Twenty-Fifth Air Force should not be confused with 25th Air Division.
| Unit Name: | Twenty-Fifth Air Force |
| Dates: | 29 September 2014 – 11 October 2019 (as Twenty-Fifth Air Force) 8 June 2007 – 29 September 2014 (as Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Agency) 1 October 1993 – 8 June 2007 (as Air Intelligence Agency) 1 October 1991 – 1 October 1993 (as Air Force Intelligence Command) 1 August 1979 – 1 October 1991 (as Electronic Security Command) 20 October 1948 – 1 August 1979 (as United States Air Force Security Service) [1] |
| Type: | Numbered Air Force |
| Role: | Provide Air Combat Command and the Air Force with accurate and timely Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance[2] |
| Command Structure: | Air Combat Command |
| Notable Commanders: | Major General Timothy D. Haugh (Final Commander)[3] |
| Garrison: | Lackland Air Force Base, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, U.S. |
| Garrison Label: | Headquarters |
| Motto: | Freedom Through Vigilance |
| Decorations: | Air Force Organizational Excellence Award |
Twenty-Fifth Air Force (25 AF), 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 29 September 2014[4] by redesignating the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency (a field operating agency) under Headquarters, United States Air Force, to a numbered air force aligned under Air Combat Command. The USAF also realigned the 9th Reconnaissance Wing and the 55th Wing under the new NAF. It was headquartered at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.
Its primary mission was to provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) products, applications, capabilities and resources, to include cyber and geospatial forces and expertise. Additionally, it is the service cryptologic component (SCC) responsible to the National Security Agency and Central Security Service for Air Force cryptographic activities.[5]
25th AF was originally activated as the United States Air Force Security Service on 20 October 1948, at Arlington Hall, Washington, D.C., with a mission of cryptology and communications security.
25th AF was last commanded by Major General Timothy D. Haugh.[6]
On 11 October 2019, the 25th AF and the 24th AF inactivated, and subsequently transferred their missions to the newly activated 16th Air Force.
The organization organizes, trains, equips and presents assigned forces and capabilities to conduct intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for combatant commanders and the nation. It also implements and oversees the execution of Air Force policies intended to expand ISR capabilities.
The organization comprises over 30,000 people at about 65 locations worldwide.
On 14 July 2014, the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Air Force announced that the Air Force ISR Agency would be reorganized into the Twenty-Fifth Air Force, a numbered air force assigned to Air Combat Command, on 1 October 2014.[7] [8] The redesignation took place on 29 September 2014 at Joint Base San Antonio.
Five active duty wings and one center are assigned to the Twenty-Fifth Air Force.
25 AF is responsible for mission management and support of Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance operations.
Air Force Intelligence was first established as the United States Air Force Security Service (USAFSS) on 20 October 1948. The service was headquartered at Arlington Hall, a former girls school and the headquarters of the United States Army's Signals Intelligence Service (SIS) cryptography effort during World War II. The USAFSS was tasked with the cryptology and communications security missions of the newly formed United States Air Force. The USAFSS moved to Brooks Air Force Base, in San Antonio, Texas, in April 1949, and then to "Security Hill" at nearby Kelly Air Force Base in August 1953.
During the Korean War, the USAFSS personnel provided United Nations Command units with intelligence on the movements of major Korean People's Army forces from Manchuria to Wonsan. USAFSS personnel received Korean Language training at Yale University, and flew on the Douglas C-47 Skytrain to relay communications to allied ground forces on the Korean Peninsula.
During the early days of the Cold War, USAFSS crews flew missions on several aircraft converted for intelligence missions, including the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, the Lockheed C-130A-II Dreamboat,[10] and the Strategic Air Command's Boeing RB-50 Superfortress and Boeing RC-135. The USAFSS established communications stations in Germany, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Scotland, and later installed AN/FLR-9 "Elephant Cage" radar sites in Alaska, England, Italy, Japan, the Philippines, and Turkey.
The USAFSS became involved in the Vietnam War when the Pacific Air Forces asked it to establish an Air Force Special Security Office at Tan Son Nhut Airport near Saigon in 1961. By the following year, a USAFSS squadron and three subordinate detachments were operating in Vietnam and Thailand, and USAFSS personnel supported College Eye threat warning operations. USAFSS crews also flew on Douglas EC-47 Skytrain missions to search for aircrew shot down in North Vietnam; RC-130BII Hercules Airborne Communications Reconnaissance Program (ACRP) SIGINT platforms launched out of Thailand and Da Nang Air Base, Viet Nam; and, commencing in 1967, SAC RC-135s deployed to and operating out of Kadena Air Base, Okinawa.
On 1 August 1979, the Air Force redesignated the USAFSS as the Electronic Security Command (ESC), reflecting the organization's additional mission of improving the Air Force's use of electronic warfare technology in combat. In 1985, the Air Force tasked ESC with computer security, in addition to its intelligence and electronic warfare missions.
ESC provided intelligence support to the United States invasion of Panama in 1989 and were among the first U.S. military personnel to arrive in Saudi Arabia for the Gulf War. During that conflict, ESC personnel operated at three different locations in Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
On 1 October 1991, the Air Force redesignated ESC as the Air Force Intelligence Command (AFIC) and consolidated Air Force intelligence functions and resources into a single command. AFIC merged ESC with the Air Force Foreign Technology Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, the Air Special Activities Center at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and elements of the Air Force Intelligence Agency, Washington, D.C. With the combined missions, AFIC was tasked with intelligence, security, electronic combat, foreign technology, and treaty monitoring.
The organization was redesignated again when it became the Air Intelligence Agency on 1 October 1993. During the 1990s, AIA personnel deployed to support NATO operations during the Bosnian War and Kosovo War, and as part of Operations Southern Watch and Northern Watch in Southwest Asia.
In February 2001, the Air Force assigned AIA to Air Combat Command, where it provided support to combat operations in the War on Terror, the War in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War.
In August 2006, General T. Michael Moseley, the Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, directed that the Air Force intelligence efforts stress intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities. AIA was eventually redesignated the Air Force ISR Agency (AFISRA) on 8 June 2007. The organization change included transforming AFISRA into a field operating agency and reassigning it from Air Combat Command to Headquarters Air Force. With the change, AFISRA reported to the Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance.
Beginning in 2009, AFISRA personnel deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan to support MC-12W as part of Project Liberty.
Organized as a major command on 26 October 1948
Redesignated: Electronic Security Command on 1 August 1979
Redesignated: Air Force Intelligence Command on 1 October 1991
Redesignated: Air Intelligence Agency on 1 October 1993
Redesignated: Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Agency on 8 June 2007
Redesignated: Twenty-Fifth Air Force on 1 October 2014