Air Combat Command Shield

U-2 Dragon Lady

The U-2 provides high-altitude, all-weather surveillance and reconnaissance, day or night, in direct support of U.S. and allied forces.

T-38 Talon

The T-38A Talon is a 2-seat, twin-engine, supersonic jet trainer used in a variety of roles because of its design, economy of operations, ease of maintenance, high performance and exceptional safety record. Air Education and Training Command is the primary user of the T-38C for joint specialized undergraduate pilot training. Air Combat Command, Air Force Materiel Command and the National Aeronautics and Space administration also use the T-38A in various roles. The T-38A is used at Beale AFB as the companion trainer to the U-2 program.

PAVE PAWS

PAVE PAWS is a radar system operated for missile warning and space surveillance, primarily to detect and track sea-launched (SLBM) and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

ACC Fact Sheet

Air Combat Command, with headquarters at Langley Air Force Base, Va., is a major command created June 1, 1992, by combining its predecessors Strategic Air Command and Tactical Air Command. ACC is the primary provider of combat air forces to America's unified combatant commands. Learn more about ACC.

9th Reconnaissance Wing

The wing also maintains a high state of readiness in its expeditionary combat support forces for potential deployment in response to theater contingencies. The 9th RW is composed of more than 3,000 personnel in four groups at Beale and multiple overseas operating locations. At any given moment, day or night, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, there is probably a U-2 aircraft from the 9th RW flying an operational mission somewhere in the world.

Beale's History

Camp Beale opened in October 1942 as a training site for the 13th Armored and the 81st and 96th Infantry Divisions. During World War II, Camp Beale's 86,000 acres were home for more than 60,000 soldiers, a prisoner-of-war encampment and a 1,000-bed hospital. In 1948, the camp transferred from the Army to the Air Force.

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AIR FORCE FACT SHEETS

CBA

13th Reconnaissance Squadron

Mission

The 13th Reconnaissance Squadron is an associate unit that provides theater commanders with near-real-time intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and target acquisition data. The squadron operates and maintains deployable, long-endurance RQ-4 Global Hawk aircraft and ground control elements to fulfill training and operational requirements generated by the Joint Chiefs of Staff in support of unified commanders and the Secretary of Defense. The 13th Reconnaissance Squadron is a geographically-separated unit assigned to the 726th Operations Group out of Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, but is located at Beale Air Force Base, California.

Supported Commands

The 13 RS supports Air Combat Command when performing peacetime and training missions, Central Command, Southern Command, Pacific Command, European Command and Africa Command when performing wartime taskings and Northern Command during disaster response.

Personnel

Approximately 195 (135 Traditional Reservists; 60 Full-Time Reservists)

Major Operational Participation

Operations ENDURING FREEDOM 2001-present, IRAQI FREEDOM 2003-2010, NEW DAWN 2010-2011, RESTORE HOPE 2010, TOMODACHI 2011, ODYSSEY DAWN 2011, UNIFIED PROTECTOR 2011, and DAMAYAN 2013, FREEDOM’S SENTINEL and INHERENT RESOLVE.

Humanitarian Operations

California Wildfires 2007, Haiti Earthquake 2010, Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami 2011, Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines 2013

Unit History

9 June 1942: Constituted 13th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron.
20 June 1942: Activated and assigned to 3rd Photographic Reconnaissance and Mapping Group (attached to 1st Bombardment Wing, 2 Dec 1942-16 Feb 1943 and to 8th Air Force 16 Feb-7 Jul 1942).
6 Feb 1943: Redesignated 13th Photographic Squadron (Light), assigned to 7th Photographic Reconnaissance and Mapping Group 7 Jul 1943-21 Nov 1945.
13 Nov 1943: Redesignated 13th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron and inactivated 1 Dec 1945.
11 March 1947: Redesignated 13th Reconnaissance Squadron, Photographic.
6 July 1947: Activated in the Reserve, assigned to 65th Reconnaissance Group 6 Jul 1947-27 Jun 1949 and unit was inactivated 27 Jun 1949.
26 May 1952: Redesignated 13th Troop Carrier Squadron, Medium.
14 June 1952: Activated in the Reserve, assigned to 65th Troop Carrier Group 14 Jun 1952-1 Apr 1953