116th Air Control Wing

116th Air Control Wing
116th Air Control Wing E-8C Joint STARS 96-0042.jpg
Active	1950-1952; 1952–2011; 2011-present
Country	United States
Allegiance	Georgia (U.S. state)
Branch	Air National Guard
Type	Wing
Role	Command and Control
Part of	Georgia Air National Guard
Garrison/HQ	Robins Air Force Base, Warner-Robins, Georgia
Nickname(s)	Slybird Group (WW II)
Motto(s)	Vincet Amor Patriae (Love of Country Shall Conquer)
Tail Code	GA
Engagements	Korean War
Decorations	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Insignia
116th Air Control Wing emblem (approved 6 June 1952)

The 116th Air Control Wing is a unit of the Georgia Air National Guard, stationed at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Combat Command.

The 128th Airborne Command and Control Squadron assigned to the Wing's 116th Operations Group, is a descendant organization of the World War I 840th Aero Squadron, established on 1 February 1918. It was reformed on 1 May 1941, as the 128th Observation Squadron, one of the 29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of the United States Army National Guard formed before World War II.

The 116th ACW is the only Air National Guard unit operating the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS), an advanced ground surveillance and battle management system. Joint STARS detects, locates, classifies, tracks and targets ground movements on the battlefield, communicating real-time information through secure data links with U.S. Forces command posts.

On 1 October 2002, the 116th ACW was established as the first (and only) Joint Air National Guard/United States Air Force Unit. The Joint Unit was inactivated on 30 September 2011 and the 116th ACW was returned to the sole jurisdiction of the Georgia Air National Guard on 1 October 2011.

The 116th Fighter Group was federalized on 10 October 1950 due to the Korean War. It was redesignated the 116th Fighter-Bomber Group, assigned to Tactical Air Command and moved to George Air Force Base, California. At George, the 116th Group was assigned to the newly activated 116th Fighter-Bomber Wing on 1 November as it reorganized under the wing base organization.