Contributed by Steve Weatherly

THE SIXTIES – A DECADE OF SERVICE AND CHANGES

MT HEBO AFS (689^TH RADAR SQUADRON)

30 SEP 60 TO 30 SEP 70

DATE	MILESTONES AND/OR EVENTS
30 Sep 60	Commander, Major Edward Garrison. Portland Air Defense Sector (Adair AFS), 25^th Air Division.
30 Sep 61	Used shotguns to blast ice buildup off the FPS-24 search radar antenna.
30 Sep 62	Construction of the first rigid radome for the FPS-24 search radar began. Installation of the FPS-26 height finder radar began.
1 Oct 62	Cuban Missile Crisis (another Cold War (1946-1991) event).
11 Oct 62	First FPS-24 rigid radome destroyed during construction in winds of 85 knots.
12 Oct 62	MPS-11 search radar damaged and inflatable radome destroyed in winds of 170 mph. Inflatable radome for the FPS-6 height finder radar destroyed.
15 Oct 62	Damage to FPS-24 antenna assessed and reported.
22 Oct 62	Air Defense Command (ADC) and 25^th Air Division direct restoration of site radar systems.
31 Dec 62	Commander, Major Robinson
27 Aug 63	Dining Hall improvements completed.
31 Aug 63	Rigid radome installed by GEEIA on the FPS-18 Gap Filler radar at site Z-100A.
30 Sep 63	Installation of the second rigid radome for the FPS-24 was completed by the Southwestern Transfer Company under contract to General Electric. Depot Level Maintenance of radar systems at Gap Filler site Z-100A.
31 Dec 63	AS-505 radio antennas at the Ground/Air Transmitter/Receiver (GATR) Site replaced by AS-1097 radio antennas. Radar data from the FPS-24 and FPS-18 (Gap Filler radar at Z-100A) connected to the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system. MPS-11 shut down and prepared for removal.
31 Jan 64	Second FPS-24 rigid radome destroyed during high winds.
5 Aug 64	Vietnam Era (5 Aug 64 to 7 May 75)
1 Mar 65	Construction of a new, two-story, 89 man barracks underway.
31 Mar 65	Commander, Major (later LTC) Walter O. Reil. FPS-24 antenna damaged from ice and 100 knot winds. Antenna parts from the FPS-24 at Cottonwood, Idaho received as replacements.
3 May 65	Construction of additional pedestrian tunnels connecting site buildings begins.
30 Jun 65	New 89 man barracks about 55 percent complete. FPS-24 antenna damage can not be repaired without major overhaul. Site survey for the third FPS-24 rigid radome conducted.
1 Jul 65	Construction of the third FPS-24 rigid radome begins. Designated CW-798, this radome is a space frame design by ESSCO (now L3 Communications – ESSCO).
30 Aug 65	During construction, many panels in the third FPS-24 radome are damaged by high winds.
11 Sep 65	Additional FPS-24 radome panels are damaged by high winds.
28 Sep 65	The third radome for the FPS-24 is complete, but some panels are still being repaired.
13 Nov 65	All damaged FPS-24 radome panels repaired by ESSCO.
31 Dec 65	High winds (90 knots) cause many tears in FPS-24 radome panel fiberglass where it joins the metal space frame. The new 89 man barracks is completed.
21 Jan 66	New FPS-24 rotary coupler installed during schedule depot level maintenance.
28 Jan 66	Many tears noted in FPS-24 radome panels. ESSCO has repaired most.
4 Mar 66	Meeting on-site concerning the condition of the FPS-24 radome and the Kroll Crane used for its maintenance. All spare FPS-24 radome panels to be stored at the Sacramento Air Logistics Center (SM-ALC) except for 15 that are to remain on-site for emergencies.
1 Apr 66	ADC Reorganization. 689^th Radar Squadron becomes part of 25^th Air Division at McCord AFB, WA. Radar and radio communications switch from Adair AFS (formerly HQs Portland Air Defense Sector) to McCord AFB.
7 Apr 66	Radar evaluation of the FPS-24 complete.
9 Apr 66	Manual telephone system replaced by a dial system.
3 May 66	FPS-24 down for antenna bearing failure after 9,918 operating hours. Bearing replaced by the end of May 66.
21 May 66	Over 300 people visit the site for Armed Forces Day. Four ship F-106 fly-by and Squadron Drill Team were real crowd pleasers.
8 Jun 66	ESSCO completes installation of a pressurization system for the FPS-24 radome. This pressurization system forced turbine fluid from the antenna bearing into the antenna turret.
17 Sep 66	NCO Dining In. BG John A Rouse (25 Air Division Cmdr) was guest speaker.
30 Sep 66	ESSCO completes on-site storage boxes for all spare FPS-24 radome panels.
4 Oct 66	ADC presents high value tube award for the FPS-24 power triode.
23 Nov 66	FPS-90 height finder IRAN completed (24 Oct to 23 Nov).
22 Dec 66	FPS-26 Depot Level Maintenance completed.
7 Mar 67	Completed ADC directed sealing of the FPS-24 antenna turret so that the radome can be pressurized without turbine fluid spray from the antenna bearing.
31 Mar 67	Some FPS-24 radome panels have more tears. Cracks noted in castings of base ring radome panels.
8 May 67	FPS-26 inspected by AVCO for modification into the FSS-7 SLBM detector.
9 Jun 67	FPS-26 transferred to AVCO for modification into the FSS-7.
30 Aug 67	Commander, LTC Raymond L. Warren
30 Sep 67	Stopped painting the FPS-24 rigid radome as part of scheduled DLM because of blistered paint on radome panels. FPS-90 and FSS-7 inflatable radomes are painted.
31 Dec 67	DLM of the FPS-24 rigid radome completed.
23 Jan 68	USS Pueblo captured by North Korea.
24 Feb 68	High winds from 18 to 24 Feb result in destruction of the third and final FPS-24 rigid radome. FPS-24 antenna is also damaged.
10 May 68	USAF and ADC decide to replace FPS-24 with the FPS-27 (from Miles City).
30 Jun 68	Over 175 tons of FPS-24 equipment removed from the site. OA-99 Plan Position Indicator (PPI) scopes replaced by OA-175 scopes.
15 Apr 69	US Navy EC-121 shot down by North Korea over the Sea of Japan.
30 Sep 69	FPS-27 installation completed. This includes modifications to the former FPS-24 building, and a new FPS-27 rigid radome,
24 Mar 70	Commander, Major Luther Westerfield.
31 Mar 70	GPA-98 electronic warfare training equipment operational. FSS-7 testing underway.
30 Sep 70	FSS-7 SLBM detector operational.