Air National Guard

History

ANG History Office

Mission Statement
The Air National Guard History Office supports present and future U.S. Warfighters by Documenting, Preserving, Interpreting, and Disseminating the history of the Air National Guard (ANG) in order to:

Preserve an official record of ANG mission accomplishment at home and around the world
Make valuable information available to decision makers and action officers
Support professional military education
Promote awareness of ANG heritage
Provide reference material for researchers

Message to the field

The Air Force Historical Research Agency has instituted new emblem submission guidelines. Please click here for more information!

National Guard Heritage Paintings

Click here to view the National Guard Heritage Painting Series as well as instructions on how to order copies.

Recommended Reading List

The Air National Guard History Program has compiled a short list of works for those interested in learning more about the National Guard.

This list is broken down into two categories. The first focuses on the history and activities of the Air National Guard from its beginnings through operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and includes scholarly works as well as memoirs, biographies, and journal and magazine articles.

The second section contains works centered on the militia tradition that is strongly embedded in United States history. Works in this section cover all periods of American history and describe the political and military roles of the militia and National Guard throughout the Guard's long service to the states and nation. While many of the works in this section focus on the Army National Guard, the traditions these works describe are alive and well in the modern Air National Guard.

Most of these works are available at local libraries or can be purchased online.

History Feature

History of the ANGRC

History of the ANG

Resources

History Photo Gallery

Photo Gallery Page

Inside the ANG

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Other History Sites

• United States Army Center of Military History
• Air Force Historical Studies Office
• National Museum of the United States Air Force
• Air Force Historical Research Agency
• Society for Military History
• Naval History and Heritage Command
• United States Army Heritage and Education Center
• United States Marine Corps History Division
• Air Force Historical Foundation

Contact History Office

For more information, email us @
ANG History Office

History Office (2)

This Month in History

October 1911. Pioneer aviator and California Guardsman Eugene Ely died in an aircraft accident on 19 October 1911 in Macon, Georgia while flying as a civilian pilot.

6 October 1918. 2nd Lt. Erwin R. Bleckley, a Kansas Guardsman flying as an aircraft observer in France with the 50th Aero Squadron of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), was killed while trying to locate and resupply the famous "lost battalion" of American infantry that had been cut off by the Germans in the Argonne Forrest. Both Bleckley and his pilot, 1st Lt. Harold E. Goettler, were awarded Medals of Honor posthumously. Bleckley was the first National Guard aviator to be a recipient of the nation's highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor.

22 October 1918. 1st Lt. Martinus Stenseth, a former Minnesota National Guardsman, was credited with 3.14 aerial victories bringing his total to 6.14. He ended World War I with 6.47 kills.

24 October 1925. The 154th Observation Squadron, Arkansas National Guard, received federal recognition as a Corps Aviation unit.4
25 October 1927. The War Department announced the first contract with the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company to purchase 35 new O-11 type observation planes. They would replace the antiquated and unfit JN type aircraft that had been withdrawn from National Guard service the previous month.

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