150th Special Operations Wing

Master Sgt. Guadalupe Castaneda, left, and Senior Master Sgt. Rubel Tafoya, second from left, furl the 150th Fighter Wing guidon, while Senior Master Sgt. Keith Gum, second from right, and Staff Sgt. Justin Gabaldon, right, unfurl the 150th Special Operations Wing guidon during the unit’s March 1 redesignation ceremony at Kirtland AFB. (Photo by Tech. Sgt. Roberto Bilbao)

150th Special Operations Wing

Brig. Gen. Andrew Salas, New Mexico National Guard Adjutant General, left, passes the 150th Special Operations Wing guidon to Col. Clark Highstrete, 150th SOW commander, right, while Chief Master Sgt. John Williams, state command chief, center, waits to take possession of the unit flag. (Photo by Master Sgt. Paula Aragon)

Former 150th Fighter Wing gets unit redesignation

Published March 7, 2014
By New Mexico National Guard Public Affairs

KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- In an official ceremony March 1, the New Mexico National Guard's 150th Fighter Wing was redesignated as the 150th Special Operations Wing.

"While this is a major change for the New Mexico Air National Guard, to go from a fighter wing to a special operations wing, it is one that is crucial to maintain ourselves as a ready and relevant Guard," said Col. Clark Highstrete, 150th SOW commander. "Through this redesignation, not only will our Guardsmen gain new opportunities and education, we will also be able to better support the state in case of natural or man-made disaster as well as the nation, should we be called upon to do so."

As an associate wing of the 58th Special Operations Wing, the 150th SOW trains special operations and combat rescue aircrews on the HC-130 P/N Combat King, HH-60G Pave Hawk, and CV-22 Osprey aircraft. The unit will continue to provide precision targeting and geospatial intelligence to Air Force and joint Warfighters, issue heavy repairs in civil engineering to theaters of operations worldwide, and offer broad-spectrum military support services.

The 250th Intelligence Squadron and 210th Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers were also activated on the same day. The 250th IS provides precision targeting products and geospatial intelligence to Air Force and joint warfighters. The 210th RED HORSE Squadron's primary wartime responsibility is to provide a highly mobile, rapidly deployable civil engineering response force.