Strategic Communications Wing 1 (STRATCOMWING ONE) is a nuclear command and control wing of the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
. Its
TACAMO
TACAMO (Take Charge And Move Out) is a United States military system of survivable communications links designed to be used in nuclear warfare to maintain communications between the decision-makers (the National Command Authority) and the t ...
("Take Charge and Move Out") mission provides airborne communications links to nuclear missile units of
United States Strategic Command
United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands in the United States Department of Defense. Headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, USSTRATCOM is responsible for strategic nuclear deterr ...
. It is located at
Tinker Air Force Base
Tinker Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force base, with tenant U.S. Navy and other Department of Defense missions, located in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, surrounded by Del City, Oklahoma City, and Midwest City.
The base, origina ...
, Oklahoma.
The two operational squadrons,
VQ-3
Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 3 (VQ-3), nicknamed the ''Ironmen'', is a naval aviation squadron of the United States Navy based at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma (United States). The squadron flies the Boeing E-6B Mercury airborne command p ...
and
VQ-4
Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 4 (VQ-4), nicknamed the Shadows, is a naval aviation squadron of the United States Navy based at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. The squadron flies the Boeing E-6B Mercury airborne command post and communication ...
, prepared to move from their former Atlantic and Pacific bases in 1992-1993 and the wing was formally established on 29 May 1992. Captain Andy Riddile, first commander (" Commodore") of the wing, arrived in April 1992. A separate Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS), VQ-7, was later established at Tinker AFB with EC-18 and TC-18 aircraft.
The wing consists of three squadrons and a wing staff, and employs over 1,300 active-duty sailors and 100 contractors to provide maintenance, security, operations, administration, training and logistic support for the
E-6 Mercury
The Boeing E-6 Mercury (formerly Hermes) is an airborne command post and communications relay based on the Boeing 707. The original E-6A manufactured by Boeing's defense division entered service with the United States Navy in July 1989, repla ...
aircraft fleet. The E-6B Mercury enables the
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
submarines
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely o ...
,
bomber
A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...
s and
missile silo
A missile launch facility, also known as an underground missile silo, launch facility (LF), or nuclear silo, is a vertical cylindrical structure constructed underground, for the storage and launching of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs ...
s enforcing the country's national security through nuclear deterrence.
The Wing provides a secure communications link designed to for use in the event of nuclear war or other major incident in order to maintain communications between the decision makers comprising the National Command Authority (NCA) and the triad of U.S. strategic nuclear weapon delivery systems, i.e., manned bombers, land-based
intercontinental ballistic missile
An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons c ...
s (ICBMs) and
submarine-launched ballistic missile
A submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is a ballistic missile capable of being launched from submarines. Modern variants usually deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), each of which carries a nuclear warhead ...
s (SLBMs).
The wing's primary mission is to receive, verify and retransmit Emergency Action Messages (EAMs) to US strategic forces. With the retirement of the USAF EC-135Looking Glass airframe, the
E-6 Mercury
The Boeing E-6 Mercury (formerly Hermes) is an airborne command post and communications relay based on the Boeing 707. The original E-6A manufactured by Boeing's defense division entered service with the United States Navy in July 1989, repla ...
United States Strategic Command
United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands in the United States Department of Defense. Headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, USSTRATCOM is responsible for strategic nuclear deterr ...
(USSTRATCOM). OC-ALC airframe artisans perform depot work on the Navy's
E-6 Mercury
The Boeing E-6 Mercury (formerly Hermes) is an airborne command post and communications relay based on the Boeing 707. The original E-6A manufactured by Boeing's defense division entered service with the United States Navy in July 1989, repla ...
aircraft, which are based on the
Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...
airframe. The wing's Navy sailors perform organizational and field level maintenance work, with the former integrated at the flying squadron level while the latter is performed at the wing's aircraft intermediate maintenance department (AIMD) level. The wing also operates alert facilities for E-6B aircraft at
Travis AFB
Travis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base under the operational control of the Air Mobility Command (AMC), located three miles (5 km) east of the central business district of the city of Fairfield, in Solano County, California ...
, California and
Naval Air Station Patuxent River
Naval Air Station Patuxent River , also known as NAS Pax River, is a United States naval air station located in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, on the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Patuxent River.
It is home to Headquarters, Naval Air Sys ...