18th Intelligence Squadron - History

History

The 18th Intelligence Squadron was originally activated as the 5th Photographic Laboratory Section on 20 Oct 1943 at Will Rogers Field, Oklahoma. It was redesignated as the 5th Photographic Technical Unit on 30 Nov 1944 at Esler Field, LA and as the 18th Photographic Technical Unit on 29 Jan 1945 at Key Field, Mississippi. It was inactivated on 27 Dec 1945 at Bad Kissengen, Germany. In these early years, the unit served in the United States, France, and Germany. On 16 Oct 1984, the unit was redesignated the 18th Reconnaissance Technical Squadron after it was consolidated with the 68th Reconnaissance Technical Squadron, which had been activated on 10 Oct 1951 and inactivated on 10 Dec 1951 at Lockbourne AFB, Ohio. The unit was redesignated the 18th Intelligence Squadron on 3 Sep 1993 and activated on 7 Sep 1993 at Falcon AFB, Colorado.

Det 1, 18 IS was activated at Holloman AFB, New Mexico in June 1995, and later moved to Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio during the summer of 2000. Det 1 was the Air Intelligence Agency's only transportable system conducting Radio Frequency phenomenology studies. Det 1 was officially deactivated on 8 June 2010 and merged with the 18th Intelligence Squadron, which itself moved from Vandenberg AFB, California, to its current location of Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, in July 2010. Assigned personnel provide data in support of Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Agency, National Air and Space Intelligence Center, and United States Strategic Command missions as well as information critical to the National Security Agency and other national-level organizations.