| 125th Fighter Wing | |
|---|---|
 125th Fighter Wing F-35A Lightning II at Jacksonville Air National Guard Base | |
| Active | 1 July 1956–present |
| Country |  United States |
| Allegiance |  Florida |
| Branch |  Air National Guard |
| Type | Wing |
| Role | Air defense fighter |
| Size | 1100 |
| Part of | Florida Air National Guard |
| Garrison/HQ | Jacksonville Air National Guard Base, Florida |
| Tail code | Dark blue tail stripe "Florida" in white letters, lightning bolt |
| Commanders | |
| Commander | Col. Mansour G. Elhihi[1] |
| Deputy Commander | Col. David R. Siemion |
| Command Chief | CMSgt David J. Hogan |
| Notable commanders |
|
| Insignia | |
| 125th Fighter Wing emblem |  |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Fighter | F-15C Eagle,F-35A Lightning II |
| Helicopter | CV-22B Osprey |
| Reconnaissance | RC-26B Metroliner |
The125th Fighter Wing (125 FW) is a unit of theFlorida Air National Guard, stationed atJacksonville Air National Guard Base, Florida. If activated to federal service with theUnited States Air Force, the 125 FW is operationally gained by theAir Combat Command (ACC).
As anAir National Guard unit, the 125th Fighter Wing has a dual mission - one state and one federal. The state mission underTitle 32 of the United States Code (Title 32 USC) is to provide trained and equipped personnel to protect life and property and to preserve peace, order, and public safety under the governor of the State of Florida as part of both theFlorida Air National Guard and the broaderFlorida National Guard. The federal mission underTitle 10 USC is to provide fully trained and qualified personnel to the commander,United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) /North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) in time of war or national emergency for the defense of the North American continent, with operational responsibility for the 125 FW as aU.S. Air Force unit falling to theAir Combat Command (ACC). The 125 FW is also available to other combatant commanders for forward deployment outside the United States (OCONUS) in order to perform air superiority/air dominance missions in other theaters of operation and areas of responsibility.
In addition to its primary installation, theJacksonville Air National Guard Base atJacksonville International Airport, the 125 FW also maintains an alert detachment ofF-15 Eagle fighter aircraft at Detachment 1, 125 FW, Operating Location ALPHA ALPHA (OL-AA) atHomestead Air Reserve Base in South Florida. The overall wing organization comprises over 1100 citizen airmen in a combination of full-timeActive Guard and Reserve (AGR) andAir Reserve Technician (ART) personnel and traditional part-time Drill Status Air Guardsmen (DSG), also known as Traditional Guardsmen (TG).
On 1 July 1956, the Florida Air National Guard's159th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (159 FIS) was authorized to expand to a group level organization and the125th Fighter-Interceptor Group (125 FIG) was established by theNational Guard Bureau, the 159 FIS becoming the group's flying squadron. Other squadrons and squadron equivalents assigned to the group were the 125th Headquarters, 125th Material Squadron (Maintenance), 125th Combat Support Squadron, and the 125th USAF Dispensary.
With the establishment of the 125 FIG, the unit converted to the F-86D Sabre (also known as the "Dog" version of the Sabre) with the primary mission of continental air defense of the southeastern United States.
In 1958, the 125th became the first Air National Guard unit to earn the right to compete in theAir Defense Command's annual William Tell Weapons Meet, and was the first team ever to fire a perfect score in that competition.
In July 1960, the 125th converted from the F-86D to the all-weather, supersonicF-102A and F-102B Delta Dagger. In 1965, as an after effect of theCuban Missile Crisis and given increasedSoviet Air Force aircraft operations in Cuba, the 125 FIG established Operating Location Alpha Alpha (OL-AA) for 125 FIG, Detachment 1, at what was thenHomestead Air Force Base, Florida to provide air defense ready alert fighter aircraft in the southern portion of Florida. This same alert detachment continues operations today at the present dayHomestead Air Reserve Base with no less than two 125th F-15C aircraft, pilots, and support personnel periodically rotated from home station in Jacksonville.
In January 1968, Air Defense Command was renamed theAerospace Defense Command (ADC) and continued to be the 125 FIG's gaining command. Also in 1968, following completion of the newJacksonville International Airport, the 125 FIG relocated from their military cantonment area at Jacksonville's formerImeson Airport to a newly constructed military installation, the current Jacksonville Air National Guard Base, at the new airport. With the concurrent closure of Imeson Airport to all flight operations and its conversion to an industrial park, the 125 FIG vacated all of its former facilities at Imeson Airport and, via the General Services Administration, turned over same to the City of Jacksonville.
In July 1974, the 125 FIG commenced conversion to theF-106A and F-106B Delta Dart. Only one year after the F-106 conversion, the unit again earned the right to compete in that year's annual Air Force air-to-air weapons competition, William Tell '76, atTyndall AFB, Florida.
In March 1980, ADC was inactivated and the USAF air defense mission was transferred toTactical Air Command (TAC). TAC then became the gaining command for the 125 FIG.
In April 1987, the 125th converted to theF-16A and F-16B Fighting Falcon, a multi-role fighter. The 125th's aircraft were further modified as the F-16ADF, making the aircraft specifically designed for the air defense role with the removal of air-to-ground weapons capability. The 125th was the first ANG unit to assume NORAD Air Defense Alert with the F-16ADF, the first operational F-16ADF unit to employ theAIM-7 Sparrow III missile, and the first F-16ADF unit to sit alert with the AIM-7 missile.
With the disestablishment ofTactical Air Command (TAC) in 1992, the 125 FIG's gaining command changed again to the newly createdAir Combat Command (ACC). As part of this change, the unit's designation was changed to125th Fighter Group (125 FG). With creation of the USAF "objective wing" construct in the early 1990s, the bulk of all Air National Guard groups with operational flying missions were redesignated as wings. As a result, the 125 FG was subsequently redesignated as the125th Fighter Wing (125 FW), the designation it continues to hold today.
In June 1995, the 125 FW was converted to theF-15A andF-15B Eagle, a fighter aircraft which added significant air superiority capability to the Continental NORAD Region (CONR) Air Defense mission. During the late 1990s, the 125 FW was also fully integrated into the USAF Air and Space Expeditionary Force (AEF) to construct and routinely deployed aircraft and personnel to the363rd Air Expeditionary Wing (363 AEW) atPrince Sultan Air Base, Al Kharj, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in support ofOperation Southern Watch, enforcing the United Nations Security Council Resolutions that established a no-fly zone over southern Iraq followingOperation Desert Storm that was monitored by a combination of USAF,U.S. Navy,U.S. Marine Corps,Royal Air Force,French Air Force, andRoyal Saudi Air Force aircraft. Since 11 September 2001, the wing has also been extensively involved inOperation Noble Eagle, performing its historic continental air defense mission, as well as having periodically deployed aircraft and personnel to U.S. Central Command Air Forces (USCENTAF), later renamed U.S. Air Forces Central (USAFCENT), in Southwest Asia in support ofOperation Enduring Freedom andOperation Iraqi Freedom until their conclusion.
On a daily basis in the United States, the 125 FW is responsible for the maintenance of aUSNORTHCOM /NORAD Air Defense Alert mission at both its home station in Jacksonville ANGB and at an additional operating location at Homestead ARB, Florida. In this capacity, the wing provides armed F-15 aircraft capable of intercepting, identifying, and, if necessary, destroying unknown aircraft which penetrate sovereign U.S. airspace. In the past, this threat has included SovietTu-95 BEAR andTu-22 BLACKJACK bombers, various Soviet-built Cuban Air Force fighters, and civilian narcotics traffickers of various nationalities.
When it initially converted to the Air Defense Fighter (ADF) variant of the F-16A, the 125 FW was the first operational NORAD Air Defense Alert unit to employ theAIM-7 Sparrow III missile, the first F-16ADF unit to sit alert with the AIM-7, and the first unit to deploy to the formerHoward AFB, Panama in support ofJCS-directed operation Coronet Nighthawk using enhanced identification tactics. In October 1995, the 125 FW became the first unit ever to complete a transition from one fourth generation fighter to another fourth generation fighter as it transitioned from the F-16ADF to the F-15A/B. In April 1997, the 125 FW became the first Air Defense unit to employ as Blue Air in an Offensive Counter Air (OCA) role, integrated with an active duty unit during aRed Flag exercise atNellis AFB, Nevada.
The 125 FW was rated "Outstanding" during an Alert Force Evaluation by theNorth American Aerospace Defense Command Inspector General in November 1997. This was the highest rating ever given by NORAD. In January 1998, the 125th Fighter Wing received an "Outstanding" on its Operational Readiness Inspection (ORI). During this period, the wing also participated inOperation Southern Watch, routinely deploying toPrince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia for operational relief of Regular Air Force F-15C/D units. In 2000, the wing began transitioning to the F-15A/B Multistage Improvement Program (MSIP) variant of the F-15A and F-15B Eagle, and in 2006 transitioned again to the newerF-15C andF-15D models of the Eagle that it currently flies. In 2020, the 125 FW was awarded theAir Force Meritorious Unit Award byACC.
As the 125 FIG, the unit also operated and maintained a singleC-131 Samaritan as an Operational Support Airlift (OSA) aircraft until the late 1980s. As the 125 FIG, 125 FG and 125 FW, the unit subsequently operated a singleC-130E Hercules, followed by a singleWC-130H Hercules aircraft (the latter with weather reconnaissance equipment removed) for logistical support of the wing, geographically separated units (GSUs) of the Florida Air National Guard, and additional "as needed" airlift support to theFlorida Army National Guard. This capability is currently gapped in the Florida Air National Guard until another similar support aircraft can be assigned with fixed-wing aviation elements of the Florida Army National Guard currently providing principal OSA assets from an aviation support facility in St. Augustine. The 125 FW also operates a singleRC-26B Metroliner reconnaissance aircraft in support of state and federal law enforcement agencies under Title 32 USC authority.
In November 2014, in order to comply with Air Force Instruction 38-101, several geographically separated units (GSUs) of the Florida Air National Guard were administratively realigned under the 125th Fighter Wing. These included the 114th Space Control Squadron atPatrick Space Force Base, the 290th Joint Communications Support Squadron atMacDill AFB and the 202nd RED HORSE Squadron, 159th Weather Flight and 131st Training Flight atCamp Blanding. The 101st Air and Space Operations Group and HQ FLANG Detachment 1 atTyndall AFB were unaffected by these changes.[3]
The 249th Special Operations Squadron was activated at Hurlburt Field on 28 August 2020. The squadron is an Associate unit operating active duty CV-22B Osprey belonging to the1st Special Operations Wing and is operationally gained byAir Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC).[4] Upon its establishment, the 249 SOS was also administratively aligned under the 125 FW per AFI 38-101.
Medical and other support personnel of the 125 FW were heavily involved with theCOVID-19 pandemic response in the State ofFlorida.[5] Just months after their de-mobilization from theCOVID-19 support, the unit was deployed in support ofOperation Allies Refuge underOPCON ofAir Combat Command.
On 27 July 2021, theDepartment of the Air Force signed a Record of Decision announcing that the 125 FW will eventually receive twentyF–35A Lightning II aircraft to replace its extant F-15Cs and F-15Ds.[6] Historically, an air defense/air superiority unit focused on an air-to-air mission; this change will necessitate the 125 FW also becoming proficient in an air-to-ground mission and associated air-to-ground ordnance employment for the first time in over seventy years.
On 15 Jan 2023, an additional group level organization, the 125th Regional Support Group (125 RSG) was established within the 125 FW as a geographically separated unit (GSU) at the Camp Blanding Joint Training Center.[2] The 125 RSG will have oversight of all FLANG squadrons and flights at Camp Blanding, as well as the 290 JCSS at MacDill AFB. Other GSU elements of the 125 FW will continue to remain under the 125 OG pursuant to AFI 38-101.
The 125 FW continues to regularly participates in Red Flag events at theUSAF Warfare Center atNellis AFB, Nevada, and the exercise Sentry Savannah[7] and the William Tell air-to-air weapons meet at theGeorgia Air National Guard's Air Dominance Center atSavannah ANGB as part of its ongoing readiness program.
The first F-35A arrived on March 4, 2025.[8]
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NOTE 1: Aircraft indicated by * were Operational Support Aircraft (OSA) in support of fighter mission.[10] NOTE 2: Aircraft indicated by ** were Pilot Proficiency and Practice "bogey" aircraft in support of fighter mission.[10] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
Media related to125th Fighter Wing (Florida Air National Guard) at Wikimedia Commons
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