Kadena Air Base - Units

Units

The 18th Wing is the host unit at Kadena AB. In addition, the base hosts associate units from five other Air Force major commands, the United States Navy, and other Department of Defense agencies and direct reporting units. Associate units operate more than 20 permanently assigned, forward-based or deployed aircraft from the base on a daily basis.

• 18th Wing
  Kadena Air Base is the home to the Air Force's largest combat wing—the 18th Wing—and a variety of associate units. Nearly 18,000 Americans and more than 4,000 Japanese employees and contractors make up Team Kadena. The wing is broken down into five groups, the 18th Operations Group, the 18th Maintenance Group, the 18th Mission Support Group, the 18th Civil Engineer Group and the 18th Medical Group. Kadena's fleet of F-15C/D Eagles (the 44th and 67th Fighter Squadrons); KC-135R/T Stratotankers (the 909th Air Refueling Squadron); E-3B/C Sentries (the 961st Airborne Air Control Squadron); HH-60 Pave Hawks (the 33d Rescue Squadron); MC-130H Combat Talon IIs; MC-130P Combat Shadows; RC- and WC- 135s; and Navy P-3 Orions project U.S. deterrence throughout the Western Pacific and South-East Asia, promoting regional peace and stability.

Associate units:

• 353d Special Operations Group
  The 353d Special Operations Group is an element of the Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Florida. The 750 Airmen of the group are organized into three flying squadrons, a maintenance squadron, a special tactics squadron and an operations support squadron. The flying squadrons operate three separate and uniquely different airframes: the MC-130P Combat Shadow, MC-130H Combat Talon II and, at Osan, the MH-53J Pave Low III helicopter.

• 733rd Air Mobility Squadron
  The more than 320 people of the 733rd Air Mobility Squadron manage all passengers and cargo traveling by air in and out of Kadena. This Air Mobility Command unit supports about 650 aircraft arrivals and departures every month, moving more than 12,000 passengers and nearly 3,000 tons of cargo.

• 82d Reconnaissance Squadron
  Air Combat Command's 82d Reconnaissance Squadron maintains aircraft; prepares combat-ready aircrews; and analyzes, processes, and disseminates intelligence data launch in support of RC-135V/W Rivet Joint, RC-135U Combat Sent and WC-135 Constant Phoenix missions flown in the Pacific Theater. Of special value to the Pacific Command and national command authorities, information obtained is used at all levels of the Department of Defense and within other government agencies. The squadron works closely with the 390th Intelligence Squadron.

• 390th Intelligence Squadron
  Air Intelligence Agency's 390th Intelligence Squadron conducts information operations by providing tailored combat intelligence and assessing the security of friendly command, control, communication and computer systems to enhance warfighting survivability, situation awareness and targeting.

• U.S. Army
  1st Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment (United States), assigned to the 94th AAMDC. This is a Patriot PAC-3 battalion. It consists of four Patriot missile batteries (Alpha through Delta), a maintenance company (Echo) and a headquarters battery (HHB).

Other units:

• 320th Special Tactics Squadron
• 1st Special Operations Squadron
• 17th Special Operations Squadron
• 733rd Air Mobility Squadron
• Det 1, 554th Red Horse Squadron
• American Forces Network Detachment 11, AFNEWS
• Det 3, Pacaf Air Postal Squadron
• Det 3, United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine
• Support Center Pacific, OO-ALC/Maly
• Det 3, Wr-Alc Air Force Petroleum Office
• Det 624, AF Office of Special investigations
• Det 233, Air Force Audit Agency
• Field Training Detachment Det 15, 372nd Training Squadron
• Defense Commissary Agency
• DoDDS Pacific Director's Office
• Department of Defense Dependents Schools Pacific-Okinawa District
• U.S. Consulate Naha
• Marine Wing Liaison Kadena
• American Red Cross
• 18th Force Support Squadron