9th SOPS is an associate unit to the 614th Air and Space Operations Center, and augment the active duty in day-to-day operations of the Joint Space Operations Center.
The lineage of the 9thSpace Operations Squadron (9 SOPS) traces itself from a proud and storied history spanning three distinct mission areas including heavy bombing during World War II (WWII), air reconnaissance during the Cold War, as well as, most recently, space command and control.
The 761 BS Heavy was activated on 1 July 1943. The 761 BS started as a B-24 Liberator unit originally stationed at Alamogordo Army Air Field, New Mexico and then moved to Kearns, Utah. While at Kearns, the 761 BS received deployment orders for the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO). The unit spent a short time at Chatham Army Air Field, Georgia flying coastal patrol missions over the Southeastern United States while airfield facilities at Spinazzola, Italy where being constructed. The 761 BS deployed to Spinazzola in January,1944 and was assigned to the 55th Bombardment Wing under 15th Air Force with the mission of long-range strategic bombing missions targeting enemy military and industrial transportation targets including railroad marshaling yards, oil refineries, airdrome installations, heavy industry and other strategic objectives in Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, and Yugoslavia. The 761 BS flew its last WWII combat mission on 25 April 1945. After Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, the mission changed to moving people under the “Green Project”. The aircraft bomb bays were sealed, the armament was removed, and the unit was reassigned to Air Transport Command. The unit relocated to Trinidad and subsequently Brazil. The 761 BS moved people from West Africa to Brazil with a final destination of Florida. In September, 1945, “Green Project” ended and the 761 BS was inactivated.
On 29 April 1946, the 761 BS was re-designated as the 9 RS and assigned to the 341st Composite Wing (341 CW), 20th Air Force (20 AF), Far East Air Force. In 1946, the 341 CW moved the 9 RS moved to Johnson (later Yokota) Air Base, Japan. 9 RS Airmen flew the P-39, as well as theF-7, F-9, and F-13 (B-24 Liberator, B-17 Flying Fortress, and B-29 Superfortress bombers retrofitted to perform photo reconnaissance,respectively) performing mapping missions over occupied Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Romania, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Poland, and Czechoslovakia as well as classified missions over the Soviet Far East. During this time period, the ‘F’ designation stood for ‘foto-recon,’ as opposed to ‘fighter.’ The 9 RS inactivated in October 1947.
The 9th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (9 TRS) was activated on 11 November 1953 at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. The unit flew the RB-26 Invader and RB-66 Destroyer. The RB-26 was a light bomber and nighttime recon aircraft and the RB-66 added a weather sampling capability. In 1962, 9 TRS had a Navy squadron commander, Commander Chester E. Kingsbury, and flew classified film missions supporting the Cuban Missile Crisis starting in October 1962. Between 1963 and 1966, 9 TRS routinely deployed to Southeast Asia and served as an Air Force training squadron for the upgraded B-66 Destroyer. In 1971, 9 TRS inactivated due to budget restrictions. The aircraft and crew were divided between units in Southeast Asia supporting the Vietnam War.
Since the early 1990s, the space command and control mission evolved and changed faster than anyone could have imagined. In 1994, 14th Air Force (14 AF) was activated at Vandenberg Air Force Base and became responsible for space operations. Between 1994 and 1998, United States Air Force Reservists supported HQ 14 AF on various man-day tours, primarily as individual mobilization augmentees (IMA). In 1999, Captain Pat Assayag led a team to 14 AF to discuss the possibility of activating a Reserve squadron to support the 614th Space Operations Flight (614SOF). On 1 October 1999, 9 SOPS was activated as a Reserve Space Operations Squadron with 37 billets and the responsibility of supporting the newly re-designated 614th Space Operations Squadron(614 SOPS) to build the weekly Space Tasking Order. Many Reservists supporting HQ 14 AF were then reassigned to 9 SOPS. At the unit activation ceremony, Major General Robert Hinson, commander of 14 AF, stated “our ability to maintain our nation’s superiority in space is dependent upon the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve as critical contributors to part of a cohesive Total Force.”
In 2002, the space mission transferred from United States Space Command (USSPACECOM) to United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), as USSPACECOM inactivated. Then in 2003, the USSTRATCOM Joint Force Component Command (JFCC) construct was developed, and the Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC) was activated under JFCC Space and Global Strike (SGS), which was soon re-designated JFCC SPACE.
In 2005, as the Fiscal Year 2008 Program Objective Memorandum (POM) was drafted, HQ AFSPC increased manpower from 37 to 126 billets, ensuring additional support to the 614 SOPS and the new 614 Space Intelligence Squadron (614 SIS). Also that year, the 1st Space Control Squadron(1 SCS) moved to Vandenberg AFB to become part of 614 SOPS.
In 2006, the JSpOC mission evolved and the unit grew, 9 SOPS continued to align closely with 614SOPS and 614 SIS missions. During this time, 9 SOPS began to more fully augment all divisions within 614 SOPS. 1 SOPS and 614SOPS combined to form the 614th Air and Space Operations Center (614 AOC) in 2007.
In 2010, the command structure of 9 SOPS was adjusted to bring it more in line with the host 614 AOC’s O-6 led command and division chief structure.
Today, 9 SOPS is a growing unit of over 100 Space, Intelligence and Communications professionals, expanding the vital role of support of the 614 AOC and JSpOC. Throughout many changes in personnel and mission, 9 SOPS has been and continues to be a strong backbone to the Space Command and Control as well as Space Situational Awareness missions at Vandenberg AFB.
9th SOPS is an associate unit to the 614th Air and Space Operations Center, and augment the active duty in day-to-day operations of the Joint Space Operations Center, or JSpOC. The JSpOC is a 24-hour operation center designed to provide commanders with coordinating, planning, and conducting space operations
b. Informing or any other action to the detriment of a fellow prisoner is despicable and is expressly forbidden. Prisoners of war must avoid helping the enemy identify fellow prisoners who may have knowledge of particular value to the enemy and who may, therefore, be made to suffer coercive interrogation.
c. Strong leadership and communication are essential to discipline. Discipline is the key to camp organization, resistance and even survival. Personal hygiene, camp sanitation and care of sick and wounded are imperative. Officers and non-commissioned officers of the United States must continue to carry out their responsibilities and exercise their authority in captivity. The senior, regardless of service, must accept command. This responsibility and accountability may not be evaded. d. If the senior is incapacitated or is otherwise unable to act, the next senior person will assume command. Camp leaders should make every effort to inform all POWs of the chain of command and try to represent them in dealing with enemy authorities. The responsibility of subordinates to obey the lawful orders of ranking American military personnel remains unchanged in captivity. e. The Geneva Convention Relative to Treatment of Prisoners of War provides for election of a “prisoners’ representative” in POW camps containing enlisted personnel but no commissioned officers. American POWs should understand that such a representative is only a spokesman for the actual senior ranking person. Should the enemy appoint a POW chain of command for its own purposes, American POWs should make all efforts to adhere to the principles of Article IV. f. As with other provisions of this code, common sense and the conditions of captivity will affect the way in which the senior person and the other POWs organize to carry out their responsibilities. What is important is that everyone support and work within the POW organization. 6. Code of Conduct V. a. When questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am required to give name, rank, service number, and date of birth. I will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability. I will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my country and its allies or harmful to their cause. b. When questioned, a prisoner of war is required by the Geneva Convention and this code to give name, rank, service number (Social Security number) and date of birth. The prisoner should make every effort to avoid giving the captor any additional information. The prisoner may communicate with captors on matters of health and welfare and additionally may write letters home and fill out a Geneva Convention “capture card.” c. It is a violation of the Geneva Convention to place a prisoner under physical or mental duress, torture or any other form of coercion in an effort to secure information. If under such intense coercion, a POW discloses unauthorized information, makes an unauthorized statement or performs an unauthorized act, that prisoner’s peace of mind and survival require a quick recovery of courage, dedication and motivation to resist anew each subsequent coercion. d. Actions every POW should resist include making oral or written confessions and apologies, answering questionnaires, providing personal histories, creating propaganda recordings, broadcasting appeals to other prisoners of war, providing any other material readily usable for propaganda purposes, appealing for surrender or parole, furnishing self-criticisms and communicating on behalf of the enemy to the detriment of the United States, its allies, its armed forces or other POWs. e. Every POW should also recognize that any confession signed or any statement made may be used by the enemy as a false evidence that the person is a “war criminal” rather than a POW. Several countries have made reservations to the Geneva Convention in which they assert that a “war criminal” conviction deprives the convicted individual of prisoner-of-war status, removes that person from protection under the Geneva Convention and revokes all rights to repatriation until a prison sentence is served. f. Recent experiences of American prisoners of war have proved that, although enemy interrogation sessions may be harsh and cruel, one can resist brutal mistreatment when the will to resist remains intact. g. The best way for a prisoner to keep faith with country, fellow prisoners and self is to provide the enemy with as little information as possible. 7. Code of Conduct VI a. I will never forget that I am an American, fighting for freedom, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. I will trust in my God and in the United States of America. b. A member of the armed forces remains responsible for personal actions at all times. c. A member of the armed forces who is captured has a continuing obligation to resist and to remain loyal to country, service, unit and fellow prisoners. d. Upon repatriation, POWs can expect their actions to be reviewed, both as to circumstances of capture and conduct during detention. The purpose of such review is to recognize meritorious performance as well as to investigate possible misconduct. Each review will be conducted with due regard for the rights of the individual and consideration for the conditions of captivity; captivity of itself is not a condition of culpability. e. Members of the armed forces should remember that they and their dependents will be taken care of by the appropriate service and that pay and allowances, eligibility and procedures for promotion and benefits for dependents continue while the service member is detained. Service members should assure that their personal affairs and family matters (such as pay, powers of attorney, current will and provisions for family maintenance and education) are properly and currently arranged. Failure to so arrange matters can create a serious sense of guilt for a POW and place unnecessary hardship on family members. f. The life of a prisoner of war is hard. Each person in this stressful situation must always sustain hope and resist enemy indoctrination. Prisoners of war standing firm and united against the enemy will support and inspire one another in surviving their ordeal and in prevailing over misfortune with honor.