823rd RED HORSE Squadron (ACC)

During Vietnam, the 823d Civil Engineering Squadron (Heavy Repair) was activated on 6 April
1966 and organized on 15 May 1966.  When the 823rd arrived at Bien Hoa AB, Vietnam, in 1966
it reorganized into four self-sufficient units to complete urgently needed construction.  By January
1967, deployed units were in place at Tan Son Nhut, Vung Tau, Da Nang, and Pleiku, while a unit
remained at Bien Hoa.

The 823rd, inactivated in 1971, was reactivated at Eglin AFB, Fla., on 1 June 1972, incorporating
elements of the 557th CES (HR), which was inactivated at Eglin the same day.  The 823rd became
a TAC (later ACC) unit.

In 1975, members constructed a tent city at Eglin for 5,000 Vietnamese refugees.  In 1990 the unit
deployed to Saudi Arabia in support of Operations DESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORM.  In
1993 it deployed to Somalia in support of United Nations-sponsored Operation RESTORE
HOPE.  In 1995 it deployed to Bosnia to bed down Army troops supporting Operation JOINT
ENDEAVOR, and in 1996 it built tent cities at Prince Sultan AB, Saudi Arabia, to accommodate
the move from Dhahran AB following the Khobar Towers bombing.

In 1999, 823rd RHS personnel deployed to forward locations throughout Europe to support
Operations ALLIED FORCE/SHINING HOPE.  In 2001-2002 the 823rd completed major
construction projects, including a $9.1M aircraft ramp, at Al Udeid AB, Qatar, in support of
Operation ENDURING FREEDOM and deployed to Southwest Asia on a regular basis beginning
in 2003 in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM.  The 823rd’s newly-established Airborne
RED HORSE team performed important explosive ordnance disposal work in southern Iraq and
runway repair work at Baghdad International Airport during IRAQI FREEDOM.

In July 2004, more than three dozen members of the 823rd deployed to Camp Lemonier, Djibouti,
for 180 days in support of Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa.  They executed over
$500K in humanitarian and contingency construction projects in Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Kenya, and
performed valuable civil-military relations work.

Non-wartime operations performed by the 823rd have included runway construction on Ascension
Island, road building and harbor protection in the Azores, and disaster relief following Hurricanes
Hugo, Andrew, Opal, and Ivan.  In support of the New Horizons program, construction teams
from the 823rd have completed projects in Haiti, St. Kitts, Jamaica, Guatemala, El Salvador,
Paraguay, and Peru.

The 823rd RHS is an Air Combat Command asset, assigned to Ninth Air Force, and operates out
of Hurlburt Field (previously Eglin Auxiliary Field #9).  In addition to operations at Hurlburt Field,
the 823rd RED HORSE Squadron’s Detachment 1 operates the Silver Flag Exercise Site at
Tyndall AFB, Florida, providing combat support training to more than 5,600 civil engineer troops
from active, Guard, and Reserve Air Force units, plus the Army, Marine Corps, and allied nations.