With the arrival of the
first F-15E Strike Eagle on Dec. 29, 1988, the 4th become the first
operational unit to receive the E model and by 1991 the first
operational F- 15E wing in the Air Force.
When Iraqi troops invaded Kuwait in
August 1990, the 4th responded with the deployment of the 336th TFS on Aug.
9. The 335th TFS joined the 336th on Dec. 27. These two squadrons formed the
backbone of the 4th TFW (Provisional). Most of this unit was made up of
members and commanded by officers from the 4th. During Operation Desert
Storm, the 336th flew 1,088 combat missions. The unit dropped more than
six-million pounds of bombs on Scud missile sites, bridges and airfields.
Most of the missions were flown at night.
The 335th flew more than 1,200 combat
missions during the war. Most significantly, they made Air Force history by
using a laser guided bomb to down an enemy helicopter. The 335th destroyed
45 Iraqi aircraft, 23 radio relay stations, 36 bridges, 478 armored vehicles
and 48 Scud missiles. The 4th lost two aircraft during the war. Two air
crewmen were killed in action and two were captured and released after the
war.
On April 22, 199 1, the 4th merged with
the 68th Air Refueling Wing, a Strategic Air Command unit at Seymour
Johnson, and became the 4th Wing, the first composite wing in the Air Force.
In addition to the tactical mission of the F-15Es, the wing took on the
mission of the 68th-using KC- IO tankers for airlift and air refueling
requirements.
In October 1994, the 333rd Fighter
Squadron was relocated to Seymour Johnson and began preparations to assume
the mission of training F- 15E aircrews. The 3 34th FS began transitioning
from an operational squadron to an F- 15E training squadron in 1995, giving
the 4th two F- 15E training squadrons. With the transfer of the KC-10s,
aircrews, and support personnel to Air Mobility Command in 1994 and 1995,
the 4th lost it's status as a composite wing and was redesignated the 4th
Fighter Wing Dec. 1, 1995.
Since the end of the Gulf
War, the Fourth has maintained a near constant presence in Southwest Asia.
The Fourth has deployed 15 times to Dhahran Airbase and twice to Prince
Sultan Airbase Saudi Arabia in support of the newly designated Operation
SOUTHERN WATCH (OSW). They conducted the first ever F-15E operations from
Al Jaber Airbase, Kuwait, again supporting OSW. In June 1996 and Feb 1997,
the 4 FW deployed as the 4 Air Expeditionary Wing (AEW), to Doha, Qatar, in
AEF III and IV respectively. With minimum notice, the Fourth proved their
ability to rapidly deploy and conduct combat operations from a near bare
base location immediately upon arrival.
The Fourth again
demonstrated their expeditionary capability during the Balkans crisis in
1999. The 4th Air Expeditionary Wing deployed over 700 personnel
to Balikisir, Turkey in May, and completed a 2200 man tent city with an Air
Transportable Hospital in six days. Three days later, the Fourth was ready
to receive F-15Es and F-16CJs to support Operation ALLIED FORCE (OAF) in
Kosovo. Although the aircraft were not needed in OAF, they were used to
relieve overextended units from RAF Lakenheath. In April 1999, the 336 FS
deployed 4 F-15E’s and support personnel to Incirlik AB, Turkey to
participate in Operation NORTHERN WATCH. The 335 FS replaced the 4 Rocket
aircraft with 10 F-15E’s and both squadrons combined, completed the longest
continuous deployment by the 4 FW since Desert Shield/Desert Storm in
December 1990.
Though the Wing maintained a high operations
tempo in 1999, crews and maintainers never lost sight of the importance of
proper safety practices. In August 1999, the 335th surpassed 80,000
accident-free hours for the second time—the Chiefs hold this distinction
with only four other active F-15 fighter squadrons. Also in August 1999,
eight F-15E Strike Eagles and 107 personnel from the 336th
participated in COMBAT ARCHER,. The 336th flew 99 sorties and
expended seven air-to-air missiles.
Calendar Year
2000 began with the 335th and 336th deployment of 22 F-15Es and over 350
personnel in support of exercise RED FLAG, 5 to 19 February. Both squadrons
performed Offensive Counter Air and Interdiction roles in a day/night
high-threat scenario. Additionally, the 4th covered the core unit
responsibilities for seventy additional personnel from various base support
agencies during RED FLAG, including the Deployed Force Commander and Deputy
Deployed Force Commander.
The 4th
exercised as an Aerospace Expeditionary Wing during a Phase II exercise for
the first time in nearly two years. The purpose of the exercise was for
aircrew and support people to practice their war-fighting skills from a
simulated deployed location. The focus of the exercise was to practice
aircraft launches and evaluate the wings “Ability To Survive and Operate”
procedures in austere situations. Specific ability to survive and operate
procedures included, identification and marking of unexploded ordinance,
protection of forces and proper wear of chemical protective clothing.
In May 2000,
aircraft and members of the 336th (Rocketeers) joined other ONW forces in
actively patrolling the Iraqi northern no-fly zone. The Rocketeers flew
more than 60 combat sorties and dropped more than 69,000 pounds of
ordnance.
Taking care
of its own, the 336th and the 916th Air Refueling Wing scrambled May 19,
2000 to reroute a KC-135R Stratotanker back to Seymour Johnson to pick up
Pam McGuire, wife of Staff Sgt. Robert McGuire of the 336th.
Officials notified Pam McGuire that her husband, deployed to Incirlik Air
Base, Turkey, in support of ONW, had become seriously ill and was being
medically evacuated to a hospital in Germany—Mrs. McGuire arrived 24 hours
later and SSgt McGuire recovered.
