Kansas Air National Guard
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The Kansas Air National Guard (KS ANG) is the aerial militia of the
State of Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to 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
Kansas Army National Guard The Kansas Army National Guard is a component of the Army National Guard and the Kansas National Guard. Kansas Army National Guard units are trained and equipped as part of the United States Army. The same ranks and insignia are used and Nation ...
, an element of the
Kansas National Guard The Kansas National Guard, is the component of the United States National Guard in the U.S. state of Kansas. It comprises both the Kansas Army National Guard and the Kansas Air National Guard. The Governor of Kansas is Commander-in-Chief of the Ka ...
. As state militia units, the units in the Kansas 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 Kansas 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 r ...
through the office of the Adjutant General of Kansas 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 Kansas Air National Guard is headquartered in Topeka, and its commander is Brigadier General Bradley S. Link.


Overview

Under the "Total Force" concept, Kansas Air National Guard units are considered to be Air Reserve Components (ARC) of 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 ...
(USAF). Kansas 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 Kansas 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 Kansas 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 Kansas Air National Guard consists of the following major units: * 190th Air Refueling Wing : Established 23 February 1957 (as: 117th Fighter-Interceptor 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 ...
: Stationed at:
Forbes Field Air National Guard Base Topeka Regional Airport , formerly known as Forbes Field, is a joint civil-military public airport owned by the Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority in Shawnee County, Kansas, seven miles south of downtown Topeka, the capital city of Kansas. The ...
, Topeka : Gained by:
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 ...
: The 190th ARW provides worldwide air refueling support to major commands of the United States Air Force, as well as other U.S. military forces and the military forces of allied nations flying the KC-135 Stratotanker. *
184th Intelligence Wing The 184th Wing (184 WG) is a unit of the Kansas Air National Guard, stationed at McConnell Air Force Base, Wichita, Kansas. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Sixteenth Air Force. The 127th Command and Contr ...
: Established 4 Aug 1941 (as: 127th Observation Squadron) : Stationed at:
McConnell Air Force Base McConnell Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located four miles (6 km) southeast of the central business district of Wichita, a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States., effective 2007-12-20 The airbase was named in ...
, Wichita : Gained by:
Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency The Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency (Air Force ISR Agency or AFISRA) was until 29 September 2014 a field operating agency of the United States Air Force headquartered at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. On that date ...
: The 184th IW provides wartime support in the form of collecting and analyzing intelligence. Some unit members deploy overseas to augment active duty forces.


History

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. The Kansas Air National Guard origins date to 4 August 1941 with the establishment of the 127th Observation Squadron. It is oldest unit of the Kansas Air 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 the squadron had 115 men in its ranks. It was, however, still short of officers since it only had nine officers but was authorized a total of thirty-one. Moved to Sherman Field at
Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...
, by November 1941 the squadron had one BE-1, one O-47A, one O-38E and several L-1's. All of the aircraft were single engine observation/liaison planes. The 127th Observation Squadron was ordered into active service on 6 October 1941 as part of the buildup of the Army Air Corps. In 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 Air 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 Kansas Air National Guard received federal recognition on 7 September 1946 as the 127th Fighter Squadron at
Wichita Municipal Airport Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport is a commercial airport west of downtown Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is the largest and busiest airport in the state of Kansas. Located south of US-54 in southwest Wichita, it covers 3,24 ...
, Wichita. It was equipped with F-51D Mustangs and its mission was the air defense of the state. 18 September 1947, however, is considered the Kansas 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 On 23 February 1957, the 117th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, was federally recognized at Hutchinson Air National Guard Base, Hutchinson, equipped with F-80C Shooting Star jet interceptors. On 1 October 1962 the 127th Tactical Fighter Squadron was authorized to expand to a group level, and the 184th Tactical Fighter Group was allotted by the National Guard Bureau, extended federal recognition and activated. That same year, the 117th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was expanded on 15 October and the 190th Tactical Reconnaissance Group was federally recognized. Today the 184th Intelligence Wing (IW) at McConnell Air Force Base provide wartime support in the form of collecting and analyzing intelligence. The 190th Air Refueling Wing (ARW) at Forbes Field AGB, Topeka, provides global reach for the United States Air Force through the in-flight refueling of fighters, bombers and other aircraft using the KC-135 Stratotankers. After the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, elements of every Air National Guard unit in Kansas have 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, Kansas 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.


See also

*
Kansas State Guard The Kansas State Guard was the official state defense force of the state of Kansas during each of the world wars. The unit was first created during World War I, and was later reactivated during World War II. When the Kansas National Guard was fede ...
*
Kansas Wing Civil Air Patrol The Kansas Wing of Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is the highest echelon of Civil Air Patrol in the state of Kansas. Kansas Wing headquarters are located in Salina, Kansas. The Kansas Wing consists of nearly 400 cadet and adult members at 9 locations acro ...


References

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


External links

{{Authority control Military in Kansas United States Air National Guard Military units and formations established in 1947 1947 establishments in Kansas