Shield represents past roots, present vision Published May 17, 2007 By 552nd Air Control Wing History Office TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. (AFPN) -- The shield of the 552nd Air Control Wing symbolizes the unit's mission and reflects its more than 50-year past. It was originally approved for the 552nd Airborne Early Warning and Control Wing on Feb. 6, 1956. The ultramarine blue and gold represent Air Force colors. The emblem' s elements portray the wing' s 24-hour mission of vigilance. The white background is for the new wing that performs its mission with honor; other shades of blue represent the 24-hour alert; gold is also for the wing' s ability to maintain 360 degrees of vigilance. Lightning shows the electronic nature of the wing, and the winged battlement represents guarding the nation's borders by air. On the original emblem, the Latin words "Robur Ex Vigilantia," meaning "In Vigilance is Strength," were below the shield as the wing's motto. For today's emblem, the words were replaced with "552nd Air Control Wing" and approved on Oct. 27, 1994. .