Editing Ellsworth Air Force Base (section)

====4th Airborne Command and Control Squadron====
[[File:Boeing EC-135G (717-148), USA - Air Force AN0823212.jpg|thumb|4th ACCS EC-135G [[Airborne Launch Control Center]] at Ellsworth AFB, SD|left]]

From 1 April 1970 to 30 September 1992, the [[4th Airborne Command and Control Squadron]] (ACCS), part of the 28th BMW, provided airborne command post responsibilities with specially modified [[Boeing EC-135]] airborne command post aircraft for [[Strategic Air Command]]. The 4th ACCS was the workhorse of [[Airborne Launch Control System]] (ALCS) operations. Three dedicated [[Airborne Launch Control Center]]s (ALCC) (pronounced "Al-see"), designated ALCC No. 1, ALCC No. 2, and ALCC No. 3 were on ground alert around-the-clock providing ALCS coverage for five of the six [[LGM-30 Minuteman|Minuteman]] [[intercontinental ballistic missile]] (ICBM) Wings. These dedicated ALCCs were mostly EC-135A aircraft but sometimes were EC-135C or EC-135G aircraft, depending on availability. ALCC No. 1 was on ground alert at Ellsworth and during a wartime scenario, its role would have been to take off and orbit between the Minuteman Wings at Ellsworth AFB and [[F.E. Warren AFB]], Wyoming, providing ALCS assistance if needed. ALCCs No. 2 and No. 3 were routinely on forward deployed ground alert at [[Minot AFB]], North Dakota. During a wartime scenario, ALCC No. 3's role would have been to take off and orbit between the Minuteman ICBM Wings at Minot AFB and [[Grand Forks AFB]], North Dakota, providing ALCS assistance if needed. ALCC No. 2's dedicated role was to take off and orbit near the Minuteman ICBM Wing at [[Malmstrom AFB]], Montana, providing ALCS assistance if needed. The 4th ACCS also maintained an EC-135C or EC-135G on ground alert at Ellsworth as the West Auxiliary Airborne Command Post (WESTAUXCP), which was a backup to SAC's [[Operation Looking Glass|Looking Glass]] Airborne National Command Post (ABNCP), as well as a radio relay link between the Looking Glass and ALCCs when airborne. Although equipped with ALCS, the WESTAUXCP did not have a dedicated Minuteman ICBM wing to provide ALCS assistance to.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://afmissileers.com/Mar17.pdf |title=ALCS Article, page 14 |access-date=13 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702014829/http://afmissileers.com/Mar17.pdf |archive-date=2 July 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[Hopkins III, Robert S. 1997. Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker: More Than Just a Tanker. Leicester, England: Midland Publishing Limited, p. 114-117, 196]</ref>