26th Intelligence Group: An integral part of European Operations

Consolidated by 1st Lt. Kevin Gulick
26th IG /SC
Ramstein Air Base, Germany

This year has been a period of political turbulence in Europe and military action for United States Air Forces in Europe.

First, non-compliance with no-fly zones flared up and Combined Task Force NORTHERN WATCH responded against Iraq with air strikes. Then, Joint Task Force NOBLE ANVIL, in support of ALLIED FORCE, began and air strikes against Serbia were launched.

The 26th Intelligence Group personnel played an integral role in both recent military operations in USAFE.

There have been many changes in Air Intelligence Agency forces in Europe since the end of the Cold War.

In addition to several name changes to the organization itself, the number of personnel has been reduced by about 4000, and the number of major units has been reduced from ten to the current 26th IG structure, comprising of six squadrons, three detachments and five operating locations. These reductions occurred as part of the overall European drawdown. Even though the numbers have drastically changed, the impact of AIA forces remains key as they provide critical products, data and services to their European warfighting partners.

There are 900 members assigned to the 26th IG and over 90 percent are dedicated enlisted experts. This highly-trained force is comprised of nearly 50 Air Force Specialty Codes, including 14 languages.

The units are located in seven countries, with activities and operations throughout 25 countries. The group’s six squadrons and locations are:
- 26th Intel Support Squadron, co-located with the group Headquarters, Ramstein Air Base, Germany
- 402nd IS, Bad Aibling Station, Germany
- 426th IS, Vogelweh, Germany
- 451st IS, Royal Air Force Menwith Hill, United Kingdom
- 485th IS, Mainz-Kastel Station, Germany
- 488th IS, RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom

One of the things the 26th IG is most proud of is the degree of integration achieved with the theater commands.

According to Col. Gary Selin, 26th IG commander, “We perform our mission by totally integrating with our European warfighting partners.

“Everyone in the group has worked extremely hard to become an integral part of the team they work with day-to-day. The results are readily apparent and our people directly contributed to the success of the airwar,” Selin said.

The professional team members of the group do not wait until the shooting starts to become involved. The very nature of the mission means they are involved in the planning and spin-up as well as the actual shooting. In fact, members of the group were involved in these kind of activities for over a year before the airwar over the former Republic of Yugoslavia began March 24, 1999.

USAFE planning for intervention in Kosovo began in March 1998 and 26th IG personnel were an integral part of the team.

26th ISS operations personnel started working in the 32nd Air Intelligence Squadron alongside the USAFE Operations and Intelligence personnel developing target folders and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance requirements for the air campaign.

USAFE targeteers and 26th ISS/DOI analysts developed critical Command and Control nodes and other targets. Experienced aircrew personnel from the 26th ISS and the 488th IS worked with USAFE reconnaissance planners to develop requirements for ISR support and aircrew augmentation.

By the end of March, the initial plans were complete. Throughout the spring of 1998, and into the summer, 26th IG personnel were involved almost daily in the refinement of the plans.

By July 1998, group personnel were able to return to almost normal duties. However, they continued to “ramp up” on a number of occasions throughout the next eight months.

Long before bombs dropped on Belgrade, the men and women of Electronic Systems Security Assessment Central-Europe, 426th IS, Vogelweh, Germany, were also busy participating in EUCOM operations.

Last fall as the theater prepared to grapple with the latest Kosovo crisis, ESSAC-EUR went to work monitoring telephone calls, e-mails, and faxes to assess the types and amounts of planning information available to adversaries. They were key to providing operational security to all theater combatants.

Of course, this air campaign planning was not the only thing on the horizon. Since DESERT STORM ended, Iraq has continually tested the limits of the no-fly zones and the determination of the military enforcing those restrictions. The U.S. military, resolved to stand firm, responded with air strikes to ensure compliance.

In preparation for deploying the RC-135 RJ aircraft to ONW, the 26th ISS provided crucial augmentation to a new location in Turkey with extremely austere RC-135 communications and logistics infrastructure. This was the first time in the last nine years the RJ had deployed to a non-fixed, forward-deployed location. To help the 488th IS accomplish their mission, several 26th ISS communications experts deployed to Turkey and developed robust classified and unclassified communication networks in less than three weeks.

“Their professionalism, technical expertise, and dedication to duty were catalysts to the success of our Operation NORTHERN WATCH deployment,” said Capt. John Proctor, 488th Directorate of Operations in Incirlik.

“These outstanding airmen…improved the communications capability of the ONW Intelligence Directorate, brought a real-time air picture to the desk of the 39th Operations Group Commander, and provided hands-on training for 39th Communications Squadron personnel – all in 20 days,” said Proctor.

The 26th ISS logisticians worked around the clock with EUCOM, AIA and the 488th IS to deploy RC-135 maintenance shelters critical to the logistics requirements of RJ assets in theater.

The 488th IS flew 25 RJ missions and issued over 90 imminent threat warning calls to allied airmen at ONW before their aircrews and support personnel were recalled from Turkey to Mildenhall to participate in ALLIED FORCE. It was quite an accomplishment moving the most complicated “recce” platform in the business on such short notice, while still providing threat-warning services to strikes at a moment’s notice in multiple theaters.

Before the airwar in the former Republic of Yugoslavia began, many Americans had not even heard of that obscure Balkans province. AIA’s efforts, led by the men and women of the 26th IG, quickly became an integral part of the tip of the spear during the 78 days of the airwar in this distant land.

Teaming with USAFE, allied forces, and AIA augmentees, the 26th IG provided products, data and services to its European warfighting partners.

During the opening days of the airwar, AIA’s efforts were led by 26th ISS personnel providing crucial augmentation to USAFE’s Intelligence Operations Center.

Their integration into headquarters USAFE resulted in all-source intelligence fusion for situational awareness, near real-time threat warning, force protection, collection management, and ISR planning/scheduling.

The hard work immediately paid off as one of the group’s youngest airmen, A1C Heather Duvall, jumped into the fray to brief the USAFE Commander, Gen. John Jumper, in a blow-by-blow account of nightly flight activity.

This was the first of many contributions made by the integrated team. The team’s dedication throughout the crisis contributed to direct kills of radar and SAM systems, the passage of mission-critical data to Compass Call, efficient planning and selection of C4I targets, and up-to-the-minute situational awareness for commanders and national decision makers.

Lt. Col. Felipe Alonso, 26th ISS commander, recounts, “We made a significant contribution to the airwar. We brought critical skill sets to the fight that would not have otherwise been available to USAFE.”

Augmented by individuals deployed from various AIA units in the CONUS and Pacific, the 426th IS stepped up its information protect role. Electronic Systems Security Assessment teams immediately deployed to three locations in-theater and shifted the in-house monitoring of HQ USAFE already being performed for ONW.

Realizing events might quickly overwhelm the capabilities of ESSAC-EUR, adjustments were made to handle the huge manpower and dollar demands. Software written by SSgt. Thomas Forward and hardware innovations by TSgt. John King and SSgt. Anthony Mesenbrink permitted a fully-automated system of call packaging and transfer via secure means to ESSAC-EUR.

This enabled small, forward-deployed teams to send hundreds of calls back to the 426th in near real-time for processing, analysis, and reporting.

The 426th IS Commander, Lt. Col. Robert Piacine, summed up the team’s success by saying, “They accepted the challenge of supporting operations on the fly with a new concept and succeeded beyond all expectations. ESSA products and services were available to the warfighter on time, on target, on demand.”

Upon re-evaluation of EUCOM and USAFE OPSEC needs, four more locations were added to the 426th ESSAC tasking. Despite system improvements, ESSAC-EUR again was reaching its limits. With assistance from the 26th ISS and 488th IS, the 426th pioneered a worldwide networked defensive information operations capability. By May, data from several monitoring locations was being sent to ESSAC-PAC at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, and ESSAC-CON, Brooks AFB, Texas, for processing and analysis while ESSAC-EUR continued to process three sites and performed collection management and centralized reporting. By the end of the airwar, ESSAC-EUR and its sister units had collected and analyzed over 300,000 telephone calls, 150,000 e-mails, and 2,000 faxes.

The end result is that OPSEC awareness has never been higher in the European theater.

“I’m extremely proud of the major operational role played by the 426th IS during Operation ALLIED FORCE. Our offensive counter-information, defensive counter-information, and information in war personnel were in the middle of the fight from beginning to end,” said Piacine.

“They made a direct contribution to force protection and had a major impact on the success of allied operations. This was obvious every day when their products were briefed to COMUSAFE, USAFE/DO, and the operational wing commanders.

“The decision to execute major combat operations literally hinged on the nature of our products and recommendations,” Piacine said.

The contributions of the 426th IS included more than ESSA activities.

The 426th Science and Technology branch was instrumental in providing technical expertise for the operation. When two MiG-29 fighters were shot down during the opening days of the Kosovo airwar, two S&TI engineers deployed to the wreckage area to assess the aircraft, weapons loads, and equipment condition, all for the purpose of determining the readiness status of the Serbian Air Force.

Later, six engineers, including the Group commander’s executive officer, were deployed to Bosnia to assist during inspections of military equipment held in Bosnian cantonment sites. These inspections were conducted to ensure Bosnian Serbs were not manufacturing equipment or sub-assemblies and spare parts for transfer to Serbian forces in and around Kosovo.

To facilitate future short-notice requirements, the S&T section established a Scientific and Technical Intelligence Liaison Officer position on the SFOR CJ2 staff, able to provide immediate assistance to SFOR, as well as coordinate the deployment of more robust teams as needed.

“The S&TI teams did a superb job keeping our warfighters apprised of the Yugoslav threat … their analysis of the MiG-29 shootdowns, for example, prevented technological surprise and contributed directly to the determination of the aircraft’s intentions.” said Piacine.

Playing less conspicuous, but certainly no less significant, roles during the airwar were the 402nd, 451st, and 485th IS.

Squadron personnel at the 402nd IS produced about 500 tailored, commander-driven, national- and tactical-level product reports during Operation ALLIED FORCE.

They provided critical force protection and indications and warning intelligence to deployed U.S., multi-national, and NATO forces. As part of a joint-service Reporting Cell, squadron members worked more than 2,500 manhours accomplishing around-the-clock reporting mission and 1,100 manhours maintaining the Senior Watch Officer and Senior Intelligence Analyst positions, leading national-mission collection assets for tactical customers and commanders.

“I was deeply impressed with how our personnel used state-of-the-art technologies to gain and exploit a broad spectrum of information previously not available, then worked with theater planners to focus this effort to fit the overall battle plan,” said Lt. Col. Paul Gifford, 402nd IS commander.

Participation by the 451st IS, part of a multi-service team on Menwith Hill Station, was diverse with broad-sweeping impact. Their contributions led to the successful evacuation of thousands of Americans and foreign nationals threatened by coups or civil unrest. They provided national- and tactical-level commanders with timely intelligence on threat systems and capabilities used by an array of high-priority threat nations.

Squadron members issued time-sensitive reports which provided a clear and accurate picture to warfighters. These airmen brought their USAF mindset and experience to the forefront of a multi-service, multi-national operations workforce to ensure NATO fliers and mission planners received the right information at the right time to conduct their missions as accurately and safely as possible.

Lt. Col. Rich Osgood, 451st commander, was “Extremely pleased and proud of my unit’s contributions. The squadron quickly refocused its day-to-day national mission to meet immediate, critical theater needs.”

The 485th IS, co-located and teaming with the European Technical Center in Mainz-Kastel, Germany, quietly established itself as a vital player in the airwar.

On any given day, 485th IS technicians were deployed to Cryptologic Service Groups throughout the theater installing, maintaining, or upgrading secure communications equipment. They worked hard to ensure vital data was getting through the vast network of communications systems, with the heart of it all centered at the European Technical Center.

“The public, of course, will never read about our role in the fight in the newspaper or see it on CNN, but as the airwar was prosecuted, I repeatedly received thanks and kudos for the job our troops were doing,” said Maj. Joseph Shannahan, 485th IS commander.

“As a commander, there’s no better feeling and no prouder moment than knowing your troops did the job they were trained for, did it well, and positively impacted the outcome of the airwar,” said Shannahan.

Highly visible during operations in Kosovo, and providing the 26th IG’s contributions in the air was the 488th IS.

Squadron members flew over 100 RJ missions (averaging two missions per day), provided 1,000 hours of on-watch time, issued 53 threat calls and provided direct targeting information for Operation ALLIED FORCE. During ALLIED FORCE, the 488th IS had over 30 augmentees, including airborne linguists, analysts, and communications experts, at different times involved in unit operations.

AIA Commander, Maj. Gen. John R. Baker, hailed the aircrews for their “contributions” and for “proving invaluable to the success of this important operation.” Baker also noted their “performance is a testimony to the dedication, devotion to duty, and selfless sacrifices of world-class airmen.”

The primary job of the 488th IS was to protect aircrews and act as a communications platform. One of the most important jobs the RJ did was to assist in Combat Search and Rescue efforts. Because of their altitude, robust communications suite, and endurance, the RJ crews played a vital part in both the F-117 and F-16 operations.

At the peak, the 488th IS had four jets and six separate crews on station, providing the perfect blend to accomplish the mission. This was a team effort with linguists from different languages and areas of responsibilities participating in this operation.

In the words of Lt. Col. James Poss, 488th IS commander, “I couldn’t have been more proud of my troops -- especially my linguists and Airborne Maintenance Technicians. This was an airwar we did right -- Able Flight was spot-on with their training and analysis of the Serbs, our LG folks handled double our normal maintenance load, plus juggling three different RJ baselines at once, and my SC folks did some of the fastest circuit and computer upgrades I’ve seen.

“It really showed the advantages of forward-based forces tightly integrated with USAFE and NATO. We wouldn’t have done nearly as well if we had to deploy in from the states and fight this one from a “cold” start,” said Poss.

The combined efforts of the entire 26th IG helped ensure victory in the airwar. Teaming with USAFE, EUCOM, their day-to-day partners, and AIA personnel from around the world, the 26th IG proved to be a critical component in successfully helping conduct the airwar.

The 67th Intelligence Wing Commander, Col. Gary Harvey, also remembers the “families who endured hardship.” The “courage, sacrifice, and dedication to duty” of the members of the 26th IG culminated in the accomplishments of each individual squadron to ensure multi-disciplined information operations services for the European Theater.

The focus of the 26th IG will now shift to helping ensure a lasting peace through Operation JOINT GUARDIAN.

Peace monitoring will keep group members active in Kosovo’s future for a long time to come.

Selin summed it up nicely, “All six of our squadrons were actively involved in some way or another, whether it was flying, monitoring, or exploiting; providing communications or logistics support; processing and disseminating information to the decision makers; or providing administrative support -- everyone had a piece of the action. I’m proud of what we have done for our Air Force and our nation.”

The 26th IG remains poised and ready to meet the next challenge in the hottest theater in the world.