No. 2 Airfield Defence Squadron RAAF

2 Airfield Defence Squadron
Active	1 October 1983-Present
Branch	RAAF
Role	Airfield Defence
Part of	Combat Support Group
Garrison/HQ	RAAF Base Amberley
Motto	Defend the eyre

No. 2 Airfield Defence Squadron (2AFDS) is an Australian military unit whose primary role is to protect and defend airfields, buildings, equipment, and personnel.

Crest

The squadron's crest is a crossed rifle and sword surmounted by a wedge-tailed eagle in flight. The crossed rifle and sword is symbolic of the ground defence specialisation and represents both the offensive and defensive nature of ground defence within the Air Force and its inherent need to provide close-in and far-reaching security to counter hostile ground forces.

History

The unit was formed on 7 April 1945 in Morotai. It was originally designated as "2 Aerodrome Defence Squadron" (2ADS). The unit saw action during the Second World War in Morotai, Labuan, Brunei, Borneo, Balikpapan and the Philippines. After the end of the war, on 29 October 1945 the squadron was disbanded.

The ADG was reformed in early 1966 as the "Aerodrome Defence Guard" (ADG) to meet the need to protect assets in the South East Asia area during the Vietnam War. By 1968 two hundred Air Defence Guard personnel were in service across South East Asia, alongside US forces.

2AFDS was reformed at RAAF Base Richmond on 17 March 1983, and in 1989 it relocated to RAAF Base Amberley, where it is currently based.

Operations

World war II

Thailand

Vietnam

Kuwait

East Timor

Solomon Islands

Afghanistan

Iraq

Structure

• Headquarters Flight
• Rifle Flights x 3
• Quick Reaction Force Flight
• Recon Flight
• Support Flight

links

No. 1 Airfield Defence Squadron RAAF

References

• http://www.defence.gov.au/pitchblack/background.htm#2afds_history
• http://www.airforce.gov.au/adg/squadrons.aspx RAAF adg website
• http://www.adgies.net/adg_index1.html ADG assosiation website