The Nebraska Air National Guard is the second oldest Air National Guard unit in the nation.
The start of what would eventually become the Nebraska Air National Guard’s 155th Air Refueling Wing began with the activation of the 401st Fighter Squadron at Westover Field, Massachusetts, on July 1, 1943. While based in England during World War II, the 401st Fighter Squadron flew nearly 250 combat missions in the venerable P-38 Lighting.
The 401st Fighter Squadron was inactivated on Nov. 9, 1945, and then soon allotted to the National Guard, where it was re-designated as the 173rd Fighter Squadron, Nebraska Air National Guard. This unit was activated on July 26, 1946, and equipped with P-51 Mustang fighters. The unit has been operational ever since.
Shortly after 1946, the U.S. Congress established the U.S. Air Force as a separate branch of the United States military forces. When the U.S. Air Force was established in 1946, the National Guard subsequently was organized with both an Air National Guard and an Army National Guard, making it the only military organization composed of elements from two separate military branches.
In 1948, the Nebraska Air National Guard became one of the first five states to receive the F-80 “Shooting Star” jet fighter. It also marked the first year that the Nebraska Air National Guard held its “summer field training” in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Following the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, the entire Nebraska Air National Guard was mobilized on April 1, 1951, as part of the 132nd Fighter-Bomber Wing at Dow Air Force Base, Maine. The following year, the wing was moved to Alexandria Air Force Base, Louisiana, where it completed its tour of active duty. While mobilized, the 173rd Fighter Squadron turned in its F-80s and returned to flying the P-51 Mustang. On Dec. 31, 1952, the 173rd Fighter Squadron returned to Lincoln, Nebraska, after having completed 21 months of federal service.
After returning home and beginning the arduous task of rebuilding its organizations to full strength, the 173rd Fighter Squadron was reissued F-80 Shooting Stars.
In 1954, the squadron was re-designated as the 173rd Fighter Interceptor Squadron and assigned to the Air Defense Command where it was required to maintain a level of readiness that would enable it to engage and destroy enemy airborne weapons while also providing the necessary base support operations to successfully complete its mission.
In 1955, with construction of new base facilities, the Lincoln Air Force Base was re-activated and became a part of the Strategic Air Command. The Nebraska Air National Guard moved into its new facilities consisting of a large hangar with two stories of offices on either side, a base supply building, and motor pool in the fall of 1956. Many of these facilities are still in use today.
In January 1957, the all-weather F-86D Sabre jet fighter replaced the F-80. Two years later, the unit again transitioned, this time to the F-86L.
On July 1, 1960, National Guard Bureau reorganized the 173rd Fighter Squadron as part of the 155th Fighter Group and increased its manning to around 900 Airmen. The unit was part of the 132nd Air Defense Wing at Des Moines, Iowa.
The 155th Fighter Group remained part of Air Defense Command until May 1964 when the unit was again reorganized, this time into the 155th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, and placed under the command of the Tactical Air Command. It was also re-equipped with the RF-84 Thunderjet aircraft and given the mission of photo-reconnaissance. In 1967, the jet’s .50 caliber machineguns were removed from the aircraft, leading the Nebraska Airmen to proudly proclaim their unofficial motto: “Alone, Unarmed and Unafraid.”
In 1971, the RF-84s gave way to the new RF-4 Phantom II, which was the most modernized jet aircraft available at the time. The unit also soon received 12 photo processing and interpretation vans, which contained equipment required to develop and interpret reconnaissance film, maintain a quality control program, and submit required reports.
Following Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, the 155th Reconnaissance Group transitioned to the KC-135R Stratotanker aircraft and aerial refueling mission. It was re-designated as the 155th Air Refueling Wing on Oct. 1, 1995. The transition also saw a major construction boom on the base, with the transformation of the hangar to support the KC-135 Statotanker’s needs, as well as the construction of new operations, communications, civil engineer, consolidated support, dining facility, and logistics buildings. They were soon joined by a joint-use Medical Clinic that was completed in the late 1990s.
Shortly after completing its first operational readiness exercises and inspections, the 155th Air Refueling Wing began to support multiple operations and exercises around the globe, including Operations Northern and Southern Watch over Iraq, and Operation Deny Flight over the former Yugoslavia. In April 1999, the 155th Air Refueling Wing engaged in the first combat operations in its history, when it deployed aircraft, crews, and support personnel to Germany for Operation Allied Force, the bombing campaign over Serbia and Kosovo.
On Sept. 11, 2001, following the terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, the 155th Air Refueling Wing launched the first of its aerial refueling support missions of what would become Operation Noble Eagle, refueling fighter aircraft over several major United States cities, the first combat air patrols ever conducted over the continental United States. Noble Eagle missions would go on to include providing aerial refueling support of combat air patrols during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah.
In September and October 2001, members of the 155th Air Refueling Wing were mobilized to support the establishment of an “air bridge” from the United States to Central Asia. Flying out of Moron Air Base, Spain, members of the Nebraska Air National Guard refueled U.S. and coalition aircraft as they began to move toward Central Asia in what would soon become Operation Enduring Freedom, the war in Afghanistan.
Since then, members of the 155th Air Refueling Wing have continued to deploy and support a wide array of aerial refueling, logistical, and aero-medevac missions around the globe. These missions have included Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New Dawn, Operation Freedom Sentinel, Operation Enduring Freedom and a host of others, supporting ongoing U.S. military efforts around the world.
The Nebraska Air National Guard has also continued to support a number of domestic operations in Nebraska and across the United States. Nationwide this included deploying Airmen to aid Hurricane Harvey relief efforts in Texas in 2017 and providing support during the 59th Presidential Inauguration in Washington, D.C. in 2021. Local responses have included Operation Bush Hog in October-November 1997, the Hallam Tornado in May 2004, the Missouri and Platte Rivers flooding in 2011, statewide “Bomb Cyclone” flooding of March 2019, and both civil unrest and COVID-19 pandemic responses in 2020.
Specific to the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, the U.S. Air Force’s Air Mobility Command conducted airflow tests at the 155th Air Refueling Wing to assess measures to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 while transporting patients. Airmen also supported COVID-19 response by administering vaccines, conducting testing and engaging in disinfection efforts. The 155th Air Refueling Wing’s response also went international when medical professionals from the Nebraska and Texas National Guard traveled to the Czech Republic, a State Partnership Program country, in November 2020, to assist in combating COVID-19.
In April 2021, Nebraska’s Governor signed a proclamation declaring March 1, 2021, to March 1, 2023, as “Air Force Heritage Recognition Years,” designating the 155th as the Lincoln Air Force Base during the reconstruction of Offutt Air Force Base runways due to flood damage.
The 155th Wing’s two-year partnership with Offutt culminated in the co-hosted Guardians of Freedom Airshow in August 2023, which attracted a record number of attendees and featured participation of the Czech Armed Forces, commemorating 30 years of partnership. The event earned recognition as the Military Air Show of the Year by the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Team, the Blue Angels.