In 1956 the
Maine Air National Guard 101st Fighter-Interceptor Wing was expanded to an Air Defense Wing and reorganized by
Air Defense Command. As a result, the
Vermont Air National Guard 134th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was authorized to expand to a group level, and the
158th Fighter Group (Air Defense) was established by the
National Guard Bureau; the 134th FIS becoming the group's flying squadron. Other squadrons assigned into the group were the 158th Headquarters, 158th Material Squadron (Maintenance), 158th Combat Support Squadron, and the 158th USAF Dispensary.
Air Defense Mission The mission of the 158th Fighter Group (AD) was the air defense of Vermont. Its 134th FIS was initially equipped with the
F-94 Starfire interceptor. On 25 June 1960, Air Defense Command inactivated the active-duty
14th Fighter Group at
Ethan Allen AFB, and the base reverted to full Air National Guard jurisdiction. The 158th Fighter Group (AD) now manned alert hangars 24 hours a day. In the summer of 1960, summer field training was conducted at
Otis Air Force Base at
Cape Cod, MA, from 18 June to 2 July. When the unit returned to Burlington, the Maintenance and Operations Squadrons immediately moved into the facilities that had been vacated by the Regular Air Force with the closure of Ethan Allen AFB. The aging F-94s were replaced by twin-engine
F-89D Scorpion fighters in 1958. assumed command of the group and Maj. Rolfe L. Chickering took command of the 134th Fighter Interceptor Squadron. The Air Guard now manned alert hangars 24 hours a day, a mission which had previously belonged to the active Air Force. During the 1950s and early 1960s, better training and equipment, and closer relations with the Air Force greatly improved the readiness of Group. The Vermont Air National Guard received the ADC Operational Readiness award in October 1962, for having the greatest degree of readiness of any F-89 unit in the country. In 1965, the 134th received supersonic
F-102A Delta Dagger interceptors, have also been tasked seven times to deploy to different locations in Central America to help patrol the skies and intercept aircraft suspected of illegally smuggling drugs. These missions were usually flown far offshore in the middle of the night and required a high degree of proficiency. In 1995, in accordance with the Air Force "One Base-One Wing" directive, the 158th was changed in status to a Wing, and the 134th Fighter Squadron was assigned to the new 158th 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 (AEF) 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. In the fall of 1997, the 158th Fighter Wing was evaluated by the Air Combat Command and was tasked to fight a simulated war from 2 locations, a very challenging undertaking. The 158th Wing deployed 225 personnel and 10 F-16s to Canada while the rest of the Wing remained in Burlington for the comprehensive 5-day evaluation. The men and women of "The Green Mountain Boys" received the first rating of "Outstanding" (the highest possible score) ever earned by an Air Defense Unit. In 1998 the squadron was one of five ANG squadrons to be equipped with the Theater Airborne Reconnaissance System (TARS). This way the squadrons mission became somewhat specific in the USAF, since only these five ANG units possess a tactical reconnaissance capacity. They are therefore regularly asked to perform this mission for the entire organization. In October 2000, the 134th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron was formed and deployed to
Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia as part of a "Rainbow" package composed of the 111th and 177th Fighter Squadron.
Operation Southern Watch was an operation which was responsible for enforcing the no-fly zone below the
32nd parallel north in Iraq as part of Air Expeditionary Force 9. This mission was initiated mainly to cover for attacks of Iraqi forces on the Iraqi Shi’ite Muslims. After the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, the 134th began flying
Operation Noble Eagle air defense missions over major cities in the northeast. Beginning in May 2005, the 134th began a series of deployments to
Balad Air Base, Iraq, being attached to the 332d Expeditionary Fighter Squadron. This was a rotation in the Air Expeditionary Force 9/10 cycle as part of another Rainbow deployment to support
Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) along with the
119th and
163d Expeditionary Fighter Squadrons. Another OIF Expeditionary deployment was made in February 2006 and a third to Balad AB was made in September 2007. As a result of
BRAC 2005, on 5 March 2008 – still in 186th FS markings – the 134th FS received its first F-16 block 30 (#87-0332) as the Montana ANG
186th Fighter Squadron converted to the
F-15 Eagle. This conversion is not only an engine change from the Pratt & Whitney to the General Electric but also to the big inlet viper. Before the end of 2008 the 134th FS had completed its conversion to the block 30. The block 25s were sent to the Minnesota ANG
179th Fighter Squadron; the
412th Test Wing at
Edwards AFB, and some went to AMARC for retirement in the 'boneyard.' The 134th achieved initial operational capability (IOC) on the block 30 in 2009 with the squadron being ready for combat. In 2019, the 158th Fighter Wing converted to the
F-35A Lightning II, On 10 December 2025, it was announced that F-35's from the 158th Fighter Wing would be deployed to the
Caribbean to take part in
Operation Southern Spear. The fighters are to be staged at the
Roosevelt Roads Naval Station located in
Puerto Rico. The wing was still mobilized in March 2026 after supporting
Operation Absolute Resolve when they were sent to the Middle East in support of
Operation Epic Fury.
Lineage • Established as
158th Fighter Group (Air Defense), and allotted to Vermont ANG in 1956 ==References==