186th Fighter Squadron The 186th Fighter Squadron ( 186 FS ) is a unit of the Montana Air National Guard 120th Fighter Wing located at Great Falls Air National Guard Base , Montana . The 186th is equipped with the F - 15C Eagle . History . World War II . The 404th Fighter Squadron was activated ar Richmond Army Air Base , Virginia in the summer of 1943 as one of the three original squadrons of the 371st Fighter Group . The squadron trained in the northeastern United States with Republic P - 47 Thunderbolt s under First Air Force before moving overseas in the spring of 1944 . Upon arriving in England , the squadron became an element of Ninth Air Force at Bisterne Close , England . The squadron ' s first combat operation was a fighter sweep over Occupied France . Prior to Operation Overlord , the invasion of Normandy , the 404th flew fighter sweeps , dive bombing and escort missions . On D - Day the 404th patrolled the beachhead . attacking railroads , trains , vehicles . gun emplacements and other targets . Soon after the invasion , the squadron moved to France and participated in the air interdiction that preceded the Allied breakout at St Lo in late July and supported the following drive across northern France . It continued to operate in northeastern France and southwestern Germany through the winter of 1945 , attacking storage dumps , marshalling yard , factories , bridges , roads , and vehicles . In December 1944 it provided close air support for ground forces engaged in the Battle of the Bulge . The squadron was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for its attacks between 15 March and 21 March 1945 that contributed to the defeat of Axis forces in southern Germany . It continued combat operations until the Surrender of Germany in May . The squadron remained with the occupation forces in Germany and Austria until October 1945 when it returned to the United States and was inactivated . Montana Air National Guard . The wartime 404th Fighter Squadron was redesignated as the 186th Fighter Squadron , and was allotted to the Montana National Guard , on 24 May 1946 . It was organized at Gore Field , Great Falls , Montana and was extended federal recognition on 27 June 1947 . The squadron was equipped with F - 51D Mustangs and was allotted to the Fourth Air Force , Continental Air Command by the National Guard Bureau . Within two weeks of its activation six F - 51Ds arrived . As part of the Continental Air Command Fourth Air Force , the unit trained for tactical bombing missions and air to air combat . Eighty - nine days after activation , tragedy struck the fledgling unit . En route to pick up the adjutant general in Helena , the A - 26 Invader Lt . Col . Sperry was flying went down in a heavy snowstorm . The wreckage could not be found until the following summer . Aboard also was Sgt . Charles Glover , for whom the street along the east side of building 64 is named . On 1 April 1951 , the unit was activated for duty in South Korea . Personnel were sent to Moody AFB , Ga . , and ten F - 51s were shipped to Korea . The squadron became a F - 51D Fighter - Bomber training unit . The 186th was returned to Montana State control in November 1952 and on 1 January 1953 , the squadron was reformed at Gore Field . After the Korean War , the squadron was equipped with the long - range F - 51H Mustang and became a part of Air Defense Command . The unit received its first jet aircraft in December 1952 , a T - 33 Shooting Star . In early 1953 it was equipped with F - 86A Sabre jet interceptors . The squadron was redesignated the 186th Fighter - Interceptor Squadron on 1 November 1953 and adopted the " Charlie Chicken " patch . By July 1955 the transition from the F - 51H Mustang to the F - 86A Sabre was complete . On 1 July 1955 , the 186th was authorized to expand to a group level , and the 120th Fighter Group ( Air Defense ) was established by the National Guard Bureau . The 186th FIS becoming the group ' s flying squadron . Other squadrons assigned into the group were the 120th Headquarters , 120th Material Squadron ( Maintenance ) , 120th Combat Support Squadron , and the 120th USAF Dispensary . Also in 1955 , the F - 86A day interceptors were replaced by the F - 94A Starfire all - weather interceptor . In 1958 , the 120th implemented the ADC Runway Alert Program , in which interceptors of the 186th FIS were committed to a five - minute runway alert , a task that would last for 38 years . The arrival of the F - 102 Delta Dagger in 1966 ushered in the supersonic age . In 1968 Air Defense Command was re - designated as Aerospace Defense Command ( ADCOM ) . In 1972 , the unit was redesignated the 120th Fighter - Interceptor Group and assigned the F - 106 Delta Dart , the first Air National Guard unit to receive this aircraft . With the F - 106 , the squadron competed in and won its first William Tell , a live - fire missile competition held at Tyndall AFB , Florida . Performed air defense duties along the northern tier of the United States until 1978 when ADCOM was merged into Tactical Air Command . Continued air defense mission for ADTAC component of TAC with the F - 106s , transferring to First Air Force when ADTAC was replaced in 1985 . The 186th FS converted from the F - 106A to the F - 16A / B Fighting Falcon in mid - 1987 . The conversion happened earlier than was scheduled and the 186th FIS was to be the last squadron to lose its F - 106s . The first aircraft were older block 5 and 10 models with some block 15 airframes also being delivered to the squadron . Main task for the unit was air defense , as with many ANG units who were equipped with the F - 16 . In 1991 the F - 16s were brought up to the Air Defense Fighter ( ADF ) variant . This meant a serious leap in performance and capability of this squadron in their defensive role . This situation was maintained up until 2001 when the squadron started receiving more modern F - 16C block 30 aircraft with a large intake . This conversion replaced the air defense mission with one of general purpose / air - to - ground as part of the Expeditionary Aerospace Force . With the conversion , unit members felt it was time to consider a change in the aircraft tail markings . The most notable change included the 186th Fighter Squadron ' s nickname of " Vigilantes " . The nickname by the pilots of the 186th is intended to honor the first men in the Montana Territory who organized for the safety and welfare of the people . The squadron once again found itself on alert status after the terrorism attacks in New York City and Washington , D . C . Base personnel implemented the necessary procedures to establish a secure environment while maintaining a 24 - hour alert status for aircraft . Throughout 2002 , hundreds of unit personnel were activated and deployed to multiple locations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and the world . As a result of the 2005 BRAC decisions the unit converted to the F - 15C / D during 2008 and revert to an all - air defense unit . In early December 2007 the first F - 16 left Great Falls being transferred to the 158th Fighter Wing , Vermont ANG . By the summer of 2008 , eighteen F - 15C Eagles had been transferred from the 131st Fighter Wing at St . Louis due to its conversion to the 131st Bomb Wing , flying the B - 2 stealth bomber .