155th Air Refueling Wing

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 155th Air Refueling Wing


caption=155th Air Refueling Wing Insignia
dates= 1960-Present
country= United States
allegiance=
branch= Air National Guard
type= Air Refueling
role= Air Mobility
size=
command_structure=
current_commander= Colonel Richard J. Evans III
previous_commander= Colonel Steven L. Adams (2004-2007)
garrison= Lincoln, Nebraska
ceremonial_chief=
nickname= Hustlin "Huskers"
patron=
motto=
colors=
identification_symbol=
march=
mascot=
battles=
notable_commanders=
anniversaries=
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battle_honours=The 155th Air Refueling Wing (155th ARW) is the largest Air National Guard unit in the state of Nebraska. It currently operates the Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker which has been tasked for numerous missions around the globe.

Mission

The 155th operates the KC-135R Stratotanker, which is responsible for conducting air refueling missions around the world. The 155th currently has nine aircraft in operation today. The unit runs like an active duty base on a smaller scale.

Full time Security Forces personnel patrol the base and provide security for the aircraft 24 hours a day while firefighter personnel are always on station and on call. The other units on the base usually operate during the day and are also staffed by AGR or civilian Technician personnel.

History

The Nebraska Air National Guard is the second oldest Air National Guard unit in the nation. It began with the activation of the 401st Fighter Squadron at Westover Field, Massachusetts, on July 1, 1943.

The 401st was assigned to the National Guard and was re-designated the 173rd Fighter Squadron, Nebraska Air National Guard, and was equipped with P-51 Mustangs on July 26, 1946.

The unit has been operational since that date and has been an Air Force gained unit since the U.S. Air Force became a separate branch of service in 1947.

In 1948, Nebraska was one of the first five states to receive the F-80 Shooting Star jet aircraft. Also that year, the Nebraska Air National Guard held its first annual training in Lincoln.

In 1950 the unit was the first Air National Guard organization to win the Winston P. Wilson Trophy as the outstanding jet fighter unit. It was the first of five Wilson trophies to be awarded to the Nebraska organization.

The unit was mobilized on April 1, 1951, and put into active service for the Korean conflict.

The unit was released from active duty on Dec. 31, 1952, after 21 months of meritorious service. The unit flew P-51s throughout its tour of active duty. The F-80s had been given to the Air Defense Command during the Korean Conflict and would not return to the unit until the fall of 1953.

In 1953 Maj. Gen. Guy N. Henninger, already the adjutant general of the Nebraska National Guard, switched from the Army Guard to the Air Guard. The transfer made General Henninger the first Air Guard adjutant general in the nation.

F-80 Shooting Star was assigned to the unit in 1953. That same year the squadron was re-designated the 173rd Fighter Interceptor Squadron and assigned to the Air Defense Command.

With the reactivation in 1955 of the Lincoln AFB; a Strategic Air Command base, the Nebraska Air National Guard was needed and was authorized new facilities. A new site was located south of the commercial air terminal adjoining the Air Force base. The unit moved to its new facilities in the fall of 1956.

Two years later the unit moved into the vacated Naval Reserve hangar and turned its "old" hangar over to the Army National Guard. Since that time, additional facilities were built on the convert|166|acre|km2 of the Lincoln Air National Guard Base. Army aviation and other Army units remain tenants today.

In January 1957 the F-80s gave way to the F-86D all-weather interceptors. In late 1959, the unit changed to the F-86L all-weather fighter

On July 1, 1960, the National Guard Bureau reorganized the 173rd as part of the 155th Fighter Group and increased staffing to about 900 people.

In those final "fighter" years, the unit had won the coveted Spaatz Trophy, as the Guard's finest flying unit in 1963, following second and third place finishes in 1961 and 1962 respectively. In 1962, 1963 and 1964 the unit won its second, third and fourth Winston P. Wilson Trophies.

In May 1964 the mission of the Nebraska Air Guard changed from air defense to tactical reconnaissance using the RF-84 Thunderflash aircraft. The 173rd became the 173rd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron and the 155th Fighter Group became the 155th Tactical Reconnaissance Group.

The first RF-4C Phantom II came to Lincoln in November 1971. In 1972 the unit began its conversion from the RF-84F to the most modem reconnaissance aircraft available.

In April 1992 the unit was directed to convert to the KC-135R Stratotanker mission when the U.S. Air Force decided to begin retiring the last of the F-4 Phantom II aircraft. The conversion to the aerial refueling mission began in September 1993 with the arrival of the first tanker aircraft. On Oct. 1, 1995, the unit was re-designated as the 155th Air Refueling Wing after achieving initial operational capability in the refueling mission three months early.

In April 1999, the unit flew its first combat missions. It was the first Air Guard tanker unit to be asked to support Operation Allied Force, the NATO bombing campaign of Serbia and Kosovo. The unit successfully deployed two aircraft and more than 80 personnel to Germany in less than three days and soon became the lead unit for all American tanker operations from the German air base.

Along with its federal mission, the Nebraska unit is tasked with supporting the state government as well. Since its organization in 1946, it has answered the governor's call on numerous occasions including Operation Snowbound in early 1949 and a special call in May 1975 when 435 Air Guard members were activated to assist in securing a tornado ravaged area in Omaha. In November 1997, Air Guard members were once again called to state active duty to assist in helping Lincoln and neighboring communities recover from an early snowstorm that cut power to nearly one million Nebraskans as a part of Operation Bush Hog

Assignments

Major Command

*Air National Guard/Air Mobility Command (1995-Present)
*Air National Guard/Air Combat Command (1992-1995)
*Air National Guard/Tactical Air Command (1964-1992)
*Air National Guard/Aerospace Defense Command (1960-1964)

Previous designations

*155th Air Refueling Wing (1995-Present)
*155th Reconnaissance Wing (1992-1995)
*155th Tactical Reconnaissance Group (1964-1992)
*155th Fighter Group (1960-1964)

quadrons assigned

*173rd Air Refueling Squadron (1995-Present)
*173rd Reconnaissance Squadron (1992-1995)
*173rd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (1964-1992)
*173rd Fighter Interceptor Squadron (1953-1964)
*173rd Fighter Squadron (1946-1955)

Bases stationed

*Lincoln Municipal Airport (1960-Present)

Aircraft operated

*KC-135R Stratotanker (1995-Present)
*RF-4C Phantom II (1972-1995)
*RF-84 Thunderflash (1964-1972)
*F-86L Sabre (1960-1964)

ee also

*Nebraska Air National Guard

References

External links

* [http://www.nelinc.ang.af.mil/Main.html 155th Air Refueling Wing - Nebraska Air National Guard]