The history of the 192d Fighter Wing stretches back to World War II. In May 1946, the Pentagon reactivated and redesignated the 328th Fighter Squadron, a heroic WWII unit. The 328th had been organized at Mitchell Field, New York, on Oct. 10, 1942, and saw action in the European theater. Battle honors included a Presidential Unit Citation and the French Croix de Guerre with Palm. Newly designated as the 149th Fighter Squadron, the unit was assigned to the Virginia Air National Guard (VaANG), which earned official recognition from the National Guard Bureau in June 1947. The 149th Fighter Squadron was entitled to the history, honors, and colors of the 328th.

The unit’s first aircraft was the F-47 Thunderbolt. The unit was called to active federal service on March 1, 1951. This activation temporarily resulted in the dissolution of the Virginia Air National Guard, as members were sent to various places, including for many, duty in the Korean War.

The Virginia Air National Guard was reorganized in November 1953 as a B-26 bomber outfit. In 1957, the unit was redesignated the 149th Fighter Interceptor Squadron and was scheduled to get F-86E Saberjets. However, later that year, the unit became the 149th Tactical Fighter Squadron, and F-84F Thunderstreaks began replacing the B-26.

At the height of the Cold War in 1961, the squadron was federalized as a result of tensions concerning the Berlin Wall. The squadron remained at Richmond in an active-duty status for about a year before being released. Twenty-two VaANG members were sent to Chaumont AFB, France, in December 1961 to support the 7180th Tactical Fighter Wing, a deployed unit of the 108th Tactical Fighter Wing. They spent eight months in Europe.

In October 1962, the unit was redesignated as the 192d Tactical Fighter Group, with the 149 TFS becoming the group’s flying squadron. Other squadrons in the group were the 192d Group Headquarters, 192d Materiel Squadron (Maintenance), 192d Combat Support Squadron, and the 192d USAF Dispensary.

During 1971, the 192d was assigned the F-105D Thunderchief, a battle-hardened supersonic fighter-bomber that was the backbone of America’s fighter element during the Vietnam War. The group’s special tasking during the next 10 years included several deployments to Red Flag live-fire exercises in Nevada and a deployment to RAF Lakenheath, England, in 1976.

In 1981, the unit began converting to the Vought A-7D Corsair II, a subsonic jet designed primarily for close-air support. The 10-year A-7 era included several deployments to Panama in support of the defense of the Panama Canal and two trips to Norway – in 1985 and 1989.

The year 1985 was a particularly busy one internationally for the 192d. Shortly after finishing a deployment to Ecuador, the 192d deployed in September to Evenes Air Station, Norway, 150 miles above the Arctic Circle. A few weeks later, a Virginia contingent competed in Gunsmoke ’85, the Air Force’s tactical fighter competition, and the 192d was named the world’s "Best A-7 Unit."

The 192d also earned the General Spruance Safety Award and was recognized as having had the best Operational Readiness Inspection in the Ninth Air Force during 1985. That string of accomplishments helped the 192d earn its first-ever USAF Outstanding Unit Award, which was presented in 1987.

The unit soared into a new era of aviation technology in 1991, when it became the first Air National Guard unit to receive the Air Force’s upgraded Fighting Falcon -- The F-16C/D. The unit was initially assigned 24 single-seat F-16C models and two F-16D models. By early 1994, defense cutbacks had reduced the unit’s assigned inventory to 18 F-16s, and eventually to 15. Conversion to the F-16 airframe required the 192d to build a $2 million "hush house," a special noise-suppression hangar in which the jets’ engines could be tested without bothering neighbors.

The 192d’s designation shortened during 1992 -- from 192d Tactical Fighter Group to 192d Fighter Group. This change reflected the retirement of the former Tactical Air Command and creation of the multi-role mission of the new Air Combat Command.

After the 192d FG became fully operational with the F-16, it was chosen as the lead unit in a four-state Air National Guard F-16 "rainbow" detachment deployed to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, to support Operation Provide Comfort II. During that operation between Dec. 1, 1993, and Jan. 15, 1994, ANG pilots patrolled the no-fly zone over northern Iraq to prevent Iraqi forces from inflicting damage on the villages of Kurdish minorities. This was the first time Air National Guard units had been called to active duty to serve in a peacekeeping role in the Mideast, following Iraq’s defeat in 1991. The unit returned to Incirlik in February 1996 for another round of patrols over Iraq.

During October 1995, the 192d’s designation was again slightly modified to reflect unit restructuring within the Air Force and Air National Guard. This time the unit designation was changed from 192d Fighter Group to 192d Fighter Wing.

In addition to its customary mission of training for war, the 192d performed as a test base for higher headquarters by taking on two new, diverse projects in 1995.

At the direction of the commander of Air Combat Command, in January the 192d became a test regional repair center for F-16 engines. The 18-month assignment called for the 192d propulsion section to strip and rebuild General Electric F110-GE-100 engines for its own F-16s as well as for F-16s assigned to Pope AFB, NC. With Pope designated to become a composite wing with several types of aircraft, ACC officials sought more efficient and economical ways of providing maintenance for its F-16 engines. By setting up a regional repair center at the 192d, the Air Force aimed to reduce the number of F-16 maintenance people needed in this region, consolidate their training, reduce duplication of resources and equipment, and lower maintenance costs per flying hour.

While that project was underway, the 192d was selected to evaluate and bring on line a new, portable reconnaissance pod designed for F-16s to take on the added mission of aerial reconnaissance.

The RF-4C, which had been the Air Force’s manned reconnaissance aircraft, was retired in October 1995. The Air Force initially decided to discontinue its manned reconnaissance program but reversed itself. To provide maximum flexibility, it decided to see whether reconnaissance pods could be added to fighter aircraft, giving operational units the additional function of reconnaissance. The 192d Fighter Wing was selected to test the capability of electro-optical "recce" pods. After becoming mission capable with the pods in April 1996, the fighter wing deployed to Aviano AB, Italy, in May 1996 for the first real-world contingency use of the new pods and computerized imaging equipment. For 45 days, the 192d FW flew "recce" missions over Bosnia, in support of international peacekeeping efforts there.

Due to the unit’s many unique and high profile accomplishments and high-caliber results during an Air Force Quality Assessment during 1996, the wing was awarded its second Air Force Outstanding Unit Award in December ‘96. The current calendar year, 1997, marks the 50th anniversary of the Virginia Air National Guard.

International affairs were never far off the 192d’s radarscope. From August 1998 through January 1999, a member of the wing’s staff judge advocate staff, acted as legal counsel for the international team overseeing Bosnia-Herzegovina’s democratic elections. He worked with the Combined Joint Civil Military Task Force, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the Provisional Election Commission investigating allegations of election fraud or abuse.

The 192d continued to upgrade its equipment and train in a variety of multinational combat exercises, ranging from Alaska in June 1999 and Hawaii in February-March 2000 to three Maple Flag exercises in Canada – 1997, 1998 and 1999.

Iraq remained a thorn in the side of U.S. policy makers as Saddam Hussein defied United Nations efforts to inspect suspected chemical and biological weapons plants. U.S. forces flew regular patrols over both the northern and southern no-fly zones, and the 192d Fighter Wing assisted.

In April-May 1999, a number of 192d munitions personnel deployed to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, with personnel from the Florida Air National Guard to fill critical munitions slots in maintaining the northern no-fly zone. At the same time, personnel from the 192d.

Communications Flight, Military Personnel Flight, Security Forces Squadron, Services Squadron and Civil Engineer Squadron deployed to Al Jaber Air Base, Kuwait, to support Air Force contingency activities to guard and protect the southern no-fly zone.

That type of activity resumed in December 2000, when 29 members of the 192d deployed to Southwest Asia and other locations in support of Operation Southern Watch. In addition to Turkey and Kuwait, they were deployed to Prince Sultan Air Base and Eskan Village, Saudi Arabia; Aviano Air Base, Italy; and Qatar.

Also in December 2000, the 192d deployed on its first Aerospace Expeditionary Force assignment. A 130-person detachment went to Curacao in the Netherlands Antilles as part of Operation Nighthawk, an effort to stop drug smuggling into the United States. Aside from strictly operational matters, the fighter wing also focused on community support, humanitarian assistance and military heritage.

On Sept. 21, 2000, the 192d hosted a reunion for the 352nd Fighter Group, the highly decorated World War II unit to which the 192d’s 149th Fighter Squadron traces its military lineage. More than 100 World War II veterans and nearly 300 of their family members were guests of the 192d.

And dozens of Virginia Air Guard members participated in the innovative Lunch Buddy program at Seven Pines and Jacob Adams elementary schools in Henrico County. The award-winning Seven Pines initiative, which involved volunteers from the Guard helping pupils with their reading at lunchtime, received statewide recognition in education circles.

As with many Air Guard units, the pace of activity for the 192d received a jolt on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners. Two were flown into the World Trade Center’s twin towers in New York City, a third smashed into the Pentagon, and the fourth – apparently headed for an assault on the nation’s capital – crashed in rural south-central Pennsylvania.

The United States’ responses to those attacks, Operations Noble Eagle and Enduring Freedom, dominated the 192d’s agenda in the following months. More than 400 unit members were called to active duty for time frames ranging up to two years, marking a period of prolonged intensity at the Air Guard base unmatched since the Berlin call-up of 1961-62.

Most stayed at home station, but many were deployed as needed to areas both within and outside the continental United States.

Security Forces personnel were among the greatest in demand: The entire 192d Security Forces Squadron was called to active duty for an anticipated two years, with many of its members deployed to other bases. Six firefighters were sent to the multinational air base in Afghanistan, from March to June 2002. They were among the first Air National Guard firefighters deployed to a combat zone since Vietnam. Eleven personnel from the 192d Services Flight were deployed for 90 days to Diego Garcia, a British base in the Indian Ocean.

The wing’s home station in Sandston took on the look of an active-duty Air Force base.

Beginning in mid-September, combat air patrols were flown day and night for 218 consecutive days until mid-April 2002 for a total of 820 operational sorties and 3,515.5 flying hours.

To support 24-hour-a-day operations, the unit installed three alert trailers for F-16 crews, and set up on-base laundry facilities, a mini-BX, and a small gymnasium.

Just as the demands of Noble Eagle subsided, the 192d deployed 90 personnel in June 2002 to Aalborg, Denmark, for a multinational flying exercise. That month, 39 civil engineers deployed to England, and 12 more in August, to work with British Royal Engineers on methods to provide air base support at forward deployed locations.

Despite the heavy demands of Noble Eagle and Enduring Freedom, the fighter wing found time for its humanitarian responsibilities. In July 2002, the 192d Medical Squadron spent two weeks in the Central American country of El Salvador providing medical and dental care to about 6,000 Salvadorans.

But U.S. efforts to oust Saddam Hussein as Iraqi dictator kept the United States on a war footing in 2003. A coalition of U.S. and British forces invaded Iraq in March, and although President George W. Bush declared military victory on May 1, it was apparent that U.S. forces would maintain a presence in Iraq for some time. In September-October 2003, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the 192d Fighter Wing deployed more than 300 personnel to an undisclosed base in Southwest Asia.

Source: 192nd Fighter Wing