Flying Operations 'Surge' at Selfridge

by TSgt. Dan Heaton
127th Wing Public Affairs


Seen from the air traffic control tower on the opposite side of the air field, three A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft taxi out of the parking ramp area toward the active runway at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Mich., Aug. 10, 2012. An orange glow can be seen under the structures at left, where Airmen were using work lights in an early morning rain to prepare for the day's flying missions. Airmen from the 107th Fighter Squadron, who fly the aircraft, and the 127th Maintenance Group, who maintain the aircraft, participated in a surge operation, launching and recovering a higher-than-usual number of aircraft, as part of a series of readiness training exercises taking place at the base in August. (Air National Guard photo by John S. Swanson) Hi-res

8/10/2012 - SELFRIDGE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Mich. -- The only aircraft in the Air Force inventory carrying the "A" designator for "attack," the A-10 Thunderbolt II brings a tremendous amount of firepower to any combat scenario. These A-10s, flown by the 107th Fighter Squadron and maintained by the 127th Maintenance Group, are based at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Mich. The two units spent the last part of 2011 and the early part of 2012 forward deployed to Afghanistan in support of U.S. and allied ground forces there.

As part of a readiness exercise in August, the units conducted a surge in flight operations for several days, simulating the operating tempo that could be required to support a war fighting mission. Over a two-day period, the units conducted more than 70 sorties of A-10 aircraft at Selfridge.

Source (including 7 photos)

Please note: Some more related pictures are available in the photo section of 127th Wing's public website. More pictures will be uploaded soon.