page_title: 169th Fighter Wing
section_title: Tactical Air Command
hierarchical_section_title: 169th Fighter Wing / History / Tactical Air Command
caption_attribution_description: Original caption: “A new era in warfare began on 17 January 1991 when the Allied air forces initiated the air portion of Operation Desert Storm, a 37-day air offensive which overwhelmed the Iraqi armed forces and opened the way for the ground force attack. The F16A's of the South Carolina Air National Guard's 169th Tactical Fighter Group, the "Swamp Foxes," struck early and often, playing a crucial role in the devastating allied air offensive. "Swamp Fox" F16A fighters left Al Kharj Air Base, Saudi Arabia on 5 February 1991 on day 20 of the air offensive. Some of the F16's were armed with "Maverick" air-to-ground missiles designed to destroy pinpointed targets. When this sortie was completed, the pilots reported five Iraqi tanks and one truck destroyed.” — http://www.ng.mil/resources/galleries/heritage/swampfoxes.html
context_page_description: The 169th Fighter Wing is a unit of the South Carolina Air National Guard, stationed at McEntire Joint National Guard Base, Columbia, South Carolina. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Combat Command.
context_section_description: With the phase-down of continental air defenses in the 1970s, the 169th was transferred to Tactical Air Command (TAC), and was re-designated a Tactical Fighter Group.   The 157th Tactical Fighter Squadron began to receive A-7D Corsair II subsonic tactical close air support aircraft from Tactical Air Command units that were preparing to receive the new A-10 Thunderbolt II.  Receiving its aircraft from the 354th TFW at Myrtle Beach AFB and the 355th TFW at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona.  The aircraft had excellent accuracy with the aid of an automatic electronic navigation and weapons delivery system. Although designed primarily as a ground attack aircraft, it also had limited air-to-air combat capability.  In 1982, the 157th received new twin-seat A-7K trainers.
  In the early 1980s, the South Carolina congressional delegation in Congress, led by Senators Strom Thurmond and Ernest Hollings, pressured the Department of Defense to upgrade Army and Air National Guard units with front line equipment to better supplement the Active Duty forces as part of the "Total Force" concept.  Specifically, Thurmond and Hollings wanted the Air Force to equip the South Carolina ANG with the new F-16 Fighting Falcon, which was, as the time, just being introduced into the active duty force of Tactical Air Command.  Beginning in July 1983, some of the initial Block 1 and Block 5 F-16As were transferred to the 169th Tactical Fighter Group, being the first Air National Guard unit to receive the aircraft.  Its A-7Ds were subsequently reassigned to other Air National Guard units.   Later, Block 10 F-16A/B were delivered by the Air Force to the 157th TFS.  By the mid-eighties, all the F-16s received by the 169th had undergone Pacer Loft modification bringing them up to the same block 10 standards.
  With the equipment change to the F-16, the 169th was assigned to the air defense mission again under Air Defense, Tactical Air Command (ADTAC), which was established when TAC assumed the Aerospace Defense Command mission in 1979.  In addition, although the F-16s weren't adapted to perform in the tactical close air support mission that the A-7D was utilized for, the 157th TFS did practice the conventional attack role with Mark 82 (Mk 82) and Mark 84 (Mk 84) gliding bombs. The quality of the pilots and ammunition/maintenance crews of the 157th TFS was demonstrated during Gunsmoke '89 held at Nellis AFB from 1–14 October. The 157th TFS took first place out of 15 other teams.
  In December 1990, during the buildup for war during Operation Desert Shield, the 157th was federalized for the third time and was deployed to Prince Sultan Air Base, Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia just a year and a half after taking first place at Gunsmoke '89.  The 157th Tactical Fighter Squadron (Provisional) flew a total of 1,729 combat sorties during Operation Desert Storm. A total mission rate of over 90% was achieved, which was quite a remarkable feat.
caption: Swamp Foxes in Operation Desert Storm, Air National Guard Art, 1992
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