169th Fighter Wing, SC Air National Guard

History

Formed in 1946, the South Carolina Air National Guard consists today of more than 1,500 Airmen who work and drill at McEntire Joint National Guard Base. The 2,400-acre base is located about 12 miles east of Columbia.

The base was named for the late Brigadier General Barnie B. McEntire, Jr., the first commander of the SCANG and its first general officer. McEntire died in 1961 when he rode his malfunctioning F-104 into the Susquehannah River to avoid crashing in densely-populated Harrisburg, PA. The base previously was known as Congaree Air Base and was used in World War II as a U.S. Marine Corps training base.

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Air National Guard: A Short Story

The Air National Guard as we know it today -- a separate reserve component of the United States Air Force -- was a product of the politics of postwar planning and interservice rivalry during World War II. The men who planned and maneuvered for an independent postwar Air Force during World War II didn't place much faith in the reserves, especially the state-dominated National Guard.

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