McEntire Joint National Guard Base or McEntire JNGB is a military airport located in Richland County, South Carolina, United States, 10 miles (16 km) west of the town of Eastover and approximately 15 miles southeast of the city of

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

. It is owned by the U.S. Air Force affiliated with the

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

(SCANG). The base is named for the late Brigadier General Barnie B. McEntire, Jr., the first commander of the SCANG and its first general officer. McEntire died on 25 May 1961 when he rode his malfunctioning

F-104 Starfighter The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic air superiority fighter which was extensively deployed as a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the "Century Series" of fi ...

into the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

to avoid crashing in the populated area of

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

. The South Carolina Air National Guard was formed in December 1946. Today 1,250 members train at McEntire JNGS. About 900 of those are traditional Guard men and women. About 300 are full-time federal employees (technicians). About 50 are state employees (some are also traditional Guard members). The 169th Fighter Wing is the primary unit of the SCANG.

Units

The host wing for the installation is the

169th Fighter Wing The 169th Fighter Wing (169 FW) is a unit of the South Carolina Air National Guard, stationed at McEntire Joint National Guard Base, Columbia, South Carolina. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air ...

, which, as an

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...

organization, is operationally gained by the

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 ...

(ACC)

contains: * 169th Operations Group ** 169th Operations Support Flight **

157th Fighter Squadron The 157th Fighter Squadron (157 FS) is a unit of the South Carolina Air National Guard 169th Fighter Wing located at McEntire Joint National Guard Base, Columbia, South Carolina. The 157th FS is one of the few Air National Guard squadrons to ope ...

"Swamp Foxes" ** 245th Air Traffic Control Squadron * 169th Maintenance Group ** 169th Maintenance Squadron ** 169th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron ** 169th Maintenance Operations Flight * 169th Medical Group * 169th Mission Support Group ** 169th Force Support Squadron ** 169th Communications Flight ** 169th Security Forces Squadron ** 169th Civil Engineer Squadron ** 169th Logistics Readiness Squadron

History

The United States Army began construction on an airfield on land north of Congaree to be an outlying base to the Columbia Army Airbase. The original designation of the airfield was Congaree Army Airport, then Fort Jackson Airdrome, and finally Congaree Army Airfield. Construction was completed on January 31, 1943, with the completion of three 4,500 ft runways. Congaree AAF was assigned to Third Air Force III Air Support Command. From January 1943 until May 1944 the airfield hosted various Army dive bombing training units. The 404th Bombardment Group (Dive) arrived at Congaree on 5 July 1943, departing on 4 September. The 406th Bombardment Group (Dive) replaced it, arriving on 18 September 1943 and remaining until being deployed to Ninth Air Force in England on 18 March 1944. On 31 March 1944, Congree was removed from the jurisdiction of Columbia AAB, and on 30 April Congaree AAF was transferred to the United States Navy. The first Marines arrived in May 1944 to a deserted base. During May, Marine Aircraft Group 52 (MAG-52) arrived with four F4U Corsair squadrons. The field was officially commissioned as Marine Corps Auxiliary Airfield Congaree on July 10, 1944. The base fell under the command of

Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point or MCAS Cherry Point (*) is a United States Marine Corps airfield located in Havelock, North Carolina, United States, in the eastern part of the state. It was built in 1941, and was commissioned in 1942 and ...

. In October of that year MAG-52's mission was changed to that of training replacement pilots, was redesignated Marine Aircraft Group 92 and moved to Marine Corps Air Field Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. One of the fields major problems was a lack of bombing and gunnery ranges, which meant regular deployments to Marine Corps Air Station Parris Island for training.Shettle(2001):43 In September 1945, after World War II, the only remaining Marine units were VMF-523 and Air Warning Squadron 14. By November 1945, all Marine aviation units had moved to MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina. The base was eventually turned over to the South Carolina Air National Guard and renamed McEntire ANG Base in October 1961 by Governor Ernest F. Hollings. It was renamed McEntire Joint National Guard Station in 2005 to reflect the joint presence of Army and Air National Guard units.

South Carolina Air National Guard

The mission of the

(169 FW) is to maintain wartime readiness and the ability to mobilize and deploy expeditiously to carry out tactical air missions or combat support activities in the event of a war or military emergency. The SCANG operates as part of the Total Force of the U.S. military and is fully integrated with the active duty Air Force as a gained unit of the

(ACC) to perform its military mission. The South Carolina Air National Guard also has a state mission, to respond to the call of the governor in the event of natural disaster or domestic disturbance. The 169 FW flies the

F-16 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 ...

Fighting Falcon, a single-seat multi-purpose fighter with the capability to fly at up to twice the speed of sound. The 169 FW was the first wing in the Air National Guard to fly the F-16. The 169 FW flew the F-16A from 1983 to 1994. In 1994, the wing transitioned to the F-16C/Block 52, the newest, most advanced F-16 in the Air Force inventory. The 169 FW also flew a single

WC-130 The Lockheed WC-130 is a high-wing, medium-range aircraft used for weather reconnaissance missions by the United States Air Force. The aircraft is a modified version of the C-130 Hercules transport configured with specialized weather instrumenta ...

H Hercules with weather reconnaissance equipment removed.Current Wing member This aircraft provided airlift support to the 169 FW, the SCANG and the SCARNG. Prior to operating the F-16, the 169 FW operated the A-7 Corsair II during the 1970s and early 1980s, the

F-102 Delta Dagger The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was an American interceptor aircraft designed and manufactured by Convair. Built as part of the backbone of the United States Air Force's air defenses in the late 1950s, it entered service in 1956. Its main purpos ...

in the 1960s and 1970s, and

in the 1960s. In the 1950s, a succession of

P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat 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 headed by James ...

s, F-80 Shooting Stars and F-86 Sabre aircraft operated from the then-Congaree ANGB. Also located at McEntire is the 245th Air Traffic Control Squadron (245 ATCS). The 245 ATCS has the ability to perform air traffic control at fixed air bases and at remote sites.

South Carolina Army National Guard

The 59th Aviation Troop Command of the South Carolina Army National Guard (SCARNG) is also located at McEntire JNGB. Assigned

Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG), in conjunction with the Air National Guard, is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States A ...

aviation units and aircraft include Company A, 1st Battalion,

111th Aviation Regiment 111th may refer to: *111th Delaware General Assembly, a meeting of the legislative branch of the state government *111th Engineer Brigade (United States), a combat engineer brigade of the United States Army *111th Field Artillery Regiment (United S ...

(A/1-111 AVN GSAB (Lift)) and Det. 2, F Co/1-171 (Medevac) flying the UH-60M Blackhawk, as well as 1st Battalion,

151st Aviation Regiment The 151st Aviation Regiment is an aviation regiment of the U.S. Army, primarily provided by the South Carolina Army National Guard. Structure * 1st Battalion (Attack Reconnaissance) "Ghostriders" at McEntire Joint National Guard Base, Eastover ** ...

(1-151 ARB) flying the AH-64A Apache.

Notes

References

SCANG & McEntire Joint National Guard Base

at GlobalSecurity.org

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mcentire Joint National Guard Base Installations of the United States Air Force in South Carolina Buildings and structures in Richland County, South Carolina Airports in South Carolina Installations of the United States Air National Guard