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The 117th Operations Group is a unit of the
Alabama Air National Guard The Alabama Air National Guard (AL ANG) is the aerial militia of the Alabama, State of Alabama, United States, United States of America. It is, along with the Alabama Army National Guard, an element of the Alabama National Guard. As state milit ...
, stationed at Sumpter Smith Air National Guard Base, Alabama. If activated into federal service, it is gained by
Air Mobility Command The Air Mobility Command (AMC) is a List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, U.S. Air Force. It is headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, east of St. Louis, Missouri, ...
.


Overview

The
group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...
flies the Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker. Its mission is to train and equip combat ready aircrews and support personnel to perform worldwide
air refueling Aerial refueling (American English, en-us), or aerial refuelling (British English, en-gb), also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from ...
and
airlift An airlift is the organized delivery of Materiel, supplies or personnel primarily via military transport aircraft. Airlifting consists of two distinct types: strategic and tactical. Typically, strategic airlifting involves moving material lo ...
. Combat ready intelligence technical support is also available for worldwide assignment. The group supports state and local contingencies when directed by the
Governor of Alabama A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...
.


Units

The 117th Operations Group consists of the following units: * 106th Air Refueling Squadron * 99th Air Refueling Squadron (attached) The 99th Air Refueling Squadron is an active duty associate unit that supports and flies the group's aircraft. * 117th Operations Support Flight


History


Background

In May 1946, the
Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
redesignated 27 of its combat groups and allotted them to the
National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...
. One of these groups was the 354th Fighter Group, which became the 117th Fighter Group. However, in 1956, the Air Force decided to return the 354th Group to the active force. To accomplish this, the 1946 redesignation and allotment was rescinded on 26 September 1956, effective 24 March 1946. The same order constituted the 117th Fighter Group effective on 24 March 1946, severing any relation between the two units.


Initial activation

The 117th Fighter Group was extended federal recognition by the
National Guard Bureau The National Guard Bureau (NGB) is the federal agency responsible for the administration of the National Guard established by the United States Congress as a joint bureau of the Department of the Army and the Department of the Air Force. It was c ...
on 1 October 1947 at Birmingham Municipal Airport, Alabama. As they were organized and received federal recognition, the 153d Fighter Squadron of the
Mississippi National Guard The Mississippi National Guard (MSNG), commonly known as the Mississippi Guard, is both a Mississippi state and a federal government organization, part of the United States National Guard. It is part of the Mississippi Military Department, a state ...
, the 157th Fighter Squadron of the South Carolina National Guard and the 160th Fighter Squadron of the
Alabama National Guard The Alabama National Guard is the National Guard of the U.S State of Alabama, and consists of the Alabama Army National Guard and the Alabama Air National Guard. (The Alabama State Defense Force is the third military unit of the Alabama Mil ...
were assigned. Training was initially supervised by
Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for air defense of the continental United States. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air De ...
, but on 1 July 1948,
Continental Air Command Continental Air Command (ConAC) (1948–1968) was a Major Command of the United States Air Force (USAF) responsible primarily for administering the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve. During the Korean War, ConAC provided the necessary aug ...
assumed responsibility for training Guard and Reserve units.


Korean War activation

The 117th was one of the first Guard units to be ordered to active service for the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
, entering active service on 22 October 1950. Of the group's squadrons, only the 157th and 160th remained assigned to the group when activated. The group moved to
Lawson Air Force Base Lawson may refer to: Places Australia * Lawson, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Lawson, New South Wales, a town in the Blue Mountains Canada * Lawson, Saskatchewan * Lawson Island, Nunavut United States * Lawson, Arkansas * ...
, Georgia, where it was converted to a
reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...
unit, becoming the 117th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, adding another federalized squadron, the 112th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron. At Lawson, the group trained for overseas deployment. The group's organization differed from that of regular Air Force units, which had operated under the Wing Base Organization system since 1948. On 30 November 1950, the Air Force activated the 117th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing and support units and the group was assigned to the new
wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...
. At Lawson, the 157th and 160th squadrons converted to Lockheed RF-80 Shooting Star daylight photo-reconnaissance jet aircraft, while the 112th, which had been a light bomber unit, retained its Douglas RB-26C Invaders, becoming a night reconnaissance unit. The original plan was to deploy the 117th to France and reinforce the
United States Air Forces in Europe United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
at a new base, Toul-Rosières Air Base. However Toul Air Base was still under construction, and delays forced the 117th to temporarily move to
Neubiberg Air Base Neubiberg Air Base is a former German Air Force and United States Air Force airfield which was closed in 1991. It is located 9 km south of the city of Munich, Germany. Today the former base area holds the campus of Bundeswehr University of ...
, Germany, along with its 160th Squadron, while the 112th was transferred to Wiesbaden Air Base and the 157th was located at
Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base ( German: "Fliegerhorst Fürstenfeldbruck" or "Flugplatz Fürstenfeldbruck") is a former German Air Force airfield near the town of Fürstenfeldbruck in Bavaria, near Munich, Germany. Fürstenfeldbruck became famous fir ...
. Headquarters and support organizations were located at Toul. The group and 112th Squadron finally moved to Toul, but the two F-80 squadrons remained in Germany while federalized. On 10 July 1952 the 117th was released from active duty and inactivated. The 10th Tactical Reconnaissance Group was activated in its place and the mission, personnel and equipment of the 117th were transferred to the 10th.


Return to Alabama Air National Guard and inactivation

The group was again activated at Birmingham Airport, remaining the 117th Tactical Reconnaissance Group in state service. Two of its squadrons, the 106th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, located with the group at Birmingham and the 160th at Dannelly Field, were
Alabama Air National Guard The Alabama Air National Guard (AL ANG) is the aerial militia of the Alabama, State of Alabama, United States, United States of America. It is, along with the Alabama Army National Guard, an element of the Alabama National Guard. As state milit ...
units, while the 183d Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was located at Hawkins Field, Mississippi. The group continued to fly the RB-26C until May 1957 when new Republic RF-84F Thunderflash jet reconnaissance aircraft replaced them.''See'' 106th Air Refueling Squadron Lineage & Honors The group continued to train in tactical reconnaissance missions throughout the 1950s with the Thunderflashes until inactivated in 1959. The 117th Wing had been mobilized during the
Berlin Crisis of 1961 The Berlin Crisis of 1961 () was the last major European political and military incident of the Cold War concerning the status of the German capital city, Berlin, and of History of Germany (1945–90), post–World War II Germany. The crisis cul ...
. This mobilization demonstrated that although mobilizing a wing with dispersed flying units was not a problem when the entire wing was called to active service, mobilizing individual flying squadron and elements to support it proved difficult.Cantwell, pp. 189-191 To resolve this, the Air Force determined to reorganize its National Guard wings by establishing groups with support elements for each of its squadrons to facilitate mobilization of elements of wings in various combinations when needed. Shortly after the 117th Wing returned to Alabama in July, the group was again activated as this plan was implemented. The 184th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, of the
Arkansas Air National Guard The Arkansas Air National Guard (AR ANG), commonly known as the Arkansas Air Guard, is the aerial militia of the Arkansas, State of Arkansas, United States, United States of America. It is, along with the Arkansas Army National Guard, an element o ...
was briefly assigned to the group while this reorganization was being implemented. The group remained active until December 1974, when the Air Force inactivated groups located on the same station as the wing to which they were assigned.


Reactivation

In 1993, the Air National Guard reorganized under the Air Force's Objective wing concept, which reintroduced groups under operational wings. The group, redesignated the 117th Operations Group, was again activated as an element of the 117th Reconnaissance Wing. After the end of
Desert Storm , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
, the phaseout of the McDonnell RF-4C Phantom II, flown by the 117th was accelerated. During 1994, the group's RF-4Cs were sent to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona for retirement. On 1 October, the wing was redesignated the 117th Air Refueling Wing and began to fly
Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling tanker aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It has a narrower fuselage and is shorter than the 707. Boeing gave ...
s, the first tanker arriving later that month. After the
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on the United States, the group deployed to
MacDill Air Force Base MacDill Air Force Base (MacDill AFB) is an active United States Air Force installation located 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida. The "host wing" for MacDill AFB is the 6th Air Refueling Wing (6 ARW), assig ...
, Florida and began refueling
McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force (USAF) selected McDonnell Douglas's desi ...
and
General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superio ...
aircraft flying
combat air patrol Combat air patrol (CAP) is a type of flying mission for fighter aircraft. A combat air patrol is an aircraft patrol provided over an objective area, over the force protected, over the critical area of a combat zone, or over an air defense area, ...
missions over major cities in the Southeastern United States as part of
Operation Noble Eagle Operation Noble Eagle (ONE) is the United States and Canadian military operation related to homeland security and support to federal, state, and local agencies. The operation began 11 September 2001, in response to the September 11 attacks.. ...
. In 2009, the 99th Air Refueling Squadron, a regular unit assigned to the
6th Operations Group The 6th Operations Group (6 OG) is the operational flying component of the 6th Air Refueling Wing, stationed at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. The mission of the 6th OG is the planning and executing global aerial refueling, combatant command ...
was activated. Its members operate and maintain the group's aircraft alongside the Guardsmen assigned to the 106th Air Refueling Squadron.


Lineage

* Established as the 117th Fighter Group on 24 May 1946 and allotted to the National GuardOrder issued on 26 September 1956 * Organized on 1 December 1946 : Extended federal recognition on 1 October 1947 : Federalized and ordered to active service on 22 October 1950 : Redesignated 117th Tactical Reconnaissance Group on 27 October 1950 : Inactivated and returned to Alabama State Control on 10 July 1952 * Activated on 10 July 1952 : Inactivated on 1 December 1959 * Activated on 22 August 1962 : Inactivated on 9 December 1974 * Redesignated 117th Operations Group : Activated on 1 January 1993


Assignments

* 54th Fighter Wing, 1 December 1946 *
Tactical Air Command Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Lang ...
, 22 October 1950 * 117th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, 30 November 1950 – 10 July 1952''See'' 117th Air Refueling Wing Lineage & Honors * 117th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, 10 July 1952 – 1 December 1959 * 117th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, 22 August 1962 – 9 December 1974 * 117th Reconnaissance Wing (later 117th Air Refueling Wing), 1 January 1993 – present


Components

* 99th Air Refueling Squadron: attached 1 October 2009 – present * 106th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (later 106th Reconnaissance Squadron, 106th Air Refueling Squadron): 1 January 1953 – 1 December 1959, 22 August 1962 – 9 December 1974, 1 January 1993 – present * 112th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 27 October 1950 – 10 July 1952 * 153d Fighter Squadron, 1 December 1946 – 27 October 1950, 1 December 1952 – 1 December 1959 * 157th Fighter Squadron (later 157th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron), 1948 – 10 July 1952 * 160th Fighter Squadron (later 160th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron), 1 September 1947 – 10 July 1952, 10 July 1952 – 1 December 1959, 22 August 1962 – 15 October 1962 * 183d Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 1953 – c. 15 November 1957 * 184th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 22 August 1962 – 15 October 1962 * 117th Operations Support Flight: 1 October 1993 – present


Stations

* Birmingham Municipal Airport, Alabama, 1 December 1957 * Lawson Air Force Base, Georgia, 22 October 1950 – February 1951 * Neubiberg Air Base, Germany, February 1951 * Wiesbaden Air Base, Germany, 2 June 1951 * Toul-Rosières Air Base, France, 27 January – 10 July 1952 * Birmingham Municipal Airport, Alabama, 10 July 1952 – 1 December 1959 * Birmingham Municipal Airport (later Sumpter Smith Air National Guard Base), Alabama, 22 August 1962 – 9 December 1974 * Sumpter Smith Air National Guard Base, Alabama, 1 January 1993 – present


Aircraft

*
North American P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by a team headed by James H. Kin ...
, 1947-1951 * Douglas RB-26C Invader, 1951-1957 * Lockheed RF-80 Shooting Star, 1951-1952 * Republic RF-84F Thunderflash, 1957-1959, 1962–1971 * McDonnell RF-4C Phantom II, 1971-1974, 1993-1994 * Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker, 1994–present


See also

* List of United States Air National Guard Groups & Wings * List of A-26 Invader operators * List of F-4 Phantom II operators


References

; Notes ; Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * ; Further reading *


External links

* * {{USAF air refueling units Groups of the United States Air National Guard Operations groups of the United States Air Force Military units and formations of the United States in the Cold War Military units and formations in Alabama 1946 establishments in Alabama