History of the Old Crows

After World War II most of the ECM specialists left the military service. During the war their area of specialization had been given the code name Raven to provide some level of security to its existence. After the war when a separate Air Force was formed out of the Army AF, a group of operators were assigned to establish a course. This was set up by SAC at McGuire AFB in New Jersey. From all accounts of those in a position to know, the designation Raven was changed to Crow and the name stuck. Its original meaning was reference to an ECM operator.

Of course once you have a Crow, in a matter of time you have "Old Crows".

The idea for an Association of Old Crows grew out of a marketer's idea. About 1953 Mel Jackson a former ECMO then working for an ECM equipment firm had membership certificates made, identifying coins minted and passed out memberships as a sort of honorarium from his company. For a logo he adopted the profile of an irate black crow with a yellow beak and a claw clutching symbolic bolts of lighting. This logo had its origins at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio in 1953 where the Aircraft Radiation Lab used it. Another marketer, Dave Higgins, Vice President of Hallicrafter, arranged to turn out decals, coffee mugs, tie clasps, etc. Some SAC ECM organizations also carried the latin motto Non Videbunt which translates to "They shall not see".

During 50s and 60s ranks of Crow (operators) swelled due to the Cold War, Korean War, Berlin crisis, Cuban crisis and beginning of Vietnam war.

Thus, by 1964 when the aforementioned reunion was held, it was necessary to hold it at the Shoreham Hotel in DC. Three hundred sixty persons attended. That night 130 joined the new organization. The meeting became the first AOC convention. Within the year the Capital Club was formed followed by the Kittyhawk Club in Dayton, OH.

At the time of the second convention in 1965, in Colorado, more local chapters were chartered including Mugu Crows Club at Naval Missile Test Center, Tri State Club in Metropolitan NY City, SAC Roost Club at Offutt AFB, Pike's Peak Roost Club at Ent AFB in Colorado Springs, the Golden West Club in metropolitan Los Angeles and the Espirit de Crow Club at SAC at Homestead AFB, FL.

Dan Graves from WPAFB was the Toastmaster at that second convention and went on to make 17 consecutive appearances. His talent in that role won the organization a priceless rapport with the many VIPs who appeared at the convention.

In 1967 two events signified the development of the AOC into something more than a paternal social group. First was the publication of technical articles in "Crow Caws" - Dynamic Radar Cross Section and Video Recording as Applied to ECM Testing. Second was a symposium sponsored by a local chapter in conjunction with the Missile EW Technical Area at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

From that time on the AOC began earning a reputation as a knowledgeable advocate of electronic defense. Its membership which mixes government, military, university and industrial concerns serves on many important boards and committees trying to help Congress and the Department of Defense create policy that will provide more defense for the dollar using the technologies of Electronic Warfare. "EW is a force multiplier" - can do more with less.

Over the years there have been 114 chapters started all over the world. Some of these are now inactive. The Australia Chapter was the 81st club chartered and was chartered in 1982 so congratulations on your 11th year of progress. Jeff and I come from the Empire Club which covers central New York. Because our club covers such a large geographical area, we have tried to hold just three meetings a year with good technical and social content. We sponsor a classified half-day technical symposium at Griffiss Technology Park in conjunction with Rome Laboratories (formerly RADC).

* This summary was derived from the AOC First 25 Year History available from AOC headquarters

Return to the Empire Chapter Home Page

This site is hosted as a service to the Empire Chapter of the AOC by Research Associates of Syracuse, Inc. Send questions or comments concerning this site to aocinfo@ras.com