Puerto Rico ANG units are trained and equipped by the Air Force and are operationally gained by a Major Command of the USAF if federalized.

Commonwealth missions include disaster relief in times of earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and forest fires, search and rescue, protection of vital public services, and support to civil defense.

[9] Aboard these jets, several members of the 198th's Flying Buccaneers broke the sound barrier, including Col. Alberto Nido, Com.

[12] In a subsequent inspection of Ramey, a group of eleven generals led by Gen. George Finch of the 14th Air Force, noted the progress of the 198th in five years.

Rafael Altieri were decorated during this visit, receiving medals donated by the Legislature of Puerto Rico for outstanding service during the year.

[9] After serving during the Korean War, José Muñiz was placed in charge of the 198th Combat Squadron, a function that he performed until his death on 5 July 1960.

[9] During this year, the PRANG was activated to provide assistance to the government during a series of floods that affected the east coast of Puerto Rico.

[15] In 1963, the PRANG participated in the search for Mercury Astronaut Scott Carpenter following his first orbital flight, which the 140th Radar Squadron accomplished under Col. Fred Brown.

[8] This same year, its home base was renamed after Lt. Col. José Muñiz and the PRANG also trained personnel for three groups IOC the Venezuelan Air Force.

[8] By 1977, the same year that the PRANG celebrated its 30th anniversary, the 140th Radar Squadron was operating additional detachments at Ramey Air Force Base.

Colonel Nido was promoted to brigadier general and served at National Guard Headquarters as Chief of Staff for Air.

They operate out of Muñiz Air National Guard Base, located within the grounds of Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport.

In the past, they have operated P-47 Thunderbolts, C-47 Skytrains, C-45, T-6 Texan, B-26 Invader, L-5 Sentinel, T-33 Shooting Star, F-86D, F-86E, and F-86H Sabre Jets, F-104 Starfighters, C-54, T-29, C-131, U-3, O-2, A-7D Corsair II, F-16 Fighting Falcons, C-26, and C-130 Hercules type aircraft.

Major General Orlando Llenza, then a fellow aviator in the unit, later described the loss in the following translation: We were short one pilot and Joe offered to stand in.

Shortly after that, we received the F-86H which did not use afterburning and could fly non-stop from Homestead AFB (in Florida) to San Juan unlike the previous D and E models, which had to stop for fuel at Guantanamo, Cuba.

The attack was timed to coincide with the birthday of the Puerto Rican independence advocate Eugenio María de Hostos.

The National Guard Bureau (NGB) was aware of the shortfalls in security at Muñiz ANG Base, and of the threat, yet corrective actions had not been implemented at the time.

It was also determined that an increase in security personnel was in order raising the number to 22 guards, up from 11, funded entirely by the federal government, as well as electric devices added to the fence.

The sole F-104C, of a Mission Design Series previously flown by the PRANG, was a non-flyable aircraft destined to be a permanent memorial static display.