148th Fighter Wing

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148th Fighter Wing
148th Fighter Wing Insignia
Active	1 July 1960
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Fighter
Part of	Air National Guard
Garrison/HQ	Duluth International Airport

The 148th Fighter Wing is a unit of the Minnesota Air National Guard based at Duluth International Airport. It falls under 1st Air Force and Air Combat Command. The 179th Fighter Squadron, nicknamed the Bulldogs, is the flying component of the 148 FW and is equipped with the F-16C Fighting Falcon.

[edit] History

The unit began as the 179th Fighter Squadron on September 17th, 1948, under the command of the 133d Fighter Wing. On July 1st, 1960, the 148th Fighter Group was formed and the 179 FS began 24-hour alert status as a part of Air Defense Command.

In 1976 the unit became the 148th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, flying the RF-4D Phantom II. The designation was changed again in 1983 when the unit became the 148th Fighter Interceptor Group. In 1990 the unit received the F-16A Block 15 Air Defense Fighter. Another name change was instituted on March 17th, 1992, and the unit was once again the 148th Fighter Group.

On October 11th, 1995, the unit became the 148th Fighter Wing. Detachment 1 of the unit assumed alert status at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida. In 1999 the mission was changed from Air Superiority to General Purpose, and the unit began practicing delivery of air-to-ground weapons.

In 2003 the unit traded their F-16A Block 15 aircraft for newer, more capable, F-16C Block 25 models. In 2005 the Department of Defense recommended to the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) retiring the F-16s of the 148 FW, because the older Block 25 is becoming harder and costlier to maintain. However, the BRAC eventually voted to let the unit keep their current aircraft.