| South Carolina Air National Guard | |
|---|---|
 An F-16C Fighting Falcon Block 52 of the 157th Fighter Squadron flies next to a Lockheed C-130H-LM Hercules from the 169th Operations Support Flight, 169th Fighter Wing. The 157th is the oldest unit in the South Carolina Air National Guard, having over 50 years of service to the state and nation. | |
| Active | 9 December 1946 - present |
| Country |  United States |
| Allegiance |  South Carolina |
| Branch |  Air National Guard |
| Type | state militia,military reserve force |
| Role | "To meet state and federal mission responsibilities." |
| Part of | South Carolina National Guard United States National Guard Bureau |
| Garrison/HQ | South Carolina Air National Guard, 1 National Guard Road, Columbia, South Carolina, 29201 |
| Commanders | |
| Civilian leadership | PresidentDonald Trump (Commander-in-Chief) Gary A. Ashworth (Secretary of the Air Force) GovernorHenry McMaster (Governor of the State of South Carolina) |
| State military leadership | Major General Van McCarty |
| Insignia | |
| Emblem of the South Carolina Air National Guard |  |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Fighter | F-16C/D Fighting Falcon |
TheSouth Carolina Air National Guard (SC ANG) is the aerial militia of theState of South Carolina,United States of America. It is a reserve of theUnited States Air Force and along with theSouth Carolina Army National Guard an element of theSouth Carolina National Guard of the much largerUnited States National Guard Bureau.
As state military units, the units in the South Carolina Air National Guard are not in the normalUnited States Air Forcechain of command. They are under the jurisdiction of theGovernor of South Carolina though the office of theSouth Carolina Adjutant General unless they are federalized by order of thePresident of the United States. The South Carolina Air National Guard is headquartered in Columbia under the command of the Assistant Adjutant General for Air, Brigadier General Russell A. Rushe,[1] and ultimately reporting to the Army general officer serving as The Adjutant General of South Carolina, Major General Van McCarty.[2]
Under the "Total Force" concept, South Carolina Air National Guard units are considered to be part of theAir Reserve Component (ARC) of theUnited States Air Force (USAF). South Carolina ANG units are trained and equipped by the Air Force and are operationally gained by aMajor Command of the USAF if federalized. In addition, the South Carolina Air National Guard forces are assigned to Air Expeditionary Forces and are subject to deployment tasking orders along with their active duty and Air Force Reserve counterparts in their assigned cycle deployment window.
Along with their federal reserve obligations, as state military units the elements of the South Carolina ANG are subject to being activated by order of the Governor to provide protection of life and property, and preserve peace, order and public safety. State missions include disaster relief in times of earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and forest fires, search and rescue, protection of vital public services, and support to civil defense.
Air National Guard Element, JFHQ-SC
Support Unit Functions and Capabilities:
On 24 May 1946, theUnited States Army Air Forces, in response to dramatic postwar military budget cuts imposed by PresidentHarry S. Truman, allocated inactive unit designations to theNational Guard Bureau for the formation of an Air Force National Guard. These unit designations were allotted and transferred to various State National Guard bureaus to provide them unit designations to re-establish them as Air National Guard units.[3]
The South Carolina Air National Guard origins date to 9 December 1946 with the establishment of the157th Fighter Squadron and is oldest unit of the South Carolina Air National Guard. It was federally recognized and activated at Congaree Air Base, the present day McEntire JNGB, near Eastover and was equipped withP-51D Mustangs excess to ISAAF needs. Its mission was the air defense of the state. 18 September 1947, however, is considered the South Carolina Air National Guard's official birth, concurrent with the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate branch of the United States military under the National Security Act.[3]
In 1952, the 157th was re-equipped withF-51H Mustangs that had been used in the United States in a training role. The squadron then became part ofTactical Air Command (TAC) as a Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron. The 157th Fighter Squadron was federalized due to theKorean War on 10 October 1950. During its federalization period, the 157th was deployed toToul-Rosières Air Base, departing for Europe in January 1952. On 9 July 1952, the activated South Carolina Air National Guard was released from active duty and returned to state control.
On 5 September 1957, the 157th Fighter-Bomber Squadron was authorized to expand to a group level, and the169th Fighter-Interceptor Group was established by the National Guard Bureau. The 157th was re-designated as a Fighter-Interceptor Squadron and became the group's flying squadron. In late 1961, the SCANG was again called to active duty during the Berlin Crisis, and the 169th Tactical Fighter Group was stationed atMoron Air Base, Spain.
Today, the South Carolina Air National Guard is one of the most advanced and modern Air National Guard organizations in the nation. The 169 FW was the first wing in the Air National Guard to fly the F-16, with the 169 FW flying the F-16A and F-16B from 1983 to 1994. In 1994, the wing transitioned to the F-16C and F-16D/Block 52, the newest, most advanced F-16 in the Air Force inventory. Prior to operating the F-16, the 169 FW operated theA-7D Corsair II during the 1970s and early 1980s and theF-104 Starfighter in the 1960s.
In late 1990, units of the SCANG were activated and deployed to Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Shield/Storm, flying 2,000 combat missions and dropping 4 million pounds of munitions, while maintaining the highest aircraftmission capable rate in the theater. This was a significant achievement because munitions were not allowed to be deployed unless enemy targets were verified. In January 2002, aircraft and personnel of the 169th Fighter Wing were deployed to Southwest Asia in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, directly participating in combat operations. In late February 2002, the 240th Combat Communications Squadron deployed a 50-member team to Central Asia in support ofwar on terrorism. The 240th members returned in August after six months in theater. In September 2002, the 245 ATCS deployed to Afghanistan Asia in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, returning in January 2003. In February 2003, nearly 400 members of the 169 FW and all of its F-16s were mobilized and deployed to Southwest Asia as part of what becameOperation Iraqi Freedom. The 169th was attached to the379th Air Expeditionary Wing, stationed atAl Udeid Air Base in Qatar. The unit flew more than 400 combat missions, performing the Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) mission and flying numerous precision bombing missions over Iraq.
Prior to 11 Sep 2001, the 169 FW was also a regular participant in the rotational Air Expeditionary Forces (AEFs) which patrolled the Iraqi no-fly zones. The unit has deployed for: Operation Southern Watch (Qatar, 1996), Operation Northern Watch (Turkey, 2000),Operation Southern Watch (Saudi Arabia, 2001). The 169 FW was the first Air National Guard unit to deploy alongside active-duty Air Force units to comprise an AEF.[4]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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