The 118th Air Support Operations Squadron (118 ASOS) is a combat support unit of the

North Carolina Air National Guard The North Carolina Air National Guard (NC ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of North Carolina, United States of America. It is, along with the North Carolina Army National Guard, an element of the North Carolina National Guard. As state m ...

. it is located in

Badin, North Carolina Badin is a town located in Stanly County, North Carolina, United States. At the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 1,974. History The Badin Historic District, Doerschuk Site, Hardaway Site, Narrows Dam and Power Plant Complex, and We ...

. The 118th ASOS provides Tactical Command and Control of air power assets to the

Joint Forces Air Component Commander Joint force air component commander (JFACC) is a United States Department of Defense doctrinal term. It is pronounced "Jay-Fack". It refers to a senior officer who is responsible for the air forces within a joint force; i.e., a military force com ...

and

Joint Forces Land Component Commander Joint Force Land Component Commander (JFLCC), is a United States Department of Defense doctrinal term. It is pronounced "Jay-Flick". It refers to an individual of general officer rank that is responsible for land forces within a joint operations e ...

for combat operations.

History

The 118th Air Support Operations Squadron (ASOS) at the

Stanly County Airport Stanly County Airport is a county-owned, joint civil-military, public-use airport in Stanly County, North Carolina, United States. It is located four nautical miles (5 mi, 7 km) northeast of the central business district of Albema ...

was originally formed as the 118th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron (118th ACWS), of Charlotte, North Carolina. The Detachment of the squadron that would become the 118th ASOS was initially formed in

Wadesboro, North Carolina Wadesboro is a town in Anson County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 5,049 at the 2020 census. The town was originally found in 1783 as New Town but changed by the North Carolina General Assembly to Wadesboro in 1787 to honor Co ...

, and designated Detachment A. While designated the 118th ACWS the unit was ordered to active duty during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

with three squadrons of the

Georgia Air National Guard The Georgia Air National Guard (GA ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of Georgia, United States of America. It is, along with the Georgia Army National Guard, an element of the Georgia National Guard. As state militia units, the units in ...

on January 8, 1951. On January 2, 1952, the 118th ACWS arrived in French Morocco, North Africa, and set up operations about from the city of Casablanca. Unit personnel calibrated numerous early warning radar sites for the Strategic Air Command in the Sahara, and in the Atlas mountains in Morocco. From October 8, 1952, until 1999 the unit functioned as a separate state of the art Communications Squadron. In 1999 the Air Force realizing a shortfall, chose to re-role the 118th Combat Communications Squadron into the 118th Air Support Operations Squadron. With this new mission the unit has gone from a front line communications unit to a unit in direct support of the Army war fighter. The 118th ASOS currently is tasked with supporting both the North and South Carolina Army National Guard units.

References

{{Air force infantry Air Support Operations 0015 Military units and formations in North Carolina