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===Post Cold War era===
===Post Cold War era===
The expiration of the Soviet Union, beginning with the fall of the Berlin Wall and Glasnost in 1989 and culminating in the USSR’s breakup into its republics in 1991, constituted a major upheaval that continued to influence global politics into the 21st century
The expiration of the Soviet Union, beginning with the fall of the Berlin Wall and Glasnost in 1989 and culminating in the USSR’s breakup into its republics in 1991, constituted a major upheaval that continued to influence global politics into the 21st century

In 1979, [[Tactical Air Command]] assumed the atmospheric air defense mission of the United States with the inactivation of [[Aerospace Defense Command]] (ADCOM). ADCOM interceptor units were initially realigned into a component called Air Defense, Tactical Air Command (ADTAC), at the level of an [[Air Division]]. In 1985 [[First Air Force]] was reactivated by TAC to as given the mission to provide, train and equip ADTAC combat ready forces. Upon its reactivation, First Air Force was composed of units of the active Air Force and the Air National Guard. In the years since its third activation, more of the responsibility for the defense of American air sovereignty was shifted to the Air National Guard. By the 1990s, 90 percent of the air defense mission was being handled by the Air National Guard. In October 1997, First Air Force became a Air National Guard numbered air force charged with the air defense of the North American continent.


===Global War on Terrorism===
===Global War on Terrorism===

Revision as of 04:58, 5 September 2012

Air National Guard
Emblem of the United States Air National Guard
Active1906–
1947 – present (as part of USAF)
Country United States
BranchAir Force
Size106,678 active personnel
Part ofDepartment of Defense
United States National Guard Bureau.
HeadquartersThe Pentagon
EngagementsCold War
*Korean War
*Vietnam War
*Grenada War
First Persian Gulf War
Kosovo War
War on Terror
*Afghan War
*Second Persian Gulf War
Commanders
Director, Air National GuardLt Gen Harry M. Wyatt III
Chief, National Guard BureauGen Craig R. McKinley
Insignia
Roundel
Aircraft flown
AttackA-10
BomberB-2
Electronic
warfare		E-8, EC-130
FighterF-22, F-15C, F-16
HelicopterHH-60
ReconnaissanceMQ-1
TransportC-17, C-5, C-130, HC-130,
LC-130, C-21, C-38, KC-135, C-27 Spartan
Air National Guard F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters fly over Kunsan, South Korea. Note tailflashes from New Mexico, Colorado and Montana ANGs
Wisconsin ANG F-16s over Madison, Wisconsin

The Air National Guard (ANG), often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States.

Overview

Established under Title 10 and Title 32 of the U.S. Code, the Air National Guard is part of the state National Guard and is divided up into units stationed in each of the 50 states and U.S. territories and operates under their respective state governor or territorial government.[1] The Air National Guard may be called up for active duty by the state governors or territorial commanding generals to help respond to domestic emergencies and disasters, such as those caused by hurricanes, floods, fires, and earthquakes.[1]

With the consent of state governors, members or units of the Air National Guard may be appointed, temporarily or indefinitely, to be federally recognized members of the armed forces, in the active or inactive service of the United States.[2][3] If federally recognized, the member or unit becomes part of the Air National Guard of the United States,[4][5][6] which is one of two reserve components of the United States Air Force,[4] and part of the National Guard of the United States.[4] Because both state Air National Guard and the Air National Guard of the United States relatively go hand-in-hand, they are both usually referred to as just Air National Guard.

Air National Guard of the United States units or members may be called up for federal active duty in times of Congressionally sanctioned war or national emergency.[1] The President may also call up members and units of state Air National Guard using a process called "federalization", with the consent of state governors, to repel invasion, suppress rebellion, or execute federal laws if the United States or any of its states or territories are invaded or is in danger of invasion by a foreign nation, or if there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the federal government, or if the President is unable to execute the laws of the United States with the regular armed forces.[7]

The United States Air National Guard has about 110,000 men and women in service. The ANG is often described as a "reserve" force of "part-time airmen," although the demands of maintaining modern aircraft mean that many ANG members work full-time, either as full-time Military Technicians or Active Guard and Reserve (AGR) personnel. Even traditional part-time air guardsmen, especially pilots, navigators/combat systems officers, air battle managers and enlisted aircrew, often serve 100 or more man-days annually. As such, the concept of Air National Guard service as representing only "one weekend a month and two weeks a year" is not necessarily valid.

Many ANG pilots work for commercial airlines, but in the ANG they may train to fly any of the aircraft in the USAF inventory, with the current exception of the B-1B Lancer bomber and the AC-130 Gunship. The Georgia Air National Guard and the Kansas Air National Guard previously flew the B-1B Lancer prior to converting to the E-8 Joint STARS and KC-135R Stratotanker, respectively. In addition, the 131st Fighter Wing of the Missouri Air National Guard recently transitioned from flying the F-15C/D Eagle at St. Louis International Airport/Lambert Field Air National Guard Station to the B-2 Spirit.

In 2012, General Norton A. Schwartz defended cutting nearly twice as many service members from the air guard and reserve as from the active duty USAF, in order to maintain the service's surge and rotational capabilities.[8]

Chain of Command

As state militia units, the units in the Air National Guard are not in the normal United States Air Force chain of command. They are under the jurisdiction of the United States National Guard Bureau unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States.[9]

The Air National Guard Readiness Center, a field operating center of the United States Air Force at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, performs operational and technical functions to ensure combat readiness of Air Force National Guard units and is a channel of communication between the Air Force and the National Guard Bureau regarding readiness and operations. [9]

Air National Guard units are trained and equipped by the United States Air Force. The state ANG units, depending on their mission, are operationally gained by a Major Command of the USAF if federalized. In addition, personnel and equipment are routinely deployed by the USAF as part of Air and Space Expeditionary Forces, and are currently engaged in combat operations under United States Air Forces Central as part of the Global War on Terrorism.

Air National Guard personnel are expected to adhere to the same moral and physical standards as their "full-time" active duty and "part-time" Air Force Reserve federal counterparts. The same ranks and insignia of the Air Force are used by the Air National Guard, and Air National Guardsmen are eligible to receive all United States military awards. The Air National Guard also bestows a number of state awards for local services rendered in a service member's home state or equivalent.

History

Origins

The Air National Guard was officially established in law as a separate reserve component on 18 September 1947, however, National Guard aviation emerged before World War I with aviation units in Army National Guard organizations.[10]

In April 1908, a group of enthusiasts organized an “aeronautical corps” at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City to learn ballooning. They were members of the 1st Company, Signal Corps, New York National Guard. Although they received instruction and assembled a balloon, it was not clear whether members of the unit had ever actually ascended in it. In 1910 the unit raised $500 to finance its first aircraft.[10]

During the Mexican Border Crisis of 1915 Captain Raynal Cawthorne Bolling organized and took command of a unit that became the 1st Aero Company, New York National Guard. It trained at Mineola Field, Mineola, Long Island. It is recognized as the ANG's oldest unit and its lineage is carried by the 102d Rescue Squadron, New York ANG. On 13 July 1916, the 1st Aero Company mobilized during the border crisis with Mexico. the unit was called into federal service when the Mexican revolution spilled over the border into the United States. Bolling's unit was joined at Mineola by the 2nd Aero Company of Buffalo and 12 Guard officers from other states. Both air units remained at Mineola during the crisis.[11]

When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, the War Department decided that it would not mobilize National Guard air units. Instead, individual Guard volunteers provided a major pool for the Army to draw aviators from. They were required to leave the Guard and enter the Signal Corps Reserve if they wished to fly in the war. About 100 National Guard pilots joined the newly-formed United States Army Air Service. Guardsmen also played prominent roles in air operations in France. On 14 April 1918, Tennessee Guardsman Reed Chambers flew with Eddie Rickenbacker and David Peterson of the 94th Pursuit Squadron from Villeneuve, France on the first combat mission ever ordered by an American commander of a U.S. squadron of American pilots. At least four Guardsmen -- Chambers, Field Kindley (Kansas), Reed Landis (Illinois), and Martinus Stenseth (Minnesota) -- became aces. 2d Lieutenant Erwin R. Bleckley of Kansas was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously for his heroism as an aerial observer. After the armistice and the return of the American Expeditionary Force in 1919, the wartime squadrons were demobilized and inactivated. [10][11]

Interwar Period

See also: List of United States Army National Guard Observation Squadrons

After the war, National Guard aviation was placed on a permanent basis over the initial opposition of the Army's General Staff. In 1920, the Militia Bureau and the Army Air Service agreed on a plan for re-organizing National Guard aviation units. On 17 January 1921, the 109th Observation Squadron of the Minnesota National Guard (1921-1941) became the first post World War I air unit to receive federal recognition. During the interwar period, 29 observation squadrons were established. They were either integral elements of National Guard infantry divisions or assigned to Army corps aviation.[10]

An aviator in the 110th Observation Squadron of the Missouri National Guard (1923–1943) became the most famous Guard pilot during the interwar period: Captain Charles A. Lindbergh. His service illustrated the close ties between military and commercial aviation. Trained to fly by the Army, he joined the 110th Observation Squadron in November 1925. The following year, he became chief pilot for an airmail venture started by fellow 110th pilots Major William Robertson and his brother Frank. After Lindbergh made his historic solo trans-Atlantic flight in May 1927, he recalled his service in the Guard fondly.[10]

After the Fall of France, during 1940-1941, approximately 4,800 experienced National Guard aviation personnel were mobilized from their observation squadrons. They provided a significant augmentation of the Army's rapidly expanding air arm during a critical period. Most Guard air units were stripped of many key personnel, and the units were federalized into the regular Army Air Corps and were re-equipped with more modem aircraft. Some of the early-deploying squadrons maintained a degree of unit integrity and cohesion. But, most lost their character and identity as Guard organizations during World War II.[11]

Post World War II Air National Guard

The Air National Guard as we know it today, a separate reserve component of the United States Air Force. was a product of the politics of postwar planning and inter-service rivalry during World War II. The leaders who planned and maneuvered for an independent postwar Air Force during World War II had little confidence in the army reserves, especially the state-dominated National Guard. On the contrary, those leaders expected to build the largest and most modern standing force possible. However, domestic politics and American history forced them to significantly alter their plans.[10]

Determined to include an Air Force National Guard in the postwar U.S. military establishment during World War II, the National Guard Association of the United States flexed its considerable political muscle. It compelled the Army Air Forces (AAF) to plan for a significant Air Force National Guard once the overseas fighting ended. General George C. Marshall, Army Chief of Staff, also pressured the AAF to revise its ambitious plans for a large postwar active duty force. When President Harry S. Truman instituted dramatic postwar military budget cuts, he split defense dollars evenly among the Army, Navy, and Air Force. That move also required the Air Force to plan for a far smaller active duty service than it had envisaged. As a result, the Air Force needed the reserve components (Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve) to help fill the gap.[10]

As the wartime Army Air Forces demobilized in 1945 and 1946, inactivated unit designations were allotted and transferred to various State Air National Guard bureaus to provide them unit designations to re-establish them as Air National Guard units. As individual units were organized, the Army Air Forces provided them airfields, equipment and surplus aircraft. Once formed, the units began began obtaining federal recognition, and the state Air National Guard units were established. The postwar United States Air Force of the mid-to-late 1940s included the 58,000 members of what became the Air National Guard. Its primary units were 84 flying squadrons, mostly equipped with F-51 Mustang and F-47 Thunderbolt fighters with air defense of the continental United States as their main mission, it's units under the jurisdiction of the Continental Air Command of the regular Air Force. Strategic Air Command had several ANG squadrons assigned with a mission of bomber escort for its B-29 and later B-50 Superfortress bombers.[10]

18 September 1947, however, is considered the ANG’s official birth concurrent with the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate branch of the United States military under the National Security Act.[10]

After World War II, the ANG developed a reputation as a glorified flying club for World War II combat veterans. Not only did units and individuals lack specific wartime missions, their equipment, especially aircraft, was obsolete and their training was usually deplorable. Once mobilized, those Guardsmen proved to be almost totally unprepared for combat. Regardless of their previous training and equipment, Guard units were assigned almost at random to major air commands. It took months and months for ANG units to become combat ready; some units never succeeded.[10]

Korean War

See also: List of Korean War Air National Guard Mobilizations

During the Korean War, some 45,000 Air Guardsmen, 80 percent of the force, were mobilized. That callup exposed the weaknesses of the United States military reserve programs, including the ANG. Sixty-six of the Air Guard's ninety-two flying squadrons, along with numerous support units, were mobilized. Once in federal service, they proved to be unprepared for combat. Many key Air Guardsmen were used as fillers elsewhere in the Air Force. It took three to six months for some ANG units to become combat ready. Some never did. [11]

Eventually, they made substantial contributions to the war effort and the Air Force's global buildup. In the Far East, the ANG's 136th and 116th Fighter-Bomber Wings compiled excellent combat records flying F-84 Thunderjets. Air Guardsmen flew 39,530 combat sorties and destroyed 39 enemy aircraft. But, 101 of them were either killed or declared missing in action during the conflict. Four Air Guardsmen -- Captains Robert Love (California), Clifford Jolley (Utah), and Robinson Risner (Oklahoma), plus Major James Hagerstrom (Texas) -- became aces. Largely as a result of the Korean War experience, senior ANG and Air Force leaders became seriously committed to building the Air Guard as an effective reserve component.[12][11]

With the reinforcement of FEAF, Air National Guard squadrons were deployed to Europe in late 1950, being assigned to newly-constructed bases in France as part of the United States Air Forces in Europe. These deployments helped reinforce the NATO commitment of the United States in case the combat in Korea became part of a wider conflict with the Soviet Union. Beginning in February 1951, mobilized units were assigned to Air Defense Command (ADC), Strategic Air Command (SAC) and Tactical Air Command (SAC), replacing or augmenting active-duty units. Guardsmen assigned to ADC also were assigned to various aircraft control and warning as well as radar calibration units. Their organizations either strengthened American air defenses or were converted to tactical air control units that directed Air Force fighter aircraft in the continental United States, Alaska, Newfoundland, Europe, and French Morocco.[12]

Guardsmen began to be demobilized in July 1952, with their units being inactivated by the active-duty air force. Subsequently, the individual state Air National Guard bureaus re-activated and re-formed the units beginning in January 1953. The initial mobilization fiasco forced the Air Force to achieve an accommodation with the Air Guard and to thoroughly revamp its entire reserve system.[12]

Runway Alert Program

Although Korean War hostilities ended in July 1953, the Cold War with the Soviet Union persisted. Because of problems associated with the Korean War mobilizations, the Air Force and its reserve components pioneered new approaches like the runway alert program to reserve training and management.[12]

The Air Division chief at the National Guard Bureau wanted to find an innovative way to provide additional training for fighter pilots after their units were demobilized. At the same time, Air Defense Command could not call upon sufficient active duty Air Force units to defend the continental United States against the Soviet air threat. It was proposed to employ ANG pilots full time from "strategically placed" Air Guard units to perform "air intercept missions" against unidentified aircraft entering United States air space. In addition they would "provide simulated fighter attacks against the Strategic Air Command’s [SAC’s] nuclear-capable bombers."[12]

Using Air Guardsmen from the 138th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, Syracuse, New York, and the 194th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, Hayward, California, the experiment, which began on 1 March 1953, proved a great success. In August and October 1954 eight and nine fighter interceptor squadrons respectively began "standing alert" using volunteer aircrews on a rotating basis for 14 hours a day. The ANG runway alert program required some planes and pilots to be available around-the-clock to become airborne within minutes of being notified to scramble. At its peak, in the mid-1950s, all 70 Air Guard fighter squadrons participated in that program, although that number was reduced to 25 by 1961 due to budget constraints. Most of the runway alert exercises involved interceptions of SAC bombers; although a few actual scrambles turned out to be interceptions of late or off-course commercial airliners. The runway alert experiment in 1953 marked the beginning of the Air Guard’s modern homeland defense role. Moreover, it was the first broad effort to integrate reserve units into a major Air Force combat mission in peacetime on a continuing basis using volunteers.[12]

Aircraft Modernization

Originally the Air National Guard was designed as a combat reserve force. After World War II, its flying units consisted of 72 fighter and 12 light bomber squadrons equipped with obsolescent World War II propeller-driven aircraft while the Air Force transitioned to jet fighters. Although it had no airlift or tanker units, the Guard’s flying units were equipped with a small number of liaison, trainer, and transport planes, and the Air Guard actively sought out new missions and aircraft.[13]

With the end of World War II the Air Force dropped "Air Commando" or special operations units from its rolls. They were revived for the Korean War. After that conflict, in April 1955, the Air Guard acquired its first special operations unit when the 129th Air Resupply Squadron was federally recognized and two C-46 Commandos were delivered to it at Hayward, California. It was allocated to the Air Resupply And Communications Service (ARCS), a predecessor organization of today's Air Force Special Operations Command[13]

As its F-51 Mustang and F-47 Thunderbolts became more and more obsolescent in the jet age of the 1950s, the force structure gradually changed to include a significant number of airlift, tanker, and specialized combat-support units. The Air Guard aggressively worked to preserve its existing flying units by obtaining the most modern aircraft available. Some existing Air National Guard fighter units equipped with piston-driven fighters, however could not convert to jets because the runways at the local airports where they were based were too short. In addition, some local leaders simply did not want jet fighters operating in their communities. [13]

The Guard considered replacing the fighter squadrons in these instances with transport aircraft a viable option for overcoming runway issues or community objections and also was a way to keep experienced senior aviators in the cockpit. During the late 1950s, the Air Force allowed several Air National Guard units to trade in their aging piston-driven fighters for second-line transports. New Jersey’s newly organized 150th Aeromedical Transport Squadron (Light) became the first pure airlift unit in the Air Guard on 1 February 1956. It received Curtiss C-46D Commandos. Two other aeromedical transport squadrons followed that year, primarily because of the impracticality of converting their locations to modern jet fighter operations. In 1959, the Air Force, in order to save operating funds, planned to phase out 48 C-97 Stratofreighters before their replacements were available to the active force. The Air National Guard requested these aircraft be sent to guard units, and in January 1960, units in California, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, and Oklahoma began trading in their fighters for C-97s.[13]

Additionally, the Air Guard also took on an air refueling mission. The Air Guard received its first KC-97 aerial tankers in July and August 1961. During that period the 108th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, Illinois; 126th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, Wisconsin; and 145th Air Transport Squadron, Ohio, converted to KC-97Fs and were redesignated air refueling squadrons.[13]

Cold War

See also: List of Cold War Air National Guard Mobilizations

World War II had left the city of Berlin 100 miles deep within East German territory, controlled by the Soviet Union, and divided into Soviet, British, French, and United States zones of occupation, administered under local agreements which did not guarantee Western access to the city. Responding to a series of Soviet actions in 1948, the three western allies consolidated their zones and formed the city of West Berlin. For fifteen years the western powers maintained a tenacious hold on West Berlin under periodic harassment of the Soviets. On 13 August 1961, Berliners woke up to find they lived in a divided city. A wall now separated East Berlin from West Berlin. With that provocative act, the Soviet Union ratcheted up the Cold War.[14]

President Kennedy mobilized a limited number of Reserve and Guard units, dispatching 11 ANG fighter squadrons to Europe. All the Guard units were in place within a month of their respective mobilization days, although they required additional training, equipment, and personnel after being called up. In all, some 21,000 Air Guardsmen were mobilized during the 1961 Berlin Crisis.[14]

By August 1962 the units mobilized for the Berlin Crisis returned to state control. They had hardly resumed normal operations when President Kennedy announced on 22 October 1962, that the Soviet Union had placed nuclear warheads in Cuba, only 90 miles from Florida. With the Cuban Missile Crisis, Air National Guard fighter units trained for “no notice” deployments, and volunteer ANG airlift crews and their aircraft augmented Air Force global airlift operations. Air National Guard bases hosted Air Force fighters and bombers dispersed there to avoid a possible Soviet nuclear response to the crisis. But in the end, no ANG unit was federalized.[14]

As a result of these two Cold War incidents, from January through December 1963, for the first time Air National Guard airlift units began routinely deploying overseas during their annual training periods, primarily to Europe, to exercise their wartime missions. Air National Guard transport units hauled cargo for the Military Air Transport Service (MATS) while training for their wartime global airlift role.[14]

With the Regular Air Force tanker fleet being used more and more in Southeast Asia after 1965 to support combat operations in South Vietnam, and the demands of the Strategic Air Command (SAC), which performed the nuclear deterrence mission. Both volunteers and Guardsmen on their annual training participated in worldwide air refueling missions to supplement the active-duty force. The Texas Air Guard’s 136th Air Refueling Wing inaugurated Operation Creek Party on 1 May 1967, because the regular Air Force did not have enough tankers available in Europe to train its fighter pilots. The operation eventually involved nine ANG air refueling groups that rotated approximately every two weeks to Rhein-Main Air Base in West Germany. [14]

The Vietnam War provided the next significant test for the Air Guard. However, for largely domestic political reasons, President Lyndon B. Johnson chose not to mobilize most of the nation’s reserve forces before 1968. His reasons for not mobilizing reserve forces were many. Primarily, he did not believe that the war in Vietnam, justified the dramatic act of mobilizing reserve and National Guard forces. He accepted the need to fight the war, but he wanted to prosecute it as quietly as possible, not attracting too much attention at home and risk jeopardizing his domestic programs. He also wanted to avoid drawing the Communist Chinese into the war. Moreover, recalling reservists’ complaints of inactivity following the Berlin mobilization of 1961, he was reluctant to recall reservists without the assurance that their employment would significantly affect the course of the war, an assurance no official in his administration could provide. As a result, the Reserves and the Guard acquired reputations as havens for relatively affluent, young white men to avoid the draft.[14]

Air National Guard airlift units, however, began flying regularly to Japan and South Vietnam beginning in 1966 to support Military Airlift Command (MAC). These flights continued on a regular basis until 1972. In addition, between August 1965 and September 1969, Air Guard domestic and offshore aeromedical evacuation flights freed active duty Air Force resources for such missions in SEA. [14]

However, after the 1968 Tet Offensive in which the Communist North Vietnamese and Vietcong troops attacked positions throughout the Republic of Vietnam, the Pentagon dispatched four ANG fighter squadrons to that nation. In addition, the Pueblo Crisis in Korea mobilized air and naval reservists. That crisis prompted the third partial Air Guard mobilization since the end of World War II and eventually two ANG fighter squadrons were dispatched to South Korea. However, the Pueblo crisis ended without a resort to combat.[14]

In July 1970, two EC-121 "Super Constellations" from Pennsylvania's 193d Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron departed their home station for Korat RTAFB, Thailand. During the next six months, about 60 Guardsmen were rotated through the latter installation on 30 to 60 day tours in Operation "Commando Buzz," Their aircraft served as flying radar stations and airborne control platforms for U.S. air operations in SEA until January 1971.[14]

The 355th Tactical Fighter Squadron in 1967 was a regular Air Force squadron assigned to the 354th Tactical Fighter Wing at Myrtle Beach AFB, South Carolina. From January 1968 until June 1969 the 355th TFS changed from a regular Air Force unit composed almost entirely of recent SEA returnees to a composite squadron consisting of approximately 50% of whose personnel assets were composed of activated ANG members from the 119th TFS (New Jersey ANG) and 121st TFS (D.C. ANG). The 355th deployed TDY to Phu Cat on 14 May 1968, with 13 of its 30 pilots ANG members. The transfer became permanent on 26 June 1968, at which time all TDY members were offered the opportunity to volunteer for a full year's tour. All 13 ANG pilots volunteered, one of whom was killed in action a month later. By Christmas 1968, 87% of the squadron's support personnel were ANG members. Five of the ANG pilots also volunteered as Misty FACs. In all, air guard pilots were awarded 23 Silver Stars, 47 Distinguished Flying Crosses, and 46 Bronze Stars for valor while stationed at Phu Cat.[15]

Total Force Concept

As part of the re-thinking of military concepts after the Vietnam War, beginning in the early 1970s with the establishment of the All-Volunteer Armed Forces, both the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve forces planning and policymaking were influenced by the Total Force Concept, and have remained so. The concept sought to strengthen and rebuild public confidence in the reserve forces while saving money by reducing the size of the active duty force. In practical terms, the total force policy sought to insure that all policymaking, planning, programming, and budgetary activities within the Defense Department considered active and reserve forces concurrently and determined the most efficient mix of those forces in terms of costs versus contributions to national security. The policy also insured that Reservists and Guardsmen, not draftees or volunteers, would be the first and primary source of manpower to augment the active duty forces in any future crisis.[16]

With the active forces being reduced after the end of the Vietnam War, a significant number of older C-130A Hercules tactical airlifters became available for the Guard and Reserve which allowed the Korean War-era C-119 Flying Boxcars to be retired. However, the Total Force Concept led to pressure to upgrade the reserve forces to front-line aircraft and beginning in 1974, new LTV A-7D Corsair II ground attack aircraft began to be sent to Air National Guard units directly from the manufacturing plant in Dallas. As A-10 Thunderbolt IIs began to replace the A-7Ds in the regular Air Force, additional aircraft were transferred. F-4 Phantom IIs began to be received by the ANG in the late 1970s with the F-15A Eagle and F-16A Fighting Falcons coming into the active inventory; the Guard's F-100 Super Sabres being retired.[16]

In June 1979 the 137th Tactical Airlift Wing, Oklahoma, marked the first time an ANG airlift unit was equipped with brand new transport aircraft: it received four factory-fresh C-130Hs. Several years later Congress institutionalized the practice of purchasing limited amounts of new weapons and equipment for the reserve components. Under the auspices of a separate appropriation for Guard and Reserve equipment established in 1982 under President Ronald Reagan, 69 brand new C-130s entered the ANG’s inventory from 1984 to 1991.[16]

In July 1972 Air National Guard units began supporting Air Force tanker task forces overseas with second-line KC-97 Stratotanker propeller-driven tankers and volunteer crews when needed. Triggered by a 1974 decision by Secretary of Defense James R. Schlesinger to save money, Ohio’s 145th Air Refueling Squadron acquired the ANG’s first jet tanker in April 1975 when it began converting from KC-97Ls to KC-135A Stratotankers. Altogether, the Air Force transferred 128 older KC-135s to the air reserve components to retire the slow prop-driven tankers, which modern fighters had to reduce to nearly stall speed in order to refuel.[16]

During the 1980s changes in the Air Guard’s force structure and readiness were primarily driven by President Reagan’s military buildup and the need to prepare for a possible war between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Warsaw Pact in Central Europe. The ANG focused on modernization, more realistic combat training, increased readiness, and personnel growth, primarily in nonflying, mission support units. Instead of increasing the number of units, the National Guard Bureau authorized units to increase the number of aircraft assigned to them when the Air Force made those planes available. In 1982, the South Carolina 157th Tactical Fighter Squadron began receiving new General Dynamics F-16A Fighting Falcons. During the 1980s, the Guard's F-4 Phantoms and A-7D Corsairs were being replaced by F-15A Eagles and F-16As as more advanced models were brought into active service.[16]

Post Cold War era

The expiration of the Soviet Union, beginning with the fall of the Berlin Wall and Glasnost in 1989 and culminating in the USSR’s breakup into its republics in 1991, constituted a major upheaval that continued to influence global politics into the 21st century

In 1979, Tactical Air Command assumed the atmospheric air defense mission of the United States with the inactivation of Aerospace Defense Command (ADCOM). ADCOM interceptor units were initially realigned into a component called Air Defense, Tactical Air Command (ADTAC), at the level of an Air Division. In 1985 First Air Force was reactivated by TAC to as given the mission to provide, train and equip ADTAC combat ready forces. Upon its reactivation, First Air Force was composed of units of the active Air Force and the Air National Guard. In the years since its third activation, more of the responsibility for the defense of American air sovereignty was shifted to the Air National Guard. By the 1990s, 90 percent of the air defense mission was being handled by the Air National Guard. In October 1997, First Air Force became a Air National Guard numbered air force charged with the air defense of the North American continent.

Global War on Terrorism

In the years following the 1991 Gulf War, ANG pilots patrolled Iraq's no-fly zones. During the 9/11 terrorist attacks the first unit to provide air cover was the Happy Hooligans, a North Dakota ANG F-16 unit diverted from flight training while deployed to Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. Another ANG F-16 unit from Vermont, the Green Mountain Boys of the 158th Fighter Wing, later patrolled the skies over New York City.

The first fighter unit over New York after the attacks began was the 102nd Fighter Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, its F-15s being stationed at Otis Air National Guard Base in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. On 22 May 2002 a Joint Resolution was passed by the Congress of the United States recognizing the members of the 102 FW for their actions on 11 September 2001. The resolution in part states: "Whereas on the morning of 11 September 2001, the 102nd Fighter Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard became the Nation's first airborne responder to the terrorist attacks of that day when it scrambled two F-15 fighter aircraft just six minutes after being informed of the terrorist hijackings of commercial airliners".[17]

Air National Guard Units

States

Federal District and Territories

List of Air National Guard Leaders

This is a list of the senior leaders or Generals of the Air National Guard. The title has changed over time: The Assistant Chief, National Guard Bureau for Air,; Chief, Air Force Division, National Guard Bureau; Director Air National Guard.[18][19]

Number Name From To
1 COL William A. R. Robertson 28 November 1945 October 1948
2 MG Georg G. Finch October 1948 25 September 1950
3 MG Earl T. Ricks 13 October 1950 4 January 1954
4 MG Winston P. Wilson 26 January 1954 5 August 1962
5 MG I. G. Brown 6 August 1962 19 April 1974
6 MG John J. Pesch 20 April 1974 31 January 1977
7 MG John T. Guice 1 February 1977 1 April 1981
8 MG John B. Conaway 1 April 1981 1 November 1988
9 MG Philip G. Killey 1 November 1988 28 January 1994
10 MG Donald W. Shepperd 28 January 1994 28 January 1998
11 MG Paul A. Weaver Jr. 28 January 1998 3 December 2001
(Acting) BG David A. Brubaker 3 December 2001 3 June 2002
12 Lt Gen Daniel James III 3 June 2002 20 May 2006
13 Lt Gen Craig R. McKinley 20 May 2006 17 November 2008
(Acting) MG Emmett R. Titshaw Jr. 17 November 2008 2 February 2009
14 Lt Gen Harry M. Wyatt III 2 February 2009 Present

See also

References

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

  1. ^ a b c [1] Military Reserves Federal Call Up Authority
  2. ^ [2] 10 USC 12212. Officers: Air National Guard of the United States
  3. ^ [3] 10 USC 12107. Army National Guard of United States; Air National Guard of the United States: enlistment in
  4. ^ a b c [4] 32 USC 101. Definitions (NATIONAL GUARD)
  5. ^ [5] 10 USC 12401. Army and Air National Guard of the United States: status
  6. ^ [6] 10 USC 10111. Air National Guard of the United States: composition
  7. ^ [7] 10 USC 12406. National Guard in Federal service: call
  8. ^ Weisgerber, Marcus. "USAF Chief: Proposed Guard Cuts Necessary To Protect Surge Capability." Defense News, 12 June 2012.
  9. ^ a b Email communications, Air National Guard Lineage and History, Daniel L. Haulman, PhD, Chief, Organizational Histories Branch Air Force Historical Research Agency
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rosenfeld, Susan and Gross, Charles J (2007), Air National Guard at 60: A History. Air National Guard history program AFD-080527-040
  11. ^ a b c d e ANG Heritage: Missions, Wars and Operations
  12. ^ a b c d e f Rosenfield and Gross (2007), The Korean War and After
  13. ^ a b c d e Rosenfield and Gross (2007), Reshaping the Air National Guard Force Structure
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rosenfield and Gross (2007), Cold Warriors
  15. ^ Speed (2006), Forgotten Heroes, US ANG Fighter Squadrons of Vietnam
  16. ^ a b c d e Rosenfield and Gross (2007), The Total Force
  17. ^ Michael E. Capuano (2002). "Introducing a Joint Resolution Honoring the 102nd Fighter Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard". Congressional Record. 148. Government Printing Office: E901–E902.
  18. ^ Major General Winston P. Wilson Bio, retrieved 24 Dwc 2011 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  19. ^ "Active Major Command and ANG Leaders" (PDF), Air Force Magazine, Air Force Association, p. 106, 2011, retrieved 20 December 2011 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
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