Pennsylvania Air National Guard
Pennsylvania ANG units are trained and equipped by the Air Force and are operationally gained by a Major Command of the USAF if federalized.Commonwealth 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.The 103d was founded and eventually commanded by Major Charles Biddle, who had flown in World War I as part of the famous Lafayette Escadrille.This new National Guard squadron was based on the sod fields of Philadelphia Airport as a unit in the Army 28th Division.The 103d Observation Squadron was ordered into active service on 125 November 1940 as part of the buildup of the Army Air Corps prior to the United States entry into World War II.On 24 May 1946, the United States Army Air Forces, in response to dramatic postwar military budget cuts imposed by President Harry S. Truman, allocated inactive unit designations to the National Guard Bureau for the formation of an Air Force National Guard.[6] The modern Pennsylvania ANG received federal recognition on 17 January 1947 as the 53d Fighter Wing at Philadelphia International Airport.The Philadelphia 103d Bomb Squadron was federalized on 10 October 1950 along with its parent 111th Composite Wing due to the Korean War.On 10 April 1951 the squadron and Wing were moved to Fairchild AFB, Washington and re-equipped with RB-29 Superfortress reconnaissance aircraft.Due to longer runway requirements, the C-121s could not fly from Reading Airport, and on 1 February 1961 the unit relocated to its current location at Olmsted Air Force Base (present day Harrisburg Air National Guard Base) due to the inadequate facilities at Reading.Hundreds of Pennsylvania soldiers and airmen were deployed to Germany, Hungary and Bosnia in 1996–1997, in support of United Nations peacekeeping efforts in the former Yugoslavia.In 2003, some 2,000 Pennsylvania citizen soldiers and airmen were deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, searching for weapons of mass destruction, providing convoy security, rebuilding infrastructure and protecting senior officials.In May 2020, the Pennsylvania Air National Guard conducted flyovers over the areas of Pittsburgh, Johnstown and Harrisburg to salute front line workers battling the COVID-19 pandemic.
United StatesPennsylvaniaAir National Guardstate militiamilitary reserve forceUnited States National Guard BureauDonald TrumpFrank Kendall IIIGovernorJosh ShapiroMajor GeneralThe Adjutant GeneralBrigadier GeneralU.S. stateUnited States Air ForcePennsylvania Army National GuardPennsylvania National Guardchain of commandGovernor of PennsylvaniaPennsylvania Adjutant GeneralPresident of the United StatesFort Indiantown GapMajor Command of the USAFAir Force Reserve111th Attack Wing103d Observation SquadronHorsham Air National Guard StationAir Combat CommandNAS JRB Willow Grove171st Air Refueling Wing146th Fighter SquadronKC-135T StratotankerPittsburgh IAP Air Reserve StationAir Mobility Command193d Special Operations Wing148th Fighter SquadronMC-130J Commando IIOlmsted Air National Guard BaseAir Force Special Operations CommandState College, PennsylvaniaJohnstown-Cambria County AirportMilitia Act of 1903federalizedMilitia BureauLafayette Escadrille29 original National Guard Observation SquadronsUnited States Army National GuardWorld War IIArmy Air CorpsF-47N ThunderboltUnited States Army Air ForcesHarry S. TrumanNational Guard BureauPhiladelphia International AirportHobson PlanF-84F Thunderstreak103d Fighter-Interceptor SquadronF-51D MustangsC-46 CommandoC-119 Flying BoxcarC-121 Constellationshort finalRAF WitteringC-97 StratofreighterVietnam WarHurricane AgnesA-7D Corsair IIKC-135 StratotankersSouthwest AsiaOperation Desert ShieldOperation Desert StormGermanyHungaryBosniaUnited NationspeacekeepingYugoslaviaOperation Iraqi FreedomHurricane KatrinaHurricane RitaPittsburgh International Airport124th WingGowen Field Air National Guard Base175th WingWarfield Air National Guard Base127th WingSelfridge Air National Guard BaseEd RendellPittsburghJohnstownHarrisburgCOVID-19 pandemicEC-130J Commando SoloBoeing KC-135 StratotankerPennsylvania State GuardPennsylvania Wing Civil Air Patrolpublic domain materialJohnstown–Cambria County AirportWayback MachineAlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIllinoisIndianaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew Hampshire