The 544th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group is a

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

unit assigned to the Air Combat Command

Sixteenth Air Force The Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber) (16 AF) is a United States Air Force (USAF) organization responsible for information warfare, which encompasses intelligence gathering and analysis, surveillance, reconnaissance, cyber warfare and ...

. It is stationed at

Buckley Space Force Base Buckley Space Force Base is a United States Space Force base in Aurora, Colorado named after United States Army Air Service First Lieutenant John Harold Buckley. The base is run by Space Base Delta 2, with major units including the U.S. Space Fo ...

, Colorado. It was reactivated under the 70th Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Wing on 26 September, 2022. A multi-domain intelligence organization, the 544th is a team of approximately 400 Air Force members executing overhead technical signals and infrared intelligence with tradecraft development to achieve mission outcome success in all circumstances.

History

The 544th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group was initially activated as the 544th Reconnaissance Technical Squadron on 16 November 1950 at

Bolling Air Force Base Bolling Air Force Base or Bolling AFB was a United States Air Force base in Washington, D.C. In 2010, it was merged with Naval Support Facility Anacostia to form Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling. From its beginning, the installation has hosted el ...

. Initial personnel came from the 4203rd Photographic Technical Squadron. The 544th moved to

Offutt Air Force Base Offutt Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force base south of Omaha, adjacent to Bellevue in Sarpy County, Nebraska. It is the headquarters of the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), the 557th Weather Wing, and the 55th Wing (55 WG) of the Ai ...

, Nebraska in April 1952, although a small unit (Detachment 1) continued operation at Bolling. On 11 July 1958, the unit was redesignated the 544th Reconnaissance Technical Group. The 544th provided

photo interpretation Aerial photographic and satellite image interpretation, or just image interpretation when in context, is the act of examining photographic images, particularly airborne and spaceborne, for the purpose of identifying objects and judging their s ...

during the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United S ...

(October 1962) for the National Command Authority. The next designation was as the 544th Aerospace Reconnaissance Technical Wing when it was redesignated on 1 January 1963. It was assigned directly to

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...

. In Vietnam, the Boeing RC-135C reconnaissance aircraft, equipped with the ASD-1 reconnaissance system, a number of programmable

SIGINT Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of '' signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ...

receivers, created much of the 544th Wing's work, an activity known as 'Finder'. In 1979 the 544th was designated as a

Major Command Major Command or Major Commands are large formations of the United States Armed Forces. Historically, a Major Command is the highest level of command. Within the United States Army, the acronym MACOM is used for Major Command. Within the United Sta ...

Special Activity and on 15 October 1979, was redesignated the 544th Strategic Intelligence Wing. The 544th was redesignated the 544th Intelligence Wing on 1 September 1991, still at Offutt, and then inactivated on 1 June 1992. On 7 September 1993, Colonel Eric Larson became the commander of the newly reactivated 544th Intelligence Group at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, part of

Air Force Intelligence Command Twenty-Fifth Air Force (25 AF), also known as Air Force Intelligence, was a numbered air force (NAF) within the United States Air Force (USAF), and served as the Air Force's premier military intelligence organization. 25 AF was established on ...

. Colonel Maurizio Calabrese assumed command of the 544th on 27 June 2018. In 2000, the 544th received one of its many Air Force Outstanding Unit Award. The award did not extend to the detachments' host commands such as the Naval Security Group Activities Sabana Seca and Sugar Grove. Their support in terms of infrastructure, technical equipment and facilities, allowed the detachments to accomplish their mission. The

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

also provided support to Detachment 45 of the Air Force Technical Applications Center. The group was inactivated on 24 July 2020 when it was replaced by

Space Delta 7 Space Delta 7 (DEL 7) is a United States Space Force unit responsible for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) for the United States Space Force. The delta provides actionable and time-sensitive intelligence for space domain op ...

of 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 ...

. On 26 September 2022, the group was reactivated as a part 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 ...

with the headquarters relocating to Buckley Space Force Base, Colorado under the command of Colonel Ronald Hopkins. Airmen at the 544th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group lead the Air Force in executing overhead technical signals intelligence and overhead persistent infrared operations. They partner closely with base agencies to produce integrated intelligence that is critical to the security of the United states. The group is comprised of three squadrons ( 566th Intelligence Squadron,

18th Intelligence Squadron The 18th Intelligence Squadron is an intelligence organization of the United States Air Force, located at Buckley Space Force Base, Colorado. The squadron delivers decision advantage through strong mission partnerships to the air component, t ...

, 26th Intelligence Squadron), all co-located at Buckley Space Force Base, Colorado, as well as one detachment in Australia.

Lineage, assignments, and stations

Lineage

* Constituted as the 544th Reconnaissance Technical Squadron on 2 November 1950 : Activated on 16 November 1950 : Redesignated 544th Reconnaissance Technical Group on 11 July 1958 : Redesignated 544th Aerospace Reconnaissance Technical Wing on 1 January 1963 : Redesignated 544th Strategic Intelligence Wing on 15 October 1979 : Redesignated 544th Intelligence Wing on 1 September 1991 : Inactivated on 1 June 1992 * Redesignated 544th Intelligence Group on 3 September 1993 : Activated on 7 September 1993 : Redesignated 544th Information Operations Group on 1 August 2000 : Redesignated 544th Intelligence Group on 1 April 2007 : Redesignated 544th Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Group on 1 January 2009Lineage information through July 2009 in Kane, Factsheet. : Inactivated on 24 July 2020 : Activated on 26 September 2022

Assignments

* 3902d Air Base Wing, 16 November 1950 *

, 11 July 1958 – 1 June 1992 * Air Force Intelligence Command (later Air Intelligence Agency), 7 September 1993 * 67th Intelligence Wing (later 67th Information Operations Wing), 31 January 2000 *

70th Intelligence Wing The 70th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing (70th ISR Wing) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the 16th Air Force. It is stationed at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland. Known as "America's Cryptologic Wing", is the only A ...

(later 70th Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Wing), 5 July 2006 – 24 July 2020 * 70th Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Wing, 26 September 2022 - Present

Components

; Squadrons *

–

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene and Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wr ...

, Ohio, 7 September 1993 – 24 July 2020 *

451st Intelligence Squadron The United States Air Force's 451st Intelligence Squadron is an intelligence unit located at Fort Gordon, Georgia. The 451st IS was previously inactivated at RAF Menwith Hill, UK, in 2015. The squadron descends from the 10th Radio Squadron, whic ...

– RAF Menwith Hill, United Kingdom, 1 October 2004 – 31 January 2008 * 544th Defensive Intelligence Squadron, by 1978 – 1 June 1992 * 544th Intelligence Analysis Squadron, 1 October 1973 – unknown * 544th Intelligence Exploitation Squadron, 1 October 1973 – unknown * 544th Intelligence Support Squadron, by 1978 – 1 June 1992 * 544th Offensive Intelligence Squadron, by 1978 – 1 June 1992 * 544th Target Materials Squadron, 1 October 1973 – 1 June 1992 * 566th Intelligence Squadron –

, Colorado, 2022 – Present *

–

, Colorado, 2022 – Present * 26th Intelligence Squadron –

, Colorado, 2022 – Present ; Detachments * Detachment 1 – Bolling Air Force Base, District of Columbia, 12 April 1952 – unknown * Detachment 2 –

Sabana Seca Sabana Seca is a barrio in the municipality of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 53,192. History Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and beca ...

, Puerto Rico, 1 January 1995 – 21 July 2000 * Detachment 3 – Sugar Grove, West Virginia, 1 January 1995 – unknown * Detachment 4 – Yakima Research Station, Washington, 1 January 1995 – unknown * Detachment 5 – Chantilly, Virginia, 5 December 1995 – unknown * Detachment 7 –

Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg may refer to: * Vandenberg (surname), including a list of people with the name * USNS ''General Hoyt S. Vandenberg'' (T-AGM-10), transport ship in the United States Navy, sank as an artificial reef in Key West, Florida * Vandenberg Sp ...

, California, unknown – unknown

Stations

* Bolling Air Force Base, District of Columbia, 16 November 1950 * Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, 12 April 1952 – 1 June 1992 * Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, 7 September 1993 – 24 July 2020 * Buckley Space Force Base, Colorado, 26 September 2022 - Present

List of commanders

* Col

Jason B. Lamb Jason Bradford Lamb (born ), more widely known publicly by his pseudonym Colonel Ned Stark, is a retired United States Air Force colonel and master intelligence officer who gained prominence after writing a series of columns critical of the U.S. ...

, July 2016–June 2018 * Col Maurizio Calabrese, June 2018–June 2020 * Col Ronald Hopkins, September 2022-Present

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations

Bibliography

External links

Buckley SFB Official Website
{{Colorado
16th Air Force > Home

544 __NOTOC__ Year 544 ( DXLIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 544 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era be ...

Military units and formations in Colorado Military units and formations established in 1950