Oklahoma Air National Guard
Oklahoma Air National Guard | |
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KC-135R Stratotanker |
The Oklahoma Air National Guard (OK ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of Oklahoma, United States of America. It is, along with the Oklahoma Army National Guard, an element of the Oklahoma National Guard.
As state militia units, the units in the Oklahoma Air National Guard are not in the normal United States Air Force chain of command. They are under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Oklahoma though the office of the Oklahoma Adjutant General unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States. The Oklahoma Air National Guard is headquartered in Oklahoma City, and its commander is currently[update] Brigadier General Gregory L. Ferguson
Overview
Under the "Total Force" concept, Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma Air National Guard consists of the following major units:
- Established 18 December 1947; operates: MC-12s
- Stationed at: Will Rogers IAP, Oklahoma City
- Gained by: Air Force Special Operations Command
- The 137th Special Operations Wing's MC-12W mission is to provide light tactical manned intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance to US Special Operations Command.[1]
- Established 15 February 1941 (as F-16C/D Fighting Falcons
- Stationed at: Tulsa Air National Guard Base
- Gained by: Air Combat Command
- The 138th Fighter Wing maintains F-16 Fighting Falcon combat forces ready for mobilization, deployment, and employment as needed to support national security objectives.[2]
Support Unit Functions and Capabilities:
- 125th Weather Flight
- Will Rogers Air National Guard Base
- 205th Engineering Installation Squadron at Will Rogers Air National Guard Base.
- This squadron is responsible for the installation and upkeep of electronic equipment, such as: ground radar, ground communications, engineering communications infrastructure, avionic radar and towers, avionic communications and cryptography repair.
History
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 137th Wing traces its origins to the World War II
The 125th Fighter Squadron returned to Tulsa in November 1945 and flew the
January 1960 brought significant change to the 125th as the unit was designated the 125th Air Transport Squadron and assigned to the 137th Air Transport Wing in Oklahoma City. For the next eight years the unit flew the C-97 Stratofreighter, transporting cargo to Vietnam and throughout the world before converting to the C-124 Globemaster II in 1968.
The 137th Tactical Airlift Wing received the
In 1999 two F-16s from the 138th flying wing escorted a Learjet carrying Payne Stewart for 90 minutes into South Dakota. The airplane had lost cabin pressure and its windows were iced over. They coordinated with an E-3 AWACs out of Tinker AFB. [6]
After conversion to the
The
On 14 March 2008 a 138th Fighter Wing-assigned fighter aircraft en route to the Smoky Hill Air National Guard Range in Salina, Kansas accidentally dropped a 22-pound, non-explosive practice bomb on an apartment complex in Tulsa, damaging a building foundation and knocking out the power to the building. No one was injured and the 138th Fighter Wing announced that they were investigating the incident themselves.[8]
In 2014 the Air Force Magazine annual almanac issue said that thirteen
In 2021, the Oklahoma National Guard helped to distribute food and water after Hurricane Ida.[9]
On Wednesday, March 23, 2022, one F-16 crashed in Louisiana in a joint training exercise. The pilot ejected and was unharmed. [10]
See also
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- ^ 137th Special Operations Wing website
- ^ 138th Fighter Wing website
- ^ "138th Fighter Wing, Oklahoma Air National Guard - Units". www.138fw.ang.af.mil. Archived from the original on 28 June 2010.
- ^ http://www.138fw.ang.af.mil/138fw/resources/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=14178 [dead link]
- ^ "Rosenfeld, Susan and Gross, Charles J (2007), Air National Guard at 60: A History. Air National Guard history program AFD-080527-040" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
- ^ "State pilots tracked LearjetIda".
- ^ "Fact Sheets : 138th Fighter Wing History : 138th Fighter Wing History". Archived from the original on 30 June 2010. Retrieved 13 September 2009.
- New York Times, 15 March 2008.
- ^ "Oklahoma National Guardsmen distribute food and water after Hurricane Ida". Senior Airman Alex Kaelke. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- ^ "F-16 aircraft out of Oklahoma crashes in Beauregard Parish". 23 March 2022.
- Gross, Charles J (1996), The Air National Guard and the American Military Tradition, United States Dept. of Defense, ISBN 0160483026
- Oklahoma Military Department website
External links