102d Rescue Squadron

102d Rescue Squadron
102d Rescue Squadron - Lockheed HC-130H Hercules 88-2102.
Active	30 April 1908–Present
Country	United States
Allegiance	New York
Branch	Air National Guard
Type	Squadron
Role	Combat Rescue
Part of	New York Air National Guard
Garrison/HQ	Francis S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base, Westhampton Beach, New York
Nickname(s)	Air National Guard's Oldest Unit
Patron	So that others may live
Engagements	Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom
Insignia
102d Rescue Squadron emblem

The 102d Rescue Squadron (102 RQS) is a unit of the New York Air National Guard 106th Rescue Wing stationed at Francis S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base, Westhampton Beach, New York. The 102d is equipped with the HC-130 Hercules transport.

The squadron is a descendant organization of the World War I 102d Aero Squadron, established on 23 August 1917. Its origins begin however, on 30 April 1908 as the 1st Aero Company, a pre-World War I independent unit of the New York National Guard. After the war, the unit was reformed on 7 November 1921 as the 102d Observation Squadron, and is one of the 29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of the United States Army National Guard formed before World War II.

The 102d Rescue Squadron is the oldest unit of the Air National Guard, with over a century of service to the state of New York and the United States.

On April 30, 1908, 1st Lt. Frank P. Lahm reported to New York City along with 1st Lt. Thomas Selfridge and civilian balloonist Leo Stevens to familiarize 25 members of the First Company, Signal Corps, a unit of the 71st New York Infantry, in the use of hydrogen-filled kite balloons. The company was organized to provide the New York National Guard with an "aeronautical corps" for balloon observation, commanded by Major Oscar Erlandean. By 1910 it had acquired a home-made aircraft using private funds and transported it to summer maneuvers, but it was not flown. The aircraft was destroyed in a crash but an airplane owned by Glenn Curtiss was flown during the 1912 summer maneuvers in Connecticut by Private Beckworth "Becky" Havens, a salesman for Curtiss. This group sometimes referred to itself as the "1st Aero Company" but was never authorized or officially recognized by either the State of New York nor the U.S. Army.