45th Fighter Squadron to rejoin A-10 community

Updated January 1, 2010

917th Wing Public Affairs press release (Release Number: 011209):

12/30/2009 - Barksdale Air Force Base, La. -- The United States Air Force plans to regain one of its A-10 Thunderbolt II units during a reactivation ceremony at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., on Jan 7, 2010 at 3 pm.

The reactivation of the 45th Fighter Squadron, by order of the Secretary of the Air Force Mr. Michael B. Donley, will put the unit under the command of the 917th Wing Operations Group at Barksdale Air Force Base, La.

Col. Keith D. Schultz, the operations group deputy commander for the 917th WG, is scheduled as the presiding official for the ceremony.

Also in attendance will be Lt. Gen. Charles E. Stenner, commander, Air Force Reserve Command, Big. Gen. Robert S. Arthur, vice commander, 10th Air Force, and Col. Edmund D. Walker, commander, 917th Wing.

"I'm excited about the reactivation of the 45th FS mainly because my last interaction occurred while the A-10s were taken from the unit during a transitional phase," said Lt. Col. Terry W. McClain, commander, 45th FS at Davis-Monthan. "I'm excited because I can bring the 45th FS back into the A-10 community."

The reactivation of the 45th FS will occur in support of A-10 Formal Training Unit (FTU) training. The FTU will provide Initial Qualification in the A-10 as well as Transition, Instructor Pilot Upgrade and Senior Officer Course training.

Source


After this press release, 917th Wing Public Affairs released the following news:

45th Fighter Squadron to rejoin A-10 community

by Senior Airman Crystal Marie Jordan
917th Wing Public Affairs

12/30/2009 - Barksdale Air Force Base, La. -- The United States Air Force plans to reactivate the historic 45th Fighter Squadron at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., during a ceremony on base Jan. 7 at 3 pm.

The reactivation of the 45th FS, by order of the Secretary of the Air Force Mr. Michael B. Donley, will place the unit under the command of the 917th Wing Operations Group on Barksdale Air Force Base, La.

Retired Maj. Gen. Robert A. Nester is scheduled as the guest speaker for the event.

Col. Keith D. Schultz the 917th Operations Group deputy commander will act as the presiding official for the ceremony.

Also in attendance will be Lt. Gen. Charles E. Stenner, commander, Air Force Reserve Command, Big. Gen. Robert S. Arthur, vice commander, 10th Air Force, and Col. Edmund D. Walker, commander, 917th Wing.

In command of the 45th Fighter Squadron is Lt. Col. Terry W. McClain.

"I'm excited about the reactivation of the 45th FS mainly because my last interaction occurred while the A-10s were taken from the unit during a transitional phase," said Col. McClain. "I'm excited because I can bring the 45th FS back into the A-10 community."

This unit has a rich history dating as far back as the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor Naval Station, on the Territory of Hawaii.

Throughout history, the 45th FS has aided the U.S. Armed Forces in missions at home and abroad, providing air defense during both World War II and the Vietnam War.

Today, they have a new mission. The reactivation of the 45th FS will occur in support of A-10 Formal Training Unit (FTU) training. The FTU will provide Initial Qualification in the A-10 as well as Transition, Instructor Pilot Upgrade and Senior Officer Course training.

Associated picture:



(45th Fighter Squadron Historical Photo) Hi-res

Source

Note: To commemorate the 50th anniversary of WW II "D-Day" on June 6, 1944, A-10 149 from the 45th Fighter Squadron, 930th Operations Group (Air Force Reserve), Grissom AFB, Indiana, received a special paint scheme. It consisted of invasion stripes similar to those worn by some of the original Thunderbolts that flew in support of the 1944 invasion of Normandy.



Related die-cast display model (HA1304) of A-10A, 45th TFS (Indiana ANG), Grisson AFB, May 1994 'D-day Anniversary', released by Hobby Master in their 1/72 Air Power Series.


Using the 917th Wing press release, The Shreveport Times reported:

Revived A-10 squadron to join local wing

By John Andrew Prime
December 30, 2009

A historic fighter squadron has been reborn and will join an equally illustrious unit under command of the locally headquartered 917th Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base.

The new unit is the 45th Fighter Squadron, which was reconstituted this fall and will have its reactivation ceremony at 3 p.m. Jan. 7 at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. That's where the unit is based.

The squadron will fall under the command of the 917th Wing Operations Group. Col. Keith Schultz, the operations group deputy commander for the 917th Wing, is scheduled as the presiding official.

Also in attendance will be Lt. Gen. Charles E. Stenner, commander of the Air Force Reserve Command; Big. Gen. Robert S. Arthur, vice commander of the 10th Air Force; and Brig. Gen. (Select) Edmund D. "Ed" Walker, commander of the 917th Wing.

"I’m excited about the reactivation of the 45th Fighter Squadron, mainly because my last interaction occurred while the A-10s were taken from the unit during a transitional phase," said the squadron's commander, Lt. Col. Terry W. McClain. "I'm excited because I can bring the 45th Fighter Squadron back into the A-10 community."

The reactivation of the 45th Fighter Squadron will occur in support of A-10 Formal Training Unit, or FTU, training. The FTU provides Initial Qualification in the A-10 as well as Transition, Instructor Pilot Upgrade and Senior Officer Course training.

During the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the squadron was based at Wheeler Field on Oahu and had many of its P-40 and P-36 fighters destroyed on the ground. It sustained two enlisted casualties in the attack. The 47th Fighter Squadron that is with the 917th Wing at Barksdale also was at Pearl Harbor that day as the 47th Pursuit Squadron, and saw a handful of its pilots get into the air and score victories against Japanese attackers that day. The 47th also lost one of its pilots, 2nd Lt. John Dains, to friendly ground fire. Dains was one of the first combat casualties of the American phase of World War II.

One of the Pearl Harbor veterans of the 45th Pursuit Squadron was Francis S. "Gabby" Gabreski, who rose to the rank of colonel and was one of the U.S. Air Force's top aces, scoring 28 kills in World War II and 6.5 kills in the Korean War. He also survived capture by the enemy and captivity.

Source


Related info:
45th Fighter Squadron Change of Command

Background info:

- From Wikipedia:
In 1981 the squadron transitioned to the A-10 Thunderbolt II, affectionately called the "Warthog" by those who flew it. On July 1, 1987, the squadron was reassigned to the 930th Tactical Fighter Group at Grissom, which became the 930th Operations Group. It was an Air Force Reserve unit, and they still flew the A-10. On February 1, 1992, the squadron was redesignated 45th Fighter Squadron. Known as the "Hoosier Hogs," the pilots of the 45th FS flew their missions with pride up until September 1994. The squadron was inactivated on October 1, 1994.
In September 2008, the 45th FS will be activated and attached to the 917th Wing, which is based at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana. The squadron will fly the A-10 and be assigned to Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona. Source

- From the World Air Power Journal Special "Fairchild A-10 - Fighting Warthog", Rick Stephens, Aerospace Publishing Ltd, UK / AIRtime Publishing Inc., USA and Canada, 1995 (bought and archived by me):
930th Operations Group (AFRes): Based at Grissom AFB, IN, the 45th TFS 'Hoosier Hogs' converted from the A-37B to the A-10A on 1 June 1981, marking its aircraft with an 'IN' tailcode and blue fin-flashes. On 1 July 1987, it transferred from the 434th (which became the 434th Air Refueling Wing) to the newly created 930th TFG (becoming a component of the 442nd TFW of Richards-Gebaur AFB). On 1 February 1992, unit designations changed to the 442nd Fighter Wing, 930th Fighter Group and 45th Fighter Squadron. Then, on 1 August 1992, another reorganisation took place, with the Reserve units at Grissom being restructured under the 434th Wing, with the group becoming the 930th Operations Group (OG). The 45th FS possessed 12 A-10As and six OA-10As. The 45th FS and 930th OG deactivated on 30 September 1994.