293rd Combat Communications Squadron

The 293rd Combat Communications Squadron (293 CBCS) was activated into federal service on 6 March 1967 at Hickam AFB, Hawaii. From 6 March 1967 to 30 September 2008, the 293 CBCS was co-located with its parent group, the 201st Combat Communications Group (201 CCG) at Hickam Air Force Base. By direction of the Adjutant General and with concurrence of the National Guard Bureau, the 293rd became the first geographically split-operations combat communications squadron in both the Air Force and the Air National Guard. Effective 1 October 2008, the 293rd's command element and 52% of its assigned manpower was transferred to the US Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility Barking Sands to replace the deactivating 154th Air Control Squadron (154 ACS) as the Hawaii National Guard’s lead command and control element for any natural or human-caused disasters on the Island of Kauai, while the remaining 48% remained assigned to Hickam AFB as Operating Location A, 293 CBCS. Despite the geographic separation of 125 miles between the 293rd's two organizational elements, the squadron continues to be organized, operate, and deploy much like any other single-location Air Force/Air National Guard combat communications squadron.