Misplaced Pages

192nd Airlift Squadron
192nd Airlift Squadron C-130H Scathe View aircraft 79-0477
Active	1943–Present
Country	United States
Allegiance	Nevada
Branch	Air National Guard
Type	Squadron
Role	Airlift
Part of	Nevada Air National Guard
Garrison/HQ	Nevada Air National Guard Base, Reno, Nevada
Nickname(s)	Battle Born
Tail Code	Blue tail stripe, "High Rollers"
Insignia
192nd Airlift Squadron emblem

The 192nd Airlift Squadron (192 AS) is a unit of the Nevada Air National Guard 152nd Airlift Wing located at Nevada Air National Guard Base, Nevada. The 192nd is equipped with the C-130H Hercules.

History

World War II

Activated in October 1943 as the 408th Fighter Squadron at Hamilton Field, California. During World War II, the squadron was an Operational Training Unit (OTU), equipped with second-line P-39 Airacobras and P-40 Warhawks. Its mission was to train newly graduated pilots from Training Command in combat tactics and maneuvers before being assigned to their permanent combat unit. Initially assigned to IV Fighter Command, then transferred to III Fighter Command in 1944, being re-equipped with P-51D Mustangs. It took part in air-ground maneuvers and demonstrations, participating in the Louisiana Maneuvers in the summer of 1944 and in similar activities in the US until after V-J Day.

Inactivated in November 1945.

Nevada Air National Guard

The wartime 408th Fighter Squadron was re-activated and re-designated as the 192nd Fighter Squadron, and was allotted to the Nevada Air National Guard, on 24 May 1946. It was organized at Reno Air Force Base, Nevada and was extended federal recognition on 12 April 1948 by the National Guard Bureau. The 192nd Fighter Squadron was entitled to the history, honors, and colors of the 408th Fighter Squadron. The squadron was equipped with F-51D Mustangs and was assigned to the California Air National Guard 61st Fighter Wing, although it was operationally under the control of the Nevada Air National Guard at Carson City, Nevada. During its early years with the F-51D, the unit earned prominence as one of the Air Force's most respected aerial gunnery competitors.

Korean War mobilization

On 1 March 1951 the 192nd was federalized and brought to active-duty due to the Korean War. It was initially assigned to Strategic Air Command (SAC) and transferred to Bergstrom AFB, Texas and assigned to the Federalized Missouri ANG 131st Fighter-Bomber Group. The 131st FBG was composed of the 192nd FS, the 110th Composite Squadron (Missouri); 170th Fighter Squadron (Illinois ANG) and 178th Fighter Squadron (North Dakota ANG). At Bergstrom, its mission was a filler replacement for the 27th Fighter-Escort Group which was deployed to Japan as part of SAC's commitment to the Korean War.

The unit was at Bergstrom until November when it was transferred to Tactical Air Command (TAC) and moved to George AFB, California. At George, the unit was scheduled to be re-equipped with F-84D Thunderjets and was programmed for deployment to Japan, however the F-84s were instead sent to France and the 131st Fighter-Bomber Wing remained in California and flew its F-51 Mustangs for the remainder of its federal service. The 192nd Fighter-Bomber Squadron was released from active duty and returned to Nevada state control on 15 October 1952.

Air Defense

Returning to Reno the unit was re-formed by 1 January 1953. The 192nd was transferred from Tactical Air Command (TAC) to Air Defense Command (ADC) with a mission of Air Defense over Nevada and Northern California. On 1 November 1954, the 192nd began the transition from the piston-engine, propeller driven F-51D to its first jet aircraft, the F-86A Sabre used as a daylight interceptor. On 1 June 1955, the 192nd was re-designated as the 194th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron.

On 19 April 1958, the 192nd was authorized to expand to a group level, and the 152nd Fighter-Interceptor Group was established by the National Guard Bureau. The 192nd FIS becoming the group's flying squadron. Other squadrons assigned into the group were the 192nd Headquarters, 192nd Material Squadron (Maintenance), 192nd Combat Support Squadron, and the 192nd USAF Dispensary. Also in 1958, the day-only F-86As were sent to other units and the 192nd received the day/night/all-weather F-86L Sabre Interceptor aircraft.

Tactical Reconnaissance

In 1961 Air Defense Command was reorganizing and the 192nd was transferred to Tactical Air Command. TAC re-designated the 152nd as a Tactical Reconnaissance Group, and equipped the 192nd TRS with RB-57B Canberra reconnaissance aircraft. Tactical Reconnaissance would be the mission of the unit for the next 30 years. The RB-57s were the reconnaissance version of the B-57 Canberra light bomber, which has replaced the World War II B-25 Mitchell during the Korean War. The RB-57s were used by the active-duty Air Force beginning in the mid-1950s and it began to be sent to Air National Guard units in the late 1950s when the McDonnell RF-101A Voodoo entered service.

The 192nd used the RB-57s primarily to carry out photographic surveys of areas hit by natural disasters such as hurricanes or tornadoes. It was placed on alert during the 1961 Berlin Crisis and 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, however it was not activated or deployed overseas.

In 1965 the RF-4C Phantom II began to enter active USAF service, and the 192nd received supersonic McDonnell RF-101H Voodoos to replace the subsonic RB-57s. The unit served during the 1968 Pueblo Crisis. On 26 January 1968 the Nevada Air National Guard was called to active duty as part of a national effort to meet the threat posed by North Korean seizure of the U.S. Navy ship the "USS Pueblo." During the next 16 months, Nevada Air Guardsmen served in Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, North Africa and some 18 bases within the United States. During this tour, the 192nd Reconnaissance Squadron was awarded the 5th Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, only the second unit selected for this honor. All Nevada Air National Guard units were released from active duty on 9 June 1969.

In 1971, the RF-101Hs were replaced by RF-101B Voodoos that were re-manufactured after serving in the Canadian Air Force. However, unlike the F-101Hs, the "B" model was extremely expensive to operate in the field, requiring several costly and time-consuming fixes in order to maintain an acceptable operating standard. The career of the RF-101B with the Nevada ANG was relatively brief, giving way to the RF-4C Phantom II in 1975. The 192nd operated the RF-4C Phantom for nearly 20 years. The RF-4C was still in service at the time of the 1990 Gulf Crisis, In response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the 106th TRS of the 117th TRW of the Alabama ANG was deployed to Sheik Isa Air Base in Bahrain. This unit was reinforced in December 1990 by the 192nd TRS which deployed to Doha International Airport, Qatar.

With combat operations beginning in January as part of Operation Desert Storm, the 192nd flew combat missions in the RF-4C. When the first strikes against Iraq took place on 17 January 1991, the RF-4Cs were in action from the start. At first, they were limited to daylight operations, flying over Kuwait almost every day in search of Republican Guard units. They flew over Baghdad looking for such targets as rocket fuel plants, chemical weapons plants, and command and communications centers. Later, the RF-4Cs were repeated diverted from other photographic missions to go and look for Scud launchers hiding in western Iraq. No RF-4Cs were lost in action and eventually flew over 1,000 combat hours and 350 combat flying missions. The unarmed Nevada aircraft took over 19,000 photographic prints using 300,000 feet of film without a single target lost from processing.

Following the end of Desert Storm, the RF-4Cs began their retirement from USAF and Air National Guard service. The 192nd RS finally turned in its last four RF-4Cs on 27 September 1995, their planes being flown to Davis–Monthan AFB for storage. These aircraft were the last RF-4Cs in operational service, and with their retirement the era of RF-4C service with United States armed forces to an end.

Current operations

The Nevada Air National Guard began the conversion to a new aircraft and mission in October 1995, with training and construction to support the Airlift mission and the Pacer Coin Reconnaissance mission. The unit received its first C-130E Hercules aircraft on 9 April 1996, and became an operational Airlift Wing in April 1997.

Pacer Coin was a day/night, all-weather reconnaissance and surveillance system which provided imagery intelligence support to theater and other commanders in support of drug interdiction operations for U.S. Southern Command. The unit assumed this mission when it converted to the C-130E Hercules in October 1995. The Nevada Air Guard had the only Pacer Coin aircraft in the inventory. The special sensors and optics on-board provided photo reconnaissance capability.

The 152nd AW also took part in "Operation Joint Guard" (August 1997 – December 1997) in support of peacekeeping operations in Bosnia. The unit deployed one aircraft and 130 personnel to provide reconnaissance support to the region with its Pacer Coin capability. Operating from Aviano Air Base, Italy, the unit was scheduled to remain in-theater for approximately 60 days, but was not returned home until after 104 days. Their deployments complete, the Pacer Coin aircraft was retired on 15 May 1998.

In May 1998, the United States military group (USMILGP) Commander Ecuador, requested the Nevada Air National Guard to send experienced individuals that could interface with the Ecuadorian Air Force, Army, and civilian mapping agency personnel. The purpose was to train them in the planning and execution of photo reconnaissance to assist them in their efforts to overcome the drug trafficking problems in their country. A week prior to the actual exercise to test the new methods and information, personnel from the 152nd AW deployed to Mariscal Sucre International Airport, Quito to conduct training and classes aimed at improving the skills of Aircrew and Photo Interpreters. Classes were conducted for a week with classroom training as well as practical exercises.

The 152nd Airlift Wing began conversion from the C-130E to the C-130H in 1998. This conversion also included a modification, which provided additional Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) asset to the Air National Guard called Scathe View. Scathe View is composed of a high-endurance, adverse weather-operable, specially modified C-130H aircraft; a roll-on/roll-off sensor control and communications pallet operated by 2 on-board airborne imagery analysts; and the Wescam (subsequently L-3) MX-15 "pentasensor," a day or night capable imagery sensor with a laser range finder and a laser illuminator. The Scathe View system disseminates intelligence data and information directly to ground forces in real time via on-board voice and data communications suites.

Scathe View had been an essential component of search and rescue, aerial mapping and Humanitarian Relief Operations (HUMRO) during post-Hurricane Katrina operations in 2005.

In September 2007, the Nevada Air National Guard utilized the Scathe View system in the search for millionaire adventurer and pilot Steve Fossett. The 152nd Intelligence Squadron, part of the Nevada Air National Guard's 152nd Airlift Wing, was the only unit at that time equipped with the Scathe View system.

As of 2007, the 152nd Intelligence Squadron had 8 C-130H aircraft fitted with the system. At that time it was also planned to upgrade the MX-15 sensor and to provide a Beyond Line of Sight capability, allowing passing of data to intermediate higher headquarters and worldwide users.

Lineage

• Constituted 408th Fighter Squadron on 12 October 1943

Activated on 15 October 1943

Re-designated: 408th Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 5 April 1944

Re-designated: 408th Fighter Squadron on 5 June 1944

Inactivated on 7 November 1945

• Re-designated: 192nd Fighter Squadron, and allotted to Nevada ANG, on 24 May 1946

Extended federal recognition on 12 April 1948

Federalized and placed on active duty, 1 March 1951

Re-designated: 192nd Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 9 April 1951

Released from active duty and returned to Nevada state control, 15 October 1952

Re-designated: 192nd Fighter-Interceptor Squadron on 1 June 1955

Re-designated: 192nd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron on 1 April 1961

Federalized and placed on active duty, 26 January 1968

Released from active duty and returned to Nevada state control, 7 June 1969

Re-designated: 192nd Reconnaissance Squadron on 15 March 1992

Re-designated: 192nd Airlift Squadron on 1 April 1997

Assignments

• 372nd Fighter (later Fighter-Bomber; Fighter) Group, 15 Oct 1943 – 7 Nov 1945
• 61st Fighter Wing, 12 April 1948
• 144th Fighter Group, 25 June 1948
• 144th Fighter Wing, 31 October 1950

Attached to: Tenth Air Force, Continental Air Command, 1 March 1951

Attached to: Eighth Air Force, Strategic Air Command, 9 April 1951

Attached to: Fifteenth Air Force, Strategic Air Command, 7 August 1951

Attached to: Tactical Air Command, 16 Nov 1951 – 15 October 1952

• 144th Fighter-Interceptor Wing, 1 October 1952
• 144th Fighter-Bomber Wing, 1 December 1952
• 144th Fighter-Interceptor Wing, 7 July 1955
• 152nd Fighter-Interceptor Group, 19 April 1958
• 152nd Tactical Reconnaissance Group, 1 March 1961
• 123rd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, 26 January 1968
• 152nd Tactical Reconnaissance Group, 7 June 1969

Elements attached to: 35th Tactical Fighter Wing (Provisional), December 1990 – April 1991

• 152nd Reconnaissance Group, 15 March 1992
• 152nd Operations Group, 1 January 1996 – Present

Stations

Aircraft

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, AL: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
• Rogers, B. (2006). United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978. ISBN 1-85780-197-0
• Lineage and history of the 192nd Airlift Squadron
• official website history

External links

• "Pilot/Navigator Hiring". Archived from the original on 10 September 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2014.

v t e  Air National Guard
State and territorial units Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virgin Islands Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Centers Air National Guard Readiness ANG AFRC Test ANG Weather Readiness I.G. Brown Air National Guard Training and Education
Wings and Groups Wings Composite 108th 113th 118th 119th 127th 140th 154th 175th 176th 178th 188th Air Control 116th Airlift 103d 105th 107th 109th 120th 123d 130th 133d 136th 139th 143d 145th 146th 152d 153d 156th 164th 165th 166th 167th 172d 179th 182d 189th Air Refueling 101st 117th 121st 126th 128th 134th 137th 141st 151st 155th 157th 161st 168th 171st 185th 186th 190th Attack 110th 174th Bomb 131st Fighter 52d* 53d* 54th* 55th* 60th* 61st* 62d* 63d* 66th* 67th* 71st* 86th* 104th 106th* 111th 114th 115th 122d 124th 125th 132d 138th 142d 144th 148th 149th 150th 159th 162d 169th 173d 177th 180th 183d 187th 192d Intelligence 102d 181st 184th Reconnaissance 147th 163d Regional Support 194th Rescue 106th 129th Special Operations 150th 193d Groups Composite 170th Airlift 135th* Air Operations 102d 152d 157th Air Refueling 112th* 127th 160th* Combat Communications 162d 163d 201st 226th 252d 254th 281st* Cyberspace Engineering Installation 251st 253d Operations 140th Reconnaissance 214th
Squadrons Flying Air Command and Control 128th Airlift 109th 115th 118th 130th 135th* 137th 139th 142d 143d 144th 155th 156th 158th 164th 165th 167th 169th 180th 181st 183d 186th 187th 189th* 192d 198th* 200th 201st 204th 249th Air Refueling 106th 108th 116th 117th 126th 132d 133d 141st 145th* 146th 147th 151st 153d 166th 168th 171st 173d 174th 191st 197th 203d Attack 103d 105th 111th 124th 136th 138th 160th 162d 172d 178th 184th 196th 214th Bomb 110th Fighter 100th 104th 107th 112th 114th 119th 120th 121st 122d 123d 125th 131st 134th 148th 149th 152d 157th 159th 163d 170th* 175th 176th 179th 182d 190th 194th 195th 199th Rescue 101st 102d 103d 129th 130th 131st 188th 210th 211th 212th Special Operations 150th 185th 193d Training 154th Non-Flying Air Control 103d 109th 116th 117th 123d 128th 133d 134th 141st 176th 255th Air Operations 112th Air Support 113th ASOS 172d Air Traffic Control 243rd 245th 270th Civil Engineering 285th Civil Engineering Squadron Combat Communications 143d 147th 149th 206th 221st 222d 223d 225th 228th 231st 232d 234th 236th 239th 240th 242d 244th 256th 261st 262d 263d 264th 265th 267th 269th 271st 272d 280th 282d 283d 291st 292d 293d Command and Control 119th 127th 153d 222d Engineering Installation 130th 202d 205th 210th 211th 212th 213th 214th 215th 217th 218th 219th 220th 241st 243d 270th 272d Force Support 187th Information Warfare Aggressor 177th Intelligence 101st 117th 123d 152d 161st 194th 234th Joint Communications Support 224th 290th Logistics Readiness 187th RED HORSE 202d 203d 819th Security Forces 187th Space Control 114th Space Operations 111th 148th Space Warning 137th 213th Special Operations Communications 193d 280th Special Tactics 125th Asterisk (*) denotes an inactive unit

v t e United States Air Force
Leadership	Department of the Air Force Secretary of the Air Force Under Secretary of the Air Force Air Staff Chief of Staff Vice Chief of Staff Director of Staff Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Four-star generals Three-star generals 1940–1959 2000–2009 2010–2019 2020–present House Armed Services Committee House Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces Senate Committee on Armed Services Senate Subcommittee on Airland Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
Structure	Commands Reserve Air National Guard Field Operating Agencies Installations Direct Reporting Units District of Washington Operational Test and Evaluation Center USAF Academy Major commands ACC AETC AFGSC AFMC AFRC AFSOC AMC PACAF USAFE–AFAFRICA Numbered Air Forces First Second Third Fourth Fifth Seventh Eighth Ninth Tenth Eleventh Twelfth Thirteenth Expeditionary Fifteenth Sixteenth Eighteenth Nineteenth Twentieth Twenty-Second Wings ANG Groups ANG Squadrons ANG Security Forces Civilian auxiliary: Civil Air Patrol
Personnel and training	Personnel Rank officers cadets enlisted Specialty Code Aeronautical ratings Judge Advocate General's Corps RED HORSE Security Forces Medical Service Chief of Chaplains Chief Scientist Training: Air Force Academy Officer Training School Reserve Officer Training Corps Basic Training Airman Leadership School SERE Fitness Assessment
Uniforms and equipment	Awards and decorations Badges Equipment Aircraft Uniforms
History and traditions	History Aeronautical Division / Aviation Section / Division of Military Aeronautics / Army Air Service / Army Air Corps / Army Air Forces "The U.S. Air Force" Air Force Band Airman's Creed Core Values Flag Symbol Memorial National Museum Women Airforce Service Pilots Air Force One / Air Force Two Honor Guard Thunderbirds Service numbers Air & Space Forces Association
Category

v t e State of Nevada
Carson City (capital)
Topics	Index Geography Government Delegations History Nevada Territory World War II People Symbols Tourist attractions Transportation Fauna
Society	Abortion Culture Crime Demographics Hispanics and Latinos Native Americans Economy Education Elections Gun laws LGBT rights Politics
Regions	Black Rock Desert Eagle Valley Great Basin Lake Mead Lake Tahoe Las Vegas Valley Mojave Desert Pahranagat Valley Sierra Nevada Trout Creek Mountains Truckee Meadows
Metro areas	Las Vegas Reno
Counties	Churchill Clark Douglas Elko Esmeralda Eureka Humboldt Lander Lincoln Lyon Mineral Nye Pershing Storey Washoe White Pine
Cities and communities	Alamo Amargosa Valley Austin Baker Battle Mountain Beatty Boulder City Caliente Carlin Carson City Elko Ely Enterprise Eureka Fallon Fernley Gardnerville Ranchos Gerlach Goldfield Hawthorne Henderson Incline Village Las Vegas Laughlin Lovelock Mesquite Minden North Las Vegas Panaca Pahrump Paradise Pioche Primm Rachel Reno Spanish Springs Sparks Spring Creek Spring Valley Stateline Summerlin South Sun Valley Sunrise Manor Tonopah Virginia City West Wendover Winnemucca Whitney Winchester Yerington
Former counties	Bullfrog Ormsby Roop
Nevada portal

• Squadrons of the United States Air National Guard
• Airlift squadrons of the United States Air Force
• Military units and formations in Nevada