123d Fighter Squadron The 123d Fighter Squadron ( 123d FS ) is a unit of the Oregon Air National Guard 142d Fighter Wing located at Portland Air National Guard Base , Oregon . The 123d is equipped with the F - 15C Eagle . The squadron is a descendant organization of the 123d Observation Squadron formed on 30 July 1940 . It was activated on 18 April 1941 . The squadron is one of the 29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of the United States Army National Guard formed before World War II . History . Oregon National Guard . Allocated to the Oregon National Guard in 1940 , activated on 18 April 1941 at Portland Municipal Airport . The newly formed unit began operations with two officers , 108 enlisted men and two aircraft , a North American BC - 1A ( like the AT - 6 ) and a Douglas O - 46A . The squadron flew observation missions primarily along the Pacific Coast and occasionally made mail flights . World War II . Ordered to active service in September 1941 as part of the pre - World War II buildup of the United States Army Air Corps and assigned to the 70th Observation Group , Fourth Air Force . After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor , flew anti - submarine patrols along the Pacific Coast from airfields in Oregon and Washington , later becoming part of the air defense forces of Southern California . This included one of the first missions flown from a U . S . base on 7 December 1941 . Flew anti - submarine patrols until mid - 1943 when the mission was turned over to the United States Navy . Reassigned to Third Air Force , sent first to Texas then to Oklahoma being trained for combat reconnaissance and aerial photography to support Army ground forces . Was deployed to Fourteenth Air Force in China as part of the China Burma India Theater , engaged in unarmed observation flights over Japanese - held territory supporting Chinese Nationalist forces . Flew B - 25 Mitchell s , A - 20 Havoc s and DB - 7 Boston Havocs originally built for the RAF . Flew from rough and remote airfields in China throughout the rest of the War , later flying unarmed high - speed long - range P - 38 Lightning s and F - 5 Reconnaissance Lightnings . The squadron received credit for participation in seven campaigns in World War II . Not all 123d personnel served with the 35th PRS , as some were diverted to other units as early as 1942 and served elsewhere in the Pacific and in Europe . As part of the large drawdown of forces after the war , the 35th PRS inactivated on November 7 , 1945 at Camp Kilmer , New Jersey . Oregon Air National Guard . The wartime squadron , designated the 35th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron was reactivated and re - designated as the 123d Fighter Squadron , and was allotted to the Oregon Air National Guard , on 24 May 1946 . It was organized at Portland Municipal Airport , Oregon and was extended federal recognition on 26 June 1946 by the National Guard Bureau . The 123d Fighter Squadron was bestowed the history , honors , and colors of the 35th PRS . The 123d FS was assigned to the 142d Fighter Group at Portland Municipal Airport . Thus the 142d FG began fighter operations for the first time in the North American F - 51D Mustang with 75 officers and 800 enlisted men . The unit was allocated to the Air Defense Command , with a mission of the air defense of the State of Oregon . Korean War activation . Was federalized and placed on active duty , 10 February 1951 as a result of the Korean War . Was assigned to the 325th Fighter - Interceptor Wing , and remained at Portland Municipal Airport as part of the ADC Western Air Defense Force . Performed air interception training missions with the F - 51s . Was reassigned to the 4704th Defense Wing in February 1952 , being re - equipped with F - 86F Sabre daylight interceptors , being joined by the active - duty 357th Fighter - Interceptor Squadron . Released from active duty and returned to control of the State of Oregon , 1 November 1952 . Cold War . Re - formed as part of the 142d Fighter - Interceptor Group , retaining F - 86F Sabres . It resumed its peacetime mission of the air defense of Oregon . Was upgraded by ADC in 1955 to the dedicated F - 94A Starfire all - weather interceptor . With this new aircraft , the mission of the 123d Fighter - Interceptor Squadron changed from day interceptor to day and night all - weather interceptor . In 1957 the 123d again upgraded to the improved F - 89J Scorpion then in 1966 to the supersonic F - 102A Delta Dagger . In the summer of 1958 , the 142d implemented the ADC Runway Alert Program , in which interceptors of the 123d Fighter - Interceptor Squadron were committed to a five - minute runway alert 24 / 7 / 365 . The runway alert continues to this day . In 1972 it received the Mach - 2 F - 101B Voodoo . As an example of the unit ' s readiness and capability , in 1976 , the unit won top honors at a pair of Aerospace Defense Command ( ADC ) competitions , the Weapons Loading Competition and the famous William Tell Air Defense Competition . In William Tell 1976 , the 142nd garnered first place in the F - 101 category and Lt . Col . Don Tonole and Maj . Brad Newell captured the overall " Top Gun " title flying the McDonnell F - 101B Voodoo . After the inactivation of Aerospace Defense Command in 1979 and the reassignment to Tactical Air Command ( ADTAC ) , the 123d began receiving F - 4C Phantom II aircraft used in the interceptor mission beginning in 1981 . Success came again at William Tell 1984 when the unit placed first in the F - 4 category flying the McDonnell - Douglas F - 4C Phantom II and beat many of its F - 15 Eagle and F - 106 Delta Dart rivals in the overall competition . Majors Ron Moore and Bill Dejager were the overall F - 4 " Top Guns " of the competition . In 1985 , as part of the retirement of the F - 4C from the inventory , the Oregon Air National Guard began to receive F - 15A Eagle s from active - duty units receiving the upgraded F - 15C . Since the end of the Cold War , the 142d has served as the principal air defense unit of the Pacific Northwest . In 1992 , as part of a large USAF reorganization , both the group and squadron were re - designated yet again as the 142d Fighter Group and the 123d Fighter Squadron , respectively . In 1995 the group was elevated to wing status , beginning its current designation as the 142d Fighter Wing . The wing participated in a wide variety of expeditionary and humanitarian assistance missions in the turbulent post - Cold War environment while providing air defense of the Pacific Northwest . These included major deployments to Turkey in 1998 for Operation Northern Watch and to Saudi Arabia in 2000 for Operation Southern Watch , patrolling the no - fly zones then in place over Iraq . The wing deployed aircraft to Panama in 1998 in support of counter = drug missions , helping stem the flow of the drug trade by air . Wing personnel deployed on various other missions , sending medical troops to Belize , civil engineers to Macedonia , and to such places around the globe as Curaçao , Denmark , Germany , Guam , Kuwait , Spain and the United Kingdom . Global War on Terrorism . On 11 September 2001 , the wing was one of the first units to respond to the dastardly terrorist attacks on the east coast with increased air defense to enhance security on the west coast , and subsequently participated in Operation Noble Eagle , the national military response to homeland defense . In the 50th Year of William Tell Anniversary Competition held in 2004 , the 142d Fighter Wing was rated first in Maintenance , Element Attack and Gun categories . These William Tell successes demonstrate Oregon ' s long history of excellent performance and readiness to accomplish the real world mission . In 2004 , unit personnel provided humanitarian aid in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the 2007 floods in Vernonia , Oregon . The wing also supported ongoing contingency operations in Southwest Asia , including Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom , such as in the 2004 deployment of medical personnel to Qatar and the 2009 deployment of Security Forces Squadron personnel to Iraq . In 2005 , the early 1970s F - 15A model were retired and the squadron received its current aircraft , the F - 15C Eagle . With more than 1 , 000 officers and airmen , the 142d Fighter Wing guards the Pacific Northwest skies from northern California to the Canadian border , on 24 - hour Air Sovereignty Alert as part of Air Combat Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command ( NORAD ) . The wing also stands ready to participate in state and federal contingency missions as required . In August 2010 , two F - 15 Eagles from this wing were dispatched in response to an airspace violation while the President visited Seattle , Washington . The jets produced two sonic booms over the Seattle skyline , the civilian Cessna 182 left restricted airspace before the jets arrived .