USAFR’s 457th Fighter Squadron to conduct F-16 training exercises over Breckenridge and other North Texas areas
The 301st Fighter Wing’s 457th Fighter Squadron from the U.S. Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth will be conducting increased training exercises next month in VR-118, a local military training route, in the north Texas vicinity of Breckenridge, Mineral Wells and Possum Kingdom Lake, according to a news release from the base.
The two-week training will begin on Monday, August 10, and continue through August 20, resulting in an increase of aircraft from F-16 Fighting Falcons within the military training route AGL airspace.
“We wanted to notify your city and residents of the increased presence of our military aircraft within your skies. The presence is due to training and ensuring we remain a combat-ready force,” the email accompanying the news release stated. “Thank you for your support of our Reserve Citizen Airmen and the U.S. Air Force Reserve!”
The 301st Fighter Wing is a premier U.S. Air Force Reserve Command F-16 Fighting Falcon Wing located in Fort Worth with a mission to train and deploy combat-ready Airmen. The 301 FW is the largest tenant unit on U.S. NAS JRB Fort Worth with approximately 2,200 Air Force Reservists and civilian personnel and is the only Air Force Reserve Command F-16 unit in Texas.
According to the fact sheet on the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the first F-16 was flown in 1976. The planes were used during Operation Desert Storm in 1991 and then in Operation Allied Force. Since Sept. 11, 2001, the F-16 has been a major component of the combat forces committed to the war on terrorism flying thousands of sorties in support of operations Noble Eagle (Homeland Defense), Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Iraqi Freedom, the fact sheet states.
The U.S. Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth was officially established on October 1, 1994, as the first-ever joint service reserve base. The 2,300-acre base is the result of the U.S. Department of Defense’s 1993 Base Realignment and Closure recommendation to relocate Naval Air Station Dallas and its tenant commands to the former Carswell Air Force Base. Additional tenant commands from other closing installations were also directed to relocate to the base, such as U.S. Marine Corps Reserve squadrons from Memphis, Tenn., and Glenview, Ill., in July/August 1994. The 1993 BRAC proceedings also placed the Navy as the host of what has become a new joint military reserve base – a model for future consolidations.
For more information on the 301st Fighter Wing, visit their website, Facebook page or Twitter page, or contact the 301st Fighter Wing Public Affairs office at 817-782-7170 or 301fw.pa@us.af.mil.
Cutline, top photo: F-16 Fighting Falcons, such as the one pictured over Italy, will be flying over Breckenridge next month as part of a training exercise for the 301st Fighter Wing’s 457th Fighter Squadron from the U.S. Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Dave Ahlschwede)
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