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

State 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.

The squadron was ordered into active service on 16 September 1940 as part of the buildup of the Army Air Corps prior to the United States entry into World War II.

On 24 May 1946, the United States Army Air Forces, in response to dramatic postwar military budget cuts imposed by President Harry S. Truman, allocated inactive unit designations to the National Guard Bureau for the formation of an Air Force National Guard.

[6] The modern Tennessee ANG received federal recognition on 3 February 1947 as the 105th Fighter Squadron at Berry Field, Nashville.

[6] On 15 December 1957, the 151st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was allotted to the Tennessee ANG and federally recognized at the McGhee Tyson Air Force Base, Knoxville.

Today, the Nashville-based 118th Airlift Wing (118 AW) is in a transition mode to a new mission employing MQ-9 Remote Piloted Aircraft, also known as the Reaper drone.