Wisconsin 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 126th Observation Squadron was ordered into active service on 2 June 1941 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.

[4] The modern Wisconsin ANG received federal recognition on 25 June 1947 as the 126th Fighter Squadron at General Mitchell Field, Milwaukee.

On 6 October 1948 the 176th Fighter Squadron was formed at Truax Field, Madison, also equipped with F-51D Mustangs with an air defense mission.