The 165th Air Support Operations Squadron (165 ASOS) is a combat support and geographically separated unit of the

165th Airlift Wing The 165th Airlift Wing (165 AW) is a unit of the Georgia Air National Guard, stationed at Savannah Air National Guard Base, in the U.S. state of Georgia. If activated to federal service, the wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Mobil ...

(AW) in the Georgia Air National Guard. The 165 ASOS is located at Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport, in the U.S. state of Georgia. The 165 ASOS falls under jurisdiction of

Air Combat Command Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the primary provider of air combat forces for the Air Force, and i ...

(ACC) along with other Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) squadrons, whereas the 165 AW falls under the jurisdiction of

Air Mobility Command Air Mobility Command (AMC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the U.S. Air Force. It is headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, east of St. Louis, Missouri. Air Mobility Command was established on 1 June 1992, and was formed from elements ...

. The 165 ASOS provides TACP members; Air Liaison Officer (ALO) members; Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Liaison Officer (ISRLO) members; and support personnel to aligned units in support of combat operations. 165ASOSGroup

Mission

The mission of the 165 ASOS is to provide combat mission ready TACP to aligned and supported units. The 165 ASOS provides support to the

48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team The 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (48th IBCT) ("Macon Volunteers") is a modular infantry brigade of the Georgia Army National Guard. One of the oldest units in U.S. Army history, the lineage of the 48th Infantry Brigade can be traced back ...

(IBCT) of the Georgia Army National Guard, the 53rd IBCT of the Florida Army National Guard, the 29th Infantry Division (ID), and augments any active duty conventional and special operations units. TACP specialist members of the 165 ASOS become fully trained and certified Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs), allowing them to provide terminal attack guidance of fixed and rotary wing attack aircraft. They also deploy with, advise, and assist joint force commanders in planning, requesting, coordinating and controlling,

close air support In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and moveme ...

, reconnaissance, and tactical airlift missions. As a unit of the Georgia National Guard, the 165 ASOS also provides domestic support capabilities to the Governor of Georgia, and the greater region. Members are capable of responding to natural disasters and provide

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

operations, preservation of property, protection of life, public safety, maintenance of vital public services, logistic support, and manpower to meet any emergency relief support missions that arise.

History

On September 15, 1988 the federal government recognized the 111th Tactical Control Party Flight. The unit was first located at the Jekyll Island Airport, but moved to Brunswick, Georgia in January 1998 and was designated the 165 ASOS. It has undergone three separate conversions and held residence in five different places. The unit received a new facility at its current location in Garden City, Georgia, just east of Savannah on October 10, 2012. The 165 ASOS has been awarded five Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards for meritorious achievement.

Operations

The unit was first mobilized during Desert Storm in 1991. Following

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

, members of the 165 ASOS have been deployed overseas supporting combat operations every year since 2002, except in 2013. Members have supported the 48th IBCT during

Operation Iraqi Freedom {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

(OIF) and

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...

(OEF) (Afghanistan), and the 53rd IBCT in

AFRICOM The United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM, U.S. AFRICOM, and AFRICOM), is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense, headquartered at Kelley Barracks, Stuttgart, Germany. It is responsible for U ...

. Members have also supported numerous other groups in Special Operations Command, Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa for Operation Octave Shield, and in South America. Additionally, the 165 ASOS has supported the 1st Cavalry Division; the

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Second of arc, an angular measurement unit ...

3rd Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

, and

4th Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

IDs; the

82nd Airborne The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops Magazine'', 25 November 2012. Archived from thorig ...

; the

101st Airborne The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...

; the

37th IBCT The 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Buckeye) is an Infantry Brigade Combat Team, infantry brigade combat team of the United States Army National Guard with the brigade headquarters, cavalry squadron, infantry battalion, field artillery battal ...

; and 1st Armored Division (AD). The 165 ASOS stood up a fully operational Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (SUAS) program in 2015. Its program is the largest SUAS program of conventional ASOS units in the United States Air Force and

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...

. The 165 ASOS has also played a role in support of domestic operations. During the aftermath of

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

, members deployed to New Orleans, set up communications, and conducted search and rescue operations. In 2007, thirty members of the squadron helped authorities conduct a weeklong search for a missing

child A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

in the Brunswick area. During severe winter ice storms in northern and eastern Georgia during 2014, the unit also responded and established a task force. This task force was able to clear downed trees, aided in the restoration of power and clearing of roads, and located and assisted stranded motorists. 165 ASOS members also assisted in moving families from homes without power to shelters throughout the area. 165 ASOS members conduct domestic training in a wide variety of specializations, and participate in exercises throughout the United States and world.

References

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

External links

165th Airlift Wing Official PageTACP AssociationThe ROMAD LocatorTACP Job Description165 ASOS Air Force Outstanding Unit Award – 2014
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002223319/https://ga.ng.mil/ga-national-guard/lists/press%20releases/flat.aspx?rootfolder=%2Fga-national-guard%2Flists%2Fpress+releases%2F165th+airlift+wing+receives+air+force+outstanding+unit+award&folderctid=0x01200200ce901cbb2a62634dad1f32b68a04531c , date=2018-10-02
165 ASOS Jump and Combat Landing Training – 2014165 ASOS Learning What to Blow Up in Local Training
Military units and formations in Georgia (U.S. state) Squadrons of the United States Air National Guard Air support operations squadrons of the United States Air Force

Mission

History

Operations

See also

References

External links