81st Fighter Squadron A-10Cs possibly caught on departure for Afghanistan

On September 28, 2011, Bart Claes from Belgium had the opportunity to take the following exclusive shots:



A-10C 81-0966 from the 81st Fighter Squadron, marked "52 OG" as the 52nd Operations Group boss bird. (Photo by Bart Claes) Full size



A-10C 81-0985 from the 81st Fighter Squadron. (Photo by Bart Claes) Full size

Both pictures were first-released on KB Spotting.be See topic ETAD 28-09-2011

Note: Because both pilots are wearing desert flight suites, it seems to me they were really on deployment. Other signs are the centerline fuel tanks and baggage pods. Currently deployed to Afghanistan as part of a "Total Force" A-10C aircraft package are the following "Hogs" from the 81st Fighter Squadron, 52nd Fighter Wing (USAFE), Spangdahlem AB, Germany (tailcode SP):

A-10C 80-0275
A-10C 81-0956
A-10C 81-0965
A-10C 81-0966 (marked "52 OG")
A-10C 81-0981 (marked "81 FS")
A-10C 81-0985

Unfortunately, their departure is'nt documented completely. I would be very grateful for any additional info and pictures.

A-10 pilots return from deployment

Released by 23rd Wing Public Affairs



10/13/2011 - An A-10C Thunderbolt II operated by U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. James Clark, 74th Fighter Squadron commander, makes its way to a stopping point Oct. 11, 2011, at Moody Air Force Base, Ga. Clark flew the A-10 in support of U.S. and coalition ground forces during a six-month deployment at Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jamal D. Sutter) Hi-res

Note: Pictured is A-10C 78-0674, marked "74FS" as the 74th Fighter Squadron's boss bird.



10/13/2011 - U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. James Clark, 74th Fighter Squadron commander, parks his aircraft after redeployment Oct. 11, 2011, at Moody Air Force Base, Ga. Clark and the four other A-10 pilots were part of a six-month deployment to Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jamal D. Sutter) Hi-res

Note: OEF mission markings just below the windshield.





10/13/2011 - U.S. Air Force Maj. Craig Morash, 74th Fighter Squadron A-10 pilot, is greeted home by his daughter, Adeline, after returning from a deployment Oct. 11, 2011, at Moody Air Force Base, Ga. Morash was part of a six-month deployment to Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, where he supported Operation Enduring Freedom. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jamal D. Sutter) Hi-res

Note: OEF mission markings just below the windshield.



10/13/2011 - U.S. Air Force Maj. Craig Morash, 74th Fighter Squadron A-10 pilot, shares a kiss with his wife, Jennifer, after returning home from a deployment Oct. 11, 2011, at Moody Air Force Base, Ga. Morash was part of a six-month deployment to Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, where he supported Operation Enduring Freedom. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jamal D. Sutter) Hi-res



10/13/2011 - Family and friends of 74th Fighter Squadron Airmen greet A-10C Thunderbolt II pilots as they return from deployment Oct. 11, 2011, at Moody Air Force Base, Ga. The pilots flew the A-10s during a six-month deployment to Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, where they supported U.S. and coalition ground forces. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jamal D. Sutter) Hi-res



10/13/2011 - A double rainbow stretches over the Moody Air Force Base, Ga., flight line after five A-10C Thunderbolt II pilots from the 74th Fighter Squadron returned home from a deployment Oct. 11, 2011. The pilots supported Operation Enduring Freedom during a six-month deployment to Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan. More than 300 maintenance Airmen returned home from the same deployment a week prior. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jamal D. Sutter) Hi-res

Source

All Moody A-10Cs now back home after Afghanistan combat deployment?

Today, Anonymous has left a new comment on my post 23rd Fighter Group A-10Cs caught at Lajes on their way back home from Afghanistan (Part Three)

The anonymous source said: The final A-10s arrived this evening at Moody AFB as Trend 41-45. They were under Coronet East 003A.

Anybody who can/will confirm that with logs or pictures?

Saber Airman use hot-pit refueling

Released by 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs



10/13/2011 - SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany – Airmen from the 52nd Logistics Readiness Squadron Fuels Management Flight and the 52nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron work together to refuel an A-10 Thunderbolt II during hot-pit refueling here Oct. 13. Hot-pit refueling saves time, manpower and equipment usage by using a Type-4 hydrant system to refuel aircraft while they are still running between training missions. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Matthew B. Fredericks)

Please note: Pictured is A-10C 81-0988, but unfortunately the hi-res version above doesn't really shows the entire picture... @ Spang webmasters: Would you be so kind to repair this?



That's the related preview pic.

Source

Last two "Total Force" A-10Cs departed Lajes for Afghanistan

According to Warthog News contributor João Toste from Portugal, the last two "Hogs" of the fresh "Total Force" A-10C aircraft package departed Lajes Field, Azores, for Afghanistan yesterday morning during the sunrise. João had the opportunity to take the following shots:



A-10C 79-0109 from the 303rd Fighter Squadron, 442nd Fighter Wing (AFRC), Whiteman AFB, is followed by A-10C 79-0154 from the 47th Fighter Squadron, 917th Fighter Group (AFRC), Barksdale AFB. Both aircraft arrived at Lajes Field for stopover with an A-10C package enroute Afghanistan on September 26, 2011, but these two were sill for a couple of days. (Photo by João Toste) Full size



A-10C 79-0154 from the 47th Fighter Squadron, 917th Fighter Group (AFRC), Barksdale AFB. (Photo by João Toste) Full size

Warthog News fan page on Facebook is growing everyday

By Joachim Jacob, Warthog News Editor

On August 4, 2011, I created my Warthog News fan page on Facebook. It's a very nice tool to further promote my well-established blog and to meet a lot of interesting new people, including "Hog Drivers", A-10 Crew Chiefs, related family members, A-10C unit's Public Affairs staff members and more... Today, I've saved the username http://www.facebook.com/warthognews for this fan page. Hope that works. By the way: Up to the moment, 183 fans are generated.



Part of a screenshot of my newly (user)named Warthog News fan page on Facebook. (Photo by Joachim Jacob)

Please note: Warthog News is the ultimate modern A-10 Thunderbolt II reference worldwide.

184th Fighter Squadron A-10C pilot spotlighted in The Flying Razorback

By Joachim Jacob, Warthog News Editor

Spotlighted in 188th Fighter Wing's base newspaper The Flying Razorback (September-October 2011 public online PDF issue) is Captain Drew "Gus" Nash, an A-10C pilot with the 184th Fighter Squadron. I just made a screenshot of the associated picture because it's not available in the wing's online photo archive.



Captain Drew "Gus" Nash sits in the cockpit of an unidentified 184th Fighter Squadron A-10C. Capt. Nash is an A-10 instruction pilot, who joined the 188th Fighter Wing already in 2001. According to him, his favorite moment at the 188th FW was his first flight in the F-16C as a Flying Razorback. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Dennis Brambl, 188th Fighter Wing Public Affairs)

Source (For more details please check page five)

25th AMU takes load crew competition honors

Staff Sgt. Malinda Lyons, Staff Sgt. Kenneth Thompson, and Airman 1st Class Charles Clayton, Crew 3 of the 25th Aircraft Maintenance Unit won the 3rd Quarter Load Crew Competition Oct. 4. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Eric Petosky)

by Tech. Sgt. Eric Petosky
51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs

10/11/2011 - OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea -- Weapon loaders from the 25th Aircraft Maintenance Unit won the 3rd Quarter Load Crew Competition Oct. 4, putting the travelling trophy back into Osan Air Base hands.

Staff Sgt. Malinda Lyons, Staff Sgt. Kenneth Thompson, and Airman 1st Class Charles Clayton, Crew 3 of the 25th AMU, defeated Staff Sgt. Chris Fleming, Staff Sgt. Terry White, and Airman 1st Class Jack Eiler, Crew 5 of the 36th AMU. Crew 3 wrested the top title from the 354th EAMU which had won the competition for the first and second quarters of 2011.

Crew 3 scored 801 points out of 1,000 possible, compared to the Crew 5 which scored 651. The crews scored points based on a 25-question weapons knowledge test, dress and appearance inspection, tool kit inspection, and overall technical accuracy while loading a GBU-31 bomb and AIM-9LM on an aircraft.

"There's a lot of effort that goes into training these crews every day, and the competition is the culmination of that effort," said Chief Master Sgt. Mike Burton, 51st Maintenance Group, wing weapons manager. "We're at the tip of the spear here - only 60 minutes away from the DMZ. We can be called upon to generate combat airpower on very short notice. These weapons loaders make that combat airpower possible. I'm very proud of their accomplishments."

The 25th AMU will defend their bragging rights during the Weapons Load Crew of the Year competition.



Staff Sgt. Malinda Lyons (left), 25th Aircraft Maintenance Unit weapons loader, signals instructions to Airman 1st Class Charles Clayton while loading a GBU-31 bomb on an A-10 during the 3rd Quarter Load Crew Competition Oct. 4. Crew 3 from the 25th AMU won the competition. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Eric Petosky)

Source

Note: Pictured in the photo on top is A-10C 78-0716 from the 25th Fighter Squadron.

Recovery of A-10C aircraft

A breaking news, released by 23rd Wing Public Affairs

Release Number: 111002

10/11/2011 - MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- 23rd Wing personnel began recovering aircraft parts from the A-10C crash site on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2011 and completed the parts clean-up on Friday, Oct. 7, 2011. The Advanced Concept Ejection Seat was located and safely secured on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2011.

A bio-environmental team from the 23rd Wing Environmental office was on site to ensure personnel and environmental safety during all operations since the initial incident. A civilian environmental team is scheduled to begin clean-up operations for grounds restoration in the upcoming week.

"Moody Air Force Base sends our deepest appreciation to the community for your concern for the pilot's well-being and unyielding support during the initial incident response and through the recovery efforts," said Colonel Billy Thompson, 23rd Wing commander. "We share the environment with the community and are committed to ensuring we take the necessary precautions to prevent adverse effects on the environment and the habitat."

The A-10C Thunderbolt II aircraft incident that occurred approximately 2:45 p.m. Monday, Sept. 26, 2011 in a non-residential area northeast of Berlin, Georgia in Cook County is still under investigation. The purpose of this investigation is to determine what caused the incident so steps can be taken in the future to prevent a similar outcome.

Should you have any questions pertaining to this topic, please feel free to contact Moody Air Force Base Public Affairs Office at 229-257-3007. Also, visit Moody's official website www.moody.af.mil for more information on Moody and to view current news releases. Information is updated daily on our Facebook page, simply search Moody Air Force Base.

Source

Please note: The included three photos were already released some days ago.

23rd Fighter Group A-10Cs caught at Lajes on their way back home from Afghanistan (Part Three)

Later on Monday night, Warthog News contributor João Toste from Portugal e-mailed me the following two pictures, taken at Lajes Field, Azores:



This very impressive apron overview was taken on October 7, 2011. Pictured in the background are the five Moody A-10Cs which arrived at Lajes for stopover on Friday. From right: A-10C 80-0228, 74th Fighter Squadron; A-10C 80-0208, 75th Fighter Squadron; A-10C 79-0135, 74th Fighter Squadron; A-10C 78-0600, 74th Fighter Squadron; A-10C 79-0179, 74th Fighter Squadron. Visible in the foreground (also from right) are A-10C 79-0154, 47th Fighter Squadron, 917th Fighter Group (AFRC), Barksdale AFB; and A-10C 79-0109, 303rd Fighter Squadron, 442nd Fighter Wing (AFRC), Whiteman AFB. Both aircraft arrived at Lajes on Monday, September 26, 2011, with an A-10C package enroute Afghanistan, but these two are sill at Lajes. (Photo by João Toste) Full size



This shot was taken on October 9, 2011, during the departure of the 5 A-10Cs which arrived on October 7. Pictured in the foreground is A-10C 80-0208 from the 75th Fighter Squadron, followed by A-10C 79-0135 from 74th Fighter Squadron. (Photo by João Toste) Full size

See also:
23rd Fighter Group A-10Cs caught at Lajes on their way back home from Afghanistan (Part Two)
23rd Fighter Group A-10Cs caught at Lajes on their way back home from Afghanistan
Lajes stopover update: All A-10Cs identified by serial numbers now
Fresh deployed A-10Cs caught at Lajes