134th Fighter Squadron

The 134th Fighter Squadron, nicknamed the Green Mountain Boys, is a unit of the Vermont Air National Guard 158th Fighter Wing located at Burlington Air National Guard Base, Burlington, Vermont. From 1986 to 2019, the 134th was equipped with the General Dynamics F-16C/D Fighting Falcon Block 30. The last F-16s departed Burlington on 6 April 2019 in preparation for the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II which arrived on 19 September 2019.^[1] Since becoming an F-35A unit, the Green Mountain Boys are tasked with carrying out the Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD).^[2]

The current unit officially traces its history to the 384th Bombardment Squadron (Light), activated in March 1942. The redesignated 134th Fighter Squadron, allotted to the Vermont ANG, has been flying fighters since 1946, though with a short exception as a Defense Systems Evaluation Squadron between 1974 and 1982.^[b]

In 1942, the unit now known as the 134th Fighter Squadron was the 384th Bombardment Squadron (Light) activated on March 2, 1942.

The formation of the predecessor to the modern day 134th FS began in Oklahoma. The place was Will Rogers Field, a wartime airbase carved out of Oklahoma City’s municipal airport during the rapid expansion of American air power before and during World War II.

Before the war, the airfield was not a military base. It was a civic achievement.

Oklahoma City Municipal Airport had been built by a city that believed aviation was the future. Its construction was financed through a municipal bond issue approved in 1929 by residents who were described as “air-minded.”

By the late 1930s, the airport included a two-story Spanish Colonial-style terminal, an up to date control tower, three hangars and two asphalt-over-stone runways.

Inside the terminal were the comforts of civilian travel: a ticket office, waiting room, restaurant, barber shop, soda stand and smoking room. Airline offices and a U.S. Weather Bureau office occupied the second floor.

Braniff and American Airlines flew through the airport each day, carrying passengers through a city eager to see itself as part of the new aviation age.

As political conditions worsened in Europe and the Far East, the U.S. military began preparing for the possibility of war. New aviation bases were needed.

The Army Air Corps looked across the country for places that could support bomber training, aircraft operations and the growing demands of national defense.

Oklahoma City drew attention for more than its open land and favorable flying weather. In August 1939, Col. Robert E. Olds, commanding officer of Langley Field, Virginia, visited the municipal airport to evaluate it as a possible bomber base.

One detail stood out: Oklahoma City was located near the halfway point between Langley Field on the East Coast and March Field in California.

Military planners wanted bomber bases far enough inland to be protected from a surprise attack on either coast, but positioned so aircraft could respond quickly if needed. The logic was part of the nation’s emerging air defense strategy.

On Dec. 7, 1941, when Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor and targeted American air power, that concern became immediate.

Oklahoma City leaders had already moved to secure the base.

Local civic leaders understood what an Army Air Corps installation could mean for the city and the state. At the urging of Chamber of Commerce director Stanley Draper, the Oklahoma City Chamber submitted an unsolicited brief to Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson in July 1940, offering the airport and its facilities to the Army Air Corps.

Within weeks, a site selection board of Army Air Corps and Army Corps of Engineers officers arrived in Oklahoma City. They requested the lease of at least 60 acres in the southwest corner of the airport.

City officials called a special council meeting and approved the plan within two hours. Final Army approval came from Washington on Aug. 16, 1940.

At first, the plan was modest. The military would occupy part of the west side of the airport and share runway and air traffic control facilities with civilian and commercial aviation.

That kind of arrangement was common before World War II, when military aviation was smaller and funding was limited.

But Oklahoma City leaders wanted more. They believed a larger military presence could bring long-term benefit to the community.

Through a public trust called the Industries Foundation of Oklahoma City, they acquired an additional 1,272 acres around the airport and leased it to the Army Air Corps. The hope was that the military would expand beyond a temporary footprint and make Oklahoma City a permanent aviation center.

In September 1940, the War Department announced publicly that Oklahoma City would become home to a bomber base. By January 1941, a construction contract had been awarded.

The original projected cost had grown to $1.4 million, and the planned size of the base had increased to 350 officers and 4,200 enlisted personnel.

Spring rains soaked the Oklahoma soil until it became thick mud. The base historian later wrote that one contractor was said to have lost a tractor in it.

Roads through the cantonment area became nearly impossible to drive. Workers and military personnel moved through the base covered in mud from morning until night, so caked in it that it was hard to tell officers from enlisted men.

The base was still unfinished when people began arriving.

In late February 1941, Maj. Warren M. Scott reported to the new installation as base surgeon. He came to command a hospital that did not yet exist.

His equipment consisted of one medical bag, the kind carried by a general practitioner. From that single bag, he treated officers, enlisted personnel and families during a respiratory illness outbreak that spring and summer, months before the hospital unofficially opened in September.

In March 1941, support personnel began arriving. Air base, finance, medical, ordnance, weather and quartermaster units came to build the framework that operational flying units would need.

The Army Air Corps also posted the 83rd Army Air Force Band from Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, to the base to help build morale and esprit de corps.

The first permanent commander, Col. Ross G. Hoyt, assumed command May 3, 1941. A former World War I pilot, Hoyt would later become a general after service in China and command assignments at other air bases.

Two days before Hoyt took command, Oklahomans received news that gave the base its identity. On May 1, 1941, the installation previously known as “Air Base Oklahoma City” was renamed Will Rogers Field.

The name was unusual. Army Air Corps fields were usually named for military aviators who died in combat or in the advancement of aviation.

Will Rogers was a civilian — a vaudeville performer, movie star, newspaper columnist and Oklahoma icon. But he had been one of aviation’s great public champions, a friend of pilots and a national voice who helped build support for flight.

Rogers had died in a 1935 aircraft crash in Alaska with pilot Wiley Post.

For the men assigned to the new base, the name carried pride. The base historian wrote that personnel were pleased because Rogers had been known throughout the Air Corps as a friend of all pilots.

The first military aircraft at the field was a Douglas A-20 Havoc, a twin-engine attack bomber. More A-20s followed, along with training aircraft.

These early arrivals formed the beginning of Will Rogers Field’s bomber and attack aviation identity.

The official dedication took place June 28, 1941. An estimated 10,000 visitors toured the new base. Oklahoma Gov. Leon Phillips, Oklahoma City Mayor Robert Hefner and other civic leaders attended. Maj. Gen. Jacob E. Fickel represented the military.

For many in the crowd, the speeches were not the main attraction. The aircraft were.

Among the planes on display was the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, one of the Army Air Corps’ newest and most impressive bombers. Visitors lined up for hundreds of yards to see it.

Later that day, the B-17 took part in an aerial demonstration while an Oklahoma City radio announcer broadcast from inside the aircraft.

By the end of 1941, Will Rogers Field had become a city within a city.

The base housed 153 officers and 2,192 enlisted personnel. Its 114 structures included administration buildings, barracks, mess halls, a chapel, hospital, recreation hall and library.

A new control tower directed air traffic over 4,500-foot macadam runways. The installation also had a railroad yard, storage facilities, water system and sewage treatment plant.

It had been a municipal airport. Now it was a military community.

The attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, shattered any remaining sense that Will Rogers Field was simply preparing for a possible war. The base commander canceled all leave.

Aircraft were dispersed to reduce vulnerability to sabotage or attack. Security tightened. Activities that had once been visible became guarded.

The base historian described the change as if a curtain had suddenly dropped around the field, hiding its movements because those movements had suddenly become important factors in the war.

In January 1942, Will Rogers Field was transferred to Second Air Force and designated a light bomber training base. The mission expanded quickly.

To prepare for the arrival of new flight crews, the military built a tent city for 1,000 personnel. It was only a temporary fix.

By March, Col. Robert DeFord announced another $1.4 million would be spent to double the size of the base.

This was the world the 384th Bombardment Squadron entered.

The squadron’s early story was not formed in a quiet, settled installation. It was formed in a place under constant construction, under wartime pressure and under the growing demands of American air power.

Will Rogers Field was muddy, crowded, noisy and unfinished. It was also alive with purpose.

As the base population grew, so did the relationship between the military and Oklahoma City. Service members looked for off base recreation and the city welcomed them.

Popular pastimes included movies, horseback riding and bowling. In return, base personnel wrote, produced, directed and performed a comedy show called “The Laughs on US” at the downtown Civic Center.

That connection became more serious on June 12, 1942, when a tornado struck Oklahoma City and killed 27 people. Col. DeFord dispatched 400 base personnel in buses and trucks to help with rescue work.

The installation that had been built for war overseas became part of the city’s emergency response at home.

The base also drew visitors who reflected the public face of wartime aviation. World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker visited in February 1942 to speak to pilots about the psychology of aerial combat.

Later, Bing Crosby and Bette Davis came to boost morale. In December 1943, Olivia de Havilland visited the base hospital, handing out autographed photographs and mementos to bedridden Soldiers before dining with members of the Women’s Army Corps and attending a U.S.O. dance downtown.

By 1943, the base had become the largest light bomber training base in the country.

Much of the training focused on the A-20 Havoc. Crews flew to a practice bombing range on the Great Salt Plains, about 90 miles north of the base.

There, in the stark landscape of northern Oklahoma, they dropped 100-pound practice bombs from about 300 feet onto the outline of a battleship marked in the sand.

Spotters watched from 60-foot observation towers and reported hits and misses. Nearby, gunners fired at 16-foot targets.

The training was low, fast and repetitive. It was designed to prepare crews for combat, not ceremony.

One observer noted that the Great Salt Plains resembled the Libyan desert, where war was raging. For young aircrews training in Oklahoma, the comparison gave the range a sense of realism.

The sand, the targets, the towers and the impact of practice bombs all pointed toward a larger war beyond the horizon.

By the summer of 1943, now known as the 530^th Fighter Bomber Squadron, the unit departed Oklahoma for Georgia, before finally landing in Nawadih, India, on Sept. 20, 1943.

Trained with V-72 Vengeance aircraft, The 530th Fighter Bomber Squadron moved to India, via Australia, July–September 1943. Assigned to the Tenth Air Force. Operating from India and using A-36A Apaches. The 530th Fighter Bomber Squadron has its diagonal bands sloping from top right to bottom left. The red nose was also a squadron marking. Many planes of the squadron had a girl's name on the nose but very few had any artwork.

The squadron supported Allied ground forces in northern Burma; covered bombers that attacked Rangoon, Insein, and other targets; bombed enemy airfields at Myitkyina and Bhamo; and conducted patrol and reconnaissance missions to help protect transport planes that flew The Hump route between India and China.

Converted to P-51C Mustangs and redesignated as the 530th Fighter Squadron on May 30, 1944. Moved to Burma in July and continued to support ground forces, including Merrill's Marauders; also flew numerous sweeps over enemy airfields in central and southern Burma.

Moved to China in August 1944 and assigned to the Fourteenth Air Force. Escorted bombers, flew interception missions, struck the enemy's communications, and supported ground operations, serving in combat until the end of the war. Ferried P-51's from India to the Chinese Air Force in November 1945.

The primary assignment was the Chinese Defensive Campaign which went from June 16, 1944 to May 4, 1945; and the China Offensive Campaign from May 5, 1945 to Sept. 2, 1945.

During the time in China, the squadron operated from Kwanghan from Oct. 21, 1944 - with a detachment operating from Hsian, Oct. 30, 1944-Feb. 21, 1945 - Pungchacheng, May 5, 1945; Hsian, Aug 1945, Shanghai, Oct, 17, 1945-Feb. 16 1946.

The squadron started to rerun to the U.S. in December 1945 and was deactivated in Feb. 16, 1943.

The wartime 530th Fighter Squadron was redesignated as the 134th Fighter Squadron and was allotted to the Vermont Air National Guard on May 24, 1946. It was organized at the Burlington International Airport, Vermont, and was extended federal recognition on Aug. 14, 1946 by the National Guard Bureau.

The 134th was the fifth Air National Guard unit to be formed and federally recognized. The organizers of the squadron were Maj. Gen. Murdock Campbell, the adjutant general, Col. Albert Cate, air advisor, and Lt. Col. William M. Bowden became the first commander of the newly formed unit. The 134th Fighter Squadron was bestowed the lineage, history, honors, and colors of the 530th Fighter Squadron and all predecessor units.

The 134th was equipped with F-47D Thunderbolts and was assigned initially directly to the Vermont Air National Guard until the Massachusetts ANG 67th Fighter Wing, was federally recognized on Oct. 15, 1946. The 67th Fighter Wing was the first ANG command and control organization in New England. On April 4, 1947, it was transferred to the Maine ANG 101st Fighter Group.

The primary mission was air defense with a secondary mission of ground attack. The first aircraft assigned to the unit were the Douglas C-47 Skytrain, Stinson L-5 Sentinel and North American AT-6 Texan. In April 1947, three P-47s, the first of 25 P-47s arrived.

At that time, 150 officers and enlisted men belonged to the unit. Rescue work on Lake Champlain involved the Guardsmen, who also cooperated with their Army Guard comrades in assisting Rutland during the disastrous floods of June, 1947. The Air Guard also performed mercy flights with emergency patients and transported whole blood and iron lungs where urgently needed.

Summer training in 1947 for the flying Vermonters was conducted at Camp Johnson and the Burlington Airport from Aug. 19-23, 1947 and in later years at other locations, including maneuvers with the 101st Fighter Group at Dow Field, Bangor, Maine, in late August, 1949.

Capt. Cram described the training program in Maine: "We used to fly off the coast of New Hampshire. We'd have planes that would drag tow targets and we'd be firing gunnery missions on these tow targets. We had a dive-bombing range. We even had a dive-bombing range out in Underbill [Vermont]," he added. "You tried to teach each other."

A $100,000 grant was approved for the 134th FS. The money was used for two prefabricated hangars, a steel mat ramp in front of the hangars and some small buildings. The land, 27.61 acres or whatever was needed for the hangars at the northeast corner of the field, was deeded from the City of Burlington to the state.

Rights to the runways were included in the deed. The Air Guard assisted in the maintenance of the field, the utilities and removal of snow. The city would benefit from use of the ANG snowplows, ambulances and crash wagons.

The quonset-type hangars were completed in 1948. Till then, crew chiefs had to maintain their aircraft outdoors.

Federal funds were also used to extend the runway 700 feet. In 1948, the squadron was given an air-sea rescue mission for Lake Champlain.

A team was formed for this contingency using a C-47 and a five-man life raft With the ANG's 42-foot crash boat tied up at the Naval Reserve Center and the C-47 at the airfield available for spotting, the Air Guard was an integral part of a rescue system coordinated with the Burlington and State Police.

With the completion of the quonset-type hangars in 1948, crew chiefs no longer had to maintain their aircraft outdoors.

In 1949 the Air National Guard was reorganized and the Vermont Air National Guard was transferred from the 67th Wing of Massachusetts to the 101st Fighter Wing in Maine.

Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire squadrons trained as the 101st Fighter Group at Dow Field, Bangor, Maine from Aug. 20, 1949 to Sept. 3, 1949. The year saw the first "re-enlistees" in the Vermont Air National Guard and didn't end without incident.

On the evening of August 11th, two F-47s crashed into each other on the Guard's taxi strip. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured as one plane overrode the other after returning from routine flights.

One F-47 was declared a total wreck while the other sustained substantial damage to the main undergear.

The VTANG by the end of 1950 had reached its assigned strength of 353 enlisted men and 63 officers of whom 51 were pilots.  

Throughout 1950, the Thunderbolts were replaced by F-51H Mustangs.

Also during 1950, VTANG's crash-boat and sea rescue team, originally instituted to rescue pilots who crash into Lake Champlain, continued to make their equipment and personnel available for public service.

An example of their effectiveness was outlined in a Burlington Free Press article dated Sept. 16, 1950 that told of one mission when a call came in from the city police about 7:30 pm. on June 6th.

"In 5 minutes the crash boat was headed for Colchester Point. A heavy wind had come up and two young boys were out on the lake in a small boat. As the crash boat left the pier, an AT-6 of the ANG circled overhead. The plane located the boys and radioed that they were safe. Within 25 minutes after they had phoned, the parents received word that their sons were out of danger."

This was one of eight incidents that occurred that summer.

The squadron was redesignated as the 134th Fighter Interceptor Squadron Feb, 10, 1951.

The primary mission of the 134th FIS was the air defense of mainland New England. With the surprise invasion of South Korea on June 25, 1950, and the regular military's lack of readiness, most of the Air National Guard was federalized – placed on active duty.

The 134th was federalized on Feb. 9, 1951, entering active service the next day and assigned to the federalized Maine ANG 101st Fighter-Interceptor Wing, although it initially remained stationed at Burlington Airport.^[3]

Facilities were also at Fort Ethan Allen as it became the support base with medics, motor pool, supply and a mess hall. E-5s and under were required to live at the fort while others had the option of living off base.

On Feb 1, 1951, the City of Burlington gave the Air Force permission to take over the Air National Guard flightline facilities, including the wooden hangar and the area surrounding it, for $1.00 per year. The Air Force initially expended approximately $2 million for hangars 3 and 4 and runway extensions.

Federal monies were also used for navigational aids, fuel facilities, communications, a dispensary and utilities. In May 1951, the Air Force leased most of the airport facilities for $15,000 a year and requested more federal money for expansion.

The runway was extended from 5,000 feet to 8,000 feet with a 1,000 foot overrun necessitating the moving of 17 houses and cutting off of two streets. More than 1.5 million cubic yards of earth and rock were moved to fill a 20 acre swamp where the taxiway and runway extensions were built.

A hill in line with the main runway containing more than 110,000 cubic yards of rock was used to fill a huge depression on the southeast corner of the field where a parking apron and alert hangars were built. The earth moving project had to be complete within 130 days.

The Air National Guard personnel and equipment who remained at home station were moved across the field to the wooden hangar near where the unit was chartered. This was a small unit responsible for maintaining the home base, handling personnel matters and maintaining the C-47, which was crew chiefed by Jim Taylor, and used for the air/sea rescue mission.

The alert hangars, classroom, headquarters for base operations, ramps, taxiways, maintenance hangar and shops and a new mile long road from the severed end of Airport Drive south to connect all the new buildings cost the federal government about $5 million. Another military construction bill gave the Burlington Airport additional funds to upgrade the airfield.

The Air Force named this new facility Ethan Allen Air Force Base.

Some reserves were also called in during the activation of the 21 month long activation of the VTANG. The unit subsequently became an integral part of the Eastern Air Defense structure, under the control of the 4711th Wing at Presque Isle, Maine.

Many members of the 134th FIS served in Korea as well as in other areas of the world with the USAF during this period. Maj. Richard Spear was the base commander at Fort Ethan Allen and Maj. John D. Mattie from the regular Air Force was the 134th commander.

When federalized, it was composed of F-51 aircraft and later assigned the North American F-86D Sabre aircraft. Its mission was expanded to include the air defense of New England. The squadron was then attached to the Air Defense Command 23d Fighter-Interceptor Wing at Presque Isle AFB, Maine on April 1, 1951 with no change of mission. It was reassigned to the 4711th Defense Wing on Feb. 6, 1952 at Presque Isle AFB. It was released from active duty and returned to control of State of Vermont on Oct. 31, 1952.

Lt. Col. Spear resumed command. They started flying the Lockheed F-94 Starfire in 1954, which required radar observers as well as pilots. Spear became commander of the new tactical fighter group headquarters and Maj. Richard H. Mock was promoted to command the squadron.

With the end of the Korean War, Air Defense Command assigned the 517th Air Defense Group as the host unit and the Vermont Air National Guard began operating out of the old airport administration building and the wooden hangar next to it, receiving its first T-33 Shooting Star and assigned to the 101st Fighter-Interceptor Group.

On Oct. 31, 1952, the unit was released from active duty and returned to state control. The VTANG was reorganized under the command of Spear, at the same time the Air Force was finishing the runway expansion.

Burlington Airport became a joint-use facility with the United States Air Force Ethan Allen Air Force Base Feb. 16, 1953.

The 134th went to Grenier Air Force Base in Manchester, New Hampshire for the 1953 summer field training. During the first two weeks of October, pilots from Vermont represented the 101st Air Defense Wing at the Nationwide Gunnery Meet held at Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho.

Summer field training for the 200 men of the 134th took place at Grenier Air Force Base in Manchester, New Hampshire, beginning August 15th. Summer camp was not all work and no play.

On November 18th, the unit received the first T-33A along with the promise of pending jet fighters. Delivered from Lockheed's Burbank, California, factory, the T-33A marked the beginning of the Air Guard's long range conversion to jets.

During this time period the VTANG operated out of the old airport administration building and the wooden hangar now occupied by Innotech Aviation, Inc.

The Vermont Air National Guard received its first T-33A in the spring of 1953. The primary mission while assigned to the 134th was for target support and instrument training. Prior to the arrival of the F-4D at Burlington, the T-33 was used for low level training for the new F-4 crews.

While assigned to the VTANG, the T-33A aircraft accumulated over 40,000 flying hours during its 30 years of operation. Since its arrival in 1953, the Vermont Air National Guard has had at least one and up to five T-33A assigned continually.

The last T-33A assigned to the 158th TFG, 53-5398 left Burlington on Sept. 23, 1983. The aircraft piloted by Lt. Col. David L.Ladd, deputy commander of operations, was flown to Fresno, Calif.

One of the original T-33A assigned to Burlington was 52-9734 which had flown over 8,000 hours. The aircraft was transferred to the 48th FIS at Langley AFB, VA.

With the increased availability of jet aircraft after the Korean War, the squadron's aircraft were upgraded to the F-94 Starfire on June 16, 1953. With the 101st FIG consisting of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont Air Guard units, the group began holding summer camp at Otis Air Force Base after they began flying F-94s.

The unit's strength climbed to 200 officers and men, the maximum strength designated for the unit was 450. The unit's aircraft consisted of five F-51H, a C-47, and six T-6. Good news came with the announcement that a delivery of jet fighters was planned for Vermont, early in 1954.

On May 1, 1956 the 134th was authorized to expand to a group level and the 158th Fighter Group (Air Defense) was established by the National Guard Bureau; the 134th FIS becoming the group's flying squadron.

Other squadrons assigned into the group were the 158th Headquarters, 158th Material Squadron (Maintenance), 158th Combat Support Squadron, and the 158th USAF Dispensary.

With this expansion, Burlington became the only jet airport in Vermont. The Vermont Air Guard was still equipped with F-51s with an air defense mission and the active duty Air Force maintained their presence at Ethan Allen Air Force Base.

Summer camp was held at Otis AFB, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in 1954, the new training site for all 101st Fighter Group personnel. Total manpower reached 440 Airmen and 60 officers. The unit made substantial progress during this period in the procurement of new pilots and navigators for the ANG Aircrew Training Program. In addition they also received a C-45 Expeditor for use in the Air Defense Mission.

With 60 officers and 440 Airmen the Vermont Air National Guard participated in "Operation Minute Man" in April, 1955. This exercise tested how rapidly and efficiently National Guard units could mobilize in an emergency. At a given signal all Guardsmen were alerted and rushed from their civilian jobs to their military stations.

The Adjutant General's Report for 1956 commends both the Army and Air National guard for mobilizing 90% of their number within one hour of the alert. In its first decade of existence the Vermont Air Guard had taken its place alongside its Army Guard counterpart as a source of pride to the state in the nation's defense.

Hangar 890, supply and motor vehicle buildings were completed officially on April 15, 1956. The new facilities cost $1.5 million. In July the 134th FIS under the leadership of Maj. Mock was rated as a category "A" combat ready unit.

When the group headquarter was dissolved in April, 1956, the personnel reverted to the squadron. Meanwhile, on the same date, Hangar 890, and buildings for supply and motor vehicles, were officially completed.

The release from active duty presented the Vermont Air Guard with a new set of challenges. Upon release, the planes and equipment of the 134th stayed with the active duty Air Force and were used by the 37th Fighter Interceptor Squadron which succeeded the 134th.

Additionally, many of the Guard's officers and Airmen elected to continue on active duty with the United States Air Force. As a result of this depletion of men and equipment, a new buildup of the Air Guard's strength was necessary.

In April 1958, Vermont's F-94s were either sent to Davis-Monthan AFB for storage/salvage, or to other ANG squadrons. Mock was the squadron commander. Mock had four kills while flying with the 317th Fighter Squadron during WWII and then had spent 14 months as a POW after being shot down over Hungary.

1st. Lt. Bob Paradise, a radar observer, described the new for 1958 Northrop F-89 Scorpion mission: "I remember that shortly after joining the unit in 1959, the US Air Force had daytime alert and the VTANG had nighttime duty.  We would arrive at 4 p.m. for the 6:00 p.m. to midnight and the midnight to 6:00 a.m. shift. Generally, we would fly sorties during the first half of the shift, sleep for the last half and then go to work or to college classes. Occasionally, alert exercises or "real world" alerts would keep the crews busy all night long. When that happened, those 8:00 a.m. classes and exams were pretty rough. There were only two real scrambles during my tenure in the alert barns. The first involved a B-52 that failed to notify appropriate authorities of a delay in its ETA at the Air Defense Identification Zone. In my haste to respond to this real alert and don my flight clothing, I broke my zipper with my foot. The second incident involved a B-47 with a malfunctioning transponder. In both cases we had to intercept, make visual identification, and confirm that they were friendly aircraft."

The unit possessed the F-89 from April 1958 to August 1965. Officially named the Scorpion, she was seldom called that by her crews - Lead Slead being a preferred name.

Never considered a pretty aircraft on the ground, a favorite pilot assertion was that the F-89 was designed by "a frustrated civil engineer whose specialty was grain silos." In any case, the pilots found her to be a beautiful creature in the air - reliable, stable and easy to fly.

The mission of the unit during this time period was air defense of the continental United States from a long range bomber threat. Standing alert with the F-89 began in 1959, with two aircraft manned during daylight hours only at the alert barns located on the southeast end of the airfield.

Practice scrambles were frequent. The aircraft could easily become airborne within the 5 minute criteria from the sound of the scramble horn.

Getting to the target area was a much slower process, since an abundance of engine power was not one of the F-89's strong features. Training exercises of a large scale were always held during the late evening-early morning hours in order to avoid the heavy daytime commercial air traffic over the northeast.

Many a night resulted in 3 or 4 sorties flown between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. by an individual crew. The tired feeling one had as he headed home or to class at 8:00 a.m. was usually offset by the remembrance of an hour of combat air patrol some 100 miles north of Montreal.

The memory captured the contrasts and colors of the absolute blackness below, of millions of twinkling stars bathing in beams from the Northern Lights, and the awesome sight of the sun rising over the Atlantic as the crew completed its last practice intercept of a simulated hostile bomber some 100-200 miles east of Cape Cod.

In July 1959, Burlington was in the midst of celebrating the 350th Anniversary of the founding of Lake Champlain. As an added attraction for the parade and activities taking place in downtown Burlington, the unit assembled 16 F-89s, along with 16 F-102s from the Air Force, for a flyover.

Bad weather came in quickly and in a hurry to land, the first ship in to Burlington Airport, blew their tires at the intersection of the runways. The remaining aircraft circled aloft until nearly out of fuel.

In desperation, an unnamed pilot said that he was going to the Barre-Montpelier airport and attempt to land on the "too short" runway. On the ground, but rapidly running out of tarmac, the pilot continued on to the dirt surface and turned his aircraft to the right.

The second pilot in turned his ship left, and the others alternated the pattern successfully avoiding any nose to tail collisions. Every aircraft made it in safely and, early the next morning, unit personnel descended on the Barre-Montpelier to dig the planes out of the mud and give them enough fuel to return to Burlington for a complete checkup.  

In January 1960 the 134th FIS began to participate in the ADC's runway alert program. From a half hour before sunrise until a half hour after sunset, a F-89 would be parked off the end of the instrument runway with a crew strapped-in the cockpit and awaiting scramble orders.

On 25 June 1960, Air Defense Command inactivated the 14th Fighter Group at Ethan Allen AFB and the base reverted to full Air National Guard jurisdiction.

The same month, the VTANG retired their older F-89Ds and gave way to later block F-89Ds and Js from the 59th FIS that was switching to F-102s at Goose Bay, Newfoundland. A month, later the 158th Fighter Group (Air Defense) was federally recognized with Lt. Col. Robert Goyette as group commander. At this time the 134th FIS went on full time, 24/7 alert status.

Two aircrews were on daytime alert. Six months later the 134th FIS was recognized as the 158th Fighter Interceptor Group and was placed under the USAF Air Defense Command (ADC).

At this time Lt. Col. Robert P. Goyette assumed command of the group and Maj. Rolfe L. Chickering took command of the 134th Fighter Interceptor Squadron; Maj. Neil D. Childs took command of the 158th Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron; Maj. Robert M. Hamilton became commander of the 158th Materiel Squadron; and Capt. John P. Tampas became commander of the 158th USAF Dispensary.

Alert hangars previously used by the regular Air Force were now manned by VTANG "Jet-Age Minutemen" and the Guard assumed a full-time, 24 hour a day alert status to protect the continental United States from long-range bomber attack.

The 158th Fighter Group now maintained readiness in the alert hangars 24 hours a day. In the summer of 1960, summer field training was conducted at Otis Air Force Base at Cape Cod, Mass., from June 18 to July 2.

When the unit returned to Burlington, the maintenance and operations squadrons immediately moved into the facilities that had been vacated by the regular Air Force with the closure of Ethan Allen AFB. The aging Ethan Allen AFB F-94s were replaced by twin-engine F-89D Scorpion fighters in 1958. Two years later F-89Js replaced the D models. The J model was designed to carry two AIR-2 Genie nuclear-tipped air-to-air missiles under the wings to defend against enemy bomber attack.

The 134th was reorganized as the 158th Fighter Interceptor Group in mid 1960 and was placed under the United States Air Defense Command. Lt Col Robert P. Goyette assumed command of the group and Maj Rolfe L. Chickering took command of the 134th Fighter Interceptor Squadron. The Air Guard now maintained readiness in the alert hangars for 24 hours a day, a mission which had previously belonged to the active Air Force.

During the 1950s and early 1960s, better training and equipment, and closer relations with the Air Force greatly improved the readiness of Group. The Vermont Air National Guard received the ADC Operational Readiness award in October 1962, for having the greatest degree of readiness of any F-89 unit in the country. In 1965, the 134th received Mach-2 supersonic F-102A Delta Dagger interceptors, the Air Guard was always one generation of aircraft behind the Air Force during this time.

In 1971 the 158th embarked on an intensive recruiting program that made Vermont one of the top units in the country in total strength. During this period the Vermont ANG began to actively recruit women into all open career fields. Maryanne T. Lorenz was the first woman officer and SSgt Karen Wingard left active duty with the Air Force to become the first enlisted woman to join the Green Mountain Boy unit. She later became First Sergeant of the 158th Mission Support Squadron, received her commission, and was later appointed commander of that squadron.

The 158th Fighter Interceptor Group became the 158th Defense Systems Evaluation Group (158 DSEG) in June 1974, with the unit receiving twenty EB-57 Canberras. These two-seat, twin-engine aircraft were former medium bombers that were re-equipped with electronic counter-measures and chaff emitting equipment. The new mission was to act as the "friendly enemy" to evaluate both air and ground radar systems. This mission took pilots, electronic warfare officers, and maintenance personnel all over the United States, Canada, and as far as Iceland, South Korea, and Japan. The unit provided direct operational training of now-Aerospace Defense Command, U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) and Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) aircrews in the accomplishment of their mission when their systems were severely degraded as might be expected during an attack by enemy offensive aircraft.

With the disestablishment of Aerospace Defense Command in 1979, the 158th was subsequently transferred to Tactical Air Command (TAC) as a gaining command under Air Defense, Tactical Air Command (ADTAC), which assumed the mission of the former ADC.

In 1980, the 158th began a transition to the F-4D Phantom II, a powerful, two seat, twin-engine fighter, with the Vermont Air National Guard, leaving the Air Defense community to become part of main line Tactical Air Command with a primary mission of ground attack and close air support.

The 158th Tactical Fighter Group deployed to the Gulfport Combat Readiness Training Center, Mississippi, in January 1983 to prepare for the upcoming Operational Readiness Inspection. This was the unit's first large-scale deployment in 23 years. The last deployment had been for summer camp at Otis AFB, Massachusetts, in 1960.

The 158th Civil Engineering Squadron dedicated its new building on 14 December. Fifty-two members of the CE Squadron deployed to Panama on a humanitarian mission in January 1994. They constructed a six-room masonry block school building and a single story wood frame building to be used as a hospice by the local hospital.

In the mid eighties the USAF decided to re-equip the Air National Guard units with more modern equipment as part of the "Total Force" concept. In the earlier decades the ANG always had to be thankful to receive older USAF jets. With the introduction of the F-16 this changed. The F-4D Phantoms were retired in 1986 and the first F-16 Fighting Falcon models of the 134th FS were of the block 15 version – although also some earlier 1970s block 1 and 10 models were flown for a brief time. These aircraft came from regular USAF squadrons who transitioned to newer F-16C/D models, but still these aircraft, largely 1982 models, were no older than a mere 5 years.

From 1989–1997, the 134th Fighter Squadron's mission was air defense, having aircraft on 5-minute alert, seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Locations of these alert aircraft included Burlington, Maine, Virginia and South Carolina. The location of the Vermont ANG was much more specific in their relation to NORAD that they were tasked with this defense as a primary role. Therefore, the block 15 lacked the Beyond Visual Range capability. However, this changed in the course of 1990 with the upgrade of their aircraft to the block 15 ADF (Air Defense Fighter) version. This meant a serious leap in performance and capability of this squadron in their defensive role. As a result, the Vermont ANG has one of the highest rates of interceptions of Russian bombers that were coming in over the North Pole, except for some Alaskan USAF units.

Many times Vermont F-16's were called upon to fly to a point just short of Iceland and escort Soviet bombers as they flew off the coastline of the United States. The 158th FW has also assisted with aircraft experiencing in-flight malfunctions and hijackings.

In March 1992, with the end of the Cold War, the 158th adopted the Air Force Objective Organization plan, and the unit was re-designated as the 158th Fighter Group. In June, Tactical Air Command was inactivated as part of the Air Force reorganization after the end of the Cold War. It was replaced by Air Combat Command (ACC).

In 1994 the scope of the squadron was again enlarged with the introduction of the block 25 version of the F-16. The 134th FS was one of the first ANG units to receive the F-16C/D Fighting Falcon. At first the mission of the squadron remained relatively the same. But with the introduction of these aircraft a more multi-role mission profile became possible with the squadron being tasked to undertake deployments to the Middle East.

Along with the Air Defense mission, the men and women of "The Green Mountain Boys" have also been tasked seven times to deploy to different locations in Central America to help patrol the skies and intercept aircraft suspected of illegally smuggling drugs. These missions were usually flown far offshore in the middle of the night and required a high degree of proficiency.

In 1995, in accordance with the Air Force "One Base-One Wing" directive, the 158th was changed in status to a Wing, and the 134th Fighter Squadron was assigned to the new 158th Operations Group. In mid-1996, the Air Force, in response to budget cuts, and changing world situations, began experimenting with Air Expeditionary organizations. The Air Expeditionary Force (AEF) concept was developed that would mix Active-Duty, Reserve and Air National Guard elements into a combined force. Instead of entire permanent units deploying as "Provisional" as in the 1991 Gulf War, Expeditionary units are composed of "aviation packages" from several wings, including active-duty Air Force, the Air Force Reserve Command and the Air National Guard, would be married together to carry out the assigned deployment rotation.

In the fall of 1997, the 158th Fighter Wing was evaluated by the Air Combat Command and was tasked to fight a simulated war from 2 locations, a very challenging undertaking. The 158th Wing deployed 225 personnel and 10 F-16s to Canada while the rest of the Wing remained in Burlington for the comprehensive 5-day evaluation. The men and women of "The Green Mountain Boys" received the first rating of "Outstanding" (the highest possible score) ever earned by an Air Defense Unit.

In 1998 the squadron was one of five ANG squadrons to be equipped with the Theater Airborne Reconnaissance System (TARS). This way the squadrons mission became somewhat specific in the USAF, since only these five ANG units possess a tactical reconnaissance capacity. They are therefore regularly asked to perform this mission for the entire organization.

In October 2000, the 134th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron was formed and deployed to Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia as part of a "Rainbow" package composed of the 111th and 177th Fighter Squadron. Operation Southern Watch was an operation which was responsible for enforcing the United Nations mandated no-fly zone below the 32nd parallel north in Iraq as part of Air Expeditionary Force 9. This mission was initiated mainly to cover for attacks of Iraqi forces on the Iraqi Shi’ite Muslims.

After the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, the 134th began flying Operation Noble Eagle air defense missions over major cities in the northeast.

Beginning in May 2005, the 134th began a series of deployments to Balad Air Base, Iraq, being attached to the 332d Expeditionary Fighter Squadron. This was a rotation in the Air Expeditionary Force 9/10 cycle as part of another Rainbow deployment to support Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) along with the 119th and 163d Expeditionary Fighter Squadrons. Another OIF Expeditionary deployment was made in February 2006 and a third to Balad AB was made in September 2007.

As a result of BRAC 2005, on 5 March 2008 – still in 186th FS markings – the 134th FS received its first F-16 block 30 (#87-0332) as the Montana ANG 186th Fighter Squadron converted to the F-15 Eagle. This conversion is not only an engine change from the Pratt & Whitney to the General Electric but also to the big inlet viper. Before the end of 2008 the 134th FS had completed its conversion to the block 30. The block 25s were sent to the Minnesota ANG 179th Fighter Squadron; the 412th Test Wing at Edwards AFB, and some went to AMARC for retirement in the 'boneyard.' The 134th achieved initial operational capability (IOC) on the block 30 in 2009 with the squadron being ready for combat.

In December 2013, the Air Force announced that the Vermont Air National Guard will be the first Air National Guard unit to operate the fifth-generation Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II. 20 aircraft will be delivered to the unit starting in September 2019.^[4][5]

The last four F-16s departed Burlington on 6 April 2019 in preparation for the arrival of the F-35A, marking an end to 33 years of Viper operations.^[6]

The first two F-35As (17-5265 and 17-5266) were delivered to the 134th FS on 19 September 2019.^[7] Three more F-35As arrived at Burlington from Fort Worth, Texas, on 5 December 2019.^[8] The last of 20 F-35As to be delivered to the Green Mountain Boys arrived at Burlington in October 2020.^[9]

On 2 May 2022, eight 134th FS F-35As deployed to Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, to support NATO's Enhanced Air Policing mission due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.^[10] The Green Mountain Boys returned to Vermont on 3 August 2022 after being replaced by Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptors from the 90th Fighter Squadron.^[11]

On 10 December 2025, it was announced that F-35's from the 134th FS would be deployed to the Caribbean to take part in Operation Southern Spear. The fighters are to be staged at the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station located in Puerto Rico.^[12]

In early January 2026, the 134th FS took part in Operation Southern Spear and the capture of Nicolas Maduro. Upon completion of their deployment to NAS Roosevelt Roads, the 134th FS was redeployed to Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan via Lajes Field.

In late February 2026, F-35s of the 134th FS began combat sorties against Iran via Operation Epic Fury.

• Constituted as the 384th Bombardment Squadron (Light) on 28 January 1942

Activated on 2 March 1942

Redesignated 384th Bombardment Squadron (Dive) on 27 July 1942

Redesignated 530th Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 30 September 1943

Redesignated 530th Fighter Squadron on 30 May 1944

Inactivated on 16 February 1946

Redesignated 134th Fighter Squadron and allotted to the National Guard on 24 May 1946

Extended federal recognition on 14 August 1946

Redesignated 134th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron on 11 February 1951

Federalized and ordered to active service on 10 February 1951

Inactivated, released from active duty and returned to Vermont state control on 1 November 1952

Redesignated 134th Defense Systems Evaluation Squadron on 9 June 1974

Redesignated 134th Tactical Fighter Squadron on 1 January 1982

Redesignated 134th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron on 1 July 1987

Redesignated 134th Fighter Squadron on 15 March 1992

• 311th Bombardment Group (later 311th Fighter-Bomber Group, 311th Fighter Group), 2 March 1942 – 6 January 1946
• Vermont Air National Guard, 14 August 1946
• 67th Fighter Wing, 15 October 1946
• 101st Fighter Group, 4 April 1947
• 101st Fighter-Interceptor Wing, 10 February 1951

Attached to: 23d Fighter-Interceptor Wing, 1 April 1951

• 23d Fighter-Interceptor Wing

4711th Defense Wing, 6 February 1952

• 101st Fighter-Interceptor Group, 1 November 1952
• 158th Fighter Group (Air Defense) (later 158th Fighter-Interceptor Group, 158th Defense Systems Evaluation Group, 158th Tactical Fighter Group, 158th Fighter-Interceptor Group, 158th Fighter Group), 15 April 1956
• 158th Operations Group, 11 October 1995 – present

• Korean War federalization
• Operation Southern Watch (AEF)

Operated from: Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, October – 15 November 2000

• Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF)

Operated from Balad Air Base, Iraq, May – August 2005

Operated from Balad Air Base, Iraq, February – 20 May 2006

Operated from Balad Air Base, Iraq, September – December 2007

Aircraft operated include:^[13][14]

Explanatory notes

Citations

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Clay, Steven E. (2011). US Army Order of Battle 1919–1941. 2 The Services: Air Service, Engineers, and Special Troops 1919–1941 (PDF). Fort Leavenworth, KS: Combat Studies Institute Press. ISBN 9780984190140. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2013.
• Cornett, Lloyd H; Johnson, Mildred W (1980). A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization, 1946 - 1980 (PDF). Peterson AFB, CO: Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-02-1. LCCN 61060979. Retrieved 17 December 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
• 134th Fighter Squadron lineage and history
• 158th Fighter Wing History