The 189th Airlift Squadron (189 AS) is an inactive unit of the Idaho Air National Guard. It was last assigned to the 124th Wing located at

Gowen Field Air National Guard Base Boise Airport (Boise Air Terminal or Gowen Field) is a joint civil-military airport in the western United States in Idaho, south of downtown Boise in Ada County. The airport is operated by the city of Boise Department of Aviation, overseen ...

, Boise, Idaho. Following the BRAC 2005 the unit was inactivated on 18 October 2009.

History

746th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron - Emblem

The 189th AS was activated on 1 September 1996 at Gowen Field ANGB as part of the 124th Wing. It was a tactical airlift squadron, equipped with Lockheed

C-130E 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 ...

transports. Prior to its activation as a squadron in 1995, the unit was initially formed on 1 April 1984 as the 189th Tactical Reconnaissance Training Flight. Its mission was a Formal Training Unit (FTU) for aircrews being assigned to the 124th Tactical Reconnaissance (later Fighter) group flying

RF-4C Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber that was developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bower ...

reconnaissance and later F-4G Phantom II electronic warfare aircraft. On 16 March 1992 it was re-designated as the 189th Fighter Flight. The flight used 190th TFS/FS aircraft for its training mission. With the retirement of the F-4Gs in 1995, the status of the unit was changed from a flight to a squadron, and it received C-130E aircraft for operational missions. The 189th supported countless deployments all over the world in support of the U.S. Southern Command,

Operation Allied Force The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombings continued until an a ...

Operation Southern Watch Operation Southern Watch was an air-centric military operation conducted by the United States Department of Defense from August 1992 to March 2003. United States Central Command's Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) had the mission of moni ...

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...

and

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

. They also responded to winter weather disasters New Mexico and provided humanitarian support for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The Airlift Squadron's awards include the Governor's Outstanding Unit Citation 1997, 1999, and 2005 as well as the Adjutant General Award 1998. The 189th Airlift Squadron was inactivated as a result of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Act on 18 October 2009. Many of the members who were part of the squadron were absorbed within the wing.

References

Inactivation of 189th Airlift Squadron

History of the Idaho Air National Guard
* Rogers, B. (2006). United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978.

External links

{{US Air Force navbox Military units and formations disestablished in 2009 0189 Military units and formations in Idaho