In April 1955, the 129th Rescue Wing, California Air National Guard, based at Hayward Airport, California, was activated as the 129th Air Resupply Group. The unit's mission was airlift of personnel and material using C-46 aircraft. Later that year, the Group was transferred from U.S. Continental Air Command to U.S. Tactical Air Command (TAC). Although the mission remained the same, the 129th underwent three name changes and several aircraft conversions between its initial activation and April 1975. The mission was unchanged even after the name was changed to Troop Carrier Group. Upon the arrival of the SA-16 Albatross seaplane, the Wing was redesignated the 129th Air Commando Group. The 129th later acquired C-119 Flying Boxcars and its named changed to Special Operations Group. During this period, the Wing also utilized small observation planes (U-10s, U-6s and U-3s) as ancillary aircraft. 
Read the full history of the 129th Rescue Wing 

The Air National Guard as we know it today -- a separate reserve component of the United States Air Force -- was a product of the politics of postwar planning and interservice rivalry during World War II. The men who planned and maneuvered for an independent postwar Air Force during World War II didn't place much faith in the reserves, especially the state-dominated National Guard. 
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