The Arkansas Air National Guard (AR ANG), commonly known as the Arkansas Air Guard, is the aerial militia of the State of Arkansas,

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

Arkansas Army National Guard The Arkansas Army National Guard (ARARNG) is a component of the Arkansas National Guard and the United States National Guard. National coordination of various state National Guard units are maintained through the National Guard Bureau. Arkansa ...

, an element of the

Arkansas National Guard The Arkansas National Guard (ARNG), commonly known as the Arkansas Guard, is a component of the Government of Arkansas and the National Guard of the United States. It is composed of Army and Air National Guard units. The adjutant general's offic ...

. As state militia units, the units in the Arkansas Air National Guard are not typically in the normal

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, 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 ...

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 ...

unless federalized. They are under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Arkansas through the office of the Arkansas 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 States ...

. The Arkansas Air National Guard is headquartered at North Little Rock, and its commander is Brigadier General Thomas D. Crimmins.

Overview

Under the "Total Force" concept, Arkansas Air National Guard units are an Air Reserve Components (ARC) of the

(USAF). Arkansas 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 Arkansas 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 Arkansas 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 Arkansas Air National Guard consists of the following major units: *

189th Airlift Wing The 189th Airlift Wing (189 AW) is a unit of the Arkansas Air National Guard, stationed at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas. If activated to federal service, it is gained by the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command. ...

: Established 24 October 1925 (as: 154th Observation Squadron); operates:

C-130H Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally desig ...

: Stationed at:

Little Rock Air Force Base Little Rock Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately northeast of Little Rock, Arkansas. Little Rock AFB is the primary C-130 Hercules training base for the Department of Defense, training C-130 pilots, naviga ...

, Little Rock : Gained by: Air Mobility Command : The 189th provides aircrew training for the C-130 for all branches of the military and for 23 foreign countries. The unit operates the C-130 Tactical Airlift Instructor School, where aircrew instructors are trained to they can return to their units and keep members combat ready.Fact Sheet: 189th Airlift Wing. Little Rock Air Force Base. Accessed: 4 November 2007. *

188th Fighter Wing The 188th Wing is a unit of the Arkansas Air National Guard, stationed at Ebbing Air National Guard Base, Fort Smith, Arkansas. The 188th is equipped with the MQ-9 Reaper. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States ...

: Established 15 October 1953 (as: 184th Attack Squadron); operates: MQ-9 Reaper : Stationed at: Ebbing Air National Guard Base, Fort Smith : Gained by: Air Combat Command Support Unit Functions and Capabilities:
123d Intelligence Squadron
: Analyzes and exploits imagery products for the Defense Department and other governmental agencies
154th Weather Flight
: Provides weather forecasts and hurricane warnings to state and Arkansas National Guard units from Little Rock AFB.

History

The Arkansas Air National Guard origins date to 28 August 1917 with the establishment of the 154th 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 154th 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. 154th Observation Squadron AR NG 1925

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 co ...

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. The unit was reorganized with the establishment of a permanent air service in 1920 as the 154th Observation Squadron on 24 October 1925, and is oldest unit of the Arkansas 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 (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States A ...

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 opposing ...

. The 154th Observation Squadron was activated for one year of training on 16 September 1940. The unit completed its one-year training and returned to state control, but was recalled to active duty on 7 December 1941 as a result of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. 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 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 Arkansas ANG received federal recognition on 27 May 1946 as the 154th Fighter Squadron at

Adams Field Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport , also known as Adams Field, is a joint civil-military airport on the east side of Little Rock, Arkansas.. Federal Aviation Administration. effective December 30, 2021. It is operated by the Little Rock ...

, Little Rock. It was equipped with F-51D Mustangs and its mission was the air defense of the state. 18 September 1947, however, is considered the Arkansas 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 2 October 1950, the 154th Fighter Squadron, along with detachment B, 237th Air Services Group and the 154th Utility Flight reported to active duty for service in Korea. The unit went to Langley Air Force Base, VA where it was re-equipped with the F-84E fighter and completed transition training. The 154th flew its first combat sortie 2 May 1951. Initially operating out of Itaeke, Japan the unit later moved to Taegu, Korea. The 154th returned to Arkansas and was relieved from active duty 1 July 1952. While in Korea the 154th flew 3,790 combat sorties and was awarded the Presidential Korean Citation for its service Arkansas National Guard Museum, Facebook Page, Today in History. Retrieved 2 October 2010, http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/North-Little-Rock-AR/Arkansas-National-Guard-Museum/67972396908 The 184th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was federally recognized on 15 October 1953 at Fort Smith Regional Airport, being equipped with RB-26C Invaders, used for night photo-reconnaissance. On 22 August 1962, the 184th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was authorized to expand to a group level, and the 188th Tactical Reconnaissance Group was established by the National Guard Bureau with the 184th TRS becoming the group's flying squadron. On 1 October, the 154th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was authorized to expand to a group level, and the 189th Tactical Reconnaissance Group was allotted by the National Guard Bureau, extended federal recognition and activated. Following the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, elements of every Air National Guard unit in Arkansas had 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. Additionally, Arkansas ANG units had been deployed overseas as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq. Today, the 189th Airlift Wing at Little Rock AFB is home to the most experienced C-130 instructor cadre in the world. Since 1998, the primary mission of the 189 AW has been to teach the C-130 Instructor School curriculum for pilots, navigators, flight engineers, and loadmasters. Students include aircrew members from all branches of the DoD, Coast Guard, and many foreign countries. The 188th Fighter Wing's A-10 Thunderbolts at Fort Smith provide close air support to troops on the ground.

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links

Arkansas National Guard website

Arkansas Air National Guard, 188th Fighter Wing

{{Portal bar, 1920s, Aviation, United States, War Air National Guard Air National Guard Air National Guard Military units and formations established in 1929 Air National Guard Organizations based in North Little Rock, Arkansas Air National Guard