National Guard: 149th Fighter Wing Mission #KnowYourMil 07/16/2021

07/16/2021 | https://george.news | https://todaysmilitary.com/futures | The 149th Fighter Wing at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland stands as the Air National Guard's premier pilot training center. The very first military flying training program was established here in San Antonio in the early 1900s , mostly because of our reliable weather conditions. Today the sunny skies of South Texas provide more than 330 days of flying weather annually. The 149th Fighter Wing has taken full advantage of this to earn a reputation as a hard-working and highly experienced pilot training center. Many of our instructor pilots have three thousand flight hours or more in the airframe. The 149th Fighter Wing uses training airspace, including the McMullen Bombing Range, which is located 70 miles south of JBSA-Lackland. The range can accommodate inner precision-guided munitions, can simulate multiple threats and offers a wide variety of tactical targets. It is colocated with the South Texas Training Center, a 23,000-acre Army Training facility.
The existing campus of the 149th encompasses operations, maintenance, and training facilities as well as ramps, runways, hangars, and munitions storage. As the Air National Guard's premier F-16 training center for more than two decades, the 149th has capability to support multiple airframe for air operations with eleven thousand five hundred feet of runway, and plenty of ramp and hangar space for our primary aircraft. The 149th has maximized F-16 training with the best mission training center in the Air National Guard by developing new tactics and procedures against evolving threats.
In 2019, the 149th employed 1,421 military, DoD civilians and state employees and disbursed 72.6 million dollars in federal funds for payrolls, facilities maintenance, construction, supplies, and services. JBSA is the largest joint base in the DoD with a rich Armed Forces culture and historical heritage, making San Antonio Military City USA. The 149th is the hometown unit for San Antonio with a 70 year tradition of fighter aviation for global operations and a trusted record of Texans helping Texans during state disasters and domestic operations. Lackland prides itself on its robust environmental standards and in being a good neighbor to the greater San Antonio community by enacting measures to mitigate noise and promote public safety. JBSA-Lackland offers outstanding support infrastructure for any environment with top-tier medical facilities, ample dormitory space, fitness centers, and quality of life assets such as a Child Development Center, a commissary, and a base exchange.
With a proud history and an eye to the future the Air National Guard's 149th Fighter Wing at JBSA-Lackland stands ready.