Last A-10s To Depart Barksdale

June 18, 2013

Monday will mark the end of an era and an historic association when the last A-10s of the Air Force Reserve Command’s 47th Fighter Squadron jump from the runway at Barksdale Air Force Base and head west.

The last airplanes of the 917th Fighter Group and its 47th Fighter Squadron, which in an earlier incarnation offered the major resistance to Japanese attackers at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, will complete their transfer to a new home at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz.

"What a sad day that will be," said retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Peyton Cole, a former 2nd Bomb Wing commander. "It is a sad day for Barksdale. That's a mission that's being stripped way, what with the Pearl Harbor connection. It's not only that we're losing that mission, but that history."

The first of the official transfers of the 24 A-10s began in April and were reported in advance in a front-page story in The Times that you can read online.

The final three transfers will be of aircraft tail number 79-0153, piloted by Col. John Breazeale, commander of the 917th Fighter Group; tail number 79-0154, piloted by Major Mark Wendrock; and tail number 79-0146, piloted by Capt. Taylor Petty. Wendrock and Petty both are from the 47th Fighter Squadron.

The 47th Fighter Squadron, which has been deactivated and reactivated several times in its history, is one of the most distinguished squadrons in the U.S. military. A handful of its pilots formed the majority of the few pilots who were able to get in the air when the Japanese attacked the U.S. Navy base at Pearl Harbor. One of those pilots, 2nd Lt. John Dains, was killed by ground anti-aircraft fire, becoming the nation’s first friendly fire casualty of World War II.

Of the total 24 aircraft, two A-10s transferred to Davis-Monthan’s 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group or AMARG, also called “the boneyard,” five to the 442nd Fighter Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., and 17 to the 355th Fighter Wing at Davis-Monthan AFB.

In addition to the loss of aircraft, the recent Force Structure Action Implementation Plan inactivates the 917th Fighter Group and the 47th Fighter Squadron, which will take place in late September. This closing will take approximately 580 full and part time jobs from Barksdale.

“The 917th Fighter Group proudly served our nation at Barksdale and deployed locations for over 50 years,” Breazeale said. “It has been an honor to be a part of Team Barksdale and the local community.”