page_title: California Air National Guard
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: California Air National Guard / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Preparing for a target towing mission at Camp Merriam, now Camp San Luis Obispo, in 1933. Captain Miller boards an O-38 as mechanics adjust the towing mechanism. Note the squadron insignia on the side of the aircraft.
context_page_description: The California Air National Guard is the aerial militia of the State of California, United States of America. It is, along with the California Army National Guard, an element of the California National Guard.
  As state militia units, the units in the California Air National Guard are not in the normal United States Air Force chain of command. They are under the jurisdiction of the Governor of California through the office of the California Adjutant General unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States. The California Air National Guard is headquartered in Sacramento, and its commander is currently Brigadier General Gregory F. Jones.
context_section_description: The California Air National Guard origins date to 28 August 1917 with the establishment of the 115th Aero Squadron as part of the World War I United States Army Air Service. The 115th served in France on the Western Front, constructed facilities and engaged in supply and related base support activities then after the 1918 Armistice with Germany was demobilized in 1919.
  The Militia Act of 1903 established the present National Guard system, units raised by the states but paid for by the Federal Government, liable for immediate state service. If federalized by Presidential order, they fall under the regular military chain of command. On 1 June 1920, the Militia Bureau issued Circular No.1 on organization of National Guard air units.
  The 115th Observation Squadron was established by the Militia Bureau on 5 April 1924, which authorized the immediate organization of the 115th Observation Squadron, 40th Division of Aviation, California National Guard. Initially the Unit held its meetings at Clover Field, Santa Monica, using Reserve Equipment planes for flying. Later on, the Squadron met at the National Guard Armory and also at the University of Southern California. In 1925, several months after its organization, the Squadron moved to permanent quarters at Griffith Park Aerodrome in Los Angeles. The 115th Observation Squadron was ordered into active United States Army Air Corps service on 3 March 1941 as part of the buildup of the Army Air Corps prior to the United States entry into World War II.
  On 24 May 1946, the United States Army Air Forces, in response to dramatic postwar military budget cuts, imposed by President Harry S. Truman, allocated inactive unit designations to the National Guard Bureau for the formation of an Air Force National Guard. These unit designations were allotted and transferred to various State National Guard bureaus to provide them unit designations to re-establish them as Air National Guard units.
  The modern California ANG received federal recognition on 1 July 1946 as the 62d Fighter Wing at Van Nuys Airport, Van Nuys.  Its 115th Bombardment Squadron was equipped with A-26 Invader light bombers.  On 16 September 1946, its 146th Fighter Group was also formed at Van Nuys, with several fighter squadrons equipped with F-51 Mustangs and its mission was the air defense of the state.   18 September 1947, however, is considered the California Air National Guard's official birth concurrent with the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate branch of the United States military under the National Security Act
  On 4 April 1948 the 61st Fighter Wing  with its 144th Fighter Group was formed at Hayward Municipal Airport, Hayward.  The 61st's mission was the air defense of Northern California, the 62d, Southern California.
  Today, units of the CA ANG perform a homeland defense mission; worldwide airlift missions, aireal firefighting, combat search and rescue, and Unmanned Aireal (UAV) Reconnaissance missions.  The 162d CCG also maintains tactical communications-electronic facilities, and provides tactical command and control communications services for operational commands supporting US military wartime contingencies.
  After the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, elements of every Air National Guard unit in California has been activated in support of the Global War on Terrorism. Flight crews, aircraft maintenance personnel, communications technicians, air controllers and air security personnel were engaged in Operation Noble Eagle air defense overflights of major United States cities.  In December 2007, after the grounding of F-15 fighters due to potential structural problems, the California Air National Guard assumed responsibility for defense of the western United States. This was the first time that a single state's fighter wing took responsibility of defense for an entire coast.
  Also, California ANG units have been deployed overseas as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq as well as other locations as directed.
  California Air N
caption: Preparing for a target towing mission at Camp Merriam, now Camp San Luis Obispo, Captain Miller of the 115th Observation Squadron boards an O-38 as mechanics adjust the towing mechanism, 1933
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