Wyoming 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.

[4] The 187th Fighter Squadron was activated on 1 April 1951 for service during the Korean War, with personnel assigned to Clovis Air Force Base, New Mexico, West Germany, Okinawa, and South Korea.

In the meantime, the 153rd Tactical Airlift Group expanded to regularly flying missions with the United States Southern Command out of Howard Air Force Base, Panama, as part of Operation Phoenix Oak.

From supplying embassies in Central and South America, to searching for sinking ships in the middle of tropical storms, the Wyoming C-130s and aircrews carried out military and humanitarian missions.

During that time, the Wyoming 187th Aeromedical Evacuation Flight and the 153rd Clinic were both activated, with a large number of those medical personnel being sent to Saudi Arabia.

After the end of hostilities, Wyoming Guard members continued with Operation Provide Comfort, which supplied humanitarian aid to Kurdish people displaced by the Iraqi military.

Three of those medical personnel subsequently received commendations for saving United States Army Rangers' lives while under attack in Somalia in October 1993.

During 1993–94, a number of Wyoming pilots, navigators, and loadmasters volunteered to fly missions into and over Bosnia/Serbia, while temporarily assigned Operation Provide Promise.

From 10 November to 5 December 1997 the Wyoming Air National Guard flew 250 airborne fire-fighting missions in the jungles of Indonesia as Operation Tempest Rapid I.

This was the first time U.S. airborne fire fighting had ever been done outside of the continental U.S. As with the rest of the U.S. military, the wing's focus changed abruptly after the September 11 attacks, 2001.

In July 2006 the 30th Airlift Squadron, an active duty unit, stood up at Cheyenne Regional Airport, under the operational direction of the 153 AW.