16 AF -- Air Forces Cyber

Locator: 48446USAF.

Original Post: August 17, 2024

In the news today, from Reuters, under the heading -- Russia looked the wrong way:

• Surprise: The idea that Ukraine could burst across the border in the biggest invasion of Russia since World War Two seemed unthinkable before last week. The operation raised questions about Russian surveillance as well as the caliber of its border fortifications and the forces guarding them. This is a big and interesting story that is well worth reading.
• Who knew? An influential aide to Vladimir Putin said the U.S. and NATO helped Ukraine make its lightning incursion into Russia, dismissing western denials that a plan was in the works. Nikolai Patrushev’s comments imply that the foray carries a high risk of escalation.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to sort out some of the intel operations involved.

Fond memories of my days with the Air Intelligence Agency, Lackland AFB, San Antonio, TX.  The agency was re-designated the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency on June 8, 2007, just a few days before I retired. 

Then, effective September 29, 2014, it was re-designated the Twenty-Fifth Air Force and aligned as a numbered air force (NAF) of the 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. 

• 55th: Offutt AFB, Nebraska: with associated groups around the world; RC-135 Rivet Joint, Cobra Ball, EC-130H Compass Call.
• 9th: Beale AFB, California: U-2R Dragon Lady, RQ-4 Global Hawk (UAV) aircraft. 

Then on 11 October 2019, the 25th AF and the 24th AF inactivated, and subsequently transferred their missions to the newly activated 16th Air Force.  See "numbered Air Forces here." 

• from a geographical point of view, if nothing else, it made sense to merge the 24 AF and the 25 AF into one NAF (in this case, the 16 AF). 
• but obviously, the merger was done for operational reasons (cyber + "conventional" intel)
  

To the above (the 55th and 9th) new units under the 16th Air Force:

• 67th Cyperspace Wing, JBSAL, San Antonio, TX
• 70 ISR Wing, Fort George G. Meade, Maryland; collocated with the NSA on at Fort Meade, MD
• 319th Reconnaissance Wing, Grand Forks AFB, ND, RQ-4 Global Hawk
• 363 ISR Wing, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia
• 480 ISR, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia; and,
• others

Commanders:

If you go down the rabbit hole deep enough you will run across a maxwell.af.mil news story dated April 4, 2024, you will find an interesting story on .... wait for it ... Colonel John Warden and ... wait for it ... Checkmate. 

And then, on top of all that, this in today's WSJ: