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Connecticut's Air
National Guard
Connecticut’s Air National Guard operates from Bradley Air National Guard Base
at Bradley Airport and an Air Station in Orange.
The two locations host units officially named the 103rd Airlift Wing and 103rd
Air Control Squadron, which are more commonly known as the “Flying Yankees”
and “Yankee Watch.” In addition, a new unit formed at Bradley ANG Base in 2008
is known as the 103rd Air and Space Operations Group, or “Yankee Strike.”
Sited in a new facility atop a hillside adjacent to Long Island Sound, the
103rd Air Control Squadron mission is real-time detection, identification and
surveillance of air traffic for combat operations and homeland defense.
Until April 2008, the 103rd Fighter Wing provided the awesome firepower of the
A-10 Thunderbolt II, affectionately known as the warthog, for close-air
support as well as combat search and rescue missions. The Flying Yankees are
now an Airlift Wing with a new flying mission, an aircraft engine repair
facility and an Air Operations Center at Bradley.
In a few years, the 103rd Airlift wing will receive the C-27J Spartan
Aircraft. With a proven history of innovation on the A-10 and C-21, the Flying
Yankees are certain to overcome the inherent challenges of flying a new
aircraft by refining training, maintenance techniques and tactical employment
to ensure the success of the program. The warrior mindset of the Flying
Yankees aircrew and maintenance members, garnered from decades of
expeditionary experience is an ideal match for the demand of forward bases.
Whether operating from austere airfields or more robust locations, the
blue-suit maintenance team of the Flying Yankees will keep the C-27 as ready
to deliver critical cargo as they did with the lethal firepower of the A-10.
Until the C-27 is ready for fielding, the wing is flying the C-21 transport
aircraft providing aircrew training, high priority passenger airlift,
counter-drug and homeland security support, and medical evacuation. The C-21
provides the flying bridge mission essential to keeping the unit’s pilots and
maintainers sharp until the Spartan arrives. The Flying Yankees took over
maintenance and began flying missions in support of the Joint Operational
Support Airlift Center - JOSAC - on October 1, 2007.
The combat, command and planning experience of Connecticut’s Airmen will form
the foundation of the 103rd Air and Space Operations Group here at Bradley.
Experienced fighter, airlift, refueling and bomber Airmen will find exciting
opportunities in this new mission. Likewise, the pool of experienced
controllers from the 103rd Air Control Squadron will home-grow the brightest
candidates for this mission. Members of the 103rd Air and Space Operations
Group have completed numerous successful deployments to the U.S. Air Force
Central's Combined Air and Space Operations Center in Southwest Asia. The unit
played a critical role in setting up and later testing emerging command and
control capabilities for Airmen tasked to support air power operations in the
U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. The unit also participated in
real-world operational testing of new communication technologies at the U.S.
Air Force Central's Combined Air and Space Operations Center Annex at Shaw Air
Force Base, S.C. Additionally, deployed members provide their expertise in a
wide variety of Air Force career fields to plan and execute the command and
control of airpower throughout Iraq, Afghanistan and 18 other nations.
Connecticut’s high-skill and high-tech population will ensure that recruiting
can answer the call for state-of-the-art war-fighting command and control
systems technicians. New opportunities exist now for tech-savvy recruits in
this exciting mission to provide the air, space, information and computer
expertise to execute the mission.
The current experience with A-10 engines at Bradley has been leveraged to
create a new Centralized Intermediate Repair Facility (CIRF) for the A-10
aircraft’s TF-34 turbofan engines. The expansion of TF-34 engine maintenance
at Bradley will ensure the current renowned expertise is not lost. An ideal
fit for the region, the CIRF capitalizes on the unit’s proximity to the F-22
and F-35 fighter engine production facilities, and is ideally suited to add
new capability when A-10s retire from the fleet. The CIRF shipped its first
engine on November 3, 2007, and coupled with the C-21 now and C-27 in the
future, Bradley will continue to offer training and real-world aviation
experience.
Connecticut based Airmen have served abroad and at home for decades, and
continue to serve overseas in the Global War on Terrorism. Prior, our
Connecticut-based Airmen fought in World War II, Korea, and the Balkans.
Within hours on 9-11, the 103rd FW ‘Flying Yankees’ had aircraft loaded with
ordinance on alert status with crews standing by; while the 103rd ACS ‘Yankee
Watch’ surveyed a critical air picture from Cape Cod, Mass. to Atlantic City,
N.J.
Many 103rd FW members were deployed to the Middle East on 9-11 and returned to
prosecute the war in Western Iraq in 2003 with the A-10’s. A Bradley A-10 and
pilot made air history dropping the first laser-guided bomb from an A-10 in
combat during the opening days of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The success of the
Bradley Airmen earned the deployed unit the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
with Valor.
The global war on terror sent the 103rd ACS members to Afghanistan for
Operation Noble Eagle in 2003 supporting a multi-national force in daily
combat operations, garnering another Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with
Valor for Bradley Airmen.
Connecticut’s units and Airmen assigned to the State Joint Force Headquarters,
which directs the Homeland Security Mission, total 1,200 Air National Guard
opportunities.
For more information, visit
www.103aw.ang.af.mil
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