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156th Tactical Fighter Wing Patch – Plastic Backing/ Sew On

$11.99

Enjoy this 156th Tactical Fighter Wing Patch that will be the perfect patch to display or wear! This patch will look great in a shadow box, flight suit or jacket.

  • 3.5″
  • Sew On/Embroidered
  • US Veteran Aviator Owned Business

49 in stock (can be backordered)

Description

156th Tactical Fighter Wing Patch – Plastic Backing

Enjoy this 156th Tactical Fighter Wing Patch that will be the perfect patch to display or wear! This patch will look great in a shadow box, flight suit or jacket.

  • 3.5″
  • Sew On/Embroidered
  • US Veteran Aviator Owned Business

Tactical Fighter mission

F-104D Starfighter of the 198th Tactical Fighter Squadron.
On 15 October 1962, the Puerto Rico Air National Guard was expanded to a Group status, and the 156th Tactical Fighter Group (156 TFG) was recognized and activated by the National Guard Bureau (NGB). The 156th was transferred to the operational claimancy of the Tactical Air Command (TAC), with the 198th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (198 FIS) being reassigned from Air Defense Command (ADC), becoming a tactical fighter squadron as the 198 TFS assigned to the 156 TFG. Other squadrons assigned into the group were the 156th Headquarters, 156th Material Squadron (Maintenance), 156th Combat Support Squadron, and the 156th USAF Dispensary. With the transfer to TAC, the 198th TFS received F-86H Sabre tactical fighters.

In 1967, F-104C Starfighers (and an F-104D two-seat trainer) were assigned to the 156th, upgrading the group to Mach-2 supersonic tactical fighter-bombers, replacing the elderly F-86H Sabre fighter-bombers. The F-104C was equipped to carry bombs or rocket pods on under-wing and fuselage points. The upward-firing Lockheed C-2 rocket-boosted ejector seat was standard. The internal 20-mm rotary cannon of the F-104A was retained, as well as the ability to carry an AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile on each wingtip to fill an air defense interceptor mission.

In 1975, the F-104s were retired, the 198th being the last USAF unit to fly the Starfighter. The F-104s were replaced by A-7D Corsair II attack aircraft. Although designed primarily as a ground attack aircraft, it also had limited air-to-air combat capability.

A-7D Corsair II aircraft, AF Ser. No. 70–0957 and 74-1749, assigned to the 198th Tactical Fighter Squadron during exercise “Solid Shield 78” on 1 May 1978.
On 12 January 1981, the Boricua Popular Army, also known as the Macheteros, a group of home grown Marxist aligned Puerto Rican terrorists advocating separation from the United States and establishment of Puerto Rico as an independent nation, infiltrated Muñiz Air National Guard Base. Armed with pipe bombs, they destroyed or damaged a total of eleven PR ANG aircraft: ten A-7D Corsair IIs and a single F-104 Starfighter being retained for eventual static display as a memorial. The terrorist attack was the largest on any U.S. Air Force installation since the Vietnam War, although the ongoing hostage situation at the time overshadowed this incident in the news media. The eleven Air National Guard jets at Muñiz Air National Guard Base were alleged by socialist organizations to be destined for use against popular insurgents in El Salvador.[1] These allegations were never proven and may have been self-serving propaganda.

At the time, the 156 TFG had 25 pilots and 900 military personnel assigned, a combination of both part-time Traditional Guardsmen (TG) and full-time Air Reserve Technicians (ART) and Active Guard and Reserve (AGR). The material loss was calculated at $45-$50 million in 1981 dollars.

As a result of the incident, security increased from 11 to 22 personnel with 100% federal funding. The active duty Air Force and the Air National Guard invested $5.5 million in Electronic Security Equipment (ESE), a Master Surveillance Control Facility (MSCF), and added fencing to secure the flight line and operations area. In addition, Muñiz Air National Guard Base was provided a security police manpower package of 18 AGR security police personnel and 46 civilian contract guards. In short, the installation’s flight line and air base security was brought up to a standard comparable to active duty air force bases in the continental United States (CONUS), Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and Panama.

On 1 August 1987, the 156th Tactical Fighter Group reorganized into a Four-Deputy structure according to the new Air National Guard (ANG) policy where organizational structures would mirror the Regular Air Force and the then-Air Force Reserve (AFRES).

The unit took part, from 24–28 June 1991, in Exercise GRANADA SOUTH in Panama. From 11–18 August 1991, it deployed to Iquique, Chile for Exercise CONDOR II Exercise and then from 18–24 August 1991, to Asuncion with the Paraguayan Air Force for training. From 7–20 September 1991, it deployed to Exercise FORTUNATA II at Volk Field, Wisconsin and then again from 2–6 December 1991 for another GRANADA SOUTH exercise in Panama.

In March 1992, with the end of the Cold War, the 156th Tactical Fighter Group adopted the Air Force Objective Organization plan, and the unit was re-designated as the 156th Fighter Group (156 FG). A few months later, on 1 June 1992, Tactical Air Command (TAC) was inactivated as part of the Air Force reorganization after the end of the Cold War and was replaced by Air Combat Command (ACC), which became the 156th’s new operational gaining command.

Also in 1992, the A-7Ds were also retired and were replaced by Block 15 F-16A/B Fighting Falcon aircraft modified for the Continental Air Defense mission. The F-16ADF was a standard Block 15 model converted to air defense fighters for the Air National Guard and would take over the fighter interception mission, providing the primary defense of North America against bombers and cruise missiles.

198th Fighter Squadron Block 15 F-16A ADF Fighting Falcon 82-0995
From 20 February to 6 March 1993, the unit took part in the “Caminos de Paz” exercise at Golfito, and then deployed from 12–21 August 1993, to Asunción, Paraguay, marking its First F-16 Deployment. From 5–13 November 1994, the unit took part in the Condor III Exercise held in Iquique, Chile.

In October 1995, in accordance with the Air Force “One Base – One Wing” policy, the status of the 157th was upgraded to a wing status and redesignated as the 156th Fighter Wing (156 FW) with the 198th Fighter Squadron (198 FS) being assigned to the newly established 156th Operations Group (156 OG).

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