111th Space Operations Squadron explained

Unit Name:	111th Space Operations Squadron
Dates:	2003 – present
Country:	United States
Branch:	Air National Guard
Type:	Space Operations
Role:	Communications
Size:	27
Command Structure:	Air Force Space Command
Current Commander:	Lt Col Patty Tuttle^[1]
Garrison:	Sky Harbor International Airport, Arizona^[2]
Motto:	EYES OF THE EAGLE

The United States Air Force's 111th Space Operations Squadron (111 SOPS) is an Air National Guard space communications unit located at Sky Harbor International Airport, Arizona. 111 SOPS is the military's first unit to operate free-floating balloons in the near space environment.^[3]

Previous designations

Combat SkySat balloons (2003 – present)^[6] ^[7]

News: Singer. Jeremy. Pentagon Eyes High-Altitude Balloons for Emergency Communications System. 21 December 2016. Space.com. 18 July 2007.
https://web.archive.org/web/20060127051941/http://www.af.mil/news/airman/1005/exclusives2b.shtml Airman Magazine: Guard’s mission expands into space"
https://web.archive.org/web/20080110203120/http://www.azdema.gov/06-07%20Annual%20Report.pdf Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs Annual Report 2006-07
Web site: Arizona Air National Guard Headquarters and Units. Arizona Air National Guard. https://web.archive.org/web/20080322013403/http://www.azguard.gov/hqang/Arizona_Air_National_Guard_Hqs.htm. 22 March 2008. 21 November 2016.
Rogers, B. (2006). United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978.
News: Military testing balloons as communications option . Morse . Joni . 9 September 2005 . Space Data . RCR Wireless News . https://archive.today/20120911180713/http://www.spacedata.net/news090905.htm . 11 September 2012 . 21 December 2016 . dead .
World Airpower Journal. (1992). US Air Force Air Power Directory. Aerospace Publishing: London, UK.