3rd Combat Communications Group

The 3rd Combat Communications Group was a United States Air Force combat communications organization based at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. Its role was to provide mobile, deployable communications capabilities for military operations, emergencies, and contingencies. Unlike a commercial brand, it was a military unit whose identity and capabilities were defined by Air Force lineage, assignments, subordinate squadrons, and operational support responsibilities. The unit's lineage began in Europe during the expansion of the American military presence in the United Kingdom. The 3rd Communications Group was activated at South Ruislip Air Station, England, on 8 July 1957 under Third Air Force. It initially supported communications functions through the 603rd and 605th Communications Squadrons, later adding communications squadrons at RAF Alconbury and RAF Bentwaters. This European phase ended on 1 July 1962, when the Air Force transferred the communications mission to the Air Force Communications Service and inactivated the group and its subordinate organization. The communications functions at the affected bases were reassigned to other Air Force communications squadrons and regional structures. A separate mobile communications lineage had been established at Tinker Air Force Base in 1952. The 3rd Airways and Air Communications Service Squadron, Mobile, was created to hold communications resources that could be moved rapidly in response to emergencies and continental United States contingencies. It later became the 3rd Mobile Communications Squadron. As the Air Force expanded its mobile communications structure, the 3rd Mobile Communications Group was redesignated and organized at Tinker in 1964. From 1964 onward, the organization operated within successive Air Force communications and tactical command structures. It was redesignated the 3rd Combat Communications Group in 1976, the 3rd Combat Information Systems Group in 1984, and returned to the 3rd Combat Communications Group designation in 1986. Its subordinate elements included the 31st, 32nd, 33rd, and 34th Combat Communications Squadrons and the 3rd Combat Communications Support Squadron. These components supported the group's deployable mission and reflected the Air Force's changing approaches to tactical communications, information systems, and command support. The group moved through several parent organizations, including the Air Force Communications Service and Air Force Communications Command, Tactical Communications organizations, the 602nd Tactical Air Control Wing, the 552nd Airborne Warning and Control Wing, Twelfth Air Force, and Twenty-Fourth Air Force. On 5 October 2009, it was realigned under the newly activated 689th Combat Communications Wing at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, within Twenty-Fourth Air Force and Air Force Space Command. The 3rd Combat Communications Group was inactivated on 30 September 2013. The decision formed part of a broader reduction in deployable communications capacity as the Air Force reduced combat forces and adopted newer communications technologies that required fewer personnel to install and operate field systems. More than 600 military billets were affected. The 689th Combat Communications Wing was also inactivated at the same time. Although some media accounts attributed the group's inactivation to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, the cited legislation did not itself direct the unit's inactivation. The group is therefore best understood as a defunct Air Force communications unit rather than an active operating brand.

The 3rd Combat Communications Group had two important phases in its lineage: an earlier European communications organization and a later mobile combat communications organization based in the United States. The first phase arose from the need to support the expanding and increasingly complex American military presence in the United Kingdom during the Cold War. Third Air Force was activated in 1951 to oversee tactical air operations from the United Kingdom and support Strategic Air Command's 7th Air Division. Against this background, the 3rd Communications Group was activated at South Ruislip Air Station on 8 July 1957. The European group initially included the 603rd Communications Squadron at South Ruislip and the 605th Communications Squadron at RAF Sculthorpe. In September 1959, it added the 7518th Communications Squadron at RAF Alconbury and the 7519th Communications Squadron at RAF Bentwaters. The arrangement lasted until 1962, when United States Air Forces in Europe transferred its communications support mission to the Air Force Communications Service. On 1 July 1962, the group was inactivated, and communications responsibilities at the relevant bases were redistributed among Air Force Communications Service squadrons and the United Kingdom Communications Region. A separate mobile communications capability had been created at Tinker Air Force Base on 1 December 1952, when the Airways and Air Communications Service established the 3rd AACS Squadron, Mobile. This organization held assets that could be moved to respond to emergencies and contingencies in the continental United States. Following the 1961 transition from Airways and Air Communications Service to Air Force Communications Service, it became the 3rd Mobile Communications Squadron. The growth of the Air Force's mobile communications structure led to the activation and organization of the 3rd Mobile Communications Group at Tinker on 1 July 1964. The group was assigned to successive communications, tactical-control, and information-systems organizations. Its lineage included an association with the 1869th Facility Checking Squadron from 1966 to 1971. In 1976, the group adopted the 3rd Combat Communications Group designation. It became the 3rd Combat Information Systems Group in 1984, reflecting the growing importance of computerized information systems, before returning to the 3rd Combat Communications Group name in 1986. During its later years, the organization was associated with the 602nd Tactical Air Control Wing, the 552nd Airborne Warning and Control Wing, Twelfth Air Force, and Twenty-Fourth Air Force. Its listed subordinate units included the 31st, 32nd, and 33rd Combat Communications Squadrons, added in 1988; the 3rd Combat Communications Support Squadron and 34th Combat Communications Squadron, added in 1992; and the earlier European communications squadrons from the group's first phase. The group remained stationed at Tinker Air Force Base from 1964 until its inactivation. On 5 October 2009, the group was realigned under the 689th Combat Communications Wing at Robins Air Force Base and fell within Twenty-Fourth Air Force and Air Force Space Command. It was inactivated on 30 September 2013, alongside the 689th wing. The Air Force's rationale was linked to a reduction in deployable communications requirements as combat-force levels declined and newer technologies reduced the staffing needed to establish and operate expeditionary communications systems. Public reporting sometimes connected the action to the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act, but the available historical account notes that the act did not directly order the unit's inactivation.

• 2013

  Inactivated

  [1]3rd Combat Communications Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group was inactivated on 30 September during an Air Force reduction of deployable communications assets.

• 2009

  Realigned under 689th Combat Communications Wing

  [1]3rd Combat Communications Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group moved under the newly activated 689th Combat Communications Wing and Twenty-Fourth Air Force.

• 1986

  Returned to combat communications designation

  [1]3rd Combat Communications Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The organization again became the 3rd Combat Communications Group.

• 1984

  Redesignated 3rd Combat Information Systems Group

  [1]3rd Combat Communications Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group temporarily changed its designation to reflect its information-systems responsibilities.

• 1976

  Redesignated 3rd Combat Communications Group

  [1]3rd Combat Communications Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The organization adopted the 3rd Combat Communications Group designation.

• 1964

  Mobile communications group organized at Tinker

  [1]3rd Combat Communications Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The 3rd Mobile Communications Group was redesignated and organized at Tinker Air Force Base, beginning the organization's long United States-based phase.

• 1962

  European communications group inactivated

  [1]3rd Combat Communications Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The European group was inactivated when the Air Force Communications Service assumed the communications support mission.

• 1957

  3rd Communications Group activated in England

  [1]3rd Combat Communications Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group was constituted on 16 May and activated at South Ruislip Air Station on 8 July under Third Air Force.

• 1952

  Mobile communications predecessor established

  [1]3rd Combat Communications Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The 3rd AACS Squadron, Mobile, was established at Tinker Air Force Base to hold communications resources for emergencies and continental United States contingencies.

A deployable United States Air Force communications organization focused on providing resilient tactical communications and information-systems support in expeditionary, emergency, and contingency environments.

• Military communications capability

  Deployable combat communications

  The group's principal capability was the deployment, installation, operation, and support of communications systems for tactical and expeditionary Air Force missions. These capabilities were intended for situations in which fixed communications infrastructure was unavailable, damaged, insufficient, or required to be supplemented.

• Military information systems · 1984

  Combat information systems support

  During its 1984–1986 designation as the 3rd Combat Information Systems Group, the organization represented the Air Force's expanding emphasis on information systems alongside traditional communications. Its broader mission involved field systems and operational support rather than a commercial product sold to customers.

• 2013

  Inactivation during communications-force restructuringStrategy

  Background

  The Air Force was reducing deployable communications assets as combat-force levels declined and newer communications technology reduced the personnel needed to establish and operate field systems.

  Action taken

  The 3rd Combat Communications Group was inactivated on 30 September 2013, at the same time as the 689th Combat Communications Wing.

  Aftermath

  The action affected more than 600 military billets and ended the group's active organizational history. Reports linking the inactivation directly to the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act were not supported by the act's text, according to the historical account.

  Source

1. 13rd Combat Communications Groupen.wikipedia.org