Honoring Tuskegee Airmen and New Associate Units

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Restoring a Fabled Unit: Alabama Gov. Bob Riley was on hand at Maxwell AFB, Ala., on Thursday to hear Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley announce the return of the 100th Fighter Squadron designation, this time to be carried by an Air National Guard squadron, Alabama's 160th FS. The redesignation honors a unit of the famed World War II Tuskegee Airmen, which trained at Tuskegee Field, Ala. The Alabama unit, which will continue to fly its F-16s at Dannelly Field in Montgomery, but with the distinctive Red Tail of the Tuskegee unit, is part of the Air Guard's 187th Fighter Wing. USAF plans to bolster the wing with six additional F-16s, bringing its total to 24. And that, according to ANG Director Lt. Gen. Craig McKinley, means the wing could perform an air expeditionary force rotation as a unit, rather than combining with another wing. The Air Force also has tapped the 187th to host an active associate unit, in which active duty airmen will serve side-by-side with their Air Guard counterparts.

-Marc V. Schanz

New Associate Locations Announced: In addition to the creation of an active associate unit at Montgomery, Ala. (see above), the Air Force plans to form several other active associate units and extend its community basing effort. Earlier this year, several lawmakers urged the service to do just that, saying the program that puts young airmen in communities with seasoned Air National Guard personnel works. Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley announced Thursday at Maxwell AFB, Ala., that the service plans to form active associate units in Florida, South Carolina, and Texas, and reinvigorate the community basing effort in Vermont. There will be active duty airmen working with ANG's 169th Fighter Wing at McEntire ANGB, S.C., and with Air Force Reserve Command's 482nd Fighter Wing at Homestead ARB, Fla., and 301st FW at NAS Fort Worth JRB, Tex. The Vermont initiative that put newly trained airmen with ANG's 158th Fighter Wing in Burlington had been on hold due to budget cuts

From Air Force Magazine Online 14 Sep 07