One Hundred Years of Flight USAF Chronology ... - The Air University

2002
2001–2
Surface Standoff Missile, which can penetrate enemy air defenses at
ranges beyond 200 miles and destroy enemy targets with precision.
January 11: A 445th Airlift Wing crew in a C–141 Starlifter airlifted the first
load of Taliban and al Qaeda detainees captured in Afghanistan to the
U.S. naval base at Guantanamo, Cuba.
January 31: U.S. military forces joined Philippine forces in a campaign
against Abu Sayyaf, a terrorist organization seeking an independent
Islamic state in the southern Philippines.
February 4: An unmanned aerial vehicle destroyed an enemy target for the
first time when a remotely controlled MQ–1B Predator fired a Hellfire
missile to kill a group of senior al Qaeda members in southeastern
Afghanistan.
March 1: As part of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, the United States
and coalition partners launched Operation ANACONDA in eastern
Afghanistan. B–52s, B–1s, AC–130s, A–10s, and F–15s supported the
operation to surround and kill Taliban and al Qaeda forces regrouping
south of Gardez or force them to surrender. USAF aircraft
dropped laser-guided “thermobaric” bombs, designed to suck out all
the air from cave complexes and kill the enemy inside.
March 1: Brig. Gen. Teresa M. Peterson, USAF, became the first active duty
woman to command an operational flying wing when she assumed
leadership of the 305th Air Mobility Wing at McGuire Air Force Base,
New Jersey.
March 4: During Operation ANACONDA, the Air Force experienced its first
combat deaths since the Southwest Asia War of 1991. Two airmen were
among seven U.S. servicemen killed in two helicopter assaults near
Gardez in eastern Afghanistan.
April 18: The MC2A–X, an experimental aircraft designed for electronic
communications and command and control over a combat area, made
its first flight at Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts. Since its
maiden flight occurred 227 years to the day since Paul Revere’s famous
ride, the new aircraft was dubbed “Paul Revere.”
April 22: The Air Force announced a new standard wing structure that
would include four groups: operations, maintenance, missions support,
and medical.
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