| 23rd Air Division | |
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23rd Air Division emblem |
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| Active | 18 November 1969–1 July 1987 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Garrison/HQ | see "Stations" section below |
| Equipment | see "Aircraft / Missiles / Space vehicles" section below |
| Decorations | see "Lineage and honors" section below |
The 23rd Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force intermediate echelon command and control organization. It was last assigned to First Air Force, Tactical Air Command (ADTAC). It was inactivated on 1 July 1987 at Tyndall AFB, Florida.
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The Division was activated at Duluth Airport in November 1969, replacing the 29th Air Division in an Aerospace Defense Command (ADCOM) realignment and re-organization of assets. Assigned additional designation of 23rd NORAD Region upon activation with reporting to the NORAD Combat Operations Center at Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado.
The 23rd AD was responsible for the air defense of a large area of the upper Midwest south of the 97th meridian west, bordered by the southern boundary of the Canada – United States border to the Ohio/Pennsylvania border; south and west along the western ridge of the Appalachian Mountains to the 38th parallel north. This encompassed most of Minnesota, Iowa, Northern Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and all of Michigan. It was also the command organization for the Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) Data Center (DC-10) at Duluth AFS.
The division and its subordinate interceptor, missile and radar units participated in numerous exercises such as Amalgam Fairplay, Feathered Indian, and Feathered Brave. In addition, its subordinate units exercised with surface to air missiles. The scope of responsibility for the 23rd AD was expanded in 1973 with further ADCOM unit inactivations and consolidations to include the area south along the 88th meridian west to the 33rd parallel north, west to the 97th meridian west. This added all of Missouri and Arkansas, as well as western Tennessee and northern Mississippi to the Division's Area of Responsibly.
In 1979 it was incorporated into Tactical Air Command with the inactivation of ADCOM as a major command. Under Air Defense, Tactical Air Command (ADTAC) it continued its mission until 15 April 1982 when it was reassigned to Tyndall AFB, Florida and assumed responsibility for most of the region previously commanded by the inactivated 20th Air Division.
In 1985 most active-duty units were inactivated or reassigned to other missions, and the air defense mission came under Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard units under First Air Force. The Division stood down on 1 July 1987, its command, mission, components, and assets were transferred to the ADTAC Southeast Air Defense Sector.
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This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
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