Former 117th leaders gather at the unit's 60th aniversiary. Front r ow: Lt Col (Ret) Robert Miller (Feb 83 - Jun 86) and Lt Col Joe Ferrero (Sep 06 - Jan 08). Back row (L-R): Lt Col Kevin Alwood (Jan 2008 - Present), Lt Col (Ret) Cary Downing (Jul 97 - Jul 02), Lt Col (Ret) Wallace Moody (Jun 86 - Aug 90), Lt Col (Ret) Anthony D'Aguillo (Aug 90 - Aug 94).

Sixty years ago in the afterglow of winning the “war to end all wars”, storm clouds gathered over the Shosin Reservoir in Korea . During the spring of 1948 when America was ending one war yet preparing for another conflict on the Korean peninsula, 23 airmen and four officers came together at Travis Field in to form the 117^th aircraft warning squadron, the precursor of the 117th Air Control Squadron of the Georgia Air National Guard. 

The unit recently celebrated its 60^th anniversary on the weekend of May 2-3 with an open house at the unit, a golf tournament and a gala banquet at the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum in Pooler with Maj. Gen. Nesbitt as the featured speaker.

Unit historians’ note that more than 1,300 men and women have served as part of Savannah ’s 117th ACS since if was formed in 1948.  The unit is currently based at Hunter Army Airfield.

“Over the past 60 years,” said Maj Gen Nesbitt before more than 200 unit members and guests, “the number of officers and airman has multiplied but so has the complexities and demands of the missions.  But what remains a constant, said Nesbitt  is the dedication, the duty and the patriotism of the men and women of the 117th who have made an impact on this unit.”

During its sixty years of service, the 117th deployed on more than fifty occasions to locations around the world including the Arctic Circle and the Bahamas .  In 2005, the unit deployed to Balad Air Base, Iraq for four months and was the only Air National Guard Control and Reporting Center to deploy and control all air traffic in the 270,000 square miles of Iraqi airspace.  The unit controlled more than 350 troops in contact offensive air-support missions and more than 3,600 air refueling missions.

 The unit was also one of the only Air Guard control units to be tasked to provide air control security for the Shuttle Space Launches.

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