Photo By Patrick Sullivan | Lt. Col. Richard Holt, 461st Operational Support Squadron commander, receives a final...... read more read more
The 461st Operations Support Squadron, under the 461st Air Control Wing, inactivated at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, Nov. 15, 2024.
The 461st OSS was the final squadron of the 461st ACW that once supported the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System mission, which retired in late 2023.
“Without exception and without hesitation, Airmen and Soldiers from Team JSTARS left their families to deploy forward and operate within contested airspace and over hostile terrain,” said Col. Michael Lynch, 461st Operations Group commander, during the inactivation ceremony. “To the men and women of the OSS, you were instrumental in ensuring this happened on timelines to support combatant commanders around the globe.”
Under the JSTARS mission, members of the 461st OSS supported over 3,000 combat sorties providing 27,000 hours of command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance coverage, and orchestrated the deployment of 8,000 members.
The unit also provided direct support to over 7,000 home-station sorties and 715 large force exercises, while providing SERE training, or Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape, in addition to life support training and altitude chamber courses, to over 26,000 aircrew.
As the 461st ACW mission evolved over the last year, the 461st OSS was a key player in getting the wing’s new mission moving quickly and effectively.
“As the JSTARS mission sunset and the new Battlespace Control Center mission stood up, the OSS was pivotal in getting the first ever active duty BCC crews out the door to support efforts in the U.S. Central Command region again, but in a far different roll,” said Lynch.
As the 461st OSS inactivated, its members transitioned to key roles across the 461st ACW, continuing to provide support to the wing’s rapidly changing mission.
“Today we have inactivated the 461st OSS but make no mistake, the slogan you see on that patch in front of you, ’Emitte Lucem et Veritatem,’ means that Aquila Nation will continue to send forth light and truth from wherever the Air Force sends us,” said Lt. Col. Richard Holt, the 461st OSS commander.
| Date Taken: | 11.15.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 11.20.2024 12:12 |
| Story ID: | 485743 |
| Location: | ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 18 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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