109th Airlift Wing
Encyclopedia
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
's 109th Airlift Wing (109 AW) is an Air Mobility Command
Air Mobility Command
Air Mobility Command is a Major Command of the U.S. Air Force. AMC is headquartered at Scott AFB, Illinois, east of St. Louis....
(AMC) gained tactical airlift unit of the New York Air National Guard
New York Air National Guard
The New York Air National Guard is the air force militia of the U.S. state of New York. It is, along with the New York Army National Guard, an element of the New York National Guard. It is considered a part of the United States Air Force, as well as its state mission...
. The unit is located at Stratton ANGB/Schenectady County Airport
Schenectady County Airport
Schenectady County Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located three miles north of the city of Schenectady in Schenectady County, New York, USA....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and operates both conventional C-130 Hercules
C-130 Hercules
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...
aircraft and specially modified LC-130s used for Arctic and Antarctic transport and support missions. In addition to its combat airlift mission, particularly when placed in a Federalized status, the wing also provides domestic-related functions commonly associated with Air National Guard
Air National Guard
The Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...
units, such as disaster or hurricane relief.
Mission
“To provide the most professional theater combat forces, ready to rapidly deploy statewide, worldwide and pole to pole.”History
Following World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the 139th was established at Schenectady, New York
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...
as the 139th Fighter Squadron and received Federal recognition on November 18, 1948. Its first assigned aircraft was the Republic F-47D "Thunderbolt." In 1950, the squadron moved across the runway to its present location and received F-51H "Mustang." The 139th was one of 17 squadrons not activated during the Korean War. In 1952, the 139th was assigned to the Air Defense Command (ADC) as a 139th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron.
In 1954, after the runway at Schenectady was lengthened to 7,000 feet, the squadron received its first jets in the form of the Lockheed F-94B "Starfire.". Starfire operations continued until 1957 when the North American F-86H began arriving. Receipt of the Sabre saw the squadron and group lose their Fighter-Interceptor prefixes and gain that of a Tactical Fighter Squadron and Tactical Fighter Group.
In 1960, the mission of the unit was changed to worldwide transport following assignment of the Boeing C-97
C-97 Stratofreighter
The Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter was a long range heavy military cargo aircraft based on the B-29 bomber. Design work began in 1942, with the prototype's first flight being on 9 November 1944, and the first production aircraft entered service in 1947. Between 1947 and 1958, 888 C-97s in several...
A "Stratocruiser," the first four-engined transport to be used by the Air National Guard. The unit then joined the Military Air Transport Service
Military Air Transport Service
The Military Air Transport Service is an inactive Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy Naval Air Transport Service and the United States Air Force Air Transport Command into a single, joint, unified command...
(MATS) as the 109th Air Transport Group and 139th Air Transport Squadron. The 139 ATS was activated and Federalized for the Berlin Airlift in October 1961, augmenting MATS airlift by flying worldwide missions. The unit then returned to State control on 31 August 1962. On 1 January 1966, the Military Air Transport Service was reorganized and renamed Military Airlift Command
Military Airlift Command
The Military Airlift Command is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command of the USAF which was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. It was constituted on 1 January 1966 and active until the end of the Cold War, when the Air Force table of organization was revised...
(MAC), with MAC becoming the gaining command for the unit. Following this reorganization, the unit was redesignated as the 109th Military Airlift Group and 139th Military Airlift Squadron and as such, made deployments worldwide during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
The unit converted to the Lockheed C-130A in early 1971, became operationally-gained by the Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 being headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia...
(TAC), and was designated the 109th Tactical Airlift Group and 139th Tactical Airlift Squadron. The 109 TAG converted to C-130D and D-6 models in the summer of 1975, assuming responsibilities for the Volant DEW resupply mission of air bases and USAF Distant Early Warning (DEW) on the Greenland ice cap and Iceland. That same year, the unit's gaining command shifted back to Military Airlift Command
Military Airlift Command
The Military Airlift Command is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command of the USAF which was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. It was constituted on 1 January 1966 and active until the end of the Cold War, when the Air Force table of organization was revised...
(MAC) as MAC assumed responsibility for all C-130 tactical airlift units. Ten years later, the 109 TAG and 139 TAS converted to the C-130H and LC-130 Hercules. In 1992, following the inactivation of MAC, the 109th became operationally-gained by the newly-established Air Mobility Command
Air Mobility Command
Air Mobility Command is a Major Command of the U.S. Air Force. AMC is headquartered at Scott AFB, Illinois, east of St. Louis....
(AMC) and was redesignated the 109th Airlift Wing (109 AW). In 1999, following the decommissioning of the U.S. Navy's Antarctic Development Squadron SIX (VXE-6
VXE-6
VXE-6, Antarctic Development Squadron 6 , commonly referred to by its nickname, The Puckered Penguins was a United States Navy Air Test and Evaluation Squadron based at McMurdo Station, Antarctica...
) and their LC-130F aircraft, the 109 AW assumed responsibility for Antarctic support in addition to their Arctic support mission.
Arctic and Antarctic missions
The Scotia-based 109th Airlift Wing has provided airlift support to the National Science FoundationNational Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
's South Pole research program since 1988. The wing operates LC-130Hs, modified with wheel-ski gear, in support of Arctic and Antarctic operations.
In early 1996, the National Guard Bureau announced that the 109th Airlift Wing at Stratton ANGB in Scotia, New York was slated to assume that entire mission from the U.S. Navy in 1999. The 109th, which operated ski-equipped LC-130Hs, had been flying some NSF support missions to Antarctica since 1988. It had flown scientific and military missions to Greenland and the Arctic since 1975. The Antarctic operation would be fully funded by the NSF. The 109th expected to add approximately 235 full-time personnel to support that operation.
The possibility of the ANG taking over the mission had first emerged in 1988. The 109th had been notified that, almost overnight, one of the Distant Early Warning
Distant Early Warning Line
The Distant Early Warning Line, also known as the DEW Line or Early Warning Line, was a system of radar stations in the far northern Arctic region of Canada, with additional stations along the North Coast and Aleutian Islands of Alaska, in addition to the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland...
(DEW) Line radar sites that it supported in Greenland was going to be shut down. The other sites would soon follow and the 109th would be largely out of business because its main mission had ended. The unit had been informally keeping tabs on Navy LC-130 operations supporting the NSF in Antarctica. Because its LC-130F aircraft were older than the Guard's LC-130Hs and several of the Navy aircraft were entering an extensive period of depot maintenance, the Navy asked if the 109th could provide a limited emergency search and rescue (SAR) capability for two years to support Operation Deep Freeze. The Air National Guard accepted. At that time, it had no thought of taking over the mission. The 109th believed that it was senseless for its aircraft to deploy to the Antarctic and just wait to conduct emergency SAR missions so it asked the Navy if it could help carry cargo to the South Pole. The latter resisted at first because its procedures and cargo configurations differed from those of the Air Guard, but it eventually relented. The main mission of the Navy and ANG C-130s was to airlift fuel and supplies to the NSF's South Pole Station so that its personnel could survive in isolation during the long Antarctic winter which lasted from February to October.
An ANG working group had been formed to study the idea in 1990. The following year, a dialogue between the ANG, the Air Staff, and the Navy began. Among other issues, it was difficult at first for the Air Guard to convince the Air Staff to commit long term resources to an area of the world that had not been declared a warfighting region because of international treaties. The Air Guard had supported military operations in Greenland and the Arctic (including classified Navy operations) since the mid-1970s with the ski-equipped C-130s of the 109 AW. It convinced Headquarters, United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
that it was not in the nation's best interest to abandon the capability to achieve quick and reliable air access to both polar regions.
In March, 1993, the Navy hosted a two-day workshop with representatives of the NSF, Air Guard, and other interested parties to explore logistics support options for the operation. A draft concept of operations had been prepared by the Air Directorate of the NGB in 1993. In February, 1996, a commitment was made to transfer the mission, known as "Operation Deep Freeze
Operation Deep Freeze
Operation Deep Freeze is the codename for a series of United States missions to Antarctica, beginning with "Operation Deep Freeze I" in 1955–56, followed by "Operation Deep Freeze II", "Operation Deep Freeze III", and so on...
," and all LC-130 aircraft operated within the DoD to the ANG. In September, 1996, senior officers from the 109 AW briefed the NGB on their concept of operations and the status of their preparations to implement "Operation Deep Freeze."
Under the transition plan which they had developed, the ANG would continue to augment the Navy during the October, 1996 - March, 1997 operating season for the U.S. Antarctic Program. At the end of the October, 1997 - March, 1998 season, the ANG would assume command of the program. During the third year of the transition program, October, 1998 to March, 1999, the Navy would augment the ANG before the latter took over the entire program the following year. There would be 7 LC-130s in theater. They would stage from Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, New Zealand to McMurdo Station
McMurdo Station
McMurdo Station is a U.S. Antarctic research center located on the southern tip of Ross Island, which is in the New Zealand-claimed Ross Dependency on the shore of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. It is operated by the United States through the United States Antarctic Program, a branch of the National...
, Antarctica. Traditional Guardsmen, technicians, and the cadre of AGRs specifically brought on board to support "Operation Deep Freeze" would all be involved in the mission. When fully transitioned to the ANG, the 109th would have ten LC-130s in its inventory. These would include upgrades of four LC-130 aircraft in-service with the unit plus three new aircraft and three that would be transferred from the Navy. ANG estimates of the savings to be realized by consolidating the operation in the hands of the 109th AW ranged from $5 million to $15 million a year. The actual transition to Air Guard control began in March, 1996.
In October, 1999, the 109 AW was involved in the rescue of a doctor with breast cancer symptoms and based at isolated Amundsen-Scott research station
Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station
The Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station is the American scientific research station on the high plateau of Antarctica. This station is located at the southernmost place on the Earth, the Geographic South Pole, at an elevation of 2,835 meters above sea level.The original Amundsen-Scott Station was...
in Antarctica.
Future
In its 2005 Base Realignment and ClosureBase Realignment and Closure
Base Realignment and Closure is a process of the United States federal government directed at the administration and operation of the Armed Forces, used by the United States Department of Defense and Congress to close excess military installations and realign the total asset inventory to reduce...
Recommendations, DoD recommended to realign Schenectady County Airport AGS by transferring four C-130H aircraft from the 109th Airlift Wing (ANG) to the 189th Airlift Wing
189th Airlift Wing
The United States Air Force's 189th Airlift Wing is an airlift unit located at Little Rock AFB, Arkansas. It is a part of the Arkansas National Guard and currently runs the Air National Guard Basic Academic School, providing flight engineer and loadmaster entry-level training for all branches of...
(ANG), Little Rock AFB, Arkansas. This recommendation would distribute C-130 force structure to Little Rock (17), which would have higher military value. Adding aircraft to the ANG unit at Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
would create a larger, more effective squadron. The LC-130 aircraft (ski-equipped) would remain at Schenectady (117). This decision was not enacted. An effective lobby against the move was carried out by the Schenectady Military Affairs Council.
Major Command
- Air National GuardAir National GuardThe Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...
/Air Mobility CommandAir Mobility CommandAir Mobility Command is a Major Command of the U.S. Air Force. AMC is headquartered at Scott AFB, Illinois, east of St. Louis....
(1 Jun 1992–Present) - Air National GuardAir National GuardThe Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...
/Military Airlift CommandMilitary Airlift CommandThe Military Airlift Command is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command of the USAF which was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. It was constituted on 1 January 1966 and active until the end of the Cold War, when the Air Force table of organization was revised...
(1975–1992) - Air National GuardAir National GuardThe Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...
/Tactical Air CommandTactical Air CommandTactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 being headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia...
(1971–1975) - Air National GuardAir National GuardThe Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...
/Military Airlift CommandMilitary Airlift CommandThe Military Airlift Command is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command of the USAF which was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. It was constituted on 1 January 1966 and active until the end of the Cold War, when the Air Force table of organization was revised...
(1966–1971) - Air National GuardAir National GuardThe Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...
/Military Air Transport ServiceMilitary Air Transport ServiceThe Military Air Transport Service is an inactive Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy Naval Air Transport Service and the United States Air Force Air Transport Command into a single, joint, unified command...
(1960–1966) - Air National GuardAir National GuardThe Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...
/Air Defense Command (1948–1960)
Previous designations
- 109th Airlift Wing (1992–Present)
- 109th Tactical Airlift Group (1971–1992)
- 109th Military Airlift Group (1960–1971)
- 109th Tactical Fighter Group (1957–1960)
- 109th Fighter Interceptor Group (1956–1957)
Squadrons assigned
- 109th Medical Group
- 139th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron
- 139th Airlift Squadron139th Airlift SquadronThe 139th Airlift Squadron flies the LC-130H Hercules. It is a unit of the New York Air National Guard. Its parent unit is the 109th Airlift Wing.-Mission:...
Aircraft Operated
- LC-130H Hercules (1984–Present) (This version is ski-equipped and not found at any other base in the Air Force)
- C-130H Hercules (1984–Present)
- C-130D Hercules (1975–1984)
- C-130A Hercules (1971–1975)
- C-97G Stratofreighter (1966–1971)
- C-97A Stratofreighter (1960–1966)
- F-86H Sabre (1957–1960)
- F-94B Starfire (1956–1957)