Air National Guard at 60: A History

Air Power History, Summer, 2009 by Curtis Hooper O'Sullivan

Air National Guard at 60: A History. By Susan Rosenfeld and Charles J. Gross. Arlington, Va.: ANG History Office, 2007. Photographs. Maps. Pp. ii, 73. $11.00. Paperback. ISBN: 978-0-16-079501-5 www.bookstore.gpo.gov

In limited space, this monograph has crammed a fair amount of history and a good deal of operational detail on the employment of the Air National Guard. It is well illustrated by outstanding photographs. Less attention is given to prosaic matters such as recruitment, ground support, and to the ever-present problem of maintaining flying proficiency--especially when transitioning to a completely different class of aircraft (not just a higher letter in the same series).

During the past sixty years, the Air Guard has been a valuable resource both to the U.S. Air Force and to the states from which it is drawn--showing the continuing strength of our Federal Citizen-in-Arms concept. The story of the organized militia in the air starts in the balloons of the Civil War; then individual Guardsmen in propelled flight in World War I; and, finally, authorized units in the troop list of the National Defense Act of 1920.

That Act provided for twenty-nine observation squadrons, one for each of the eighteen infantry divisions and the nine corps but maybe not for all of the four Guard cavalry divisions whose organization was never completed. These squadrons (and those in the Organized Reserve) received infusions of qualified pilots through the Aviation Cadet program. Shortly before the mobilization of 1940, those eighteen squadrons were detached and became "separate" units. They served well throughout the Second World War and also provided a pool of skills for the tremendous expansion of the Army Air Forces.

However, the loss of observation capability within divisions left a void, and we saw the creation of what later became known as Army Aviation. Flight detachments were established at various levels (though primarily with field artillery battalions) of light "grasshopper" planes (L-4s and L-5s) for direct fire adjustment, observation, liaison, and reconnaissance.

In 1946, the Air Troop List for the Guard was seventy-two fighter and twelve light bomber squadrons. I was in the J-5 (planning) Cell of the California State Headquarters when we were advised that we'd grown from the 115th Observation Squadron to the 61st and 62d Fighter Wings and a separate Aircraft Control and Warning Group. There was an abundance of pilots from the four services anxious to fly and get flight pay but not many qualified in the aircraft we were receiving and in the right locations. Personnel for the staff and for the ground vacancies posed special problems. There were about seventy military World War II flying fields in California, but there was competition for their continued use.

When the independent U.S. Air Force was established the next year, there was initially a move to sever the connection with the states and make air a strictly Federal force--as the Navy had done with the Naval Militia. Soon, however, there was an appreciation of the state structure and the Congressional support received because of the connection, and the Air Force was soon far ahead of the hidebound Army in giving support to the Air Guard and using its capabilities as part of a total force. Somewhat related to this was some resistance we received in requiring new officers to join the National Guard Association and the State Association. There was a certain disdain for the "political" tag attached to the Guard, requiring command "education" to show the necessity of a strong lobby.

This monograph gives a good account of the changing missions of the Air National Guard with an emphasis on how a combination of full-time and volunteer personnel has permitted the execution of what are, essentially, active duty assignments in a changing environment. Adequate attention is given to the role in support of civil authorities (such as natural disasters), and there is a look to the future.

A letter that came with my copy explained why there are no source notes, index, or bibliography. I would have wished for more maps showing the earlier involvement of the Air Guard. Overall, however, this is an excellent summary, and I would encourage the authors to expand it to a full-length book.

Brig. Gen. Curtis Hooper O'Sullivan, Army National Guard (Ret), Salida, California