95th Reconnaissance Squadron
The
95th Reconnaissance Squadron (
95 RS) is a
United States Air Force reconnaissance unit based at
Offutt Air Force Base, near
Omaha,
Nebraska. Although it is a component of the
55th Operations Group, main flying operations are conducted from
RAF Mildenhall,
United Kingdom and
Souda Bay,
Crete.
Conducts
RC-135 Rivet Joint flight operations in the
European and
Mediterranean theaters of operations as tasked by National Command Authorities and European Command. Provides all operational management, aircraft maintenance, administration, and intelligence support to produce politically sensitive real-time intelligence data vital to national foreign policy. Supports EC-135,
OC-135, and
E-4B missions when theater deployed.
The 95th RS was activated at
RAF Alconbury in the United Kingdom on
1 October 1982. It flew
U-2 and
TR-1 aircraft in support of
NATO and
US Air Forces Europe missions. After the end of the
Cold War, the 95th RS was no longer needed and the unit was inactivated on
15 September 1993. This hiatus did not last long as the unit was reactivated on
1 July 1994 at RAF Mildenhall, this time flying the RC-135 Rivet Joint, OC-135 Open Skies and E-4B aircraft.
Although the 95th RS can trace its lineage back to
95th Aero Squadron (a fighter unit) of
World War I, its mission today is vastly different from that of the 95th AS and its many successors. However, the 95th RS is authorized to display the honors of its ancestor units.
* U-2/TR-1, 1983 - 1993
* EC-135, 1994 - present
* E-4, 1994 - present
* OC-135, 1994 - present
*
Air Force Historical Research Agency*
Offutt Air Force Base web site
