The Colorado Air National Guard (CO ANG) is the aerial militia of the

State of Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

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

Colorado Army National Guard The Colorado Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army, United States National Guard, and Colorado National Guard. Nationwide, the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the US Army's available combat forces ...

, an element of the

Colorado National Guard The Colorado National Guard consists of the Colorado Army National Guard and Colorado Air National Guard, forming the state of Colorado's component to the United States National Guard. Founded in 1860, the Colorado National Guard falls under t ...

. The units of the Colorado Air National Guard are not in the normal

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 ...

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 ...

. They are under the jurisdiction of the

Governor of Colorado The governor of Colorado is the head of government of the U.S. state of Colorado. The governor is the head of the executive branch of Colorado's state government and is charged with enforcing state laws. The governor has the power to either app ...

through the office of the Colorado Adjutant General unless they are federalized by order of 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 Stat ...

. The Colorado Air National Guard is headquartered in Centennial, and its commander is Major General H. Michael Edwards. The Colorado Air National Guard

120th Fighter Squadron The 120th Fighter Squadron (120 FS) is a unit of the Colorado Air National Guard 140th Wing located at Buckley Space Force Base, Aurora, Colorado. The 120th is equipped with the F-16C/D Fighting Falcon. The squadron is a descendant organization ...

was the first federally recognized Air National Guard unit after the

Second World War 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 ...

, receiving this distinction on 30 June 1946.

Overview

Under the "Total Force" concept, Colorado Air National Guard units are considered to be Air Reserve Components (ARC) of the

(USAF). Colorado 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 Colorado 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 Colorado 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 Colorado Air National Guard consists of the following units: * 140th Fighter Wing : Established 27 June 1923 (as: 120th Observation Squadron); 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 ...

: Stationed at:

Buckley Space Force Base Buckley Space Force Base is a United States Space Force base in Aurora, Colorado named after United States Army Air Service First Lieutenant John Harold Buckley. The base is run by Space Base Delta 2, with major units including the U.S. Space For ...

, Aurora : Gained by:

Air Combat Command Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the primary provider of air combat forces for the Air Force, and i ...

: Executes a dual-purpose mission with pilots qualified to perform air-to-air and air-to-ground missions, including Offensive Counter-Air (OCA), Defensive Counter-Air (DCA), OCA Interdiction, Close Air Support (CAS), and Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) missions.140th Wing Factsheet
*

137th Space Warning Squadron 137th may refer to: * 137th (Calgary) Battalion, CEF, unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War * 137th Air Reconnaissance Regiment, air reconnaissance and guidance regiment, part of the SFR Yugoslav Air Force * 137th Spec ...

: Established 1 October 1983 (as: 1025th Satellite Communications Squadron) : Stationed at: Greeley Air National Guard Station, Greeley : 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 ...

: Composed of more than 300 Airmen and is the United States Air Force's only strategic, survivable, mobile ground system that provides immediate, worldwide missile warning, space launch, and nuclear detection to National Command Authority. They are able to survive and operate through all phases of trans/post nuclear attack.

History

The Colorado Air National Guard origins date to 28 August 1917 with the establishment of the 120th Aero Squadron as part of the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alon ...

. The 120th served in France on the Western Front, then after the

1918 Armistice with Germany The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistices ...

was demobilized in 1919. The

Militia Act of 1903 The Militia Act of 1903 (), also known as the Efficiency in Militia Act of 1903 or the Dick Act, was legislation enacted by the United States Congress to create an early National Guard and which codified the circumstances under which the Guard cou ...

established the present National Guard system, units raised by the states but paid for by the Federal Government, liable for immediate state service. If federalized by Presidential order, they fall under the regular military chain of command. On 1 June 1920, the

Militia 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 ...

issued Circular No.1 on organization of National Guard air units. On 27 June 1923 the 120th Observation Squadron, 45th Division, Aviation was mustered into service as part of the Colorado Army National Guard. It is one of the 29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of the

United States Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG), in conjunction with the Air National Guard, is an organized militia force and a federal military reserve force of the United States Army. They are simultaneously part of two different organizations: the Army Na ...

formed before

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 ...

. Initially composed of eight officers and 50 enlisted members, the unit flew Curtis JN-4Es (better known as Jennies) - an aircraft which proved to be unsuitable for flying at Denver elevations. One year later, the 120th began flying out of Lowry Field. The brand new airfield was named in honor of 2nd Lt. Francis B. Lowry who was shot down and killed near Crepion, France in 1918 while on a photographic mission. Mobilization for World War II took place on 6 January 1941, 11 months prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The unit, then 19 officers and 116 enlisted members, moved to Biggs Field, Texas. 120th Fighter Squadron - F-51 Mustangs

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 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 ...

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. Rosenfeld, Susan and Gross, Charles J (2007), Air National Guard at 60: A History. Air National Guard history program AFD-080527-040
The modern Colorado ANG received federal recognition on 3 July 1946 as the 86th Fighter Wing at Buckley Field, Denver. Its 140th Fighter Group was also formed at Buckley Field, with the 120th Fighter Squadron equipped with

F-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter aircraft, fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team ...

s and its mission was the air defense of the state. 18 September 1947, however, is considered the Colorado 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. Today, the 140th Wing at Buckley Space Force Base is a composite organization, with its 120th Fighter Squadron operating Block 30 F-16C/D Fighting Falcons in both a homeland security as well as a tactical fighter mission. The 200th Airlift Squadron flies C-21A Learjets with a Special Air Mission for VIP personnel, along with aeromedical evacuation. The 137th Space Warning Squadron at Greeley Employs the Air Force's only strategic survivable, mobile ground system (MGS) to receive early warning data. After the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, elements of every Air National Guard unit in Colorado 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, Colorado ANG units have been deployed overseas as part 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 ...

in Afghanistan and

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 ...

in Iraq as well as other locations as directed. In 2007, the Colorado Air National Guard, assisted by the

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

dropped thousands of bales of hay in Colorado ranges to prevent cattle heads trapped by heavy snows from starving.

References

* Gross, Charles J (1996), The Air National Guard and the American Military Tradition, United States Dept. of Defense,

External links

Official website - 140th Wing
{{Colorado United States Air National Guard Colorado National Guard Military in Colorado

Overview

Components

History

See also

References

External links