968th Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron
 | |
|---|---|
 A squadron E-3G Sentry sits on the flightline at Prince Sultan AB, March 2022 | |
| Active | 1943-1945; 1958–1962; 2002–2003; 2013–present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | AEW&C |
| Part of | Air Combat Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Prince Sultan AB, Saudi Arabia |
| Engagements | European Theater of Operations[1] |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation French Croix de Guerre with Palm[1] |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Lt Col Steven Bailey[2] |
| Insignia | |
| 968th Expeditionary Air Control Squadron emblem[a][3] |  |
The 968th Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron (968 EAACS) is a provisional unit of the United States Air Force, flying the Boeing E-3G Sentry.[4] Since March 2022, the squadron is stationed at Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia.[5] It has been activated twice since the September 11 terrorist attacks.
The first predecessor of the 968th is the 858th Bombardment Squadron, first activated in October 1943 as a Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber unit. After deploying to England, the squadron entered the strategic bombing campaign against Germany, but was transferred to VIII Composite Command in June 1944, where it replaced the 422d Bombardment Squadron on special operations, dropping propaganda leaflets over Occupied Europe. In August 1944, the 492d Bombardment Group, which had suffered the most severe losses of an Eighth Air Force bomber group was withdrawn from combat 858th began to engage in Operation Carpetbagger, dropping agents and supplies behind German lines, primarily in France. As American forces advanced in France during September 1944, this special operations mission diminished, but operations resumed in Germany during the last months of the war.
The 968th's other predecessor is the 658th Bombardment Squadron, which flew Boeing B-47 Stratojets from 1958 to 1962 during the Cold War. The two squadrons were consolidated in 1985 as the 968th Airborne Warning and Control Squadron, and were converted to provisional status as the 968th Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron in 2002.
- ^ a b Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 784-785
- ^ AirForces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing. May 2022. p. 17.
- ^ Robertson, Patsy (15 October 2017). "Factsheet 968 Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron (ACC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
50kHourswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "New aircraft, Airmen arrive at PSAB". DVIDS. 6 March 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
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