The 166th Airlift Wing (166th AW) of the

Delaware Air National Guard The Delaware Air National Guard (DE ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of Delaware, United States of America. It is, along with the Delaware Army National Guard, an element of the Delaware National Guard. As state militia units, the units ...

(DANG) is stationed at New Castle Air National Guard Base, Delaware. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

Air Mobility Command Air Mobility Command (AMC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the U.S. Air Force. It is headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, east of St. Louis, Missouri. Air Mobility Command was established on 1 June 1992, and was formed from elements ...

Overview

The 166th Airlift Wing is based at the New Castle County Airport just outside Wilmington, Delaware. Operating eight permanently assigned, Lockheed C-130H2 Hercules transport aircraft, the wing provides the U.S. Air Force with tactical airlift, airdrop capability of paratroops and cargo, and aeromedical evacuation of patients anywhere in the world. Additionally, the wing has a civil engineer function and a network warfare unit (the 166th Network Warfare Squadron). Under command of the Governor of Delaware, the wing is prepared to support the State of Delaware with trained personnel and equipment for various humanitarian missions to protect life and property and to preserve peace, order and public safety. The wing's gaining command is the Air Mobility Command, U.S. Air Force.

Units

The 166th Airlift Wing consists of the following units: * 166th Operations Group : 142d Airlift Squadron : 142d Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron : 166th Operations Support Squadron : 166th Cyberspace Operations Squadron * 166th Maintenance Group : 166th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron : 166th Maintenance Squadron : 166th Maintenance Operations Flight * 166th Mission Support Group : 166th Civil Engineer Squadron : 166th Communications Flight : 166th Force Support Squadron : 166th Logistics Readiness Squadron : 166th Security Forces Squadron * 166th Medical Group

History

On 7 April 1962 the

, with the 142nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, enlarged to "group status" as the 166th Air Transport Group and then was reassigned from the

Tactical Air Command Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. It was inactivated on 1 J ...

to the

Military Air Transport Service The Military Air Transport Service (MATS) is an inactive Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy's Naval Air Transport Service (NATS) and the United States Air Force's ...

. The Delaware Air National Guard gave up its

F-86 Sabrejet The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing ...

s for the four engine

C-97 Stratocruiser The Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter was a long-range heavy military cargo aircraft developed from the B-29 and B-50 bombers. Design work began in 1942, the first of three prototype XC-97s flew on 9 November 1944 (none saw combat), and the first of s ...

cargo planes. Dr. Harold Brown,

Secretary of the Air Force A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

, announced that effective 1 January 1966, the Military Air Transport Service would be redesignated as the

Military Airlift Command The Military Airlift Command (MAC) is an inactive United States Air Force major command (MAJCOM) that was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. Established on 1 January 1966, MAC was the primary strategic airlift organization of the ...

. In addition to the name change certain Air National Guard units were also redesignated, including Delaware's. The unit was named the 166th Military Airlift Group. During the period from 1969 to 1971 the Delaware Air National Guard flew missions to

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. On 9 April 1968, the Delaware Air National Guard was called to state duty to quell civil disturbance and violence in the city of

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

. The unit was released from state duty after several weeks. However, many individuals remained on state duty through 20 January 1969. On 12 May 1971 the Delaware ANG changed its name from the 166th Military Airlift Group to the 166th Tactical Airlift Group and replaced its C-97s with

C-130A Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally design ...

turboprop cargo plane, and began transition from the Military Airlift Command to the

. On 16 October 1985, the Delaware Air National Guard began replacing its aging, antiquated C-130A's with the delivery of a brand new factory fresh C-130H. The last new C-130H aircraft arrived in January 1986. On 25 January 1991 selected units of the Delaware Air National Guard were activated for the Persian Gulf War known as

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

. A majority of the unit was stationed at Al Kharj Air Base,

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

. Over 150 personnel deployed to six other locations in Europe and two stateside bases. The 166th Civil Engineer Squadron voluntarily deployed to

Dover Air Force Base Dover Air Force Base or Dover AFB is a United States Air Force base under the operational control of the Air Mobility Command (AMC), located southeast of the city of Dover, Delaware. 436th AW is the host wing and runs the busiest and largest a ...

, Delaware and performed the monumental accomplishment of enlarging Dover's Mortuary capacity - the assignment was completed in a record 23 days. On 30 June 1991 the units/personnel were released from active duty performed in support of the Persian Gulf War. Another name change occurred on 16 March 1992, with the 166th Tactical Airlift Group being redesignated the 166th Airlift Group. In 1993 an Air Force reorganization placed the 166th under Air Combat Command. On 1 October 1995, the 166th Airlift Group was renamed the 166th Airlift Wing and was gained by the Air Mobility Command.

Lineage

* Established as 166th Air Transport Group, and activated, 7 April 1962 : Re-designated: 166th Military Airlift Group, 8 January 1966 : Re-designated: 166th Tactical Airlift Group, 12 May 1971 : Re-designated: 166th Airlift Group, 1 June 1992 : Status changed from Group to Wing, 10 January 1995 : Re-designated: 166th Airlift Wing, 10 January 1995

Assignments

, 7 April 1962 : Gained by:

: Gained by:

, 8 January 1966 * 118th Tactical Airlift Wing, 12 May 1971 – 10 January 1995 *

, 10 January 1995 : Gained by:

Stations

New Castle County Airport Wilmington Airport (formerly known as New Castle Airport, New Castle County Airport, sometimes referred to as Wilmington-New Castle Airport, or to a lesser extent Wilmington/Philadelphia Regional Airport and Greater Wilmington Airport) is an a ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

, 7 April 1962

Aircraft

, 1962-1971 *

C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 ...

, 1971–Present

References

External links

{{Delaware Wings of the United States Air National Guard 0166 Military units and formations in Delaware