The 6th Space Warning Squadron is located at Cape Cod Space Force Station, in

Sagamore, Massachusetts Sagamore is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Bourne in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,623 at the 2010 census. "Sagamore" was one of the words used by northeastern Native Americans to design ...

. It operates the

PAVE PAWS PAVE PAWS (PAVE Phased Array Warning System) is a complex Cold War early warning radar and computer system developed in 1980 to "detect and characterize a sea-launched ballistic missile attack against the United States". With the first solid-st ...

radar to watch for missiles launched toward North America. The squadron is assigned to Space Delta 4. The squadron was first organized in October 1979 as the 6th Missile Warning Squadron

Mission

The mission of the 6th SWS is to observe

United States 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 territorie ...

coasts for incoming sea–launched or intercontinental ballistic missiles using the

radar system. Also, the 6th is to determine the potential threat of the numbers and destination of incoming missiles; then report continuous information to the North American Aerospace Defense Command, Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station, and

NORTHCOM United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) is one of eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense. The command is tasked with providing military support for non-military authorities in the U.S., and protect ...

History

The 6th Space Warning Squadron was founded at Cape Cod Missile Early Warning Station in August 1977. It was the first squadron in the country to be equipped with

. PAVE PAWS also generates information on the location and velocity of earth-orbiting satellites to NORAD. The squadron also had a detachment at North Truro Air Force Station from 1977 to 1985, when the station closed and operations at the accompanying radar dome were taken over by the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

. The 2165th Communications Squadron was a separate tenant at CCAFS until 1986 when it was merged with the 6th SWS.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 6th Missile Warning Squadron : Activated on 1 October 1979 : Redesignated 6th Space Warning Squadron on 15 May 1992

Assignments

21st Air Division The 21st Air Division (21st AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Tactical Air Command, being stationed at Griffiss Air Force Base, New York. It was inactivated on 23 September 1983. History World W ...

, 1 October 1979 * Aerospace Defense Command 1 October 1979 *

45th Air Division The 45th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Eighth Air Force at Pease Air Force Base, New Hampshire. It was inactivated on 14 June 1989. History As the 45th Bombardment Wing, the unit was one ...

, 1 December 1979 *

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.21st Operations Group Space Delta 2 (DEL 2) is the United States Space Force's space domain awareness delta and is headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado. Space Delta 2 tracks and monitors all manmade objects from low Earth orbit to geosynchronous orbit ...

, 15 May 1992 – present

Stations

* Cape Cod Space Force Station, Massachusetts, 1 October 1979 – present

Awards and decorations

* Air Force Outstanding Unit Award **1 January 1998 – 31 December 1998 **1 October 1997 – 30 September 1999 **1 October 1995 – 30 September 1997 **2014 * 2004 Partridge Slemon Award as North American Aerospace Defense Command's most outstanding unit for its support of the common defense and partnership in protecting the U.S. and Canadian homelands

List of commanders

*Col Richard Cable *Col Mario V. Mascola *Col William R. Smith *Lt Col Craig Z. Lowry, 29 June 1995 – ??? *Lt Col Paul Hamilton *Lt Col Christopher R. Gentry *Lt Col J. Arnett *Lt Col C. Lowery *Lt Col Nina Armagno, June 2003 – December 2004 *Lt Col Paul S. Hamilton, 14 December 2004 – 10 August 2006 *Lt Col Max E. Lantz II, June 2008 – June 2010 *Lt Col Walt Jackim, ??? – 27 June 2014 *Lt Col David Anderson, 27 June 2014 – ??? *Lt Col Nathan J. Hippe, ??? – 28 June 2018 *Lt Col James E. Roberts, 28 June 2018 – 23 June 2020 *Lt Col Timothy “Vax” Sheehan, 23 June 2020 – June 2022 *Lt Col Stewart C. Smith, June 2022https://www.facebook.com/USSFSpaceDelta4/posts/pfbid0m4GZxRff2YeVTcZ3GrSSHFDkqQFNmqMyUdZhmQwTY9wp96hPTgdECDkpkFYWMQLDl

References

External links

6th Space Warning Squadron
{{USAF Space Command Squadrons of the United States Space Force Military units and formations in Massachusetts Military units and formations established in 1992