155th Air Refueling Wing

The 155th Air Refueling Wing (155 ARW) is the largest Air National Guard unit in the state of Nebraska. It currently operates the Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker which has been tasked for numerous missions around the globe.

Mission

The 155th operates the KC-135R Stratotanker, which is responsible for conducting air refueling missions around the world. The 155th currently has eight aircraft, six of them operational. There is almost always one aircraft undergoing a routine inspection in the hangar and currently one was transferred off base to be refitted. The unit runs like an active duty base on a smaller scale.

Full time Air Force Security Forces personnel patrol the base and provide security for the aircraft 24 hours a day while firefighter personnel are always on station and on call. The other units on the base usually operate during the day and are also staffed by Active Guard Reserve (AGR) or civilian Technician personnel.

History

The 1940s and 50s

The Nebraska Air National Guard is the second oldest Air National Guard unit in the United States. It began with the activation of the 401st Fighter Squadron at Westover Field, Massachusetts, on 1 July 1943.

The 401st was assigned to the National Guard and was re-designated the 173rd Fighter Squadron, Nebraska Air National Guard, equipped with P-51 Mustangs on 26 July 1946. The unit has been operational since that date and has been an Air Force gained unit since the U.S. Air Force became a separate branch of service in 1947.

In 1948, Nebraska was one of the first five states to receive the F-80 Shooting Star jet aircraft. Also that year, the Nebraska Air National Guard held its first annual training in Lincoln.

In 1950 the unit was the first Air National Guard organization to win the Winston P. Wilson Trophy as the outstanding jet fighter unit. It was the first of five Wilson trophies to be awarded to the Nebraska organization. The unit was mobilized on 1 April 1951, and put into active service for the Korean War. The wing was released from active duty on 31 December 1952, after 21 months of meritorious service. The unit flew P-51s throughout its tour of active duty. The F 80s had been given to the Air Defense Command during the Korean War and would not return to the unit until the fall of 1953.

In 1953, Major General Guy N. Henninger, already the adjutant general of the Nebraska National Guard, switched from the Army Guard to the Air Guard. The transfer made General Henninger the first Air Guard adjutant general in the nation. The F-80 Shooting Star was assigned to the unit in 1953. That same year the squadron was re-designated the 173rd Fighter Interceptor Squadron and assigned to the Air Defense Command.

With the 1955 reactivation of Lincoln AFB, a Strategic Air Command (SAC) base, the Nebraska Air National Guard was authorized new facilities. A new site was located south of the commercial air terminal adjoining the Air Force base and the unit moved to its new facilities in the fall of 1956.

Two years later, the unit moved into the vacated Naval Air Reserve hangar and turned its "old" hangar over to the Army National Guard. Since that time, additional facilities were built on the 166 acres (0.67 km²) of the Lincoln Air National Guard Base. Army aviation and other Army units remain tenants today.

In January 1957 the F-80 gave way to the F-86D Sabre all-weather interceptor. In late 1959, the unit changed to the F-86L all-weather fighter

The 1960s to the 1990s

On 1 July 1960, the National Guard Bureau reorganized the 173rd as part of the 155th Fighter Group and increased staffing to about 900 people. In those final "fighter" years, the unit had won the coveted Spaatz Trophy, as the Guard's finest flying unit in 1963, following second and third place finishes in 1961 and 1962 respectively. In 1962, 1963 and 1964 the unit won its second, third and fourth Winston P. Wilson Trophies.

In May 1964 the mission of the Nebraska Air Guard changed from air defense to tactical reconnaissance using the RF-84 Thunderflash aircraft. The 173rd became the 173rd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron and the 155th Fighter Group became the 155th Tactical Reconnaissance Group.

The first RF-4C Phantom II came to Lincoln in November 1971. In 1972 the unit began its conversion to the RF-4C from the RF-84F.

In April 1992 the unit was directed to convert to the KC-135R Stratotanker mission when the U.S. Air Force decided to begin retiring the last of the F-4 Phantom II aircraft. The conversion to the aerial refueling mission began in September 1993 with the arrival of the first KC-135E tanker. On 1 Oct. 1995, the unit was re-designated as the 155th Air Refueling Wing after achieving initial operational capability in the refueling mission three months early.

In April 1999, the unit flew its first combat missions. It was the first Air Guard tanker unit to be tasked with supporting Operation Allied Force, the NATO bombing campaign of Serbia and Kosovo. The unit successfully deployed two aircraft and more than 80 personnel to Germany in less than three days and soon became the lead unit for all American tanker operations from its German air base.

Assistance

Along with its federal mission, the Nebraska unit is tasked with supporting the state government as well. Since its organization in 1946, it has answered the governor's call on numerous occasions including Operation Snowbound in early 1949 and a special call in May 1975 when 435 Air Guard members were activated to assist in securing a tornado ravaged area in Omaha. In November 1997, Air Guard members were once again called to state active duty to assist in helping Lincoln and neighboring communities recover from an early snowstorm that cut power to nearly one million Nebraskans as a part of Operation Bush Hog.

Assignments

Major Command

• Air National Guard/Air Mobility Command (since 1995)
• Air National Guard/Air Combat Command (1992–1995)
• Air National Guard/Tactical Air Command (1964–1992)
• Air National Guard/Aerospace Defense Command (1960–1964)

Previous designations

• 155th Air Refueling Wing (since 1996)
• 155th Air Refueling Group (1995–1996)
• 155th Tactical Reconnaissance Group (1964–1995)
• 155th Fighter Group (1960–1964)

Squadrons assigned

• 173rd Air Refueling Squadron (since 1995)
• 173rd Reconnaissance Squadron (1992–1995)
• 173rd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (1964–1992)
• 173rd Fighter Interceptor Squadron (1953–1964)
• 173rd Fighter Squadron (1946–1955)

Bases stationed

• Lincoln Air National Guard Base (since 1966)
• Lincoln Air Force Base (1960–1966)

Aircraft operated

• KC-135R Stratotanker (since 1995)
• RF-4C Phantom II (1972–1995)
• RF-84 Thunderflash (1964–1972)
• F-86L Sabre (1960–1964)

See also

• Nebraska Air National Guard

References

External links

• 155th Air Refueling Wing – Nebraska Air National Guard