One hundred: 2 SOS celebrates centennial of service

  • Published
  • By Dan Neely
  • 919th Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
DUKE FIELD, Fla. --  One of the Air Force’s oldest squadrons celebrated its centennial of battlefield support to America’s military Sept. 25.

The Air Force Reserve’s 2nd Special Operations Squadron is a Remotely Piloted Aircraft unit specializing in intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and precision strike.

The unit celebrated its 100th anniversary by continuing its combat mission while also honoring the milestone and legacy of those who came before them during a potluck luncheon.

“The 2 SOS does a phenomenal job of both executing the mission and taking care of their members,” said Col. Regina Sabric, 919th Special Operations Group commander. “They have successfully mastered operating combat operations 24/7/365 deployed in garrison, all while ensuring a long-term sustainable operation.”

The squadron is a geographically separated unit of the 919th Special Operations Wing at Duke Field. Its members operate RPA, maintaining round-the-clock combat air patrols for combatant commanders worldwide.

The unit is comprised of pilots, sensor operators and mission intelligence coordinators, along with a host of aviation resource management and administrative support specialists.

The then-U.S. Army unit was established Sept. 25, 1917, at Fort Omaha, Nebraska, as Company B, 2nd Balloon Squadron with its fleet of observation balloons. Balloons and unit members fought in World War I over the battlefields of France in a similar surveillance and reconnaissance role to help commanders on the ground identify enemy positions, movements and strengths to employ tactics to defeat them.

Despite being deactivated and re-activated several times thereafter, the unit kept its balloon mission—whether in operational or schoolhouse training roles—until disbanded in 1942.

After advances in reconnaissance technology ended the military’s balloon mission, the 2nd SOS transitioned over the next several decades to multi-engine aircraft. In the more immediate post-world War II era, the squadron flew C-54 and C-124 transports on missions that included airlifting fissionable materials and nuclear weapons components, as well as supporting several nuclear tests.

Following its last deactivation at McCoy AFB, Florida, (presently Orlando International Airport) in 1961, the 2nd SOS remained inactive until it stood up once again in March 2009 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, as an RPA unit before relocating to Florida in 2014.

The 2nd SOS is the Air Force Reserve’s only special operations forces RPA unit providing 16 percent of AFSOC’s RPA combat air patrols and has the only surge capacity in AFSOC, according to Sabric.

The commander who today leads the century-old squadron echoed Sabric’s sentiments on the significance of the unit’s mission and quality of its people.

“I could not be more proud, humbled and honored to be the commander of the 2 SOS and to be part of an organization with such a tremendous history dating back to World War I,” said Lt. Col. Jason, 2nd SOS commander.

Jason acknowledged the challenges of maintaining a culture of organizational excellence while meeting a feverishly demanding operations tempo.

“What we do has often been described as a marathon at a sprint pace,” said Jason. “We work extremely hard at creating an environment where people believe in the mission are excited about what they do.”

The unit carries historical distinctions as just one of three Air Force units hitting their centennial milestone this year, and the only centennial unit in Air Force Special Operations Command.

“The bottom line,” Jason continued, “is that without great people, you can’t do this mission for very long. They all volunteered to be part of this organization knowing the unique sacrifices they and their families would have to make along the way. They are the reason this squadron has been so successful while maintaining such a strenuous pace for as long as we have.”

(Editor's note: The 2nd SOS commander's last name is withheld for security reasons.)