The 166th Airlift Wing (166th AW) of the

Delaware Air National Guard The Delaware Air National Guard (DE ANG) is the aerial militia of the Delaware, State of Delaware, United States, United States of America. It is, along with the Delaware Army National Guard, an element of the Delaware National Guard as well as ...

(DANG) is stationed at New Castle Air National Guard Base, Delaware. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

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 166th Airlift Wing is based at the New Castle County Airport just outside Wilmington, Delaware. Operating eight permanently assigned, Lockheed C-130H2 Hercules transport aircraft, the wing provides the U.S. Air Force with tactical airlift, airdrop capability of paratroops and cargo, and aeromedical evacuation of patients anywhere in the world. Additionally, the wing has a civil engineer function and a network warfare unit (the 166th Network Warfare Squadron). Under command of the Governor of Delaware, the wing is prepared to support the State of Delaware with trained personnel and equipment for various humanitarian missions to protect life and property and to preserve peace, order and public safety. The wing's gaining command is the Air Mobility Command, U.S. Air Force.

Units

The 166th Airlift Wing consists of the following units: * 166th Operations Group : 142d Airlift Squadron : 142d Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron : 166th Operations Support Squadron : 166th Cyberspace Operations Squadron * 166th Maintenance Group : 166th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron : 166th Maintenance Squadron : 166th Maintenance Operations Flight * 166th Mission Support Group : 166th Civil Engineer Squadron : 166th Communications Flight : 166th Force Support Squadron : 166th Logistics Readiness Squadron : 166th Security Forces Squadron * 166th Medical Group

History

On 7 April 1962 the

, with the 142nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, enlarged to "group status" as the 166th Air Transport Group and then was reassigned from the

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 ...

to the

Military Air Transport Service The Military Air Transport Service (MATS) is an inactive United States Department of Defense, Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy's Naval Air Transport Service (NA ...

. The Delaware Air National Guard gave up its F-86 Sabrejets for the four engine C-97 Stratocruiser cargo planes. Dr. Harold Brown,

Secretary of the Air Force The secretary of the Air Force, sometimes referred to as the secretary of the Department of the Air Force, (SecAF, or SAF/OS) is the head of the Department of the Air Force and the service secretary for the United States Air Force and United Sta ...

, announced that effective 1 January 1966, the Military Air Transport Service would be redesignated as the

Military Airlift Command The Military Airlift Command (MAC) is an inactive United States Air Force major command (MAJCOM) that was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. Established on 1 January 1966, MAC was the primary strategic airlift organization of ...

. In addition to the name change certain Air National Guard units were also redesignated, including Delaware's. The unit was named the 166th Military Airlift Group. During the period from 1969 to 1971 the Delaware Air National Guard flew missions to

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. On 9 April 1968, the Delaware Air National Guard was called to state duty to quell civil disturbance and violence in the city of

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

. The unit was released from state duty after several weeks. However, many individuals remained on state duty through 20 January 1969. On 12 May 1971 the Delaware ANG changed its name from the 166th Military Airlift Group to the 166th Tactical Airlift Group and replaced its C-97s with

C-130A Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designe ...

turboprop cargo plane, and began transition from the Military Airlift Command to the

. On 16 October 1985, the Delaware Air National Guard began replacing its aging, antiquated C-130A's with the delivery of a brand new factory fresh C-130H. The last new C-130H aircraft arrived in January 1986. On 25 January 1991 selected units of the Delaware Air National Guard were activated for the Persian Gulf War known as

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

. A majority of the unit was stationed at Al Kharj Air Base,

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. Over 150 personnel deployed to six other locations in Europe and two stateside bases. The 166th Civil Engineer Squadron voluntarily deployed to

Dover Air Force Base Dover Air Force Base or Dover AFB is a United States Air Force (USAF) base under the operational control of Air Mobility Command (AMC), located southeast of the city of Dover, Delaware. The 436th Airlift Wing is the host wing, and runs the bu ...

, Delaware and performed the monumental accomplishment of enlarging Dover's Mortuary capacity - the assignment was completed in a record 23 days. On 30 June 1991 the units/personnel were released from active duty performed in support of the Persian Gulf War. Another name change occurred on 16 March 1992, with the 166th Tactical Airlift Group being redesignated the 166th Airlift Group. In 1993 an Air Force reorganization placed the 166th under Air Combat Command. On 1 October 1995, the 166th Airlift Group was renamed the 166th Airlift Wing and was gained by the Air Mobility Command. In 2021, the unit's 1984 C-130H2 aircraft departed and the wing received newer 1991 C-130H2.5 aircraft.

Lineage

* Established as 166th Air Transport Group, and activated, 7 April 1962 : Re-designated: 166th Military Airlift Group, 8 January 1966 : Re-designated: 166th Tactical Airlift Group, 12 May 1971 : Re-designated: 166th Airlift Group, 1 June 1992 : Status changed from Group to Wing, 10 January 1995 : Re-designated: 166th Airlift Wing, 10 January 1995

Assignments

, 7 April 1962 : Gained by:

: Gained by:

, 8 January 1966 * 118th Tactical Airlift Wing, 12 May 1971 – 10 January 1995 *

, 10 January 1995 : Gained by:

Stations

* New Castle County Airport,

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

, 7 April 1962

Aircraft

* C-97 Stratocruiser, 1962-1971 *

C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...

, 1971–Present

References

External links

{{Delaware Wings of the United States Air National Guard 0166 Military units and formations in Delaware New Castle, Delaware