Wing Established 16 February 1947 (as: 165th Fighter Squadron); operates: C-130H Hercules Stationed at: Louisville Air National Guard Base Gained by: Air Mobility Command History On 24 May 1946, the United States Army Air Forces, in response to dramatic postwar military budget cuts imposed by President Harry S. Truman, allocated inactive unit designations to the National Guard Bureau for the formation of an Air Force National Guard. These unit designations were allotted and transferred to various state National Guard bureaus to provide them unit designations to re-establish them as Air National Guard units. The Kentucky Air National Guard origins date to 9 June 1947 with the establishment of the 123d Fighter Group''' and is oldest unit of the Kentucky Air National Guard. It was federally recognized and activated at Standiford Field, near Louisville. Its 165th Fighter Squadron, the flying component of the 123d, was equipped with P-51D Mustangs. Its mission was the air defense of the state. 18 September 1947, however, is considered the Kentucky Air National Guard's official birth concurrent with the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate branch of the United States military under the National Security Act of 1947. With the surprise invasion of South Korea on 25 June 1950, and the regular military's complete lack of readiness, the ANG was mobilized into federal active duty. The 165th Fighter Squadron was federalized and ordered to active duty on 10 October 1950. The squadron was moved to Godman Air Force Base at Fort Knox along with the 123d Fighter Group. At Godman, the squadron was joined by the North Carolina ANG 156th Fighter Squadron and the West Virginia ANG 167th Fighter Squadron. All three squadrons were equipped with P-51Ds. After over a year of training at Godman AFB, the 123d was re-designated as a Fighter-Bomber Group and deployed to RAF Manston, Kent, England to replace the Strategic Air Command 12th Fighter-Escort Wing which was returned to Bergstrom AFB, Texas. In England, the mission of the 123d was to provide fighter escort for SAC B-50 Superfortress and B-36 Peacemaker bombers while flying over Western European airspace on their deterrence alert missions. The 123d left their P-51Ds at Godman AFB and the personnel boarded C-124 Globemaster II transports to England where they initially began conversion training on F-84E Thunderjets. Today, the 123d Airlift Wing (123 AW) provides worldwide theater airlift for U.S. military and humanitarian operations.