158th Fighter Wing The 158th Fighter Wing ( 158 FW ) is a unit of the Vermont Air National Guard , stationed at Burlington Air National Guard Base , Burlington , Vermont . If activated to federal service , the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Combat Command . The mission of the 158th Fighter Wing is to utilize the F - 16 Fighting Falcon to provide a relatively low - cost , high - performance weapon system for the United States and allied nations . Units . The 158th Fighter Wing consists of the following major units : History . In 1956 the Maine Air National Guard 101st Fighter - Interceptor Wing was expanded to an Air Defense Wing and reorganized by Air Defense Command . As a result , the Vermont Air National Guard 134th Fighter - Interceptor Squadron was authorized to expand to a group level , and the 158th Fighter Group ( Air Defense ) was established by the National Guard Bureau ; the 134th FIS becoming the group ' s flying squadron . Other squadrons assigned into the group were the 158th Headquarters , 158th Material Squadron ( Maintenance ) , 158th Combat Support Squadron , and the 158th USAF Dispensary . Air Defense Mission . The mission of the 158th Fighter Group ( AD ) was the air defense of Vermont . Its 134th FIS was initially equipped with the F - 94 Starfire interceptor . On 25 June 1960 , Air Defense Command inactivated the active - duty 14th Fighter Group at Ethan Allen AFB , and the base reverted to full Air National Guard jurisdiction . The 158th Fighter Group ( AD ) now manned alert hangars 24 hours a day . In the summer of 1960 , summer field training was conducted at Otis Air Force Base at Cape Cod , MA , from 18 June to 2 July . When the unit returned to Burlington , the Maintenance and Operations Squadrons immediately moved into the facilities that had been vacated by the Regular Air Force with the closure of Ethan Allen AFB . The aging F - 94s were replaced by twin - engine F - 89D Scorpion fighters in 1958 . Two years later F - 89Js replaced the D models . The J model was designed to carry two AIR - 2 Genie nuclear - tipped air - to - air missiles under the wings to defend against enemy bomber attack . The 134th was reorganized as the 158th Fighter Interceptor Group and was placed under the United States Air Defense Command . Lt Col Robert P . Goyette assumed command of the group and Maj Rolfe L . Chickering took command of the 134th Fighter Interceptor Squadron . The Air Guard now manned alert hangars 24 hours a day , a mission which had previously belonged to the active Air Force . During the 1950s and early 1960s , better training and equipment , and closer relations with the Air Force greatly improved the readiness of Group . The Vermont Air National Guard received the ADC Operational Readiness award in October 1962 , for having the greatest degree of readiness of any F - 89 unit in the country . In 1965 , the 134th received Mach - 2 supersonic F - 102A Delta Dagger interceptors , the Air Guard was always one generation of aircraft behind the Air Force during this time . In 1971 the 158th embarked on an intensive recruiting program that made Vermont one of the top units in the country in total strength . During this period the Vermont ANG began to actively recruit women into all open career fields . Maryanne T . Lorenz was the first woman officer and SSgt Karen Wingard left active duty with the Air Force to become the first enlisted woman to join the Green Mountain Boy unit . She later became First Sergeant of the 158th Mission Support Squadron , received her commission , and was later appointed commander of that squadron . The 158th Fighter Interceptor Group became the 158th Defense Systems Evaluation Group ( 158 DSEG ) in June 1974 , with the unit receiving twenty EB - 57 Canberra s . These two - seat , twin - engine aircraft were former medium bombers that were re - equipped with electronic counter - measures and chaff emitting equipment . The new mission was to act as the " friendly enemy " to evaluate both air and ground radar systems . This mission took pilots , electronic warfare officers , and maintenance personnel all over the United States , Canada , and as far as Iceland , South Korea , and Japan . The unit provided direct operational training of now - Aerospace Defense Command , U . S . Air Forces in Europe ( USAFE ) and Pacific Air Forces ( PACAF ) aircrews in the accomplishment of their mission when their systems were severely degraded as might be expected during an attack by enemy offensive aircraft . Tactical Air Command . With the disestablishment of Aerospace Defense Command in 1979 , the 158th was subsequently transferred to Tactical Air Command ( TAC ) as a gaining command under Air Defense , Tactical Air Command ( ADTAC ) , which assumed the mission of the former ADC . In 1980 , the 158th began a transition to the F - 4D Phantom II , a powerful , two seat , twin - engine fighter , with the Vermont Air National Guard , leaving the Air Defense community to become part of main line Tactical Air Command with a primary mission of ground attack and close air support . The 158th Tactical Fighter Group deployed to the Gulfport Combat Readiness Training Center , Mississippi , in January , 1983 to prepare for the upcoming Operational Readiness Inspection . This was the unit ' s first large - scale deployment in 23 years . The last deployment had been for summer camp at Otis AFB , Massachusetts , in 1960 . The 158th Civil Engineering Squadron dedicated its new building on December 14 . Fifty - two members of the CE Squadron deployed to Panama on a humanitarian mission in January 1994 . They constructed a six - room masonry block school building and a single story wood frame building to be used as a hospice by the local hospital . In the mid eighties the USAF decided to re - equip the Air National Guard units with more modern equipment as part of the " Total Force " concept . In the earlier decades the ANG always had to be thankful to receive older USAF jets . With the introduction of the F - 16 this changed . The F - 4D Phantoms were retired in 1986 and the first F - 16 Fighting Falcon models of the 134th FS were of the block 15 version – although also some earlier 1970s block 1 and 10 models were flown for a brief time . These aircraft came from regular USAF squadrons who transitioned to newer F - 16C / D models , but still these aircraft , largely 1982 models , were no older than a mere 5 years . From 1989 - 1997 , the 134th Fighter Squadron ' s mission was air defense , having aircraft on 5 - minute alert , seven days a week , 24 hours a day . Locations of these alert aircraft included Burlington , Maine , Virginia and South Carolina . The location of the Vermont ANG was much more specific in their relation to NORAD that they were tasked with this defense as a primary role . Therefore , the block 15 lacked the Beyond Visual Range capability . However , this changed in the course of 1990 with the upgrade of their aircraft to the block 15 ADF ( Air Defense Fighter ) version . This meant a serious leap in performance and capability of this squadron in their defensive role . As a result , the Vermont ANG has one of the highest rates of interceptions of Russian bombers that were coming in over the North Pole , except for some Alaskan USAF units . Many times Vermont F - 16 ' s were called upon to fly to a point just short of Iceland and escort Soviet bombers as they flew off the coastline of the United States . The 158th FW has also assisted with aircraft experiencing in - flight malfunctions and hijackings . Air Combat Command . In March 1992 , with the end of the Cold War , the 158th adopted the Air Force Objective Organization plan , and the unit was re - designated as the 158th Fighter Group . In June , Tactical Air Command was inactivated as part of the Air Force reorganization after the end of the Cold War . It was replaced by Air Combat Command ( ACC ) . In 1994 the scope of the squadron was again enlarged with the introduction of the block 25 version of the F - 16 . The 134th FS was one of the first ANG units to receive the F - 16C / D Fighting Falcon . At first the mission of the squadron remained relatively the same . But with the introduction of these aircraft a more multi - role mission profile became possible with the squadron being tasked to undertake deployments to the Middle East . Along with the Air Defense mission , the men and women of " The Green Mountain Boys " have also been tasked seven times to deploy to different locations in Central America to help patrol the skies and intercept aircraft suspected of illegally smuggling drugs . These missions were usually flown far offshore in the middle of the night and required a high degree of proficiency . In 1995 , in accordance with the Air Force " One Base - One Wing " directive , the 158th was changed in status to a Wing , and the 134th Fighter Squadron was assigned to the new 158th Operations Group . In mid - 1996 , the Air Force , in response to budget cuts , and changing world situations , began experimenting with Air Expeditionary organizations . The Air Expeditionary Force ( AEF ) concept was developed that would mix Active - Duty , Reserve and Air National Guard elements into a combined force . Instead of entire permanent units deploying as " Provisional " as in the 1991 Gulf War , Expeditionary units are composed of " aviation packages " from several wings , including active - duty Air Force , the Air Force Reserve Command and the Air National Guard , would be married together to carry out the assigned deployment rotation . In the fall of 1997 , the 158th Fighter Wing was evaluated by the Air Combat Command and was tasked to fight a simulated war from 2 locations , a very challenging undertaking . The 158th Wing deployed 225 personnel and 10 F - 16s to Canada while the rest of the Wing remained in Burlington for the comprehensive 5 - day evaluation . The men and women of " The Green Mountain Boys " received the first rating of " Outstanding " ( the highest possible score ) ever earned by an Air Defense Unit . In 1998 the squadron was one of five ANG squadrons to be equipped with the Theater Airborne Reconnaissance System ( TARS ) . This way the squadrons mission became somewhat specific in the USAF , since only these five ANG units possess a tactical reconnaissance capacity . They are therefore regularly asked to perform this mission for the entire organization . In October 2000 , the 134th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron was formed and deployed to Prince Sultan Air Base , Saudi Arabia as part of a " Rainbow " package composed of the 111th and 177th Fighter Squadron . Operation Southern Watch was an operation which was responsible for enforcing the United Nations mandated no - fly zone below the 32nd parallel north in Iraq as part of Air Expeditionary Force 9 . This mission was initiated mainly to cover for attacks of Iraqi forces on the Iraqi Shi ’ ite Muslims . After the terrorist attacks on 9 / 11 / 2001 , the 134th began flying Operation Noble Eagle air defense missions over major cities in the northeast . Beginning in May 2005 , the 134th began a series of deployments to Balad Air Base , Iraq , being attached to the 332d Expeditionary Fighter Squadron . This was a rotation in the Air Expeditionary Force 9 / 10 cycle as part of another Rainbow deployment to support Operation Iraqi Freedom ( OIF ) along with the 119th and 163d Expeditionary Fighter Squadron s . Another OIF Expeditionary deployment was made in February 2006 and a third to Balad AB was made in September 2007 . As a result of BRAC 2005 , on March 5 , 2008 - still in 186th FS markings - the 134th FS received its first F - 16 block 30 ( # 87 - 0332 ) as the Montana ANG 186th Fighter Squadron converted to the F - 15 Eagle . This conversion is not only an engine change from the Pratt & Whitney to the General Electric but also to the big inlet viper . Before the end of 2008 the 134th FS had completed its conversion to the block 30 . The block 25s were sent to the Minnesota ANG 179th Fighter Squadron ; the 412th Test Wing at Edwards AFB , and some went to AMARC for retirement in the ' boneyard . ' The 134th achieved initial operational capability ( IOC ) on the block 30 in 2009 with the squadron being ready for combat .