Command, control squadron inactivates at Offutt AFB

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. John Severns
  • 55th Wing Public Affairs
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. (AFPN) --  The 55th Mobile Command and Control Squadron here was officially inactivated Sept. 27 after 28 years of service.

For nearly three decades the men and women of the 55th MCCS have kept a quiet vigil, preparing for the day when the fate of the nation might depend on their ability to provide a survivable command and control platform after an attack during the Cold War.

That day never came. However, according to Lt. Gen. C. Robert Kehler, deputy commander of U.S. Strategic Command, it turns out the people of the United States were depending on the 55th MCCS all along.

"When you started, it was with some vans with some radio gear and your job was to help the command survive and conduct its mission through what we all know would have been the most horrific set of circumstances we ever could have faced," General Kehler said.

"The real objective was to never get to that point, to have a strong enough deterrent to ensure that we didn't, and ... it worked," he said.

For the years it was in service, 55th MCCS members and the mission they supported, U.S. Strategic Command's Mobile Consolidated Command Center, were ready to roll out of Offutt AFB at a moment's notice. With their communications gear, they could set up an independent, survivable command center far away from likely nuclear attacks.

The MCCC was part of a strategic deterrent the United States maintained throughout the Cold War and, according to the general, succeeded because people in units like the 55th MCCS were "manning the walls."

Secrecy was at the heart of the 55th MCCS, according to Col. Curtiss Petrek, 55th Wing vice commander. Even the squadron's crest, which shows the grim reaper silhouetted against a night sky, communicates the need for covertness.

"The crest," he said, "signifies the fact that when this squadron left town and moved to a new location, they often did it under the cover of darkness, and the thousands of people stationed here would not even know that they had left town."

Col. Sheron Bellizan, commander of the 55th Communications Group, noted that while the squadron might be gone, its legacy would endure.

"We are indeed inspired by the outstanding legacy of excellence that the MCCS leaves to our wing, U.S. Strategic Command and our nation," she said.

The final words about the 55th MCCS were spoken by its final commander, Maj. Karen Hibbard, who took the stage after Colonel Petrek.

"I'd like to leave you with the words of the last transmission from the command center status report," she said.

"It simply says, 'To all the Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen who have ever had the opportunity to work aboard one of the finest and most unique platforms ever created, the time has come. The technologies and advancements being made by this great nation, along with continually changing world conditions, have once again preceded everything of yesteryear, and have changed the future of tomorrow.

"As a result, the U.S. Strategic Command Mobile Consolidated Command Center is rolling into the history books. The memories and accomplishments that have been created, however, will always remain alive in the hearts of those who have been here, and who have participated in the mission to protect, respond and recreate. But at the end of the day, we can all say, 'Mission complete.'"