801st RED HORSE TRAINING SQUADRON

Air Force civil engineering contingency training has progressed through several stages since 1947.  During the Korean War, the Aviation Engineer Force trained combat engineers organized as Aviation Engineer battalions.  This unit was charged with providing centralized control over aviation engineer battalions, operating and training in the continental United States to assure a suitable level of readiness to perform their overseas mission of airfield construction and repair. After a successful period of training management, the Aviation Engineer Force was phased out in 1956.

Until Nov 1966, Base Engineer Emergency Force (BEEF) team members training was accomplished at the home station.  That same year, the 560th Civil Engineering Squadron (Heavy Repair) (CES (HR)) was constituted and activated at Eglin AFB, FL.  This unit was responsible for training replacement personnel destined for RED HORSE units in Southeast Asia.  The 560th CES (HR) continued this mission until inactivated in the early 1970s.

In 1972, the 823rd CES (HR) was reactivated at Eglin AFB, FL, taking over the mission of the 560th CES (HR). Training for both Prime BEEF and RED HORSE personnel initially took place on the east end of Tyndall AFB.  Later, the 823rd CES (HR) moved to, and operated out of, Hurlburt Field (previously Eglin Auxiliary Field #9).

In 1978, contingency training moved to Field 4, Eglin AFB, FL to meet the requirement for runway cratering under the new curriculum.  The site became known as Operating Location E of the Air Force Engineering and Services Center (AFESC) until 1985 when it became AFESA Detachment 2.

In the 80’s, as the curriculum evolved and more special capability training was needed, some of this special training was shifted to the 820th CES (HR) at Nellis AFB, NV.

In 1991, an organizational change occurred.  Therefore, coincident with the move from Eglin to Tyndall, AFESC, Detachment 2, became the 823rd RED HORSE Civil Engineering Squadron Detachment 1 (RHCES Det 1).  This was a return to the tradition of the 560th CES (HR) that trained RED HORSE replacement personnel at Eglin from 1966 to 1970.  The new location was renamed the Silver Flag Exercise Site.

In 2020, the 800th RED HORSE Group was established.  The consolidation of all the CONUS active-duty RED HORSE Squadrons (RHSs) under a single group was in-line with the Air Force Chief of Staff’s priority to cost effectively modernize the lethality of the force.  This included the RHS’s at the Silver Flag training sites, one located at Tyndall AFB, FL and the other located at Nellis AFB, NV.

In 2022, the 823rd RHS Detachment 1, was geographically separated from the 823rd RHS located at Hurlburt Field, FL and the two had vastly different mission sets.  On April 26, 2022, the 823rd RHS, Detachment 1, inactivated and the 801st RED HORSE Training Squadron (RHTS) was activated during a ceremony at the site.  On November 21st of the same year the training site at Nellis, NV also stood up the 801st RHTS.  The 801st RHTS has a specific mission to provide contingency support training not only to civil engineers, but other Air Force specialties as well.

Today, the Silver Flag Exercise Sites at Tyndall AFB and Nellis AFB offers quality training and realistic exercises on a wide range of critical assets and equipment to civil engineer and services troops from active, guard, and reserve air force units, plus the Army, Marine Corps, and allied nations.  They will continue to provide agile combat support to the Air Force of the 21st century.

UNIT PATCH

LINAGE
28 Oct 1966 – 560th Civil Engineering Squadron (Heavy Repair) constituted and activated
15 Nov 1966 – Organized
6 Jun 1972 – Reactivated 823rd Civil Engineering Squadron, Heavy Repair
1978 – AFESC Operating Location E, Activated
1980s – Utilizing the 820th Civil Engineering Squadron, Heavy Repair 
1985 – Renamed AFESC, Detachment 2
15 Jul 1991 – Established 823rd RED HORSE Civil Engineer Squadron, Detachment
11 Mar 1994 – Redesignated 823rd RED HORSE Squadron, Detachment 1
26 Apr 2022 – 823rd RED HORSE Squadron, Detachment 1, Inactivated
26 Apr 2022 – 801st RED HORSE Training Squadron, Tyndall, Activated
21 Nov 2022 – 801st RED HORSE Training Squadron, Nellis, Activated

STATIONS
15 Nov 1966 – Eglin AFB, Auxiliary Field 2, FL
1972 – Tyndall AFB, FL
1 Jul 1978 – Eglin AFB, Auxiliary Field 4, FL
1980s –  Nellis AFB, NV
1991 – Tyndall AFB FL