LIBERTY COAST

JACKSONVILLE’S AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE:

Defending the Homeland, Here and Abroad

by Joe Snowberger

This is the third story in a series introducing our readers to the military bases and major commands on The Liberty Coast. Located adjacent to the Jacksonville International Airport (JIA) is the Jacksonville Air National Guard Base, home to the 125th Fighter Wing, whose main mission is in its name: Fighter.

Commercial passengers landing and taking off in Jacksonville can locate the Florida Air National Guard’s (FANG) Jacksonville air base by seeing the Air Force F-15C fighter jets parked under canopies on the other side of the airport’s runways. Those Eagles are “combat ready” to take off and carry out either of their two missions: state and federal.

The primary role of the base and the 125th Fighter Wing is to protect life and property under the Governor as part of the Florida Air National Guard. In its federal mission, the F-15s are a U. S. Air Force asset. Some of the aircraft are always “on alert status” to respond to threats to the homeland. Routinely, the F-15s and their combat-ready crews are called on to deploy across the globe to perform air superiority and air dominance assignments.

The FANG’s F-15C is a single-seat jet that is the decades-long reigning champion of air superiority. The pilot doesn’t even have to look down at the cockpit instruments to track and destroy enemy aircraft—s/he need only continue looking at the windscreen, which displays all vital information in any light condition. Talk about focus!

The Jacksonville Air National Guard Base is staffed by both full-time and the more traditional, part-time Air Force National Guard personnel. Several of the pilots are flying for commercial airlines. Some of the ground crew have full-time civilian jobs as nurses, teachers, welders and IT specialists.

The Jacksonville Air National Guard base is one of the seven military bases on The Liberty Coast. Also in this issue is the breaking news that the FANG will receive the Air Force’s newest jets in 2024. Watch for more stories about our “citizen soldiers” and airmen in future issues of Liberty Life.