Maine Air National Guard

Maine Air National Guard
132d Air Refueling Squadron - Boeing KC-135R 3547 at Pease AGB. The 132d is the oldest unit in the Maine Air National Guard, having over 70 years of service to the state and nation
Active	4 February 1947 - present
Country	United States
Allegiance	Maine
Branch	Air National Guard
Role	"To meet state and federal mission responsibilities."
Part of	Maine Department of Defense, Veterans, and Emergency Management United States National Guard Bureau
Garrison/HQ	Maine Air National Guard, Bangor Air National Gurd Base, 103 Maineiac Avenue #505, Bangor, Maine, 04401
Commanders
Civilian leadership	President Barack Obama (Commander-in-Chief) Michael B. Donley (Secretary of the Air Force) Governor Paul LePage (Governor of the State of Maine)
State military leadership	Major General John W. Libby
Insignia
Logo of the Maine Air National Guard
Aircraft flown
Tanker	KC-135R Stratotanker

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

As state militia units, the units in the Maine Air National Guard are not in the normal United States Air Force chain of command. They are under the jurisdiction of the Maine Department of Defense, Veterans, and Emergency Managemen unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States. The Maine Air National Guard is headquartered at Bangor Air National Guard Base, Bangor, and its commander is Major General John W. Libby.

Overview

Under the "Total Force" concept, Maine Air National Guard units are considered to be Air Reserve Components (ARC) of the United States Air Force (USAF). Maine 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 Maine 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 Maine 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.

Components

The Maine Air National Guard consists of the following major unit:

• 101st Air Refueling Wing

Established 4 February 1947 (as: 132d Fighter Squadron); operates: KC-135R Stratotanker

Stationed at: Bangor Air National Guard Base

Gained by: Air Mobility Command

Support Unit Functions and Capabilities:

• 243d Engineering and Installation Squadron
• 265th Combat Communications Squadron

The 265th CBCS provides mobile/transportable communications packages complete with all personnel and support equipment in support of Air Force flying operations on a world-wide basis. The 265th responds to contingency requirements with individual packages, combinations of packages or communicaitons systems.

Both of these units are stationed in South Portland, Maine

History

The first Air National Guard Unit to be organized in Maine was the Headquarters, 101st Fighter Group, which was a component of the 67th Fighter Wing with headquarters at Logan Airport, Boston, Massachusetts (USA). The 101st FG was federally recognized on 4 February 1947 with station at Camp Keyes, Augusta, Maine. Additional units of the 101FG were organized and federally recognized on 5 February 1947 and stationed at Dow Air Force Base, Bangor, Maine. These units were:

• 132nd Fighter Squadron
• 132nd Weather Station
• 201st Air Service Group
• 201st Air Service Group, Det. A

In December 1948 the command was transferred to the Continental Air Command. Two years later the 101st FG was reorganized into a Wing-Base in order to standardize the Guard units with their active duty counterparts. This provided for additional supporting medical, service, transportation and base operating elements.

The 101st FG was then called to active service in February 1950 for a period of 21 months to serve in the Korean War. In March 1952 the Maine ANG created its own headquarters to facilitate returning ANG units. The Maine State Headquarters, Camp Keyes, Augusta was organized and federally recognized on 19 March 1952.

Maine ANG KC-135Es in Pisa, Italy, in 1996.

On 15 April 1956 the 101st FG was put on duty in New Hampshire until December 1960, when it was reassigned and reactivated in the State of Maine. The first nurses were assigned to the Maine Air National Guard in June 1956. Four years later the responsibility for training and inspection of the ANG was transferred from the Continental Air Command to the Air Defense Command. When the USAF Air Defense Command reorganized its Continental Air Defense forces to a numbered Air Force/Air Division Organization in April 1966, the 101st Air Defense Wing was assigned to the 36th Air Division located at Topsham Air Force Station, Maine and to Headquarters, First Air Force located at Stewart Air Force Base, New York. In September 1967 the number of aircraft was reduced from 25 to 18.

In April 1976, the first KC-135A Stratotankers were assigned to the unit and the gaining command was changed from Air Defense Command to Strategic Air Command.

In August 1990 selected Maine ANG units were mobilized in support of the Operation Desert Storm. Two years later the gaining command changed from SAC to the Air Mobility Command. The 101st ARW was then intregrated into the Northeast Tanker Task Force (NTTF) in September 1994.

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Gross, Charles J (1996), The Air National Guard and the American Military Tradition, United States Dept. of Defense, ISBN: 0160483026
• Maine Army National Guard website

External links

• 101st Air Refueling Wing