962nd Airborne Air Control Squadron
The 962nd Airborne Air Control Squadron, officially, the 962d Airborne Air Control Squadron, is part of the 3rd Wing at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. It operates the Boeing E-3G Sentry aircraft conducting airborne battle management command and control missions. The squadron's first predecessor was the 862nd Bombardment Squadron, a heavy bomber unit that saw combat during World War II in the European Theater of Operations, where it participated in the strategic bombing campaign against Germany. Toward the end of the war, the squadron operated fighter aircraft, acting as a scouting force for bomber formations. After V-E Day, the squadron returned the United States and was inactivated. The second predecessor of the squadron was activated at Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts as the 962d Airborne Early Warning and Control Squadron in 1955. It performed surveillance and warning missions off the Atlantic coast until inactivating in 1969. The two squadrons were consolidated into a single unit in 1985. The consolidated squadron was activated in Alaska the following year and has provided surveillance, detection and control of airpower since then. Mission The 962nd Airborne Air Control Squadron provides United States Indo-Pacific Command with long-range airborne surveillance, detection, identification, and command and control aircraft