Everything about United States Air National Guard totally explained
The
Air National Guard (
ANG), often referred to as the
Air Guard, is part of the
United States National Guard and a
reserve component of the
United States Air Force (USAF). Like the
Army National Guard, the ANG is administered by the
National Guard Bureau and an ANG unit may be activated by either the
President of the United States or the
governor of the state in which it resides. The national guard is located in every state in the union, Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington D.C.
The oldest ANG unit is the
102nd Rescue Squadron,
New York Air National Guard. The unit was federalized for service in
1916. It was a component of the Army National Guard at the time, and has the distinction of flying balloons as early as
1908. The 102nd was commanded by Capt Raynal C. Bolling, who was killed in France during
World War I. The 102nd was also highlighted in the national best selling book,
The Perfect Storm, written by
Sebastian Junger, as well as the film by the same title which was based on the book.
Although the ANG wasn't established as a separate component of the USAF until
1947, throughout the
twentieth century National Guard aviators have played significant roles in all wars involving the
United States and in most of its major contingencies. ANG units served on active duty during the
Korean War, and ANG
F-100 squadrons from
Colorado,
New York,
Iowa, and
New Mexico served at
Phan Rang AB, Vietnam, for eleven months of
1968-
1969, flying over 24,000 combat
sorties. In recent operations, entire units and individuals have also been activated.
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 Air Reserve Technicians (ART) 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, will 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 As such, the concept of Air National Guard service as representing only "one weekend a month and two weeks a year" is no longer valid.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, the
MH-53 Pave Low helicopter, 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 Bomb Wing of the Missouri Air National Guard, used to fly the
F-15C/D Eagle, but transitioned to the
B-2 Spirit and became an "Associate" bomb wing to the
509th Bomb Wing at
Whiteman AFB, Missouri.
Since the
1991 Gulf War, ANG pilots have 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. Right after the attacks, the
102nd Fighter Wing also patrolled the skies over New York City with
F-15A Eagles, it being the first wing to respond to the attacks.
According to news and Congressional sources, the first 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
May 22,
2002 a Joint Resolution was passed by the
Congress of the United States recognizing the members of the 102 FW for their actions on
September 11,
2001. On a note of politics, the wing later changed to that of an intelligence mission, ending its prestigious history.
The resolution in part states: "Whereas on the morning of September 11, 2001, the 102d 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".
The United States Air National Guard has about 110,000 men and women in service.
Air National Guard by State
This is a list of state Air National Guard units.
Federal District and Territories
- District of Columbia Air National Guard (External Link
)
- Puerto Rico Air National Guard (External Link)
- Virgin Islands Air National Guard (External Link)
Further Information
Get more info on 'United States Air National Guard'.
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