Edwards AFB Organization Chart & Detachment 3

Organization Chart

Groom Lake is Detachment 3 of the AFFTC Edwards AFB. [Since AFFTC is now under AFTC, this might be a little bit different.] The above link goes to the organization chart of Edwards AFB. There are two entries for Detachment 3 (DET 3). There is "DET 3, 703 AEGS" and "DET3, TEST & EVAL SQUADRON (AMC)". The test and eval sounds like Groom Lake. Any idea on the 703 AEGS?

reply to post by gariac


Your answer may be here.

www.edwards.af.mil...

"703rd Aeronautical Equipment Systems Group"

Edit: "703rd AESG DET 3 is a military and government support contractor Combined Flight Test Force organization located in Gray Butte, Calif."

Sadly, neither of these detachments is connected with Groom Lake (Det. 3, AFTC).

The 703rd Aeronautical Systems Group is tasked with UAV systems testing. The unit is headquartered at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, but has an operating location (Det. 3, AESG) at Gray Butte that is listed associated with AFTC on the organizational chart.

Det. 3, TES (AMC) is a detachment of the Air Mobility Command's Test and Evaluation Squadron. They test cargo planes.

www.afhra.af.mil...

Well it wasn't a total waste of time. Gray Butte is an interesting black hole of sorts. It shows up in the occasional USAF document, but it is a General Atomics facility. I've always assumed the General Atomics facilities have permanent military based there, but never saw this documented.

The El Mirage GA site flies the US Army UAVs. The Gray Butte site is for USAF and some say CIA.

So Groom Lake has gone from Det 3 AFFTC to Det 3 AFTC.

reply to post by gariac

Groom Lake is Detachment 3 of the AFFTC Edwards AFB.

It's very refreshing to FINALLY see someone refer Area 51/Groom Lake as Detachment 3. Anytime I mention Detachment 3 I always have to explain what it means.

reply to post by Cosmic911


Well OK, except Shadowhawk says Detachment 3 AFTC.

I started a thread some time ago when the AFFTC to AFTC change was made, but I have a hard time finding anything with the ATS search.

AFFTC is Air Force Flight Test Center
AFTC is Air Force Test Center.

I suppose this makes sense since not everything the USAF does is a flying machine. In fact, the GSM test range at Eglin is a prime example of something the USAF is doing not directly related to aircraft. I presume it is related to an aircraft pod, but that is just a guess.

The Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC) became the Air Force Test Center (AFTC) in July 2012 in a consolidation move to reduce the total number of Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) centers from 12 to five. Under the new construct, AFTC became the focal point for AFMC's testing of both air and ground systems, so the word "Flight" was dropped from the center's name..

The consolidation effort was part of AFMC's response to a Congressional challenge to find efficiencies and save tax dollars. The AFTC commander has oversight of work carried out at Edwards and Eglin AFB, Fla., as well as at Arnold Engineering and Development Complex at Arnold AFB, Tenn. Test wings at both Eglin and Edwards aligned to the AFTC. The missions at each location continue at their respective bases, but without redundant command staffs, thus eliminating layers of management overhead. The restructure was expected to save about $109 million annually.

In addition to the AFTC, the four remaining AFMC centers include the Air Force Sustainment Center at Tinker AFB, Okla.; Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio; Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson; and the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center at Kirtland AFB, N.M.

There's a few cool ones on that chart. 412th Test Management Group has a special projects division under it. And Shadowhawk, are they still testing with the Speckled Trout?

Also of note, the 418th FLTS on the wikipedia page states they test, among other things, the KC-135R and "special variants". I can't remember where we heard of it, but Zaph and I were talking a couple weeks back about the 418th FLTS Global Reach Special Mission Division. You remember what it was Zaph?

reply to post by boomer135


Fresh trout

This looks like an alumni webpage.
trout history

I knew the story of Ms. Trout, but I didn't realize the era. I wonder if she is still with us? Googling Faye Trout rapdily turns into adverts for ancestry websites.

Speaking of Gray Butte, some IFR flight has finally used the 04CA designation.
04CA on flightaware

But if you study the track logs, I don't believe these flights actually used Gray Butte. Sometimes a flight toggles between IFR&VFR and uses the nearest airport in the flight plan.

AMCTES operates locally at JB MDL, as well as at four Operating Locations in Natick, MA, Fort Bragg, NC, Yuma Proving Ground, AZ, Boeing Fields, WA, and Detachment 3 at Edwards AFB, CA. By providing strategically placed subject matter experts in operations and maintenance, AMCTES is well-positioned to support Air Force modernization and acquisition programs across the nation.

www.jointbasemdl.af.mil...

shedding some light on an old thread. maybe this is why that entrance is like that

det3

I dug up the Edwards chart from archive.org and put it on the above link.