Recognizing the 117th Arw of the Alabama National Guard

Floor Speech

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Mr. TUBERVILLE. Mr. President, today I rise to highlight the 100th anniversary of the 117th Air Refueling Wing based in Birmingham, AL, and to honor the patriotic men and women, past and present, of this storied National Guard unit. For a century, the 117th has defended our freedoms by providing worldwide air refueling, airlift, logistics, intelligence, and medical services. It is a profound honor to represent these great Americans in their nation's capital.

The United States hosts the world's most powerful Air Force, which gives our country the ability to project strength and defend freedom around the globe. This capability is made possible by a heavy reliance on our air refueling tankers that create bridges across the sky for our fighters and bombers. Since October 1994, the 117th Air Refueling Wing has proudly and effectively performed this critical air refueling mission with the KC-135 Stratotanker, a mainstay of our tanker fleet.

The 117th Air Refueling Wing is heavily utilized and often deployed. Their reliability and dedication has led them to take part in some of the most consequential military actions of our time.

During the Kosovo conflict of 1999, the wing flew operational missions over the Balkans following its deployment of six KC-135 aircraft to Brize-Norton Royal Air Force Base, England, in support of Operation Allied Force.

After the horrific terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the 117th deployed to MacDill Air Force Base, FL, as part of Operation Noble Eagle to refuel F-15 and F-16 aircraft that were flying around-the- clock protective combat air patrol missions over major cities in the United States.

The wing deployed KC-135 aircraft to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, to fly operational missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and later played a key role in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Each of these deployments supported and directly contributed to the success of our air operations, keeping Americans in the air and on the ground safer while imposing our will on the enemy.

But, even decades before taking on the air refueling mission, the wing had a storied beginning and a long history of service to our country.

In 1918, Major James A. Meissner, a World War I flying ace, returned home to Birmingham to lead the formation of a flying unit based at Roberts Field. As a result of his efforts, on January 21, 1922, the U.S. Department of War identified the Birmingham Aero Club as the first Air National Guard Unit in Alabama.

The unit was originally designated as the 135th Observation Squadron, Alabama National Guard, and received Federal recognition as a Corps Aviation unit. The flying squadron was nicknamed the ``Birmingham Escadrille's,'' and Major Meissner served as the first commander.

On January 30, 1944, the unit, by then redesignated to the 106th Reconnaissance Squadron, flew its first combat sorties in B-25 Mitchell aircraft against the Japanese from Sterling Island in the South Pacific.

In 1961, the unit was federalized in support of the Berlin Crisis. For 10 months, 20 RF-84F Thunderstreak aircraft flew missions from Dreux Air Base, France.

Also in 1961, roughly 80 members of the Alabama Air National Guard secretly took part in the operation to support the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. These individuals bravely defended the U.S. and Cuban people against the communist regime and were sworn to secrecy until the declassification of the mission in 1998.

In November 1971, the unit was selected to be the first Air National Guard unit to receive the RF-4C Phantom II aircraft, redesignated as the 117th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, and assigned to the U.S. Air Force's Tactical Air Command.

Following Saddam Hussein's August 1990 invasion of Kuwait and the subsequent U.S. military buildup in the Middle East, six Alabama National Guard RF-4C aircraft equipped with special long-range cameras deployed on August 24, 1990, to Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates. Their mission was to obtain high-resolution images of objects 100 miles away to aid prewar surveillance and photo- reconnaissance mapping of Iraqi forces in occupied Kuwait and along the Saudi Arabia-Iraq border.

Though the missions and the aircraft have changed over the 100-year history of the flying squadron, one thing has remained constant: The men and women of the 117th have always answered the call to service. That tradition has been proudly carried on by the nearly 1,000 men and women who comprise the 117th Air Refueling Wing.

Today, we honor the airmen and women, maintainers, medical crews, and support staff of the 117th Air Refueling Wing on this important anniversary and remember those that have given their lives as part of the wing's operations. I salute them for their sacrifice and service to the great State of Alabama and the United States of America.

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