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380AEW Article

Global Hawk mission advances despite inactivation

  • Published
  • By Denise Johnson
  • 380th AEW Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  The 12th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron, home of Southwest Asia's RQ-4 Global Hawk, was formally inactivated at a ceremony here Saturday after seven years of making history with the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing.

Though inactivated, the unit's operational tempo continues to rise, making it somewhat of an anomaly considering the squadron has been disbanded.

The high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as their maintainers and operators, will continue to serve the Area of Operations under the well-established 99th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron. The move will not undertake too great an effort, as the 99th is only a hangar away on the same base.

The 99th ERS, commanded by Lt. Col. Vince Catich, has become U.S. Central Command's first and only intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance squadron uniting both the RQ-4 and U-2 under one guide-on.

"Today the 'hawk' soars; she's chased the moon and greeted the dawn. From one day to the next, she's released and caught - every flight greets a new horizon. Today she is released from the arm of the 12th ERS," prayed Chaplain (Maj.) Thomas Elbert, Jr., 380th AEW Chapel, during the invocation at the ceremony.

The 99th ERS have solely maintained operations of the U-2 Dragon Lady for the 380th AEW up until the inactivation. They have now expanded their purview from high-altitude-reconnaissance manned flights to further include endeavors in the unmanned arena.

"The move will be seamless," said Lt. Col. Kurt Carraway, 380th Expeditionary Operations Group deputy commander. "We're fortunate to be able to absorb the mission and the aircraft into a pre-existing squadron, transitioning into smarter operations while continuing to meet the Air Tasking Order."

Col. Kyle Garland, 380th EOG commander, noted some key accomplishments of the small, yet critical group who met and surpassed the expectations laid before them.

"Thanks for being here on yet another historic day for the 99th and the 12th ERS," said Colonel Garland as he greeted the audience. "This aircraft flies high-altitude ISR missions. The very small group who made up the 12th ERS sustained that mission every day."

The squadron - made up of 12th ERS Commander Maj. Rob Matlock, an operations officer and three line pilots - employed the Global Hawks in the AOR, collecting targets for the warfighters by getting the imagery into their hands in a timely manner.

"A very small group, a very big responsibility," Colonel Garland commented.

Major Matlock and his team racked up 110 missions in 120 days compiling about 2,200 mishap-free flight hours and more than 45,000 targets collected - on average 400-plus targets per mission.

"As I said, with the help of the men and women at (Beale Air Force Base, Calif.) we get those targets into the warfighter's hands in a very expedient manner. But those are just the sheer numbers," Colonel Garland said. "As Major Matlock can attest, we've done so much more than just fly the mission.

"Through Major Matlock's leadership and with the help of the aircraft maintenance unit - all members of the Global Hawk community here have pushed the envelope quite a bit further. "

From paving new paths across the globe into the AOR and establishing operating procedures acceptable in the international community, to spear heading the first-ever dual operational sorties in the same theater, the 12th ERS has forever changed and expanded the future of unmanned aerial operations.

"Their contributions took a tremendous amount of effort and manpower. The impacts are, and will continue to be, far-reaching," Colonel Garland said. "So while patches on uniforms will change, the mission and executing the ATO will not change."

Major Matlock took the podium to acknowledge the attendees and bid farewell to the wing where he and his team scribed their names in the annals of history. "I can leave here knowing we did the best we could and with complete faith in those who pick up the trail where I left off. I'm sure they will continue to progress and improve upon the programs we've put so much effort into," he said.

The ceremony came to a close marking the first official day of a combined ISR mission for the 99th ERS. The Global Hawk and Dragon Lady will continue to make history as they take to the skies in support of the joint warfighter.

"Together they fly for freedom," Chaplain Elbert said.