page_title: 166th Air Refueling Squadron
section_title: Tactical air command
hierarchical_section_title: 166th Air Refueling Squadron / History / Ohio Air National Guard / Tactical air command
caption_attribution_description: English: 166th Tactical Fighter Squadron - Ling-Temco-Vought A-7D-13-CV Corsair II 72-260 1973: Delivered to 355th Tactical Fighter Wing/354th TFS, Davis-Monthan AFB, NV (c/n D-382) Transferred to 166th Tactical Fighter Squadron, OKH Air National Guard, 1978 Transferred to AMARC as AE0072 Nov 1, 1991 Disposition:17-APR-98 / To Fritz Enterprises, Taylor, MI. (Actually to HVF West yard, Tucson). Scrapped. 1
context_page_description: The 166th Air Refueling Squadron is a unit of the Ohio Air National Guard 121st Air Refueling Wing located at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base, Columbus, Ohio. The 166th is equipped with the KC-135R Stratotanker.
context_section_description: Having left their Thunderstreaks in France, the 166th TFW was re-equipped with F-100C Super Sabre fighter-bombers, which greatly enhanced its mission capabilities.   During the mid-1960s the squadron trained with the supersonic jet, however on 26 January 1968, in response to the USS Pueblo incident, President Johnson mobilized a major portion of the Selected Reserve Force, which included the 166th TFS.
  Along with the Kansas ANG F-100C 127th Tactical Fighter Squadron, the 166th was federalized and deployed to Kunsan Air Base, South Korea. The federalized ANG squadrons were assigned as part of the 354th Tactical Fighter Wing.  The squadrons flew deterrent air defense missions over South Korean airspace during the next year.  During the deployment some pilots flew combat missions in South Vietnam while performing temporary assignments with other units.  The performance of the ANG units at Kusan in 1968–69 suggested the prerequisites of effective air reserve programs and paved the way for adoption of the total force policy in 1970 which exists today.
  On 10 June 1968, the ANG squadrons returned to the United States after the men of the Pueblo were released.  However, the experience of the F-100's in South Korea showed the Air Force that the F-100C was not a good air defense aircraft. The F-100s were aging and clearly unsuited to the most pressing operational responsibilities in the event of an attack by the North Koreans. In addition, the F-100's were slow in attaining altitude and lacked an effective all-weather, air-to-air combat capability, essential in Korea.    In 1971 the F-100Cs were retired and replaced by F-100D/F Super Sabres, being received from combat units in South Vietnam that were returning to the United States.
  In 1974 Lockbourne AFB was renamed Rickenbacker AFB in honor of Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, the World War I "Ace of Aces" and a Columbus, Ohio native.  Also in 1974, under the "Total Force Policy", Guard and Reserve units began to receive newer aircraft and equipment in the 1970s.  The 121st began conversion to the A-7D Corsair II in December which brought with it additional missions.    Beginning in 1977, the 166th began a NATO commitment to the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), and began deployments to West German and English bases exercising with NATO and USAFE units in a series of exercises.   The first deployment, in May 1977 to Ingolstadt Manching Air Base, West Germany the 166th deployed 10 A-7Ds as part of "Coronet Whist". In Germany, the units A-7Ds exercised with A-7s from the PA ANG 146th TFS (Pittsburgh IAP) and West German aircraft. In July 1978, a deployment to RAF Wittering, England saw 3 A-7Ds as part of "Coronet Teal".
  When the active duty units departed in 1979, Rickenbacker became an Air National Guard Base with the 121st as its largest flying unit.  The 1980s brought new and more demanding tasks when the 121st became part of President Jimmy Carter's Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force (RDJTF) and was ultimately integrated into war plans as a part of United States Central Command Air Forces (CENTAF) in the 1980s.
  Training for this high priority mission was intense and included many deployments, exercises and evaluations.  Additional deployments during the 1980s were Coronet Castle and Coronet Miami at RAF Sculthorpe, England, and "Creek Corsair".  Cornet Fox, at Leck Air Base, West Germany in May 1986, saw the squadron stage though Lajes Air Base, Azores and RAF Mildenhall, England before arriving in West Germany A deployment in July and August 1988, to Spangdahlem Air Base, West Germany, being the last NATO deployment for the squadron with the Corsairs.
  By the time of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm in 1990, the A-7D Corsairs were not considered front-line aircraft and the squadron was not activated.  However the 121st TFW provided support for operations at home station while smaller elements and individuals served as active duty augmenters in several locations. The 121st Security Forces Squadron was activated and deployed to the Persian Gulf in November 1990. Stationed 
caption: A-7D 72-260 about 1979
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