Florida Air National Guard

The Florida Air National Guard (FL ANG) is the air force militia of the State of Florida, United States of America. It is, along with the Florida Army National Guard, an element of the Florida National Guard.

As state militia units, the units in the Florida Air National Guard are not in the normal United States Air Force chain of command. They are under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Florida though the office of the Florida Adjutant General unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States. The Florida Air National Guard is headquartered at St. Francis Barracks in St. Augustine, and its commander is  Major General  Emmett R. Titshaw, Jr.

Overview
Under the "Total Force" concept, Florida Air National Guard units are considered to be Air Reserve Components (ARC) of the United States Air Force (USAF). Florida ANG units are trained and equipped by the Air Force and are operationally gained by a Major Command of the USAF if federalized. In addition, the Florida Air National Guard forces are assigned to Air Expeditionary Forces and are subject to deployment tasking orders along with their active duty and Air Force Reserve counterparts in their assigned cycle deployment window.

Along with their federal reserve obligations, as state militia units the elements of the Florida ANG are subject to being activated by order of the Governor to provide protection of life and property, and preserve peace, order and public safety. State 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.

Components
The Florida Air National Guard consists of the following major units:
 * 125th Fighter Wing
 * Established 9 February 1947 (as: 159th Fighter Squadron); operates: F-15C/D Eagle
 * Stationed at: Jacksonville Air National Guard Base, Jacksonville
 * Gained by: Air Combat Command
 * Provides air defense as part of the United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) / North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) in time of war or national emergency for the defense of the North American continent. I


 * 125th Fighter Wing Detachment 1
 * Stationed at: Homestead Air Reserve Base, Homestead
 * Provides the Continental NORAD Region (CONR) commander rapid response to invasions of the sovereign airspace of the United States and respond with appropriate defense measures


 * 325th Fighter Wing Associate Unit
 * Stationed at: Tyndall Air Force Base, Panama City
 * The 325th Fighter Wing Associate Unit (325 FW AU) is the premier Air National Guard (ANG) fighter associate unit, training active-duty and ANG personnel for the F-15 and F-22 Air Dominance Role.

Support Unit Functions and Capabilities:
 * 601st Air and Space Operations Group. Tyndall AFB
 * Provides operational-level Command and Control (C2) of air and space forces as the focal point for planning, directing, and assessing air and space operations within CONUS NORAD Region (CONR) and USNORTHCOM


 * Weather Readiness Training Center, Camp Blanding Joint Training Center, Starke
 * Trains and provides personnel to the Air National Guard weather flight


 * 114th Range Operations Squadron, Patrick AFB, Coca Beach
 * Provides survivable and reliable satellite voice and data communications for command control and logistics in support of United States Air Force, Air Combat Command, and NATO communications requirements; and to support range operation taking for the STS, Atlas, Delta, and Titan launches


 * 202d REDHORSE Squadron, Camp Blanding Joint Training Center, Starke
 * Provides a highly mobile, rapidly deployable civil engineering response force; and to perform heavy damage repair for recovery of critical air force facilities and utility systems following enemy attack or natural disaster


 * 290th Joint Communications Support Squadron, MacDilll AFB, Tampa
 * Provides Unified Commands, Services, Defense Agencies and non-Defense Agencies, tactical communications systems to support United States national security objectives during time of crisis, war and natural disaster recovery


 * 159th Weather Flight, Camp Blanding Joint Training Center, Starke
 * Trains wartime ready, professional teams to provide the highest quality meteorological services to varying national, state and local missions

History
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. These unit designations were allotted and transferred to various State National Guard bureaus to provide them unit designations to re-establish them as Air National Guard units. A National Guard Bureau document dated 16 March 1946, gave states permission to request an Air Force unit allotment. Months later, Florida accepted the 159th Fighter Squadron with an authorized strength of 50 officers and 303 enlisted men. Governor Millard F. Caldwell formally accepted the unit on 30 August 1946, and full federal recognition was granted on 9 February 1947. 18 September 1947, however, is considered the Florida Air National Guard's official birth concurrent with the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate branch of the United States military under the National Security Act.

On 1 July 1956 the 159th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was authorized to expand to a group level, and the 125th Fighter-Interceptor Group was established by the National Guard Bureau. The 159th FIS becoming the group's flying squadron.

Originally designated as Detachment 1, Southeast Air Defense Sector (SEADS), the 325th Fighter Wing Air National Guard Fighter Associate Unit was officially activated on Oct. 1, 1999 at Tyndall Air Force Base. The unit mission is to train active duty and Air Guard pilots to fly the F-15 Eagle in the air dominance role. The Associate Unit members are completely integrated into all aspects of the 2nd, 43rd, and 95th Fighter Squadrons, as well as the 325th Operations Support Squadron. The associate unit is operationally controlled by the 325th Operations Group under the overall direction of the 325th Fighter Wing.

After the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, elements of every Air National Guard unit in Florida has been activated in support of the Global War on Terrorism. Flight crews, aircraft maintenance personnel, communications technicians, air controllers and air security personnel were engaged in Operation Noble Eagle air defense overflights of major United States cities. Also, Florida ANG units have been deployed overseas as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq as well as other locations as directed.