1.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
2.
Tennessee
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Tennessee is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th largest and the 17th most populous of the 50 United States, Tennessee is bordered by Kentucky and Virginia to the north, North Carolina to the east, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi to the south, and Arkansas and Missouri to the west. The Appalachian Mountains dominate the eastern part of the state, Tennessees capital and second largest city is Nashville, which has a population of 654,610. Memphis is the states largest city, with a population of 655,770, the state of Tennessee is rooted in the Watauga Association, a 1772 frontier pact generally regarded as the first constitutional government west of the Appalachians. What is now Tennessee was initially part of North Carolina, Tennessee was admitted to the Union as the 16th state on June 1,1796. Tennessee was the last state to leave the Union and join the Confederacy at the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, occupied by Union forces from 1862, it was the first state to be readmitted to the Union at the end of the war. Tennessee furnished more soldiers for the Confederate Army than any other state besides Virginia and this sharply reduced competition in politics in the state until after passage of civil rights legislation in the mid-20th century. This city was established to house the Manhattan Projects uranium enrichment facilities, helping to build the worlds first atomic bomb, Tennessees major industries include agriculture, manufacturing, and tourism. Poultry, soybeans, and cattle are the primary agricultural products, and major manufacturing exports include chemicals, transportation equipment. In the early 18th century, British traders encountered a Cherokee town named Tanasi in present-day Monroe County, the town was located on a river of the same name, and appears on maps as early as 1725. The meaning and origin of the word are uncertain, some accounts suggest it is a Cherokee modification of an earlier Yuchi word. It has been said to mean meeting place, winding river, according to ethnographer James Mooney, the name can not be analyzed and its meaning is lost. The modern spelling, Tennessee, is attributed to James Glen, the governor of South Carolina, the spelling was popularized by the publication of Henry Timberlakes Draught of the Cherokee Country in 1765. In 1788, North Carolina created Tennessee County, the county to be established in what is now Middle Tennessee. When a constitutional convention met in 1796 to organize a new out of the Southwest Territory. Other sources differ on the origin of the nickname, according to the Columbia Encyclopedia. Tennessee ties Missouri as the state bordering the most other states, the state is trisected by the Tennessee River. The highest point in the state is Clingmans Dome at 6,643 feet, Clingmans Dome, which lies on Tennessees eastern border, is the highest point on the Appalachian Trail, and is the third highest peak in the United States east of the Mississippi River
3.
Air National Guard
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When Air National Guard units are used under the jurisdiction of the state governor they are fulfilling their militia role. However, if federalized by order of the President of the United States and they are jointly administered by the states and the National Guard Bureau, a joint bureau of the Army and Air Force that oversees the National Guard of the United States. The ANG of the territories of Guam and the Virgin Islands have no aircraft assigned, ANG units typically operate under Title 32 USC. However, when operating under Title 10 USC all ANG units are operationally-gained by an active duty USAF major command. ANG units of the Combat Air Forces based in the Continental United States, conversely, CONUS-based ANG units in the Mobility Air Forces, plus the Puerto Rico ANGs airlift wing and the Virgin Islands ANGs civil engineering squadron are gained by the Air Mobility Command. The vast majority of ANG units fall under either ACC or AMC, established under Title 10 and Title 32 of the U. S. S. When not in a status, the Air National Guard operates under their respective state. The exception to rule is the District of Columbia Air National Guard. Because both state Air National Guard and the Air National Guard of the United States relatively go hand-in-hand, Air National Guard of the United States units or members may be called up for federal active duty in times of Congressionally sanctioned war or national emergency. The United States Air National Guard has about 110,000 men and women in service, even traditional part-time air guardsmen, especially pilots, navigators/combat systems officers, air battle managers and enlisted aircrew, often serve 100 or more man-days annually. As such, the concept of Air National Guard service as representing only one weekend a month, the Georgia Air National Guard and the Kansas Air National Guard previously flew the B-1B Lancer prior to converting to the E-8 Joint STARS and KC-135R Stratotanker, respectively. In addition, the 131st Fighter Wing of the Missouri Air National Guard transitioned from flying the F-15C/D Eagle at St and these proposals were eventually overruled and cancelled by the U. S. Congress. As state militia units, the units in the Air National Guard are not in the normal United States Air Force chain of command and they are under the jurisdiction of the United States National Guard Bureau unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States. Air National Guard units are trained and equipped by the United States Air Force, the state ANG units, depending on their mission, are operationally gained by a major command of the USAF if federalized. Air National Guard personnel are expected to adhere to the moral and physical standards as their full-time active duty Air Force. The same ranks and insignia of the U. S. Air Force are used by the Air National Guard, the Air National Guard also bestows a number of state awards for local services rendered in a service members home state or equivalent. The creation of the regiments was caused by the perceived need to defend the Bay Colony against American Indians. This organization formed the basis of subsequent colonial and, post-independence, state and this distinction accounts for why there are no National Guard components in the U. S. Navy, U. S. Marine Corps or U. S. Coast Guard
4.
Tennessee Air National Guard
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The Tennessee Air National Guard is the air force militia of the State of Tennessee, United States of America. It is, along with the Tennessee Army National Guard, an element of the Tennessee National Guard, as state militia units, the units in the Tennessee Air National Guard are not in the normal United States Air Force chain of command. They are under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Tennessee though the office of the Tennessee Adjutant General unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States. The Tennessee Air National Guard is headquartered at Berry Field Air National Guard Base, Nashville, under the Total Force concept, Tennessee Air National Guard units are considered to be Air Reserve Components of the United States Air Force. Tennessee ANG units are trained and equipped by the Air Force and are gained by a Major Command of the USAF if federalized. State missions include disaster relief in times of earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and forest fires, search and rescue, protection of public services. Approximately 1,500 personnel are assigned to both HQ, Tennessee Air National Guard and to the 118 AW at Berry ANGB, approximately 400 are full-time Active Guard and Reserve and Air Reserve Technician personnel, augmented by approximately 1100 traditional part-time air guardsmen. Approximately 100 additional foreign military personnel are also assigned to the 118 AW at any one time for training in the C-130E or C-130H aircraft. Support Unit Functions and Capabilities, I. G, brown Air National Guard Training and Education Center Established in 1968 as the I. G. It provided extensive training for the Air National Guard. S. They set up cabling that connects communications, computers, engineering, air traffic control, the Tennessee Air National Guard origins date to 27 August 1917 with the establishment of the 105th Aero Squadron as part of the World War I American Expeditionary Force. The 105th served in France on the Western Front, then after the 1918 Armistice with Germany was demobilized in 1919. The Militia Act of 1903 established the present National Guard system, units raised by the states but paid for by the Federal Government, if federalized by Presidential order, they fall under the regular military chain of command. On 1 June 1920, the Militia Bureau issued Circular No.1 on organization of National Guard air units, the 105th Aero was reformed on 4 December 1921, as the 105th Observation Squadron and is oldest unit of the Tennessee Air National Guard. It is one of the 29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of the United States Army National Guard formed before World War II. The squadron was ordered into service on 16 September 1940 as part of the buildup of the Army Air Corps prior to the United States entry into World War II. 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, the modern Tennessee ANG received federal recognition on 3 February 1947 as the 105th Fighter Squadron at Berry Field, Nashville. Also, the 155th Fighter Squadron received federal recognition on 3 February 1947 at Memphis Municipal Airport, both squadrons were equipped with F-47 Thunderbolts and were assigned to the 118th Fighter Group at Berry Field
5.
McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base
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McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base is a joint military facility located at McGhee Tyson Airport. It is located approximately 10 miles south of the business district of Knoxville, near Alcoa, Blount County, Tennessee. It was the site of McGhee Tyson Air Force Base from 1952 until 1960, McGhee Tyson ANGB is the home of the 134th Air Refueling Wing of the Tennessee Air National Guard, an Air Mobility Command gained unit which functions as the host wing for the installation. Other tenants of the include the 119th Command and Control Squadron the I. G. The announcement that the United States Air Force would build an air base at McGhee-Tyson Airport was made on January 26,1951, initial construction was estimated at $5.5 million. The military facilities built on the northwest side of the airfield have remained separate from the civilian airport, the base officially opened on August 9,1952 as McGhee Tyson Air Force Base, but air defense alert operations began there much sooner. The federalized Tennessee Air National Guard Detachment 1, 105th Fighter Interceptor Squadron was assigned to the base while on duty during the Korean War. Assigned to Air Defense Command and flying F-47D Thunderbolts, the 105th FIS was headquartered at Berry Field in Nashville, with it were the 516th Air Base Squadron, 516th Materiel Squadron, and the 516th Infirmary. Between 1200 and 1400 airmen, with a then-$1.5 million annual payroll, were assigned to the base, in 1953, the 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron became a second F-86D squadron at the base. The 460th was reassigned to Portland Airport, Oregon in 1955, the 516th Air Defense Group was redesignated as the 355th Fighter Group on 18 August 1955. The 354 FIS was activated with F-86Ds to become the second FIS, on August 29,1957 the Air Force announced that the base, by then worth $7.75 million in then-current dollars, would close. About 4,000 active duty Air Force personnel left the area, regular Air Force operations at McGhee Tyson Airport ended on January 8,1958 and the 354 FIS was inactivated on that date. The 355 FIS remained until 1 July 1960 when it was inactivated along with the F-86 interceptor squadrons, the 134 ARW, which is operationally gained by the Air Mobility Command, operates KC-135R Stratotankers for both air mobility and aerial refueling of military aircraft. McGhee Tyson ANGB is also home to the I. G, brown Air National Guard Training and Education Center and its associated Academy of Military Science. The AMS program was merged into the Officer Training School organization at Maxwell AFB, Aerospace Defense Command Fighter Squadrons This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http, //www. afhra. af. mil/. Air Force Combat Units Of World War II, washington, DC, U. S. Government Printing Office 1961. Maurer, Maurer, ed. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, washington, DC, Office of Air Force History. A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 -1980, by Lloyd H. Cornett and Mildred W. Johnson, Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado Winkler, David F
6.
United States Air Force
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The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a branch of the military on 18 September 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947. It is the most recent branch of the U. S. military to be formed, the U. S. Air Force is a military service organized within the Department of the Air Force, one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense. The Air Force is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Air Force, who reports to the Secretary of Defense, the U. S. Air Force provides air support for surface forces and aids in the recovery of troops in the field. As of 2015, the service more than 5,137 military aircraft,406 ICBMs and 63 military satellites. It has a $161 billion budget with 313,242 active duty personnel,141,197 civilian employees,69,200 Air Force Reserve personnel, and 105,500 Air National Guard personnel. According to the National Security Act of 1947, which created the USAF and it shall be organized, trained, and equipped primarily for prompt and sustained offensive and defensive air operations. The stated mission of the USAF today is to fly, fight, and win in air, space and we will provide compelling air, space, and cyber capabilities for use by the combatant commanders. We will excel as stewards of all Air Force resources in service to the American people, while providing precise and reliable Global Vigilance, Reach and it should be emphasized that the core functions, by themselves, are not doctrinal constructs. The purpose of Nuclear Deterrence Operations is to operate, maintain, in the event deterrence fails, the US should be able to appropriately respond with nuclear options. Dissuading others from acquiring or proliferating WMD, and the means to deliver them, moreover, different deterrence strategies are required to deter various adversaries, whether they are a nation state, or non-state/transnational actor. Nuclear strike is the ability of forces to rapidly and accurately strike targets which the enemy holds dear in a devastating manner. Should deterrence fail, the President may authorize a precise, tailored response to terminate the conflict at the lowest possible level, post-conflict, regeneration of a credible nuclear deterrent capability will deter further aggression. Finally, the Air Force regularly exercises and evaluates all aspects of operations to ensure high levels of performance. Nuclear surety ensures the safety, security and effectiveness of nuclear operations, the Air Force, in conjunction with other entities within the Departments of Defense or Energy, achieves a high standard of protection through a stringent nuclear surety program. The Air Force continues to pursue safe, secure and effective nuclear weapons consistent with operational requirements, adversaries, allies, and the American people must be highly confident of the Air Forces ability to secure nuclear weapons from accidents, theft, loss, and accidental or unauthorized use. This day-to-day commitment to precise and reliable nuclear operations is the cornerstone of the credibility of the NDO mission, positive nuclear command, control, communications, effective nuclear weapons security, and robust combat support are essential to the overall NDO function. OCA is the method of countering air and missile threats, since it attempts to defeat the enemy closer to its source
7.
Air Mobility Command
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Air Mobility Command is a Major Command of the U. S. Air Force. AMC is headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, east of St. Louis, the Commander of AMC is Gen Carlton D. Everhart II, with Lt Gen Wayne Schatz Jr as Vice Commander and CMSgt Shelina Frey as Command Chief Master Sergeant. Air Mobility Command was established on June 1,1992 and it was formed from elements of the inactivated Military Airlift Command and Strategic Air Command. AMC melded a worldwide system with a tanker force that had been freed from its strategic nuclear strike commitments by the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Air Mobility Commands mission is to provide global air mobility, the command also plays a crucial role in providing humanitarian support at home and around the world. Many special duty and operational aircraft and stateside aeromedical evacuation missions are also assigned to AMC. U. S. forces must be able to provide a rapid, tailored response with a capability to intervene against a foe, hit hard. Rapid global mobility lies at the heart of U. S. strategy in this environment, without the capability to project forces, there is no conventional deterrent. As the number of U. S. forces stationed overseas continue to decline, global interests remain, Air Mobility Command also has the mission of establishing bare air bases in contingencies. To accomplish this mission, AMC established two Contingency Response Wings, and operates the Eagle Flag exercise, in addition to its status as a MAJCOM of the Air Force, AMC is also the Air Force component command of the United States Transportation Command. It provides airlift, special missions, aerial refueling, and aeromedical evacuation for the United States armed forces]], AMC also operates VIP flights such as Air Force One, Air Force Two, and other Special Assignment Airlift Missions. Finally, AMC acts as the manager, on behalf of United States Transportation Command. Principal aircraft assets of the include, C-17 Globemaster III, C-5 Galaxy, C-130 Hercules, KC-135 Stratotanker, KC-10 Extender, C-40 Clipper, C-37 Gulfstream V. As of 2015, the command is preparing for the addition of the KC-46 Pegasus. Additional aircraft in support of high-profile VIP airlift include, VC-25, C-32, C-20 and these units train and exercise frequently and routinely provide augmentative operational support to AMCs active duty forces. Instead, they report to AMC via the National Guard Bureau, civil Reserve Air Fleet AMC has undergone considerable change since its establishment. Focusing on the mission of strategic air mobility, the command divested itself of infrastructure. The Air Rescue Service, intratheater aeromedical airlift forces based overseas, as a result of the Global War on Terrorism, on October 1,2003, AMC underwent a major restructuring, bringing a war fighting role to its numbered air force
8.
McGhee Tyson Airport
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McGhee Tyson Airport is a public and military airport 12 miles south of Knoxville, in Alcoa, Blount County, Tennessee, United States. It is named for United States Navy pilot Charles McGhee Tyson, owned by the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority, it is served by several major airlines and connection carriers. The airport employs about 2,700 people and it is a 30-minute drive to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This airport is in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 841,237 enplanements in 2011, an increase from 804,917 in 2010. The airport is the home of McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, on August 1,1930, McGhee Tyson airport opened in honor of Charles McGhee Tyson. Originally the airport was on 60 acres in West Knoxville, in 1935 the city purchased 351 acres in Blount County for the current airport. On July 29,1937, an American Airlines Stinson TriMotor, capable of carrying about 10 passengers, touched down at McGhee Tyson Airport, in 1941 the city built an air traffic control tower and two years later added two 5, 000-foot runways. The development of TYS helped the City of Alcoa diversify its economy, the Federal aviation administration added an Instrument Landing System to runways 5L and 23R in 1959. In 1961, with financing by the Tennessee Air National Guard, in 1968 McGhee Tyson built a new air cargo facility. Almost a decade after the new air facility was built one of the first major construction projects was completed with a new passenger terminal in 1974. Four years later the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority was established, in 1990 runway 5R/23L was reconstructed to its current a length of 9,000 feet. The airport authority built a new air facility in 1992. The Air Cargo Complex provided a 21-acre facility for Federal Express, UPS, buildings were designed to meet the carriers needs. 90 percent of the air cargo operations at the Airport are operated by UPS. Cost of the project was estimated at $9.3 million, the new air cargo facility is on the north side of the airport. In 2000 the last major project, improvements to the terminal, was finished at a cost of $70 million. The improvements, designed by HNTB, included two new concourses,12 new gates, ticket counters, and a Ruby Tuesday restaurant, currently,11 gates are in use, with gate 6 being the only one not in service. In 2002, a maintenance facility was built for Northwest Airlines
9.
151st Air Refueling Squadron
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The 151st Air Refueling Squadron is a unit of the Tennessee Air National Guard 134th Air Refueling Wing located at McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, Knoxville, Tennessee. The 151st is equipped with the KC-135R Stratotanker, the squadron was constituted and allotted to the Air National Guard in 1957 to replace the active-duty 469th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at McGhee Tyson Airport, Knoxville, Tennessee. It was activated on 15 December 1957 and federally recognized the day as part of the new 134th Fighter-Interceptor Group. The 151st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was the third Tennessee Air National Guard flying squadron, ADC released all its supersonic Lockheed F-104A Starfighters to the Air National Guard in 1960 because its fire control system was not sophisticated enough to make it an all-weather interceptor. The 151st was one of the Guard squadrons that re-equipped with these aircraft, the unit was federalized in November 1961 as a result of the 1961 Berlin Crisis and deployed to Ramstein Air Base, West Germany. At Ramnstein the squadron was assigned to the 86th Air Division of United States Air Forces Europe, in May 1962 while still deployed to Ramstein, the unit set an all-time US Air Force jet fighter monthly flying hour record of 836 hours 5 minutes. In addition, the unit had the highest flying time per aircraft assigned ever recorded in the Air Force for jet fighters in any one month to that date, following the defusing of the Berlin crisis, the 151st returned to Knoxville in August 1962 and reverted to state control. ADC decided to station a permanent F-104 unit at Homestead Air Force Base, the lack of an all-weather capability not a factor at Homestead because Cuba lacked a bomber force. To equip the 319th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at Homestead and a squadron at Webb Air Force Base, Texas. Despite its lack of previously qualified aircrew or maintenance personnel, the 134th was still the first Air National Guard flying unit equipped with KC-97s to achieve operational status and it did so in eight months, the previous normal time for the conversion was two years. In 1966 the squadron began a deployment to Ramstein Air Base in support of Operation Creek Party. Creek Party deployment rotations lasted until 1976, and over the decade the 151st saw millions of pounds of jet fuel off-loaded and millions of miles flown, in July 1976 the KC-97s were retired and replaced by jet Boeing KC-135A Stratotankers. Strategic Air Command then became the squadrons mobilization command, once again the 134th achieved combat operational status in record time. These squadrons aircraft were upgraded to KC-135E models in 1982. The Volunteer spirit has always been alive and well in east Tennessee and this spirit was highlighted by former base commander Gen. Frederick H. Forster when he noted that at the beginning of the call up for Operation Desert Shield we had more volunteers than we needed. This deployment marks the first time a Traditional Air Guard band has been tasked to deploy. afhra. af. mil/, the Fighter Interceptor Force 1962-1964 ADC Historical Study No. 27, Air Defense Command, Ent Air Force Base, CO Rogers, United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978. Making a Difference, The Tennessee Air National Guard during the Berlin Crisis, the Journal of East Tennessee History, 1-19
10.
Air National Guard Readiness Center
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The commander is responsible for four detachments and 23 operating locations with an authorized strength of 734 military and civilian personnel. Its mission is to service and support to the Air National Guard. It was established as the Air National Guard Support Center, and activated as a reporting unit. Effective February 5,1991, its status was changed from a reporting unit to a field operating agency. afhra. af. mil/. AFHRA history Air National Guard Readiness Center
11.
National Guard Bureau
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It was created by the Militia Act of 1903. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, elevated the National Guard to a joint function of the Department of Defense. This act also elevated the Chief of the National Guard Bureau from Lieutenant General to General with the appointment of General Craig R. McKinley, the National Guard Bureau holds a unique status as both a staff and operation agency. United States Secretary of War Elihu Root militated for reform of the guard, in annual reports of 1901 of 1903. The Militia Act of 1792 was obsolete, the resulting Militia Act of 1903 became law. It gave federal status to the militia and required the militia of the States to conform to Regular Army organization. It dramatically increased funding of the militia, between 1903 and 1916, the federal government spent $53 million on the Guard, more than the total of the previous hundred years. The 1903 act authorized the creation of a section responsible for National Guard affairs. The Division remained a part of the Office of the Secretary of War until July 25,1910 when the Chief was directed to report directly to the Army Chief of Staff. The Division continued to perform under the jurisdiction of the Chief of Staff until the passage of the National Defense Act of June 3,1916. Then the Division of Militia Affairs became the Militia Bureau of the War Department, the National Defense Act of 1916 is the most important piece of legislation in the history of the National Guard. It transformed the militia from individual state forces into a Reserve Component of the U. S. Army—and made the term National Guard mandatory. The act stated that all units would have to be recognized. It increased the number of training days to 15, increased the number of yearly drills to 48. The 1916 act transformed the Division of Militia Affairs into a separate Militia Bureau, increasing its autonomy, eight new civilian positions were authorized, something which the various Chiefs had been requesting for years, the number of military assigned to the Bureau had grown to 13. The National Defense Act also authorized the President to assign two National Guard officers to duty with the Militia Bureau, the inclusion of National Guard officers in the Militia Bureau was an important step towards creating a centralized planning organization for the National Guard headed by its own officers. The first National Guard officer assigned to the Bureau was Major Louis C. Wilson of Texas in 1916, thus the National Guard Bureau was charged with the responsibility of maintaining high standards in the National Guard. Prior to 1910 the Chief of the Militia Bureau was a Regular Army officer and this situation changed on June 4,1920, when Congress passed an amendment to the National Defense Act of 1916
12.
355th Fighter Wing
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The 355th Fighter Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Commands Twelfth Air Force. It is stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, the wings mission is to provide close air support, air interdiction, forward air control, combat search and rescue, ground based tactical air control, and airbase operations. Originally equipped with Republic P-47 Thunderbolts, the group began using North American P-51 Mustangs in Spring,1944, the group was under the command of the 65th Fighter Wing of the VIII Fighter Command, Eighth Air Force. The aircraft group identification was white spinners and cowling bands, the group also flew fighter sweeps, area patrols, and bombing missions, striking such targets as air parks, locomotives, bridges, radio stations, and armoured cars. The 355th quickly gained acclaim as the Steeple Morden Strafers, a reference to its base in England, the fighter group destroyed or damaged 1,500 enemy planes, making it the top strafing outfit in the VIII Fighter Command during World War II. The group provided cover for Allied forces landing in Normandy on 6 June 1944. Hit fuel dumps, locomotives, and other targets in support of forces during the breakthrough at Saint-Lô in July. The 355th Fighter Group flew its last combat mission on 25 April 1945, on 3 July the group transferred to Gablingen, Germany for duty with United States Air Forces in Europe as part of the army of occupation. Transferred, without personnel and equipment, to Mitchel Field New York on 1 August 1946, the group replaced the 516th Air Defense Group and assumed its mission, personnel and equipment at McGhee Tyson Airport, near Knoxville Tennessee. The group served as the United States Air Force host organization for active duty units at McGhee Tyson and was assigned a number of maintenance, the 354th and 469th Squadrons both flew the radar equipped and Mighty Mouse rocket armed North American F-86D Sabre. The group focused on defending the Oak Ridge atomic plant and Alcoa aluminum production site, in July 1957 the 355th was reduced to a single fighter squadron when the 469th was inactivated. On 13 April 1962 the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing was established and activated at George AFB, California, after a period of organization at George, the wing was assigned to McConnell AFB, Kansas, becoming the host unit at the base. The unit transferred to the Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand in 1965, during the next five years, it flew more than 101,000 sorties over North Vietnam, dropping 202,596 tons of bombs and destroying 12,675 targets. The wings pilots were credited with twenty airborne kills of MiG aircraft, nicknamed PACAFs Pride, the unit received three Presidential Unit Citations and three Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards with the combat V device. It is also noteworthy that, of the twelve airmen awarded the Medal of Honor in the Vietnam War, the 355th was inactivated at Takhli on 10 December 1970 as part of the drawdown of US Forces in Southeast Asia in the early 1970s. The 355th was reactivated at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in 1971, initially, the wing had four squadrons equipped with the new A-7D Corsair II ground air support aircraft. It achieved operationally-ready status in 1972, withdrawing from Thailand in 1974, the wing began to send its Corsairs to the Air National Guard, and transitioning to the new A-10 Thunderbolt II. By 1979, the wing had completely transitioned to the A-10, in 1984 the 355th Fighter Group was consolidated with the Wing, giving the 355th Tactical Training Wing the history, honors and lineage of the World War II and Cold War organization
13.
McGhee Tyson Air Force Base
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McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base is a joint military facility located at McGhee Tyson Airport. It is located approximately 10 miles south of the business district of Knoxville, near Alcoa, Blount County, Tennessee. It was the site of McGhee Tyson Air Force Base from 1952 until 1960, McGhee Tyson ANGB is the home of the 134th Air Refueling Wing of the Tennessee Air National Guard, an Air Mobility Command gained unit which functions as the host wing for the installation. Other tenants of the include the 119th Command and Control Squadron the I. G. The announcement that the United States Air Force would build an air base at McGhee-Tyson Airport was made on January 26,1951, initial construction was estimated at $5.5 million. The military facilities built on the northwest side of the airfield have remained separate from the civilian airport, the base officially opened on August 9,1952 as McGhee Tyson Air Force Base, but air defense alert operations began there much sooner. The federalized Tennessee Air National Guard Detachment 1, 105th Fighter Interceptor Squadron was assigned to the base while on duty during the Korean War. Assigned to Air Defense Command and flying F-47D Thunderbolts, the 105th FIS was headquartered at Berry Field in Nashville, with it were the 516th Air Base Squadron, 516th Materiel Squadron, and the 516th Infirmary. Between 1200 and 1400 airmen, with a then-$1.5 million annual payroll, were assigned to the base, in 1953, the 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron became a second F-86D squadron at the base. The 460th was reassigned to Portland Airport, Oregon in 1955, the 516th Air Defense Group was redesignated as the 355th Fighter Group on 18 August 1955. The 354 FIS was activated with F-86Ds to become the second FIS, on August 29,1957 the Air Force announced that the base, by then worth $7.75 million in then-current dollars, would close. About 4,000 active duty Air Force personnel left the area, regular Air Force operations at McGhee Tyson Airport ended on January 8,1958 and the 354 FIS was inactivated on that date. The 355 FIS remained until 1 July 1960 when it was inactivated along with the F-86 interceptor squadrons, the 134 ARW, which is operationally gained by the Air Mobility Command, operates KC-135R Stratotankers for both air mobility and aerial refueling of military aircraft. McGhee Tyson ANGB is also home to the I. G, brown Air National Guard Training and Education Center and its associated Academy of Military Science. The AMS program was merged into the Officer Training School organization at Maxwell AFB, Aerospace Defense Command Fighter Squadrons This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http, //www. afhra. af. mil/. Air Force Combat Units Of World War II, washington, DC, U. S. Government Printing Office 1961. Maurer, Maurer, ed. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, washington, DC, Office of Air Force History. A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 -1980, by Lloyd H. Cornett and Mildred W. Johnson, Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado Winkler, David F
14.
F-86D Sabre Interceptor
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The North American F-86D Sabre was a transonic jet all-weather interceptor of the United States Air Force and others. Based on North Americans F-86 Sabre day fighter, the F-86D had only 25 percent commonality with other Sabre variants, with a fuselage, larger afterburner engine. The YF-95 was a development of the F-86 Sabre, the first aircraft designed around the new 2. 75-inch Mighty Mouse Folding-Fin Aerial Rocket, a second prototype, 50-578, was also built, but the YF-95 nomenclature was short-lived as the design was subsequently redesignated YF-86D. Later models of the F-86D received an uprated J-47-GE-33 engine rated at 5,550 lbf, a total of 2,504 D-models were built. On 18 November 1952, F-86D, 51-2945, set a record of 698.505 mph. Captain J. Slade Nash flew over a three km course at the Salton Sea in southern California at a height of only 125 ft. Another F-86D broke this record on 16 July 1953, when Lieutenant Colonel William F. Barns, flying F-86D 51-6145, in the same path of the previous flight. YF-95A prototype all-weather interceptor, two built, designation changed to YF-86D YF-86D originally designated YF-95A, F-86D Production interceptor originally designated F-95A,2,504 built. F-86G Provisional designation for F-86D variant with uprated engine and equipment changes,406 built as F-86Ds, yF-86K Basic version of F-86D intended for export with rocket tray replaced by four 20 mm cannon and simplified fire control system, two conversions. F-86K NATO version of F-86D, MG-4 fire control system, four 20 mm M24A1 cannon with 132 rounds per gun,120 were built by North American,221 were assembled by Fiat. F-86L Upgrade conversion of F-86D with new electronics, extended wingtips and wing leading edges, revised cockpit layout, source, Dorr Denmark Royal Danish Air Force Received 59 ex-USAF F-86Ds 1958-1960, assigned to 723,726 and 728 Squadrons. France French Air Force Fiat built 62 F-86Ks for France, assigned to EC 1/13 Artois, EC 2/13 Alpes, serials were 55-4814/4844, 55-4846/4865, 55-4872/4874, 55-4876/4879. Germany German Air Force Acquired 88 U. S. F-86Ks 22 July 1957–23 June 1958, the Ks were assigned to Jagdgeschwader 75/renamed 74. Greece Greek Air Force Acquired some U. S. F-86Ds were received in 1961, honduras Honduran Air Force Acquired Six Venezuelan F-86Ks in 1970. Italy Italian Air Force Fiat produced 121 F-86Ks for Italy, 1955-1958, also,120 U. S. F-86Ks were acquired. F-86s were assigned to the AMI air groups,6 Gruppo COT/1 Stormo,17 Gruppo/1 Stormo,23 Gruppo/1 Stormo,21 Gruppo/51 Aerobrigata,22 Gruppo/51 Aerobrigata and 12 Gruppo/4 Aerobrigata. Japan Japanese Air Self-Defense Force Acquired 122 US F-86Ds, 1958–1961, assigned to four all-weather interceptor Hikōtai, Netherlands Royal Netherlands Air Force Acquired 57 U. S. -built and six Fiat-built F-86K Sabres, 1955–1956, and assigned to three squadrons, No. Norway Royal Norwegian Air Force Acquired 60 U. S. -built F-86K Sabres, 1955–1956, philippines Philippine Air Force Acquired 20 F-86Ds, assigned to 8th Fighter Interceptor Squadron Vampires beginning 1960, part of the U. S. military assistance package
15.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
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Oak Ridge National Laboratory is an American multiprogram science and technology national laboratory managed for the United States Department of Energy by UT-Battelle. ORNL is the largest science and energy national laboratory in the Department of Energy system by surface, ORNL is located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, near Knoxville. ORNLs scientific programs focus on materials, neutron science, energy, high-performance computing, systems biology, ORNL partners with the state of Tennessee, universities and industries to solve challenges in energy, advanced materials, manufacturing, security and physics. ORNL hosts the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, the BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by UT-Battelle, a limited liability partnership between the University of Tennessee and the Battelle Memorial Institute, formed in 2000 for that purpose. The annual budget is US$1.65 billion, 80% of which is from the Department of Energy, as of 2012 there are 4,400 staff working at ORNL,1,600 of whom are directly conducting research, and an additional 3,000 guest researchers annually. The total area of the reservation 150 square kilometres of which the lab takes up 18 square kilometres, the town of Oak Ridge was established by the Army Corps of Engineers as part of the Clinton Engineer Works in 1942 on isolated farm land as part of the Manhattan Project. During the war, advanced research for the government was managed at the site by the University of Chicago, in 1943, construction of the Clinton Laboratories was completed, later renamed to Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The site was chosen for the X-10 Graphite Reactor, used to show that plutonium can be extracted from enriched uranium, enrico Fermi and his colleagues developed the worlds second self-sustaining nuclear reactor after Fermis previous experiment, the Chicago Pile-1. The X-10 was the first reactor designed for continuous operation, in 1946 the first medical isotopes were produced in the X-10 reactor, by 1950 almost 20,000 samples had been shipped to various hospitals. As the demand for military science had fallen dramatically the future of the lab was uncertain, management of the lab was contracted by the US government to Monsanto, however, they withdrew in 1947. In 1950 the Oak Ridge School of Reactor Technology was established with two courses in operation and safety, almost 1000 students graduated. Another project was the worlds first light water reactor, with its principles of neutron moderation and fuel cooling by ordinary water it is the direct ancestor of most modern nuclear power stations. The US Military funded much of its development, for nuclear-powered submarines, the US Army contracted portable nuclear reactors in 1953 for heat and electricity generation in remote military bases. The reactors were designed at ORNL, produced by American Locomotive Company and used in Greenland, the United States Air Force also contributed funding to three reactors, the labs first computers, and its first particle accelerators. ORNL designed and tested an aircraft in 1954 as a proof-of-concept for a proposed USAF fleet of long-range bombers. The provision of radionuclides by X-10 for medicine grew steadily in the 1950s with more isotopes available, ORNL scientists lowered the immune systems of mice and performed the worlds first successful bone marrow transplant. In the early 1960s there was a push at ORNL to develop nuclear-powered desalination plants where deserts met the sea to provide water. The Health Physics Research Reactor built in 1962 was used for exposure experiments leading to more accurate dosage limits, dosimeters
16.
Alcoa
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Alcoa Inc. is an American industrial corporation, it ranks as the worlds third largest producer of aluminum, behind Rio Tinto Alcan and Rusal, with corporate headquarters in New York City. It is the worlds largest Aluminium company by revenue, from its operational base in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the United States, Alcoa conducts operations in 31 countries. Aluminum and alumina represent more than three-fourths of Alcoa’s revenue, non-aluminum products include precision castings and aerospace and industrial fasteners. Alcoa’s products are used worldwide in aircraft, automobiles, commercial transportation, packaging, building and construction, oil and gas, defense, in May 2007 Alcoa made a US$27 billion hostile takeover bid for Alcan in an attempt to form the worlds largest aluminum producer. The bid was withdrawn when Alcan announced a takeover by Rio Tinto in July 2007. Among Alcoas other businesses are fastening systems, building products, the sale of the packaging unit was announced on December 21,2007, and closed in the first quarter of 2008. On November 1,2016, Alcoa split into two new entities, Alcoa Corporation and Arconic Inc, the split completed a process that was initiated by the company in September 2015. In 1886, Charles Martin Hall, a graduate of Oberlin College, discovered the process of smelting aluminum and he realized that by passing an electric current through a bath of cryolite and aluminum oxide, the then semi-rare metal aluminum remained as a byproduct. This discovery, now called the Hall-Héroult process, is still the only used to make aluminum. Probably fewer than ten sites in the United States and Europe produced any aluminum at the time. In 1887, Hall made an agreement to try his process at the Electric Smelting and Aluminum Company plant in Lockport, New York, but it was not used and Hall left after one year. On Thanksgiving Day 1888, with the help of Alfred E. Hunt, he started the Pittsburgh Reduction Company with an experimental smelting plant on Smallman Street in Pittsburgh, in 1891, the company went into production in New Kensington, Pennsylvania. In 1895, a third site opened at Niagara Falls, by about 1903, after a settlement with Halls former employer, and while its patents were in force, the company was the only legal supplier of aluminum in the United States. By 1902 New Kensington consisted of 173,000 sq. Louis, the Aluminum Company of America became the firms new name on January 1,1907. The acronym Alcoa was coined in 1910, given as a name to two of the locales where major corporate facilities were located, and in 1999 was adopted as the corporate name. In 1907 it created the town of Pine Grove, New York. In Baden, Alcoa, Maryville and elsewhere the company funded the construction of schools, parks, playgrounds and medical facilities. By the end of World War I Alcoas New Kensington facility accounted for 3,292 workers—a fifth of the local population—and covered over 1 million square feet of manufacturing space on 75 acres
17.
Lockheed F-104 Starfighter
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The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is a single-engine, supersonic interceptor aircraft which later became widely used as an attack aircraft. It was originally developed by Lockheed for the United States Air Force, but became used by US Allies around the world. One of the Century Series of fighter aircraft, it was operated by the air forces of more than a dozen nations from 1958 to 2004. Its design team was led by Kelly Johnson, who went on to lead or contribute to the development of the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, the F-104 set numerous world records, including both airspeed and altitude records. The poor safety record of the Starfighter also brought the aircraft into the public eye, Fighter ace Erich Hartmann was forced to retire from the Luftwaffe due to his outspoken opposition to selection of the F-104. The ultimate production version of the model was the F-104S, an all-weather interceptor designed by Aeritalia for the Italian Air Force. An advanced F-104 with a wing, known as the CL-1200 Lancer, was considered. In 2018 a privately owned Starfighter is scheduled to launch a group of small cubesat satellites into low orbit by carrying the rocket aloft. Clarence Kelly Johnson, the engineer at Lockheeds Skunk Works, visited Korea in December 1951. At the time, the U. S. pilots were confronting the MiG-15 with North American F-86 Sabres, the pilots requested a small and simple aircraft with excellent performance. Armed with this information, Johnson immediately started the design of such an aircraft on his return to the United States. In March, his team was assembled, they studied several designs, ranging from small designs at 8,000 lb. The engine chosen was the new General Electric J79, an engine of dramatically improved performance in comparison with contemporary designs, the small L-246 design powered by a single J79 remained essentially identical to the L-083 Starfighter as eventually delivered. The design was presented to the Air Force in November 1952, although all were interesting, Lockheed had an insurmountable lead, and was granted a development contract in March 1953 for two prototypes, these were given the designation XF-104. Work progressed quickly, with a ready for inspection at the end of April. Meanwhile, the J79 engine was not ready, both prototypes were designed to use the Wright J65 engine, a licensed-built version of the Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire. The first prototype was completed by early 1954 and first flew on 4 March at Edwards AFB, the total time from contract to first flight was less than a year. When the USAF revealed the existence of the XF-104, they gave a vague description of it
18.
1961 Berlin Crisis
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The Berlin Crisis of 1961 was the last major politico-military European incident of the Cold War about the occupational status of the German capital city, Berlin, and of post–World War II Germany. The 22nd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union—the last to be attended by the Communist Party of China—was held in Moscow during the crisis. After the Soviet occupation of Eastern Europe at the end of World War II, some of those living in the acquired areas of the Eastern Bloc aspired to independence. Between 1945 and 1950, over 15 million people emigrated from Soviet-occupied Eastern European countries to the West. Taking advantage of this route, the number of Eastern Europeans applying for asylum in West Germany was 197,000 in 1950,165,000 in 1951,182,000 in 1952 and 331,000 in 1953. By the early 1950s, the Soviet approach to controlling national movement, restricting emigration, was emulated by most of the rest of the Eastern Bloc, up until 1953, the lines between East Germany and the western occupied zones could be easily crossed in most places. Consequently, the Inner German border between the two German states was closed, and a fence erected. When large numbers of East Germans then defected under the guise of visits, accordingly, Berlin became the main route by which East Germans left for the West. The Berlin sector border was essentially a loophole through which Eastern Bloc citizens could still escape, the 4.5 million East Germans that had left by 1961 totaled approximately 20% of the entire East German population. The loss was disproportionately heavy among professionals—engineers, technicians, physicians, teachers, lawyers, in November 1958, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev issued the Western powers an ultimatum to withdraw from Berlin within six months and make it a free, demilitarised city. In response, the United States, United Kingdom, and France clearly expressed their determination to remain in. With tensions mounting, the United States, United Kingdom and France formed a group with orders to plan for an eventual response to any aggression on West Berlin. The planning group was named LIVE OAK, and staff from the three countries prepared land and air plans to access to and from West Berlin. The Soviet Union withdrew its deadline in May 1959, and the ministers of the four countries spent three months meeting. Eisenhower and Khrushchev had a few together at the US presidential retreat Camp David. There was nothing more inadvisable in this situation, said Eisenhower, than to talk about ultimatums, Khrushchev responded that he did not understand how a peace treaty could be regarded by the American people as a threat to peace. Eisenhower admitted that the situation in Berlin was abnormal and that human affairs got very badly tangled at times, Khrushchev came away with the impression that a deal was possible over Berlin, and they agreed to continue the dialogue at a summit in Paris in May 1960. However, the Paris Summit that was to resolve the Berlin question was cancelled in the fallout from Gary Powerss failed U-2 spy flight on 1 May 1960
19.
Ramstein Air Base
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Ramstein Air Base is a United States Air Force base in Rhineland-Palatinate, a state in southwestern Germany. It serves as headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa, Ramstein is located near the town of Ramstein-Miesenbach, in the rural district of Kaiserslautern. The Air Base is used to coordinate and execute most of the United States global drone program, the east gate of Ramstein Air Base is about 10 miles from Kaiserslautern. Other nearby civilian communities include Ramstein-Miesenbach, just outside the bases west gate, the host unit is the 86th Airlift Wing, commanded by Brigadier General Patrick X. Mordente. The 86th Airlift Wing is composed of six groups,27 squadrons and its mission is the operation and maintenance of airlift assets consisting of C-130Js, C-20s, C-21s, C-40B and C-37A Gulfstream aircraft throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Also at Ramstein is the 435th Air Ground Operations Wing, which focuses on base-support responsibilities within the KMC and it is composed of five groups and 20 squadrons. The wing provides rapid mobility and agile combat support for military operations, the commander of the 435th AGOW is Colonel Andra V. P. The new 521st Air Mobility Operations Wing stood up on 4 September 2008, the current commander of the 521st AMOW is Colonel Thomas Cooper. Ramsteins wings are assigned to the headquarters 3rd Air Force also based at Ramstein AB, Ramstein AB is part of the Kaiserslautern Military Community, where more than 54,000 American service members and more than 5,400 US civilian employees live and work. U. S. organizations in the KMC also employ the services of more than 6,200 German workers, Air Force units in the KMC alone employ almost 9,800 military members, bringing with them nearly 11,100 family members. There are more than 16,200 military, U. S. civilian, while the KMC remains the largest U. S. community overseas at 53,000 people, the defense drawdown continues to shape its future. Due to the departure of other main operating installations, more than 100 geographically separated units receive support from Ramstein, Ramstein Air Base also served as temporary housing for the United States mens national soccer team during the 2006 World Cup. There is often a Summer Camp to Ramstein from British CCF, the construction of the air base was a project designed and undertaken by the French Army and the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1949 to 1952. The area was a swamp that had to be built up by two meters, trainloads of earth were moved over the line and spread over the bases current area to raise it to its current level. Once the ground was level, building construction began, Landstuhl Air Base on the south side and Ramstein Air Station on the north. From 1948 to the opening of the bases in 1953 it was the largest one spot construction site in Europe employing over 270,000 Europeans at one time. A part of the autobahn to the west of Mannheim. The airstrip was used by the advancing U. S. Army Air Forces during the final months of World War II
20.
86th Air Division
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The 86th Air Division is a former designation of the 86th Airlift Wing, a United States Air Force organization. It was assigned to United States Air Forces in Europe at Ramstein Air Base and it was inactivated on 14 November 1968. Its mission was to upgrade the air defense capabilities of Western Europe, unlike other USAFE organizations, the 86th AD had a complex chain of command. Air defense missions were directed by the U. S. Air Force Chief of Staff from The Pentagon in Washington, thus all 86 AD units came under a dual command structure. Under NATO, the Allied Air Forces Central Europe was divided into the 2nd Allied Tactical Air Force, Fighter-Interceptor units in Spain, however, were not part of AFCENT, and operated under a separate command structure of the 65th Air Division at Torrejon Air Base, Spain. The 86th AD units in West Germany reported to NATO 4ATAF, the 32d FIS in The Netherlands reported to NATO 2ATAF, and operated in Air Defense Sector 1. USAFE FIS units in Spain were not part of the NATO air defense system, 86th AD FIS were linked to a number of ground control radar stations through an extensive communications network. In Central Europe, NATO had divided the region into four Air Defense Sectors, each of these sectors had their own operations enter which functioned as the central coordination center for units under its control. The 86th AD always had one flight of interceptors in the air, a normal sortie lasted about 90 minutes. Along with the aircraft, each squadron had two to four aircraft in an alert hangar, with one pair on five-minute and the other pair on fifteen minute alert. An additional two aircraft were maintained on a one-hour standby. The main peacetime mission for the interceptors was the identification of aircraft in the ADIZ. This was a wide zone between Communist-controlled areas and NATO airspace. Between two and four alert scrambles happened weekly to identify intruders and these were usually airliners or private aircraft off their track or flight plan. In addition, each squadron was tasked to provide assistance to pilots in distress, another, but no less important mission was the control of the Southern Air Corridor between West Germany and West Berlin. 86th AD aircraft also would fly ferret missions along the East German border, Squadron aircraft would depart in two waves, about eight minutes apart, flying towards East German airspace at a high altitude and speed. Within a mile of the border they would turn and head to the nearest NATO airfield. The purpose of missions was to cause the Warsaw Pact Air Defense System to turn on their radars so that USAF ELINT aircraft could locate and evaluate these radars
21.
Air Mobility Command Museum
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The Air Mobility Command Museum is dedicated to military airlift and air refueling aircraft and the men and women who flew and maintained them. It has the largest and most complete collection of fully restored U. S, Military cargo and tanker aircraft in the Eastern United States, located about 1/2 mile south of Dover Air Force Base. This aircraft became the first of many to be restored for display at the museum. Then in 1986, preparations were formally advanced for the creation of an air museum at DAFB, at the same time, the C-47A Turf and Sport Special also underwent restoration, having been rejected by many other museums as beyond salvage. Hangar 1301 is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its significance as the site of the US Army Air Forces rocket test center, the facility encloses over 20,000 square feet of aircraft display gallery plus 1,300 square feet of exhibit rooms. Additionally, an attached 6,400 square foot building houses a theater, museum store, exhibit workshop, the surrounding 100,000 square feet of outdoor ramp space allows for a closer inspection of the remaining aircraft in the collection. Ten days after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7,1941, the air field would serve primarily as a base for anti-submarine operations, fighter pilot training, and aerial rocket testing and development. After the war beginning in September 1946, Dover Army Airfield was placed in inactive status, following the creation of the U. S. Air Force as a separate service entity, the Airfield became Dover Air Force Base on January 13,1948. The Military Airlift Command was another Major Command of the United States Air Force from 1966 to 1992, many of the aircraft in the museums collection are from this era. The Air Mobility Command, the current Major Command, was established June 1,1992, the Air Mobility Command Museum is home to a number of significant vintage aircraft from a variety of eras and Major Commands. Additionally, the AMC Museum houses a set of all significant Lockheed air lifters used by the Air Force. The First C-141A Starlifter Serial 61-2775 was the first of 284 C-141s built and this model was the first jet aircraft specifically designed to carry cargo, and this particular aircraft flew for the first time in December 17,1963. It is the only known four-engine jet aircraft used to tow a glider, the First C-9A Nightingale Serial 67-22584 was the first C-9 accepted for the Military Airlift Command. It also was the first American aircraft specifically designed for medical evacuation, the Last C-133B CargoMaster Built Serial 59-536 was the last of 50 C-133s built in 1961, which were retired ten years later to make way for the C-5A. It is the largest turbo-prop aircraft in the United States, powered by the largest turbo-prop engines ever built and it is also the only surviving veteran of the 1948 Flying Bomb Project. The First and Last KC-135E Stratotanker Serial 57-1507 was the first all-jet tanker assigned to the Air National Guard in April,1975, while assigned to the 108th Air Refueling Wing, New Jersey ANG it flew the last operational mission for any E model on July 14,2009. The Only Surviving C-54 M Skymaster Serial 44-9030 is the remaining aircraft of the M model. It served in the Pacific during World War II and was one of 38 aircraft specifically modified to haul coal during the Berlin Airlift, after being retired in 1973, it then served as a ground trainer at the FBI training academy in the Sky Marshal program
22.
319th Fighter Interceptor Training Squadron
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The 319th Fighter Interceptor Training Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Aerospace Defense Commands Interceptor Weapons School at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida and it was established in mid-1942 as a fighter squadron, and trained under I Fighter Command primarily in the northeast with Republic P-47 Thunderbolts. It was deployed to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations in Algeria and it attacked enemy armored columns, troop concentrations, road transport, bridges and other targets of opportunity. It also flew missions over Sicily from airfields in Tunisia. The squadron was moved to Italy in late 1943 and continued operations as part of Twelfth Air Force. It supported the Fifth Army as it advanced into central and northern Italy during the Italian Campaign and it was re-equipped with North American P-51D Mustangs in 1944. It continued combat operations until the German capitulation, and demobilized in northern Italy during the summer of 1945 and it was reactivated in 1947 at Rio Hato Air Base, Panama as part of the air defense forces of the Panama Canal. It was equipped with Northrop P-61 Black Widows at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina and it later moved to France Field in the Canal Zone and became part of Caribbean Air Command. It was equipped from inactivating 414th and 415th Night Fighter Squadrons and its war-weary Black Widows were retired in 1948 and replaced with very long range North American F-82 Twin Mustangs. It was moved to Moses Lake Air Force Base in September to provide air defense over the Hanford Reservation in Eastern Washington and it was re-equipped with the new Lockheed F-94 Starfire. As a result of the Korean War, in December 1951 Fifth Air Force determined a need for additional nighttime all-weather air interceptors in the Seoul area. In response, Air Defense Command provided the 319th FIS, which was reassigned from Moses Lake AFB, Washington, to Suwon Air Base, South Korea in February and early March 1952. The squadron returned to the United States in 1954 to Bunker Hill Air Force Base, Indiana, the squadron transitioned into F-89J Scorpions in the fall of 1957 and in February 1960 into Convair F-106 Delta Darts. On 22 October 1962, before President John F and these planes returned to Bunker Hill after the crisis. However, ADC continued to maintain deployed fighters from other squadrons on alert in Florida, ADC decided to make its deployed fighter unit at Homestead Air Force Base permanent and equip it with Lockheed F-104A Starfighters because of the F-104s superior fighter on fighter performance. ADC had released all its F-104s to the Air National Guard in 1960 because its control system was not sophisticated enough to make it an all weather interceptor. However, the lack of all weather capability was not a factor in south Florida because Cuba lacked a bomber force, the Air Force withdrew F-104s from the 157th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at McEntire Air National Guard Base to equip the Homestead squadron. In March 1963 the 319th was moved on paper to Homestead and these planes replaced a detachment of F-102s from the 325th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron that had been at Homestead since the Cuban missile crisis
23.
331st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
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The 331st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command at Webb Air Force Base, Texas, during World War II the squadron was a Lockheed P-38 Lightning replacement training unit on the west coast of the United States. It performed this mission until it was disbanded in 1944 in a reorganization of Army Air Forces training. The squadron was reactivated in 1953 as part of the expansion on air defenses and served in this role from bases in New York until 1958, in Texas it assumed the additional mission of combat crew training for Lockheed F-104 Starfighter pilots. The squadron was first activated in 1942 as the 331st Fighter Squadron, the squadron served under IV Fighter Command as a Lockheed P-38 Lightning Replacement Training Unit. Replacement training units were oversized units which trained aircrews prior to their deployment to combat theaters and it trained P-38 pilots in California and Washington State. However, the Army Air Forces found that military units. Accordingly, a functional system was adopted in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit. This resulted in the 331st, along with units at Ellensburg Army Airfield, being disbanded in the spring of 1944. The 331st was reconstituted as the 331st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron and activated in 1953 at Suffolk County Air Force Base as an Air Defense Command interceptor squadron, the squadron was initially equipped with radar equipped and Mighty Mouse rocket armed North American F-86D Sabres. In the summer of 1955 ADC implemented Project Arrow, which was designed to bring back on the active list the units which had compiled memorable records in the two world wars. As part of reorganization, the 331sts World War II headquarters. The squadron moved to Stewart on paper, and assumed the mission, personnel, in December 1956, the squadron began to receive upgraded F-86L Sabres equipped with data link communications equipment to interface with the Semi Automatic Ground Environment air defense system. In 1958, the 331st returned to flying F-86Ds and moved to Webb AFB and it reequipped with Convair F-102 Delta Daggers in 1960. At the beginning of the Cuban Missile Crisis on 22 October 1962 and these planes were soon replaced by planes from the 325th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron. Truaxs F-102s were the only Delta Daggers in ADC that had not been modified to carry the nuclear armed GAR-11 Falcon and were suited to the Homestead mission. In 1963 the squadron received Lockheed F-104 Starfighters that had been assigned to the Air National Guard, in addition to single-seat F-104As, the squadron received the two-seat, dual-control, combat trainer F-104B. The performance of the F-104B was almost identical to that of the F-104A, the squadron served as the ADC combat crew training squadron for the F-104
24.
32d Air Division
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The 32d Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was last active with Air Defense Command, assigned to First Air Force at Gunter Air Force Base, Alabama, the division was first activated by Continental Air Command in November 1949 at Stewart Air Force Base, New York. It controlled air defense units in the northeastern United States from Stewart, the division was inactivated in September 1963. In April 1966, the 32d was again activated at Gunter, at Gunter, it also reported to North American Air Defense Command as the 32d NORAD Region. It was again responsible for air defense in the Southeast until 1969, assigned to Air Defense Command for most of its existence, the 32d organized, administered, equipped, trained, and prepared for operation, all of its assigned units. The division participated in such as Creek Brave, Top Rung. Initially, it assumed responsibility for an area including Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, as the division responsible for defense of the area nearest Cuba, the division role expanded. In addition to defense of its area of responsibility, the division was responsible to defend staging bases and routes to possible drop zones in Cuba for troop carrier units. The number of Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star airborne early warning and control aircraft at McCoy Air Force Base, on 24 October VAW-14 deployed six Grumman WF-2s to Jacksonville Naval Air Station. These planes moved to Key West on 26 October, at the same time additional interceptor aircraft were put under the divisions control. Initially, the aircraft of the wing at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida were put on alert at Tyndall and other Florida bases. TF-102 trainers were placed on alert at Homestead, Patrick, McCoy, the Navy fighter detachment was also transferred to the divisions control. The 331st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron deployed 18 Delta Daggers to Homestead Air Force Base bringing the number of Deuces there to 32, the alert status of the divisions fighters included airborne alert against dawn raids early in crisis. The Strategic Orbit Points for airborne fighters were manned by 10 planes, alert planes were also placed in “sling shot” status. This was later reduced to alert crews in the cockpit near the runway. Army air defense also came under the divisions control. A battery of MIM-23 Hawk missiles from the 6th Battalion, 61st Artillery was transferred from Fort Meade to defend Key West, Homestead received a 40mm automatic weapons battery from the 1st Battalion, 59th Artillery and on 31 October. A Nike Hercules battery from the 2nd Battalion, 52nd Artillery at Fort Bliss as well as a Hawk batteries on 2 November
25.
Tactical Air Command
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Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Langley Air Force Base and it was inactivated on 1 June 1992 and its personnel and equipment absorbed by Air Combat Command. Tactical Air Command was established to provide a balance between strategic, air defense, and tactical forces of the post–World War II U. S. Army Air Forces followed by, in 1947, the U. S. Air Force. In 1948, the Continental Air Command assumed control over air defense, tactical air, after two years in a subordinate role, Tactical Air Command was established as a major command. World War II showed the effectiveness of air power in supporting army ground forces. However, the demobilization in late 1945 meant that the huge air armada that had brought Germany to her knees. Following the end of World War II, Headquarters United States Army Air Forces had little funding and most wartime personnel had been released from active duty and returned to civilian life. Many USAAF aircraft were being sent to storage or scrapyards, although the tension with the Soviet Union meant that combat military air forces were still needed. The big questions were how large and what kind of forces, a major realignment of the USAAF was undertaken in early 1946. As part of the realignment, three major divisions within the Continental United States were formed, Strategic Air Command, Tactical Air Command. Each was given a specific responsibility, using assets prescribed to accomplish the assigned mission, Tactical Air Command was formed to command, organize, equip, train and administer assigned or attached forces. It was to plan for and participate in tactics for fighter, light bombardment and these included tactical fighters, tactical bombers, tactical missiles, troop carrier aircraft, assault, reconnaissance, and support units. TAC also planned for and developed the capability to deploy tactical striking forces anywhere in the world, during its existence, Tactical Air Command deployed personnel, material and/or aircraft to Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Europe and Australia in support of its prescribed mission. TACs original authorization was 25,500 officers and enlisted men, aircraft assets available consisted of propeller-driven North American P-51 Mustangs, Republic P-47 Thunderbolts and a handful of the new jet-powered Lockheed P-80 Shooting Stars. TAC was also given control of the Third Air Force, Ninth Air Force, on 18 September 1947, the United States Air Force was established as a separate military force, with TAC as one of its major commands. At the time, there was only one U. S. Air Forces in Europe tactical air unit available in Europe, TAC was called upon to send additional units and aircraft to Europe to reinforce the 86 FG. The 36th Fighter Group, flying Lockheed F-80B Shooting Stars, was transferred from Howard AFB in the Panama Canal Zone to Furstenfeldbruck Air Base near Munich. In addition to fighter aircraft, TAC also deployed available C-47 Skytrain transports to Europe, transferring them to USAFE
26.
Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter
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The Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter is a United States strategic tanker aircraft based on the Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter. It was succeeded by the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, the KC-97 Stratofreighter was an aerial refueling tanker variant of the C-97 Stratofreighter, greatly modified with all the necessary tanks, plumbing, and a flying boom. The cavernous upper deck was capable of accommodating oversize cargo accessed through a very large right-side door, in addition, transferrable jet fuel was contained in tanks on the lower deck. Both decks were heated and pressurized for high altitude operations, note, Occasionally the KC-97 has been quoted as Stratotanker. However, all reputable sources refer to the KC-97 as Stratofreighter and this includes both Boeing and the USAF themselves. The USAF began operating the KC-97 in 1950 and it purchased a total of 811 KC-97s from Boeing, as opposed to only 74 of the C-97 cargo version. The KC-97 carried aviation gasoline for its own piston engines but it carried jet fuel for its refueling mission, however, it was able to offload its aviation gas to a receiver in an emergency in a procedure known as a SAVE. These tankers were vitally important to the world-wide Boeing B-47 Stratojet strategic operations, an example was the support of Arctic reconnaissance flights from Thule Air Base. While it was a tanker, the KC-97s slow speed. B-52s typically lowered their flaps and rear landing gear to slow the aircraft enough to refuel from the KC-97, in addition, a typical B-52 refueling engagement profile would involve a descent that allowed the aircraft pair to maintain a higher airspeed. In the early 1960s, the Tactical Air Command added General Electric J47 jet pods from retired KB-50 tankers to produce the KC-97L, the jet pods increased performance and made the KC-97 more compatible with jet aircraft. In 1956, SAC began phasing out the KC-97 in favor of the KC-135, KC-97s continued operating with Tactical Air Command, the Air Force Reserve, and the Air National Guard. Most KC-97 were finally retired completely in 1978, when the Texas Air National Guard and Utah Air National Guard exchanged their KC-97Ls for C-130s and KC-135s, source, AIRTime KC-97A Three C-97As were converted into aerial refueling tankers with rear loading door removed and a flight refueling boom added. After the design was proven, they were converted back into the standard C-97A, kC-97E aerial refueling tankers with rear loading doors permanently closed,60 built. Some were later converted into transports as the C-97E, KC-97F 3800hp R-4360-59B engines and minor changes,159 built. Some were later converted into transport as the C-97F, KC-97G Dual-role aerial refueling tankers/cargo transportation aircraft. KC-97G models carried underwing fuel tanks, eC-97G ELINT conversion of three KC-97Gs. 53-106 was operated by the CIA for covert ELINT operations in the West Berlin Air Corridor, c-97G135 KC-97Gs converted to transports
27.
Strategic Air Command
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At a lower echelon, headquarters divisions included Aircraft Engineering, Missile Concept, and Strategic Communications. In 1992, as part of an overall post-Cold War reorganization of the U. S. Planning to reorganize for a separate and independent postwar U. S. Air Force had begun by the fall of 1945, with the Simpson Board tasked to plan. the reorganization of the Army, SAC initially totaled 37,000 USAAF personnel. S. Air Force as an independent service, kenney, initial units reporting to the Strategic Air Command headquarters on 21 March 1946 included the Second Air Force, the IX Troop Carrier Command and the 73d Air Division. In addition to the bombing mission, SAC also devoted significant resources to aerial reconnaissance. An F-13 squadron, the F-13 later re-designated as the RB-29 Superfortress, was also established, SAC conducted routine aerial reconnaissance missions near the Soviet borders or near the 12-mile international waters limit, although some missions actually penetrated into Soviet airspace. The flight profiles of these missions—above 30,000 feet and in excess of 300 knots—made interception by Soviet air forces difficult until the Soviets 1948 introduction of the MiG-15 jet fighter. Project Nanook, the Cold War’s first Top Secret reconnaissance effort, used the first RB-29 missions for mapping and visual reconnaissance in the Arctic, later missions were Project LEOPARD along the Chukchi Peninsula, followed by Projects RICKRACK, STONEWORK, and COVERALLS. In 1946, the US possessed only nine atomic bombs and twenty-seven B-29s capable at any one time of delivering them, unfortunately, postwar budget and personnel cuts had had an insidious effect on SAC as its Deputy Commander, Major General Clements McMullen, implemented mandated force reductions. This continued to wear down SAC as a command and morale plummeted, as a result, by the end of 1947, only two of SACs eleven groups were combat ready. In terms of overall Air Force basing and infrastructure, SAC continued to acquire a share of USAF infrastructure. In 1947, before the USAF was established as an independent service, construction commenced on Limestone AAF, Maine, fort Dix AAF, New Jersey, Spokane AAF, Washington, and Wendover Field, Utah were also transferred to SAC between 30 April and 1 September 1947. Following establishment of the USAF as a service, SAC bases in the United States consisted of
28.
Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker
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The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is a military aerial refueling aircraft. It and the Boeing 707 airliner were developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype and it is the predominant variant of the C-135 Stratolifter family of transport aircraft. The KC-135 was the US Air Forces first jet-powered refueling tanker, the KC-135 entered service with the United States Air Force in 1957, it is one of six military fixed-wing aircraft with over 50 years of continuous service with its original operator. The KC-135 is supplemented by the larger KC-10, studies have concluded that many of the aircraft could be flown until 2040, although maintenance costs have greatly increased. The aircraft will eventually be replaced by the Boeing KC-46 Pegasus, like its sibling, the commercial Boeing 707 jet airliner, the KC-135 was derived from the Boeing 367-80 jet transport proof of concept demonstrator, which was commonly called the Dash-80. The KC-135 is similar in appearance to the 707, but has a fuselage and is shorter than the 707. The KC-135 predates the 707, and is quite different from the civilian airliner. Boeing gave the future KC-135 tanker the initial designation Model 717, in 1954 USAFs Strategic Air Command held a competition for a jet-powered aerial refueling tanker. Lockheeds tanker version of the proposed Lockheed L-193 airliner with rear fuselage-mounted engines was declared the winner in 1955, in the end, orders for the Lockheed tanker were dropped rather than supporting two tanker designs. Lockheed never produced its jet airliner, while Boeing would eventually dominate the market with a family of airliners based on the 707. In 1954, the Air Force placed an order for 29 KC-135As. The first aircraft flew in August 1956 and the initial production Stratotanker was delivered to Castle Air Force Base, California, the last KC-135 was delivered to the Air Force in 1965. These basic features make it resemble the commercial Boeing 707 and 720 aircraft. The USAF EC-135 Looking Glass was subsequently replaced in its role by the U. S. Navy E-6 Mercury aircraft, the KC-135Q variant was modified to carry JP-7 fuel necessary for the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, segregating the JP-7 from the KC-135s own fuel supply. The tanker also had special fuel systems for moving the different fuels between different tanks, the only external difference between a KC-135R and a KC-135T is the presence of a clear window on the underside of the empennage of the KC-135T where a remote controlled searchlight is mounted. It also has two ground refueling ports, located in rear wheel well so ground crews can fuel both the body tanks and wing tanks separately. Eight KC-135R aircraft are receiver-capable tankers, commonly referred to as KC-135R, All eight aircraft were with the 22d Air Refueling Wing at McConnell AFB, Kansas, in 1994. They are primarily used for extension and Special Operations missions
29.
2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission
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The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission preliminary list was released by the United States Department of Defense on May 13,2005. It was the fifth Base Realignment and Closure proposal generated since the process was created in 1988 and it recommended closing 22 major United States military bases and the realignment of 33 others. On September 15,2005, President George W. Bush approved the BRAC Commissions recommendations, Congress had a maximum of 45 days to reject the proposal by passing a joint resolution of disapproval, or the recommendations automatically enter into effect. Such a resolution was introduced to the House of Representatives on September 23,2005, the House took up debate of the resolution on October 26,2005. The resolution failed to pass by a 324-85 margin, thereby enacting the list of recommendations, the Secretary of Defense was required to begin implementing the recommendations by September 15,2007 and to complete implementation no later than September 15,2011. Anthony J. Principi, Chairman James H. Bilbray Philip Coyle Harold W. Gehman, the BRAC Commission disputed this claim, pointing out what it considered to be significant flaws in the Departments methodology. The Commission recalculated the 20-year savings of the DOD recommendation list at just above $37 billion, between late May and late August, the Commission reviewed the list and amended many of the Pentagons recommendations, removing several major installations from the closure list. The Commission calculated the overall 20-year savings to the government in carrying out its amended list of recommendations as close to $15 billion, major facilities slated for realignment include these, Army Human Resource Command in Missouri, moving to the Fort Knox Military Installation in Kentucky. United States Army Armor School in Fort Knox, Kentucky, moving to the Maneuver Center of Excellence in Fort Benning, walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D. C. The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission resulted in a $35 billion increase in military spending, the military claims, however, that it also resulted in a reduction of $4 billion in annual spending
30.
Iraq War
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The Iraq War was a protracted armed conflict that began in 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a United States-led coalition that toppled the government of Saddam Hussein. The conflict continued for much of the decade as an insurgency emerged to oppose the occupying forces. An estimated 151,000 to 600,000 or more Iraqis were killed in the first 3–4 years of conflict and it became re-involved in 2014 at the head of a new coalition, the insurgency and many dimensions of the civil armed conflict continue. The invasion began on 20 March 2003, with the U. S. joined by the United Kingdom and several allies, launching a shock. Iraqi forces were overwhelmed as U. S. forces swept through the country. The invasion led to the collapse of the Baathist government, President Hussein was captured during Operation Red Dawn in December of that same year, the United States responded with a troop surge in 2007. The winding down of U. S. involvement in Iraq accelerated under President Barack Obama, the U. S. formally withdrew all combat troops from Iraq by December 2011. Select U. S. officials accused Saddam of harboring and supporting al-Qaeda, while others cited the desire to end a repressive dictatorship, after the invasion, no substantial evidence was found to verify the initial claims about WMDs. The rationale and misrepresentation of pre-war intelligence faced heavy criticism within the U. S. in the aftermath of the invasion, Iraq held multi-party elections in 2005. Nouri al-Maliki became Prime Minister in 2006 and remained in office until 2014, the al-Maliki government enacted policies that were widely seen as having the effect of alienating the countrys Sunni minority and worsening sectarian tensions. The Iraq War caused hundreds of thousands of civilian, and thousands of military casualties, the majority of casualties occurred as a result of the insurgency and civil conflicts between 2004 and 2007. A1990 Frontline report on The arming of Iraq said, Officially, most Western nations participated in an arms embargo against Iraq during the 1980s. Western companies, primarily in Germany and Great Britain, but also in the United States, sold Iraq the key technology for its chemical, missile, any Western governments seemed remarkably indifferent, if not enthusiastic, about those deals. N Washington, the government consistently followed a policy which allowed and perhaps encouraged the growth of Saddam Husseins arsenal. The Western arming of Iraq took place in the context of the Iran-Iraq War, prior to September 2002, the CIA was the George W. Bush administrations main provider of intelligence on Iraq. The agency was out to disprove linkage between Iraq and terrorism the Pentagon adviser told me, the U. N. had prohibited Iraq from developing or possessing such weapons after the Gulf War and required Iraq to permit inspections confirming compliance. This was confirmed by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, during 2002, Bush repeatedly warned of military action against Iraq unless inspections were allowed to progress unfettered. In accordance with U. N. Security Council Resolution 1441, Iraq agreed to new inspections under United Nations Monitoring, as part of its weapons inspection obligations, Iraq was required to supply a full declaration of its current weapons capabilities and manufacturing
31.
Osan Air Base
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Osan Air Base, is a United States Air Force base located near Songtan Station in the county of Pyeongtaek, South Korea,64 km south of Seoul. Despite its name, Osan AB is not within Osan City, the base is the home of the Pacific Air Forces 51st Fighter Wing, and a number of tenant units, including the headquarters for Seventh Air Force. The base is also the headquarters of the ROK Air Force Operations Command, Osan Air Base is one of two major U. S. Air Force installations operated by U. S. Forces Korea, the other being Kunsan Air Base. S, Air Force in the Republic of Korea and the only base on the peninsula entirely planned and built from scratch by Aviation Engineers units attached to the U. S. Air Force during the Korean War. In the spring of 1951, CCF were driven back north of the 38th parallel, Aviation engineers, meanwhile, surveyed locations in the ROK to build an air base capable of supporting jet fighters. They decided upon the area southwest of Osan-Ni, established in November 1951, the base originally was named Osan-Ni AB. The name Osan-Ni was chosen for practical reasons – it was the only village shown on most military maps of the time, the 839th Aviation Engineer Battalion began construction of base support facilities and infrastructure early in 1952. On July 9,1952, the 839th, joined by the 840th and 841st Engineer battalions, started work to lay the airfields runway, taxiway, monsoon rains, though, impeded initial efforts to fill the rice paddies and begin airfield construction. The delay forced engineers to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week beginning in August, three engineer aviation battalions were assigned the task of building Osan, the 839th, 840th, and 841st EABs. They completed laying a 9, 000-foot, 8-inch-thick concrete runway in 2 1⁄2 months, with the taxiway also completed, and parking ramps nearing completion, the 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing and one of its F-51 combat squadrons arrived on December 26,1952. With the wings other two squadrons arriving shortly thereafter, the converted to the F-86F. In February 1953, the 18th FBW began flying air superiority missions from Osan-Ni AB which continued through the remainder of the Korean War, with the Armistice Agreement signed on July 27,1953, the 18th FBW remained at Osan-Ni AB for defensive purposes until November 1954. Meanwhile, plans called for HQ Fifth Air Force to move from Seoul National University to Yongsan Garrison in Seoul. This plan was changed, and in January 1954, the relocated to Osan-Ni AB. As the Armistice took hold, the U. S, the 58th Fighter-Bomber Wing moved from Taegu AB to Osan-Ni AB in March 1955, and became the only permanently assigned tactical fighter wing on the peninsula. On September 18,1956, the base was redesignated Osan AB, in July 1958, the U. S. Air Force inactivated the 58th Fighter-Bomber Wing. At this time, the Eisenhower Administration promulgated a nuclear deterrence strategy, although the Matador missiles were relocated in 1962, fighter deployments continued throughout the 1960s. Other than a reconstruction of the runway in 1959, the base still retained its Korean War-vintage facilities
32.
Montgomery Air Defense Sector
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The Southeast Air Defense Sector, was a unit of the US Air Force located at Tyndall Air Force Base near Panama City, Florida. It provided air defense and surveillance of the region of the US. SEADS closed in winter 2006, giving up surveillance and control of their airspace to the Eastern Air Defense Sector, the origins of the Southeast Air Defense Sector are in September 1957 with the formation of its predecessor organization, the Montgomery Air Defense Sector by Air Defense Command. In the west, the sector was responsible for most of Eastern Texas south of the 34th parallel north, including the state of Louisiana and it operated a Manual Air Direction Center at Dobbins AFB, Georgia. The sectors mission was to train and maintain tactical flying units in state of readiness in order to defend the northeast United States while initially continuing to operate the MDC. Beginning on 1 July 1958, it began operations of a SAGE Direction Center DC-09 32°45′15″N 086°14′29″W at Gunter AFB, Alabama. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, MoADS was the command center for Continental Air Defense Command. This period of constant alert was the longest alert period for any organization during the Cold War On 1 April 1966, MoADS was inactivated, most of its assets were assumed by the 32d Air Division, the 33d Air Division assumed assets in eastern North and South Carolina. The DC-09 SAGE Direction Center was assigned to the 32d Air Division, today it is used as offices by Air University, Air Education and Training Command at Gunter AFB. On 1 July 1987, the Montgomery Air Defense Sector was reactivated, the 23d Air Division was inactivated and all atmospheric defense assets of the Division were transferred to the MOADS, re-designated the Southeast Air Defense Sector. SEADS was responsible for the defense of approximately 1,000,000 square miles of airspace and 3,000 miles of coastline extending from Virginia to Texas. It was the busiest of the air defense sectors comprising the NORAD Continental United States North American Aerospace Defense Command Region and it operated a Sector Operations Control Center at Tyndall AFB, part of the Joint Surveillance System which had replaced SAGE in 1983. More than 2,000 aircraft were detected and identified each day by SEADS technicians, on 1 October 1995, the Southeast Air Defense Sector was reassigned to the Florida Air National Guard, SEADS re-designated Southeast Air Defense Sector. It came under the Continental NORAD Region Headquarters at Tyndall AFB, on 1 November 2005, SEADS ceased air defense operations and its duties were absorbed into the Northeast Air Defense Sector which is now known as the Eastern Air Defense Sector. The SEADS transformed into the 601st Air and Space Operations Center, cornett, Lloyd H. Johnson, Mildred W. A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization, 1946–1980, peterson AFB, CO, Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center. Air Force Bases, Vol. I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982, washington, DC, Office of Air Force History. NORAD/CONAD Participation in the Cuban Missile Crisis, Historical Reference Paper No,8, Directorate of Command History Continental Air Defense Command, Ent AFB, CO,1 Feb 63 Further reading Leonard, Barry
33.
Aerospace Defense Command
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Aerospace Defense Command was a major command of the United States Air Forces, responsible for continental air defence. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980 and its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was established in 1946, briefly inactivated in 1950, reactivated in 1951, and then redesignated Aerospace rather than Air in 1968. Its mission was to air defense of the Continental United States. It directly controlled all active measures, and was tasked to coordinate all passive means of air defense, the air districts established on 16 January 1941 before the Pearl Harbor attack. The four air districts also handled USAAF combat training with the Army Ground Forces and organization and training of bomber, fighter and other units, the USAAFs Aircraft Warning Corps provided air defense warning with information centers that networked an areas Army Radar Stations which communicated radar tracks by telephone. The AWC information centers also integrated visual reports processed by Ground Observer Corps filter centers, AWC information centers notified air defense command posts of the 4 continental air forces for deploying interceptor aircraft which used command guidance for ground-controlled interception. The USAAF inactivated the aircraft warning network in April 1944, Continental Air Forces was activated on 12 December 1944 with the four Air Forces as components to consolidate the CONUS air defense mission under one command. The Continental Air Forces reorganization began in 1945, when ground radar, the Distant Early Warning Line was first conceived—and rejected—in 1946. By 1948 there were only 5 AC&W stations, including the Twin Lights station in NJ that opened in June and Montauk NY Air Warning Station #3 --cf. SAC radar stations, e. g. at Dallas & Denver Bomb Plots. By the time ADC was inactivated on 1 July 1950, ADC had deployed the Lashup Radar Network with existing radars at 43 sites, in addition,36 Air National Guard fighter units were called to active duty for the mission. ADC was reinstated as a command on 1 January 1951 at Mitchel Air Force Base. The headquarters was moved to Ent Air Force Base in Colorado Springs on 8 January 1951 and it received 21 former ConAC active-duty fighter squadrons. ADC was also assigned the 25th, 26th 27th and 28th Air Divisions ADC completed the Priority Permanent System network for Aircraft Warning, gaps were filled by additional Federal Aviation Administration radar stations and the Ground Observation Corps. During the mid-1950s, planners devised the idea of extending the wall of powerful land-based radar seaward with Airborne early warning, the RC-121s, EC-121s and Texas Towers, it was believed, would contribute to extending contiguous east-coast radar coverage some 300 to 500 miles seaward. In terms of the air threat of the 1950s, this meant a gain of at least 30 extra minutes warning time of a bomber attack. ADCs Operation Tail Wind on 11–12 July tested its augmentation plan that required Air Training Command interceptors participate in an air defense emergency, a total of seven ATC bases actively participated in the exercise, deploying aircraft and aircrews and supporting the ADC radar net. As the USAF prepared to deploy the Tactical Air Command E-3 Sentry in the later 1970s, all remaining EC-121s were transferred to the Air Force Reserve, which formed the 79th AEWCS at Homestead Air Force Base, Florida in early 1976. Besides monitoring Cuban waters, these last Warning Stars also operated from NAS Keflavik, final EC-121 operations ended in September 1978
34.
Air Combat Command
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Air Combat Command is one of ten Major Commands in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force at the Pentagon. ACC is headquartered at Langley Field, Joint Base Langley–Eustis, Virginia and its commander is General Herbert Hawk Carlisle, with Major General Jerry D. Harris Jr. as Vice Commander, and Chief Master Sergeant Steve K. McDonald as the Command Chief Master Sergeant, in addition, ACC augments the forces of the United States European Command, United States Pacific Command and United States Central Command when needed. Air Combat Command consists of approximately 98,000 active duty members, in 2015, responsibility for the B-1 Lancer bomber fleet was also transferred from ACC to AFGSC. Air Combat Command was created 1 June 1992 after the inactivation of the Tactical Air Command, Strategic Air Command, furthermore, ACC had some KC-135 and KC-10 aerial refueling tankers and C-130 tactical airlift aircraft in its composite, reconnaissance, and certain other combat wings. In 1993, control of the ICBM force was transferred to the Air Force Space Command until transferred again to Air Force Global Strike Command on 1 Dec 2009. S, Air Force and the U. S. Navy. Historically, combat command was an air unit designation. During 1941 and early 1942, the air units of the War Department, formerly known as the GHQ Air Force. The AFCC was dissolved in the reorganization of the United States Army, effective 9 March 1942, not long after activation, ACC underwent organizational and mission changes. The first such change was the transfer of the combat search. With the realigning of search and rescue units, ACC gained additional resources, the formal transfer took place on 1 February 1993, when the Air Rescue Service was assigned to ACC. On 2 July of the year, the ARS was disestablished. The USAF Combat Rescue School was subsequently assigned to the 57th Wing at Nellis AFB, one of the most significant changes for Air Combat Command resulted from an overhaul of flying training responsibilities. Following its activation, ACC was responsible for aircrew training, including initial weapon system. On 1 July 1993, the 58th and 325th Fighter Wings—F-16 and F-15 training units transferred from ACC to Air Education and Training Command. Concurrently, Luke AFB, Arizona, and Tyndall AFB, Florida, for which those respective wings were the host units, however, on 1 October 2012, both Tyndall AFB and the 325th Fighter Wing returned to the control of ACC. The next major change resulted from a fine-tuning of aerial refueling. From its activation, Air Combat Command had assumed ownership of some C-130 Hercules theater airlift assets and KC-10 Extender, there was historical precedent for the reassignment of C-130s to Air Combat Command
35.
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
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The Air Force Outstanding Unit Award is one of the unit awards of the United States Air Force. It was established in 1954 and was the first independent Air Force decoration created, the Air Force Longevity Service Award would follow in 1957 with most of the standard Air Force awards established in the early to mid 1960s. The Outstanding Unit Award is awarded to any unit of the U. S, multiple awards of the Outstanding Unit Award are denoted by oak leaf clusters on the ribbon. Until 2004, the Outstanding Unit Award was the senior most unit award in the U. S. Air Force and it is awarded to personnel who were assigned or attached to the unit receiving the award during the period it was awarded for. Non-USAF personnel personnel assigned to USAF units awarded the Outstanding Unit Award are also eligible to wear the ribbon on their uniforms, however, the ribbon does not come in the larger size of unit awards common to the U. S. Army
36.
Wayback Machine
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The Internet Archive launched the Wayback Machine in October 2001. It was set up by Brewster Kahle and Bruce Gilliat, and is maintained with content from Alexa Internet, the service enables users to see archived versions of web pages across time, which the archive calls a three dimensional index. Since 1996, the Wayback Machine has been archiving cached pages of websites onto its large cluster of Linux nodes and it revisits sites every few weeks or months and archives a new version. Sites can also be captured on the fly by visitors who enter the sites URL into a search box, the intent is to capture and archive content that otherwise would be lost whenever a site is changed or closed down. The overall vision of the machines creators is to archive the entire Internet, the name Wayback Machine was chosen as a reference to the WABAC machine, a time-traveling device used by the characters Mr. Peabody and Sherman in The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, an animated cartoon. These crawlers also respect the robots exclusion standard for websites whose owners opt for them not to appear in search results or be cached, to overcome inconsistencies in partially cached websites, Archive-It. Information had been kept on digital tape for five years, with Kahle occasionally allowing researchers, when the archive reached its fifth anniversary, it was unveiled and opened to the public in a ceremony at the University of California, Berkeley. Snapshots usually become more than six months after they are archived or, in some cases, even later. The frequency of snapshots is variable, so not all tracked website updates are recorded, Sometimes there are intervals of several weeks or years between snapshots. After August 2008 sites had to be listed on the Open Directory in order to be included. As of 2009, the Wayback Machine contained approximately three petabytes of data and was growing at a rate of 100 terabytes each month, the growth rate reported in 2003 was 12 terabytes/month, the data is stored on PetaBox rack systems manufactured by Capricorn Technologies. In 2009, the Internet Archive migrated its customized storage architecture to Sun Open Storage, in 2011 a new, improved version of the Wayback Machine, with an updated interface and fresher index of archived content, was made available for public testing. The index driving the classic Wayback Machine only has a bit of material past 2008. In January 2013, the company announced a ground-breaking milestone of 240 billion URLs, in October 2013, the company announced the Save a Page feature which allows any Internet user to archive the contents of a URL. This became a threat of abuse by the service for hosting malicious binaries, as of December 2014, the Wayback Machine contained almost nine petabytes of data and was growing at a rate of about 20 terabytes each week. Between October 2013 and March 2015 the websites global Alexa rank changed from 162 to 208, in a 2009 case, Netbula, LLC v. Chordiant Software Inc. defendant Chordiant filed a motion to compel Netbula to disable the robots. Netbula objected to the motion on the ground that defendants were asking to alter Netbulas website, in an October 2004 case, Telewizja Polska USA, Inc. v. Echostar Satellite, No.02 C3293,65 Fed. 673, a litigant attempted to use the Wayback Machine archives as a source of admissible evidence, Telewizja Polska is the provider of TVP Polonia and EchoStar operates the Dish Network
37.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
38.
Alabama Air National Guard
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The Alabama Air National Guard is the air force militia of the State of Alabama, United States of America. It is, along with the Alabama Army National Guard, an element of the Alabama National Guard, as state militia units, the units in the Alabama Air National Guard are not in the normal United States Air Force chain of command unless federalized. They are under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Alabama though the office of the Alabama Adjutant General unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States, the Alabama Air National Guard is headquartered in Montgomery, and its commander is Major General Perry Smith. Under the Total Force concept, Alabama Air National Guard units are considered to be Air Reserve Components of the United States Air Force, Alabama ANG units are trained and equipped by the Air Force and are operationally gained by a Major Command of the USAF if federalized. State missions include disaster relief in times of earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and forest fires, search and rescue, protection of public services. Its mission is to train and equip combat ready aircrews and support personnel to perform aerial refueling. The Alabama Air National Guard origins date to 27 August 1917 with the establishment of the 106th Aero Squadron as part of the World War I American Expeditionary Force, the 106th served in France on the Western Front, then after the 1918 Armistice with Germany was demobilized in 1919. The Militia Act of 1903 established the present National Guard system, units raised by the states but paid for by the Federal Government, if federalized by presidential order, they fall under the regular military chain of command. On 1 June 1920, the Militia Bureau issued Circular No.1 on organization of National Guard air units, the squadron was reformed on 21 January 1922 as the 125th Squadron, Alabama National Guard, received federal recognition as a Corps Aviation unit. Maj. James A. Meissner, a World War I ace who had flown with Capt, eddie Rickenbacker, led the effort to form the unit and served as its first commander. It is one of the 29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of the United States Army National Guard formed before World War II. The 106th Observation Squadron was ordered into service on 125 November 1940 as part of the buildup of the Army Air Corps prior to the United States entry into World War II. 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, the modern Alabama ANG received federal recognition on 25 November 1946 as the 106th Bombardment Squadron at Birmingham MAP. It was equipped with B-26B/C Invaders and was assigned to Tactical Air Command, on 1 October 1947 the 117th Fighter Group allotted by the National Guard Bureau, extended federal recognition and activated at Birmingham, with the 106th Bomb Squadron being assigned to the unit. The 160th Fighter Squadron at Montgomery was authorized by the National Guard Bureau, the 160th was equipped with the F-51D Mustang and its mission was the air defense of the state. On 15 October 1962, the 160th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was authorized to expand to a level. The 160th TRS becoming the flying squadron. This was obtained from the Air Force and on 12 September 2009, the designation was transferred to the National Guard Bureau by the Air Force and it was allotted to the Alabama ANG
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Alaska Air National Guard
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The Alaska Air National Guard is the air militia of the State of Alaska, United States of America. It is, along with the Alaska Army National Guard, an element of the Alaska National Guard, as state military units, the units in the Alaska Air National Guard are not typically in the normal United States Air Force chain of command unless federalized. They are under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Alaska though the office of the Alaska Adjutant General unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States. The Alaska Air National Guard is headquartered at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Anchorage, under the Total Force concept, Alaska Air National Guard units are considered to be Air Reserve Components of the United States Air Force. Alaska ANG units are trained and equipped by the Air Force and are gained by a Major Command of the USAF if federalized. State missions include disaster relief in times of earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and forest fires, search and rescue, protection of public services. The unit transfers more fuel than any other Air National Guard tanker wing, because nearly all receivers are active duty aircraft and it is a composite wing with multiple missions, including global airlift, air-sea rescue, tactical airlift, and NORAD air defense. Support Unit Functions and Capabilities, 213th Space Warning Squadron, Geographically Separated Unit located at Clear Air Force Station, Anderson, located 40 miles north of Mount McKinley and 80 miles south of Fairbanks. The 213th SWS is responsible for providing tactical warning and attack assessment of a missile attack against the continental United States. Warning data from the unit is forwarded to the North American Aerospace Defense Command inside Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, the only condition, that enough people could be recruited to man the unit. The Alaska Air National Guard was organized 15 September 1952 as the 8144th Air Base Squadron, at its creation, the 8144th included 11 enlisted men and five officers. Its headquarters were located in an office above what was then the bus depot on Fourth Avenue in Anchorage. Because the office was so small, the men convened for their first training assembly in a nearby Quonset hut, the units first aircraft, a 1941 AT-6D Texan trainer, arrived in February 1953. Soon five more trainers arrived, operating out of Elmendorf AFB Hangar #3, in keeping with the Air Guards mission to provide national air defense, the pilots began training in earnest for their planned transition to jet fighters. The unit was re-designated as the 144th Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 1 July 1953, in 1969, the 144th Tactical Airlift Squadron was authorized to expand to a group level, and the 176th Tactical Airlift Group was established by the National Guard Bureau. The 176th TAG received federal recognition and was activated on 1 April 1969, the 144th TAS was assigned as the new units operational squadron. In 1986 the 168th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron designation was transferred from the Illinois ANG to the Alaska Air National Guard and it was re-designated as the 168th Air Refueling Squadron, extended federal recognition and reactivated on 1 October 1986. The 168th would operate as a geographically separated unit, at Eielson Air Force Base and it was equipped with KC-135E Stratotankers and assume an air refueling mission, supporting military aircraft over Alaska and the northern Pacific Region
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Arizona Air National Guard
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The Arizona Air National Guard is the air force militia of the State of Arizona, United States of America. It is, along with the Arizona Army National Guard, an element of the Arizona National Guard, as state militia units, the units in the Arizona Air National Guard are not typically in the normal United States Air Force chain of command unless federalized. They are under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Arizona through the office of the Arizona Adjutant General unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States. The Arizona Air National Guard is headquartered at the Joint Force Headquarters in Phoenix, under the Total Force concept, Arizona Air National Guard units are an Air Reserve Components of the United States Air Force. Arizona ANG units are trained and equipped by the Air Force and are gained by a Major Command of the USAF if federalized. State missions include disaster relief in times of earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and forest fires, search and rescue, protection of public services. The wing consists of three squadrons and more than 70 F-16 aircraft, the 162d conducts international pilot training in support of foreign military sales program. It operates and maintains extensive radar and communications to train student Weapons Directors for postings throughout the Air Force and 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. The Arizona ANG was founded by Barry Goldwater, and its origins date to the formation of the 197th Fighter Squadron at Luke Army Airfield, Glendale and it was equipped with F-51D Mustangs and its mission was the air defense of the state. Today, the Arizona ANG performs an air refueling mission. Its 111th Space Operations Squadron is the first space communications unit in the United States military, after the September 11th,2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, elements of every Air National Guard unit in Arizona has been activated in support of the Global War on Terrorism. Also, Arizona ANG units have deployed overseas as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Arizona Wing Civil Air Patrol This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http, Arizona Air National Guard 161st Air Refueling Wing 162nd Fighter Wing
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Arkansas Air National Guard
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The Arkansas Air National Guard is the air force militia of the State of Arkansas, United States of America. It is, along with the Arkansas Army National Guard, an element of the Arkansas National Guard, as state militia units, the units in the Arkansas Air National Guard are not typically in the normal United States Air Force chain of command 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 Arkansas Air National Guard is headquartered at North Little Rock, under the Total Force concept, Arkansas Air National Guard units are an Air Reserve Components of the United States Air Force. Arkansas ANG units are trained and equipped by the Air Force and are gained by a Major Command of the USAF if federalized. State missions include disaster relief in times of earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and forest fires, search and rescue, protection of public services. The unit operates the C-130 Tactical Airlift Instructor School, where instructors are trained to they can return to their units. 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 American Expeditionary Force, the 154th served in France on the Western Front, then after the 1918 Armistice with Germany was demobilized in 1919. The Militia Act of 1903 established the present National Guard system, units raised by the states but paid for by the Federal Government, if federalized by Presidential order, they fall under the regular military chain of command. On 1 June 1920, the Militia Bureau 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 it is one of the 29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of the United States Army National Guard formed before World War II. 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. 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, the modern Arkansas ANG received federal recognition on 27 May 1946 as the 154th Fighter Squadron at Adams Field, Little Rock. It was equipped with F-51D Mustangs and its mission was the air defense of the state, 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, the 154th flew its first combat sortie 2 May 1951. Initially operating out of Itaeke, Japan the unit moved to Taegu. The 154th returned to Arkansas and was relieved from active duty 1 July 1952, 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. The 184th TRS becoming the flying squadron
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California Air National Guard
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The California Air National Guard is the air force militia of the U. S. State of California. It is, along with the California Army National Guard, an element of the California National Guard, as state militia units, the units in the California Air National Guard are not in the normal United States Air Force chain of command. They are under the jurisdiction of the Governor of California through the office of the California Adjutant General unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States. The California Air National Guard is headquartered in Sacramento, and its commander is currently Major General Jon K. Kelk, under the Total Force concept, California Air National Guard units are considered to be Air Reserve Components of the United States Air Force. California ANG units are trained and equipped by the Air Force and are gained by a Major Command of the USAF if federalized. State missions include disaster relief in times of earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and forest fires, search and rescue, protection of public services. It is under state jurisdiction and its members are employed only within the State of California and it is not subject to be called, ordered or assigned as any element of the federal armed forces. Currently in transition from a KC-135 Stratotanker air refueling mission to an MQ-1 Predator ISR wing, executing global unmanned aerial systems, combat support, and humanitarian missions. The California Air National Guard origins date to 28 August 1917 with the establishment of the 115th Aero Squadron as part of the World War I United States Army Air Service. The 115th served in France on the Western Front, constructed facilities and engaged in supply, the Militia Act of 1903 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 military chain of command. On 1 June 1920, the Militia Bureau issued Circular No.1 on organization of National Guard air units, initially the Unit held its meetings at Clover Field, Santa Monica, using Reserve Equipment planes for flying. Later on, the Squadron met at the National Guard Armory, in 1925, several months after its organization, the Squadron moved to permanent quarters at Griffith Park Aerodrome in Los Angeles. 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, the modern California ANG received federal recognition on 1 July 1946 as the 62d Fighter Wing at Van Nuys Airport, Van Nuys. Its 115th Bombardment Squadron was equipped with A-26 Invader light bombers, on 16 September 1946, its 146th Fighter Group was also formed at Van Nuys, with several fighter squadrons equipped with F-51 Mustangs and its mission was the air defense of the state. The 61sts mission was the air defense of Northern California, the 62d, today, units of the CA ANG perform a homeland defense mission, worldwide airlift missions, aireal firefighting, combat search and rescue, and Unmanned Aireal Reconnaissance missions. After the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, in December 2007, after the grounding of F-15 fighters due to potential structural problems, the California Air National Guard assumed responsibility for defense of the western United States. This was the first time that a single states fighter wing took responsibility of defense for an entire coast, also, California ANG units have been deployed overseas as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq as well as other locations as directed
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Colorado Air National Guard
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The Colorado Air National Guard is the aerial militia of the U. S. State of Colorado. It is, along with the Colorado Army National Guard, an element of the Colorado National Guard, the units of the Colorado Air National Guard are not in the normal United States Air Force chain of command. They are under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Colorado through the office of the Colorado Adjutant General unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States. The Colorado Air National Guard is headquartered in Centennial, and its commander is currently Major General H. Michael Edwards. The Colorado Air National Guard 120th Fighter Squadron was the first federally recognized Air National Guard unit after the Second World War, under the Total Force concept, Colorado Air National Guard units are considered to be Air Reserve Components of the United States Air Force. Colorado ANG units are trained and equipped by the Air Force and are gained by a Major Command of the USAF if federalized. State missions include disaster relief in times of earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and forest fires, search and rescue, protection of public services. They are able to survive and operate through all phases of trans/post nuclear attack, the Colorado Air National Guard origins date to 28 August 1917 with the establishment of the 120th Aero Squadron as part of the World War I American Expeditionary Force. The 120th served in France on the Western Front, then after the 1918 Armistice with Germany was demobilized in 1919. The Militia Act of 1903 established the present National Guard system, units raised by the states but paid for by the Federal Government, if federalized by Presidential order, they fall under the regular military chain of command. On 1 June 1920, the Militia Bureau issued Circular No.1 on organization of National Guard air units, on 27 June 1923 the 120th Observation Squadron, 45th Division, Aviation was mustered into service as part of the Colorado Army National Guard. It is one of the 29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of the United States Army National Guard formed before World War II. Initially composed of eight officers and 50 enlisted members, the unit flew Curtis JN-4Es - an aircraft which proved to be unsuitable for flying at Denver elevations, one year later, the 120th began flying out of Lowry Field. The brand new airfield was named in honor of 2nd Lt. Francis B, Lowry who was shot down and killed near Crepion, France in 1918 while on a photographic mission. Mobilization for World War II took place on January 6,1941,11 months prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the unit, then 19 officers and 116 enlisted members, moved to Biggs Field, Texas. 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, the modern Colorado ANG received federal recognition on 3 July 1946 as the 86th Fighter Wing at Buckley Field, Denver. Its 140th Fighter Group was also formed at Buckley Field, with the 120th Fighter Squadron equipped with F-51 Mustangs, the 200th Airlift Squadron flies C-21A Learjets with a Special Air Mission for VIP personnel, along with aeromedical evacuation. The 137th Space Warning Squadron at Greeley Employs the Air Forces only strategic survivable, mobile ground system to receive early warning data
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Connecticut Air National Guard
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The Connecticut Air National Guard is the air force militia of the State of Connecticut, United States of America. It is, along with the Connecticut Army National Guard, an element of the Connecticut National Guard, as state militia units, the units in the Connecticut Air National Guard are not in the normal United States Air Force chain of command. They are under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Connecticut though the office of the Connecticut Adjutant General unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States. The Connecticut Air National Guard is headquartered at Bradley Air National Guard Base, under the Total Force concept, Connecticut Air National Guard units are considered to be Air Reserve Components of the United States Air Force. Connecticut ANG units are trained and equipped by the Air Force and are gained by a Major Command of the USAF if federalized. State missions include disaster relief in times of earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and forest fires, search and rescue, protection of public services. They currently fly the C-130H, a four engine aircraft and its mission is providing cargo. Support Unit Functions and Capabilities, 103d Air Control Squadron Stationed at Orange and is known as Yankee Watch, the mission of the 103d Air Control Squadron is real-time detection, identification and surveillance of air traffic for combat operations and homeland defense. The 103d ACS is the oldest unit of its kind in the United States military, the 118th Airlift Squadrons origins date to August 1917, when the unit was activated as the 118th Aero Squadron at Kelly Field, Texas. After little more than individual and unit training at Kelly. After a brief stopover at Garden City, Long Island, New York, they sailed for Europe on 13 January 1918, arriving at St. Maixent, the Fleur-de-lis on the post World War II squadron insignia reflects that service in France. The war ended in November, but the 639th remained in France until May 1919 when it returned to the United States and was demobilized at Mitchell Field, New York, on 6 June 1919. The Militia Act of 1903 established the present National Guard system, units raised by the states but paid for by the Federal Government, if federalized by Presidential order, they fall under the regular military chain of command. On 1 June 1920, the Militia Bureau issued Circular No.1 on organization of National Guard air units, the National Defense Act of 1921 provided for a number of National Guard Aviation Squadrons and the 43d Aero Squadron was re-designated as the 43d Division Air Service Squadron. As a National Guard unit the squadron became a part of the 43d Division, at that time made up of National Guard Troops from Connecticut, Rhode Island and Vermont. Since there were no airfields in Connecticut capable of handling military type aircraft, however, after the opening of Brainard Field in Hartford in October 1922, efforts were immediately launched to secure the Air Service unit of the 43d Division for the State of Connecticut. Rhode Island, apparently without a deal of argument, soon relinquished its claim. When the squadron was organized on 1 November 1923, there were some 66 officers
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Delaware Air National Guard
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The Delaware Air National Guard is the air force militia of the State of Delaware, United States of America. It is, along with the Delaware Army National Guard, an element of the Delaware National Guard, as state militia units, the units in the Delaware Air National Guard are not in the normal United States Air Force chain of command. They are under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Delaware through the office of the Delaware Adjutant General unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States. The Delaware Air National Guard is headquartered at New Castle Air National Guard Base, under the Total Force concept, Delaware Air National Guard units are considered to be Air Reserve Components of the United States Air Force. Delaware ANG units are trained and equipped by the Air Force and are gained by a Major Command of the USAF if federalized. State missions include disaster relief in times of earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and forest fires, search and rescue, protection of public services. The actual strength on founding day was 15 officers, one warrant officer and 36 enlisted men, the Air Guard carried 60% of the cargo it would be expected to carry if it were an active unit in Federal service. Brig. Gen. William “Bill” Spruance, a member of the Delaware Air Guard. In 1961, after a fatal plane crash as passenger in a T-33, Brig. Gen. Spruance selflessly devoted his time, knowledge and experience in an effort to improve flying. In 1968 during one of his three trips to Vietnam he gave over 100 presentations to over 10,000 people, at 58 bases, shortly thereafter, members of the 166th Tactical Clinic were also called upon, bringing the total Air Guard involvement to over 350. All eight C-130 Hercules aircraft were deployed with the Air Guard to the Persian Gulf, the Air Guard merged with the 1670th Tactical Airlift Provisional, part of the largest composite U. S. Air Force Wing in the entire Persian Gulf area. The unit flew missions carrying personnel and fuel bladders critical to destroying the Iraqi Republican Guard and they were also one of the first crews that flew into Kuwait International Airport to begin rebuilding. In May, they moved a significant portion of the Shiite Muslim refugees to a camp in Saudi Arabia السعودية, in January and February personnel from the 166th Civil Engineering Squadron were also tasked with the 100% enlargement of the mortuary facility at Dover Air Force Base. Brig. Gen. Ernest Talbert served in combat zones in Southwest Asia as a C-130 pilot in support of Operation Desert Storm, on 11 Nov 2005 he became the first African-American general in the history of the Delaware National Guard. Upon his retirement as Chief of Staff, Headquarters, Delaware Air National Guard on 11 Jan 2009, General Talbert has upheld his oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Delaware against all enemies, foreign and domestic. The Delaware Air National Guard units returned on 31 May 1991, the Delaware Air National Guard was called upon again during the Afghanistan War. Its units have deployed to the Afghan region several times since 2001, col. Patrick Houtman received the Distinguished Flying Cross for taking evasive action at low altitude after a surface-to-air missile was launched against his C-130 aircraft. Col. Houtman was the first Delaware Air National Guard member to receive this decoration, col. Gregory Carr and Master Sgt
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District of Columbia Air National Guard
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The District of Columbia Air National Guard is a militia and Air Force reserve organization of the District of Columbia, United States of America. It is, along with the District of Columbia Army National Guard, as militia units, the units in the District of Columbia Air National Guard are not in United States Air Force chain of command unless federalized by the president. The District of Columbia Air National Guard is headquartered in Washington D. C. the District of Columbia Air National Guard is unique among the United States Air National Guard. Because Washington, D. C. lacks an Air Force installation with a runway, under the Total Force concept, District of Columbia Air National Guard units are considered to be Air Reserve Components of the United States Air Force. District of Columbia ANG units are trained and equipped by the Air Force and are gained by a Major Command of the USAF if federalized. State missions include disaster relief in times of earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and forest fires, search and rescue, protection of public services. It is one of the 29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of the United States Army National Guard formed before World War II. The 121st Observation Squadron was ordered into service on 1 September 1941 as part of the buildup of the Army Air Corps prior to the United States entry into World War II. 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, the modern DC ANG received federal recognition on 26 October 1946 as the 121st Fighter Squadron at Andrews Army Airfield, Maryland. It was equipped with F-51D Mustangs and its mission was the air defense of Washington, on 2 November 1946 the 113th Fighter Group was allotted by the National Guard Bureau, extended federal recognition and activated. The 121st was assigned to the 113th as its operational squadron, on February 1,1952, the 8205th Air Base Squadron was activated as part of the DC ANG. The units mission was to receive, maintain, and store equipment as well as provide trained personnel for the soon-to-be formed 231st Airways, however, the unit was discontinued on August 26,1952, when it merged with the 231st AACS. Under a variety of names, since 1986 the 231st Combat Communications Squadron, today, the District of Columbia Air National Guard primary mission is training of air combat and operational airlift crews for national defense. The 113th also provides a response force of fighters for the defense of the District of Columbia area 24/7. Members of the 113th also assist local and federal law enforcement agencies in combating trafficking in the District of Columbia on a case by case basis. After the September 11th,2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, on 11 September 2001, the wing was given authorization for its pilots to shoot down threatening aircraft over Washington DC. During one of missions, on 11 May 2005 the squadron scrambled to intercept an aircraft that wandered into the no-fly zone around the White House. Customs officials had also scrambled a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, the Customs aircraft gave way when the F-16s arrived flew on the wing tips of the little plane
United States
Tennessee
Air National Guard
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
