154th Wing

199th Tactical Fighter Squadron F-4C Phantom 63-7632 in Air Defense interceptor markings.

The last F-102A finally left ANG service in October 1976, when the 199th FIS of the Hawaii ANG traded in their Delta Daggers for F-4C Phantom II and the 157th became a Tactical Fighter Group. The F-4C was a workhorse tactical fighter-bomber during the Vietnam War, and could also be used as an effective interceptor. The Hawaii ANG used the Phantom in both roles, employing it during training exercises with Army and Marine units in ground exercises, as well as retaining the standing air defense alert at Hickam. On 3 November 1978, the 154th became a Composite Group with the addition of a C-130A Hercules and a C-7A Caribou flight.

After a decade flying the F-4C, the 157th received F-15A Eagles in 1987 along with a twin-seat F-15B trainer as part of the retirement of the F-4 from the Air Force inventory.

199th Fighter Squadron - F-15 Eagles over Hawaii

The F-15As were received from the 21st Tactical Fighter Wing, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, which was upgrading to the F-15C model. The Eagles received from Alaska had been upgraded through the F-15 Multi-Stage Improvement Program (MSIP) and were used in an air defense mission, which the Hawaii ANG had taken over. In mid-1991, early F-15C versions were received, and the Hawaii ANG operated both the A and C models of the Eagle for the next two decades.

In 1989 with inactivation of the PACAF 326th Air Division, the 154th Composite Group took over the air defense Radar mission in Hawaii. The 169th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron began operating a JSS radar site at Mount Kaala, Oahu along with the FAA, and the 150th Aircraft Control and Warning Flight operates a joint-use JSS radar site at Kokee Air Force Station, Kauai. These radar sites are linked to the NORAD Hawaii Region Air Operations Center (HIRAOC) at Wheeler Army Airfield, Oahu, 21°28′57″N 158°02′45″W. With these two sites, 24/7 air surveillance of the Hawaiian island chain is provided. The 154th Aircraft Control Squadron on Kauai also provides a mobile, self-sustainable, combat ready, forward extension and control element equipped to meet the Air Force's ground theater air control systems.

In March 1992, with the end of the Cold War, the 154th adopted the Air Force Objective Organization plan, and the unit was re-designated as the 154th Group. In January 1993, the 203d Air Refueling Squadron was recognized and activated by the National Guard Bureau. The 203d assumed the rotating deployments of KC-135s to Hickam which started in the 1970s by SAC-gained stateside Air National Guard squadrons. On 1 August 1994 the C-130 flight was expanded and the 204th Airlift Squadron was recognized and activated by the National Guard Bureau, eventually transitioning from the C-130A to the C-130H2..

AN/FPS-117 search radar at Kokee AFS.

In 1995, in accordance with the Air Force "One Base-One Wing" directive, the 154th was changed in status to a Wing, and the 199th Fighter Squadron was assigned to the new 154th Operations Group.

In 2006, the 204th Airlift Squadron began transitioning from the C-130 to the C-17 Globemaster III.

In July 2010, the Hawaii Air National Guard welcomed the first of its new inventory of F-22A Raptors. The 154th Wing was the second ANG unit to be equipped with the F-22. The 199th is planned to have 20 aircraft, the initial aircraft being transferred from the 325th Fighter Wing, Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida; the remaining 18 aircraft will come from the 1st Fighter Wing, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia.

The F-22 is designed to counter advanced surface-to-air missile systems and next-generation fighters equipped with launch-and-leave missile capability. The F-15s were sent to the CONUS, the last Eagle leaving in 2011. The 199th operates active-duty 19th Fighter Squadron as an associate unit, although the Hawaii ANG is responsible for seventy-five percent of the mission configuration. This is the first time an Air National Guard unit, the 199th Fighter Squadron, has taken the position of lead squadron in an associate flying unit arrangement with the active duty Air Force.

C-17 Arrival patch, 2006

• Established as 154th Fighter-Interceptor Group and allotted to Hawaii ANG in 1960

Received federal recognition and activated on 1 December 1960

Re-designated: 154th Tactical Fighter Group, 10 June 1976

Re-designated: 154th Composite Group, 3 November 1978

Re-designated: 154th Group, 15 March 1992

Status changed from Group to Wing, 1 October 1995

Re-designated: 154th Wing, 1 October 1995

• Hawaii Air National Guard, 1 December 1960

Gained by: Pacific Air Forces

• Hickam Air Force Base, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1 December 1960

Re-designated: Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, 1 January 2010-Present

• Air Force Outstanding Unit Award[1]