FY05 Annual Report Final - STATES - The National Guard

104th Fighter Wing
The 104th Fighter Wing’s mission is to provide
highly trained personnel and mission-ready
equipment for dedicated service to the United
States of America and the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts.
The wing is equipped with 17 A/OA-10
Thunderbolt II aircraft, 15 Primary and two
Backup Aircraft Inventory, and is one of six A-10-equipped fighter
wings in the Air National Guard.
The 104th stands ready to mobilize in support of warfighting
commanders wherever needed throughout the world as part of the
Aerospace Expeditionary Forces of the U.S. Air Force.
Specifically, the wing provides close air support and air interdiction.
Special capabilities include combat search and rescue, airborne
forward air control, night vision goggles, precision guided munitions
and LITENING II pod capabilities. LITENING II is a precision
targeting pod system that increases the combat effectiveness of the
aircraft during day, night and under-the-weather conditions.
The 104th Fighter Wing was founded in 1946 and is located at
Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield, Mass., where it leases
land from the city of Westfield on Barnes Municipal Airport and
operates jointly with the Massachusetts Army National Guard’s
Army Aviation Support Facility 2, home of the 226th Division
Aviation Support Battalion.
On its 185-acre site located in the shadow of the Berkshire
Mountains in western Massachusetts, the wing is one of Westfield’s
largest employers, with over 300 full-time employees and over 700
part-time personnel. Its operating budget topped $35 million for
fiscal year 2005.
Fully modernized facilities as a result of an aggressive military
construction program in the last decade have well positioned Barnes
Air National Guard Base for continued presence in Westfield.
The 104th enjoys an active community role and positive regional
and national reputation and in turn, receives significant support
from the surrounding communities.
In January, the 104th Fighter Wing ushered in the new year with a
change in its senior leadership. After six-years as commander, Col.
Michael Boulanger passed the unit colors to Col. Marcel E.
Kerdavid Jr., who was named the new commander of the 104th
Fighter Wing.
January also marked the beginning of the wing’s expeditionary
combat support cycle, which would task many of the wing’s base
operations support agencies to support both homeland defense and
war on terror missions.
In February, 252 104th Fighter Wing personnel took part in the
first mass training deployment in four years. A third of the base
picked-up and relocated to the Combat Readiness Training Center
in Savannah, Ga. Due to the increased operations tempo, the 104th
Fighter Wing got into the habit of performing without the chance to
practice and critique. This deployment was instrumental in focusing
on the unit’s core training, as well as developing smarter ways to
do business in the future. All wing organizations used the opportunity
to perform much needed upgrade and proficiency training.
After returning from Georgia, the unit learned it was awarded the
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award for the seventh time; recognizing
the unit’s accomplishments from April 24, 2002, to April 25, 2004;
further proof that the 104th is the dominant Air National Guard A-
10 unit in the world.
In March, the 104th Fighter wing was invited to participate in the
Red Flag 05-3.2, the largest Red Flag exercise ever. Two hundred
and nine members of Barnes were part of a multinational force that
engaged on the Nellis ranges and in a cyberspace virtual war. The
Barnstormers team focused on large-force employment, dynamic
targeting, close air support, time-sensitive targeting and combat
search and rescue; all of which were done flawlessly.
In April, the wing was tasked to provide expeditionary combat
support (ECS), deploying members of its base operating support
units. The wing also deployed 32 members of the Civil Engineer
Squadron to Camp Blanding, Fla., to perform combat exercises.
In May, the wing began preparing for an Operational Readiness
Inspection scheduled for August 2007, by conducting its first of
many Thunderwarts (an operational readiness exercise). This
104th Fighter Wing
Subordinate Units
104 Operations Group
- 131 Fighter Squadron
- 104 Operations Support Flight
- 104 Weather Flight
104 Maintenance Group
- 104 Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
- 104 Maintenance Squadron
- 104 Maintenance Operations Flight
104 Mission Support Group
- 104 Civil Engineering Squadron
- 104 Communications Squadron
- 104 Logistics Readiness Squadron
- 104 Security Forces Squadron
- 104 Mission Suport Flight
- 104 Services Flight
104 Medical Group
2005 Annual Report 37