555th RED HORSE Squadron

MISSION
The RED HORSE mission is to support combat air power worldwide, RED HORSE provides the Commander of Air Force Forces (COMAFFOR) a dedicated, flexible, airfield and base heavy construction and repair capability.  RED HORSE also provides many special capabilities that allow the COMAFFOR to move and support missions as the air order of battle dictates.  The standard RED HORSE capability consists of 404 personnel (engineers and support personnel) with approximately 1,000 short-tons of vehicles, heavy construction and support equipment.  This organic support allows the unit to operate independently for extended periods of time until normal supply channels are established. In addition to the standard capability, the RED HORSE special capabilities consist of approximately 2,200 short-tons, which can be tailored to meet specific construction and repair requirements. When operating in a higher threat, non-permissive environment outside a forward operating base or collocated operating base, the RED HORSE commander, in coordination with the area commander (i.e. combat arms land force commander), determines additional security requirements based on operational risk.

HISTORY
The 555th Civil Engineering Squadron (Heavy Repair) (CES(HR)) was constituted and activated on 1 Oct 1965 then organized on 12 October 1965, and was assigned to Pacific Air Forces for organization. Members of the 555th and 554th, the first two CES(HR), received training at Cannon AFB prior to their deployment to Vietnam, the 555th CES(HR) was the second to arrive in country in February 1966.  It was reassigned to the 1st Civil Engineering Group in May 1967.  The 555th, one of the original CES(HR) was headquartered at Cam Ranh Bay from February 1966 to early 1970.

The 555th CES(HR) was inactivated at Cam Ranh Bay on 15 December 1969.

Nearly 32 years later, on 21 August 2001 the unit was redesignated the 555th RED HORSE Squadron (RHS) in preparation for re-activation in the Air Force Reserve.  Re-activation of the 555th RHS was part of a program to give the Korean based 554th RHS a more robust capability.  On 1 October 2001, HQ Air Force Reserve Command activated the 555th RHS at Nellis AFB, NV, with assignment to the 610th Regional Support Group.  On 1 October 2000, the 254th RED HORSE Flight, an Air National Guard unit at Camp Murray, WA, was also stood up to augment the 554th RED HORSE Squadron at Osan AB, Korea.  The 554th RHS became the only Total Force Squadron in the Air Force composed of Active Duty, Reserve, and Air National Guard components.  The gaining command was Pacific Air Forces.  Lt Col Franklin L. Myers was assigned as the first commander of the reactivated unit.  A formal ceremony activating the squadron was held at Nellis AFB on 23 February 2002.  All Reserve and Air National Guard units have approximately 200 personnel.

In 2014, a reorganization of the Air Force RED HORSE program ended the affiliation of the active-duty units with the Guard and Reserve units.

OPERATIONS
From February 1966 to early 1970, the 555th CES(HR) completed much of the troop housing, roads, and utilities on Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam.  The 555th CES(HR) constructed hundreds of buildings, maintained AM-2 runways, taxiways, and parking aprons, and sent deployed units to several other locations to construct facilities.  An 18-man unit constructed radar site facilities on Phu Quoc Island, and the unit deployed a 50-man detachment to Nha Trang to accomplish major construction projects at the direction of the 1st Civil Engineering Group.

In 2006, RHSs from around the globe combined forces; engineers from the 555th RHS and others worked closely with Osan’s 554th RHS on several projects to improve both the quality of life for military members and safety conditions for Airmen and aircraft in South Korea.  In total, about 170 HORSE brothers and sisters supported the project in Korea from April through September, some just doing their two-week annual tours, while others stayed on to provide additional continuity on the jobs.  Completed projects across the peninsula included construction at air bases at Kimhae, Wonju, Suwon, Kunsan and Osan.  At Kunsan, old expeditionary aircraft arresting systems were replaced with new motor-driven systems.  This improved operational safety for any aircraft with barrier engagement capability, which better protected the aircraft and pilot during a barrier engagement.  Access roads, drainage culverts, and buildings to house the engines were also added as part of this effort.  Some of the other projects included construction of two steel arch warehouse buildings at Kimhae that provided security and weather protection for RED HORSE and war reserve materiel; construction of 30 contingency cabins at Kunsan to support air expeditionary force rotations, joint exercises, and operations; and construction of a shower, latrine and laundry facility at Suwon, which improved quality of life for deployed forces.

In 2008, during “Beyond the Horizon” a US Southern Command-sponsored program brought humanitarian assistance to the people of Peru.  A 64-member 555th RHS team joined a task force for the three-month-long humanitarian mission; the task force built two schools, three medical clinics, and two water wells.

UNIT PATCH