Operation Silk Purse
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Operation Silk Purse
Operation Silk Purse was the United States' airborne nuclear command and control mission for the European theater of operations from 1961 through 1994. The SILK PURSE mission were operated from Chateauroux Air Station in France by the 7120th Airborne Command and Control Squadron from the earlier 1960s using modified four-engined Douglas C-118 piston transports. The squadron moved to RAF Mildenhall in November 1965 and shortly after converted to the jet-powered Boeing EC-135H airborne command post (callsign Seabell). In 1970 the squadron was redesignated the 10th Airborne Command and Control Squadron. The 10 ACCS transported an austere battle staff headed by a general or flag officer, designated the Airborne Emergency Action Officer (AEAO). This team stood ready to assume interim authority if European Command Command Center was destroyed or rendered inoperative. In the summer of 1984, Lajes Field in the Azores undertook a new mission known as "SILK PURSE." Boeing EC-135s began oper ...
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Command And Control
Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... hatemploys human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or enterprise, according to a 2015 definition by military scientists Marius Vassiliou, David S. Alberts, and Jonathan R. Agre. The term often refers to a military system. Versions of the United States Army ''Field Manual 3-0'' circulated circa 1999 define C2 in a military organization as the exercise of authority and direction by a properly designated commanding officer over assigned and attached forces in the accomplishment of a mission. A 1988 NATO definition is that command and control is the exercise of authority and direction by a properly designated individual over assigned resources in the accomplishment of a common goal. An Australian Defence Force definition, similar to that of NATO, emphasises that C2 is the system empowering des ...
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Theater Of Operations
In warfare, a theater or theatre is an area in which important military events occur or are in progress. A theater can include the entirety of the airspace, land and sea area that is or that may potentially become involved in war operations. Theater of war In his book ''On War'', Carl von Clausewitz defines the term ''Kriegstheater'' (translating the older, 17th-century Latin term ''theatrum belli'') as one that: Theater of operations ''Theater of operations'' (TO) is a sub-area within a theater of war. The boundary of a TO is defined by the commander who is orchestrating or providing support for specific combat operations within the TO. Theater of operations is divided into strategic directions or military regions depending on whether it is a war or peacetime. The United States Armed Forces split into Unified Combatant Commands (regions) that are assigned to a particular theater of military operations. A strategic direction is a group of armies also known as a task (fie ...
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Douglas C-118
The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with the Lockheed Constellation in the long-range commercial transport market. More than 700 were built and many still fly in cargo, military, and wildfire control roles. The DC-6 was known as the C-118 Liftmaster in United States Air Force service and as the R6D in United States Navy service prior to 1962, after which all U.S. Navy variants were also designated as the C-118. Design and development The United States Army Air Forces commissioned the DC-6 project as the XC-112 in 1944. The Army Air Forces wanted a lengthened, pressurized version of the DC-4-based C-54 Skymaster transport with more powerful engines. By the time the prototype XC-112A flew on 15 February 1946, the war was over, the USAAF had rescinded its requirement, and the aircra ...
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RAF Mildenhall
Royal Air Force Mildenhall or RAF Mildenhall is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located near Mildenhall in Suffolk, England. Despite its status as a Royal Air Force station, it primarily supports United States Air Force (USAF) operations, and is currently the home of the 100th Air Refueling Wing (100 ARW). During the Second World War, RAF Bomber Command used the station for operational combat missions until 1945. Placed on standby status after the war, it was reopened by the Royal Air Force and became a USAF-RAF joint operation base on 11 July 1950. It was assigned to Strategic Air Command (SAC) it became a B-50 Superfortress base in 1951, and a KC-97 Stratofreighter base from 1953 until 1958. The Military Air Transport Service transferred its main United Kingdom terminal to Mildenhall in 1958. In the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s U-2 and SR-71 Blackbird operations took place from the base. On 8 January 2015, the United States Department of Defense announced that op ...
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Boeing EC-135
The Boeing EC-135 is a retired family of command and control aircraft derived from the Boeing C-135 Stratolifter. During the Cold War, the EC-135 was best known for being modified to perform the Looking Glass mission where one EC-135 was always airborne 24 hours a day to serve as flying command post for the Strategic Air Command in the event of nuclear war. Various other EC-135 aircraft sat on airborne and ground alert throughout the Cold War, with the last EC-135C being retired in 1998. The EC-135N variant served as the tracking aircraft for the Apollo program. The Boeing E-6B "TACAMO" replaced the EC-135C. Missions Looking Glass Officially known as "Operation Looking Glass", at least 11 EC-135C command post aircraft were provided to the Commander in Chief, Strategic Air Command (CINCSAC), and were based at various locations throughout the United States and worldwide. Operations began in 1961 with the 34th Air Refueling Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, initially ...
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10th Airborne Command And Control Squadron
The 10th Airborne Command and Control Squadron in an inactive United States Air Force unit that flew airborne command post aircraft from RAF Mildenhall, England from January 1970 to December 1991. Through a unit consolidation in September 1985, the squadron has roots in units that participated in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War The first predecessor of the squadron was the 10th Transport Squadron, which flew distinguished visitors to all areas of the globe where the Allies of World War II operated. It was disbanded in the spring of 1944 in a reorganization of Army Air Forces units. The 10th's second predecessor was the 10th Liaison Squadron, which provided light airlift support to Fifth Air Force units during the Korean War, this squadron was inactivated in 1955. The final predecessor was the 10th Fighter Squadron, Commando, which performed combat testing of the Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter from April 1966 until the planes were transferred to the Viet Nam Ai ...
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Lajes Field
Lajes Field or Lajes Air Base (; pt, Base Aérea das Lajes), officially designated Air Base No. 4 (''Base Aérea Nº 4'', BA4) , is a multi-use airfield near Lajes and northeast of Angra do Heroísmo on Terceira Island in the Azores, Portugal. It is home to the Portuguese Air Force ''Base Aérea N º4'' and Azores Air Zone Command ( pt, Comando da Zona Aérea dos Açores), a United States Air Force detachment unit (operated by the 65th Air Base Group of United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa), and a regional air passenger terminal. Located about east of New York City and about west of Lisbon, Portugal; the base sits in a strategic location midway between North America and Europe in the north Atlantic Ocean. History The origin of the Lajes Field dates back to 1928, when Portuguese Army Lieutenant colonel Eduardo Gomes da Silva wrote a report on the possible construction of an airfield in the plainland of Lajes, for that branch's aviation service ( pt, Aeron ...
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Azores
) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores within the European Union , subdivision_type=Sovereign state , subdivision_name=Portugal , established_title=Settlement , established_date=1432 , established_title3=Autonomous status , established_date3=30 April 1976 , official_languages=Portuguese , demonym= ( en, Azorean) , capital_type= Capitals , capital = Ponta Delgada (executive) Angra do Heroísmo (judicial) Horta (legislative) , largest_city = Ponta Delgada , government_type=Autonomous Region , leader_title1=Representative of the Republic , leader_name1=Pedro Manuel dos Reis Alves Catarino , leader_title2= President of the Legislative Assembly , leader_name2= Luís Garcia , leader_title3= President of the Regional Government , leader_name3=José Manuel Bolieiro , le ...
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National Emergency Airborne Command Post
The Boeing E-4 Advanced Airborne Command Post (AACP), the current "Nightwatch" aircraft, is a strategic command and control military aircraft operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). The E-4 series are specially modified from the Boeing 747-200B for the National Emergency Airborne Command Post (NEACP) program. The E-4 serves as a survivable mobile command post for the National Command Authority, namely the President of the United States, the Secretary of Defense, and successors. The four E-4Bs are operated by the 1st Airborne Command and Control Squadron of the 595th Command and Control Group located at Offutt Air Force Base, near Omaha, Nebraska. An E-4B when in action is denoted a "National Airborne Operations Center". Development Two of the original 747-200 airframes were originally planned to be commercial airliners. When the airline did not complete the order, Boeing offered the airframes to the United States Air Force as part of a package leading to a repl ...
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Rebound Echo (exercise)
Rebound can refer to: Film and television * ''Rebound'' (1931 film), a 1931 movie starring Ina Claire and Robert Ames * ''Rebound'' (American TV series), a TV series produced by Bing Crosby * ''Rebound'' (1959 film), a 1959 movie starring Lyndon Brook and Jane Hylton * ''Rebound'' (2005 film), a 2005 movie starring Martin Lawrence and Megan Mullally * ''Rebound'' (2009 film), a 2009 movie directed by Afdhere Jama * ''The Rebound'', a 2009 movie starring Catherine Zeta-Jones * ''The Rebound'' (2016 film), a 2016 documentary about the Miami Heat Wheels wheelchair basketball team * ''Rebound'' (2011 TV series), a 2011 Japanese TV series * ''Rebound'' (game show), a 2015 British game show * '' Rebound: The Legend of Earl "The Goat" Manigault'', a 1996 HBO television movie starring Don Cheadle Music * Rebound!, stylized as REbound!, a Swedish pop boy band duo * ''Rebound'' (Jessica Sierra album), a 2010 album by Jessica Sierra * ''Rebound'' (Eleanor Friedberger album), a 2018 ...
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Polo Hat (exercise)
POLO HAT is an end-to-end communications exercise for United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ... nuclear command and control forces. See also * GIANT BALL - an Airborne Launch Control System (ALCS) exercise References United States nuclear command and control Military exercises involving the United States {{US-mil-stub ...
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