| 966th Air Expeditionary Squadron | |
|---|---|
| Active | 2009–present |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Type | Combat & Combat Support |
| Role | Joint Expeditionary Tasked (JET) Airmen |
| Part of | U.S. Air Force Squadron |
| Garrison/HQ | Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan |
| Motto | Sumus Omnes In Bello Pro Pace (All In The Fight For Peace) |
| Colors | Black & Blue & Green |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Lt Col Jeff Collins, USAF |
The 966th Air Expeditionary Squadron of the United States Air Force will perform administrative and operational control of joint expeditionary tasks in Afghanistan. The 966 AES is assigned to the 466th Air Expeditionary Group (AEG). [1]
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The Air Force set up Air Expeditionary Squadrons (AES) to provide Administrative Control (ADCON) and Expeditionary Combat Support to its Airmen assigned to fight in battle with Joint and Army units.
The 966 AES is headquartered at Bagram Airfield (BAF). BAF is a militarized airport and housing complex located next to the ancient mile-high city of Bagram in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan. The base is run by an Army division headed by a two-star general. All the Joint Expeditionary Tasked (JET) and Individual Augmenteer (IA) Airmen assigned to Northern and Eastern Afghanistan are ADCON to the 966 AES. This includes over 510 Airmen at BAF and 400 more at 70 combat outposts and bases.
The "Air" in Airpower represents Airman, not just aircraft. Airmen are an important part of the Air Force’s contribution to the Joint mission in Afghanistan. The Air Force has delegated Tactical Control (TACON) over some of its Airmen in critical support billets to a Joint supervisor who may be from any branch of military service. But the Air Force retains ADCON over its Airmen. The Air Force lends its Airmen's skills, talents and temporary service to the Joint team, but Airmen still work for an Air Force Squadron: the 966AES is that squadron for those Airmen in Regional Command-East and Regional Command-North.
The 955th Air Expeditionary Squadron (955 AES), activated May 5, 2009[2], was redisgnated the 966th AES in November 2010. The 766th Air Expeditionary Squadron (766 AES) was moved from Forward Operating Base Sharana and inactivated on 23 March 2011; its mission was folded into the 966 AES.[1]
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