World War II The
404th Fighter Squadron was activated at
Richmond Army Air Base, Virginia in the summer of 1943 as one of the three original squadrons of the
371st Fighter Group. The
squadron trained in the northeastern United States with
Republic P-47 Thunderbolts under
First Air Force before moving overseas in the spring of 1944. Upon arriving in England, the squadron became an element of
Ninth Air Force at
Bisterne Close, England. The squadron's first combat operation was a fighter sweep over Occupied France. Prior to
Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy, the 404th flew fighter sweeps,
dive bombing and
escort missions. In 1968 Air Defense Command was re-designated as Aerospace Defense Command (ADCOM). In 1972, the unit was redesignated the 120th Fighter-Interceptor Group and assigned the
F-106 Delta Dart, the first Air National Guard unit to receive this aircraft. With the F-106, the squadron competed in and won its first William Tell, a live-fire missile competition held at
Tyndall AFB, Florida. Performed air defense duties along the northern tier of the United States until 1978 when ADCOM was merged into Tactical Air Command. Continued air defense mission for ADTAC component of TAC with the F-106s, transferring to First Air Force when ADTAC was replaced in 1985. The 186th FS converted from the F-106A to the F-16A/B Fighting Falcon in mid-1987. The conversion happened earlier than was scheduled and the 186th FIS was to be the last squadron to lose its F-106s. The first aircraft were older block 5 and 10 models with some block 15 airframes also being delivered to the squadron. Main task for the unit was air defense, as with many ANG units who were equipped with the F-16. In 1991 the F-16s were brought up to the Air Defense Fighter (ADF) variant. This meant a serious leap in performance and capability of this squadron in their defensive role. This situation was maintained up until 2001 when the squadron started receiving more modern F-16C block 30 aircraft with a large intake. This conversion replaced the air defense mission with one of general purpose/air-to-ground as part of the Expeditionary Aerospace Force. With the conversion, unit members felt it was time to consider a change in the aircraft tail markings. The most notable change included the 186th Fighter Squadron's nickname of "Vigilantes". The nickname by the pilots of the 186th is intended to honor the first men in the Montana Territory who organized for the safety and welfare of the people. The squadron once again found itself on alert status after the terrorism attacks in
New York City and
Washington, D.C. Base personnel implemented the necessary procedures to establish a secure environment while maintaining a 24-hour alert status for aircraft. Throughout 2002, hundreds of unit personnel were activated and deployed to multiple locations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and the world. As a result of the 2005
BRAC decisions, the unit converted to the
F-15C/D during 2008 and reverted to an all-air defense unit. In early December 2007 the first F-16 left Great Falls being transferred to the
158th Fighter Wing, Vermont ANG. By the summer of 2008, eighteen F-15C Eagles had been transferred from the
131st Fighter Wing at St. Louis due to its conversion to the
131st Bomb Wing, flying the
B-2 stealth bomber. As a result of the 2010 Total Force Structure Change, the F-15s of the 120th Fighter Wing were transferred to the
144th Fighter Wing of the
California Air National Guard and C-130s of the
19th Airlift Wing from
Little Rock AFB,
Arkansas were transferred to Great Falls. As a result, the 186th Fighter Squadron was rechristened as the 186th Airlift Squadron. ==Lineage==