Another squadron deploys to 'war'

Mountain Home AFB has again been tasked to help wage the war on terrorism with deployment orders issued last Friday morning to the 391st Fighter Squadron of the 366th Wing.

Citing the usual security concerns, base officials declined to say how many aircraft flew out of Mountain Home over the weekend, where they were going, and how many personnel from the squadron and support services that might be needed were sent to the war on terrorism.

The squadron, which flies the F-15E Strike Eagle, typically takes 250-350 personnel with it on a deployment. The unit, like the B-1s of the 34th Bomb Squadron that deployed from the base three weeks ago, will fall under the authority of Central Command (Centcom), which is directing the current military action against Afghanistan and responsible for all U.S. forces in the Mideast.

The unit is trained for attacks on ground targets and their two-seat F-15Es are specifically configured for that task.

In past deployments to the Middle East, the unit has occassionally engaged in combat operations while patrolling the non-fly zone over Iraq and many of the squadron's aircraft bear bomb hash marks on their nose designating successful combat bombing runs.

The 366th Wing has now deployed two of its five flying squadrons and a number of support personnel taken individually from a wide variety of squadrons on the base to assist in the current military operations.

The three squadrons believed to still be on base are the 22nd Air Refueling Squadron, which flies KC-135R tankers, the 390th Fighter Squadron, which flies the single-seat F-15C air superiority fighter, and the 389th Figher Squadron, which flies the F-15 Falcon single-engine fighter/bomber. Some of the base's F-16s also are configured in the CJ "wild weasel" role for suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD).

Security remains extremely tight on base.

Activities of the previously deployed B-1s have not beeen released, but the Pentagon has announced that B-1s from the national fleet have conducted cluster-bomb attacks on Taliban military positions in Afghanistan. It is assumed, but not known for certain, that the 34th Bomb Squadrons aircraft have taken part in some of those missions.