Connecticut Air National Guard

Connecticut Air National Guard
Active	1946 – present
Country	United States
Branch	Air National Guard
Role	"To meet state and federal mission responsibilities."
Garrison/HQ	Bradley ANGB, East Granby, Connecticut
Nickname	"Flying Yankees” and “Yankee Watch”
Commanders
Civilian leadership	President Barack Obama (Commander-in-Chief) Michael B. Donley (Secretary of the Air Force) Governor Dan Malloy (Governor of the State of Connecticut)
State military leadership	Major General Thaddeus J. Martin (TAG) Brigadier General Daniel L Peabody (AAG)
Insignia
USAF Roundel
Aircraft flown
Transport	Learjet C-21A

The Connecticut Air National Guard is the air force militia of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is, along with the Connecticut Army National Guard, an element of the Connecticut National Guard. It is considered a part of the United States Air Force, as well as of the state. The Connecticut Air National Guard consists of approximately 1,200 airmen and officers assigned to one flying wing and one air control squadron.

Units

103rd Airlift Wing

Known as the "Flying Yankees", the 103rd Airlift Wing is the third-oldest Air National Guard unit in the United States with a history dating back to World War I.^[1] Until 2008, the organization was known as the 103rd Fighter Wing (103 FW), operationally-gained by the Air Combat Command (ACC) and equipped with A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft. As a result of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) actions, the wing's A-10 fighter aircraft were reassigned to other units and the 103rd reequipped with C-21 Learjet aircraft as a "placeholder" flying mission under the Air National Guard's VANGUARD^[2] program until the 103rd's next flying mission could be determined. Following this change in mission, the unit was redesignated the 103rd Airlift Wing and placed under the operational claimancy of Air Mobility Command (AMC). The 103d Airlift Wing is based in East Granby at the Bradley Air National Guard Base at Bradley International Airport.

103rd Air Control Squadron

The 103rd Air Control Squadron is based in Orange^[3] and is known as "Yankee Watch". The mission of the 103rd Air Control Squadron is real-time detection, identification and surveillance of air traffic for combat operations and homeland defense. The 103rd ACS is the oldest unit of its kind in the United States military.^[3]

Notable personnel

• Jack Swigert, Apollo 13 astronaut (April 1960 to October 1965)^[4]

Aircraft

Aircraft assigned to the unit throughout its operations include:^[5][6]

• Curtiss JN-4
• P-39 Airacobra
• A-20 Havoc
• B-25 Mitchell
• P-51 Mustang
• F-84 Thunderjet
• F-86 Sabre
• F-94 Starfire
• F-102 Delta Dagger (1956 - 1971)
• F-100 Super Sabre (1971 - 1979)
• A-10 Thunderbolt (1979 - 2008)
• C-21A (2006 to present)

• 

  A 118th TFS F-100D, 1976.

• 

  A "Flying Yankee" A-10A, 1994.

• 

  C-21A (right) and C-27J at Bradley ANGB, 2010.

External links

• Adjutant General, Connecticut National Guard
• Connecticut National Guard
• 103rd Airlift Wing official website
• 103rd Airlift Wing at GlobalSecurity.org
• Bradley Air National Guard Base at GlobalSecurity.org

Further reading

• Flying Yankees, a history of the first fifty years of the Connecticut Air National Guard. Compiled by Colonel Carl D. Jenson [and] CMSGT. Edward W. Burton. c1973.
• “The Flying Yankee Squadron” by Richard W. Owen. In Connecticut circle v.2:no.9 1939:Nov. p. 3-5. About the 118th Observation Squadron.

References

United States Air Force portal

1. ^ Governor M. Jodi Rell (CT) (10 August 2005). Governor Rell Visits National Guard Fighter Wing Targeted Under BRAC Process Press Release.
2. ^ http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA454806
3. ^ ^{a b} "Our Mission". Connecticut Air National Guard. U.S. Air Force. http://www.ctbrad.ang.af.mil/ourmission.html. Retrieved 2007-07-17. 
4. ^ "Biographical Data - John L. Swigert, Jr.". Johnson Space Center - Astronaut Biographies. NASA. January 1983. http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/swigert-jl.html. Retrieved 2007-07-19. 
5. ^ Pike, John (2005-08-21). "Copyright". GlobalSecurity.org. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/usaf/103fw.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-16. 
6. ^ Pike, John (2005-04-28). "Copyright". GlobalSecurity.org. http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/systems/airdef-aircraft.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-20.