No. 44 Wing RAAF

44WG
Active	14 December 1942 – 22 August 1944, November 2000 – current
Branch	RAAF
Role	Air traffic control
Part of	Surveillance & Response Group
Motto	Steadfastness

No. 44 Wing is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) wing responsible for providing air traffic control services to the Australian Defence Force. It directly commands two squadrons which in turn command 11 air traffic control flights located across the country at nine RAAF bases, HMAS Albatross (Naval Air Station) and Oakey Army Aviation Centre. The wing was first formed in December 1942 during World War II and was disbanded in August 1944. It was re-raised in its current role in November 2000. For more information on No. 44 Wing's role in military and civil air traffic control, see Australian Air Traffic Control.

History

Members of the No. 44 Wing detachment responsible for air traffic control at Baghdad International Airport celebrate their 100,000th air movement in January 2004

No. 44 Wing was formed on 14 December 1942 in Adelaide River, Northern Territory (100 km south of Darwin). It consisted of 24 radar sites throughout the top end, acting as an early warning system for Japanese air raids. It was disbanded on 22 August 1944.

In November 2000, No. 44 Wing was reformed as a dedicated Air Traffic Control wing, with headquarters at RAAF Base Williamtown. As well has providing air traffic control in Australian airspace, detachments from the wing have been deployed outside Australia on a number of occasions. As at 2008, No. 44 Wing detachments have been deployed to Sudan, East Timor, Iraq/Middle East, Solomon Islands and Indonesia.

In August 2008 it was reported that No. 44 Wing has 237 air traffic controllers and was below its target strength and having difficulty retaining controllers. As a result, the RAAF was unable to monitor the movements of all its planes.^[1]

In April 2010 RAAF Air Traffic Controllers Officers (commonly known as ATCO's) were renamed Joint Battlefield Airspace Controllers (JBAC) to more accurately reflect their role; encompassing both domestic ATC as well as their tactical role providing airspace coordination and control in military operations. Along with the name change all JBACs were issued with their qualification badge.

On 16 February 2011 No. 452 Squadron and No. 453 Squadron were re-raised as subordinate units of No. 44 Wing. The two squadrons will command the existing RAAF air traffic control detachments at Australian Defence Force-run airports, freeing No. 44 Wing Headquarters to focus on higher-level tasks.^[2]

Notes

1. ^ Stewart, Cameron (26 August 2008). "Air force in bid to stop staff exodus". The Australian. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24242408-31477,00.html. Retrieved 2008-08-30. 
2. ^ "Senator Feeney Celebrates the Reformation of Number 452 and 453 Squadrons at RAAF Base Williamtown". Media release. Senator The Hon. David Feeney MP Parliamentary Secretary for Defence. 16 February 2011. http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/Feeneytpl.cfm?CurrentId=11466. Retrieved 16 February 2011. 

References

• "Surveillance and Response Group". Royal Australian Air Force. http://www.raaf.gov.au/organisation/groups/srg.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-30. ^{[dead link]}