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159th Fighter Wing | |
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 159th Fighter WingF-15C Eagles fly over southern Louisiana wetlands | |
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| Country |  United States |
| Allegiance |  Louisiana |
| Branch |  Air National Guard |
| Type | Wing |
| Role | Air defense |
| Part of | Louisiana Air National Guard |
| Garrison/HQ | Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Nickname | Bayou Militia |
| Decorations | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
| Insignia | |
| 159th Fighter Wing emblem |  |
| Tail stripe | Purple/Yellow/Green tail stripe "Louisiana" |
| Tail code | LABayou Militia |
The159th Fighter Wing is a unit of theLouisiana Air National Guard, stationed atNaval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, Louisiana. If activated to federal service, it is gained by theUnited States Air ForceAir Combat Command.
The 159th Fighter Wing, nicknamed "The Bayou Militia,"[a][1][2][3]is anAir National Guard F-15C Eagle fighter unit located atNaval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, Louisiana. The 159th Fighter Wing is tasked with providing air superiority over Louisiana and the Gulf Coast while supportingUSNORTHCOM andNORAD.[4]
The wing uses warning area airspace over the Gulf of Mexico for most of their training. Supersonic flight, necessary for realistic training, is conducted away from the shoreline in a manner that does not disturb the public. Some forms of chaff, however, do interfere electronically with the HoustonFAAARTCC.[citation needed]
The 159th Fighter Wing consists of the following units:
The 122d Fighter Squadron, assigned to the Wing's 159th Operations Group, is a descendant organization of the122d Observation Squadron, established on 30 July 1940. It is one of the29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of theUnited States Army National Guard formed beforeWorld War II.
In 1958, the 122d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was authorized to expand to a group level, and the159th Fighter Interceptor Group was established by theNational Guard Bureau on 1 April 1958, 122d becoming the group's flying squadron. Other support squadrons assigned to the group were the 159th Headquarters, 159th Material Squadron (Maintenance and Supply), 159th Air Base Squadron, and the 159th USAF Dispensary. The 122d was equipped with theNorth American F-86L Sabre.
With the F-86L, the squadron stood a runway alert program on full 24-hour basis – with armed jet fighters ready to "scramble" at a moment's notice. This event brought the 159th into the daily combat operational program of the USAF, placing it on "the end of the runway" alongside regular USAF-Air Defense Fighter Squadrons.
In July 1960, the 159th converted to theConvair F-102 Delta Dagger. In 1962, the 122d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was assigned to theGulfport Combat Readiness Training Center, Mississippi, for six weeks of intensive flying training. Involved were 150 officers and airmen, including support elements from the 159th Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, 159th Material Squadron and 159th Air Base Squadron.
In December 1970 the 159th was transferred fromAerospace Defense Command toTactical Air Command. ADC was phasing out its crewed interceptor force, as the chances of a Soviet bomber attack seemed remote. The unit was re-designated the159th Tactical Fighter Group, and the 122d Tactical Fighter Squadron was re-equipped withNorth American F-100 Super Sabres. In 1970, the F-100 was still considered a first-line aircraft, and most of the F-100s in the inventory were serving in South Vietnam flying combat missions. The Super Sabres received by the 122d came from theUSAFE20th Tactical Fighter Wing which was transitioning to theGeneral Dynamics F-111F. With the conversion to the F-100, the ADC 24-hour alert status ended and retraining in tactical fighter missions began.
The 159th flew the F-100s for almost a decade, retiring the aircraft beginning in April 1979 when the 122d began receivingF-4C Phantom II aircraft from active-duty units. In 1979 Aerospace Defense Command was inactivated, with Tactical Air Command taking over the Continental US Air Defense Mission. The 159th was assigned toAir Defense, Tactical Air Command (ADTAC), a named unit at theNumbered Air Force level under TAC. Under ADTAC, the 122d began to fly Air Defense missions again with the F-4C, although the squadron was dual-hatted and continued to fly Tactical Fighter training missions with the Phantom.
The Phantoms were ending their service life in the mid-1980s, and in 1986, the F-4Cs were replaced by F-15A/B Eagles. As the F-15s had no tactical bombing capability at the time, the 122d continued the Air Defense mission under TAC.
In March 1992 the group became the159th Fighter Group when the unit adopted the USAF Objective Organization, and the 122d Fighter Squadron was assigned to the new 159th Operations Group. Later in June, Tactical Air Command stood down and was replaced byAir Combat Command (ACC). No change in mission was made and the 159th continued in the air defense role.
In the early 1990s, squadron aircraft and personnel were deployed toAviano Air Base, Italy, flying combat missions over the former Yugoslavia during theKosovo War as part ofOperation Allied Force. On 11 October 1995, in accordance with the "one base-one wing" policy, the 159th Fighter Group was changed in status and was re-designated as the 159th Fighter Wing.
In mid-1996, the Air Force, in response to budget cuts, and changing world situations, began experimenting with Air Expeditionary organizations. The Air Expeditionary Force (AEF) concept was developed that would mix Active-Duty, Reserve and Air National Guard elements into a combined force. Instead of entire permanent units deploying as "Provisional" as in the 1991 Gulf War, Expeditionary units are composed of "aviation packages" from several wings, including active-duty Air Force, the Air Force Reserve Command and the Air National Guard, would be married together to carry out the assigned deployment rotation.
In the late 1990s, the 122d Expeditionary Fighter Squadron was activated on several occasions, sending packages of personnel and aircraftIncirlik Air Base, Turkey, to fly Combat Air Patrol missions over Iraq as part ofOperation Northern Watch. Also the 122d EFS was activated with a deployment toPrince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, flying CAP missions over Southern Iraq as part ofOperation Southern Watch. On 25 June 1999, members of the 159th Fighter Wing, New Orleans ANG, while on deployment toNAS Keflavik, Iceland, flying F-15A aircraft, intercepted two Russian TU-95 "Bear-H" aircraft.
In response to the 9/11 attacks in 2001, the 122d Fighter Squadron engaged in Combat Air Patrols over major United States Cities as part ofOperation Noble Eagle. Patrols continued into 2002 before being scaled down.
159th Fighter Wing was awarded the "Outstanding Air National Guard Unit" in 2003. This award is given annually to the Air National Guard unit which meets or exceeds the criteria from the National Guard Bureau.[5]
In 2006, the F-15A models were retired and the 122d was upgraded to the more capable F-15C Eagle. As part of the globalwar on terrorism, the 122d EFS has been deployed to supportOperation Iraqi Freedom;Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan,Operation New Horizons in Central and South America andOperation New Dawn in Afghanistan.[citation needed]
The most recent deployment of the 122d Expeditionary Fighter Squadron was completed in October 2012 when the squadron deployed to atAl Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, and as part of the380th Expeditionary Operations Group, the 122d EFS flew missions in support of the Joint Air Defense of thePersian Gulf and Operation Enduring Freedom. The mission included providing air superiority in support of national military objectives and flying Fighter Integration Sorties withF-22 Raptors andF-15E Strike Eagles.
In its 2005 BRAC Recommendations, the Department of Defense recommended to realign the142d Fighter Wing (ANG) at Portland IAP AGS, Oregon, by distributing the wing's F-15 aircraft to the 159th Fighter Wing (ANG), New Orleans ARS, Louisiana (nine aircraft) and another installation. New Orleans had above average military value for reserve component bases, and realigning aircraft from Portland would create another optimum-sized fighter squadron at New Orleans. By relocating the geographically separated Air National Guard squadron onto New Orleans, the Air Force would best utilize available facilities on the installation while reducing the cost to the government to lease facilities in the community. However, the Pentagon's recommendation was rejected by the BRAC Commission and the 142d Fighter Wing ended up gaining three more aircraft in the process.[6]
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This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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