The Group provides cryptologic products and services to war fighters and decision makers operating in, or concerned with, the CENTCOM, EUCOM, AFRICOM and SOCOM areas of responsibility.

Delivers real-time high-confidence intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance products and services to Joint and Coalition forces and other designated government agencies.

Delivers real-time high-confidence intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance products and services to Joint and Coalition forces and other designated government agencies.

The Group also processes, exploits and disseminates broad area, synoptic, high-resolution imagery collected by the U-2 Optical Bar Camera for combatant commanders and war fighting forces worldwide.

Processes, exploits and disseminates intelligence data from reconnaissance aircraft, conducting ISR operations during armistice, crisis and wartime to meet Component, Combatant Commander and national requirements.

[6] The group was formed on 19 June 1943, at Port Lyautey, French Morocco in North Africa,[7] as one of the units of the Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command during World War II.

Over the long term, the Allies wanted to increase air antisubmarine patrols and convoy coverage to protect their preparations for the impending Tunisian offensive and the subsequent invasion of Sicily.

Ordinarily, three B-24s flew daily on operational missions, covering an area as far south as 30°N, as far north as Cape Finisterre, Spain, and as far west as a thousand nautical miles from Port Lyautey.

Its antisubmarine activity reached a peak in July 1943 when enemy U-boats concentrated off the coast of Portugal to intercept convoys bound for the Mediterranean.

In addition to the antisubmarine patrols, the 1st Squadron flew escort for several Allied convoys and covered the escape of Italian naval vessels from Genoa and Spezia to Malta following Italy's surrender.

First-year activities for the 580th was devoted to training aircrew and support personnel in their new PSYWAR mission and in rebuilding Mountain Home AFB, which had fallen into disrepair since the end of World War II.

"[8][9] In July and September 1952 the 580th ARCW, which had been stationed at Mountain Home AFB since its activation, embarked its support personnel by way of ship to North Africa for its initial deployment overseas.

Assigned B-29s flew out of Westover AFB, Massachusetts, with a planned refueling and overnight crew rest stop in the Azores en route to Wheelus AB, Libya.

Dropping at 1,000 feet above the ground, B-29 navigators utilized the Norden bombsight developed during World War II to determine the release point.

The amphibian aircraft proved to be versatile and on several occasions was tasked to fly extremely sensitive missions, including ones into the Balkans behind the so-called Iron Curtain and into southern Russia.

Operating out of Tehran, Iran, in March 1956, an SA-16 penetrated Soviet airspace at low-level altitude en route to a night amphibious exfiltration from the Caspian Sea.