DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE - SecurityCritics.org

1 DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE . 20Ih FIGHTER WINCi (ACC). SHAW AlR FORCE BASE, SOUTI-I CAROLINA. 3 April 2006. 20 CSISCSR. 504 Shaw Drive, Suite 1026. Shaw AFB, SC 291 52-5028. Robin Rosenberger PO Box 50. Wellman, IA 52356. Dear Mr. Rosenberger, This is in response to your Freedom of Information Act request of 8 Mar 06 requesting a copy of the History of 609 IWS. 1995-99. The History of 609 IWS was releasable under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 552. and is attached. DEPARTMENT of Defense Regulation FORCE Supplement, Freedom of Information Act Program, provides that a charge $ be assessed for processing your request. Based on the information in your letter, we have determined your fee category is other. As such, you are liable for the following charges: 44 pages of reproduction at $ a page ($ ), 15. minutes of search and review time (ea) at $ per hour ($ ), and 15 minutes of professional-level review (legal review) at $ an hour ($ ).

2 Please make your check payable to: "DDO DSSN 6671 Shaw AFB SC" and mail it to: 20 CSISCSR, 504 Shaw Drive, Suite 1026, Shaw AFB SC 29152-5028. If you have any questions, please feel free to call me at (803) 895-1630. Sincerely, U. Base Freedom of Information Act Mgr 1 Attachment: Requested Information (FOIA 2006-055). STA. System Technology Associates, Inc. 30 June 1999. DEPARTMENT of the Air FORCE 609'~Air Operations SquadrodDOXP. Attn: Lieutenant Colonel Norman B. Adams, USAF. Commander 524 Shaw Drive, Suite 2 15. Shaw AFB, SC 29152-5029. Dear Lieutenant Colonel Adams, It is my pleasure to submit the attached 609 IWS Chronological History as a deliverable in accordance with GSA FEDSIM Contract # GS-00K-96 AJC0547, Task Order # T0097AJ0528. We have incorporated all the comments received and look at this document as a vital representation of the hard work the 609' Information Warfare Squadron (IWS) expended in defining the unit manning and operational requirements to support the information warfare combat mission for the Air FORCE .

3 It is our hope that the IW mission audit trail established with this document will support future "ramp ups" in the IW arena, saving the Air FORCE and its IW. commanders and staffs time valuable time and resources. On behalf of Bob Ben, our President and CEO, STA is proud to serve the 609 IhAir Operations Squadron. On a more personal note, please count on me as the Program Manager to support Marc Flaherty and your Command to the fullest extend possible. Feel free to contact me anytime 7 x 24 is you have a question, concern, or operational need. My ofice number is (719) 596- 8550. My home number is (719) 282-1607. My nation-wide voice pager is 1-800-705-0245. I. look forward to meeting you personally in the near future. Again, it is our privilege to support you and your Team. FEDSIM Contract 1 Attachment 4040 EAST BIJOUSTREET *COLORADOSPRINGS,CO*80909*7191591-5009*F AX 7191572-8042. AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.

4 609 IWS: A Brief History Oct 1995-Jun 1999. Victory smiles upon those who anticQate the changes in the character of war, not upon those who wait to adapt themselves after the changes occur. -Air Marshal Giulio Douhet Contents INTRODUCTION. BACKGROUND. THE CHALLENGE. 609 IWS CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY. August 1995. October and November 1995. December 1995 and January 1996. February and March 1996. April and May 1996. June and July 1996. August 1996. September to December 1996. JanuaryandFebruary1997. March and April 1997. May and June 1997. July and August 1997. September and October 1997. November and December 1997. January and February 1998. March and April 1998. May and June 1998. July and August 1998. September and October 1998. November and December 1998. January and February 1999. March and April 1999. May and June 1999. SUMMARY. Attachment 1: 609 IWS HistoryKey Events Attachment 2: 609 IWS Initial Personnel Listing Attachment 3: 609 IWS Emblem Designs Attachment 4: Abbreviations/Acronyms Attachment 5: Diagram of 609 IWS Temporary Facility INTRODUCTION.

5 This historical account documents the creation of the 609th Information Warfare Squadron (609 IWS), the first operational information warfare (IW) combat unit in United States military history. The period recorded is from date of unit activation on 1 October 1995 until the squadron's deactivation on 30 June 1999. This chronicle highlights the decisions, organization, processes, planning, training, and operations that enabled a small core of talented, bold, and innovative Air FORCE officers and NCOs to meet the unprecedented and demanding challenges set forth by the Chief of Staff of the Air FORCE (CSAF). The CSAF tasked the 609 IWS to establish an operational combat IW unit capable of leveraging current and emerging information technologies, creating new operational concepts and capabilities for the Air FORCE , and performing IW missions in support of Ninth Air FORCE (9AF) and United States Central Command Air FORCE 's (USCENTAF) Air Operations Center (AOC).

6 It was the CSAF's expectation that the 609 IWS, in execution of its combat mission, lead the Air FORCE in achieving dominance in IW commensurate with its unparalleled dominance in air and space warfare. BACKGROUND. '!liken I it to the very first aero squadron when they started with biplanes.. We're at the threshold of a new era, We are not exactly sure how combat in this new dimension of cyberspace will unfold. We only know that we are the beginning..". Lieutenant Colonel Walter "Dusty" Rhoads, USAF. First Commanding OfJicer, 609 IWS. The birth and growth of the 609 IWS remains distinctively analogous to that of this nation's first air combat unit--the 1st Aero Squadron. Throughout the lineage and history of the United States Air FORCE , only these two units have been afforded the opportunity to dramatically alter the manner in which wars are fought and won. Both the 1st Aero Squadron and the 609.

7 IWS matured on the cutting edge of a revolution in military affairs (RMA). For the 1st Aero Squadron and follow-on units, it was the combat utility of the airplane within a new dimension of war--the air--that prompted an RMA. For the 609 IWS, it is IW in the newest combat dimension of cyberspace that places the unit on the cutting edge of the current Information Age RMA. In 1913, the 1st Aero Squadron was tasked to develop aircraft capabilities for the military. In 1995, the 609 IWS was tasked to exploit information technology and to develop IW. capabilities. The 1st Aero Squadron created new air power options that changed forever the way war is conducted. The 609 IWS was challenged to do the same by exploiting current and emerging information technologies. Less than 90 years after the Army accepted its first Wright Flyer, the United States Air FORCE stands as the world's most dominant aerospace FORCE .

8 Few if any could have known that the flimsy Wright Flyer was the precursor to the powerful modem aircraft and munitions that provided such decisive combat power during Desert Storm. Air power forever changed the conduct of war. As Air FORCE Manual 1-1, Volume 1 states: The advent of air power, and later aerospace power, did not change the essential nature of war, but air power did change the way war is conducted. Further, it created the requirement for development and cultivation of a new expertise, a .competence in exploiting the three-dimensional aspects of aerospaceforces. In 1909, very few people believed that the airplane possessed much military utility, except possibly as an alternate means of delivering messages. Many traditionalists scoffed at the early flyers. The Army noted officially that, "the dream of aerial combat is merely the product of fertile imaginations, a malady often encountered in younger men.

9 ''. In contrast to the skeptics, some early aviators shared the correct vision of the future of airplanes. In 1907, Lieutenant Benjamin Foulois captured that vision in ink. He wrote: In all future warfare we can expect to see engagements in the air between hostile fleets ..the successful aerial fleet, or what remains of it, will have no d~$culty in watching every movement and disposition of the opposing troops, and unless the opposing troops are vastly superior in numbers, equipment and morale, the aerial victory should be an important factor in bringing campaigns to a short and decisive end From the inception of the 609 IWS, there were those within the Air FORCE and Joint military community who disagreed strongly with the notion of an information warfare squadron (IWS). History demonstrates that most new concepts and capabilities within a fighting FORCE meet with some degree of staunch opposition or outright resistance initially.

10 From activation, the 609 IWS was not without its critics, skeptics, and opposition. At this writing, the controversy continues. Similarities between the early history of the 1st Aero Squadron and that of the 609 IWS. are strikingly similar. The visionary pilots of the 1st Aero Squadron continually pushed technology and improved capabilities in the pursuit of their concepts. The visionaries leading the 609 IWS pushed technology and improved capabilities in pursuit of Information Age concepts. The 1st Aero Squadron flew as couriers and scouts to help route out the bandit Pancho Villa, and was the first to prove the utility of the airplane in support of ground operations. The 609 IWS. was the first to defend the AOC7sinformation and information systems, and was thus the first to prove the utility of information protection in support of air operations. The new computer and networking technology of the "Information Age" created a heavy military dependence upon information and information systems.