18th Attack Squadron
 | |
|---|---|
 MQ-1 Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle | |
| Active | 1943–1945; 1946–1979; 2006–2007; 2009–present |
| Role | Attack and Surveillance |
| Part of | Air Combat Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Creech Air Force Base |
| Engagements | European Theater of Operations[1] |
| Decorations | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Belgian Fourragère[1] |
| Insignia | |
| 18th Reconnaissance Squadron emblem[a][1] |  |
| Patch with 18th Tactical Reconnaissance Emblem[b][2] |  |
The 18th Attack Squadron is a squadron of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the 432d Operations Group, and has been stationed at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada since 2009. The squadron conducts strike, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, operating the General Atomics MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle.[1]
The squadron was first activated as a fighter unit, the 381st Fighter Squadron, in 1943. After deploying to the European Theater of Operations and engaging in combat for six months, the squadron was converted, along with the other squadrons of the 363d Fighter Group, to a reconnaissance unit as the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron. It continued in combat until V-E Day, earning a Belgian Fourragère after being twice cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army. The squadron returned to the United States in the fall of 1945 and was inactivated.
The squadron was activated again in 1946 and performed both reconnaissance and training, primarily from Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina until 1959. It was redesignated the 18th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron in 1950 because its number, 161, fell in a block reserved for Air National Guard units. It moved to Europe, where it performed reconnaissance for United States Air Forces Europe until 1970, when it returned to Shaw. The squadron was inactivated there in 1979.
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