216th Engineering Installation Squadron Alumni Association

216^th Operations Support Squadron – Emblem Headedly

Blue and yellow are the Air Force colors.  Blue on the globe represents the sky – the primary theater of Air Force operations.  Yellow represents the sun and the excellence of all Air Force personnel.  Black represents our new mission in space.  The silver delta and red contrail represents the emergence of a new Air Force space operations mission in the California Air National Guard.  The gauntlet holding the globe represents the unit’s operational support to Joint Forces Component Command Space within the United States Strategic Command.  The seven white stars represent the seven Air National Guard space units.

216^th Operations Support Squadron – Mission

The primary mission of the 216^th Operations Support Squadron (216OSS) is to organize, train and equip space, intelligence and communications professionals who provide operation support functions for the Joint Space Operations Center to include:

·         Operations training

·         Standardization/evaluation

·         Instruction and certification

·         Development of weapon system tactics, techniques and procedures

·         Development and deployment support for evolving space missions

·         Operations surge or exercise support

216^th Operations Support Squadron – Motto

STRENGTH & HONOR

For centuries prior to modern day democracies, armies of great republics held similar phrases that represented their core belief and how they fought.  These words were enough to spark the deepest of emotion and fervor on the battlefield.  The motto identified the essence of how they lived, why they fought, and how they wanted to be remembered.  The Spartan and Roman centurion was well known for a thousand years, not just because of his physical strength, but rather for his unmatched mental strength and discipline on, and off, the battlefield.  Honor came from collective performance of the army not from individual entitlement, so that honor, or dignitas (an honorable reputation) was also bestowed on the Republic in which they fought and died to keep.  These great armies had similar values; true to their word, solid personal character, strong beliefs, respect for life, liberty, and sacrifice for ideals larger than ourselves.  Many of these values are rooted in western civilization, and eventually the America we know today, as evident in the US Air Force Core values: Integrity First, Service Before Self, Excellence In All We Do.

Just as the 216^th began in 1943, it assumes a new mission when our country is at war, not peace.  So it is the United States warfighter that we remember and least not forget.  Albeit he is more advanced and lethal now, it is this same warfighter of decades ago that we continue to support today.  Our squadron is here to ensure that the warfighter continues to be the strongest on the battlefield.  The 216^th will honor him everyday by the manner in which we conduct ourselves as Airmen, and how we perform our mission.  We continue because of those that have gone before and paid the ultimate price and the ideals that we fight for are larger then our individual selves.  We will ensure that this legacy lives because this is how we fight….with STRENGTH & HONOR.