The 13th Space Warning Squadron (13SWS) is a missile warning unit assigned to the

United States Space Force The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space service branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and the world's only independent space force. Along with its sister branch, the U.S. Air Force, the Space ...

and located at

Clear Space Force Station Clear Space Force Station is a United States Space Force radar station for detecting incoming ICBMs and submarine-launched ballistic missiles to NORAD's command center and to provide Space Surveillance data to the United States Space Force. ...

5 miles (8 km) south of

Anderson Anderson or Andersson may refer to: Companies * Anderson (Carriage), a company that manufactured automobiles from 1907 to 1910 * Anderson Electric, an early 20th-century electric car * Anderson Greenwood, an industrial manufacturer * Anderson ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

Mission

The primary mission of the 13th SWS is to provide early warning of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) launches to the Missile Warning Center at

North American Aerospace Defense Command North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection ...

. The secondary mission of the 13SWS is to provide space surveillance data on orbiting objects to the Space Control Center also located in the Cheyenne Mountain Complex.

History

The 13th SWS is controlled by the Missile Warning Center, part of the NORAD, and by the Space Control Center, part 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_weapon, ...

. Both agencies are located at the

Cheyenne Mountain Cheyenne Mountain is a triple-peaked mountain in El Paso County, Colorado, southwest of downtown Colorado Springs. The mountain serves as a host for military, communications, recreational, and residential functions. The underground operations cen ...

Operations Center in Colorado. Clear accomplishes these missions using the Solid State Phased Array Radar System (SSPARS) radar. Clear's radar was originally located at El Dorado Air Station, Texas as part of the PAVE PAWS program and was only recently transplanted to Alaska to replace the US' last mechanical missile warning radar site.

Assignments

Major Command

Air Force Space Command The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

(1 May 1983–Present) * Strategic Air Command (1 December 1979 – 1 May 1983) * Air Defense Command (later

Aerospace Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was established in 1946, briefly ina ...

) (1 November 1966 – 1 December 1979)

Wing/Group

* 21st Space Wing (15 May 1992–Present) *

1st Space Wing The 1st Space Wing was a wing of the United States Air Force active from 1983 to 1992 at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado as part of Air Force Space Command.

(1 May 1983 – 15 May 1992) * 71st Missile Warning Wing (1 January 1967-???)

Previous designations

*13th Space Warning Squadron (15 May 1992–Present) *13th Missile Warning Squadron (1 November 1966 – 15 May 1992)

Bases stationed

* Clear Missile Early Warning Station (later

Clear AFS Clear Space Force Station is a United States Space Force radar station for detecting incoming ICBMs and submarine-launched ballistic missiles to NORAD's command center and to provide Space Surveillance data to the United States Space Force. Cle ...

, Clear AS, and

(1 January 1967–Present)

Decorations

Air Force Outstanding Unit Award The Air and Space Outstanding Unit Award (ASOUA) is one of the unit awards of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. It was established in 1954 as the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award and was the first independent Air Force d ...

**1 October 1997 – 30 September 1999 **1 January 1998 – 31 December 1998 **1 October 1995 – 30 September 1997 **1 May 1983 – 30 April 1984 **1 July 1971 – 30 June 1973 **1 June 1968 – 31 May 1970

List of commanders

* Lt Col

Stephen Whiting Stephen Newman Whiting (born September 14, 1967) is a United States Space Force lieutenant general who serves as the first commander of the Space Operations Command. He previously served as the deputy commander of the Air Force Space Command, w ...

, July 2004–July 2005 * Lt Col Torrence W. Saxe, June 2011–March 2012 * Lt Col Michael Sowa, ~2010 * Lt Col Matthew A. Morand, June 2012–May 2013 * Lt Col Jason Burch, June 2015 * Lt Col Joel Lane, 13 June 2017 * Lt Col Jeffrey Rutherford, 13 June 2018 * Lt Col Shawn P. Lee, 20 June 2019 * Lt Col Shahn Rashid, 2 July 2020 * Lt Col William Hassey, June 2021 * Lt Col Christopher Castle, 16 June 2022

References

External links

Global's Clear AFS
website {{USAF Space Command Squadrons of the United States Space Force Military units and formations in Alaska