<p>The 139th AS is the group's flying unit, with C-130Hs and LC-130Hs assigned from late 1984, along with a C-12J for support. The unit was established as the 139th Fighter Squadron in November 1948 with P-47D, but converted to F-51H in 1951. The squadron achieved Fighter-Interceptor Squadron status in 1952, with F-94Bs assigned in 1954. The 109th FIG was formed in 1956. The F-86H was assigned in 1957 and was followed a year later by a change of designation to Tactical Fighter Squadron. The unit received the C-97A in January 1960, becoming an Air Transport Squadron before upgrading to C-97G and changing to a Military Airlift Squadron in 1966. The unit was ordered to active service between October 1961 and August 1962. It became a Tactical Airlift Squadron in March 1971 with the C-130A, changing to the ski/wheeled C-130D in mid-1975 for resupply of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) radar sites above the Arctic cirle.
