159th Fighter Wing

The 159th Fighter Wing is a unit of the Louisiana Air National Guard, stationed at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, Louisiana. If activated to federal service, it is gained by the United States Air Force Air Combat Command.

The 159th Fighter Wing, nicknamed "The Bayou Militia," is an Air National Guard F-15C Eagle fighter unit located at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, Louisiana. The 159th Fighter Wing is tasked with providing air superiority over Louisiana and the Gulf Coast while supporting USNORTHCOM and NORAD.

The wing uses warning area airspace over the Gulf of Mexico for most of their training. Supersonic flight, necessary for realistic training, is conducted away from the shoreline in a manner that does not disturb the public. Some forms of chaff, however, do interfere electronically with the Houston FAA ARTCC.^{[citation needed]}

The 159th Fighter Wing consists of the following units:

The 122nd Fighter Squadron, assigned to the Wing's 159th Operations Group, is a descendant organization of the 122nd Observation Squadron, established on 30 July 1940. It is one of the 29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of the United States Army National Guard formed before World War II.

In 1958, the 122nd Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was authorized to expand to a group level, and the 159th Fighter Interceptor Group was established by the National Guard Bureau on 1 April 1958, 122nd becoming the group's flying squadron. Other support squadrons assigned to the group were the 159th Headquarters, 159th Material Squadron (Maintenance and Supply), 159th Air Base Squadron, and the 159th USAF Dispensary. The 122nd was equipped with the North American F-86L Sabre.

With the F-86L, the squadron stood a runway alert program on full 24-hour basis – with armed jet fighters ready to "scramble" at a moment's notice. This event brought the 159th into the daily combat operational program of the USAF, placing it on "the end of the runway" alongside regular USAF-Air Defense Fighter Squadrons.

In July 1960, the 159th converted to the Convair F-102 Delta Dagger. In 1962, the 122nd Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was assigned to the Gulfport Combat Readiness Training Center, Mississippi, for six weeks of intensive flying training. Involved were 150 officers and airmen, including support elements from the 159th Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, 159th Material Squadron and 159th Air Base Squadron.