5th Air Support Operations Squadron
The United States Air Force's 5th Air Support Operations Squadron is a combat support squadron located at Fort Lewis, Washington. The unit provides tactical command and control of airpower assets to the Joint Forces Air Component Commander and Joint Forces Land Component Commander for combat operations. History. World War II. The squadron was first activated in May 1942 as the 5th Communications Squadron. After training in the United States, it moved to Australia in May 1943, where it became an element of Fifth Air Force as the 5th Air Support Communication Squadron. It participated  in combat, earning arrowhead devices for participation in amphibious landings in New Guinea, the Bismark Archipelago, and Leyte. Its air support parties served with United States Marines and United States and Australian Army forces, directing air support missions for the forces they served. After V-J Day, the squadron was inactivated in the Philippines in November 1945. Reactivation. The squadron was reactivated at Fort Lewis, Washington in July 1994 as the 5th Air Support Operations Squadron. It has supported combat operations during the Global War on Terror since 2001. The unit's Joint Terminal Attack Controllers are traditionally aligned with  I Corps and the Joint Base Lewis-McChord based Stryker Brigades, but due to manning shortages and theater requirements, the unit's airmen have deployed with many different units during the past decade.