The Arizona Air National Guard (AZ ANG) is the aerial militia of the state of Arizona,

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

. It is, along with the Arizona Army National Guard, an element of the

Arizona National Guard The Arizona National Guard is the National Guard of the American state of Arizona. It consists of the Arizona Army National Guard and the Arizona Air National Guard. Both components are part of the Arizona Department of Emergency and Militar ...

. As state militia units, the units in the Arizona Air National Guard are not typically in the normal

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, 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 ...

chain of command A command hierarchy is a group of people who carry out orders based on others' authority within the group. It can be viewed as part of a power structure, in which it is usually seen as the most vulnerable and also the most powerful part. Milit ...

unless federalized. They are under the jurisdiction of the

Governor of Arizona A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

through the office of the Arizona Adjutant General unless they are federalized when ordered by the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

. The Arizona Air National Guard is headquartered at the Joint Force Headquarters in Phoenix and at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, and its commander is Major General Kerry L. Muehlenbeck.

Overview

Under the "Total Force" concept, Arizona Air National Guard units are an Air Reserve Components (ARC) of the

(USAF). Arizona ANG units are trained and equipped by the Air Force and are operationally gained by a

Major Command of the USAF This is a list of major commands (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force. A major command is a significant Air Force organization subordinate to Headquarters, US Air Force. Major commands have a headquarters staff and subordinate organizations, ty ...

if federalized. In addition, the Arizona Air National Guard forces are assigned to Air Expeditionary Forces and are subject to deployment tasking orders along with their active duty and Air Force Reserve counterparts in their assigned cycle deployment window. Along with their federal reserve obligations, as state militia units the elements of the Arizona 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 Arizona Air National Guard consists of the following major unit: * 161st Air Refueling Wing : Established 12 December 1946 (as: 197th Fighter Squadron); operates:

KC-135R Stratotanker The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It is the predominant variant of the C-135 Stratolifter family of transport ...

s : Stationed at: Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Phoenix : Gained by: Air Mobility Command : Provides aerial refueling support to Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps and allied nation aircraft. *

162nd Fighter Wing The 162nd Wing (162 WG) is a unit of the Arizona Air National Guard, stationed at Morris Air National Guard Base, Arizona. If activated to federal service, the wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command. M ...

: Established 1969 as group, operates

F-16C/D Fighting Falcon A large number of variants of the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon have been produced by General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, and various licensed manufacturers. The details of the F-16 variants, along with major modification programs and der ...

s : Stationed at:

Tucson Air National Guard Base Tucson International Airport is a civil-military airport owned by the City of Tucson south of downtown Tucson, in Pima County, Arizona, United States. It is the second busiest airport in Arizona, after Phoenix Sky Harbor International Air ...

, Tucson : Gained by:

Air Education and Training Command Air Education and Training Command (AETC) is one of the nine List of major commands of the United States Air Force, Major Commands (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF), reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force. It was establis ...

: The largest ANG fighter wing consisting of about 1,100 full-time members and 600 part-time citizen airmen. The wing consists of three squadrons and more than 70 F-16 aircraft. the 162d conducts international pilot training in support of foreign military sales (FMS) program. * 214th Reconnaissance Group : Established 29 August 2007; operates: MQ-1B Predators : Stationed at: Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson : Gained by: Air Combat Command : The wing flies the MQ-1B Predator over Afghanistan via satellite from ground control stations in Tucson Support Unit Functions and Capabilities: * 107th Air Control Squadron : Stationed at:

Luke Air Force Base Luke Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States., effective 20 December 2007 It is located west of the central business district of Glendale, and west of Phoenix. Luke AFB is a major traini ...

, Glendale : Gained by:

: It provides radar control to flying units operating in local airspaces. It operates and maintains extensive radar and communications to train student Weapons Directors for postings throughout the Air Force and Air National Guard. *

111th Space Operations Squadron The United States Air Force's 111th Space Operations Squadron (111 SOPS) is an Air National Guard space communications unit located at Sky Harbor International Airport, Arizona. 111 SOPS is the military's first unit to operate free-floating bal ...

: Stationed at: Sky Harbor Air National Guard Base, Phoenix : Gained by:

Air Force Space Command The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

: It is a space communications unit, being the military's first unit to operate free-floating balloons in the near space environment.

History

On 24 May 1946, the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

, in response to dramatic postwar military budget cuts, imposed by President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

, 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. 197th Fighter Squadron - North American F-51H-5-NA Mustang 44-64455

197th Fighter Squadron - North American F-51H-5-NA Mustang 44-64455

The Arizona ANG was founded by Barry Goldwater, and its origins date to the formation of the 197th Fighter Squadron at Luke Army Airfield, Glendale, receiving federal recognition on 12 December 1946. It was equipped with F-51D Mustangs and its mission was the air defense of the state. 18 September 1947, however, is considered the Arizona Air National Guard's official birth concurrent with the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate branch of the United States military under the National Security Act Under Goldwater‘s direction, the Arizona ANG integrated in 1947, two years before

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Truman's

Executive Order 9981 Executive Order 9981 was issued on July 26, 1948, by President Harry S. Truman. This executive order abolished discrimination "on the basis of race, color, religion or national origin" in the United States Armed Forces, and led to the re-integra ...

ending racial segregation in the United States Armed Forces."Life". Books. September 18, 1964. Retrieved March 3, 2012. On 2 October 1957 the 197th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was authorized to expand to a group level, and the 161st Fighter-Interceptor Group was allotted by the National Guard Bureau, extended federal recognition and activated. Today, the Arizona ANG performs a worldwide air refueling mission, a homeland defense training mission and tactical battlefield reconnaissance missions. Its 111th Space Operations Squadron is the first space communications unit in the United States military. After the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, elements of every Air National Guard unit in Arizona has been activated in support of the

Global War on Terrorism The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant ...

. Flight crews, aircraft maintenance personnel, communications technicians, air controllers and air security personnel were engaged in

Operation Noble Eagle Operation Noble Eagle (ONE) is the United States and Canadian military operation related to homeland security and support to federal, state, and local agencies. The operation began 11 September 2001, in response to the September 11 attacks.. ...

air defense overflights of major United States cities. Also, Arizona ANG units have been deployed overseas as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq as well as other locations as directed.

References

* Gross, Charles J (1996), The Air National Guard and the American Military Tradition, United States Dept. of Defense,
Arizona Air National Guard website
* Goldwater, Barry. ''Goldwater'' (1988) , autobiography

External links

161st Air Refueling Wing

162nd Fighter Wing
{{Authority control United States Air National Guard Military in Arizona 1946 establishments in Arizona Military units and formations established in 1946

Overview

Components

History

See also

References

External links