149th Fighter Squadron The 149th Fighter Squadron ( 149 FS ) is a unit of the Virginia Air National Guard 192d Fighter Wing located at Joint Base Langley – Eustis , Virginia . The 149th is the first Air National Guard squadron to fly the F - 22 Raptor . History . World War II . Activated in September 1942 . Trained with P - 47 Thunderbolt s under First Air Force in northeast United States . Deployed to the European Theater of Operations ( ETO ) , in July 1943 as part of VIII Fighter Command in England as a B - 17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber fighter escort squadron . Replaced Thunderbolts with long - range P - 51D Mustang s , July 1944 , P - 47s reassigned to IX Fighter Command for tactical fighter - bomber missions supporting Allied ground forces in France . Deployed to Belgium in December 1944 to supplement IX Fighter Command tactical air forces during Battle of the Bulge , Returned to England , engaging in long - range escort missions until April 1945 . Squadron demobilized in England during the summer of 1945 , personnel returning to the United States . Inactivated as an administrative organization , November 1945 . Virginia Air National Guard . The wartime 328th Fighter Squadron was re - designated as the 149th Fighter Squadron , and was allotted to the Virginia ANG , on 24 May 1946 . It was organized at Byrd Field , Richmond , Virginia and was extended federal recognition on 21 June 1947 . The 149th Fighter Squadron was entitled to the history , honors , and colors of the 328th . The squadron was equipped with F - 47D Thunderbolts and was allocated to the Fourteenth Air Force , Continental Air Command by the National Guard Bureau . The unit was called to active federal service on 1 March 1951 . This activation temporarily resulted in the dissolution of the Virginia Air National Guard , as members were sent to various places , including for many , duty in the Korean War . The squadron was sent to Turner AFB , Georgia where it was assigned to the federalized 108th Fighter - Bomber Group with a mission to provide fighter escorts to Strategic Air Command B - 50 Superfortress bombers on training missions . In December 1951 it was moved to Godman AFB , Kentucky where it replaced a unit deployed to England . It was released from active duty and returned to Virginia state control on 10 November 1952 . Upon return to state control , the squadron was reorganized as a B - 26 Invader light bombardment squadron and allocated to Tactical Air Command . In June 1957 a jurisdictional tug - of - war began between Air Defense Command and Tactical Air Command occurred for control of the squadron . The unit was redesignated the 149th Fighter Interceptor Squadron and was scheduled to get F - 86E Sabre jets . However , later that year , the unit became the Tactical Air Command - gained 49th Tactical Fighter Squadron , and F - 84F Thunderstreak s began replacing the obsolescent B - 26s . At the height of the Cold War in 1961 , the squadron was federalized as a result of tensions concerning the Berlin Wall . Part of the squadron remained at Richmond in an active - duty status for about a year before being released . Twenty - two Virginia ANG members were sent to Chaumont - Semoutiers AB , France , in December 1961 to support the USAFE 7108h Tactical Wing , a deployed unit of the 108th Tactical Fighter Wing , New Jersey ANG . They spent eight months in Europe . On 15 October 1962 , the 149th was authorized to expand to a group level , and the 192d Tactical Fighter Group was established by the National Guard Bureau . The 149th TFS becoming the group ' s flying squadron . Other squadrons assigned into the group were the 192d Headquarters , 192d Material Squadron ( Maintenance ) , 192d Combat Support Squadron , and the 192d USAF Dispensary . During 1971 , the squadron was assigned the F - 105D Thunderchief , a battle - hardened supersonic fighter - bomber that was the backbone of America ' s fighter element during the Vietnam War . The group ' s special tasking during the next 10 years included several deployments to Red Flag live - fire exercises at Nellis AFB , Nevada and a Crested Cap NATO deployment to RAF Lakenheath , England , in 1976 . In 1981 , the unit transitioned to the Vought A - 7D Corsair II , a subsonic jet designed primarily for close - air support . The 10 - year A - 7 era included several deployments , to Ecuador , Norway , and to Panama , in support of the defense of the Panama Canal . A Virginia contingent competed in Gunsmoke ' 85 , the Air Force ' s tactical fighter competition , and the 149th was named the world ' s " Best A - 7 Unit . " The squadron also earned the General Spruance Safety Award and was recognized as having had the best Operational Readiness Inspection in the Ninth Air Force during 1985 . That string of accomplishments helped the squadron earn its first USAF Outstanding Unit Award , which was presented in 1987 . On 20 December 1989 , the United States unleashed Operation Just Cause - the emergency dispatch of U . S . forces to Panama to try to oust Panamanian Dictator Manuel Noriega , break up his army and pave the way for democratic elections . The Virginia Air Guard flew 59 Guardsmen and five A - 7s to Howard AFB , near Panama City , on Jan . 20 , 1990 for its turn in the rotation . The 149th replaced the Ohio ANG ' s 180th Tactical Fighter Group , whose A - 7 pilots had flown 76 sorties in support of Operation Just Cause . Virginia was to send a similar contingent two weeks later to replace its first group . The Virginia Guard ' s mission differed from previous ones . Some elements of the Panamanian Defense Forces and the Dignity Battalions were suspected to be at large in provinces , and the squadron pilots supplied air cover for field operations and air reconnaissance of areas where enemy activity was suspected . The unit soared into a new era of aviation technology in 1991 , when it became the first Air National Guard unit to receive the Air Force ' s upgraded F - 16 Fighting Falcon , the F - 16C / D block 30 . The 149th designation shortened somewhat during 1992 from 149th Tactical Fighter Squadron to 149th Fighter Squadron . This change reflected the adoption of the Objective Wing concept . The unit was initially assigned 24 single - seat F - 16C models and two F - 16D models . By early 1994 , defense cutbacks had reduced the unit ' s assigned inventory to 18 F - 16s , and eventually to only 15 fighter jets . After the 149th FS became fully operational with the F - 16 , it was chosen as the lead unit in a four - state Air National Guard F - 16 " rainbow " detachment deployed to Incirlik Air Base , Turkey , to support Operation Provide Comfort II . During that operation between 1 December 1993 , and 15 January 1994 , ANG pilots patrolled the no - fly zone over northern Iraq to prevent Iraqi forces from inflicting damage on the villages of Kurdish minorities . This was the first time Air National Guard units had been called to active duty to serve in a peacekeeping role in the Mideast , following Iraq ' s defeat in 1991 . The unit returned to Incirlik AB in February 1996 for another round of patrols over Iraq . During October 1995 , the parent 192d ' s designation was again modified to reflect unit restructuring within the Air Force and Air National Guard . This time the unit designation was changed from 192d Fighter Group to 192d Fighter Wing . The 149th was assigned to the new 192d Operations Group . In December 2000 , the squadron deployed to Southwest Asia and other locations in support of Operation Southern Watch . In addition to Turkey and Kuwait , they were deployed to Prince Sultan Air Base and Eskan Village , Saudi Arabia ; Aviano Air Base , Italy ; and Qatar . Also in December 2000 , elements of the squadron were deployed on its first Aerospace Expeditionary Force assignment . A 130 - person detachment went to Curaçao in the Netherlands Antilles as part of Operation Nighthawk , an effort to stop drug smuggling into the United States . Aside from strictly operational matters , the fighter wing also focused on community support , humanitarian assistance and military heritage . In October , 2005 , Lt . Col . Phillip Guy became the first VANG pilot to transition to Langley AFB and fly the new F - 22A Raptor in training missions and sorties alongside active duty Air Force pilots stationed there . The first two ship flight of VANG piloted F - 22A ' s taking off from Langley AFB was successfully completed by 192nd FW pilots Lt . Col . Guy and Maj . Patrick DeConcini on 18 February 2006 . Later in May , active duty personnel and Virginia guardsmen successfully completed tasking of a first ever joint - exercise requirement . The last Unit Training Assembly was held in Richmond in September , 2007 . Remaining base personnel solemnly attended the ' Stand - down ' ceremony in the main hangar and watched as the unit flag was rolled - up by Col . Jay Pearsall and then put away . Afterwards a single F - 16 took off , turned and passed over the flight deck . The pilot dipped the wings of his jet and made a final fly - by , then continued on to bring the aircraft to its new location . This marked the closing chapter for an era of excellence as the 192d FW began its future with Langley ' s 1st Fighter Wing . On 13 October 2007 , the 192d FW was reactivated in a ceremony held at the 27th Fighter Squadron , Langley AFB . Integration with the active duty 1st FW allows the Air National Guard to be at the forefront of the latest design of fighter craft . Set - up as a classic ' associate wing ' the 192nd FW works directly with the 1st FW yet maintains its own unit identity and command structure . It shares in the support of mission requirements for the F - 22A Raptor , but does not own any of the aircraft on station .