125th Fighter Wing The 125th Fighter Wing ( 125 FW ) is a unit of the Florida Air National Guard , stationed at Jacksonville Air National Guard Base , Florida . If activated to federal service , the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Combat Command . Overview . The 125th Fighter Wing has a dual mission - one state and one federal . The state mission under Title 32 of the United States Code ( Title 32 USC ) is to provide trained and equipped personnel to protect life and property and to preserve peace , order , and public safety . The federal mission under Title 10 USC is to provide fully trained and qualified personnel to the Commander , United States Northern Command ( USNORTHCOM ) / North American Aerospace Defense Command ( NORAD ) in time of war or national emergency for the defense of the North American continent . It is also available to other combatant commanders for forward deployment in order to perform air superiority / air dominance missions in other theaters outside of the United States . In addition to its primary installation at Jacksonville , the 125 FW also maintains an alert detachment of F - 15 Eagle fighter aircraft at Detachment 1 , 125 FW , Operating Location AA ( OL - AA ) at Homestead Air Reserve Base in South Florida . The overall wing organization comprises over 1100 citizen airmen in a combination of Active Guard and Reserve ( AGR ) , Air Reserve Technician ( ART ) and traditional drilling air guardsman categories . History . On 1 July 1956 , the Florida Air National Guard 159th Fighter - Interceptor Squadron was authorized to expand to a group level , and the 125th Fighter - Interceptor Group was established by the National Guard Bureau . The 159th FIS becoming the group ' s flying squadron . Other squadrons assigned into the group were the 125th Headquarters , 125th Material Squadron ( Maintenance ) , 125th Combat Support Squadron , and the 125th USAF Dispensary . With the establishment of the 125th FIG , the unit converted to the F - 86D Super Sabre with the primary mission of air defense . In 1958 , the 125th became the first Air National Guard unit to earn the right to compete in the Air Defense Command ' s annual WILLIAM TELL Weapons Meet , and was the first team ever to fire a perfect score in that competition . In July 1960 , the 125th converted from the F - 86D to the all - weather , supersonic F - 102A and F - 102B Delta Dagger . In 1971 , following completion of the new Jacksonville International Airport , the 125 FIG relocated from Jacksonville Imeson Airport to a newly constructed military installation at the new airport . With the concurrent closure of Imeson Airport and its conversion to an industrial park , the 125 FIG vacated its former facilities and turned over same to the City of Jacksonville . In 1965 , given increased Soviet Air Force aircraft operations in Cuba , the 125 FIG established Operating Location Alfa Alfa ( OL - AA ) and 125 FIG , Detachment 1 , at Homestead AFB , Florida to provide air defense ready alert fighter aircraft in the southern portion of Florida . This same alert detachment continues operations today at the present day Homestead ARB with 125th aircraft , pilots and support personnel periodically rotated from home station in Jacksonville . In January 1968 , ADC was renamed Aerospace Defense Command and continued to be the 125 FIG ' s gaining command . In July 1974 , the 125 FIG converted to the F - 106A and F - 106B Delta Dart . Only one year after the F - 106 conversion , the unit again earned the right to compete that year ' s annual Air Force air - to - air weapons competition , " WILLIAM TELL ‘ 76 " , at Tyndall AFB , Florida . In March 1980 , ADC was inactivated and the air defense mission transferred to Tactical Air Command ( TAC ) . TAC then became the gaining command for the 125 FIG . In April 1987 , the 125th converted to the F - 16A and F - 16B Fighting Falcon , a multi - role fighter that was subsequently modified as the F - 16ADF , specifically designed for the Air Defense role . The 125th was the first ANG unit to assume NORAD Air Defense Alert with the F - 16ADF , the first operational F - 16ADF unit to employ the AIM - 7 Sparrow III missile and the first F - 16ADF unit to sit alert with the AIM - 7 missile . With the disestablishment of Tactical Air Command ( TAC ) in 1992 , the 125 FIG ' s gaining command changed to the newly created Air Combat Command ( ACC ) . As part of this change , the unit ' s designation was changed to 125th Fighter Group ( 125 FG ) . With creation of the USAF " objective wing " construct in the early 1990s , the bulk of all Air National Guard groups with operational flying missions were redesignated as wings . As a result , the 125 FIG was subsequently redesignated as the 125th Fighter Wing ( 125 FW ) , the designation it continues to hold today . In June 1995 , the 125 FW converted to the F - 15A and F - 15B Eagle , a fighter which added air superiority capability to the Air Defense Mission . During the late 1990s , the 125 FW was also fully integrated into the USAF Air and Space Expeditionary Force ( AEF ) construct and routinely deployed aircraft and personnel to the 363rd Air Expeditionary Wing at Prince Sultan Air Base , Al Kharj , Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in support of Operation SOUTHERN WATCH , enforcing the No Fly Zone over southern Iraq . Since 11 Sep 2001 , the wing has been extensively involved in Operation NOBLE EAGLE , performing its historic continental air defense mission , as well as continuing to deploy aircraft and personnel to U . S . Central Command Air Forces ( USCENTAF ) in Southwest Asia in support of Operations ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM . On a daily basis , the 125 FW is responsible for the maintenance of a USNORTHCOM / NORAD Air Defense Alert mission at both its home station in Jacksonville , Florida and at an additional operating location at Homestead ARB , Florida . In this capacity , the wing provides armed F - 15 aircraft capable of intercepting , identifying , and , if necessary , destroying unknown aircraft which penetrate sovereign U . S . airspace . In the past , this threat has included Soviet Tu - 95 Bear bombers , various Soviet - built Cuban Air Force fighters , and civilian narcotics traffickers of various nationalities . When it initially converted to the Air Defense Fighter ( ADF ) variant of the F - 16A , the 125 FW was the first operational NORAD Air Defense Alert unit to employ the AIM - 7 Sparrow III missile , the first F - 16ADF unit to sit alert with the AIM - 7 , and the first unit to deploy to the former Howard AFB , Panama in support of JCS - directed operation CORONET NIGHTHAWK using enhanced identification tactics . In October 1995 , the 125 FW became the first unit ever to complete a transition from one fourth generation fighter to another fourth generation fighter as it transitioned from the F - 16ADF to the F - 15A / B . In April 1997 , the 125 FW became the first Air Defense Unit to employ as Blue Air in an Offensive Counter Air ( OCA ) role , integrated with an active duty unit during a Red Flag exercise at Nellis AFB , Nevada . The 125 FW was rated “ Outstanding ” during an Alert Force Evaluation by the North American Aerospace Defense Command Inspector General in November 1997 . This was the highest rating ever given by NORAD . In January 1998 , the 125th Fighter Wing received an “ Outstanding ” on its Operational Readiness Inspection ( ORI ) . During this period , the wing also participated in Operation Southern Watch , routinely deploying to Prince Sultan Air Base , Saudi Arabia for operational relief of Regular Air Force F - 15C / D units . In 2000 , the wing began transitioning to the F - 15A / B Multistage Improvement Program ( MSIP ) variant of the F - 15A and F - 15B Eagle , and in 2006 transitioned again to the newer F - 15C and F - 15D models of the Eagle . The 125 FW also operates a single WC - 130H Hercules aircraft for logistical support of the wing , geographically separated units ( GSUs ) of the Florida Air National Guard and additional " as needed " airlift support to the Florida Army National Guard . The 125 FW also operates C - 26 B aircraft in support of state and federal law enforcement agencies under Title 32 USC authority . The 125 FW recently participated in Red Flag ( USAF ) as part of its on - going readiness program .