OCADA
Office of the Chief of Air Defense Artillery
Mission Statement
OCADA manages the eight (8) Personnel Life Cycle management functions for Air Defense AC/RC officers, Warrant Officers, and enlisted Soldiers; serve as ADA personnel force integration managers to synch personnel systems with evolving DOTMLPF-P to ensure personnel force designs meet transition and objective force requirements; conducts Branch Marketing initiatives in an effort to maintain the quality and health of ADA MOSs and Areas of Concentration (AOCs), while improving the overall image of the branch and fostering esprit-de-corps.
History
Branch Insignia
The Air Defense Artillery branch descended from Anti-Aircraft Artillery (part of the U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps until 1950, then part of the Artillery Branch) into a separate branch on 20 June 1968. On 1 December 1968, the ADA branch was authorized to wear modified Artillery insignia, crossed field guns with missile. The Branch Motto, "First To Fire", was adopted in 1986 by the attendees of the ADA Commanders' Conference at Fort Bliss. The motto refers to a speech given by General Jonathan Wainwright to veterans of the 200th Coast Artillery (Antiaircraft) stating they were the 'First to Fire' in World War II against the Empire of Japan.
Branch Distinctive Unit Insignia
The U.S. Army Air Defense School DUI was approved on 4 May 1965. On 19 June 1981, wear of the unit crest was authorized for personnel assigned to the U.S. Army Air Defense Center; the insignia was redesignated for the U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery school on 1 January 1983.
The insignia consists of two design components, an escutcheon (the name for shield used in heraldry) and an attached scroll with the organization’s motto, “Militant,” inscribed upon it. Imagery and colors on the escutcheon is designed to symbolize the coordinate activity of the different elements and aspect of Antiaircraft Artillery. A red base denotes the organization’s inclusion in the Artillery branch; thunderbolts symbolized the use of electrical power; a white (silver) triangle rising upward from the conjunction of the lightning bolts into a blue field suggests a searchlight piercing the blue nighttime sky.
United States Army Air Defense Artillery School
The U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery School traces its origins to the establishment of the Antiaircraft Training Center in 1940 at Fort Bliss, Texas. In July 1946, the War Department formally established the Army Air Defense Center, comprising the U.S. Army Air Defense School, Army Training Center Antiaircraft Artillery, Guided Missile Brigade, Antiaircraft Artillery Group, Army Air Defense Board, and the Offices of Special Weapons Development. That same year, the Army established the headquarters for the Antiaircraft Artillery and Guided Missile Center AAGMC, and a decade later it was repositioned as the U.S. Army Air Defense School.
The Air Defense Artillery School is the professional school of the Air Defense Artillery Branch of the US Army. Before being designated the 6th ADA Brigade in 1988, the official title was The School Brigade. In June 2009, the Army Air Defense Artillery School and the 6th ADA Brigade relocated from Fort Bliss to Fort Sill. This move was a result of the 2005 BRAC moves. The school was organized as the 6th ADA Brigade until 18 May 2012, when it was redesignated as the 30th Air Defense Artillery Brigade. The redesignation from The School Brigade to the 6th ADA Brigade was approved by the Army Training and Doctrine Command through Permanent Orders No. 165-18, 25 Aug 1988. The school was organized as the 6th ADA Brigade until 18 May 2012, when it was redesignated as the 30th Air Defense Artillery Brigade.
Flag and Guidons
Flag: Primary – Scarlet; Secondary – Yellow
Colors for School: Flag background – Scarlet; Fringe – Yellow
Organizational Colors: Flag background – Scarlet; Fringe – Yellow; Outline of scrolls – Yellow; Letter and numbers – Scarlet
Guidons: Background – Scarlet; Letters and numerals – Yellow; Type of insignia device – Branch