 On 3 November 1978, the 154th became a Composite Group with the addition of a C-130A Hercules and a C-7A Caribou flight

After a decade flying the F-4C, the 154th received F-15A Eagles in 1987 along with a twin-seat F-15B trainer as part of the retirement of the F-4 from the Air Force inventory.The F-15As were received from the 21st Tactical Fighter Wing, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, which was upgrading to the F-15C model.The Eagles received from Alaska had been upgraded though the F-15 Multi-Stage Improvement Program (MSIP) and were used in an air defense mission, which the Hawaii ANG had taken over.