Photo By Staff Sgt. Chad Nelson | Cutting the cake at the 75th anniversary of the 132nd Wing are (from left to right)...... read more read more
DES MOINES, Iowa - While it may have taken 16 years and six attempts, it was the vision of 12 individuals from the local community and Iowa National Guard 75 years ago that created the 132nd Wing as a force for the future.
From its humble beginnings on Feb. 25, 1941 as the 124th Observation Squadron, with 27 officers, 110 enlisted Airmen, five Douglas O-38 aircraft, this Iowa Air National Guard unit has been home to 11 different aircraft and countless Air Force missions.
“What started as a recruiting effort in an old orange juice shop in the Chamberlain Hotel on the corner of 7th and Locust, is a wing that is postured for the future,” said 132nd Wing Commander, Col. Shawn D. Ford during the Wing’s 75th anniversary celebration Feb. 26, at the Des Moines Airbase.
“The significance of these 12 individuals who came together for a common goal cannot be understated and helps demonstrate the mutually beneficial relationship of the National Guard with the community. Individuals from the Des Moines Citizens Airport Committee, the Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Des Moines Committee, the Des Moines Register and Tribune, Iowa Power and Light, Banker’s Trust, and the Des Moines City Council saw the value of bringing the 132nd to the Des Moines Airport, and the rest is history,” Ford said.
Over the last 75 years, the 132nd Fighter Wing has participated in numerous military operations, including World War II, and many aviation support missions for Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Operations Northern and Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn.
And while the missions and aircraft may have changed over the past eight decades, there is one element that has remained vital to the growth and success of the 132nd Wing – its Iowa Airmen. It’s those very Airmen who were recognized for their dedication and hard work during the anniversary celebration at the Iowa airbase.
“Four generations of 132nd Airmen have carried the values and the traditions of the Iowa Air National Guard forward throughout our proud history,” said Maj. Gen. Tim Orr, the Iowa National Guard adjutant general. “And that proud legacy continues here every day in Des Moines and it continues on in Iowa. As I travel around the country, we’re noted for what we do here.
“You’ve been here during peace, you’ve been here during war, and you continue to support us for what we do,” Orr continued. “Regardless of the era and regardless of the time, and the mission and what we do for our nation.
“And I want to also thank the men and women who are still serving today. You know they represent the less than one percent of our nation that serve in the global fight across America and across the world. They continue to step up, they continue to serve, and I just want to say I’m honored to work with each and every one of you and I’m proud to serve with you.”
Orr also pointed out that over the past eight decades, by virtue of the 132nd’s increasingly technological missions and high-performance aircraft operations, tens of millions of dollars of critical infrastructure have been built at the Des Moines Airport, greatly benefitting the nation’s defense, as well as passenger air travel.
“Last year alone,” said Orr, “the 132nd Wing provided more than $100 million in economic infusion to Iowa through salaries, unit purchases from the local economy, military construction, and indirect job creation.”
With three new highly-technological missions, the Iowa Air National Guard Base Des Moines has never been more important, nor as relevant, in its 75-year history.
Today’s 132nd aviators now pilot the General Atomics MQ-9 “Reaper” Remotely Piloted Aircraft and the unit has since evolved into two other unique operational missions: an Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group and a Cyber Operations Squadron. The unit’s name change to the 132nd Wing was a reflection upon its past, while focusing on its evolving, modern mission as part of the national defense strategy.
The mission of the 232nd and 233rd Intelligence Squadrons, subordinate units of the 132nd Wing, is to provide targeting and geospatial intelligence to the U.S. Air Force and Joint Warfighters. The 132nd Intelligence Support Squadron, another 132nd Wing subordinate unit, provides support functions to the 232nd and 233rd Intelligence Squadrons, as well as develops targeting training products for the Air Force targeting enterprise.
“You don’t get from 12 individuals to over 900 Airmen without the support and hard work of our community and its people,” Ford said. “I like to call it the ‘Iowa work ethic’ that can only be found in the Midwest, but this Wing was built on the backs of Iowans who know how to get the job done right.
“Not only did we survive for 75 years, we did it while transitioning through 12 aircraft from the O-38 to the MQ-9; supporting 10 wars or conflicts; and earning 10 Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards from 1965 until today. There have been many changes in the past and there will be changes in the future, but any organization that doesn’t adapt to their current environment will not survive.
“I look forward to the next 75 years,” Ford said.
| Date Taken: | 03.04.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 03.04.2016 10:40 |
| Story ID: | 191104 |
| Location: | DES MOINES, IOWA, US |
| Web Views: | 348 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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