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752nd OSS settles in to new digs

  • Published
  • By Brandice J. Armstrong
  • Tinker Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  The 752nd Operations Support Squadron is coming into its own. The 552nd Air Control Wing squadron, which stood up in May 2008, just moved into a new facility.

Within its new home, Bldg. 285, the operations support squadron carries out its same mission of interfacing between the four geographically-separated air control squadrons. The other four squadrons are the 726th Air Control Squadron at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho; 728th Air Control Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla; 729th Air Control Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, Utah; and the 607th Air Control Squadron at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz.

"When the E-3 flies out to one of our air control squadrons, we are the point-of-contact for some of the coordination for that," said Lt. Col. Michael Krueger, 752nd OSS commander. "We are relatively small unit as far as impact overall on Tinker, but a huge impact within the air control wing."

Under its motto, "Fiercely vigilant," the 752nd OSS primarily facilitates coordination for exercises, scheduling and integrated tactics, techniques and procedures.

Operating much like a major command staff in its day-to-day operations the colonel said, the squadron coordinates staff packages, socializes "best practices" and facilitates operations and maintenance standardization within the other air control squadrons.

Prior to the unit's move into Bldg. 285, the 752nd OSS was spread out across several offices within Bldg. 284, the 552nd Air Control Group building.

"We had outgrown the air control group building," Colonel Krueger said. "When we were over there we had room for about 30 people and we hit that and this building was finished about the same time."

The colonel said the unit has manning authorizations for a little more than 50 personnel.

Bldg. 285 had undergone an Air Combat

Command-funded renovation for $1.3 million. Refurbished by Southwind Construction Company of Edmond, approximately 6,000 square feet were restored and 2,000 square feet were added on, said Gordon Fitzgerald, director of the 552nd Air Control Group's Plans and Programs unit.

Renovations began in October 2008 and the 752nd OSS relocated in early December 2009.

"They essentially gutted a lot of the walls in the original building and allowed us to put in some cubicle farms to give us more utilization space," the colonel said, "and the extension off the back to allow us a little more room to grow."

Bldg. 285's previous tenants, the 552nd Operations Group's Standardizations and Evaluations branch relocated to Bldg. 283, the operations group's main building.