The 171st Air Refueling Wing (171 ARW) is a unit of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, located at Pittsburgh International Airport in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command.
Overview
The 171st Air Refueling Wing is an aerial refueling organization which provides in-flight refueling of fighters, bombers and other aircraft using the KC-135T Stratotanker. The 171 ARW presently has 16 aircraft assigned.
Units
The 171st Air Refueling Wing consists of the following units: 171st Operations Group 146th Air Refueling Squadron (KC-135T Stratotanker) 147th Air Refueling Squadron (KC-135T Stratotanker) 258th Air Traffic Control Squadron Geographically separated unit of the 171st ARW, located at the John P. Murtha Cambria County Airport in Johnstown Pennsylvania. 171st Maintenance Group 171st Mission Support Group 171st Medical Group
History
Aeromedical Airlift
On 1 February 1961, the Pennsylvania Air National Guard 147th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was authorized to expand to a group level, and the 171st Air Transport Group was established by the National Guard Bureau. The 147th being transferred from the 112th Fighter-Interceptor Group and re-designated as the 147th Aeromedical Transport Squadron. The 147th ATS became the 171st ATG's flying squadron. The 147th ATS was converted to twin engine C-119J Flying Boxcar aircraft and began training for its new mission. Other squadrons assigned into the group were the 171st Headquarters, 171st Material Squadron (Maintenance), 171st Combat Support Squadron, and the 171st USAF Dispensary.
After two years with the C-119J, the 147th converted to the C-121G Super Constellation. With the Super Constellation the primary mission of the 147th was to perform military airlift, with a secondary mission of aeromedical evacuation.
In 1968, the unit was re-designated as the 171st Aeromedical Airlift Group, the first of its kind in the Air National Guard (ANG). Later that year, the 171st was called to active duty to augment the airlift capability of the 375th Aeromedical Airlift Wing, Scott AFB, Illinois. Equipped with C-131 Samaritan aircraft its mission was to move patients from rough combat airfield casualty staging bases and military installations in South Vietnam to destination treatment hospitals. The Group flew 35% of these missions, flying 510 sorties and airlifting 11,947 patients. The unit was finally released from active duty in December 1968 and returned to Pennsylvania Commonwealth control.
Air refueling
Conforming to the new policy of the Department of Defense, the Air National Guard began to play an even greater role in fulfilling total U.S. force requirements. An extensive reorganization of the National Guard system was accomplished. As a result of these actions, the 171st Aeromedical Airlift Group was re-designated as the 171st Air Refueling Wing (ARW) in October 1972, transitioning from the C-121G to the KC-97L Stratotanker.
On 1 July 1976, the Wing received notice of reassignment to the Strategic Air Command (SAC). A year later, the Wing transitioned to the KC-135A Stratotanker, a four-engine jet aircraft. This was a significant upgrade, increasing the Wing's air refueling capacity and expanding its global mission capability.
In 1982, the ANG increased its mission capability through an interim program by retrofitting commercial Boeing 707 engines to their tankers re-designating the aircraft to the KC-135E.
Members of the 171 ARW volunteered for duty in Saudi Arabia in order to participate in air refueling missions for Operation Desert Shield. These operations were upgraded to a full federal activation in December 1990 through May 1991. During this period over 300 members of the unit were deployed throughout the world in numerous functions supporting both Desert Shield and combat operations during Operation Desert Storm. During this period the 171st ARW refueled nearly 3,000 allied aircraft while stationed near the Iraqi border in support of air combat missions against Iraqi forces. Maintaining a remarkable 100% mission effectiveness rate, the 171st flew 556 combat missions and offloaded 4.6 million gallons of fuel during the 1991 Gulf War.