118th Airlift Squadron

World War I The 118th Airlift Squadron traces its origins to 1 September 1917 with the organization of the 118th Aero Squadron at Kelly Field, Texas. The original members of the squadron had enlisted at Fort Slocum, New York. The men were placed into basic indoctrination training, with drill, fatigue duty, classroom training, and other things that are done in military training camps. During its time at Kelly Field, men were transferred in and out of the squadron, depending on their qualifications and the needs of other units in training. Once basic indoctrination training was completed, the 118th was ordered for overseas duty, being ordered to report to the Aviation Concentration Center, Garden City, Long Island on 3 January. It was there that final arrangements were made for the trip overseas, complete equipment was drawn and a final few transfers were made. The stay at Garden City lasted ten days, when movement orders were received to report to the New York Port of Embarkation, Hoboken, New Jersey. There, the squadron boarded the , on the 13th, a former German liner impressed into troop carrier duty by the United States. The crossing of the Atlantic was not without incident, as extremely heavy seas were encountered the fourth day at sea. The ocean was so rough that several sailors were thrown overboard. The ship was put about, but too sharply and the rudder jammed. Then followed several hours of terror for all aboard as the big ship wallowed about helpless in the rough ocean. The decks were ordered lighted for the first time and powerful searchlights swept the water for the men swept overboard. It was reported the next day that the ship was tossed about 41 1/2 degrees in the ocean. Trucks, furniture, loose equipment and men were thrown about and considerable damage was done. Finally, the rudder was repaired and the journey was resumed. Land was sighted on the morning of 24 January and a great sense of relief was felt by all when the French harbor of Brest was entered. However, four more days were spent on the ship before disembarkation was made, the squadron setting foot in France on 28 January. It therefore reorganized on a regional basis and the 118th was assigned to the 4709th Defense Wing, located at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey. During its period of federalization, the 118th FIS transferred many of its pilots and ground support personnel to Fifth Air Force, where they served in combat in Korea, while regulars and reservists were assigned to the squadron. On 1 November 1952, the 118th was returned to the control of the Connecticut Air National Guard and its mission, personnel and aircraft were assigned to the 45th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron. Cold War The Connecticut Air National Guard was re-activated on 1 November 1952 with the end of the unit's federalization period. The 103d was re-activated as a Fighter-Bomber Wing being Tactical Air Command-gained. However, Air Defense Command remained as a secondary mission. Upon the 118th's return, the F-47s were sent to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base for storage and the squadron was re-equipped with Very Long Range F-51H Mustangs by TAC with a close air support mission. In January 1953, the 103d received several F-84D Thunderjets for maintenance instruction, and the squadron was fully equipped with the Thunderjet during the summer of 1953. In the spring of 1955, the F-84Gs were transferred to the Georgia ANG 128th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, and the 118th converted to F-94B Starfires. The F-94Bs, however, only remained with the 118th for about a year when they were replaced by F-86H Sabre Tactical Fighters in 1957. The Sabres were then replaced by F-100A Super Sabres during the summer of 1960 and the Wing becoming fully ADC-gained. The F-100As gave way to F-102 Delta Daggers in January 1966 and standing a 24-hour air defense alert. then in 1971 transferred back to Tactical Air Command, becoming an F-100D Super Sabre Group. in 1971 wearing The Flying Yankees on the under-wing fuel tank From 1971 to 1979, the 103d flew the F-100 Super Sabres and its mission was close air support and began a NATO commitment, deploying frequently in the 1970s to bases in West Germany to reinforce United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE). In 1979, the unit was assigned new A-10 Thunderbolt IIs as part of the "Total Force" concept which equipped ANG units with front-line USAF aircraft. The USAFE commitment continued, deploying the "Warthog" to bases in West Germany and Italy. In 1990 the 103d was programmed to receive the specialized Block 10 F-16A/B Fighting Falcon, also referred to as the F/A-16 due to its close air support configuration. The 1990 Gulf Crisis, however, delayed this transition. During Operation Desert Storm, the F/A-16 was battle tested and it was discovered that the Close Air Support F-16 project proved to be a miserable failure. Subsequently, the conversion of the Wing was cancelled in 1993, and the 118th TFS remained an A-10 Thunderbolt II close air support squadron. Air Combat Command In March 1992, with the end of the Cold War, the 103d adopted the Air Force Objective Organization plan, and the unit was re-designated as the 103d Fighter Group. In June, Tactical Air Command was inactivated as part of the Air Force reorganization after the end of the Cold War. It was replaced by Air Combat Command. In 1995, in accordance with the Air Force "One Base-One Wing" directive, the 103d was changed in status back to a Wing, and the 118th Fighter Squadron was assigned to the new 103d Operations Group. In mid-1996, the Air Force, in response to budget cuts, and changing world situations, began experimenting with Air Expeditionary organizations. The Air Expeditionary Force concept was developed that would mix Active-Duty, Reserve and Air National Guard elements into a combined force. Instead of entire permanent units deploying as "Provisional" as in the 1991 Gulf War, Expeditionary units are composed of "aviation packages" from several wings, including active-duty Air Force, the Air Force Reserve Command and the Air National Guard, would be married together to carry out the assigned deployment rotation. Subsequently, in August 1996, the 118th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron deployed to Aviano Air Base, Italy to assume the primary close air support mission of international forces in Bosnia. Other deployments of the 118th EFS were made to augment combat operations during Operations Deny Flight and Precise Endeavor. Airlift mission In its 2005 BRAC Recommendations, DoD recommended to realign Bradley International Airport Air Guard Station by distributing the 103rd's A-10s to the 104th Fighter Wing, Barnes Municipal Airport Air Guard Station, MA (nine aircraft) and retirement (six aircraft). The wing's expeditionary combat support (ECS) elements would remain in place at Bradley and Bradley would retain capability to support a Homeland Defense mission. By combining the two units into one squadron the Air Force would retain the trained A-10 pilots and maintenance technicians in the area and create an optimum-sized and more effective squadron. In April 2008, the 103d became an Airlift Wing. Its new missions now include; a bridge mission flying C-21A Learjets supporting JOSAC VIP airlift, counter drug operations in the U.S., Central America, South America and the Caribbean, A Centralized Intermediate Repair Facility (CIRF) for TF-34 engines used on A-10 attack aircraft and an Air Operations Center (AOC) responsible for Command and Control operations during wartime. Sometime between FY 2012 and 2014, the 103d was programmed to receive the new Joint Cargo Aircraft, the C-27 Spartan. However, the Air Force has recently announced the end of the C-27 Spartan program, eliminating the aircraft from Air National Guards units. It was speculated that the 103d will transition to an MC-12W mission. The primary use of the MC-12W is providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, or ISR, support directly to ground forces however it is changing to the C-130 ==Lineage==