Activated on September 1, 1962 and inactivated on August 15, 1986.
Three weeks short of 24 years of service.
373rd Strategic Missile Squadron
Activated on Aptil 1, 1962.
Launch Complex 373-8 was taken off alert on May 5, 1987 with the following entry :
This concludes the last twenty-four hour alert in Titan II history. For the last twenty-four years, the men and women of the 308th, 381st and 390th Strategic Missile Wings had endured the elements and boredom to stand as the guardians of peace for the free World.
We now close another chapter in military history as the mighty Titan; the bastion of peace; the dinosaur of ICBM's now fades away. This final changeover is complete.
Captain J. Neil Couch
Missile Combat Crew Commander
308th Missile Inspection Maintenance Squadron
308th Strategic Missile Wing
Little Rock AFB
Little Rock, Arkansas
1962-1987
This patch was donated by Lt. Col Brad Flinders. The actual
patch remains on a set of his crew blues, which were sent to
me. Many thanks to Lt. Col Flinders for his generous donation
The eighteen stars in the top field of blue represent the
eighteen Titan II missiles of the 308th SMW. The two verticle
bombs reference the WWII history of the wing. The multi-pointed star defining the atomic weaponry. The clouds
and lighting, power and strategic standing. The 308th Strategic Missile Wing was inactivated on August 18, 1987
after 25 years, 4 months and 18 days of service.
This patch was generously donated by Mr. Charles Murray.
Special thanks to Mr. Murray for his valued contribution.
The eighteen stars reflect the eighteen missiles maintained by the squadron. Later versions of this patch were designed with
seventeen stars, one missing in honor of the airman lost in
the missile accident at Damascus, Arkansas 1980.
The 308th Strategic Missile Wing has direct history from the 308th Bombardment Group, which flew the B-24 Liberators in China, India and Burma during World War II. Under the guidience of the Fourteenth Air Force.
The original motto of the 308th BG was Percussus Resurgo...When Struck Down, I Rise Again.
The 308th BG was redesignated as a Bomb Wing in 1951 when they flew the B-29 Superfortress for Strategic Air Command. From 1952-1961, the 308th Bomb Wing flew the B-47 Stratojet also for Strategic Air Command. The 308th Bomb Wing also had a new patch as well as a new motto, NON SIBI SED ALIIS...
