The Utah Air National Guard (UT ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of Utah, USA. Along with the Utah Army National Guard it is an element of the

Utah National Guard The Utah National Guard consists of the: * Utah Army National Guard **19th Special Forces Group (Airborne) **65th Field Artillery Brigade **85th WMD CST **97th Troop Command **115th Engineer Group (CBT) **204th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade **211 ...

. As state militia units, the units in the Utah 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 S ...

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. Mili ...

. They are under the jurisdiction of the

Governor of Utah 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 Utah 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 Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

. The Utah Air National Guard is headquartered in Salt Lake City, and its commander is Brigadier General Michael J. Turley.

Overview

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

(USAF). Utah 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 Utah 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 The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commis ...

counterparts in their assigned cycle deployment window. Along with their federal reserve obligations, as state militia units the elements of the Utah 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. The Utah Air National Guard is located on over 140

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...

s in the Northeast corner of the Salt Lake City International Airport. As of 2007 over 1,450 men and women serve in the Utah Air National Guard.

Components

The Utah Air National Guard consists of the following major unit: *

151st Air Refueling Wing The 151st Air Refueling Wing (151 ARW) is a unit of the Utah Air National Guard, stationed at Roland R. Wright Air National Guard Base, Utah. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command. ...

: Established 18 November 1946 (as:

191st Fighter Squadron The 191st Air Refueling Squadron (191 ARS) is a unit of the Utah Air National Guard 151st Air Refueling Wing located at Roland R. Wright Air National Guard Base, Utah. The 191st is equipped with the KC-135R Stratotanker. History World War II Ac ...

); operates: KC-135R Stratotanker : Stationed at: Wright Air National Guard Base, Utah : 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 eleme ...

: The 151 ARW flies training missions in the western United States and frequently deploys to worldwide locations in support of on-going combat operations. Support Unit Functions and Capabilities: * 109th Air Control Squadron : Stationed at: Wright Air National Guard Base, Utah : The mission of the 109th is to operate and maintain radar and communication equipment necessary to manage and direct defensive and offensive air and battle management activities as a combat ready, integrated element of the Ground Theater Air Control System. They employ and administer reliable and secure command and control, data link, and voice communication networks necessary to meet worldwide contingency requirements. * 130th Engineering Installation Squadron : Stationed at: Wright Air National Guard Base, Utah : The 130th provides worldwide engineering, installation and relocation of command, control, communications, computers and intelligence systems. * 151st Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group : Stationed at: Wright Air National Guard Base, Utah : This unit provides intelligence support necessary to plan, conduct, control and coordinate air operations

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, 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 cr ...

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. 144th Fighter Group - 3 F-51 flight

The Utah Air National Guard was founded on 18 November 1946 with the federal recognition of the 191st Fighter Squadron at Salt Lake City Municipal Airport. It was equipped with F-51D Mustangs and its mission was the air defense of the state. 18 September 1947, however, is considered the Utah 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 Members of the Utah ANG were called to serve 21 months during the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...

. Flying F-51D Mustang fighter aircraft, 10 pilots flew over 100 missions. Two Utah ANG pilots were killed in this conflict. One Utah Air National Guard pilot, Capt. Cliff Jolley, flying a

North American F-86 Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing ...

, shot down seven soviet-made

MiG-15 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (russian: Микоя́н и Гуре́вич МиГ-15; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one o ...

aircraft and became the first Air Guard "Ace" of the Korean War. During the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, Utah Air Guard crews flew 6,600 hours of support missions for US forces. On 1 July 1958, the 191st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was authorized to expand to a group level, and the 151st Fighter-Interceptor Group was established by the National Guard Bureau. In 1990–91, Utah Air National Guard crews were some of the first to volunteer to support

Operation Desert Shield The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

and

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

during the

1991 Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

. Utah Air National Guard's support of this operation continued well into 1991. In 1999, many members were deployed to Europe in support of

Operation Allied Force The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombings continued until an a ...

. Members have also supported US drug interdiction activities and have provided air refueling for tactical and transportation aircraft supporting military activities involving

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

and

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. The Utah Air National Guard has participated in several Air Expeditionary Force (AEF) missions, most recently at

Andersen Air Force Base Andersen Air Force Base (Andersen AFB, AAFB) is a United States Air Force base located primarily within the village of Yigo in the United States territory of Guam. The host unit at Andersen AFB is the 36th Wing (36 WG), assigned to the Pa ...

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic ce ...

in the summer of 2007. Since 11 September 2001, over 3,300 Utah Air National Guards members have been activated and deployed for worldwide duty to include

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.. ...

, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. In

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

, local communities can have benefits from the Utah Air National Guard. Activities included "Sub-for-Santa", blood drives, "Adopt a School Program", highway cleanup and the 2002 Winter Olympics. The Utah Air National Guard also maintains a state of readiness to meet the needs to support the State of Utah during an earthquake, flood, civil disturbance or major disaster. Utah Air Guardsmen, at the request of the Governor, assisted during Hurricane Katrina and

Hurricane Rita Hurricane Rita was the most intense tropical cyclone on record in the Gulf of Mexico and the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded. Part of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, which included three of the top ten ...

and airlifted evacuees to safety in September 2005.

References

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

External links

Utah Air National Guard factsheet

151st Air Refueling Wing

Utah National Guard
{{Utah United States Air National Guard Military in Utah

Overview

Components

History

See also

References

External links