Background The Pennsylvania Air National Guard
168th Military Airlift Group operated
Lockheed C-121 Constellations from
Olmsted Air Force Base. Following
Operation Power Pack, the United States military intervention during the 1965 crisis in the Dominican Republic,
Robert McNamara, the
United States Secretary of Defense directed the Air Force to develop a capability to disrupt civilian broadcasting networks and guerilla
command and control networks. In response,
Tactical Air Command began to test a tactical electronic warfare support system that would be installed on C-121s, named Coronet Solo. Coronet Solo aircraft would be able to join or disrupt commercial radio and television and to broadcast prerecorded programs, in addition to having an ECM capability.
Tactical electronic warfare Threatened by the closure of Olmsted (now Harrisburg Air National Guard Base) and by the downsizing of all conventionally powered transport aircraft, the
National Guard Bureau volunteered the 168th for the Coronet Solo
psychological warfare capability in 1967. The 168th Military Airlift Group and its components were inactivated and its resources were transferred to the new
193rd Tactical Electronic Warfare Group, which became
Tactical Air Command's first tactical
electronic warfare unit that was not an active duty unit. Tactical Air Command replaced
Military Airlift Command as its mobilization gaining command, although the unit continued to operate the C-121s of the old 168th Group until November 1977, when its last C-121C was flown to the
Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center at
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The first
Lockheed EC-121S Coronet Solo was delivered to the unit on 16 July 1968. The aircraft acted as an airborne radio station, keeping the citizens of Grenada informed about the U.S. military action. During this mission it broadcast throughout the initial phases of the operation, helping to end the Noriega regime. In 1990,
Air Force Special Operations Command became the group's gaining command, and the wing's aircraft were redesignated Commando Solo,} with no change in mission. However, the unit's aircraft contained two difference suites of electronics. Four unit aircraft had the Rivet Rider system, which enabled broadcasting of TV, AM or FM radio, and short wave radio. These planes could also conduct limited intelligence gathering and military communications jamming missions. The other four were Comfy Levy aircraft, which flew Senior Scout and Senior Hunter missions, with personnel from
Electronic Security Command in the cargo compartment. The Comfy Levy were basically "slick" C-130s with palletized mission systems and clip-on antennas. When these aircraft were not performing "Senior" missions they were used to transport cargo and passengers. Due to the threat of
SCUD missile attacks, and the lack of
revetments at King Fahd, in January 1992, the group's aircraft relocated to
Thumrait Air Base, Oman. When
Operation Desert Storm replaced Operation Desert Shield, the squadron provided or supplemented
electronic countermeasures nearly every day. Its missions included broadcasting the "Voice of the Gulf" and other highly successful programs intended to convince Iraqi soldiers to surrender. In 1992, the 193rd received its first EC-130E upgraded to Commando Solo II configuration. In 1994, the Commando Solo II aircraft were used to broadcast radio and TV messages to the citizens and leaders of Haiti during
Operation Uphold Democracy. President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide was featured in these broadcasts, which contributed to the orderly transition from military rule to democracy. In 2003, the Commando Solo II was deployed to the Middle East in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2004, the 193rd received newer EC-130J aircraft. These were quickly redeployed to the Middle East in support of the War on Terror. On 17 September 2022, the wing made its last broadcast with an EC-130J during an airshow at
Lancaster Airport, Pennsylvania. The unit is expected to transition to the
MC-130J Commando II over a period of 2 years. ==Lineage==