This year the Air National Guard is celebrating its 60th anniversary as a reserve component of the United States Air Force. In addition to serving their states and communities, Air Guard units have distinguished themselves in every war and virtually every contingency operation that the Air Force has participated in from Korea to the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. While the ANG is a product of the Cold War era, National Guard aviation traces its lineage back to 1915 when the state of New York established the first official Guard flying unit. Today, the official lineage of that unit is carried by that state's 102nd Rescue Squadron. Early Guard aviators served in both World Wars.

The U.S.Air Force and Air National Guard are celebrating together 60 years of defending the country and its states with special events taking place during Air Force Weeks across the United States. Air Force Weeks concentrates several different assets at one location to generate more interest in the community. The Air Force chose New England as one of six locations throughout the United States to host Air Force Week in 2007. Other locations for Air Force Weeks are; Phoenix,AZ, Sacramento,CA, St-Louis,MO, Hawaii, HI and Atlanta, GA.

The New Hampshire and Massachusetts National Guard are co-sponsoring Air Force Week New England from August 17 to 26. Activities will include visits by senior Air Force leaders, flight demonstrations including the Air Force's elite demonstration team, the Thunderbirds and much, much more. Air Force Week New England will begin with the Pease Wings of Hope Air Show on August 18-19 and will culminate with the 2007 Cape Cod Air show on August 25-26. The Air Force Week New England- Wings of Hope Air Show 2007 is a civilian-military partnership between the NH Wings of Hope Foundation, which is led by the Brain Injury Association of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Air National Guard. Their goal is to produce a world class air show at Pease ANGB to benefit the charities represented by the NH Wings of Hope Foundation.

Air Force Week New England will give the citizens of New England an opportunity to learn more about the role of the Air National Guard and its members serving around the world day and night to keep America safe. Men and women serving in the Air National Guard are your friends and neighbors continuing to be key players in the Global War on Terror.

A media kick-off for AF Week New England took place on June 6 at Pease ANGB, NH. Local media representative gathered at NH ANG HQ at Pease for a briefing on upcoming activities by Brig. Gen. Mark Sears, NH ANG Assistant Adjutant General and AF Week New England Project Officer for New Hampshire, Lt.Col. Nicole Bixler. Following the briefing, medias were invited to board two KC-135Rs for a refueling mission over New England. For many, this was their first glance at what does an air-to-air refueling mean. Taking place over New England or Iraq, procedures remain the same and tankers are there to keep the fighters flying to fight. During the flight, no less than three different types of aircraft joined with the tankers from the 157th Air Refueling Wing of the New Hampshire Air National Guard. First to rendezvous with the tankers were two F-16C from the 158th Fighter Wing of the Vermont Air National Guard and two F-15C from the 102nd Fighter Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard. Later in the flight, four A-10s from the 103rd Fighter Wing of the Connecticut Air National Guard joined the two refuelers over the White Mountains of New Hampshire. After taking on fuel, all receivers resumed their training missions before heading home.

Official Kick Off of Air Force Week New England will take place on August 17 at 09:00 with a Governor's Proclamation being held in every State Capital of New England. A list of activities being held will be posted soon at; http://www.airforceweek.com

To learn more about the NH Wings of Hope Foundation, visit their website by clicking here. More information about the Air Force Week New England-Wings of Hope Air Show 2007 can be found on this website.

More photos from the Media Kick off can be seen here!