3rd Special Operations Squadron
military unit
The 3rd Special Operations Squadron is part of the 27th Special Operations Group of the Air Force Special Operations Command at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico. It flies MQ-9 Reaper unmanned combat aerial vehicles or "drones"; the 3rd SOS is the first Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) squadron within the AFSOC.
Mission
"Executes global Special Operations taskings as a member of the Air Force component of United States Special Operations Command. Supports theater commander by providing precision weapons employment and persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. Plans, prepares, and executes MQ-9 Reaper aircraft missions supporting special operation forces. Organizes, trains and equips personnel."
History
World War I
Organized in France on 4 April 1918, the Photographic Section No. 1 processed aerial photographs taken by flying units working with the I Corps Observation Group and the French 38th Army Corps, 5 April–November 1918.
Inter-war years
After moving back to the United States in June 1919, the unit was demobilized in July.
In September 1919 the unit was organized as the 1st Photographic Section, assigned to the 1st Wing and then the 1st Surveillance Group, where they processed aerial photography for associated observation squadrons in Texas until becoming the 3rd Observation Squadron on June 1, 1937.
World War II
At Langley Field, Virginia, the squadron engaged in aerial observation work attached to the Coast Artillery School using Bell P-39 Airacobras until April 1942. It supported ground forces on maneuvers during 1942, and served as a training and demonstration unit January 1943 – February 1944.
“3rd Special Operations Squadron” enters the record as military unit. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Special, Operations and Squadron can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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This entry incorporates text from “3rd Special Operations Squadron” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.