Calling all military and civilian veterans of the Geodetic Survey Squadron/Geodetic Survey Group to join in their fourth reunion on August 3-5, 2012 at the Cheyenne Holiday Inn, Cheyenne, WY. This reunion continues the tradition begun in 2003 for the veterans to meet every three years in Cheyenne, Wyoming, former headquarters of this unique and distinguished military organization.
Established in 1959 at Orlando AFB, Florida, as part of the USAF’s 1370th Photomapping Group, the Squadron wentthrough several evolutions in its name and organizational relationships, finally ending up as part of the Defense Mapping Agency (DMA) in 1972. Never a very large organization, it retained its unique status as a one-of-a-kind, lean, go-to unit of smart and dedicated people, a mix of military and civilian technical staff, that provided critical, high precision geospatial information for defense and geospatial-intelligence needs anywhere in the world.
The Squadron was on call to carry out state-of-the-art geodetic surveys on short notice, and its adventurous field personnel spent much of their time deployed on missions lasting from a few days to many months, often in remote locations. The Squadron headquarters moved from Orlando to Cheyenne in 1965, where it remained until it was disbanded in 1993 following the end of the Cold War.
The Headquarters unit was also supported by a handful of small detachments primarily dedicated to supporting the positioning and navigation requirements of the ICBMs scattered throughout the mid-continent and the important space launch sites at Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg AFB on the coasts.
After being disbanded, the Squadron’s functions were first taken over by the Geodesy & Geophysics Office within DMA and now fall under the Office of GEOINT Sciences of National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA).
Reunion Dates: Friday-Sunday, August 3-5, 2012
Reunion Location: Cheyenne Holiday Inn, Cheyenne, Wyoming
Reunion Contact: Garrett R. Moore, 6406 Stonehaven Court, Clifton, VA 20124. E-Mail: garrettmoore@verizon.net
Additional information at the GSS/GSG Veterans’ website: http://www.1381st-gss.freeservers.com/