Florida Air National Guard

Florida Air National Guard
159th Fighter Squadron F-15 Eagle, Jacksonville AGB. The 159th is the oldest unit in the Florida Air National Guard, having over 60 years of service to the state and nation
Active	9 Feburary 1947 - present
Country	United States
Allegiance	Florida
Branch	Air National Guard
Role	"To meet state and federal mission responsibilities."
Part of	Florida Department of Military Affairs United States National Guard Bureau
Garrison/HQ	Florida Air National Guard, St. Francis Barracks, 82 Marine Street Street, St. Augustine, Florida 32088
Motto(s)	"Guarding America, Defending Freedom"
Commanders
Civilian leadership	President Barack Obama (Commander-in-Chief) Michael B. Donley (Secretary of the Air Force) Rick Scott (Governor of Florida)
State military leadership	Major General Emmett R. Titshaw, Jr.
Insignia
Emblem of the Florida Air National Guard
Aircraft flown
Fighter	F-22A Raptor, F-15C/D Eagle
Transport	C-130H Hercules, C-26 Metroliner

The Florida Air National Guard (FL ANG) is the air force militia of the State of Florida, United States of America. It is, along with the Florida Army National Guard, an element of the Florida National Guard.

As state militia units, the units in the Florida Air National Guard are not in the normal United States Air Force chain of command. They are under the jurisdiction of the Florida Department of Military Affairs unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States. The Florida Air National Guard is headquartered at St. Francis Barracks in St. Augustine, and its commander is Major General Emmett R. Titshaw, Jr.

Overview

Under the "Total Force" concept, Florida Air National Guard units are considered to be reserve components of the United States Air Force (USAF). Florida ANG units are trained and equipped by the Air Force and are operationally gained by a Major Command of the USAF if federalized. In addition, the Florida 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 Florida 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.

Units

Headquarters for the Florida Air National Guard is colocated with the Headquarters for the Florida Army National Guard and Headquarters, Florida National Guard, at the State Arsenal at St. Francis Barracks in St. Augustine, Florida.

125th Fighter Wing

A 125th FW F-15 Eagle.

The largest unit of the Florida Air National Guard is the 125th Fighter Wing (125 FW) and its operational flying unit, the 159th Fighter Squadron. Operationally gained by the Air Combat Command (ACC) and assigned to 1st Air Force (1 AF), the 125 FW primarily operates the C and D models of the F-15 Eagle in a continental air defense role at home and in an air dominance role when forward deployed overseas. The 125 FW also operates a single C-130H Hercules for operational support airlift (OSA) and a single RC-26B Metroliner in support of DoD counternarcotics detection and reconnaissance operations in coordination with Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF-S).

The 125 FW is based at Jacksonville Air National Guard Base at Jacksonville International Airport with an additional alert operating location for the wing's Detachment 1 at Homestead Air Reserve Base south of Miami.

114th Range Operations Squadron

The Florida ANG's 114th Range Operations Squadron (114 ROPS) directly supports the 45th Space Wing (45 SW) of the Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) at both Patrick AFB and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The 114 ROPS provides certified Range Operations Crewmembers and Missile Flight Control Officers to the 45 SW in support of Department of Defense, NASA, and commercial space launch operations on the Eastern Range. The squadron also operates and maintains the Ballistic Missile Range Safety Technology (BMRST) equipment, tracking US space launches and vehicles from both Federal and non-Federal facilities and ranges.

159th Weather Flight

The 159th Weather Flight at Camp Blanding trains professional teams to provide meteorological services to varying national, state and local missions.

The Weather Readiness Training Center at Camp Blanding Joint Training Center, Starke, Florida, provides training, support and expertise to Air National Guard weather personnel. The training is provided in partnership with USAF 2nd Combat Weather Systems Squadron, Operating Location - Alpha (2 CWSS/OL-A).

202nd RED HORSE Squadron

At Camp Blanding, south of Jacksonville and Orange Park, is the Florida ANG's 202nd RED HORSE Squadron, a civil engineering unit.

The Florida ANG also includes the 557th Expeditionary Red Horse Squadron (ERHG).

290th Joint Communications Support Squadron

The Florida ANG's 290th Joint Communications Support (290 JCSS) at MacDill AFB, Florida supports Air Mobility Command (ACC) as well as the U.S. Transportation Command's (USTRANSCOM) Joint Communications Support Element (JCSE). The squadron is capable of airborne insertion of equipment and personnel via air drop from the C-130, C-17, C-5, C-23, CV-22, or rotary-wing aircraft such as the UH-60, HH-60 and CH-53. Approximately 33% of the 290 JCSS personnel are airborne qualified and are on active parachute jump status.

601st Air Operations Center

At Tyndall AFB, Florida, the Florida Air National Guard's 601st Air Operations Center (601 AOC) operates the AN/USQ-163 Falconer Air Operations Center weapons system for the 1st Air Force (1 AF) of the Air Combat Command (ACC). Additional tasking includes collocated operation of the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC) for the continental United States (CONUS), Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the function of which is embedded in the 601 AOC.

325th Fighter Wing Air National Guard Associate Unit

Also at Tyndall AFB, Air National Guard pilots are assigned as augmentee instructor pilots to the active duty Air Force's 325th Fighter Wing (325 FW) of the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The 325 FW is the Formal Training Unit (FTU) for the F-22 Raptor.

Aircraft

Active aircraft

Aircraft	Origin	Type
C-130H Hercules	United States	tactical transport
C-26 Metroliner	United States	tactical transport
F-15C/D Eagle	United States	air superiority fighter

Previous aircraft

• 
  F-51Ds at Jacksonville, 1947.
• 
  159th FS F-80Bs, 1949.
• 
  159th FS F-84Es during the Korean War.
• 
  F-86D pilots scrambling in the late 1950s.
• 
  F-102As in the 1960s.
• 
  Colourful bicentennial F-106A.
• 
  An F-106 intercepting a Soviet Tupolev Tu-95.
• 
  A 125th FIG F-16A, 1987.

External links

• Florida Air National Guard (also 125th Fighter Wing)
• Florida National Guard
• State of Florida Department of Military Affairs
• History of the Florida Air National Guard