184th Fighter Squadron
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The 184th Attack Squadron (184 ATKS) is a unit of the
Arkansas Air National Guard The Arkansas Air National Guard (AR ANG), commonly known as the Arkansas Air Guard, is the aerial militia of the State of Arkansas, United States of America. It is, along with the Arkansas Army National Guard, an element of the Arkansas National ...
188th Wing located at Ebbing Air National Guard Base, Fort Smith, Arkansas. The 184th is equipped with the
MQ-9 Reaper The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (sometimes called Predator B) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) primarily for the Unit ...
. In June 2014 the squadron transitioned from A-10C to the MQ-9.


Overview

The 184th Attack Squadron
MQ-9 Reaper The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (sometimes called Predator B) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) primarily for the Unit ...
Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) mission is to provide close air support (CAS), air interdiction, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), and attack to eliminate threats when present. The multi-role capabilities of these RPAs allows Combat Search and Rescue operations and extended time over targets to locate, track, target, strike, and assess time sensitive targets.


History


Tactical Reconnaissance

Authorized by the
National Guard Bureau The National Guard Bureau is the federal instrument responsible for the administration of the National Guard established by the United States Congress as a joint bureau of the Department of the Army and the Department of the Air Force. It was cre ...
in 1953 at the 184th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron. Organized at
Fort Smith Regional Airport Fort Smith Regional Airport is a public use joint civil–military airport located near the Interstate 540 freeway three  nautical miles (6  km) southeast of the central business district of Fort Smith, in Sebastian County, Arka ...
, Arkansas and extended recognition as a new unit on 15 October 1953. The squadron was assigned to the Tennessee ANG 118th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, Berry Field, Nashville, for administration, operational control was exercised by the
Arkansas Air National Guard The Arkansas Air National Guard (AR ANG), commonly known as the Arkansas Air Guard, is the aerial militia of the State of Arkansas, United States of America. It is, along with the Arkansas Army National Guard, an element of the Arkansas National ...
. The 184th TRS was initially equipped with
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
-era
RB-26C Invader The Douglas A-26 Invader (designated B-26 between 1948 and 1965) is an American twin-engined light bomber and ground attack aircraft. Built by Douglas Aircraft Company during World War II, the Invader also saw service during several major ...
night photo-reconnaissance aircraft. The black-painted RB-26s were originally medium bombers that were modified for aerial reconnaissance in the late 1940s. Most of the aircraft received were
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
veterans, were unarmed and carried cameras and flash flares for night aerial photography. In 1956, the B-26 was reaching the end of its operational USAF service, and the squadron was re-equipped with
RF-80A Shooting Star The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star was the first jet fighter used operationally by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II. Designed and built by Lockheed in 1943 and delivered just 143 days from the start of design, prod ...
daylight reconnaissance aircraft that were also nearly obsolescent. In January 1957, the 184th retired its worn-out RF-80s and received new
RF-84F Thunderstreak The Republic F-84F Thunderstreak was an American swept-wing turbojet fighter-bomber. While an evolutionary development of the straight-wing F-84 Thunderjet, the F-84F was a new design. The RF-84F Thunderflash was a photo reconnaissance version. ...
reconnaissance aircraft, manufactured for Air National Guard use. During the 1961 Berlin Crisis, the squadron was federalized and assigned to the mobilized Kentucky ANG
123d Tactical Reconnaissance Group 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...
however it remained at Fort Smith and was released from active duty and returned to Arkansas state control on 22 August 1962. On 22 August 1962, the 184th was authorized to expand to a group level, and the 188th Tactical Reconnaissance Group was established by the
National Guard Bureau The National Guard Bureau is the federal instrument responsible for the administration of the National Guard established by the United States Congress as a joint bureau of the Department of the Army and the Department of the Air Force. It was cre ...
. The 184th TRS becoming the group's flying squadron. Other squadrons assigned into the group were the 188th Headquarters, 188th Material Squadron (Maintenance), 188th Combat Support Squadron, and the 188th USAF Dispensary. In 1970 with the winding-down of the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, the 184th began receiving McDonnell
RF-101C Voodoo The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo is a supersonic jet fighter which served the United States Air Force (USAF) and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Initially designed by McDonnell Aircraft Corporation as a long-range bomber escort (known as a '' ...
s, replacing the RF-84Fs the unit had been flying for over a decade. The USAF had, however, planned for the RF-101C to be gradually phased out of USAF service in favor of the McDonnell
RF-4C Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bow ...
and the aircraft remained with the 184th TRS for only a brief period of time, and in 1970 was retired.


Tactical Fighter

Following their withdrawal from the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, numerous USAF
F-100D Super Sabre The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard (ANG) until 1979. The first of the Century Series of US ...
s were turned over to the Air National Guard. Tactical Air Command realigned the 151st into a Tactical Fighter Group in 1972, and equipping the unit with Vietnam Veteran F-100D and twin-seat F-100F Trainers. In 1979, the Super Sabre was being retired and the 184th TFS began receiving
F-4C Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American Tandem#Aviation, tandem two-seat, twinjet, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic aircraft, supersonic jet interceptor aircraft, interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed ...
s to be used in an air defense role. In 1988, as part of the retirement of the Phantom II, the squadron began receiving Block 15
F-16A Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successf ...
s. The first F-16 delivery to the squadron was on 1 July 1988 and the formal acceptance of the F-16 happened on 15 October. On 15 March 1992 the 184th dropped the Tactical name from the squadron as the parent 184th converted to the USAF Objective organization. In early 2001 the 184th FS began to retire its F-16A/B block 15s to AMARC in exchange for F-16C block 32s. They never received any D-models. Because the squadron flew the rarely seen block 32, the squadron became a source for spare F-16s for the
USAF Thunderbirds The USAF Air Demonstration Squadron ("Thunderbirds") is the air demonstration squadron of the United States Air Force The Thunderbirds are assigned to the 57th Wing, and are based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. Created in 1953, the USAF Th ...
flight demonstration team. In the end the 184th FS never had to give up any of their aircraft as the Thunderbirds took needed aircraft from home based Nellis 57th Fighter Wing. Deployed to
Prince Sultan AB Prince Sultan Air Base ( ar, قاعدة الأمير سلطان الجوية) (PSAB) is a military air base located in the closed-city of Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia. History There was formerly a large United States presence there during Operat ...
, Saudi Arabia (24 October 2002 to December 2002) in support of
Operation Southern Watch Operation Southern Watch was an air-centric military operation conducted by the United States Department of Defense from Summer 1992 to Spring 2003. United States Central Command's Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) had the mission of mon ...
. In 2005, the 188th deployed nearly 300 Airmen and multiple F-16C Fighting Falcons to
Balad Air Base Balad Air Base ( ar, قاعدة بلد الجوية) , is an Iraqi Air Force base located near Balad, Iraq, Balad in the Sunni Triangle north of Baghdad, Iraq. Built in the early 1980s, it was originally named Al-Bakr Air Base. In 2003 the base ...
, Iraq, in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
.


BRAC 2005

BRAC 2005 initially decided to inactivate the 188th Fighter Wing and close Fort Smith ANGB. With a great deal of effort by Arkansas' leaders caused the BRAC panel to change its decision on the 184th FS and give it a new mission. The squadron would still lose its F-16s but in their place would get a total of eighteen
A-10 Thunderbolt II The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twin-turbofan, straight-wing, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Republic for the United States Air Force (USAF). In service since 1976, it is named for the Republic ...
ground attack aircraft. One of the deciding factors was Fort Smiths location near
Fort Chaffee Fort Chaffee Joint Maneuver Training Center is an Army National Guard installation in western Arkansas, adjacent to the city of Fort Smith. Established as Camp Chaffee in 1941, renamed to Fort Chaffee in 1956, Fort Chaffee has served as a United ...
, a former National Guard training post. On 18 October 2006 the 184th FS began giving up F-16s when two departed for the 194th Fighter Squadron located at
Fresno Air National Guard Base Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, mak ...
, California. By April 2007 the 184th FS had already begun to receive the A-10 from the Massachusetts ANG 104th Fighter Wing and pilots had already commenced cross training in October. On 14 April 2007 the 184th FS marked the day with a celebration 'Viper Out/Warthog In' day. The 184th FS took the opportunity to display their new A-10 paint scheme and to still fly the F-16 but the 184th FS at this point was officially an A-10 unit.


Current status

In early 2012 the Air Force planned to realign the 188th Fighter Wing and replace its 20 A-10 aircraft, converting the 184th FS to operate the General Atomics
MQ-1 Predator The General Atomics MQ-1 Predator (often referred to as the predator drone) is an American remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) built by General Atomics that was used primarily by the United States Air Force (USAF) and Central Intelligence Agency ...
unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). However, after extensive discussions in August 2012 it was announced that the 188th Fighter Wing would retain its A-10s. In July 2012, the Wing deployed 275 airmen and aircraft to Afghanistan in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...
. They were assigned to the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing,
Bagram Airfield Bagram Airfield-BAF, also known as Bagram Air Base , is located southeast of Charikar in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan. It is under the Afghan Ministry of Defense. Sitting on the site of the ancient Bagram at an elevation of above sea leve ...
, near Kabul. This was the second AEF deployment for the 188th as a unit since receiving A-10 Thunderbolt II "Warthogs" 14 April 2007. The 188th's last AEF deployment transpired in 2010 when the unit deployed about 300 Airmen and 12 A-10Cs to the 451st Air Expeditionary Wing at
Kandahar Airfield Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport, also referred to as Kandahar International Airport ( ps, د کندهار نړيوال هوايي ډګر) and by some military officials as Kandahar Airfield, KAF) , is located about south-east of the city K ...
. The guardsmen remained in Afghanistan until October, flying close-air support in response to ground troops who may be in contact with the enemy, or to escort convoys in particularly hostile areas. When not supporting ground troops, A-10s patrol designated sectors and provided aerial reconnaissance on locations of interest to ground commanders. In three months, Arkansas ANG A-10s delivered more than 60,000 30mm cannon rounds and more than 250 precision munitions on enemy targets. In June 2014, the last of the units A-10C aircraft departed and the unit was re-designated the 184th Attack Squadron.


Lineage

* Designated 184th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron and allotted to Arkansas ANG in 1953 : Extended federal recognition on 15 October 1953 : Federalized and placed on active duty, 1 October 1961 : Released from active duty and returned to Arkansas state control, 22 August 1962 : Re-designated: 184th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 1 July 1972 : Re-designated: 184th Fighter Squadron, 16 March 1992 : Designated: 184th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron when elements deployed to United States Air Forces Central during Air and Space Expeditionary Force (AEF) deployments. : Re-designated: 184th Attack Squadron June 2014


Assignments

* 118th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, 15 October 1953 *
123d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing The 123rd Airlift Wing (123 AW) is a unit of the Kentucky Air National Guard, stationed at Louisville International Airport (Louisville Air National Guard Base), Kentucky. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Ai ...
, 1 October 1961 * 188th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, 22 August 1962 * 188th Tactical Fighter Group, 1 July 1972 * 188th Fighter Group, 16 March 1992 * 188th Operations Group, 1 October 1995–present


Stations

*
Fort Smith Regional Airport Fort Smith Regional Airport is a public use joint civil–military airport located near the Interstate 540 freeway three  nautical miles (6  km) southeast of the central business district of Fort Smith, in Sebastian County, Arka ...
, Fort Smith, Arkansas, 15 October 1953 : Designated:
Fort Smith Air National Guard Station A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
, 1991–present


Aircraft

*
RB-26C Invader The Douglas A-26 Invader (designated B-26 between 1948 and 1965) is an American twin-engined light bomber and ground attack aircraft. Built by Douglas Aircraft Company during World War II, the Invader also saw service during several major ...
, 1953–1956 *
RF-80A Shooting Star The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star was the first jet fighter used operationally by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II. Designed and built by Lockheed in 1943 and delivered just 143 days from the start of design, prod ...
, 1956–1957 *
RF-84F Thunderstreak The Republic F-84F Thunderstreak was an American swept-wing turbojet fighter-bomber. While an evolutionary development of the straight-wing F-84 Thunderjet, the F-84F was a new design. The RF-84F Thunderflash was a photo reconnaissance version. ...
, 1957–1970 * RF-101C Voodo, 1970–1972 *
F-100D/F Super Sabre The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard (ANG) until 1979. The first of the Century Series of US ...
, 1972–1979 *
F-4C Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American Tandem#Aviation, tandem two-seat, twinjet, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic aircraft, supersonic jet interceptor aircraft, interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed ...
, 1979-1998 *
F-16A Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successf ...
, 1988–2001 *
F-16C Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it ...
, 2001–2007 *
A-10 Thunderbolt II The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twin-turbofan, straight-wing, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Republic for the United States Air Force (USAF). In service since 1976, it is named for the Republic ...
, 2007–2014 *
MQ-9 Reaper The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (sometimes called Predator B) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) primarily for the Unit ...
, 2014–present


References


188th Fighter Wing history page





External links

{{Arkansas Squadrons of the United States Air National Guard Fighter squadrons of the United States Air Force Military units and formations in Arkansas