Beale Air Force Base was named for Edward Fitzgerald Beale, a man who experimented with camels as replacements for Army mules and who was one of California's largest landholders.

Edward Fitzgerald "Ned" Beale was born Feb. 4, 1822, in the District of Columbia. His father George, a paymaster in the Navy, had won a Congressional Medal for Valor in the War of 1812. His mother Emily was the daughter of Commodore Thomas Truxtun. Ned was a student at Georgetown College when, at the solicitation of his widowed mother, President Andrew Jackson appointed him to the Naval School. Beale graduated in 1842.

After a promotion to acting sailing master, he sailed for California in October 1845, on the frigate Congress under Commodore Robert F. Stockton's command. But 20 days later Stockton sent Beale back to Washington with important dispatches. After a long and arduous voyage, he reached Washington in March 1846. Promoted to the grade of sailing master, he sailed for Panama and then overtook the Congress at Callo, Peru, in May 1846.

Hostilities with Mexico had already begun when the vessel arrived at Monterrey, Mexico on July 20. After reaching San Diego, Stockton dispatched Beale to serve with the land forces. He and a small body of men under Lieutenant Archibald H. Gillespie joined General Stephen W. Kearney's column just before the disastrous battle of San Pasqual (Dec. 6, 1846). After the Mexican Army surrounded the small American force and threatened to destroy it, Beale and two other men (his Delaware Indian servant and Kit Carson) crept through the Mexican lines and made their way to San Diego for reinforcements. Their actions saved Kearney's soldiers. Two months later (Feb. 9, 1847), although Beale still suffered from the effects of his adventure, Stockton again sent him east with dispatches. Beale reached Washington around June 1. In October he appeared as a defense witness for John C. Fremont at the "PathInder's" court martial.

Within the next two years, Beale made six more journeys across the country. On the second of these (July through September 1848), he crossed Mexico in disguise to bring the federal government proof of California's gold. After the fourth journey he married Pennsylvania Representative Samuel Edwards' daughter Mary on June 27, 1849. Although he became a lieutenant on Aug. 3, 1850, Beale resigned from the Navy in May 1851. He returned to California as a manager for W.H. Aspinwall and Commodore Stockton, who had acquired large properties in America's newest territory. On March 3, 1853, President Millard Fillmore appointed Beale Superintendent of Indian Affairs for California and Nevada. Congress appropriated $250,000 to improve native conditions in Beale's district. With a party of 13 others he left Washington for California on May 6, 1853. Beale crossed southern Colorado and southern Utah assessing the feasibility of the route for a transcontinental railroad. He reached Los Angeles on August 22. He retained his position as superintendent until 1856. California Governor John Bigler also appointed Beale brigadier general in the state militia to give him additional authority to negotiate peace treaties between the Native Americans and the U.S. Army.

In 1857, President James Buchanan appointed Beale to survey a wagon road from Fort Defiance, N.M. to the Colorado River, on the border between Arizona and California. The survey also incorporated an experiment first proposed by Secretary of War Jefferson Davis four years earlier. To satisfy part of his transportation needs, Beale used 25 camels, imported from Tunis, as pack animals during this expedition and on another in 1858 and 1859. He felt the camels performed well. But they scared horses and mules, so the Army declined to continue the experiment.

After Abraham Lincoln's inauguration in 1861, the president appointed Beale Surveyor General of California and Nevada. Beale asked Lincoln for a Union Army command, but the president convinced him he could better serve the country by remaining as surveyor general and helping to keep California in the Union. After the Civil War, Beale retired to Rancho Tejon, part of 270,000 acres he had acquired near present-day Bakersfield, Calif. In 1870, he bought the Decatur House in Washington, D.C. After that he divided his time between his two homes. In 1876, President Ulysses S. Grant appointed Beale as Minister to Austria- Hungary, a post he held for a year. Grant also suggested Beale as Navy Secretary during President Chester A. Arthur's administration, but Arthur preferred someone else. Beale died at Decatur House on April 22, 1893.

BEALE AIR FORCE BASE
Beale not only has a unique mission, it was named for a unique individual. Unlike most other bases that were named for aviators, Beale was named for Edward Fitzgerald Beale (1822- 1893), the surveyor general of California. Beale graduated from the Naval School, served in the California militia and led the experiment to replace Army mules with camels.

Camp Beale opened in October 1942, as a training site for the 13th Armored Division and later 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. The Air Force conducted bombardier and navigator training at Beale and in 1951, activated the Beale Bombing and Gunnery Range for aviation engineer training. The base has been under several commands, including: Air Training Command; Continental Air Command; Aviation Engineer Force; the Strategic Air Command; and since June 1, 1992, Air Combat Command. In May 1959, Colonel Paul K. Carlton assumed command of the recently activated 4126th Strategic Wing. The first two KC-135s arrived two months later on July 7, 1959. On Jan. 18, 1960, the 31st Bombardment Squadron with its B-52s arrived at Beale to become part of the wing. The 14th Air Division moved to Beale from Travis AFB, one week later. On Feb. 1, 1963, SAC redesignated the 4126th as the 456th Strategic Aerospace Wing. On Sep. 30, 1975, the 456th Bombardment Wing inactivated and the 17th Bombardment Wing activated in its place.

On Sept. 30, 1976, the 17th inactivated and the 100th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. became the 100th Air Refueling Wing and moved to Beale. Many of the people and the tankers that had been part of the 17th now became members of the 100th. The 17th Wing's B-52s moved to other bases. The 100th ARW stayed at Beale until March 15, 1983, when the Air Force inactivated the wing and consolidated its refueling mission and assets into the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing.

From 1959 until 1965, Beale was support base for three Titan I missile sites near Lincoln, Chico, and the Sutter Buttes. On July 1, 1979, the 7th Missile Warning Squadron brought the Phased Array Warning System Radar site to Beale. This 10-story structure can detect possible attack by sea-launched ballistic missiles or track a global satellite.

On Oct. 15, 1964, the Department of Defense announced that Beale would be the home of the new, supersonic reconnaissance aircraft, the SR-71 "Blackbird." The 4200th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing activated on Jan. 1, 1965. The new wing received its first aircraft, a T-38 Talon, on July 8, 1965. The first SR-71 did not arrive until Jan. 7, 1966. On June 25, 1966, the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, which began as the 9th Observation Group in 1922, and its 1st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron activated as the 1st Aero Squadron in 1913, replaced the 4200th.

The first U-2 arrived from Davis-Monthan on July 12, 1976. Until Jan. 26, 1990, when budget restrictions forced the retirement of the SR-71, Beale Air Force Base was the home of two of the world's most unique aircraft. On Sept. 1, 1991, the 14th Air Division inactivated and the Second Air Force, with a lineage stretching back to World War II, activated at Beale. Second Air Force inactivated at Beale on July 1, 1993.

In July 1994, the 350th Air Refueling Squadron transferred from Beale to McConnell Air Force Base, Kans., taking the last of the KC-135Q tankers with it. Tankers returned in 1998, when the 940th Wing, an Air Force Reserve unit, transferred to Beale. The 9th Reconnaissance Wing added the 12th Reconnaissance Squadron on Nov. 8, 2001, as the parent unit for the high altitude, unmanned RQ-4, "Global Hawk," reconnaissance aircraft. The first Global Hawk arrived on Oct. 28, 2004. Today Beale AFB is again the home for two extraordinary aircraft, the U-2 and RQ-4 reconnaissance aircraft, the T-38 jet trainer and the KC-135 tanker.

Visitors enter the base through a main gate that local merchants, individuals and the Beale Military Liaison Committee donated $100,000 to construct. The base, covering nearly 23,000 acres, is home for approximately 4,000 military personnel. Beale Air Force Base has a unique name and mission, a historic past and a promising future.

9TH RECONNAISSANCE WING
The 9th Reconnaissance Wing celebrated the 50th anniversary of its activation at Fairfield- Suisun (present-day Travis) Air Force Base, Calif. on May 1, 1999. The wing's lineage and honors history extends back even further. Soon after the 9th Bombardment Wing activated, the 9th Bombardment Group inactivated and the group's lineage and honors passed on to the wing. The group stood-up at Mitchel Field, N.Y. on Aug. 1, 1922, as headquarters for the 1st (the oldest Air Force squadron) and 5th Squadrons. The 99th Squadron joined the group on Nov. 9, 1928.

In March 1916, the 1st Aero Squadron, with Captain Benjamin D. Foulois as commander, supported General "Black Jack" Pershing's punitive expeditions into Mexico. Pancho Villa had raided Columbus, N.M., and Pershing pursued and hoped to capture him. On March 16, 1916, Captain T.F. Dodd, with Captain Foulois as observer, few the first American aerial reconnaissance mission in combat. (The wavy line in the middle of the wing's emblem represents the Rio Grande River and the 1st Aero Squadron's operations in 1916). Both the 1st and the 99th Aero Squadrons flew in World War I. From Sept. 12 to Sept. 15, 1918, they joined the great air armada of 1,481 airplanes in a massive air offensive in the St. Mihiel sector of France. The squadrons also participated in the Champagne-Marne, Aisne- Marne and Meuse-Argonne combat operations. (The four black crosses on the wing's emblem commemorate these air battles).

In World War II the 9th Bombardment Group fought in the Pacific Theater. On April 15 to April 16, 1945, 33 9th Group B-29s flew 1,500 miles, low-level to avoid detection, over water and at night, to attack heavily-defended Kawasaki, Japan. Enemy anti-aircraft guns and flak boats destroyed four of the group's 33 bombers and damaged six others. But the attack demolished Kawasaki's strategic industrial district. The group earned a Distinguished Unit Emblem for its actions. The unit won another DUE the following month for mining the Shimonoseki Straits and the waters around Honshu and Kyushu blocking Inland Sea trafUc and isolating important Japanese ports. After its activation in 1949, the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing's 1st, 5th and 99th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadrons flew RB-29s and RB-36s on visual, photographic, electronic and weather reconnaissance missions. The Air Force redesignated the wing the 9th Bombardment Wing on April 1, 1950. In 1953, the wing moved from Fairfield-Suisun Air Force Base to Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. There, B-47s replaced the B-29s. The wing's B-47s were an integral part of the Strategic Air Command's nuclear deterrent force until 1966. In November 1955, the wing demonstrated SAC's ability to strike anywhere in the world by Vying nonstop from Mountain Home Air Force Base to New Zealand, a distance of 8,300 miles. The 9th returned to its roots on June 25, 1966, when the Air Force redesignated the wing the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing and transferred it to Beale. The wing would fly the new SR-71 "Blackbird," a supersonic, high altitude reconnaissance aircraft. Flying above 80,000 feet at more than 2,000 mph, the SR-71 could survey over 100,000 square miles in an hour. The airplane quickly became operational and began Vying missions throughout Southeast Asia. Rescuers used SR-71 photos to plan the raid on Son Tay prison to free American prisoners of war. After the Vietnam War, the SR-71 established a level-flight-at-altitude record at 85,131 feet and a straight-course speed record of 2,194 mph.

On July 1, 1976, the U-2 joined the SR-71 in the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing giving the unit two of the most unique aircraft in the world. The "Dragon Lady" had gained national and international recognition with flights over the Soviet Union, China, Cuba and Southeast Asia. The U-2 was the perfect complement to the SR-71. The Blackbird could penetrate highly-defended areas, take a "quick look" and depart at high speeds. The Dragon Lady could spend more time "on-station" and furnish a "long look" at the desired target. The U-2 was also much less expensive to fly. In 1989, the Air Force decided the SR-71 was too expensive to operate and retired the Blackbird on Jan. 1, 1990. Although it made a brief revival in the mid-90s, today the aircraft is again retired. The U-2, meanwhile, continued to prove its worth. In 1990-91 the wing deployed the largest TDY contingent of U-2s seen to that day to Saudi Arabia to support OPERATION DESERT SHIELD/STORM. The Dragon Lady tracked Iraqi troop and armor buildups, assessed bomb damage and monitored a massive oil spill in the Persian Gulf. U-2 pilots alerted ground stations of Scud missile launches and guided fighter aircraft to destroy Scud launchers. After the Gulf War, the U-2 stayed in Saudi Arabia to monitor Iraqi compliance with the peace agreement. In 1998, the Dragon Lady set a weight-to-altitude record and in 1999, won the Collier Trophy, aviation's most coveted award.

In 2001, the 9th Reconnaissance Wing joined the war on terrorism in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. From March 19, to April 14, 2003, the U-2 was involved in flights over Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom. During that time a total of 15 U-2s, the largest contingent of U-2s deployed since Desert Storm, and 31 pilots deployed resulting in 169 sorties and more than 1,400 Vying hours. The U-2 conducted time critical targeting and battle damage assessment. In addition, the Dragon Lady aided in the pickup of a downed Navy F-14 crew on March 23 and in the rescue of seven prisoners-of-war on April 13. On Nov. 8, 2001, the 12 Reconnaissance Squadron joined the 9th RW at Beale as a parent unit for the RQ-4 Global Hawk, a high altitude, unmanned reconnaissance vehicle.

Once again Beale will be home for two of the world's most unusual aircraft. The squadron's Global Hawk unmanned high-altitude reconnaissance vehicle will complement the U-2's capability and greatly enhance the 9th Reconnaissance Wing's ability to provide vital information to our nation's decision-makers. Today the 9th Reconnaissance Wing continues to play a vital role in our nation's defense. The U-2 furnishes national and military leaders critical information on which to base important decisions. To do this, the wing operates permanent detachments and temporary operating locations at critical sites around the world. At any given moment, day or night, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, there is probably a 9th Reconnaissance Wing U-2 Vying an operational mission somewhere in the world.

1ST RECONNAISSANCE SQUADRON
For nearly a century, the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron has gathered information to protect America. In 1913, General Victoriano Huerta's revolutionary forces threatened our southwestern borders. The Army unofficially organized the 1st Aero Squadron (Provisional) in Texas City, Texas on March 5, 1913, in preparation for a possible confrontation with Huerta's forces. Three years later, Mexican renegade Pancho Villa staged several raids into the United States. As part of General Pershing's Punitive Expedition, the 1st Aero Squadron (ofUcially organized in December 1913) became the first tactical aviation unit to participate in an American military action.

Under the command of Captain Benjamin D. Foulois, the 1st took eight Curtiss JN-3s into the field. On March 16, 1916, they made their first reconnaissance flight into Mexico, and on March 19, the entire unit moved across the border. The squadron operated in Mexico until February 1917. But problems beset this first tactical use of aircraft, most noticeably the poor quality of these first air machines. The Curtiss "Jennys" could not climb over the 10,000 to 12,000-foot mountains that surrounded the area. Also, high winds and dust storms frequently grounded the Jennys. But the unit did its best with the fragile machines. They carried mail, flew limited reconnaissance, moved dispatches and kept General Pershing in contact with his forward troops.

When the United States entered the Great War in April 1917, the 1st Aero Squadron was still at Columbus, N.M. The Army ordered the unit to New York to accompany the 1st Division to France. Ground transportation problems, however, caused the 1st to arrive too late to sail with the division. The squadron eventually arrived in New York in August 1917, and sailed for France on the S.S. Lapland. The 1st arrived at Le Havre on Sept. 3, 1917, and, though late, it was the first American squadron in France. From October 1917, until the Armistice, the 1st Aero Squadron saw extensive action. First, Vying newer Salmsons over the Champagne- Marne region, the unit aided the stand of U.S. Marines at Chateau-Thierry and prevented the German Army from crossing the Marne River. The squadron also fought at Aisne-Marne (July 18 through Aug. 6, 1918), St. Mihiel (Sept. 12 through 16, 1918), and Meusse-Argonne (Sept. 26 through Nov. 11, 1918). The four Maltese crosses on the 9th Reconnaissance Wing's emblem represent these battles.

Although the 1st's primary duties were reconnaissance and artillery surveillance, occasionally unit pilots had to flight. Squadron pilots scored 13 aerial victories during the war. Thirteen Maltese crosses on the 1st's emblem commemorate these victories. But the victories came at a price. Sixteen squadron officers lost their lives and three more were missing-in-action. In 1940, just before the United States became involved in World War II, the War Department sent the 1st to Panama to strengthen defenses around the Panama Canal. After two years of anti-submarine duty, the 1st moved to the Army Air Force School of Applied Tactics, Orlando, Fla. There the squadron trained other units in formation Vying and precision high-altitude bombing in B-17s. In March 1944, the 1st relocated to Dalhart, Texas and began combat training. In May 1944, the squadron moved again, to McCook, Neb., and received B-29s.

After finishing B-29 training in December 1944, the 1st transferred to North Field, Tinian, in the Marianas Islands, as part of 20th Air Force, XXI Bomber Command. On Feb. 9, 1945, the squadron saw its first combat of World War II when it joined a B-29 raid on the Japanese seaplane base at Moen, Truk Islands. Following these missions, the 1st flew high-altitude, precision raids on Japanese aircraft engine plants on February 25 and March 4, 1945.

On March 9 and 10, B-29s of the 1st were among the 334 bombers Major General Curtis E. LeMay dispatched on low-level, incendiary attacks, which devastated a 15-square mile area of Tokyo. Later, the squadron received a Distinguished Unit Citation for a successful attack on Kawasaki, despite heavy flak and fighter opposition. In May, the 1st won another Distinguished Unit Citation for mining the Shimonoseki Strait and bottling-up Japanese forces in the Inland Sea, preventing their joining defenders on Okinawa during the Allied assault.

After the birth of the Air Force in 1947, the unit joined Strategic Air Command as the 1st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, Photographic. In May 1949, the squadron moved to Fairfield-Suisun Air Force Base (now Travis AFB), Calif. and joined the 9th Reconnaissance Wing. In April 1950, the Air Force redesignated the unit the 1st Bombardment Squadron and, in October, transferred it with the wing to Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. For the next several years, the 1st remained at the front of America's nuclear deterrent force, transitioning from B-29s to the B-47 in 1954. The squadron later set a record for a non-stop flight flying B-47s from Idaho to New Zealand.

But even as the 1st flew the B-47, Lockheed Aircraft Corporation was developing a new plane, cloaked in secrecy. This plane, publicly announced by President Lyndon B. Johnson as the SR-71, joined the Air Force inventory in 1966. The 1st and the wing moved to Beale, Calif. on June 25, 1966, to fly the SR-71. This new and advanced aircraft gave the Strategic Air Command a reconnaissance capability far greater than any then available in terms of speed, altitude and increased area coverage. The SR-71 could fly at more than three times the speed of sound and operate at altitudes above 80,000 feet. During the Vietnam Era, the 1st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron crew members gathered photographic and electronic intelligence products of Southeast Asia. Photos taken from SR-71 missions flown over North Vietnam were used in planning the unsuccessful attempt to rescue American POWs from Son Tay prisoner-of- war camp.

Because of budgetary reasons, the Air Force retired the SR-71 on Jan. 1, 1990, and unit became the 1st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron (Training), harkening back to its roots as a training unit at San Diego and Orlando. Today, the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron is the Formal Training Unit for the U-2. The squadron recruits and trains all the U-2 pilots that fly high altitude reconnaissance flights around the world. For nearly a century, the 1st Squadron has led the way. The 1st Aero Squadron (Provisional) was with General Pershing on his Punitive Expedition in 1916, the first tactical aviation unit to participate in a military action. In 1917, the 1st Aero Squadron was the first U.S. squadron in France. During World War II the 1st Bombardment Squadron won two Distinguished Unit Citations for operations in the Pacific. SR-71s from the 1st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron set speed records in 1974 that still stand. Today the Air Force's oldest squadron continues to play a vital role in America's defense.

99TH RECONNAISSANCE SQUADRON
The 99th RS has a long and colorful history. Organized at Kelly Field, Texas on Aug. 21, 1917, the 99th Aero Squadron moved to Garden City, N.J. in early November and sailed for France on the fourteenth. After training in the Sopwith and the Salmson, the squadron began Vying combat missions in June 1918. The squadron, assigned to the 33rd French Corps, flew reconnaissance missions and directed artillery fire in support of the U.S. Army, 5th Division during the St. Mihiel offensive from September 12-16.

The 99th Aero Squadron then aided the Allies in the Argonne-Meusse offensive. The four black crosses on the 9th Reconnaissance Wing's emblem represent 1st and 99th Squadrons' participation at St. Mihiel, Argonne-Muesse, Champagne-Marne and Aisne-Marne.

The 99th Aero Squadron remained in France until May 8, 1919, then moved to Mitchel Field, N.Y. The redesignated 99th Observation Squadron joined the 9th Observation Group on Nov. 9, 1928. In 1940, as hostilities increased in Europe and German U-boats threatened worldwide shipping, the Army transferred the 9th Group, first to the Panama Canal Zone, then to Surinam to protect U.S. interests. The squadron moved to Florida in October 1942, and trained other bombardment units on formation Vying and high altitude precision bombing in B-17s. In 1944, the 99th moved to Dalhart Army Air Field, Texas and then on to McCook AAF, Neb., where it trained for its own combat deployment. After six months in the new B-29, the 99th transferred to North Field, Tinian, in the Marianas, just east of the Philippines.

Arriving at Tinian on Dec. 28, 1944, the 99th Bombardment Squadron (Very Heavy) flew its first bombing raids on Jan. 27, 29 and 31, 1945, against Japanese installations in the northern Marianas. On February 25, the 99th joined an Allied effort against Tokyo's port and industrial areas. For the remaining months of the war, squadron B-29s repeatedly struck Japanese aircraft factories, chemical plants, naval bases and airdromes.

During these months, the 99th won two Distinguished Unit Citations. The first came for April 15-16, 1945, bombing raids on Kawasaki, Japan's industrial center, which furnished components for Tokyo and Yokohama's heavy industry. The squadron won the second award in mine-laying operations a month later in the Shimonoseki Straits, which controlled access to the Inland Seas. This operation crippled Japan's efforts to ship food, raw materials, war supplies, troops and combat equipment to and from the homeland.

Following World War II, the National Security Act of 1947 created the Air Force as a sister service to the Army and Navy. The Air Force established the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Fairfield-Suisun (later Travis) Air Force Base, Calif. on April 25, 1949, and activated it on May 1 as a Strategic Air Command unit. The Air Force also activated and redesignated the 9th Group as the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Group, which included the 1st, 5th and 99th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadrons. The squadrons flew RB-29s and a few RB-36s.

On April 1, 1950, the Air Force redesignated the wing as the 9th Bombardment Wing and the 99th as a bombardment squadron. The 99th continued to fly B-29s at Fairfield-Suisun Air Force Base until May 1, 1953, when SAC transferred the wing and its squadrons to Mountain Home AFB, Idaho. By June 1955, the 99th Bombardment Squadron had replaced its B-29s with new B-47s. In November 1955, the 99th and other wing squadrons demonstrated the Strategic Air Command's ability to strike anywhere in the world. Squadron B-47s flew 8,300 miles nonstop from Mountain Home Air Force Base to New Zealand. The 99th flew nuclear deterrent missions for ten years. In November 1965, SAC agreed to transfer Mountain Home Air Force Base to the Tactical Air Command. The 99th's B-47s transferred to other units and by Feb. 1, 1966, all squadron aircraft were gone. But the squadron was not destined to disappear. As the squadron phased-out at Mountain Home Air Force Base, plans were already afoot for a rebirth and a new mission. In January 1966, the first SR-71 had landed at Beale Air Force Base, Calif. This new aircraft gave SAC a reconnaissance capability that far exceeded any then available in terms of speed, altitude and coverage. The SR-71 flew at more than three times the speed of sound (Mach 3+) at altitudes above 80,000 feet. It carried the most advanced observation equipment in the world.

The 4200th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing activated at Beale on Jan. 1, 1965, as the SR-71's parent unit. In October 1965, Fifteenth Air Force suggested the Air Force redesignated the 9th Bombardment Wing as the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing to continue the wing's proud history. The Air Force agreed and on June 25, 1966, the wing became the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing and the 99th a strategic reconnaissance squadron. By March 1967, the SR-71 was mission-ready. The aircraft quickly deployed to Okinawa and began Vying operational missions over Southeast Asia. Squadron pilots and reconnaissance systems operators gathered photographic and electronic data for U.S. commanders in Vietnam from 1967, until April 1, 1971, when the 99th inactivated. On Nov. 1, 1972, the 99th activated as a 100th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing unit at U-Tapao Air Base, Thailand. The squadron flew U-2s, DC-130s and CH-3s on classiUed missions over Southeast Asia until June 30, 1976. When the U-2 joined the SR-71 under the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale, the 99th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron returned home.

The U-2, although slower than the SR-71, cost less to operate and provided much more"on-station" time. As intelligence collection increased throughout the 1980s, 99th U-2 pilots manned detachments at sites around the world. With the SR-71's retirement in 1990, the U-2 assumed responsibility for all of America's manned, high-altitude reconnaissance. During OPERATION DESERT SHIELD, 99th Squadron pilots immediately moved to Saudi Arabia and flew their first missions of Aug. 19, 1990, just 17 days after Iraq invaded Kuwait. Throughout Desert Shield/Storm, squadron pilots provided vital reconnaissance that kept coalition commanders informed on the positions and movement of Iraqi troops. This information made air attacks more effective and helped reduce casualties in the ground war. In 2001, the 99th became involved in the war on terrorism in OPERATIONS ENDURING FREEDOM AND IRAQI FREEDOM. From March 19 to April 14, 2003, 15 U-2s and 31 pilots flew 169 sorties and more than 1,400 Vying hours over Iraq supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Today, 99th Reconnaissance Squadron pilots, male and female, spend nearly half their time on temporary assignment around the world. They fly daily operational missions from the 99th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron at Akrotiri, Cyprus, the 5th Reconnaissance Squadron at Osan, Korea, and other locations. Pilots of the 99th are America's "Eyes and Ears Around the World."

12TH RECONNAISSANCE SQUADRON
Born in World War I, the 12th Reconnaissance Squadron has proven itself in every major conflict since that time, including the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The 12th Aero Squadron organized on June 2, 1917, in San Antonio, Texas. During World War I, the 12th Aero Squadron received orders in October 1917 for France. The unit landed in England on Christmas Day and immediately shipped to France. Initially, mechanics and pilots spent their time training on French aircraft. By late April, the squadron received its own quota of 12 French-built AR-2s. With new aircraft came orders for the front.

Reaching Ourches in the Toul Sector on May 3, the 12th began combat operations a week later. Working closely with the French VI Army Corps and the American I Army Corps, the squadron helped artillery commanders zero in on targets, improved liaisons between infantry units, surveilled and photographed enemy positions, dropped propaganda leaflets and protected Allied Forces. In the following months, the 12th Aero Squadron won several campaign streamers, including Aisne-Marne, Champagne- Marne, Meusse-Argonne and St. Miheil, the four campaigns represented by the four black crosses on the 9th Reconnaissance Wing emblem. After the November 1918 armistice, the 12th Aero Squadron remained in Germany and France with the Army of Occupation. From Dec. 30, 1918 until April 1919, the unit helped with reconstruction at Fort Alexander, Goblenz, Germany. The 12th returned to France on April 16 and sailed from Brest aboard the U.S. Navy-operated Liberator on June 3, disembarking in New York on June 17. The squadron spent the inter-war years practicing in joint maneuvers and developing new tactics at various locations around the country, most often in and around San Antonio, Texas. On March 20, 1942, the 12th Observation Squadron (Medium) arrived at Esler Field, La., and nine days later joined the 67th Observation (later Tactical Reconnaissance) Group. At Elser, the squadron trained in A-20s and P-51s preparing for overseas duty.

On May 31, 1943, the unit designation changed to the 12th Reconnaissance Squadron (Fighter) and in July it reorganized with its A-20s, gunners, liaison pilots and most observers moving to the 153rd Liaison Squadron. Throughout 1943, the squadron participated in maneuvers, improved its mobility by practicing changing airfields on short notice, and flew some combat operations with the Royal Air Force. The 12th dropped the (Fighter) from its designation in November and on Jan. 4, 1944, it and its parent 67th Group moved to the IX Air Support (later Tactical Air) Command.