Mission
The mission of the 713th Combat Operations
Squadron is to provide steady state, contingency and wartime augmentation to Headquarters
Pacific Air Forces Air Force Forces staff through direct augmentation, reach
back capability, and the ability to deploy throughout the Pacific Theater. The
713th COS delivers mission essential, operational level command and control
capability and continuity across the entire spectrum of military operations
from humanitarian assistance to combat operations. The 713th develops and
leverages reserve personnel subject matter expertise to integrate into the
AFFOR staff to plan and create effects, from strategy to task, to meet
Commander AFFOR/Joint Forces Air Component Commander goals and objectives. The
713th COS is the only U.S. Air Force Reserve unit designated to support the
AFFOR mission role.
Organization
As part of 10th Air Force, Air Force Reserve
Command, the 713th COS is a geographically separated unit assigned to the 610th
Air Operations Group, March Air Reserve Base, California. The 96-position unit
is split between two locations. The 713th COS, with 75 positions, is located at
Beale Air Force Base, California and its subordinate unit, the 713th COS
Detachment 1 with the remaining 21 positions, is located at Joint Base Pearl
Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. Overall, the unit has 20 Air Reserve Technicians and 80
Traditional Reservists, and is comprised of 61 different Air Force Specialty
Codes.
History
The 713th COS was originally activated as 10th
AF Det. 5, at Beale AFB on Oct. 1, 2007. In March 2008, a 23-person detachment
forward deployed to Hickam AFB, Hawaii as Operating Location-Alpha and began
augmenting 13th AF/PACAF AFFOR staff during U.S. Pacific Command’s joint
exercise Terminal Fury. On July 1, 2009 the unit was re-designated the 713th Combat
Operations Squadron under the 940th Operations Group, 940th Wing, Beale AFB. Hickam
OL-A was re-designated 713th COS Det. 1. The unit declared initial operational
capability in July 2010.
In March 2011, the 713th COS was tasked to
provide 24/7 AFFOR augmentation to HQ PACAF for Operation Tomodachi, a humanitarian
assistance and disaster relief effort supporting Japan after a 9.0 earthquake resulting
60’ tsunami caused major damage to the island of Honshu, including the second
largest nuclear power plant disaster in history. In November 2013, the unit was
again tasked to support HQ PACAF for Operation Damayan, a humanitarian
assistance and disaster relief effort supporting the Republic of the
Philippines after category 5 typhoon Haiyan struck. More recently, in April
2015, the squadron supported crisis action planning for Operation Sahayogi Haat,
a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief effort in response to a 7.8
earthquake that struck Nepal.
In April 2016, the 713th COS was realigned from
the 940th WG to the newly established 610th AOG along with two sister squadrons,
the 710th COS and 701st COS, when the 940th regained its KC-135 refueling
mission.
The 713th COS continues to provide critical component
major command AFFOR augmentation through direct participation in planning and
executing multiple humanitarian assistance operations and annual exercises
including Pacific Sentry, Keen Edge, Ulchi Freedom Guardian, Key Resolve,
Talisman Saber, Red Flag-Alaska, Pacific Angel and Pacific Unity. In addition,
individual volunteers supported AFFOR staffs in U.S. Air Forces in Europe &
Air Forces in Africa, and U.S. Air Forces Central Command through steady state,
deployments, operations, and exercises to include Austere Challenge, Juniper
Micron and Odyssey Lightning.
(Current as of January 2017)