149th TANG - Texas Air National Guard

149th Fighter Wing Mission: The 149th Fighter Wing is an F-16 flying training unit that includes a support group with a worldwide mobility commitment. The cornerstone of the 149 FW's flying mission is the 182d Fighter Squadron, whose role is to take pilots, either experienced aircrew or recent graduates from USAF undergraduate pilot training, and qualify them to fly and employ the F-16. 149th Fighter Wing Vision: To produce F-16 pilots capable of engaging and destroying the enemy anywhere in the world; To provide our gaining command fully mission-ready support elements capable of global response; To provide the State and community citizen airmen who can rapidly respond to peacetime contingencies. Today's 149th Fighter Wing of the Texas Air National Guard was formed on 1 July 1960, but its origins go back to June 1943. At that time, the 396th Fighter Squadron was activated and served honorably in the European Theater during World War II. The 396th earned the Belgian Fourragere, was twice awarded the Belgian Croiz de Guerre, and was recognized with the Distinguished Unit Citation for action over Mons, France on 3 September 1944. The 396th was inactivated on 20 August 1946 and the next day redesignated the 182nd Fighter Squadron. On 6 October 1947, several World War II veterans petitioned for and won federal recognition for the squadron as an Air National Guard unit. The 182nd began flying the F-51 "Mustang" in 1947 and accepted its first jet, the F-84E "Thunderjet" when the squadron was called to active duty during the Korean War. The squadron, as an element of the 136th Fighter Wing, was the first Air National Guard squadron to see combat during that war; the first Air National Guard unit to shoot down a MiG-15; and the first to successfully demonstrate the applicability of aerial refueling during combat.