A Utah Air National Guard base will receive two new squadrons for cyber operations airmen, while losing a tactical air control party squadron, as the service continues to shift away from its Global War on Terror posture.
The Air Force said Thursday it has selected Roland R. Wright Air National Guard Base to be the preferred location for the Air National Guard’s new cyber operations squadrons. The 109th Air Control Squadron at the base will also be inactivated, the Air Force said.
The service said the 109th Air Control Squadron’s inactivation will be part of the 2025 defense budget’s move to cut half of the Air National Guard’s tactical air control party and control and reporting center missions.
During the two decades of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Air Force’s elite TACPs were a common sight on the battlefield. TACPs deployed alongside Army and special operations units, and helped call in and direct airstrikes when in battle.
In 2023, the Air Force had about 3,700 TACPs, but the service said at the time that it planned to cut those positions by about 44% by 2025, as it shifted its focus from conflicts in the Middle East to preparing for an Indo-Pacific conflict.
The Utah Air National Guard announced in July 2024 that its 109th Air Control Squadron – nicknamed the Warlocks – would significantly transform and change to a cyber warfare mission.
The Utah Air National Guard said at the time that top officials in the Air Force and National Guard are increasingly recognizing that cyber capabilities will be a vital tactical asset in future conflicts. This will become increasingly important as major adversaries such as China and Russia continue to develop their cyber capabilities, the Utah Air National Guard said.
The interim National Defense Strategy also calls for increasing the military’s focus on cyber capabilities.
“Cyber is the future of warfare,” 109th Air Control Squadron commander Lt. Col. Joshua McCarty said in the 2024 statement. “It’s going to evolve, and it is currently evolving. We need to be ready to tackle challenges not just in the air, but in cyberspace as well.”
As the 109th Air Control Squadron is inactivated, some of its manpower will be reassigned to support the standing-up of the two new cyber squadrons, according to the Air Force. Utah will lose 52 part-time personnel authorizations while gaining 12 full-time personnel as part of the transition.
The new cyber squadrons are expected to reach full operational capability in spring 2030, the service said.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
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