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The Mississippi Air National Guard (MS ANG), commonly known as the Mississippi Air Guard, is the aerial militia of the
State of Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Missis ...
,
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 territori ...
. It is, along with the
Mississippi Army National Guard The Mississippi Army National Guard is the Army National Guard component of the Mississippi National Guard. It was originally formed in 1798. It is a component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. It is managed by the ...
, an element of the
Mississippi National Guard The Mississippi National Guard (MSNG), commonly known as the Mississippi Guard, is both a Mississippi state and a federal government organization, part of the United States National Guard. It is part of the Mississippi Military Department, a stat ...
. As state militia units, the units in the Mississippi 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 Mississippi 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 ...
though the office of the Mississippi 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 St ...
. The Mississippi Air National Guard is headquartered in Jackson, and its commander is Major General Barry A. Blanchard.


Overview

Under the "Total Force" concept, Mississippi 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). Mississippi 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 Mississippi 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 Mississippi 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 Mississippi Air National Guard consists of the following major units: * 172d Airlift Wing : Established 1 July 1953 (as: 183d Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron); operates:
C-17 Globemaster III The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft that was developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of two ...
: Stationed at: Allen C. Thompson Air National Guard Base Field, Jackson : 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 172nd Airlift Wing operates the C-17 Globemaster III, and has participated in an all-volunteer mobilization and activation since 2005, flying weekly missions into harm's way to return wounded patients of the Total Force safely back to the U.S. *
186th Air Refueling Wing The 186th Air Refueling Wing is a unit of the Mississippi Air National Guard stationed at Meridian Regional Airport, Mississippi. The 153d Air Refueling Squadron, assigned to the Wing's 186th Operations Group, was established on 18 August 193 ...
: Established 27 Sepatember 1939 (as: 153d Observation 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 transpor ...
and
C-26 Metroliner The Fairchild C-26 "Metroliner" is the designation for the Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner series twin turboprop aircraft in the service of the United States military. It was not officially named by the US Armed Forces, but is unofficially know ...
: Stationed at: Key Field Air National Guard Base, Meridian : 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 186th 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. Support Unit Functions and Capabilities: * 238th Air Support Operations Squadron, Meridian * 248th Air Traffic Control Squadron, Meridian *
Gulfport Combat Readiness Training Center Gulfport Combat Readiness Training Center is a United States Air Force training center, located at Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport, Mississippi. It is located north-northeast of Gulfport, Mississippi. Overview The Air National Guard C ...
, Gulfport * 255th Air Control Squadron, Gulfport * Shelby Auxiliary Field #1, adjacent to
Camp Shelby Camp Shelby is a military post whose North Gate is located at the southern boundary of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on United States Highway 49. It is the largest state-owned training site in the nation. During wartime, the camp's mission is to s ...
in Hattiesburg * 209th Special Operations Civil Engineer Squadron


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 crea ...
issued Circular No.1 on organization of National Guard air units.ANG Chronology 1908-2007, see also Brief History of the Minnesota Air National Guard and the 133rd Airlift Wing, 1. The Mississippi Air National Guard origins date to 18 August 1939 with the establishment of the 153d Observation Squadron and is oldest unit of the Mississippi 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. The 153d Observation Squadron was ordered into active service on 15 October 1940 as part of the buildup of the Army Air Corps prior to the United States entry into World War II. 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 crea ...
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 Mississippi ANG received federal recognition on 12 September 1946 as the 153d Fighter Squadron at
Key Field Meridian Regional Airport is a joint civil-military public use airport located at Key Field, a joint-use public/military airfield. It is located southwest of Meridian, a city in Lauderdale County, Mississippi, United States. The Meridian Airp ...
, Meridian. It was equipped with F-47 Thunderbolts and its mission was the air defense of the state. 18 September 1947, however, is considered the Mississippi 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. A second Mississippi ANG unit, the 183d Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, was organized and federally recognized at Hawkins Field, Jackson and extended recognition as a new unit on 1 July 1953. On 15 October 1962 the 153d Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was authorized to expand to a group level, and the 186th Tactical Reconnaissance Group was allotted by the National Guard Bureau, extended federal recognition and activated. On 1 July 1965 the 183d Air Transport Squadron was authorized to expand to a group level, and the 172d Air Transport Group was federally recognized at Jackson. Today, the 172d Airlift Wing (172d AW) flies weekly missions into harm's way to return wounded patients of the Total Force safely back to the U.S. The 186th Air Refueling Wing (186 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. After the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, elements of every Air National Guard unit in Mississippi 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, Mississippi 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) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...
in Iraq as well as other locations as directed.


See also

* Mississippi Military Department *
Mississippi National Guard The Mississippi National Guard (MSNG), commonly known as the Mississippi Guard, is both a Mississippi state and a federal government organization, part of the United States National Guard. It is part of the Mississippi Military Department, a stat ...
*
Mississippi State Guard The Mississippi State Guard (MSSG) is the State Defense Force, state defense force of Mississippi. It operates under the authority of the Mississippi Military Department alongside the Mississippi Army National Guard (Mississippi Army National Guard ...
* Mississippi Wing Civil Air Patrol


Notes


References


Further reading

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


External links


172d Airlift Wing

186th Air Refueling Wing

209 Squadron
on the Air National Guard website {{Authority control
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 ...
Air National Guard
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 ...
Military units and formations established in 1939
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 ...
Organizations based in Jackson, Mississippi
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 ...