30th Reconnaissance Squadron

This little modern-era gem arrived in the mail late last week. The 30th Reconnaissance Squadron, in its current capacity assigned to the 732nd Operations Group, is a UAV operations unit stationed at Creech AFB in Nevada. Tasked with remotely piloting the RQ-170 Sentinel drones, affectionately nicknamed the Beast of Kandahar, the unit responds to mission requirements around the globe. Whatever your opinion of drones - as for me, they have a place on the battlefield... end of story - it's clear that the days of manned recon aircraft are drawing to a close.

While the 30th has an operational history dating back to the Second World War, the squadron as it exists today was reactivated in 2005 after relinquishing its last manned aircraft (the RF-4C Phantom II) in 1976. The current emblem, which reminds me a lot of those Cold War Aggressor squadrons, was approved on 17 July 2007.

Like most of my items, I picked this one up on eBay. For $5.95 (including shipping), I'm pleased with the purchase.