In the September/October 2001 issue of The Penn Stater, a young military captain shared the story of “The Last Mission” of State College’s 112th Air Control Squadron, a Pennsylvania Air National Guard radar unit established in a McAllister Street garage in 1949 through the work of Penn Staters such as Col. George Haller ’27 Eng, ’35 MS, ’42 PhD Sci, Maj. Walter N. Brown ’49 PhD Sci, and a future secretary of the Air Force, John L. McLucas ’50 PhD Sci.
The captain’s story walked readers through the act of controlling dogfights and aerial refueling over training airspace just north of University Park, but it also detailed the unit’s history during a pivotal time. The 112th’s mission was expanding from “reverse air traffic control” to writing and executing theater-wide air campaign plans. He was conflicted about this change but concluded that it was the spirit of the unit and its people, not the assigned mission, that made the 112th something special.
That very same fall, in the days and months that followed Sept. 11, 2001, the Air Force halted the 112th’s mission change to assign its airmen a yearlong deployment to assist with policing America’s skies. The 112th resumed its mission conversion in 2002. In 2016, the 112th was redesignated as the 193rd Air Operations Group, or AOG. Collectively, the 112th/193rd’s history of overseas service spans the Korean War, the Berlin crisis, Bosnia, nine deployments to the Middle East, aid to U.S. defense strategy in the Pacific, intercepting Bear bombers in the Arctic, and assisting NATO with turning back Russian aggression in Ukraine while bolstering readiness within Pennsylvania’s State Partnership Program ally Lithuania.
Domestically, the unit conducted counterdrug operations in the Caribbean and South America and fulfilled myriad Homeland Defense missions under Operation Noble Eagle. The unit served national and local communities, plowing local roads following the blizzards of 1993 and 1996; assisting the Gulf Coast’s Deepwater Horizon oil cleanup; helping citizens and communities recover following numerous hurricanes; providing linguistic and K–12 educational support to Afghan refugees; and aiding nursing homes and vaccination centers across Pennsylvania during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the early days, members of the 112th even donned white gloves and silver helmets to help manage Penn State football traffic.
In 2024, the 193rd AOG celebrates 75 years of service, and many of us will return to campus in November to celebrate. Through many members’ dual identities as airmen and as Penn State faculty, staff, and students, we can also revel in being a longstanding part of the “We” in “We Are.”
As for that young captain, now a colonel: While I still miss the dogfighting, I remain inspired by the spirit of this place, its people, and its community. And I’m awestruck by the hefty return the 193rd AOG has provided on the Air Force’s investment in continuing our Happy Valley–based mission.
Col. Brian Lehew is commander of the 193rd Air Operations Group, State College Air Guard Station.
