Maine Air National Guard
Maine Air National Guard | |
---|---|
Brig. Gen. Frank W. Roy | |
Aircraft flown | |
Tanker | KC-135R Stratotanker |
The Maine Air National Guard (ME ANG) is the aerial militia of the
As state militia units, the units in the Maine Air National Guard are not in the normal United States Air Force chain of command. They are under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Maine through the office of the Maine Adjutant General unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States. The Maine Air National Guard is headquartered at Bangor Air National Guard Base, Bangor.
Overview
Under the "Total Force" concept, Maine Air National Guard units are considered to be Air Reserve Components (ARC) of the
Along with their federal reserve obligations, as state militia units the elements of the Maine ANG are subject to being activated by order of the Governor to provide protection of life and property, and preserve peace, order and public safety. State missions include disaster relief in times of earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and forest fires, search and rescue, protection of vital public services, and support to civil defense.
Components
The Maine Air National Guard consists of the following major unit:
- Established 4 February 1947 (as: KC-135R Stratotanker
- Stationed at: Bangor Air National Guard Base
- Gained by: Air Mobility Command
Support Unit Functions and Capabilities:
- 243d Engineering and Installation Squadron[1]
- 265th Combat Communications Squadron
- The 265th CBCS provides mobile/transportable communications packages complete with all personnel and support equipment in support of Air Force flying operations on a world-wide basis. The 265th responds to contingency requirements with individual packages, combinations of packages or communications systems.[1]
- Both of these units are stationed in South Portland, Maine.
History
On 24 May 1946, the United States Army Air Forces, in response to dramatic postwar military budget cuts imposed by President Harry S. Truman, allocated inactive unit designations to the National Guard Bureau for the formation of an Air Force National Guard. These unit designations were allotted and transferred to various State National Guard bureaus to provide them unit designations to re-establish them as Air National Guard units.[2]
The Maine Air National Guard origins date to the formation of the
The 132d was placed under the organization of the 67th Fighter Wing with headquarters at Logan Airport, Boston, Massachusetts (USA). The Maine 101st Fighter Group was federally recognized on 4 April 1947 with station at Camp Keyes, Augusta, Maine. Additional units of the 101st FG were organized and federally recognized. These units were:
- 132d Weather Station
- 201st Air Service Group
- 201st Air Service Group, Det. A
In December 1948 the command was transferred to the Continental Air Command. Two years later the 101st FG was reorganized into a Wing-Base in order to standardize the Guard units with their active duty counterparts. This provided for additional supporting medical, service, transportation and base operating elements.
The 101st Fighter Group was federalized and ordered to active service on 10 February 1951 as a result of the Korean War, being assigned to the
The mission of the 101st FIW was the air defense of New England. Its assigned squadrons were dispersed and equipped as follows:
- 132d Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons, Dow AFB (F-80C)
- 133d Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons, Grenier AFB (F-47D)
- 134th Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons, Burlington Municipal Airport (F-51H)
On 1 February 1952, the 101st Fighter-Interceptor Wing and Group were inactivated, the unit being taken over by the Air Defense Command
On 15 April 1956 the 101st FG was put on duty in New Hampshire until December 1960, when it was reassigned and reactivated in the State of Maine. The first nurses were assigned to the Maine Air National Guard in June 1956. Four years later the responsibility for training and inspection of the ANG was transferred from the Continental Air Command to the Air Defense Command. When the USAF Air Defense Command reorganized its Continental Air Defense forces to a numbered Air Force/Air Division Organization in April 1966, the 101st Air Defense Wing was assigned to the 36th Air Division located at Topsham Air Force Station, Maine and to Headquarters, First Air Force located at
In April 1976, the first KC-135A Stratotankers were assigned to the unit and the gaining command was changed from Air Defense Command to Strategic Air Command.
In August 1990 selected Maine ANG units were mobilized in support of the
After the
See also
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- ^ a b 101st ARW units page
- ^ a b Rosenfeld, Susan, and Gross, Charles J. (2007), Air National Guard at 60: A History. Air National Guard history program AFD-080527-040 Archived 2012-10-16 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Factsheets : 101st Air Refueling Wing History". Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
- Gross, Charles J (1996), The Air National Guard and the American Military Tradition, United States Dept. of Defense, ISBN 0160483026
- Maine Army National Guard website