120th Fighter Squadron

Military unit The 120th Fighter Squadron is a unit of the Colorado Air National Guard 140th Wing located at Buckley Space Force Base, Colorado. The 120th is equipped with the F-16C/D Fighting Falcon. The squadron is a descendant organization of the World War I 120th Aero Squadron, established on 28 August 1917. It was reformed on 27 June 1923, as the 120th Observation Squadron, and was one of the 29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of the United States Army National Guard formed before World War II. The 120th Fighter Squadron was the first federally recognized Air National Guard unit after World War II, receiving this distinction on 30 June 1946. Thus, their motto is, "First in the Air Guard." Mission The current mission of the 120th is to operate at the highest levels of military and domestic policy protecting the American Midwest. The squadron has supported Operation Enduring Freedom and deployed five times in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, most recently to Joint Base Balad, Iraq, in 2010. The 120th has also supported an Air Expeditionary Forces deployment in the Pacific region and multiple National Special Security Events, such as the Democratic National Conven