Missouri Air National Guard
Missouri Air National Guard | |
---|---|
United States National Guard Bureau | |
Garrison/HQ | Missouri Air National Guard, Rosecrans Air National Guard Base, St. Joseph, Missouri, 60543 |
Commanders | |
Civilian leadership |
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Ceremonial chief | C-130H2 Hercules |
The Missouri Air National Guard (MO ANG) is the aerial militia of the
As state militia units, the units in the Missouri Air National Guard are not in the normal
Overview
Under the "Total Force" concept, Missouri 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 Missouri 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 Missouri Air National Guard consists of the following major units:
- Established 23 June 1923 (as: B-2 Spirit
- Stationed at: Whiteman Air Force Base, Knob Noster
- Gained by: Air Force Global Strike Command
- The only Air National Guard B-2 Spirit Wing, the 131st Bomb Wing's mission is to bring massive firepower to bear, in a short time, anywhere on the globe through previously impenetrable defenses.[2]
- Established 22 August 1946 (as: C-130H2 Hercules
- Stationed at: Rosecrans Air National Guard Base, St. Joseph
- Gained by: Air Mobility Command
- The 139th Airlift Wing provides the State of Missouri and the nation with immediately deployable, combat-ready C-130H2 Hercules model aircraft. The 139th remains globally engaged in continuing operations.[3]
Support Unit Functions and Capabilities:
- Involves work to provide meteorological support and deploy with, advise, and assist the ground force commander in planning, requesting, coordinating and controlling close air support, tactical air reconnaissance, and tactical airlift.
- Headquarters Augmentation Unit provides staff augmentation, project management, engineering support and construction oversight.
History
The Missouri Air National Guard origins date to 14 August 1917 with the establishment of the 110th Aero Squadron as part of the
The
Early in 1923 a group of local St. Louis aviation enthusiasts including Major William B. Robertson and his brothers Frank and Dan, went to Washington to seek support for selection of St. Louis as the site for the "International Air Races" and a charter for organization of an Army National Guard Air Unit for the state, Their mission was successful and they returned with the approval for both activities. The interest which St. Louis had shown as an aviation center and recommendation of Col. C.S. Thornton, then 138th Infantry Regiment Commander, largely influenced Brig. Gen. W.A. Raupp, Missouri National Guard Commander in selection of St. Louis as site for the Air Unit.
Local newspapers informed the public that "enlistments would not be limited to aviators but a number of young men who wanted to learn to fly or maintain flying equipment would also be taken." Members would be paid for a maximum of 60 "drills" a year which were described as periods of instruction in ground work, machine-shop practice and flying. War maneuvers would be taught and bombing and machine gun firing would be directed at targets on the nearby Missouri River. Personnel assigned to the Photo Section would learn to make pictures for use in war and intelligence Personnel would be trained as Scouts of the Air (observers) and probably will have radio equipment.
A five-day "recruiting drive" enlisted a total of 110 men, most of whom were World War I veterans. On June 23, 1923 the 110th Observation Squadron, 110th Photo Section and 110th Intelligence Section, 35th Division (Aviation), Missouri National Guard were federally recognized. It is one of the
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.[5]
The modern Missouri ANG received federal recognition on 3 July 1946 as the 71st Fighter Wing at
Today, the 131st Bomb Wing, now at
After the
In 2008 after 86 years of flying operations in St. Louis in an End of Era ceremony coinciding with the closure of the base fire house and the 131st Fighter Wing's final F-15C Eagle departure from Lambert International Airport, the Headquarters of the Missouri Air National Guard moved from Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis to its new home at Rosecrans Air National Guard Base, St. Joseph.
See also
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- ^ "Major General Levon E. Cumpton". National Guard Biography. National Guard. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
- ^ 131st Bomb Wing website
- ^ 139th Airlift Wing website
- ^ ANG Chronology 1908-2007, see also Brief History of the Minnesota Air National Guard and the 133rd Airlift Wing, 1.
- ^ 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
- Gross, Charles J (1996), The Air National Guard and the American Military Tradition, United States Dept. of Defense, ISBN 0160483026
- Missouri National Guard website
External links
- Publications by or about the Missouri National Guard at Internet Archive.