The 270th Engineering Installation Squadron (270th EIS) is a cyberspace engineering & installation unit located at

Horsham Air Guard Station Biddle Air National Guard Base (formerly Horsham Air Guard Station, 2011–2021) is owned by the Pennsylvania Air National Guard and located in Horsham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The Air National Guard plays host t ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

United States of America 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 territo ...

History

The 270th Engineering Installation Squadron was originally activated at Philadelphia International Airport, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as the 603rd Signal Light Construction Company on 12 April 1949. Federal recognition of the unit was extended on 17 May 1949 when the unit's manpower consisted of 2 officers and 11 Airmen. By 1 Jan. 1951, the unit reached strength of 5 officers and 86 Airmen. When the

111th Bombardment Group The 111th Attack Wing (111 ATKW) is a unit of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, headquartered at Biddle Air National Guard Base in Horsham, Pennsylvania. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air C ...

, the unit's

Pennsylvania Air National Guard The Pennsylvania Air National Guard (PA ANG) is the aerial militia of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States of America. It is, along with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, an element of the Pennsylvania National Guard. As commonw ...

host, was mobilized on 10 April 1951 for the

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, the 603rd was left as the only Air Guard unit in Philadelphia. Due to the large amount of military air traffic in the area, one officer and six Airmen were placed on permanent duty with a mission to refuel and service military aircraft; maintain operational service and logging record on a 24-hour, 7-day per week basis. The wire construction mission continued with the unit winning several awards for military professionalism. On 1 Oct. 1952 the unit was reorganized and designated as the 270th Communications Squadron, Operations. The mission was changed from installation to operation of base communications equipment facilities to include telephone and teletype equipment. During annual training periods, unit members were integrated with active-duty Air Force communications units. When the

returned to Philadelphia International Airport from Spokane, Washington, the 270th was relocated to the First Regiment Armory of the National Guard at 335 – 347 North Broad and Callowhill Streets in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. The unit then returned to the Philadelphia International Airport and occupied temporary hangars where Atlantic Aviation, now Macquarie Infrastructure Company operates a

Fixed-Base Operator A fixed-base operator (FBO) is an organization granted the right by an airport to operate at the airport and provide aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, tie-down and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance, flight instruction, ...

Facility. In October 1960 the unit was reorganized and designated the 270th Ground Electronics Engineering Installation Agency (GEEIA) Squadron, and returned to the fixed communications installation mission. The gaining command at the time was the

Air Materiel Command Air Materiel Command (AMC) was a United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force command. Its headquarters was located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. In 1961, the command was redesignated the Air Force Logistics Command wi ...

. They were then relocated to

Fort Mifflin Fort Mifflin, originally called Fort Island Battery and also known as Mud Island Fort, was commissioned in 1771 and sits on Mud Island (or Deep Water Island) on the Delaware River below Philadelphia, Pennsylvania near Philadelphia International A ...

, Philadelphia until 1963 when the 111th Air Transport Group was reestablished to

Willow Grove Naval Air Station Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove or NASJRB Willow Grove was a Naval Air Station owned by the U.S. Navy and located in Horsham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States four miles (6 km) northwest of the cen ...

, in Horsham, Pennsylvania. At that time, the 270th returned to the Philadelphia International Airport to become the sole military occupant and only Air National Guard unit in Philadelphia. In May 1970, GEEIA was absorbed into the

Air Force Communications Service 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 ...

, which later became the

Air Force Communications 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 ...

(AFCC). The 270th was designated the 270th Electronics Installation Squadron at that time. The unit was then rebranded in December 1982, to the designation of the 270th Engineering Installation Squadron with no change in mission or command. The 270th was relocated from Philadelphia International Airport to its current modern facilities at Willow Grove Air Reserve Station 15 Oct. 1985. Finally in July 2005, the 270th EIS, along with the other 19 Air National Guard and active duty Engineering Installations Squadrons, transferred from Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) to Air Combat Command (ACC). At present, the 270th EIS now falls under the

24th Air Force Twenty-Fourth Air Force / Air Forces Cyber (AFCYBER) was a Numbered Air Force within the United States Air Force. The Air Force consolidated its cyberspace combat and support forces into 24 AF. 24 AF was the Air Force component of U.S. Cyber C ...

and

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 ...

. When fully mobilized as a wartime asset, the unit is gained by the 253rd Combat Communications Group located at

Otis Air National Guard Base Otis Air National Guard Base is an Air National Guard installation located within Joint Base Cape Cod, a military training facility located on the western portion of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. It was known ...

, Mass. The 270th Engineering Installation Squadron typically performs thousands of hours of real world engineering and installation of command, control, communications, and computer systems annually for the US Air Force as an adjunct to training.

Previous designations

*603rd Signal Light Construction Company – 12 April 1949 – 1 October 1952 *270th Communications Squadron, Operations – 1 October 1952 – October 1960 *270th Ground Electronics Engineering Installation Agency (GEEIA) Squadron – October 1960 – May 1970 *270th Electronics Installation Squadron – May 1970 – December 1982 ----

Bases stationed

* Philadelphia International Airport * First Regiment Armory of the National Guard,

* Willow Grove Air Reserve Station,

Willow Grove, Pennsylvania Willow Grove is a census-designated place (CDP) in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. A community in Philadelphia's northern suburbs, the population was 15,726 at the 2010 census. It is located in Upper Dublin Township, Abington To ...

References

{{Reflist Engineering squadrons of the United States Air Force