Today's 148th Fighter Wing can trace its roots to the 393rd Fighter Squadron, initially flying P-38Js during World War II. The 393rd flew its last mission of the war in 1945 and was deactivated.

The unit was reactivated September 17th, 1948 as the 179th Fighter Squadron in the Minnesota Air National Guard at Duluth, Minn. and has grown from the original 50 members into the 148th Fighter Wing that we know today. The unit has changed aircraft several times over the years from the F-51D Mustang (flown until 1954) to the most current Block 50 F-16CM Fighting Falcon.

• F-51D "Mustang" 1948-1954
• F-94B "Starfire" 1954-1959
• F-89J "Scorpion" 1959-1966
• F-102 "Deuce" 1966-1971
• F-101 "Voodoo" 1971-1976
• RF-4C "Phantom" 1976-1983
• F-4D "Phantom" 1983-1990
• F-16A "Fighting Falcon" 1990-2002
• F-16C "Fighting Falcon" 2002-2010
• Block 50 F-16CM 2010-2020

The emblem is symbolic of the wing and its mission. Polaris at the Zenith in the Ursa Minor constellation refers to Minnesota, "The North Star State", where the unit was activated in 1948. The winged arrowhead represents the airborne might capability of the wing. The Phoenix bird bearing the bomb with a nuclear symbol and the lightning flashes with the cloud in pile, a heraldic device denoting the wedge, depicts the units mission "Deter the Aggressor but Prevail in War". The emblem bears the Air Force colors, golden yellow and ultramarine blue.

The Air National Guard as we know it today -- a separate reserve component of the United States Air Force -- was a product of the politics of postwar planning and interservice rivalry during World War II. The men who planned and maneuvered for an independent postwar Air Force during World War II didn't place much faith in the reserves, especially the state-dominated National Guard.

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