using air national guardsmen from the 138th fighter-interceptor squadron at hancock field, syracuse, new york, and the 194th fighter-bomber squadron at hayward, california, the experiment began on 1 march 1953. it proved a great success and in august eight squadrons began "standing alert" using volunteer aircrews on a rotating basis for 14 hours a day. in october, nine more squadrons joined the program. the ang runway alert program required some planes and pilots to be available around-the-clock to become airborne within minutes of being notified to scramble. at its peak in the mid-1950s, all 70 air national guard fighter squadrons participated in that program, although that number was reduced to 25 by 1961 due to budget constraints. most of the runway alert exercises involved interceptions of sac bombers; although a few actual scrambles turned out to be interceptions of late or off-course commercial airliners. the runway alert experiment in 1953 marked the beginning of the air national guard's modern homeland defense role. moreover, it was the first broad effort to integrate reserve units into a major air force combat mission in peacetime on a continuing basis using volunteers.