244th History 1986

Year 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1980

1986 1982 1983 1984 1985 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

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AFCC

244 Combat Communications Squadron

LtCol Keith E. Hallmark

On 7 November the name of the 244th Combat Information Systems Squadron was changed back to the 244th Combat Communications Squadron.

Personnel and equipment were deployed for participation in JCS exercise Gallant Eagle 86 at Mojave, California.

The 244th personnel participated in exercise Team Spirit 86, conducted in South Korea.

244th personnel, participated in Combat Challenge 86, deployed to Patrick AFB, Florida, home of the 2nd Combat Communications Group.

The U.S. Forest Service called upon the 244th to provide communications during efforts to combat what would come to be known as the "Eastern Oregon Fires."

The month of August marked the largest peacetime mobilization that the Oregon National Guard had experienced. On 3 August, the first call for help on a forest fire was received. Selected personnel were contacted, and two relay teams mobilized with four radio terminals, complete with ground power and life support. They met Forest Service officials at the Malheur National Forest Supervisor's Office Coordinating Organization (SOCO) in John Day, Oregon. The 244th's job was to provide communications from the fire camps to SOCO. One fire, named the "Deardorff Fire" was located in a canyon near Deardorff Creek, so the 244th established the Deardorff relay. Another fire was burning which was designated the "Scalp Fire" and a relay was established at Fall Mountain. Both relays were linked to the SOCO at John Day.

On 8 August, the Scalp Fire was controlled, and the relay teams were released. Before they arrived home, another request for help was made by the Forest Service. Help from the 244th was needed in the Wallowa Whitman National Forest, with the SOCO at Baker, Oregon. The relay team was reprovisioned with additional equipment and manpower, and proceeded back to the Eastern Oregon Fires. Their Turnaround took less than ten hours. A radio relay was established at Anthony Butte and Chicken Hill and a radio terminal at the SOCO in Baker, and the base camp at Cable Meadows for the "Clear Fire."

The crew at the Chicken Hill relay spotted a lightning-generated fire approximately one-half mile from the site. The Forest Service was notified but was unable to provide a suppression crew. TSgt Gary Chandler hiked to the fire and dug enough of a containment trail to suppress the fire until the Forest Service could respond.

The Deardorff Fire was renamed as the "ABC Lightning Fire," and the communications team was released. Their next assignment was the "Buckhorn Complex" fires in the Wallowa Whitman National Forest, with the SOCO located at La Grande.

By 13 August, the Forest Service was no longer naming individual fires but instead, designated geographical area in which numerous fires were burning. An additional radio relay team was sent from Portland to assist the team from the "ABC Lightning Fire" in establishing communications from La Grande to Mt. Emily, with relay to Elk Mountain and into the fire camp at Thomason Meadows. After the "Clear Fire" relay teams was demobilized, they were sent to help with the Buckhorn Complex fires. Communications were extended from the Thomason Meadows fire camp with a relay at Wong Creek, down a steep ravine near Imnaha, to another fire camp called Pumpkin Creek. This placed the 244th radio rely teams in the Hell's Canyon National Recreation Area. For this entire period of time, all request from the Forest Service for communications support were handled by the 244th Combat Communications Squadron and the 244th Combat Communications Flight.

The fires grew larger, prompting deployment of additional Air National Guard units to help with Forest Service communications.

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1986 Photos

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1986 Combat Challenge Photo 01	1986 Combat Challenge Photo 02	1986 Combat Challenge Photo 03	1986 Combat Challenge Photo 04
1986 Combat Challenge Photo 05	1986 Combat Challenge Photo 06	1986 Combat Challenge Photo 07	1986 Combat Challenge Photo 08
1986 Combat Challenge Photo 09	1986 Combat Challenge Photo 10	1986 Combat Challenge Photo 11	1986 Combat Challenge Photo 12
1986 Combat Challenge Photo 13	1986 Combat Challenge Photo 14	1986 Combat Challenge Photo 15	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 01
1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 02	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 03	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 04	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 05
1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 06	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 07	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 08	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 09
1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 10	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 11	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 12	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 13
1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 14	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 15	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 16	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 17
1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 18	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 19	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 20	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 21
1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 22	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 23	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 24	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 25
1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 26	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 27	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 28	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 29
1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 30	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 31	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 32	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 33
1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 34	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 35	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 36	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 37
1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 38	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 39	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 40	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 41
1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 42	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 43	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 44	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 45
1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 46	1986 Eastern Oregon Fires Photo 47	1986 Photo 01	1986 Photo 02
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1986 Photo 15	198 6Photo 16	1986 Photo 17	1986 Photo 18
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1986 Photo 23	1986 Photo 24	1986 Photo 25	1986 Photo 26
1986 Photo 27	1986 Photo 28	1986 Photo 29	1986 Team Spirit Photo 1
1986 Team Spirit Photo 2	1986 Team Spirit Photo 3	1986 Team Spirit Photo 4	1986 Team Spirit Photo 5
1986 Team Spirit Photo 6	1986 Team Spirit Photo 7