128th Air Control Squadron departs for deployment

The Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 128th Air Control Squadron shipped out for a deployment to Southwest Asia May 13 following an afternoon send-off ceremony at Volk Field.

For this mission the squadron, an extension of the Theater Air Control System, will be involved with command and control of the Central Command airspace.

Squadron members are proficient in satellite and ground communications, radar operations and support, command and control, computer maintenance, encryption systems, power production and telecommunications.

Besides its wartime mission, the unit supports daily military flying in local airspace, is prepared to respond to the governor’s call for state emergencies, and deploys throughout the United States for various exercises and contingencies.

The 128th ACS was initially activated in 1947 at General Billy Mitchell Field, Milwaukee. The squadron moved to Volk Field at Camp Douglas in 1991. The unit’s last deployment was to Afghanistan in 2007.