LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
More than 60 Airmen from the 480th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing gathered in the lobby at the 497th ISR Group building Sept. 15 to commemorate the 71st anniversary of the Battle of Britain.
The unit held the event to honor their British partners, recognize the role ISR played during this historic air campaign and emphasize the importance of coalition operations then and today.
Col. Cristina Stone, 480th ISR Wing vice commander, opened the ceremony in tribute to the unsung heroes of the battle: the intelligence community.
"'Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few,'" she said, quoting a speech by former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, given in 1940 to the House of Commons during the height of the Battle of Britain.
While Churchill specifically referenced Royal Air Force and coalition pilots who were fighting in the Battle of Britain in his speech, Stone indicated that intelligence played a role during this period in a "form of radar".
"British intelligence kept commanders informed of the German intentions, the strength and location of various German Air Force units and provided advance warning of bombing raids through the exploitation and use of Enigma ciphers and codes," said Stone.
The Enigma machine is an electro-mechanical rotor cipher machine with a keyboard used at the time for encrypting and decrypting secret messages.
In addition to the integration of ISR during the battle, Stone also explained how volunteer forces served in the Royal Air Force and participated in defending the British Isles.
"There were 594 pilots from the Commonwealth and other nations that participated in combat operations against Germany," she said. "There were pilots from Poland, New Zealand, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Australia, Belgium, South Africa, France, Ireland, Jamaica, Rhodesia and the United States. Even today, coalition operations are integral to the way we do business on a daily basis."
The ceremony included posting of the colors, the national anthems for Great Britain and the United States, a brief history of the battle and a reception at the end for guests.
John Lent, the 480th ISR Wing historian, coordinated the ceremony in honor of the conflict and in recognition of the ongoing and growing relationship between the 480th ISR Wing and the Tactical Imagery Intelligence Wing, RAF Marham, which has recently received approval for a Royal Air Force and United States Air Force Officer Exchange Program supporting ongoing operations.
"The Battle of Britain was not only a critical event in British history but a major event in world history" said Lent. "The RAF victory altered the course of World War II by preventing the Germans from invading Great Britain. The United Kingdom was then used as a strategic base to conduct the Combined Bomber Offensive against Germany and enabled the country to serve as the staging point for the D-Day Invasion that liberated Europe from Nazi control."
The outcome of the battle marked a turning point for German expansionism, ensured the survival of an independent Britain and represented the first defeat of the German military.
Guests at the ceremony included Squadron Leaders Adam Grindley and Andrew Mockford, both members of the RAF assigned to Air Combat Command here at Langley. The airmen said they were "honored" by the tribute paid to their nation.
"I think the ceremony was a great idea," said Mockford. "It brings together the longstanding special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom."
Grindley added, "It reminds the younger members in the United States Air Force of the continuing close working relationship between our forces often only seen at the front but existing throughout our two forces."