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102nd Intelligence Wing
File:Too-102iw.jpg
102d Intelligence Wing emblem
Active1946-Present
CountryUnited States
AllegianceUnited States Air Force
BranchAir National Guard/Air Combat Command
TypeWing
RoleGround-based distributed radar installation[1]
Size950 members
Including:80 officers
745 enlisted personnel
Part ofAir National Guard/Air Combat Command
Garrison/HQOtis ANGB, Massachusetts
Nickname(s)"Eagle Keepers"
"Bear Chasers"
Motto(s)"Vir Omnis Tigris"
Everyone A Tiger
EquipmentDistributed Common Ground Systems
Air Operations Center[2]
Commanders
Current CommanderAnthony E. Schiavi

The United States Air Force's 102d Intelligence Wing (102 IW), Massachusetts Air National Guard, is an intelligence unit located at Otis Air National Guard Base, Massachusetts. It has held distinguished missions over the years, from observation, to aerial interception, to its present one as that of an intelligence wing. It was one of the first responders to the September 11, 2001 attacks. Until 2007, it was the sole Air National Guard unit with the responsibility of protecting the northeastern United States. It is the parent unit of the 101st Intelligence Squadron, and the 253rd Combat Communications Group. It is one of three Air National Guard wings that works with the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency.

Mission

The mission of the 102d Fighter Wing is to provide a ready, fully capable fighter force prepared to employ wherever needed. The wing is equipped with the F-15 Eagle, America’s premier air sovereignty fighter aircraft. The aircraft and their crews are on continuous 24-hour, 365-day alert to protect US airspace. Specifically, their mission is to protect the Northeast United States from: Armed attack from another sovereign nation, Terrorist activities, Illegal activities, smuggling, illicit drug activity and illegal immigration.[3]


History

Origins

The 101st Aero Squadron was formed as Kelly Field in 1917. While deployed to France during World War I, it was renamed the 639th Aero Squadron. It came back to the United States in 1919. The 101st Observation Squadron was formed in the spring of 1921, the squadron being federally recognized on November 18th. The 639th Aero Squadron was merged into it during this creation. It was part of the 26th Infantry Division. Originally, it did not receive its own JN-4D Jenny aircraft for over a year. The original home for the 101st was Jeffery Field, a small field with two cinder runways. The 101st actually had to raise $15,000 so that it could complete the runways. Nevertheless, the 101st drilled weekly and Jennies were always available for pilots to fly. The 101st also raised public awareness of military aviation throughout New England through its actions. Jennies were flown at air shows, county fairs and other events. The 101st also attended two-week summer camps. Pilots flew their Curtiss O-11s to temporary fields on Cape Cod while ground crews followed in trucks. One of these fields was Cape Cod Airport. In 1933, the 101st occupied new hangers and administrative buildings at Logan Airport. The 101st was also ordered into state service in 1936 and 1938 during a devastating flood and hurricane to fly observation missions and to drop food and equipment to stranded fishermen and the residents of Isle au Haut, Maine. It also played a big part in the U.S. Army Air Service's flight around the world. It also cared for the Spirit of St. Louis when Charles Lindbergh visited the state.[4]

World War II

In 1940, the 101st was the 101st separated from the 26th Infantry Division and in November was ordered into active Federal service for intensive training. Initially the 101st’s 25 officers and 133 enlisted men remained at home station until July 31 1941 when it was then moved from Logan Airport to Otis Field at Camp Edwards. Otis Field was named in after 1st Lt Frank J. Otis, Jr., MD, a 101st flight surgeon who killed in a flight accident in 1938. The 101st participated in the North Carolina maneuvers in the fall of 1941 and returned to Otis Field on December 6 1941. With the outbreak of World War II, the 101st was assigned to fly anti-submarine patrols off the coast of New England until September 10 1942. By then many of its original members has been reassigned during the expansion of the Army Air Forces. During the next two years, the 101st was transferred to several bases and on 20 May 1944 had its mission changed when it was re designated as the 39th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron. It was then placed under the command of the Ninth Air Force. As the 39th, the squadron deployed to the European Theater in December, 1944 with 45 officers and 297 enlisted men. The 39th flew both P-38s and P-51s during operational missions from January, 1945 to the end of the war in May. The 39th returned to the states in August, 1945 and was re designated as the 101st Fighter Squadron in May, 1946 and inactivated two month later. During the summer of 1946, 101st veterans and Army Air Force veterans reorganized the 101st at Logan Airport. The squadron was equipped with the P-47 Thunderbolt and was Federally recognized on 15 Oct. 1946. [5]

Cold War

After the end of the war, the 101st moved to Logan International Airport. The 102nd Fighter Group was formed in 1946 and assigned to the Massachusetts Air National Guard. In 1950, the 102nd was recalled to active duty and assigned to the Air Defense Command. Remaining at home station, the wing stood on runway alert throughout the Korean conflict. From 1956 to 1976, the 102nd was headed by Brigadier General Charles W. Sweeney, who piloted the B-29 Superfortress, which dropped the Fat Man atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan in 1945.

Berlin Crisis

During the summer of 1961, as the Berlin Crisis unfolded, several USAF reserve units were notified on 16 August of their pending activation and recall to active duty. On October 1st, the Massachusetts Air National Guard's 102nd Tactical Fighter Wing and it's three squadrons, the 101st Tactical Fighter Squadron, the 131st Tactical Fighter Squadron, and the 138th Tactical Fighter Squadron went on active duty at Otis Air Force Base.[6]

North American YF-86H-5-NA Sabre Serial 52-2116 of the 138th Tactical Fighter Squadron/102nd Tactical Fighter Wing deployed at Phalsbourg - 1962. Originally manufactured as a pre-production F-86H, this aircraft was modified to production specifications before seeing operational service.

Between the 28th and 30th of October, the 102nd TFW departed Logan International Airport to Phalsbourg. By November 1, 26 of the wing’s F-86H Sabre aircraft were on the ramp at Phalsbourg-Bourscheid Air Base, France. The wing deployed 82 F-86H Sabres. The 101st's planes were marked with green stripes on their vertical stabilizers, the 131st with red stripes, and the 138th with yellow stripes. In addition 2 C-47 Skytrains and 6 T-33 Shooting Star aircraft were assigned to the wing for support and training purposes.

The 102nd's primary mission at the time was to provide close air support to NATO ground forces and air interdiction. This involved keeping its aircraft on 24/7 alert. Starting on December 5th, the 102nd began deploying to Wheelus Air Base, Libya for gunnery training.

During its time in Europe, the 102nd participated in several USAF and NATO exercises, including a deployment to Leck Air Base, West Germany near the Danish border. At Leck, ground and support crews from both countries exchanged duties, learning how to perform aircraft maintenance and operational support tasks.

On May 7 1962, the Seventeenth Air Force stated that the 102nd TFW would deploy back to CONUS during the summer, and the 102nd TFW returned to the United States in July of 1962, Regular USAF personnel, along with a group of ANG personnel who volunteered to remain on active duty formed the 480th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the newly activated 366th Tactical Fighter Wing.

Relocation to Otis

File:Too-102fw.jpg
Older emblem of the 102nd

In 1968, the 102nd Tactical Fighter Wing moved to Otis Air Force Base. The move to Otis for the 102nd was fitting. The 101st Observation Squadron, forerunner of the 102nd Fighter Interceptor Wing, was the original occupant of the Otis Field and was instrumental in its construction on the Camp Edwards property. The original intent of Otis Field was for utilization by National Guard aircraft. The wing flew the F-84F Thunderstreak until June 1971, when a squadron of F-100D Super Sabres was transferred directly from units fighting the Vietnam War. After making the transition to the "Hun," a shift in United States Department of Defense military planning brought still more change to the 102nd and its' mission. The Mach 2 F-106 Delta Darts soon arrived on the 102nd's parking ramp. On June 10 1972, the unit officially became the 102nd Air Defense Wing. Upon completion of transition, the wing commenced an air defense alert commitment on a 24-hour, 365-days-a-year basis. The wing participated in the interception of Soviet TU-95 Bear bombers on many occasions, the first of which occurred off Long Island in 1975. Many of these occasions included escorting the aircraft to Cuba. Other escort missions involved the escorting of drug smuggling planes and the identifying of one mysterious ghost plane, which turned out later to be a weather balloon. In 1972, the 102nd Fighter Interceptor Group along with its subordinate unit, the 101st Fighter Interceptor Squadron, was placed on an air defense alert mission. This mission was continued right up to January 24 2008.[7] It was the first Air National Guard unit that received the F-15 Eagle.

Post-Cold War

File:070606-F-0894S-166.jpg
F-15's From Otis

The wing continued air defense mission after the fall of the Soviet Union. Examples of this include a 1992 deployment of eight pilots, five F-15 Eagles, and 48 maintenance and security personnel, for five days to Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay, Labrador, Canada. Another is the humanitarian deployment of 50 personnel from the 102nd Civil Engineering Squadron under field conditions, to the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas in July 1993. They helped to rebuild school buildings and municipal facilities that were damaged by Hurricane Andrew. During the years of 1991 through 1995 the wing deployed to Panama as part of Operation Coronet Nighthawk, a drug interdiction operation. From 1995-1998 the wing deployed to Iceland for 45 days of air defense duty. During 1998 members both trained for and performed in real-world contingency assignments in Iceland, Canada, Korea, and Europe. In 1999 the wing participated in Operation Northern Watch when it deployed with its F-15 Eagle aircraft to Turkey to patrol and enforce the no-fly zone north of the 36th Parallel in northern Iraq. The wing again deployed more than 350 personnel to the Middle East and Europe in 2000 to participate in Operation Southern Watch.

Global War on Terror

F-15 Over New York City after 9/11

On September 11, 2001, the wing sprang into action just minutes after the terrorists attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. More than 600 wing members were mobilized for Operation Noble Eagle. The wing began flying around-the-clock combat air patrols missions immediately thereafter, and continued doing so until February 2002. Overall during 2001, wing aircraft flew 2,388 sorties compiling more than 3750 flying hours. The wing also escorted the plane that carried shoe bomber Richard Reid.[8]

BRAC 2005

The BRAC 2005 commission originally planned to close Otis Air National Guard Base and dissolve the 102nd.[9] Locals argued that this would leave a huge gap in the national air defenses. They also argued that the fighter jets had also been the first to scramble during 9/11. BRAC officials, after visiting the base, decided to keep it open and keep the wing but the 102nd would still lose its planes, only this time they were only going to the 104th Fighter Wing, based at Barnes Municipal Airport. Some people were willing to see the base closed but many in the community have gotten so used to the sound of the jets that they really did not want to see them go.

File:DSC00772.jpg
F-15 From 101st Fighter Interception Squadron during the 2007 Cape Cod Airshow

The wing hosted its last airshow with the F-15C Eagle During the tail end of Air Force Week in August, 2007. The wing also shared the last months with the F-15 with the 101st Air Refueling Wing, and the 103rd Fighter Wing, and the 104th Fighter Wing. The three wings lost and gained new aircraft with the decisions that BRAC made. Beginning in 2007, planes began transitioning to Barnes Municipal Airport. With the grounding of the F-15 Eagles, the 158th Fighter Wing, which is based in Vermont temporarily took over the role of patrolling the Northeast's skies.

Emblem of the 102d before it changed to its new mission

This interruption of the F-15's flight, coinciding with the transitioning of the fighter jets to the 104th Fighter Wing, created some issues. The move was originally scheduled to be completed at the end of January, but the grounding of the F-15's in late 2007 and early 2008 delayed this move to the end of February.

Final Flight

On January 24 2008, the 102nd Fighter Wing officially flew its last patrol mission. After 35 years of being on constant alert status, the wing was officially ordered to stand down. The unit's wing commander, Colonel Anthony Schiavi, led the flight, accompanied by Major Daniel Nash, who also was one of the first responders for 9/11. Fire trucks were on hand when the team landed a half-hour later, giving the planes and the pilots the customary ceremonial hose-down for the last time. The wing was responsible for airspace spanning the area from the Canadian border to Washington D.C., about 500,000 square miles (1,300,000 km2) of area. The 87 years of the 101st Fighter Squadron's flying mission came to an end on that day. Those years are now a memory as the squadron is now without a flying mission.[10]

New Mission

As soon as it was announced that the wing would be kept alive and Otis Air National Guard Base would remain open, people began thinking of the future for the 102nd. There was talk that the wing could transition to an intelligence mission so that it could help support the growing War On Terror. The plans hit a roadblock when it was announced that there were few funds left with which the wing could use to transition into its new mission. [11] The new mission was finally confirmed when Governor Deval Patrick announced that the wing would transition to an intelligence mission as soon as the planes left. Original BRAC plans only said that a Distributed Common Ground Station would be created at Otis. This didn't include the air guardsmen affected by the loss of their jobs. The issue was finally resolved when the Air Force announced its plans, right before the F-15's started to leave for Barnes. Some guardsmen and women have decided to stay with the 102nd so that they would not have to uproot their lives and move to the other side of the state. Others have decided to follow the F-15's to Barnes and continue on with their flying careers. Those that have stayed are currently being retrained so that they can have an important part in the future of our nation. There are currently no known plans on the table, which would include the wing flying again.

Change of Mission

On April 1 2008, the 102nd Fighter Wing was re designated as the 102nd Intelligence Wing. The formal ceremony to celebrate this change was held on April 6th. The buildings that are being converted will start being ready soon and the wing will reach full operation in 2010.[12] By October 1st, the wing is expected to be operationally ready.

Major Command/Gaining Command

Previous designations

Previous designations include:[13]

  • 102nd Intelligence Wing (2008-Present)
  • 102nd Fighter Wing (1992-2008)
  • 102nd Fighter Interceptor Wing (197?-1992)
    • 102nd Fighter Interceptor Group (197?-1976)
  • 102nd Air Defense Wing (1972-197?)
    • 102nd Air Defense Group (1972-197?)
  • 102nd Tactical Fighter Wing (196?-1972)
    • 102nd Tactical Fighter Group (196?-1972)
  • 102d Air Defense Wing (1950-196?)
    • 102nd Air Defense Group (1950-196?)
  • 102nd Fighter Wing (1946-1950)
    • 102nd Fighter Group (1946-1950)

Units assigned

Current units

Past units

Fighter Wing[14]

  • 102nd Operations Group
  • 102nd Maintenance Group (???-2008?)
    • 102nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
    • 102nd Maintenance Squadron
    • 102nd Maintenance Operations Flight
  • 102nd Mission Support Group
    • 102nd Civil Engineering Squadron
    • 102nd Communications Squadron
    • 102nd Logistics Readiness Squadron
    • 102nd Security Forces Squadron
    • 102nd Mission Support Flight
    • 102nd Services Flight
  • 102nd Medical Group
    • 102nd Medical Squadron

Cold War

Bases Stationed

Aircraft Operated[15]

Decorations

References

  1. ^ "102nd Fighter Wing". Ken Middleton. 1/22/08. Retrieved 2008-05-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "Commander Environmental Statement" (PDF). 102IW Public Affairs office. 1/22/08. Retrieved 2008-05-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "Team Otis Online". 102IW Public Affairs office. 5/29/08. Retrieved 2008-05-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "Commonwealth of Massachusetts Military Division, Air National Guard History". National Guard Museum & Archives. 5/29/08. Retrieved 2008-05-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Commonwealth of Massachusetts Military Division, Air National Guard History". National Guard Museum & Archives. 5/29/08. Retrieved 2008-05-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "102nd Intelligence Wing History". The 102nd Fighter Wing & 101st Fighter Squadron. 5/29/08. Retrieved 2008-05-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "The 102nd Fighter Wing". Philippe Colin. 1/22/08. Retrieved 2008-05-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "102nd Intelligence Wing History". The 102nd Fighter Wing & 101st Fighter Squadron. 5/29/08. Retrieved 2008-05-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "Global Security History of the 102nd Fighter Wing". Global Security. 5/29/08. Retrieved 2008-05-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "Otis See Its Last Landing". Boston News. 5/29/08. Retrieved 2008-05-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ "CapeCodTimes.com - New Otis mission in limbo". Cape Cod Times. 5/29/08. Retrieved 2008-05-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ "A change of the Guard at Otis". Massachusetts National Guard. 4/7/08. Retrieved May 29, 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ Rogers, B. (2006). United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978. ISBN 1-85780-197-0
  14. ^ "FY05 Annual Report Fina" (PDF). Massachusetts National Guard. 5/29/08. Retrieved 2008-05-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ World Airpower Journal. (1992). US Air Force Air Power Directory. Aerospace Publishing: London, UK. ISBN 1-880588-01-3

External links

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=102nd_Intelligence_Wing&oldid=217980309

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