page_title: West Virginia Air National Guard
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: West Virginia Air National Guard / History
caption_attribution_description: English: A U.S. Air Force Lockheed C-130H Hercules (s/n 94-6701) from the 167th Airlift Squadron, 167th Airlift wing, West Virginia Air National Guard, flying over Harpers Ferry, West Virginia (USA), the junction of the Potomac and Shenandoah (left) rivers. The 167th Airlift Wing transitioned to the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy in 2006.
context_page_description: The West Virginia Air National Guard is the aerial militia of the State of West Virginia, United States of America. It is, along with the West Virginia Army National Guard, an element of the West Virginia National Guard.
  As state militia units, the units in the West Virginia Air National Guard are not in the normal United States Air Force chain of command. They are under the jurisdiction of the Governor of West Virginia though the office of the West Virginia Adjutant General unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States. The West Virginia Air National Guard is headquartered Charleston, and its commander is Major General Hoyer.
context_section_description: On May 24, 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 West Virginia Air National Guard origins date to March 7, 1947 with the establishment of the 167th Fighter Squadron, which is oldest unit of the West Virginia Air National Guard.  Originally equipped with F-51D Mustangs (the new name of the P-51 Mustang after 1947), the 167th Fighter Squadron was federally recognized and activated at Kanawha Airport, Charleston with a primary mission of air defense of the state. However, September 18, 1947 is considered the West Virginia Air National Guard's official birth, which is concurrent with the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate branch of the United States military under the National Security Act of 1947.
  On October 10, 1950, the 167th FS and all personnel were sworn in for 21 months of active duty during the Korean War. Most personnel and all aircraft became part of the 123d Fighter-Bomber Wing, located at Godman Army Airfield, Kentucky. Some members transferred to RAF Manston near London, England, flying F-84 Thunderjet aircraft. Other seasoned (experienced) pilots transferred to Far East Air Force for combat duty in the Korean War. Released from active duty on July 9, 1952, the 167th Fighter Interceptor Squadron (167th FIS) returned to Charleston, West Virginia and resumed flying the F-51 Mustang aircraft.
  In the early 1950s, Kanawha Airport could not accommodate jet aircraft, so Shepherd Field in Martinsburg received approval as the new site for the 167th FIS on September 21, 1955. The official move came on December 3, 1955, when the 167th FIS officially relocated from Kanawha Airport to Shepherd Field.
  The West Virginia Air National Guard was authorized to expand to two separate aircraft squadrons in 1955 by the National Guard Bureau. On October 1, 1955, the 130th Troop Carrier Squadron (130th TCS) was created at Kanawha Airport, Charleston and was extended federal recognition. This squadron was assigned to Tactical Air Command, which placed it under the Eighteenth Air Force.  Equipped with Grumman HU-16 Albatross amphibious aircraft and Curtiss C-46 Commando troop transport aircraft, the primary mission of the 130th TCS was Air Commando special operations missions.  On July 1, 1960, the HU-16 and C-46 were replaced by C-119 Flying Boxcar and U-10D Super Courier combat observation aircraft. In 1975, both of these aircraft were replaced by the far more capable C-130E Hercules transport aircraft, with a second upgrade to the C-130H Hercules completed in 1986.  Today, the 130th Airlift Wing (130 AW) provides tactical airlift support to Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps and other allied nations through the continued use of the C-130H Hercules.
  The 167th Airlift Wing (167 AW) provides global airlift to Air Mobiity Command, with its C-17 Globemaster III transports operating globally in support of the active-duty missions of the Air Force.
  After the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, elements of every Air National Guard unit in West Virginia 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.  Also, West Virginia 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.
  On May 13, 2005, the Department of Defense released its Base Realignment and Closure, 2005 (BRAC) report, and the 130th Airlift Wing was one of the units scheduled for decommission. Its eight C-130H aircraft woul
caption: A C-130H Hercules of the West Virginia Air National Guard flying over Harpers Ferry, the junction of the Potomac and Shenandoah (left) rivers
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