168th Wing

168th Air Refueling Wing
168th Air Refueling Wing
Active	(since 1990)
Country	United States
Branch	Air National Guard
Type	Mobility
Role	Refueling
Part of	Pacific Air Forces
Garrison/HQ	Eielson Air Force Base
Motto(s)	Guardians of the Last Frontier
Decorations	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award (1994, 1996, 2004) Distinguished Flying Unit Plaque (1996, 1997) Curtis N. "Rusty" Metcalf Trophy (1997)
Commanders
Current commander	Colonel Timothy P. O'Brien

KC-135R of the 168th Refueling Wing

The 168th Air Refueling Wing (168 ARW) is a unit of the Pacific Air Forces located at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska.

Overview

The 168th ARW is the only Arctic region refueling unit in the United States and maintains a substantial number of personnel on active duty and civilian technician status in order to meet its daily operational requirements. The unit transfers more fuel than any other Air National Guard tanker wing, because nearly all receivers are active duty aircraft, many of which are on operational missions.

The mission of the 168 ARW is to train and equip KC-135R combat crews to provide air refueling in support of PACAF Operations Plans (OPLANS) and worldwide refueling taskings.  It's peacetime mission provides air refueling training and exercise support for all 11th Air Force AWACS and fighter aircraft, as well as alert tankers and crews to support Alaska NORAD Region (ANR) plans and Joint Chiefs of Staff-directed refueling requirements. 

In 2000, the wing became mobility-tasked, which has been a true opportunity for growth and learning.  Besides its federally directed missions, as a unit of the Alaska National Guard, the 168 ARW is an asset of the Governor of Alaska and as such, the Governor can direct the unit to respond to emergencies declared or missions required within the State.

The 168th ARW completed its R-model conversion in 1995, and in 2000 they completed a major flight deck upgrade called "Pacer CRAG" – with the CRAG standing for Compass, Radar, and GPS (Global Positioning System). The Wing's Primary Assigned Aircraft are eight KC-135 R-models assigned to the 168th Air Refueling Squadron. The wing aircraft are identified with a blue tail stripe, and the name "Alaska".

Units

The 168th Air Refueling Wing consists of the following units:

• 168th Operations Group (168 OG)

168th Air Refueling Squadron (168ARS)

168th Operations Support Flight (168 OSF)

• 168th Maintenance Group (168 MXG)

168th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron (168AMXS)

168th Maintenance Squadron (168 MXS)

168th Maintenance Operations Flight (168 MOF)

• 168th Mission Support Group (168 MSG)

168th Communications Flight(168 CF)

168th Logistics Readiness Squadron (168 LRS)

168th Mission Support Flight (168 MSF)

168th Security Forces Squadron (168 SFS)

• 168th Medical Group (168 MDG)

• 213th Space Warning Squadron (213 SWS), Geographically Separated Unit (GSU) located at Clear Air Force Station, Alaska

Located 40 miles north of Mount McKinley and 80 miles south of Fairbanks. The 213th SWS is responsible for providing tactical warning and attack assessment of a ballistic missile attack against the continental United States and southern Canada. Warning data from the unit is forwarded to the North American Aerospace Defense Command inside Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Colorado. The squadron is also responsible for a portion of the Air Force Space Command Space Surveillance System and assists in tracking more than 9,500 space objects currently in Earth's orbit.

Emblem

The upper right of the shield consists of a compass rose against a yellow background. The compass rose signifies the global nature of the Wing mission and is set at a 30 degree angle to the east representing the magnetic variation of Alaska where the Group was first formed. The yellow background represents the midnight sun at high latitude and the day aspect of the air refueling mission. The lower left of the shield depicts a red lightning bolt running from cloud to cloud against a blue background. The red lightning bolt signifies the projection of military power, the clouds are the medium in which it performs its mission, and the blue background the Arctic night and the night aspect of its mission. The red lightning bolt is also a prominent feature of the squadron patch from which the 168th Air Refueling Group/Wing evolved. Between the yellow and blue fields is a bar of ultramarine blue containing eight yellow stars. The ultramarine blue is Air Force blue representing the 168 ARW's role in the Total Force; it is also the background color of the Alaska flag. The eight yellow stars are the stars of the big dipper also found on the Alaska flag.

History

The 168 ARW was activated on 23 October 1990 as the 168th Air Refueling Group.  This Group grew out of the 168th Air Refueling Squadron (AFRES), which traces its lineage to the 437th Bombardment Squadron of the 319th Bombardment Group, originally activated at Barksdale Field, Louisiana, in June 1942.

Its aircraft were the Martin B-26 "Marauder" and in November 1944 they received the North American B-25 "Mitchell". The 437th served with distinction in both the European and Pacific theaters of World War II, earning the French Croix de Guerre (with palm) for action over Italy and France during April–June 1944, two Presidential Unit Citations for operations over Rome and Florence in 1944, and nine combat streamers for campaigns in which it flew. In January 1945 the 437th was transferred to Okinawa for participation in the Ryukyus Islands Campaign and the Air Offensive in Japan, the closing chapters of World War II. 

In May 1946 the 437th was redesignated as the 168th Bombardment Squadron (Light) and allocated to the Illinois Air National Guard. It flew the B-26 Douglas "Invader" and was stationed at Chicago's Orchard Place Airport, now O'Hare International Airport. The unit was called to active duty for service in France from 1951-53 initially at Bordeaux-Merignac Air Base and later Laon-Couvron Air Base. In 1954 it was redesignated the 168th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, and flew the famous North American F-51 "Mustang". In 1955 it received the F-84F "Thunderstreak" jet, becoming the 168th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron. In 1957 it flew the F-86L "Sabre-jet". In May 1958, the 168th's aircraft and personnel were assigned to other units, but the 168th's unit designation remained on the state's rolls—a "technical deactivation". Almost thirty years later, the unit was reactivated as the 168th Air Refueling Squadron and assigned to the Alaska Air National Guard.

From a modest beginning in 1986, with just four KC-135E aircraft transferred from the Arkansas Air National Guard in Little Rock, the unit has blossomed into Wing status and all the accouterments of a full Air Refueling Wing. The first rendezvous and refueling of the squadron occurred just weeks after the arrival of the first aircraft. The pilot in command was Ltc. Tom Gresch, and the navigator conducting the rendezvous was Capt. Michael R. Stack, formerly of the 126th Air Refueling Wing in Chicago. The 168 ARW has command and control over thirteen subordinate assigned units whose missions include all aircraft maintenance for the PACAF-gained tankers, providing financial, transportation, contracting, and base supply resources, communications, data processing and visual information functions, organizational security, and disaster preparedness and air base operability.  They also contain all personnel activities such as training, equal employment opportunity and recruiting, and limited diagnostic and therapeutic service in general medicine, flight medicine, bioenvironmental, environmental, and dental services. 

Subordinate assigned units include four groups, the 168th Operations Group (OG), the 168th Maintenance Group (MXG), the 168th Mission Support Group (MSG), and the 168th Medical Group (MDG).  The 168 OG includes the 213th Space Warning Squadron, 168th Air Refueling Squadron (ARS) and the 168th Operations Support Flight (OSF), the 168 MXG includes the 168th Maintenance Squadron (MXS), the 168th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron (AMXS), and the 168th Maintenance Operations Flight (MOF).  Finally, the 168 MSG includes the 168th Security Forces Squadron (SFS), the 168th Logistics Readiness Squadron (LRS), the 168th Mission Support Flight (MSF), and the 168th Communications Flight (CF).

Because of Alaska's strategic location with regard to national defense, the mission and importance of the 168 ARW and the Alaska Air National Guard should continue to increase in the coming years. The 168 ARW has a remarkably broad range of responsibilities.

Operations and Decorations

• In January 1994, January 1996, and January 2004, the 168 ARW received the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award.
• In April 1996 and again in 1997, the 168 ARW won one of the five annual Distinguished Flying Unit Plaques sponsored by the National Guard Association of the United States.
• Also in 1997, they earned the Curtis N. "Rusty" Metcalf Trophy, for the tactical/strategic airlift or air refueling flying unit demonstrating the highest standards of mission accomplishment over a sustained period each year.

Lineage

• Established as 168th Air Refueling Group, on 23 Oct 1990

Re-designated as: 168th Air Refueling Wing on 1 Jun 1992

Assignments

• Alaska Air National Guard, 23 Oct 1990

Gained by: Strategic Air Command

• Pacific Air Forces, 1 Jun 1992-Present

Components

• 168th Operations Group, 23 Oct 1990-Present.

• 168th Air Refueling Squadron, 23 Oct 1990-Present
• 213th Space Warning Squadron, 30 Aug 2006-Present.

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• 168th Air Refueling Wing (official site)

External links

• Eielson Air Force Base
• Alaska Air National Guard