Rethinking the air expeditionary wing
Brig. Gen. Larry Broadwell
January 25
An F-16 Fighting Falcon assigned to the 480th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron lands at Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, on Dec. 2. (Senior Airman Bryan Guthrie/Air Force)
Two months ago, the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing welcomed the 480th Fighter Squadron from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, to Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates, arguably the most strategically located and diverse AEW in the Middle East.
Immediately upon arrival, the “Warhawks” were re-designated as the 480th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron and began executing kinetic operations, regional competition, partner integration and unit readiness training. The Warhawks were dozens of sorties into their deployment before even donning their new deployment patches; a testament to the agile, adaptable nature of our combat squadrons. In just over 60 days, they executed approximately 470 combat and training sorties, and integrated with multiple joint and regional partners while experiencing three different air expeditionary wings’ locations.