroller and Auditor General is in most countries the external auditor of the budget execution of the...

, was in charge of the preparation of the resulting "study of Proposed Move of ESD to Griffiss AFB," which was released on 6 April 1964. Early in April, the Secretary of the Air Force decided that ESD would remain at Hanscom Field.

On 19 August 1966, a simulated bombing mission was conducted at Hanscom Field to demonstrate the capabilities of a jeep-mounted communications unit developed by ESD. The units would later be used by Forward Air Control

Forward air control

Forward air control is the provision of guidance to Close Air Support aircraft intended to ensure that their attack hits the intended target and does not injure friendly troops. This task is carried out by a forward air controller . For NATO forces the qualifications and experience required to be...

(FAC) personnel to request air support and to communicate with strike aircraft and ground troops. On 23 September 1970, the government accepted Scott Circle

Scott Circle

Scott Circle is a traffic circle in the northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., at the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Rhode Island Avenue, and 16th Street, N.W...

, a contracted 100-unit Military Family Housing project at Hanscom. On 31 December of that year, The Haystack Microwave Research Facility in Tyngsborough was transferred from USAF to MIT. In March 1971, AFCRL's Special Computation Laboratory Building was completed at Hanscom. The next year, ESD implemented Project PHOENIX by assigning the USAF Dispensary (later the USAF Clinic), Personnel, Information, and History to the 3245th Air Base Group. 9 May and 6 August 1971 marked two anti-war protests

Anti-war

An anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many...

at Hanscom Field. A teach-in

Sit-in

A sit-in or sit-down is a form of protest that involves occupying seats or sitting down on the floor of an establishment.-Process:In a sit-in, protesters remain until they are evicted, usually by force, or arrested, or until their requests have been met...

would occur at Hanscom's gates on 15 April of the next year.

In August 1972, Hanscom Field participated in a major project to relocate USAF weather observing equipment to reduce manpower requirements along with 110 Air Force installations worldwide. Air Force weather observations for Hanscom Field were discontinued on 3 November of that year, passing to the FAA. On 15 February 1973 Colonel Sigurd L. Jensen, Jr. Commander of the 3245th Air Base Group, presided over the first meeting of the Joint Services Coordinating Committee, an organization charged with assisting the towns of Lexington and Concord in the official observance of the United States Bicentennial

United States Bicentennial

The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to the historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic...

. On 1 September 1973, in light of Hanscom's primary mission of service to ESD, Air Force flying activities at Hanscom Field were officially terminated. Hanscom had hosted P-51

P-51 Mustang

The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...

and F-86

F-86 Sabre

The North American F-86 Sabre was a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as America's first swept wing fighter which could counter the similarly-winged Soviet MiG-15 in high speed dogfights over the skies of the Korean War...

fighters, C-46

C-46 Commando

The Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando was a transport aircraft originally derived from a commercial high-altitude airliner design. It was instead used as a military transport during World War II by the United States Army Air Forces as well as the U.S. Navy/Marine Corps under the designation R5C...

and C-124

C-124 Globemaster II

The Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed "Old Shakey", was a heavy-lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California....

cargo aircraft, T-6

T-6 Texan

The North American Aviation T-6 Texan was a single-engine advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, United States Navy, Royal Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1950s...

and T-33 trainers, and B-25

B-25 Mitchell

and B-29

B-29 Superfortress

The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...

bombers.

Resurgence

In 1967, a compromise was reached between U.S. Secretary of Defense

United States Secretary of Defense

The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...

Robert S. McNamara who wanted to merge the Army Reserve into the Army National Guard, and the United States Congress

United States Congress

who wanted to maintain the Army Reserve as it then existed. Under the compromise plan, all of the combat divisions and most separate combat brigades of the Army Reserve were deactivated with a corresponding increase in the National Guard; at the same time, non-divisional combat support and combat service support units were reallocated in the Army Reserve. The fourteen area corps were deactivated; in their place, eighteen army reserve commands ("ARCOMs") were established. Commanded by a reserve major general, each ARCOM served as a regional non-tactical peacetime headquarters for unrelated support units. Each ARCOMs was, in turn, assigned to one of five continental U.S. armies ("CONUSAs")

Field army

A Field Army, or Area Army, usually referred to simply as an Army, is a term used by many national military forces for a military formation superior to a corps and beneath an army group....

under Continental Army Command ("CONARC"). On 22 April 1968, the number and shoulder-sleeve insignia of the former 94th Infantry Division were re-allocated to the new 94th Army Reserve Command, headquartered at Hanscom Air Force Base and subordinate to First United States Army.

While the development of SAGE and the ESD were substantial and mandated significant expansion of Hanscom's facilities, Hanscom arguably came to the greatest prominence in the 1970s and 1980s with the development of groundbreaking aircraft surveillance equipment. The first major achievement came in the development of an airborne radar system. While ESD's first radar systems were ground-based, in the 1960s it had started to focus on overcoming the "ground clutter” problem. These efforts came to fruition in the 1970s, when ESD introduced the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS), which represented a technological achievement for airspace surveillance. AWACS' defining saucer-shaped radar is now able to simultaneously track up to 300 airborne and ocean-going targets up to 250 miles (400 km) away.

Also in the mid-1970s, Hanscom received recognition from the public and the DoD. On 22 June 1974 Laurence G. Hanscom Field was redesignated Laurence G. Hanscom Air Force Base (shortened to Hanscom Air Force Base in 1977) under DAF Special Order GA-34. On 31 August, the Air Force lease of the airfield portion of the facility was terminated and that land reverted back to state control. Hanscom opened its doors to the public twice around this time. First, the 351st General Hospital, an Army Reserve unit, hosted an open house on 22 September 1974. Second, on 6 July 1975, Hanscom’s Bicentennial Salute

United States Bicentennial

was celebrated by an open house with demonstrations provided by security police working dogs, model aircraft, the Bedford Minutemen, the USAF North Stars, and the USAF Thunderbirds.

In January 1976, AFCRL was redesignated as the Air Force Geophysics Laboratory (AFGL) and its Microwave Physics and Solid State Sciences Divisions was activated at Hanscom AFB. On 27 April, Hanscom AFB was named a Bicentennial Air Force installation by the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration. On 8 May, Colonel Richard A. Shropshire, Base Commander, was the special guest at the dedication ceremonies of the Minuteman National Historical Park, which included a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the doorway of the new Visitor Center. On the 25th anniversary of its establishment (1 November 1976), MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory was presented the Meritorious Service Medal

Meritorious Service Medal (United States)

The Meritorious Service Medal is a military decoration presented to members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguished themselves by outstanding meritorious achievement or service to the United States subsequent to January 16, 1969...

. On 25 February 1977, Dr. Gerald P. Dinneen, director of MIT Lincoln Laboratory, was nominated by President Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter

James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...

to be Assistant Secretary of Defense

United States Assistant Secretary of Defense

Assistant Secretary of Defense is a title used for many executive positions in the Office of the Secretary of Defense within the United States Department of Defense. Reorganization Plan No.6 of 30 June 1953 increased the number of assistant secretaries...

(Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence) and later confirmed by the Senate.

Groundbreaking for the $450,000 Hanscom Federal Credit Union facility occurred on 6 July 1978. On 21 July, Colonel Donald J. Hall, 3245th Air Base Group Commander, announced the award of a $3,800,300 contract to the Juno Construction Corporation, Yonkers, New York

Yonkers, New York

Yonkers is the fourth most populous city in the state of New York , and the most populous city in Westchester County, with a population of 195,976...

, for the construction of a new Commissary at Hanscom AFB. On 5 September 1979, Hanscom once again became site of an open house. This gathering featured the Air Force Thunderbird aerial demonstration team and drew a crowd of over 85,000 spectators.

On 18 April 1980, the base's most significant period of construction in the last four decades began with the awarding of a $7,386,500 contract to the E. C. Blanchard Construction Company, Lynn, Massachusetts

Lynn, Massachusetts

Lynn is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 89,050 at the 2000 census. An old industrial center, Lynn is home to Lynn Beach and Lynn Heritage State Park and is about north of downtown Boston.-17th century:...

, for construction of a new Systems Management Engineering Facility (SMEF) located adjacent to ESD Headquarters Building 1606. On 24 April, Lieutenant General

Lieutenant General

Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....

Robert T. Marsh

Robert T. Marsh is a retired United States Air Force four star general who served as Commander, Air Force Systems Command from 1981 to 1984.-Military career:...

, ESD Commander, took part in the dedication ceremony for the mounting of an F-86 Sabre

F-86 Sabre

fighter aircraft. Believed to be one of those assigned to Hanscom AFB in the 1950s, it was mounted as a static display and dedicated as a historic centerpiece of the base. Another open house took place on 20 September as part of Boston’s 350th Jubilee Celebration. It featured the Air Force Thunderbirds aerial demonstration team and drew a crowd estimated at over 230,000 spectators. On 2 October, Congress approved construction of a Composite Medical Dental Facility at Hanscom at a cost of $7,000,000. On 31 October, the cornerstone laying ceremony was held for the new SEMF Facility. In attendance were ESD Commander General Robert T. Marsh, the Commander of the 3245th Air Base Group, Colonel Thomas O. Duff, and several distinguished guests including Ms. Antonia Handler Chayes

Antonia Handler Chayes

Antonia "Toni" Handler Chayes is a United States lawyer and educator who served as Assistant Secretary of the Air Force from 1977 to 1979 and as United States Under Secretary of the Air Force from 1979 to 1981....

, Under Secretary of the Air Force. On 16 December, Lieutenant General Marsh and Major General Charles E. Woods, Commander of the Air Force Commissary Service, conducted a ribbon-cutting ceremony which opened the base's new commissary. On 27 March 1981, a $6,433,207 contract for construction of a new Composite Medical Facility was awarded to the Shah Construction Company of Wakefield, Massachusetts

Wakefield, Massachusetts

-History:-Geography:The diagram above shows what is to the east, west, north, south, and other directions of the center of Wakefield. Towns with population above 25,000 are in bold italics.-Demographics:-Notable residents:...

. Later that year, contract to renovate 200 family housing quarters at Scott Circle was awarded to Berkshire Construction Corporation, Manchester, New Hampshire

Manchester, New Hampshire

Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...

, in the amount of $3,040,000 and the SMEF I building was inspected and accepted by the Army Corps of Engineers, New York District. On 28 May, Senator Edward Kennedy

Ted Kennedy

Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...

(D-Mass) took a tour of the Hanscom facilities. In June of that year, he wrote to Senators Strom Thurmond

Strom Thurmond

James Strom Thurmond was an American politician who served as a United States Senator. He also ran for the Presidency of the United States in 1948 as the segregationist States Rights Democratic Party candidate, receiving 2.4% of the popular vote and 39 electoral votes...

and Gary Hart

Gary Hart

Gary Hart is an American politician, lawyer, author, professor and commentator. He served as a Democratic Senator representing Colorado , and ran in the U.S...

of the Military Construction Subcommittee, U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services, requesting that they reinstate $9.1 million into the FY1982 bill for construction of a new Systems Management Engineering Facility (SMEF II) to replace the old Building #1223 complex.

Significant construction continued at Hanscom over the next few years. On 4 February 1982, the Air Force Welfare Board approved funding in the amount of $1,077,700 to design, construct, and furnish a new Temporary Lodging Facility for transient military personnel at Hanscom AFB. The contract was awarded on 21 March to Wendell Phillips and Associates, Inc., Boston, Massachusetts and groundbreaking took place on 10 June. ESD personnel from MITRE moved into SMEF I on 8 February. SMEF I was officially dedicated in honor of former ESD Commander Lieutenant General John W. O'Neill on 30 July. Later that year, Lt. Gen. James W. Stansberry

James W. Stansberry

Lieutenant General James W. Stansberry was commander of the Electronic Systems Division, Air Force Systems Command, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts....

, the new ESD Commander, obtained permission for Hanscom military personnel to use the Veterans Administration

United States Department of Veterans Affairs

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is the United States government’s second largest department, after the United States Department of Defense...

Golf Course in Bedford, MA, in exchange for VA access to the Hanscom Officers Club. In 1983, The new Hanscom Composite Medical Facility was accepted by the Air Force, a Family Support Center dedicated to resolving military and civilian personnel and family problems and concerns was established, and the new Youth Center and clinic opened for business. The old clinic would house evaluation groups of the Deputy for Contracting, Source Selection Secretariat. On 21 March, A contract for $4,996,700 was awarded to P. J. Stella Construction Company of Wakefield, Massachusetts

Wakefield, Massachusetts

, for construction of the second new Systems Management Engineering Facility (SMEF II). Groundbreaking took place on 15 April for the building, which would provide office space for personnel from Intelligence Systems (TCI), Tactical Systems Deputate, the Mission Systems Deputate (OC), the Deputy for Acquisition Logistics and Technical Operations (AL), and MITRE support personnel. In April of that year, an Electro-Mail Facsimile

Fax

Fax , sometimes called telecopying, is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material , normally to a telephone number connected to a printer or other output device...

Transmission Service was established at Hanscom AFB to facilitate the electronic transfer of hard-copy documents within Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) and throughout the Continental United States (CONUS). Hanscom hosted the 1983 AFSC Executive Conference (EXCON XVII) on 18–19 August. On 17 November, reinitiating an old New England tradition, Hanscom held its first Town Meeting

Town meeting

A town meeting is a form of direct democratic rule, used primarily in portions of the United States since the 17th century, in which most or all the members of a community come together to legislate policy and budgets for local government....

to give military members and their families an opportunity to raise issues or comment on matters relating to the military community.

On 30 January 1984, work began on a contract worth approximately $2 million and awarded to Kos Kam, Inc., of Neptune, New Jersey

Neptune Township, New Jersey

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 27,690 people, 10,907 households, and 6,805 families residing in the township. The population density was 3,366.8 people per square mile . There were 12,217 housing units at an average density of 1,485.4 per square mile...

to renovate kitchens and bathrooms in 383 Hanscom AFB housing units. On 21 February, work began on a $725,000 contract awarded to the Eastern Construction Company

Eastern Construction Company

Eastern Construction Company was a Filipino organisation from the Vietnam War era. Described in Neil Sheehan's The Pentagon Papers as "private", "public-service", and "anti-communist", ECC provided personnel to Vietnam and Laos in capacities that served paramilitary ends, if not actually...

of New London, Connecticut

New London, Connecticut

New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....

, to repair and improve 100 Hanscom AFB housing units. On 24 February, Major General Brian D. Ward, ESD Vice Commander, conducted the ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the grand opening

Grand opening

Grand opening is a term used when a business, public office, or private association wishes to announce the official opening of a new location. This differs from just opening the doors on the first day, in that a grand opening is more of a celebration event, not just the first day having the doors...

of the Family Support Center. In May, the new two-story Temporary Lodging Facility (Swift Inn) for incoming and outgoing military families at Hanscom AFB, was completed, accepted, and occupied. That same month, the Travel Branch of Accounting and Finance converted to the Automated Travel Record Accounting System (ATRAS), a computerized travel record which eliminated manually maintained travel cards. On 11–12 June 72 members of an AFSC Inspector General

Inspector General

An Inspector General is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is Inspectors General.-Bangladesh:...

(IG) team visited Hanscom AFB to conduct a Management Effectiveness Inspection (MEI) of ESD staff and Air Base Group elements. Later that year, Hanscom’s Recreation Center was reopened after $50,000 renovations, SMEF II was occupied, and the base chapel was renovated for $84,200.

In early 1985, a Military Affairs Council (MAC) was formed by the North Suburban Chamber of Commerce

Chamber of commerce

A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...

of Woburn, Massachusetts

Woburn, Massachusetts

Woburn is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. The population was 38,120 at the 2010 census. Woburn is located north of Boston, Massachusetts, and just south of the intersection of I-93 and I-95.- History :...

. Its purpose was to focus on the special needs of the people and organizations at Hanscom and the Chamber of Commerce and to raise public awareness of the major role ESD and Hanscom have in the state’s economy. On 17 March of the same year, a special salary increase for all clerks in the GS-312, 318 and 322 job series at Hanscom, which had been requested by ESD Commander Lieutenant General Melvin F. Chubb, Jr.

Melvin F. Chubb, Jr.

Lieutenant General Melvin F. Chubb Jr. served as commander of the Electronic Systems Division, Air Force Systems Command, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts.Chubb was born in Joplin, Missouri in 1934...

, became effective after the approval of the Boston Region Office of Personnel Management

Office of Personnel Management

The United States Office of Personnel Management is an independent agency of the United States government that manages the civil service of the federal government. The current Director is John Berry.-History:...

(OPM). On 20 April, ESD received the "Build Massachusetts Award" for best architectural design and construction of SMEF II, which was dedicated to the memory of former Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) Commander General George S. Brown four days later. The $6,100,000 building was accepted on 30 July. Hanscom also began to reach out to small business with a Procurement Opportunities Day for them on 20 June; awards from the previous fiscal year had gone to Small and Disadvantaged Business and Women-Owned Business. At a MASSPORT board meeting on 31 July, financial assessment on a project for 40 additional mobile home spaces got underway. Also in 1985, the Defense Systems Management College (DSMC) was established at Hanscom AFB under an interservice agreement with DSMC at Fort Belvoir

Fort Belvoir

Fort Belvoir is a United States Army installation and a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Originally, it was the site of the Belvoir plantation. Today, Fort Belvoir is home to a number of important United States military organizations...

, 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...

. Perhaps most importantly, in September 1985 a major ESD program, the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS), was set in motion when the prime contract for two E-8 Joint STARS

E-8 Joint STARS

The Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System is a battle management and command and control aircraft of the United States Air Force...

aircraft was awarded to Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American global aerospace and defense technology company formed by the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company was the fourth-largest defense contractor in the world as of 2010, and the largest builder of naval vessels. Northrop Grumman employs over...

Difficult Times

Despite its advances and expansion, ESD suffered in the late 80s because of the faltering economy. First, Congress suspended a proposal for the construction of 163 military family housing units at Hanscom. Then, on 17 January 1986, General Lawrence A. Skantze

Lawrence A. Skantze

General Lawrence Albert Skantze is a retired United States Air Force four star general and was commander, Air Force Systems Command at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland....

addressed the ESD Share of HQ AFSC-directed civilian manpower reductions for FY 1986–1991 in a message. The reductions for the 3245th Air Base Group were as follows: FY86, 23; FY87, 36; FY88, 40; FY89, 40; FY90, 41; FY91, 42. Nevertheless, a $9,670,900 contract for construction of a new System Management Engineering Facility (SMEF III) was awarded to the P. J. Stella Company that February and groundbreaking took place for the 163 new housing units on 13 April. However, on 15 August, a tornado

Tornado

A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...

destroyed planes on the Hanscom ramp area, causing $400,000 in damage. Also that August, a contract for Alterations to the Base Central Heating Plant was made to Arnold M. Diamond, Inc., in the amount of $9,367,044 and a Magistrate's court

Magistrates' Court

A magistrates' court or court of petty sessions, formerly known as a police court, is the lowest level of court in England and Wales and many other common law jurisdictions...

commenced operation.

1987 and 1988 brought more good news to Hanscom. On 26 March, construction commenced in the O’Neill Building on the Strategic Defense Initiative

Strategic Defense Initiative

The Strategic Defense Initiative was proposed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983 to use ground and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles. The initiative focused on strategic defense rather than the prior strategic...

(SDI) Secure Video Teleconferencing (VTC) System facility, which became operation on 1 September. On 25 August, SMEF III was accepted, and on 26 October, a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Hanscom’s Patriot Village signaled the completion of a private military housing project. In December, Massachusetts Congressman Chester G. Atkins

Chester G. Atkins

Chester Greenough Atkins is a former member of the United States House of Representatives. He was a Democrat from Massachusetts.Atkins was born in Geneva, Switzerland on April 14, 1948 and graduated from Concord-Carlisle High School of Concord, Massachusetts in 1966 and Antioch College in 1970...

announced that $4.4 million had been approved by Congress for Hanscom’s school expansion program. Also, a contract to update the Base Comprehensive Plan (BCP) was awarded to the Benham Group, Vienna, Virginia

Vienna, Virginia

Vienna is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, it had a population of 15,687. Significantly more people live in zip codes with the Vienna postal addresses bordered approximately by Interstate 66 on the south, Interstate 495 on the east, Route 7 to...

, and the Air Force announced plans to begin a long-term program to clean up five sites around Hanscom Field that had been used for the disposal of hazardous waste

Hazardous waste

A hazardous waste is waste that poses substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment. According to the U.S. environmental laws hazardous wastes fall into two major categories: characteristic wastes and listed wastes.Characteristic hazardous wastes are materials that are known...

prior to 1974. In 1988, an endeavor to implement an "access control system" at Hanscom AFB was made through the $477K Intrusion Detection/Automatic Entry Key (ID/AEK) contract, which was awarded to Vikonics, Inc. Two new gatehouses at Gates 1 & 4 (the Vandenberg and Hartwell gates) would open in November of the next year in order to enhance security measures and improve security police working conditions. In early 1988, The Staff Judge Advocate Office for the 3245th Air Base Group (ABGp/JA) was formally established the groundbreaking ceremony for the Hanscom school expansion program occurred, and the Video Teleconference Center (VTC) officially opened. Hanscom AFB also received the AFSC Best Installation Award in May.

The next year did not prove as auspicious for the base. Although in January Crimson Travel Service replaced the Scheduled Airline Ticketing Office (SATO) by opening two offices at Hanscom for leisure and official travel and later a base playground was constructed by civil engineering squadron volunteers and a new teen center had opened, by mid-year things had taken a turn for the worse. In July, Lieutenant General Gordon E. Fornell, the ESD commander, issued a published message to Base personnel outlining the Defense Management Review (DMR) which would affect the future direction of the Air Force, Air Force Systems Command (AFSC), and the Electronic Systems Division (ESD). That November, General Fornell imposed a 60-day selective hiring and promotion policy with the exception of career development promotions. The same month, the Personal Property Section (ABGp/LGTTP) of the Logistics Squadron was closed out at Hanscom. In February 1990, General Fornell announced that ESD would lose 127 military and 218 civilian positions over the following four-year period as a result of the Defense Management Review (DMR), but that all of ESD’s current programs would remain at Hanscom.

On 1 June, a dedication ceremony was held at the corner of Vandenberg Drive and Marrett Street for the static display model of the legendary Curtiss-Wright P-40

Curtiss P-40

"Warhawk", the aircraft with which the first Army Air Forces unit (the 85th Fighter Squadron) was equipped when it arrived at Hanscom (then Bedford Airport) on 2 July 1942. On 15 September, The ESD Employee/Labor Management Relations organization notified Base civilian personnel of an Air Force proposal to furlough, though this was later suspended by Congressional budget action. On 13 December, the Geophysics Laboratory at Hanscom AFB was disestablished and reactivated as an operating location of the new Phillips Laboratory at Kirtland Air Force Base

Kirtland Air Force Base

Kirtland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in the southeast quadrant of the Albuquerque, New Mexico urban area, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport. The base was named for the early Army aviator Col. Roy C. Kirtland...

in New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

. The same day, ESD’s Rome Air Development Center was renamed Rome Laboratory

Rome Laboratory

The Rome Laboratory, formerly known as the Rome Air Development Center, is one of eight research and development labs run by the US Air Force located at Griffiss AFB in Rome, NY. One of four superlabs run by the Air Force, the Rome Lab is tasked with generic research, as opposed to having a...

. Both laboratories were designated members of the Air Force’s four new "super laboratories."

On 11 January 1991, the two Joint STARS E-8

E-8 Joint STARS

The Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System is a battle management and command and control aircraft of the United States Air Force...

contracted in September 1985 which were still in development, deployed from the United States to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and began operations three days later. On 16 January, United States forces began Operation Desert Storm

Gulf War

The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...

in conjunction with United Nations forces. The next day, Hanscom’s 2014th Communications Squadron was deactivated and merged with ESD’s Directorate of Communications/Computer Systems. Gulf War

Gulf War

hostilities ended on 28 February. On 1 April, ESD celebrated the 30th anniversary of its establishment. The Systems Management Engineering Facility IV (SMEF IV) by the Vandenberg Gate was officially dedicated as the Lt. Gen. Robert M. Bond Building. On 14 May, Hanscom AFB celebrated "Welcome Home Warrior Day" to honor approximately 160 people from Hanscom organizations who were deployed to or involved with Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. On 30 August, ESD was given the Air Force Organizational Excellence Award for the period 1 April 1989 to 31 March 1991. A monument dedicated to American POWs and MIA

Missing in action

Missing in action is a casualty Category assigned under the Status of Missing to armed services personnel who are reported missing during active service. They may have been killed, wounded, become a prisoner of war, or deserted. If deceased, neither their remains nor grave can be positively...

s was unveiled at the corner of Barksdale and Grenier Streets on 20 November.

The next few years were particularly important for Hanscom. It did not get off to a good start, however. On 21 May, The Commonwealth of Massachusetts imposed a "boil water

Boiling

Boiling is the rapid vaporization of a liquid, which occurs when a liquid is heated to its boiling point, the temperature at which the vapor pressure of the liquid is equal to the pressure exerted on the liquid by the surrounding environmental pressure. While below the boiling point a liquid...

" order on the base. Intensive efforts were made in identifying and correcting deficiencies with the base water distribution system. The order was lifted on 10 September without Hanscom ever receiving a formal Notice of Violation. On 1 July, The Electronics Systems Division became the Electronic Systems Center

Electronic Systems Center

(ESC). The new Air Force Materiel Command

Air Force Materiel Command

Air Force Materiel Command is a major command of the United States Air Force. AFMC was created July 1, 1992 through the reorganization of Air Force Logistics Command and Air Force Systems Command....

, formed from the merger of Air Force Systems Command

Air Force Systems Command

Air Force Systems Command is a former United States Air Force command. Its headquarters was located at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland...

and Air Force Logistics Command

Air Force Logistics Command

Air Force Logistics Command was a United States Air Force command. Its headquarters was located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio...

, came into being. The ESD and its two sister AFSC product divisions—Aeronautical Systems Division at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Greene and Montgomery counties in the state of Ohio. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wright Field and Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depot. Patterson Field is located approximately...

in Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, and Space Systems Division at Los Angeles—were redesignated as centers. In spring of 1993, the Supply Division of the Base’s Logistics Squadron began to implement the AFMC Recycling

Recycling

Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...

Program Policy and the Hazardous Material (HAZMAT) Management Program "pharmacy" concept of operations. In October, ESC gained the Communications Systems Center at Tinker Air Force Base

Tinker Air Force Base

Tinker Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force base, with tenant U.S. Navy and other Department of Defense missions, located in the southeast Oklahoma City, Oklahoma area, directly south of the suburb of Midwest City, Oklahoma.-Overview:...

in Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

and the Standard Systems Center at Maxwell Air Force Base

Maxwell Air Force Base

Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force installation under the Air Education and Training Command . The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, US. It was named in honor of Second Lieutenant William C...

in Gunter Annex, Alabama, as subordinate units. Previously, these units were under the Air Force Communications Command. On 1 January 1994, the Materiel Systems Center at Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, formerly the Logistics Management Systems Center, became part of ESC. In July, ESC organized the first "Fort Franklin

Fort Franklin Battlespace Laboratory

Fort Franklin was an on-base encampment at Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, in 1994 and 1995, for the purpose of demonstrating new technology.-History:...

" at Hanscom in order to better visualize C4I systems in action in the field. On 13 July, General Charles E. Franklin received the Federal Government’s 1994 Quality Improvement Prototype Award to ESC from Vice President Albert Gore

Al Gore

Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....

in Washington, DC.

Despite its role in the Gulf War, its expansion, and its awards, Hanscom was not yet in the clear. In the fall of 1994, the base was under consideration for closure in the third round of the Base Realignment and Closure

Base Realignment and Closure

Base Realignment and Closure is a process of the United States federal government directed at the administration and operation of the Armed Forces, used by the United States Department of Defense and Congress to close excess military installations and realign the total asset inventory to reduce...

(BRAC) process. Its local supporters undertook intense lobbying efforts to avert this possibility. On 1 October, the 3245th Air Base Group at Hanscom was redesignated the 66th Air Base Wing

66th Air Base Wing

The 66th Air Base Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Air Force Materiel Command Electronic Systems Center, stationed at Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts...

. On 8 November, a "stand-up

Stand up (military)

Stand up or stand-up in a military sense, is United States military terminology or jargon which means to formally activate and commission a unit, formation or command structure...

" occurred at the former Communications Systems Centerat Tinker AFB, OK, now redesignated the 38th Engineering Installation Wing (EIW). As part of ESC’s expansion, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force designated ESC as the Air Force Center for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence (C4I). Management information systems (MIS) and Engineering and Installation (EI) activities in AFMC were attached to ESC. At the same time, the United States Environmental Protection Agency

United States Environmental Protection Agency

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...

placed Hanscom AFB on the National Priorities List

National Priorities List

The National Priorities List is the list of hazardous waste sites in the United States eligible for long-term remedial action financed under the federal Superfund program. Environmental Protection Agency regulations outline a formal process for assessing hazardous waste sites and placing them on...

, a list of the Superfund sites, focusing attention on the long term cleanup underway at several Hanscom sites. However, the Department of Environmental Protection

Department of Environmental Protection

Department of Environmental Protection is a name used by several states in the United States of America for the agency charged with proposing and enforcing environmental law...

and the Northeast Rural Water Association presented Hanscom with the "Consecutive Water System Award" for outstanding performance and achievement in improving and upgrading the water distribution system at Hanscom in 1993. In January 1995, two of ESC’s subordinate units were redesignated when the Standard Systems Center at Maxwell AFB in AL was nenamed the Headquarters Standard Systems Group and the Materiel Systems Center at Wright-Patterson AFB in OH became the Materiel Systems Group. On 28 February, the final DoD recommendation to the BRAC called for Rome Laboratory

Rome Laboratory

’s development division to move to Fort Monmouth

Fort Monmouth

Fort Monmouth was an installation of the Department of the Army in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The post is surrounded by the communities of Eatontown, Tinton Falls and Oceanport, New Jersey, and is located about 5 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. The post covers nearly of land, from the Shrewsbury...

, NJ

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, and its research divisions to move to Hanscom. On 1 March, Senators Edward Kennedy

Ted Kennedy

and John Kerry

John Kerry

John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...

held a press conference announcing that the DoD had not included Hanscom AFB in the final list of bases for closure and realignment it submitted to the BRAC on 28 February.

New Recognition

In the early spring of 1995, a project to demolish Hanscom’s older housing units in Scott Circle

Scott Circle

Scott Circle is a traffic circle in the northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., at the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Rhode Island Avenue, and 16th Street, N.W...

and to replace them with new units got underway. On 4 April, the ribbon-cutting ceremony took place for the Health and Wellness Center on Hanscom, which had been accomplished as a self-help

Self-help

Self-help, or self-improvement, is a self-guided improvement—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a substantial psychological basis. There are many different self-help movements and each has its own focus, techniques, associated beliefs, proponents and in some cases, leaders...

project. Between 1–16 May, Fort Franklin III, the third deployment of Fort Franklin Field Operating Base—a joint interoperable Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence capability—took place. On 20 May, Lincoln Laboratory dedicated its newly-completed buildings and celebrated more than forty years of research and development in support of DoD and in late spring the New York Congressional delegation lobbied successfully to keep Rome Laboratory

Rome Laboratory

in place at Rome, New York

Rome, New York

. On 14 September, The Geophysics Directorate of Phillips Laboratory

Phillips Laboratory

Phillips Laboratory was a research and development organization operated by the United States Air Force Materiel Command. In 1997, the Laboratory was merged into the Air Force Research Laboratory as the Space Vehicles and Directed Energy Directorates. It was located at Kirtland Air Force Base in...

and the Electromagnetics Directorate of Rome Laboratory located at Hanscom celebrated the 50th Anniversary of their establishment in Cambridge

Cambridge, Massachusetts

, immediately after the close of World War II. Between 18–29 September Fort Franklin IV, the Fort Franklin Battlespace Laboratory

Fort Franklin Battlespace Laboratory

Fort Franklin was an on-base encampment at Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, in 1994 and 1995, for the purpose of demonstrating new technology.-History:...

, was held in conjunction with the 1995 worldwide DoD Joint Warrior Interoperability Demonstration (JWID ’95). In September, ESC drew up its first strategic plan and completed a Unit Self Assessment.

In 1995, the 94th ARCOM was redesignated the 94th Regional Support Command (RSC) and removed to from Hanscom to Fort Devens

Fort Devens, Massachusetts

Devens, Massachusetts is an unincorporated village and census-designated place in the towns of Ayer and Shirley, in Middlesex County and Harvard in Worcester County in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It is the successor to Fort Devens, a military post that operated from 1917 to 1996. The area...

, Massachusetts.

On 29 January 1996, MITRE

MITRE

The Mitre Corporation is a not-for-profit organization based in Bedford, Massachusetts and McLean, Virginia...

’s board of trustees elected to divide the corporation into two entities. MITRE was to focus its operations on its Federally funded research and development center

Federally funded research and development center

Federally Funded Research and Development Centers conduct research for the United States Government. They are administered in accordance with U.S Code of Federal Regulations, Title 48, Part 35, Section 35.017 by universities and corporations....

s for DoD and FAA, while a new company, named Mitretek Systems (later renamed Noblis

Noblis

Noblis is a nonprofit research corporation headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia. The firm performs scientific research and engineering with clients in the federal, state, and private sectors...

), took over the non-FFRDC work for a number of government agencies. On 1 May, ESC created a new Systems Acquisition Directorate by consolidating five Hanscom organizations – Acquisition Logistics, Acquisition Security, Acquisition Civil Engineering, Engineering and Program Management, and Acquisition Meteorology. In June, Hanscom’s team won the AFMC-level competition to represent the command in Top Dollar ’96. The exercise for the contest posed challenges in providing necessary supplies to Operation Joint Endeavor. On 22 June, ESC held its first Acquisition Training Half Day, a result of the successful Acquisition Reform Day held in May 1996, and on 12 August, Fort Franklin V began two weeks of operations at Hanscom.

On 22 September, the year-long Air Force’s 50th Anniversary celebrations were kicked off. An NFL-sponsored "Salute to Air Force Sunday", one of seven nationwide, took place at Foxboro Stadium

Foxboro Stadium

Foxboro Stadium was an outdoor stadium, located in Foxborough, Massachusetts...

. It honored America’s prisoners of war and those missing in action as part of the National POW/MIA Recognition Day commemorated two days earlier. The Salute included a formation fly-over, the Hanscom Honor Guard and National Anthem, and a parachute demonstration. On 8 October, Lt. Gen Ronald T. Kadish

Ronald T. Kadish

Lt. Gen. Ronald T. Kadish, Ret. is a United States Air Force officer who rose to head the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization and the Missile Defense Agency within the United States Department of Defense....

, ESC Commander, spoke at opening ceremony at the South Boston Postal Annex for the 1996 Boston-area Combined Federal Campaign, for which the Electronic Systems Center was the lead agency. General Kadish also presided over formal ceremonies at Kelly Air Force Base

Kelly Air Force Base

Kelly Field Annex and is a former United States Air Force facility located in San Antonio, Texas. In 2001, the runway and land west of the runway became "Kelly Field Annex" and control of it was transferred to the adjacent Lackland Air Force Base, part of Joint Base San Antonio...

, Texas on 11 October marking the redesignation of the Cryptologic Management Directorate, formerly assigned to the San Antonio Air Logistics Center, to ESC as the Cryptologic Systems Group (CPSG). In November, the underground relocation of Hanscom’s electrical power lines and data links, both telephone and computer (Project Pole-away), began on Barksdale Avenue. The Environmental Flight prepared the Environmental assessment for the project and the Notice of Intent for the local conservation commission. The project required mitigation measures to protect wetlands. In December, the 66th Services Squadron became the sole manager of the Veteran’s Administration Golf Course (renamed the Patriot Golf Course) in Bedford, though the VA retained ownership of the golf course. That same month, the Hanscom AFB 66SPTG/CE Environmental Flight was awarded the AFMC and Air Force "Best Environmental Flight" for significant accomplishments in the Environmental Restoration, Compliance and Pollution Prevention Programs during FY 96. Between 12–13 November, ESC held an Offsite Meeting to advance its planning for a major restructuring of the organization and the acquisition processes.

On 1 April 1997, two Air Force research organizations at Hanscom—the Geophysics Directorate of Phillips Laboratory

Phillips Laboratory

and the Electromagnetics Directorate of Rome Laboratory

Rome Laboratory

—were merged into the new Air Force Research Laboratory

Air Force Research Laboratory

. Between 20–22 June, the Hanscom Air Show took place. The F-117 Stealth Fighter made its first landing at Hanscom Field during the practice run for the Air Show on 20 June. The show drew in crowds estimated at 760,000. Events included flybys of vintage warbirds and the F-117 Stealth Fighter, as well as parachutists and aircraft acrobatics. The USAF Thunderbird Aerobatic Show concluded each day's performance. Also in June, the reconstructed family housing at Scott Circle

Scott Circle

Scott Circle is a traffic circle in the northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., at the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Rhode Island Avenue, and 16th Street, N.W...

won the 1997 USAF Design Award and the Hanscom Enlisted Club reopened after major renovations. The new ESC had a "stand-up

Stand up (military)

Stand up or stand-up in a military sense, is United States military terminology or jargon which means to formally activate and commission a unit, formation or command structure...

" on 1 August. Between 15–19 September, Hanscom AFB put on a week of events as the final festivities for the Air Force’s 50th Anniversary.

ESC managed the insertion of new command and control

Command and Control (military)

Command and control, or C2, in a military organization can be defined as the exercise of authority and direction by a properly designated commanding officer over assigned and attached forces in the accomplishment of the mission...

and information technology into the series of Joint Expeditionary Force Experiments starting in 1998. In 2001 the Air Force gave ESC the lead responsibility to integrate its command and control, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems (C2ISR). The new capabilities from this integration will enable the development of network-centric warfare

Network-centric warfare

Network-centric warfare, also called network-centric operations, is a military doctrine or theory of war pioneered by the United States Department of Defense in the 1990's....

and provide an asymmetric force advantage. ESC is now pursuing a major initiative to standardize and upgrade C2ISR capabilities at Air Operations Centers, with the goal of realizing the Aerospace Operations Center of the future. The latest major addition to Hanscom facilities was the new Base Exchange and Commissary, completed in 2001.

Previous names

Established as Laurence G. Hanscom Field, Boston Auxiliary Air-port at Bedford, 26 June 1941
Bedford Municipal Airport, 29 June 1942
Bedford Army Air Field, 8 April 1943
Hanscom Airport, 15 October 1947
Bedford Air Field, March 1948
Hanscom Field, June 1948
Laurence G. Hanscom Field, 24 December 1952
Laurence G. Hanscom Air Force Base, 22 June 1974.

Major commands to which assigned

AAF Technical Service Command, 15 October 1944 – 1 July 1945
Air Technical Service Command, 1 July 1945 9 March 1946
Air Materiel Command, 9 March 1946 – 1 July 1946
Air Defense Command, 1 July 1946 – 1 December 1948
Continental Air Command
Continental Air Command
Continental Air Command was a Major Command of the United States Air Force responsible primarily for administering the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve.-Lineage:...

, 1 December 1948 – 1 January 1951
Air Defense Command, 1 January 1951 – 1 August 1951
Air Research and Development Command, 1 August 1951 – 1 April 1961
Air Force Systems Command
Air Force Systems Command
Air Force Systems Command is a former United States Air Force command. Its headquarters was located at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland...

, 1 April 1961 – 1 July 1992
Air Force Materiel Command
Air Force Materiel Command
Air Force Materiel Command is a major command of the United States Air Force. AFMC was created July 1, 1992 through the reorganization of Air Force Logistics Command and Air Force Systems Command....

, 1 July 1992 – present

Base operating units

79th Fighter Group HQ, 2 July 1942 – 22 October 1942
432d Base HQ and Air Base Sq, 22 October 1942 – 1 April 1944
144th AAF Base Unit, 1 April 1944 – 15 October 1944
4147th AAF Base Unit, 15 October 1944 – 25 February 1946
4161st AAF Base Unit, 25 February 1946 – 28 August 1948
2234th AF Reserve Training Cen, 28 August 1948 – 28 June 1951
6520th Air Base Gp, 28 June 1951 – 1 April 1960
3245th Air Base Wg, 1 April 1960 25 July 1964
3245th Air Base Gp, 15 July 1964–1994
66th Air Base Wing
66th Air Base Wing
The 66th Air Base Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Air Force Materiel Command Electronic Systems Center, stationed at Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts...

, 1994 – 2010
66th Air Base Gp, 2010 – present

Major units assigned

3d Bomb Wing
3d Wing
The 3d Wing is a unit of the United States Air Force, assigned to the Pacific Air Forces Eleventh Air Force. It is stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska....

(later 3d Air Division), 20 December 1946 – 27 June 1949
310th Bombardment Group, 27 December 1946 – 22 June 1949
89th Troop Carrier Wing, 27 June 1949 – 10 May 1951
913th Research Training Wing, 12 June 1951 – 14 June 1952
89th Fighter-Bomber Wing, 14 June 1952 – 16 November 1957
49th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 5 November 1955 – 1 July 1959
94th Airlift Wing
94th Airlift Wing
The United States Air Force's 94th Airlift Wing is an Air Force Reserve Command Twenty-Second Air Force organization stationed at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia....

, 16 November 1957 – 14 April 1959
465th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 1 July 1959 – 15 March 1960
Electronic Systems Division, 1 April 1961–present
901st Airlift Group, 11 February 1963 – 17 September 1973
66th Air Base Wing
66th Air Base Wing
The 66th Air Base Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Air Force Materiel Command Electronic Systems Center, stationed at Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts...

, 1 October 1994 – 30 June 2010
66th Air Base Group, 30 June 2010 – present

Notable people who have worked at Hanscom

Arthur L. Andrews
Arthur L. Andrews
Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Arthur L. "Bud" Andrews was the seventh Chief Master Sergeant appointed to the highest Non-commissioned officer position in the United States Air Force.-Biography:...

, seventh Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force
Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force
The Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force is a unique non-commissioned rank in the United States Air Force. The holder of this rank and post represents the highest enlisted level of leadership in the Air Force, and as such, provides direction for the enlisted corps and represents their interests,...
Ted F. Bowlds
Ted F. Bowlds
Lieutenant General Ted Francis Bowlds is a former Commander, Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass. The center's mission is to acquire command and control systems for the Air Force. The organization comprises more than 12,000 people located at six sites throughout the United States...

, current Commander, Electronic Systems Center
Electronic Systems Center
Electronic Systems Center is a product center of Air Force Materiel Command headquartered at Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts. Its mission is to develop and acquire command and control, communications, computer, and intelligence systems. ESC consists of professional teams specializing in...

, Hanscom Air Force Base
Fred J. Christensen
Fred J. Christensen
Fred Joseph Christensen Jr. was a fighter pilot and ace with the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. A member of the 56th Fighter Group in England, Christensen scored 21.5 aerial victories...

, World War II fighter pilot
Melvin F. Chubb, Jr.
Melvin F. Chubb, Jr.
Lieutenant General Melvin F. Chubb Jr. served as commander of the Electronic Systems Division, Air Force Systems Command, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts.Chubb was born in Joplin, Missouri in 1934...

, retired Air Force Lieutenant General
Terence James Elkins
Terence James Elkins
Terence James Elkins is an Australian-born American physicist. In 1960, he participated in an expedition from Mawson Station which conducted the first geological surveys of the Napier Mountains in Antarctica. The highest of this group of mountains, Mount Elkins, was subsequently named after him...

, physicist
Ed Fitch
Ed Fitch
Edward "Ed" Fitch is an occult author and a High Priest of the Gardnerian Wicca tradition, and was a leading figure in the rise of contemporary Wicca and Neo-Paganism in America...

, occult author and a High Priest
High priest
The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one who is the head of a religious caste.-Ancient Egypt:...

of the Gardnerian Wicca
Gardnerian Wicca
Gardnerian Wicca, or Gardnerian Witchcraft, is a mystery cult tradition or denomination in the neopagan religion of Wicca, whose members can trace initiatory descent from Gerald Gardner. The tradition is itself named after Gardner , a British civil servant and scholar of magic...

tradition
Ronald T. Kadish
Ronald T. Kadish
Lt. Gen. Ronald T. Kadish, Ret. is a United States Air Force officer who rose to head the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization and the Missile Defense Agency within the United States Department of Defense....

, former head the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization
Ballistic Missile Defense Organization
The Ballistic Missile Defense Organization was an agency of the United States Department of Defense that began on 20 May 1974 with the responsibility for all U.S. ballistic missile defense efforts. It evolved from the SAFEGUARD System Organization. The original mission of BMDO was comparable to...

and the Missile Defense Agency
Missile Defense Agency
The Missile Defense Agency is the section of the United States government's Department of Defense responsible for developing a layered defense against ballistic missiles. The agency has its origins in the Strategic Defense Initiative, which was established in 1983 and was headed by Lt...
Donald J. Kutyna
Donald J. Kutyna
General Donald Joseph Kutyna is a retired United States Air Force Officer. He was commander in chief of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and the United States Space Command from 1990 to 1992, and commander of Air Force Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado from 1987 to 1990...

, retired Air Force General
Mark C. Lee
Mark C. Lee
Mark Charles Lee USAF Colonel, is a former NASA astronaut who flew on four Space Shuttle missions. He retired from the Air Force and NASA on July 1, 2001.-Early life:...

, NASA astronaut
William R. Looney III
William R. Looney III
General William R. Looney III, USAF was the 28th Commander, Air Education and Training Command , Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. As commander, he was responsible for the recruiting, training and education of Air Force personnel. His command included the Air Force Recruiting Service, two numbered...

, 28th Commander of the Air Education and Training Command
Air Education and Training Command
Air Education and Training Command was established July 1, 1993, with the realignment of Air Training Command and Air University. It is one of the U.S. Air Force's ten major commands and reports to Headquarters, United States Air Force....

(AETC) at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas
John W. Marchetti
John W. Marchetti
John William Marchetti was a radar pioneer who had an outstanding career combining government and industrial activities. He was born of immigrant parents in Boston, Massachusetts, and entered Columbia College and Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science in 1925...

, radar pioneer
Robert T. Marsh
Robert T. Marsh
Robert T. Marsh is a retired United States Air Force four star general who served as Commander, Air Force Systems Command from 1981 to 1984.-Military career:...

, retired United States Air Force four star general
Leonid Perlovsky
Leonid Perlovsky
Dr. Leonid Perlovsky is a Visiting Scholar at Harvard University, Principal Research Physicist and Technical Advisor at the United States Air Force Research Laboratory, Hanscom Air Force Base...

, Principal Research Physicist and Technical Advisor at the United States Air Force Research Laboratory, Hanscom Air Force Base
James W. Stansberry
James W. Stansberry
Lieutenant General James W. Stansberry was commander of the Electronic Systems Division, Air Force Systems Command, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts....

, former Air Force Lieutenant General
Bruce Sundlun
Bruce Sundlun
Bruce Sundlun was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as 71st Governor of Rhode Island from 1991 to 1995. He was Rhode Island's second Jewish governor, and the only Jewish governor in the United States during his two terms...

, Governor of Rhode Island from 1991 to 1995
William E. Thurman
William E. Thurman
Lieutenant General William Earl Thurman is a retired United States Air Force Lieutenant General who was commander, Aeronautical Systems Division, Air Force Systems Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.-Early life:...

, retired United States Air Force Lieutenant General

Nearby installations

Massachusetts National Guard

The Massachusetts National Guard was founded as the Massachusetts Bay Colonial Militia on December 13, 1636, and contains the oldest units in the United States Army. It is currently headquartered in Milford, Massachusetts and commanded by Major General Joseph C...

barracks for the 211th Military Police Battalion on Routes 4 and 225, just before the turnoff onto Hartwell Avenue, which leads to the base.

External links

Official Hanscom Air Force Base website

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Overview

Units

History

Creation

Early radar innovations

Lincoln Lab and SAGE

Electronic Systems Center

Resurgence

Difficult Times

New Recognition

Previous names

Major commands to which assigned

Base operating units

Major units assigned

Notable people who have worked at Hanscom

Nearby installations

See also

External links