136th Airlift Wing The 136th Airlift Wing ( 136 AW ) is a unit of the Texas Air National Guard , stationed at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth , Fort Worth , Texas . If activated to federal service , the wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command . Overview . The 136th Airlift Wing ' s C - 130 Hercules mission is to perform the tactical portion of the airlift mission . The aircraft is capable of operating from rough , dirt strips and is the prime transport for air dropping troops and equipment into hostile areas . The C - 130 performs a diverse number of roles , including airlift support , Antarctic ice resupply , aeromedical missions , weather reconnaissance , aerial spray missions , firefighting duties for the U . S . Forest Service , and natural disaster relief missions . The wing is collocated with the navy , marines , air force reserve , coast guard and army at the Naval Air Station , Joint Reserve Base ( NAS JRB ) , on Carswell Field . Units . The 136th Airlift Wing is composed of 5 groups , 19 units and 1 geographically separated unit ( GSU ) . History . World War II . Established in mid - 1943 as a P - 47 Thunderbolt fighter group , trained under I Fighter Command on Long Island and Massachusetts . Moved to England , arriving in January 1944 . Began operations with IX Fighter Command on 14 March when the group flew a fighter sweep over the English Channel coast of France . Made strafing and bombing attacks on airfields , rail and highway bridges , trains , vehicles , flak positions , and V - weapon sites to help prepare for the invasion of France . Supported the landings in Normandy early in June 1944 and began operations from the Continent later the same month . Aided in the taking of Cherbourg , participated in the air operations that prepared the way for the Allied breakthrough at St Lo on 25 July , and supported ground forces during their drive across France . Received a Distinguished Unit Citation for support operations in the vicinity of Mons , Belgium on 3 September 1944 when the group , dispatching seven missions against the enemy on that day , not only destroyed large numbers of motor transports , horse - drawn vehicle s , and troops , but also attacked enemy positions that obstructed the progress of ground forces . Continued to support ground forces , participated in the assault against the Siegfried Line , and took part in the Battle of the Bulge ( December 1944 – January 1945 ) by attacking rail lines and trains , marshalling yards , roads and vehicles , armored columns , and gun positions . Operated with the Allied forces that pushed across the Rhine and into Germany . After V - E Day , served with the Army of Occupation , being assigned to United States Air Forces in Europe . Inactivated in Germany on 20 August 1946 Texas Air National Guard . The wartime 368th Fighter Group was re - designated as the 136th Fighter Group , and was allotted to the Texas Air National Guard , on 21 August 1946 . It was organized at Love Field Airport , Dallas , Texas and was extended federal recognition on 27 January 1947 by the National Guard Bureau . The 136th Fighter Group was bestowed the lineage , history , honors , and colors of the 368th Fighter Group . The group was assigned to the Texas Air National Guard 63d Fighter Wing . The 136th Fighter Group initially consisted of the following : In addition , the 136th Material Squadron ( Maintenance ) ; 136th Combat Support Squadron and 136th Medical Squadron were activated and assigned to the group at Hensley Field as support elements . F - 51D Mustang s were assigned to the Fighter Squadrons , and the mission of the unit was the air defense of Texas . In mid - 1950 the Texas Air national Guard received its first jet aircraft , when a few F - 84B Thunderjet s were assigned to the 181st Fighter Squadron in June . Korean War Activation . As a result of the Korean War , the Texas Air National Guard was federalized and placed on active - duty status on 10 October 1950 , being assigned to Ninth Air Force , Tactical Air Command ( TAC ) . TAC ordered the 136th Fighter Group to Langley Air Force Base , Virginia , where the unit was re - designated to a Fighter - Bomber unit , and its status was changed to a Wing . At Langley , the 136th Fighter - Bomber Wing consisted of the following units : The Love Field - based 181st was also re - designated as a Fighter - Bomber Squadron , however it remained in Dallas , the squadron taking over the ANG air defense mission for the entire state of Texas . Subsequently , it was re - equipped with the Very Long Range ( VLR ) F - 51H Mustang , which had been developed to escort B - 29 Superfortress bombers in the Pacific Theater from the Mariana Islands to the Japanese Home Islands . Its F - 84Bs were reassigned as they lacked the range of the Mustangs . At Langley AFB , the 136th trained with their F - 51D Mustangs . Unfortunately losing two 111th FBS pilots in a training accident on 15 December . A third pilot was killed on 27 January 1951 in another accident . In February 1951 , the aged F - 51Ds that the unit had been flying since its activation in 1947 were replaced by F - 84E Thunderjet s , and the squadron began transition training on the jet fighter - bomber . Most of the training took place at Langley , although some pilots were sent to Shaw AFB , South Carolina . Maintenance crews , all new to jet aircraft , were trained at Langley and engine specialists were sent to the Allision plant in Indianapolis . Assigned to the Arkansas ANG 154th FBS at the time was a Navy exchange pilot , future NASA astronaut Lt . Walter Shirra ( who happened to be the only pilot assigned to the 136th at the time who was a qualified jet pilot ) . In May 1951 , less than seven months later , the Wing was deployed to Japan , being attached to Far East Air Force and stationed at Itazuke Air Force Base , the first echelon of the 136th arriving on 18 May . The 136th replaced the Strategic Air Command 27th Fighter - Escort Wing , which had deployed to Far East Air Force in the early days of the Korean War . At Itazuke , the squadrons took over the F - 84Es of the 27th FEW , which remained in place , its aircraft being reassigned from SAC to Far East Air Force inventory records . On 2 June , the final elements of the 136th arrived in Japan , the National Guardsmen officially relieved the 27th FBW and the SAC airmen departed for the United States . The 136th was the first Air National Guard Wing in history to enter combat . From Japan the Wing engaged in combat operations over South Korea , however flying in the North Pacific area was a challenge to the wing , losing seven F - 84Es in non - combat operations and three in combat . On 26 June , in one of the largest air - to - air battles in Korea , two 182d FBS pilots , Captain Harry Underwood and 1st LT Arthur Olighter shot down an enemy MiG - 15 that broke though an F - 86 Sabre escort of four B - 29s . Two other 111th FBS pilots , 1st Lt John Morse and John Marlins scored probables in the same encounter . These were the first combat victories by Air National Guard pilots . On 3 July the 136th sent their aircraft to North Korea , attacking FLAK batteries in downtown Pyongyang while other aircraft attacked North Korean airfields . However , the short - legged F - 84 had limited combat time over Korea , therefore on 16 November 1951 the Wing moved to Taegu Air Force Base ( K - 2 ) in South Korea for its combat operations . In 1952 , the 136th was re - equipped with the F - 84G Thunderjet , designed for tactical close air support of ground forces . During its time in combat , the 136th flew 15 , 515 Combat Sorties ; was credited with 4 enemy aircraft destroyed ; 7 probables and 72 others damaged . It was the first ANG unit to down a MiG - 15 ; it dropped 23 , 749 ( 7 , 120 tons ) of bombs and expended over 3 million rounds of . 50 caliber ammunition ; being awarded Five Korean Campaign Ribbons . The 136th Fighter - Bomber Wing was released from active duty and returned to the United States on 10 July 1952 Air Defense Command . With the Wing ' s return from the Korean War , the 111th and the 182d Fighter - Bomber Squadrons joined the 181st FBS with VLR F - 51H Mustang s . The 136th Fighter - Bomber Wing was assigned to the Central Air Defense Force , Air Defense Command ( ADC ) and resumed its postwar mission of Texas air defense . It was not until 1955 that the Texas Air National Guard received jets from ADC , receiving F - 80B and F - 80C Shooting Star s and the squadrons being re - designated as Fighter - Interceptor Squadrons . The 111th received F - 80C - 11 ( modified F - 80A to F - 80C standards ) Shooting Stars on 1 July 1955 , and on 1 July 1956 the 111th FIS commenced to participate in the active ADC runway alert program at Ellington AFB . The 182d at Brooks AFB received F - 80C Shootng Stars in August 1956 , replacing some of the last F - 51H Mustangs in the USAF inventory . The 181st at Love Field received F - 80Cs in January 1955 . On 1 July 1957 the 136th Fighter - Bomber Wing was re - designated an Air Defense Wing and reorganized along Air Defense Command lines . Combat units of the - Wing were selected by the Air Defense Command to man a runway alert program on full 24 - hour basis - with armed jet fighters ready to " scramble " at a moment ' s notice . This event brought the wing into the daily combat operational program of the USAF , placing us on " the end of the runway " alongside regular USAF - Air Defense Fighter Squadrons . The obsolescent F - 80 day fighters were upgraded to the all - weather / day / night F - 86D Sabre Interceptor for all three squadrons by the end of the year . Also in 1957 , the Texas ANG was authorized to expand the 111th Fighter - Interceptor Squadron at Ellington to a group level , and the 147th Fighter - Interceptor Group was activated in Houston on 1 July . As a result , the 111th FIS was reassigned to the new 147th FIG . On 5 August 1957 the 147th was selected to organize and operate a Jet Instrument School to train Air National Guard pilots throughout the nation . On 1 March 1958 the wing was expanded to include the Louisiana ANG 159th Fighter Group ( Air Defense ) at New Orleans which placed the Texas Wing in command of all Tactical Air National Guard units in the States of Texas and Louisiana . In July 1960 , ADC began upgrading the 111th , 122d and 182d FIS to the Mach - 2 F - 102A Delta Dagger interceptor . Air Refueling . In August 1961 , as part of an Air Defense Command re - organization , the Wing ' s assignment to the ADC Oklahoma City Air Defense Sector was terminated with the inactivation of the OCADS , and the 136th was transferred to Tactical Air Command . As part of the reorganization : The 136th Air Defense Wing and its 181st Fighter - Interceptor Squadron were realigned to an air refueling mission , becoming the 136th Air Refueling Wing and 181st Air Refueling Squadron under the TAC Ninth Air Force . The 181st ARS was equipped with KC - 97L Stratotanker s , its mission becoming the air refueling of primarily Tactical Air Command fighter aircraft . Also , the 181st was moved from Dallas Love Field to Naval Air Station Dallas ( Hensley Field ) , which ended a debate about the Texas Air National Guard operating from the expanding civilian airport . With the transfer of the interceptors and no previously qualified aircrew or maintenance personnel assigned the 136th went though a year of transition to the new mission and to achieve operational status . They did so in eight months , the previous " normal " time for the conversion was two years . In 1966 the squadron began a rotational deployment to Ramstein Air Base in support of Operation Creek Party . which provided USAFE an air refueling capability . The Creek Party deployment rotations lasted until 1976 , and over the decade the 136th saw millions of pounds of jet fuel off - loaded and millions of miles flown , all accident free . In July 1976 the KC - 97s were retired and the 136th was transferred to Strategic Air Command , receiving jet KC - 135A Stratotanker s . Under SAC , the 181st Air Refueling Squadron mission included the air refueling of B - 52 Stratofortress intercontinental bombers along with TAC and Aerospace Defense Command interceptors . Tactical Airlift . On 1 April 1978 , the 136th was reassigned from SAC to Military Airlift Command ( MAC ) , and was realigned to a Tactical Airlift Wing , being re - equipped with C - 130B Hercules transports . The new 136 TAW mission was airlift of troops , military equipment , cargo and aeromedical support . The 136th TAW and its subordinate units participated in numerous Cold War military exercises such as Team Spirit , Volant Oak , Red Flag , and Reforger . Other Joint Chief of Staff exercises included " Ember Dawn IV " in Alaska and " Brave Shield " in Europe . In 1979 , the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve assumed full responsibility for airlift operations in Panama . In mid - December 1989 , and continuing for several weeks , wing aircraft , air crews , and support personnel on deployment for exercise Volant Oak at Howard AFB , Canal Zone , Panama , flew combat airlift missions for U . S . Southern Command during Operation Just Cause in Panama . More than 100 combat sorties were flown by 146th aircraft and crews , with no casualties or damage to aircraft . In August 1986 the Wing received the new C - 130H aircraft . In August 1990 , the world was moving swiftly toward armed confrontation in the Persian Gulf . By late January 1991 , the 136th Airlift Wing had provided U . S . Central Command and U . S . Air Forces in Europe personnel , voluntarily and involuntarily activated , who participated in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm . Aircraft and air crews from the 181st Airlift Squadron flew two month - long tours of duty in Operation Volant Pine , a backfill of military airlifters to Europe by Air National Guard C - 130s . In 1997 , wing members deployed supporting State and Federal missions . During the period the unit played critical roles in support of DoD missions deploying to Oman and Saudi Arabia in support of Southern Watch , and in peacetime humanitarian airlift , among the many missions accomplished by the wing during the award period . On 1 October 1998 with the closure of Hensley Field , the 136th Airlift Wing moved to the former Carswell Air Force Base , now designated as Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth . As part of the Global War on Terrorism , the 136 AW has deployed numerous times totaling more than 6 , 000 Airmen since 9 / 11 / 2001 in support of Operation Noble Eagle , Operation Iraqi Freedom , Operation Enduring Freedom , Operation New Horizons , an average of six deployments per unit member .