As an Air National Guard unit, it is normally under the command of the Governor, but has a federal role as well. Currently the wing has personnel and/or aircraft assigned to Operation Noble Eagle, and has served on Operation Jump Start and the Air Expeditionary Force in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Units
The 115th Fighter Wing consists of the following units:
The wing was first activated as the 128th Fighter Wing in November 1950, when the Air National Guard converted its units to the Wing Base organization, which placed operational and support units under a single wing. Four months later, the wing was federalized in the second wave of Air National Guard callups for the Korean War, and assigned to Air Defense Command.[2] It moved to Truax Field near Madison, Wisconsin where both the 126th and 176th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron flew air defense training missions until being inactivated in February 1952. The wing returned to Wisconsin state control and to its station near Milwaukee in November.
Air defense
The wing trained for its air defense mission until 1958. It was again activated in April 1961, remaining in the air defense mission, although its original group at the same station assumed the air refueling mission. In June 1971, the squadron again moved from General Mitchell Field to Truax Field, where the 115th Fighter-Interceptor Group was located.
In September 1972, the wing's 176th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron won the "William Tell Competition" in the F-102 category. The event, held at Tyndall Air Force Base, included top Air National Guard, Canadian Air Force and active US Air Force units worldwide. The competition included 12 teams of 48 aircraft, each team scored on aerial marksmanship, weapons control, weapons loading and maintenance.
Forward air control
In November 1974, the wing's gaining command changed from Air Defense Command to Tactical Air Command (TAC) and its designation changed to the 128th Tactical Air Support Wing. With the realignment to TAC, in December 1974, the unit's F-102s were replaced by the Cessna O-2A Skymaster Forward Air Control (FAC) aircraft. The O-2 was the military version of the Cessna 337 Skymaster, a high wing, twin-boom aircraft with a unique centerline pusher/tractor twin engine configuration. The O-2A version was used in forward air control missions, often in conjunction with a ground forward air controller and a radio operator, maintenance, and driver (ROMAD) team.
In November 1979, the O-2s were replaced by the Cessna OA-37B Dragonfly forward air control aircraft. It was developed from the A-37 light attack plane which was used extensively in the Vietnam War as a counter-insurgency aircraft, with the surviving planes either being sold to the Republic of Vietnam Air Force or returned to the United States. The OA-37s were received from Air National Guard units in Maryland and New York.
With most of the pilots and maintenance crews having prior jet aircraft experience with the F-102s, the unit was able to transition the OA-37 to C-1 status, (full combat ready), in less than six months. Awards during the OA-37 era included an overall rating of "Excellent" in the unit's Operational Readiness Inspection, the Distinguished Flying Award and its first Air Force Outstanding Unit Award.
Close air support
On 1 October 1981, the group was redesignated the 128th Tactical Fighter Wing. Along with the mission change came a new aircraft, the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, nicknamed the "Warthog". The OA-37s were sent to other Air National Guard units; its survivability made the A-10 an excellent weapons delivery system for ground targets. The A-10's most dominant feature is its seven-barrel GAU-8/A 30 mm cannon, capable of firing at up to 70 "tank busting" rounds per second.
During the A-10 era, the unit received two Outstanding Unit Awards, three Air Force Flight Safety Awards, and in 1991 an "Outstanding" in its Unit Effectiveness Inspection. Deployments with the A-10 included Operation Coronet Cove to Panama, and "Checkered Flag" missions to NATO bases in West Germany and England.
Current mission
USAF F-16C block 30 #87-0278 from the 176th FS sits on the runway in Madison on 28 June 2008 during the Rhythm and Booms Fireworks display. Note the 60th Anniversary paint scheme on the tail
With the end of the Cold War, the early 1990s marked several changes. On 16 March 1992, the wing became the '128th Fighter Wing and shortly thereafter changed its mobilization command change from Tactical Air Command to the newly created Air Combat Command.
In 1993, the wing began transitioning from the A-10A to the F-16C/D block 30 Fighting Falcon airframes with the enlarged inlet, the A-10s were transferred to other Air National Guard units. The first F-16s arrived at Truax Air National Guard Base on 1 April 1993. The current role of the 176th FS is air-interdiction and close air support (CAS). This was the same task as when they flew the A-10, although the transition to the F-16 meant a huge change in the overall execution of this mission when comparing the A-10 with the F-16.
On 11 October 1995, the 128th Fighter Wing was renamed the 115th Fighter Wing and converted to the Objective Wing organization with its operational squadron assigned to the 115th Operations Group. The 128th designation duplicated that of the 128th Air Refueling Wing at General Mitchell Air National Guard Base, another Wisconsin Air National Guard unit, which upgraded from group status.
The 176th Fighter Squadron celebrated its 60th anniversary in October 2008.
Today the wing is capable of air-to-air, close air support and precision guided bombing missions. The wing operates the latest generation of munitions such as the JDAM series bombs and the AIM-9X air-to-air missile.[citation needed]
In December 2017, the Air Force announced that the 115th was one of two Air National Guard wings selected for equipping with the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. The conversion to the fifth-generation jet fighter is scheduled for 2023.[3][4] In April 2023, Four F-35 fighter jets were delivered to the 115th fighter wing. Eventually, a total of 20 of those aircraft are scheduled to arrive at the air field in the next year.[5]
Lineage
Established as the 128th Fighter Wing on 25 October 1950 and allotted to the Air National Guard
Activated on 1 November 1950 and given federal recognition
Federalized and called to active duty on 1 February 1951
Redesignated 128th Fighter-Interceptor Wing on 10 February 1951[2]
115th Fighter-Interceptor Group (later 115th Tactical Air Support Group, 115th Operations Group), 15 April 1956 – 10 May 1958, 1 June 1972 – 1 January 1979, 1 October 1994 - present
128th Fighter Group (later 128th Fighter-Interceptor Group, 128th Fighter Group), 1 November 1950 – 6 February 1952,[2] 1 November 1952 – 10 March 1958
148th Fighter Group, 1 April 1961 - c. 1 January 1969
United States
Wisconsin
Air National Guard
