Will Rogers Air National Guard Base

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Bell P-39 Airacobra at Will Rogers Field, 1944. P-39 (BOND 0595).jpg
Bell P-39 Airacobra at Will Rogers Field, 1944.

Will Rogers Air National Guard Base is a facility of the United States Air Force located at Will Rogers World Airport as part of the Oklahoma Air National Guard.

United States Air Force Air and space warfare branch of the United States Armed Forces

The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerial and space warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the five branches of the United States Armed Forces, and one of the seven American uniformed services. Initially formed as a part of the United States Army on 1 August 1907, the USAF was established as a separate branch of the U.S. Armed Forces on 18 September 1947 with the passing of the National Security Act of 1947. It is the youngest branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, and the fourth in order of precedence. The USAF is the largest and most technologically advanced air force in the world. The Air Force articulates its core missions as air and space superiority, global integrated intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, rapid global mobility, global strike, and command and control.

Will Rogers World Airport airport in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States

Will Rogers World Airport, a.k.a.Will Rogers Airport or simply Will Rogers, is an American passenger airport in Oklahoma City located about 6 miles (8 km) Southwest of downtown Oklahoma City. It is a civil-military airport on 8,081 acres of land. Although the official IATA and ICAO airport codes for Will Rogers World Airport are OKC and KOKC, it is common practice to refer to it as "WRWA" or "Will Rogers".

Oklahoma Air National Guard

The Oklahoma Air National Guard is the air force militia of the State of Oklahoma, United States of America. It is, along with the Oklahoma Army National Guard, an element of the Oklahoma National Guard.

Contents

History

World War II

During World War II Will Rogers Field was a major training facility for the United States Army Air Forces; many fighter and bomber units were activated and received initial training there.

United States Army Air Forces aerial warfare branch of the United States army from 1941 to 1947

The United States Army Air Forces, informally known as the Air Force, or United States Army Air Force, was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army during and immediately after World War II (1939/41–1945), successor to the previous United States Army Air Corps and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force of today, one of the five uniformed military services. The AAF was a component of the United States Army, which in 1942 was divided functionally by executive order into three autonomous forces: the Army Ground Forces, the Services of Supply, and the Army Air Forces. Each of these forces had a commanding general who reported directly to the Army Chief of Staff.

Known USAAF groups stationed at Will Rogers Field were:

46th Test Wing

The 46th Test Wing is an inactive wing of the United States Air Force last based at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The wing's 46th Test Group was a tenant unit at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico.

47th Flying Training Wing

The 47th Flying Training Wing is a United States Air Force pilot training wing based at Laughlin Air Force Base, near Del Rio, Texas. It is one of five pilot training units in the Air Force's Air Education and Training Command which conducts joint specialized undergraduate pilot training for the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard and allied nation air forces utilizing the T-38C, T-6A and T-1A aircraft.

48th Operations Group

The 48th Operations Group is the flying component of the 48th Fighter Wing, assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa. The group is stationed at RAF Lakenheath, England.

After completion of their initial training, these units were reassigned to other airfields for secondary training before deployment overseas.

Modern era

Until 2008, the Oklahoma Air National Guard's 137th Airlift Wing (137 AW) and its C-130 Hercules aircraft were located at the airport's Will Rogers Air National Guard Base. As part of the 2005 round of Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) recommendations, the majority of the maintenance unit (excluding the munitions flight) was relocated to nearby Tinker Air Force Base, where the wing transitioned to the KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft and became the 137th Air Refueling Wing (137 ARW), an "Associate" unit of the 507th Air Refueling Wing (507 ARW). [1] The unit then shared KC-135 aircraft with the Air Force Reserve Command's 507th Air Refueling Wing in a joint operations and maintenance program. On 30 Jun 2015, the 137 ARW / 507 ARW partnership at Tinker AFB officially ended. The 137th will transition to Air Force Special Operations Command and will redesignate as the 137th Special Operations Wing (137 SOW) operating the MC-12 Liberty for the Oklahoma Air National Guard, marking a return of ANG flight operations to Will Rogers. [2] [3] ←

Tinker Air Force Base US Air Force base in Oklahoma City, OK

Tinker Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force base, with tenant U.S. Navy and other Department of Defense missions, located in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, surrounded by Del City, Oklahoma City, and Midwest City.

507th Air Refueling Wing

The 507th Air Refueling Wing is a reserve component flying unit of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to Fourth Air Force of Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma with elements at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma. The 507th ARW executes air refueling, airlift, and training in support of Air Mobility Command and U.S. Strategic Command's national emergency war order requirements. The wing employs approximately 1,100 men and women made up of a mix of Traditional Reservists, full-time Air Reserve Technicians, AGRs and Air Force civilians. The wing also provides mission support for all other reserve units stationed at Tinker AFB.

Air Force Reserve Command Major command of the United States Air Force responsible for reserve forces

The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commissioned officers and enlisted airmen.

Will Rogers Air National Guard Base also continues to be the home of the unit's Expeditionary Support Group headquarters, operations and support, as well as the Oklahoma ANG's 146th Air Support Operations Squadron. [4] [5] The base has also seen joint association with the Oklahoma Army National Guard, which maintains a helicopter maintenance program at the location.

The Oklahoma Army National Guard is the Army National Guard component of the Oklahoma National Guard. The Commander in Chief of the Oklahoma National Guard is the Governor of Oklahoma, who appoints the State Adjutant General (TAG), a Major General from either Army or Air. Currently, the TAG is Major General (MG) Michael C. Thompson, formerly director of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety. The previous TAG was MG Robbie Asher.

See also

Related Research Articles

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134th Air Refueling Wing

The 134th Air Refueling Wing is a unit of the Tennessee Air National Guard, stationed at McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, Knoxville, Tennessee. If activated for federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command. The 134th Air Refueling Wing's KC-135 mission is to provide air refueling and airlift, as directed by the Secretary of Defense. It has been stationed at McGhee Tyson Airport since December 1957, though the ANG facility at the airport has been redesignated several times. Their radio callsign is "Soda"

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128th Air Refueling Wing

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137th Special Operations Wing

The 137th Special Operations Wing is a unit of the Oklahoma Air National Guard located at Will Rogers Air National Guard Base, Oklahoma. If activated to federal service, the wing is gained by Air Force Special Operations Command. During World War II, its predecessor, the 404th Fighter Group, flying Republic P-47 Thunderbolts, provided close air support to troops following the Operation Overlord, the Normandy landing until the close of the war. The wing is entitled to the honors won by the group by temporary bestowal.

157th Air Refueling Wing Unit of the New Hampshire Air National Guard

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190th Air Refueling Wing

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168th Air Refueling Squadron

The 168th Air Refueling Squadron is a unit of the Alaska Air National Guard 168th Air Refueling Wing located at Eielson Air Force Base, Fairbanks, Alaska. The 168th is equipped with the KC-135R Stratotanker.

185th Special Operations Squadron

The 185th Special Operations Squadron is a unit of the Oklahoma Air National Guard 137th Special Operations Wing located at Will Rogers Air National Guard Base, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The 185th is the only National Guard unit to be equipped with the MC-12W. While commonly known as "Liberty" the aircraft does not have an official nickname and AFMC's Project Liberty Office was closed upon transfer of the aircraft to the Project Javaman Office for support to US SOCOM. Liberty was named after the WWII Liberty Ship rapid shipbuilding project while Javaman was named after a declassified WWII Naval project involving remote control attack boats controlled by retrofitted bomber aircraft. The unit is known as the "SOONERS." Famous unit alumni include former VietNam POW Brig. Gen. James Robinson "Robbie" Risner and Astronaut Captain Fred Wallace Haise Jr., Apollo 13 Lunar Module Pilot.

117th Air Refueling Squadron

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137th Operations Group

The 137th Air Refueling Group is an associate unit of the Oklahoma Air National Guard stationed at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. If activated for federal service, the group is gained by Air Mobility Command. As of July 2015, the group is in the process of returning to Will Rogers Air National Guard Base and converting from the air refueling to the special operations mission.

107th Attack Wing

The 107th Attack Wing is a unit of the New York Air National Guard, stationed at Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, New York. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command.

References

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates  public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/ .

  1. ↑ "Air National Guard Units Listing." Retrieved on March 11, 2012.
  2. ↑ http://www.afrc.af.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/tabid/136/Article/610428/model-of-total-force-comes-to-a-close-at-tinker.aspx
  3. ↑ http://gazette.com/air-national-guard-unit-transitions-with-arrival-of-aircraft/article/feed/254497?custom_click=rss
  4. ↑ http://ebird.osd.mil/ebfiles/e20130522923067.html
  5. ↑ 137th Air Refueling Wing#Current status

Coordinates: 35°24′25″N97°36′40″W / 35.407°N 97.611°W / 35.407; -97.611

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