Florida Air National Guard The Florida Air National Guard ( FL ANG ) is the air force militia of the State of Florida , United States of America . It is , along with the Florida Army National Guard , an element of the Florida National Guard . As state militia units , the units in the Florida Air National Guard are not in the normal United States Air Force chain of command . They are under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Florida though the office of the Florida Adjutant General unless they are federalized by order of the President of the United States . The Florida Air National Guard is headquartered at St . Francis Barracks in St . Augustine , and its commander is Major General Emmett R . Titshaw , Jr . Overview . Under the " Total Force " concept , Florida Air National Guard units are considered to be Air Reserve Components ( ARC ) of the United States Air Force ( USAF ) . Florida ANG units are trained and equipped by the Air Force and are operationally gained by a Major Command of the USAF if federalized . In addition , the Florida Air National Guard forces are assigned to Air Expeditionary Forces and are subject to deployment tasking orders along with their active duty and Air Force Reserve counterparts in their assigned cycle deployment window . Along with their federal reserve obligations , as state militia units the elements of the Florida ANG are subject to being activated by order of the Governor to provide protection of life and property , and preserve peace , order and public safety . State missions include disaster relief in times of earthquakes , hurricanes , floods and forest fires , search and rescue , protection of vital public services , and support to civil defense . Components . The Florida Air National Guard consists of the following major units : Support Unit Functions and Capabilities : History . On 24 May 1946 , the United States Army Air Forces , in response to dramatic postwar military budget cuts imposed by President Harry S . Truman , allocated inactive unit designations to the National Guard Bureau for the formation of an Air Force National Guard . These unit designations were allotted and transferred to various State National Guard bureaus to provide them unit designations to re - establish them as Air National Guard units . A National Guard Bureau document dated 16 March 1946 , gave states permission to request an Air Force unit allotment . Months later , Florida accepted the 159th Fighter Squadron with an authorized strength of 50 officers and 303 enlisted men . Governor Millard F . Caldwell formally accepted the unit on 30 August 1946 , and full federal recognition was granted on 9 February 1947 . 18 September 1947 , however , is considered the Florida Air National Guard ' s official birth concurrent with the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate branch of the United States military under the National Security Act . On 1 July 1956 the 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 . Originally designated as Detachment 1 , Southeast Air Defense Sector ( SEADS ) , the 325th Fighter Wing Air National Guard Fighter Associate Unit was officially activated on Oct . 1 , 1999 at Tyndall Air Force Base . The unit mission is to train active duty and Air Guard pilots to fly the F - 15 Eagle in the air dominance role . The Associate Unit members are completely integrated into all aspects of the 2nd , 43rd , and 95th Fighter Squadrons , as well as the 325th Operations Support Squadron . The associate unit is operationally controlled by the 325th Operations Group under the overall direction of the 325th Fighter Wing . After the September 11th , 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States , elements of every Air National Guard unit in Florida has been activated in support of the Global War on Terrorism . Flight crews , aircraft maintenance personnel , communications technicians , air controllers and air security personnel were engaged in Operation Noble Eagle air defense overflights of major United States cities . Also , Florida ANG units have been deployed overseas as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq as well as other locations as directed .