Howdy, Pardner

Airmen with the Texas Air National Guard’s 149th Fighter Wing at Joint Base San Antonio repainted the wing’s flagship F-16 to celebrate the unit’s upcoming 65th birthday. The aircraft’s new specialty logo is meant to highlight the connection of the wing—the Lone Star Gunfighters—to Texas and western tradition. Wing maintainers created the graphical depictions and then transformed the F-16 into its new look at a regional aircraft painting facility at Homestead ARB, Fla. The wing has National Guard Bureau approval to use the specialty markings for one year through the unit’s 65th anniversary next October. A one-year extension beyond then is possible. The wing will continue to use the flagship aircraft, now called the “Heritage Jet,” for pilot training, but it’s now also the airplane of choice when the unit participates in events like airshows and fly-overs. (Lackland report by SSgt. Phil Fountain)