Members of the Massachusetts Air National Guard 104th Fighter Wing, which has been deployed across Europe for the past two months, recently reunited for training in Bulgaria. The F-15 squadron from Barnes Air National Guard Base deployed in April as part of a European theater security package, according to a 104th FW release. Four of the F-15s and 100 airmen deployed to Keflavik AB, Iceland, while another eight aircraft and 150 airmen went to Leeuwarden AB, Netherlands. The squadron on May 27 reunited at Graf Ignatievo, Bulgaria, to train in the Thracian Flag exercise with the Bulgarian air force. The unit will stay In Bulgaria until the end of June, when the California Air National Guard’s 144th Fighter Wing takes over the theater security package, using eight of the Massachusetts ANG’s F-15s, according to the release.
The 301st Fighter Wing in Fort Worth, Texas, became the first standalone Reserve unit in the Air Force to get its own F-35s, welcoming the first fighter Nov. 5.