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Fighter squadron continues plans to close by Sept. 30
Looking across his cramped office, Lt. Col. Jim Stratton leaned back in a couch while sharing his love of military history. Growing up, the topic fascinated the Chicago native and prompted him to earn his undergraduate degree in the subject.
His office reflects this passion. Framed photos and artwork of vintage aircraft along with assorted trinkets captured key moments in time, from World War II to the battle over Kosovo.
But the thought of actually making history brings a sense of somberness to the colonel's easy going demeanor. It's something he's come to expect but not a topic he's all too eager to accept.
In September, the colonel will mark a moment in history as the last commander at Mountain Home Air Force Base to lead a fighter unit solely trained in the art of air-to-air combat -- what most people simply know as dog fighting. As the senior officer of the 390th Fighter Squadron here, the 41-year-old also represents what some may consider a vanishing breed of pilots specialized in that form of combat.
The 390th, better known by its nickname the Wild Boars, began flying the F-15C Eagle here in 1992. They continued a mission that began when the first of these jets rolled off the assembly line in the mid-1970s.The single-seat jets became the answer to the U.S. military's inability to maintain air superiority over Vietnam. During the war, the Air Force saw its air-to-air kill ratio fall to 3-to-1 against Soviet-built MiGs, the colonel said.
But the times changed and so did the Air Force's mission priorities. In 2005, the fighter squadron became one of many Air Force units ordered to shut its doors following recommendations from the Base Closure and Realignment Commission. The Wild Boars' pending inactivation here follows an Air Force-wide move to transfer its stateside F-15C mission to the Air National Guard by Sept. 30.
By October, the Guard will oversee this aspect of the nation's homeland defense mission. However, the Air Force will keep two active duty squadrons of these specialized fighters and pilots overseas to ensure it maintains air-to-air superiority over Europe and the Pacific region.
Earlier this month, the 390th's original inventory of 21 jets dropped to 15. Plans call for transferring two to three of the 390th's fighters each month until the last ones leave Mountain Home in September. Meanwhile, the Wild Boars' remaining cadre of 13 pilots expect to move on in coming months.
At its peak, the Air Force maintained 450 F-15Cs. At last count, it expects to keep the last ones flying until 2025. Those selected to keep flying these next 15 years are the last of the Air Force's "Golden Eagles" -- its newest generation of F-15Cs built in 1985 and 1986 and upgraded with the latest technological advances, Stratton said.
Despite its physical age, the Eagle "amazingly withstood the test of time," the colonel added. "The basic airframe has proven to be just a great multi-role, multi-mission aircraft."
Far from ever becoming obsolete, the air-to-air variant of the F-15 represents a "phenomenal" fighter capable of withstanding a tremendous beating and still fight, he added. In one case, an Israeli air force F-15 withstood a mid-air collision with another fighter and still landed safely -- despite losing a wing in the process.
"The plane is built with a lot of redundancies," Stratton said. "If I go to combat in this airplane... I know it is going to bring me home, without a doubt."
The colonel speaks with experience regarding the jet's reliability. He flew combat missions in the F-15Cs over the Persian Gulf during operations Northern and Southern Watch and again in 1999 against Serbian MiGs during the fight over the former Yugoslavia.
Yet despite all the gee-whiz, Buck Rogers-style technology blended into today's fighters like the F-22 and F-35 currently under development, the Air Force can't afford to lose one critical component -- pilots primarily versed in the art of dog fighting, he said.
"You still have to be able to survive within the 'arena.' You still have to be able to execute the offensive or defensive maneuvering ... to get the mission done," he added.
With the Air Force moving away from this dedicated air-to-air mission to focus on multi-role fighters, it does so at a greater risk of losing the combat edge it created after the Vietnam War, the colonel warned.
"When we leave, that's all going to go away," Stratton said. "We're taking on the assumption that (U.S.) air superiority, to an extent, will be a given. That comes with risk."
The F-22 and F-35 were not intended to fully replace the capabilities of the F-15S since both fighters represent the Air Force's growing dependence on multi-role aircraft capable of dominating the skies as they prosecute the war on the ground. However, as these next-generation aircraft pick up more of the Air Force's combat roles, the 390th did its part to give today's aircrews the intensive training they'll need to survive the rigors of tomorrow's battles.
During its time here, the Wild Boars worked with the base's other fighter squadrons to fly training missions. The goal was to hone the fighting and survival skills of units like 389th and 391st fighter squadrons, both of which fly the F-15 Strike Eagle -- the equivalent of a miniature bomber. As the Wild Boars worked with the Strike Eagle community here, it built a more robust group of pilots familiar with every aspect of fighting the air war as well as the fight on the ground.
"We're making them better in air-to-air (combat) because that's all we do," Stratton said. "We hold ourselves to very high standards, which forces us to raise our game."
As nations like Russia begin deploying their own fifth-generation fighters to match the capabilities of the F-22, American's current advantage in the air may change as its peer competitors level the "playing field."
In short, the U.S. needs pilots with the cunning and desire to never lose despite the odds, Stratton said. It's a skill that made the Wild Boars so formidable in the air over their 67-year history, including 28 at Mountain Home Air Force Base.
Over its 67-year history, the squadron built a combat-proven tradition that included battling over the skies of Europe in World War II and fighting MiGs over Vietnam. To this day, the squadron's heraldry is one of the largest in the Air Force.
With so many years of tradition behind them, the colonel hopes to see the Wild Boars remain in southern Idaho. The history buff relishes the idea of transferring the 390th flag and its tradition to one of the base's Strike Eagle squadrons or maybe the next generation of aircraft based here.
"I don't think the squadron is ever going to leave the base," the colonel said. "There's just too much history and too much of a tie between the Wild Boars and the city of Mountain Home" for the 390th to simply fade away.