Red Lion Hotel and Conference Center
204 W Fox Farm Rd
Cheyenne WY 82007
Hotel phone: 307-638-4466

Refer to: GEODETIC, or Event #1006, to obtain conference rates.

Details and the planned main events, will be shared as they become firm, and how to order and pay for the events you plan to attend.

New June 1, 2018 -

2018 Commemorative Coins!

Here are the images of the new commemorative coins and pendants. They commemorate the emblems, names and dates by which our Squadron/Group was designated during its lifetime. A coin/pendant for the Squadron’s original designation—1381st Geodetic Survey Squadron (Missile), 1959-64— was minted and sold out before the 2015 reunion. Directions on how to order your coins or pendants will appear in the June 2018 newsletter, or contact Garrett Moore.

The designs for the new commemorative coins may be viewed here: 2018 Coins

New 14 April 2016 - DET 1 Photos Please Identify These Men, If You Know Who They Are

UPDATE! We now have all of the folks in the 1980 color photo identified, but not the earlier black & white photo from 1969.

In reference to the Det 1 photo from 1980 (verified correct) the pictured individuals are identified starting from upper left to lower right: Jim Elwell, Ken Vath, Gerald Smith, Gerald Salsgiver, Dave McLeod, Charles Crawford, Doris Bueker, Steve Larson, Hugh Buteau, Tony Roe, Bill Smith, Kevin Yates, Jim Will, Carlos Herrera and Dave Schmitz.

We still need more input from Det 1 veterans to identify those in the black & white photo.

A Short History

Established in 1959 at Orlando AFB, Florida, as part of the USAF's 1370th Photomapping Group, the Squadron went through several evolutions in its name and organizational relationships, finally ending up as part of the Defense Mapping Agency (DMA) in 1972. The unit's various designations include:

• 1381st Geodetic Survey Squadron (Missile), 1959-64
• 1381st Geodetic Survey Squadron , 1964–68
• 1st Geodetic Survey Squadron, 1968-72
• Geodetic Survey Squadron, 1972–89
• Geodetic Survey Group, 1989–93

Never a very large organization, it retained its unique status as a one-of-a-kind, lean unit of smart and dedicated people, a mix of military and civilian technical staff, that provided critical, high precision geospatial and geophysical information for defense and geospatial-intelligence needs anywhere in the world. During the 1960s, the Squadron and its detachments reached peak staffing with 69 officers, 361 enlisted, and 32 civilians. The Squadron was on call to carry out state-of-the-art geodetic surveys on short notice, and its adventurous field personnel spent much of their time deployed on missions lasting from a few days to many months, often in remote and difficult locations.

The Squadron headquarters moved from Orlando to Cheyenne in 1965, where it remained until it was disbanded in 1993 following the end of the Cold War. The Headquarters unit was also supported by a handful of small detachments primarily dedicated to supporting the positioning and guidance requirements of the ICBMs scattered throughout the mid-continent, test facilities in the Southwest and the important space and missile test launch sites at Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg AFB on the coasts.

After being disbanded, the Squadron's functions were first taken over by the Geodesy & Geophysics Office within DMA and now fall under the Office of Geomatics, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). For a more detailed history, go to “Our Ground Geodetic Surveyor Brethren” by Gordon Barnes.