| Louisiana Air National Guard | |
|---|---|
 Shield of the Louisiana Air National Guard[1] | |
| Active | 2 March 1941 - present |
| Country |  United States |
| Allegiance |  Louisiana |
| Branch |  Air National Guard |
| Type | state militia,military reserve force |
| Role | "To meet state and federal mission responsibilities." |
| Part of | Louisiana National Guard United States National Guard Bureau |
| Garrison/HQ | Louisiana Air National Guard Headquarters, Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base (NAS-JRB), 2700 Bellechasse Street, New Orleans, Louisiana, 70119 |
| Nickname | Bayou Militia |
| Commanders | |
| Civilian leadership | PresidentDonald Trump (Commander-in-Chief) Frank Kendall III (Secretary of the Air Force) GovernorJeff Landry (Governor of the State of Louisiana) |
| State military leadership | Colonel Pat Griffin, Director of Staff, LA ANG |
| Insignia | |
| Headquarters Louisiana Air Guard emblem |  |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Fighter | F-15C/D Eagle |
TheLouisiana Air National Guard (LA ANG) (French:Garde Nationale Aérienne de Louisiane;Spanish:Guardia Nacional Aérea de Luisiana) is the aerial militia of theU.S. state ofLouisiana. It is a reserve of theUnited States Air Force and along with theLouisiana Army National Guard, an element of theLouisiana National Guard of the much largerUnited States National Guard Bureau.
As state militia units, the units in the Louisiana Air National Guard are not in the normalUnited States Air Forcechain of command. They are under the jurisdiction of theGovernor of Louisiana through the office of theLouisiana Adjutant General unless they are federalized by order of thePresident of the United States. The Louisiana Air National Guard is headquartered at theNaval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, and its commander is Colonel Pat Griffin.
Under the "Total Force" concept, Louisiana Air National Guard units are considered to be Air Reserve Components (ARC) of theUnited States Air Force (USAF). Louisiana ANG units are trained and equipped by the U.S. Air Force and are operationally gained by aMajor Command of the USAF if federalized. In addition, the Louisiana 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 militia units the elements of the Louisiana 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.
TheMilitia Act of 1903 established the present National Guard system, units raised by the states but paid for by the Federal Government, liable for immediate state service. Iffederalized by Presidential order, they fall under the regular military chain of command. On 1 June 1920, theMilitia Bureau issued Circular No.1 on organization of National Guard air units.[2]
The Louisiana Air National Guard origins date to 2 Mar 1941 with the establishment of the122d Observation Squadron and is the oldest unit of the Louisiana Air National Guard. It is one of the29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of theUnited States Army National Guard formed beforeWorld War II. On 1 October 1941, the 122d Observation Squadron was activated into federal service as part of the build-up of the Army Air Forces prior to the Attack on Pearl Harbor.
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 modern Louisiana ANG received federal recognition on 5 December 1946 as the122d Bombardment Squadron (Light) atNew Orleans Lakefront Airport. It was equipped with B-26 Invaders and was assigned to Tactical Air Command. 18 September 1947, however, is considered the Louisiana 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 1957, the B-26s were replaced with F-86L Sabre Interceptors and the mission was changed to the air defense of the state. In 1958, the 122d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was authorized to expand to a group level, and the 159th Fighter Interceptor Group was established by the National Guard Bureau on 1 April 1958.
Since its inception, the Louisiana ANG has participated in World War II, theKorean War, the Cold War, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Northern Watch, Operation Southern Watch, Kosovo, Operation Noble Eagle, Air Expeditionary Force Deployments, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and the Global War on Terrorism.[4]
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The Louisiana Air National Guard consists of the following major unit:
Support Unit Functions and Capabilities:
Louisiana has two countries in theState Partnership Program (SPP).Belize joined the SPP with Louisiana National Guard in 1996 andHaiti in 2011. Both of these nations fall under the area of operations ofSOUTHCOM.[citation needed]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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