366th Fighter Group Association

In early 1991, the Air Force announced that the 366 ^th would become the Air Force's premier “air intervention” composite wing. The wing would grow from a single-squadron of EF-111As to a dynamic, five squadron wing with the ability to deploy rapidly and deliver integrated combat airpower. This resulted from General Merrill A. McPeak, then Chief of Staff of the Air Force (CSAF) and his belief that creating standing composite wings, wherein one commander would control all types of aircraft to defeat an enemy, would streamline and shorten tactical planning. General McPeak expressed that a composite wing would make “smaller mistakes because it works and trains together in peacetime…it knows the playbook…in other words, it can exploit the inherent flexibility of airpower.”

The air intervention composite wing's rapid transition from concept to reality began in October of 1991 when redesignated as the 366 ^th Wing. The wing's newly reactivated “fighter squadrons” became part of the composite wing in March 1992. The 389 ^thFighter Squadron began flying the dual-role F-16C Fighting Falcon , while the 391 ^st Fighter Squadron was equipped with the new F-15E Strike Eagle These two squadrons provide Gunfighters round-the-clock precision strike capability.

In June 1992, as part of Air Force restructuring, Strategic Air Command and Tactical Air Command merged to form Air Combat Command. A month later, the 366 ^th also gained the 34 ^th Bomb Squadron. Located at Castle AFB, California, the 34 ^th flew the B-52G Stratofortress , giving the composite wing deep interdiction bombing capabilities as the only B-52 unit armed with the deadly, long-range HAVE NAP missile.

Next, in September 1992, Air Force redesignated the 390 ^th Electronic Combat Squadron as the 390 Fighter Squadron, which began flying the Air Force’s premier air superiority aircraft, the F-15C With its internal 20-millimeter cannon and air-to-air missiles, the F-15C protects the wing's high-value assets from enemy air threats. At the same time, Air Force activated the 429 ^th Electronic Combat Squadron, which assumed control of the wing’s EF-111A aircraft as they prepared to transfer to Cannon AFB, New Mexico.

During this buildup, however, the wing's Ravens remained busy flying combat missions over Iraq, both from Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Desert Calm, and from Incirlik AB, Turkey, in support of Operation Provide Comfort. In June 1993, however, the wing transferred its remaining EF-111As and the 429 ^th ECS to Cannon AFB, ending Mountain Home’s long association with the various models of the F-111 aircraft.

Not long afterwards, in October 1992, the composite wing gained its final flying squadron when the 22 ^nd Air Refueling Squadron was activated and equipped with the KC-135R Stratotankers . These tankers give the wing its ability to deploy globally at a moment's notice.

In another change, on April 1, 1994, the 34 ^th Bomb Squadron transferred its flag to Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota. At the same time the squadron’s B-52Gs were retired, making way for the squadron to be equipped with the technologically advanced B-1B Lancer . Next, a gradual transfer of the B-1s from Ellsworth to Mountain Home began in August 1996.The squadron completed a move to Mountain Home on April 1, 1997, when its flag was officially transferred to the Gunfighter home base.

Also in 1996, the wing gained yet another operational squadron. On June 21st, the 726 ^th Air Control Squadron was reassigned from Shaw AFB, South Carolina, to Mountain Home. The new squadron brought mobile radar surveillance, and command and control capabilities to the composite wing.

In late October 1996, the wing’s senior leadership also announced a new name for the 366 ^th Wing. Henceforth, it would be known as the “Air Expeditionary Wing” while deployed in keeping with an Air Force decision to stand up a “battle lab” at Mountain Home to refine the new concept. The wing would soon begin working out the most efficient procedures for moving an airpower expeditionary force to pre-selected locations around the world. The Air Expeditionary Force Battlelab (AEFB) activated by paper only on 1 April 1997, stood up at MHAFB on 22 Oct 1997.

While all these changes in the wing’s composition were going on, the Gunfighters met numerous operational challenges. They have supported numerous deployments in the United States and around the world from the time of composite wing implementation. Only the highlights of this hectic pace are described here.

Twice, in 1993 and again in 1995, the wing served as the lead unit for Bright Star, a large combined exercise held in Egypt. In July 1995, the wing also verified its combat capability in the largest operational readiness inspection in Air Force history. The Gunfighters deployed a composite strike force to Cold Lake, Canada, and proved they could deliver effective composite airpower. Then in 1996, the wing deployed to Incirlik AB, Turkey, in support of Operation Provide Comfort

T he 366th has also deployed twice to Shaikh Isa AB, Bahrain, to support Operation Southern Watch in 1997 and 1998. These Air Expeditionary Force (AEF) deployments showed that the 366 ^thWing then helped develop the way the Air Force will fly and fight in the next century through its participation as the lead AEF unit during Expeditionary Force Experiment 98. This CSAF experiment combined actual flights and combat simulations to create realistic warfighting environments. It aimed to rapidly mature initiatives that integrated air and space competency while applying decisive air and space power, thus dramatically improving command and control.

The 14 Sep 1998 announcement by CSAF Michael Ryan that the whole Air Force would reorganize into an ‘Aerospace Expeditionary Force’ came as no to surprise to Gunfighters. Consequently, the 366th Wing (‘Air Expeditionary Wing’ (AEW), when deployed) is and has been leading the way as the model from which other wings will be built.

In early 1999, the wing’s three fighter squadrons flew combat missions over southern Iraq, with the 391 ^st dropping more bombs than any other unit since the end of Desert Storm. From April-June 1999, the 22 ARS supported Operation Allied Force, the NATO air campaign against Serbia. During this period, the squadron refueled 600 aircraft and off-loaded over 7 million pounds of fuel. The 726 ^th Air Control Squadron also supported Kosovo operations from May-July 1999. They were the first American unit to deploy to Romania in 53 years.

In September 1999, the Gunfighters participated in JEFX 99, the latest in a series of exercises focused on testing emerging command and control technologies for deployed air expeditionary forces. Immediately following JEFX 99, the wing hosted Red Flag 00-1.1, the first red flag exercise in history not conducted at Nellis AFB, Nevada. Flown completely at night, the exercise combined traditional composite strike aircraft packages with low-observable F-117s and B-2s in a simulated interdiction campaign.

Following the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 and the resultant initiation of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, the 366 ^th Wing once again got the call. While the 34^th Bomb Squadron deployed to Diego Garcia as the B-1 component of the 28 ^th Air Expeditionary Wing, the wing sent a Base Operations Support package to Al Udeid AB, Qatar to transform the bare base into a fully operational airfield for large-scale combat operations.

In October 2001, the 391^st FS deployed to the Arabian Peninsula, while the 389^th FS went to Al Udeid in November. Meanwhile, the 22 ARS, 390^th FS, and 726^th ACS supported Operation Noble Eagle protecting the skies of the Northwestern United States.

During the air campaign against Afghanistan that began on 7 October 2001, the 366^th Wing’s deployed crews flew nearly 1,000 sorties and dropped a total of 7.6 million pounds of bombs against Al Qaeda and Taliban targets—the most out of any unit participating in the operation.

Following the wing’s return from Southwest Asia, consolidation of the Air Force’s KC-135 and B-1 force led to the reallocation of the wing’s bombers and tankers. While the 22d ARS’ aircraft transferred to McConnell AFB, Kansas in May 2002, the 34 ^th BS’ B-1s went to Ellsworth AFB South Dakota in June. As a result, the 22d ARS inactivated on 30 August 2002, while the 34 ^th transferred to Ellsworth on 18 September.

On 30 September, the 366^th Wing redesignated to the 366^th Fighter Wing in conjunction with a significant change to its organizational structure. Under an Air Force-wide restructuring plan, the 366 ^th Maintenance Group and the 366^th Support Group as the 366 ^th Mission Support Group. Now, maintainers formerly assigned to their respective flying squadrons since the objective wing reorganization in 1992, belonged to the newly-activated 366 ^th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron under the maintenance group. Also within the maintenance group, the 366 ^{th th} Maintenance Operations Squadron and the 366 ^th Component Repair Squadron as the 366 ^th Component Maintenance Squadron.

On the support side, the 366^th Supply Squadron redesignated as the 366^th Logistics Readiness Squadron on 18 July 2002, merging both the supply and transportation missions. On the same day, the 366^th Transportation Squadron inactivated. Finally, the 366 ^th Contracting Squadron moved from the 366 ^th Logistics Group to the 366^th Mission Support Group on 30 September. With these changes, the wing’s 10-year mission as the Air Force’s premiere air expeditionary wing came to an end, but did not affect its ability to meet any challenge the United States Air Force might face as it moves toward its vision of Global Engagement in the 21^st Century.