when Secretary of Defense Les Aspin decreed the immediate retirement of the entire B-52G force. This included the 34th BS at Castle AFB, which was the last such unit to stand down (in November 1993). Despite the loss, Air Combat Command was solidly behind the composite wing concept, and provisions were made to replace the B- 52s.
As 1994 rolled around, there were big changes ahead for the 366th, starting with the arrival of a brand-new batch of Block 52 F-16Cs (with their powerful F-100-PW-229 engines), fresh off the Fort Worth assembly line. These were equipped with the new Texas Instruments AN/ASQ-213 HARM Targeting System (HTS) pods, as well as HARM missiles to conduct defense suppression missions. And in April 1994 the 34th BS was reconstituted at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, equipped with the B-1B Lancer. Other additions included the Joint Tactical Information Data System (JTIDS) data link systems to the F-15Cs of the 390th FS, and AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles for every aircraft in the wing's three fighter squadrons.
The wing was still assimilating these changes in the winter of 1994 when a training deployment (Operation Northern Edge) took the 366th to Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, for Arctic operations with units from the Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). Then in April, the wing flew to Nellis AFB, Nevada, to become a core unit for the most important training exercise in ACC, Green Flag 94-3. Joined by units from all over ACC, the 366th spent two weeks testing out their planned concept of operations (CONOPS) in a real-world EW environment over the Nevada desert. This would be the last exercise for 'Marshal' McCloud as commander; he turned over command of the Wing in August to Brigadier General Lansford 'Lanny' Trapp, Jr.
Meanwhile, the 34th BS was standing up at Ellsworth AFB, watching nervously over their shoulders as their host unit, the 28th Bombardment Wing (BW), endured a Congressionally mandated readiness test known as Operation Dakota Challenge, to evaluate the continued viability of the B-1B within ACC. By late in 1994, the new squadron was ready for their own test, and it took part in a Global Power/Global Reach deployment to the Far East. Flying non-stop from Ellsworth, with the aid of midair refueling, two 34th BS Bones took part in the fiftieth anniversary of the retaking of the Philippines, dropping full loads of 500 lb./227.3 kg. bombs on a Leyte bomb range, then returning to Anderson AFB, Guam. After running training and 'presence' missions to Korea, they returned to Ellsworth AFB on October 27th, 1994, less than six months after the 34th had stood up.
The 366th Wing is a unit on the move, headed into its sixth decade of service. From the aircrews who fly the missions to the enlisted airmen who turn the wrenches, pound the keyboards, and load the weapons, you can sense a feeling of pride in belonging to an elite team, the Gunfighters.
THE 366TH WING ORGANIZATION
The 366th Wing is a unique organization in the USAF, optimized for rapid deployment and immediate entry into combat. As such, it resembles the alert units of the former Strategic Air Command (SAC) more than the other components of Air Combat Command (ACC). This is not to say that the other combat wings of ACC are incapable of fast reaction. The performance of every USAF unit rushed to Kuwait in the fall of 1994 is proof of that. But the 366th is designed for, and training for, deployment today. In the time it has taken you to read this book, the 366th could assemble a task force — or 'package' — of aircraft that could be wheels up and on their way to a crisis spot almost anywhere in the world. The wing's claim is, 'Integrated airpower, ready to go, on Day One!' As such, the 366th resembles a small independent air force, or one of the U.S. Navy Carrier Air Wings. Consider the following table:
The 366th has some capabilities that no other wing-sized unit in the Air Force provides. These include:
• It's the only combat wing combining fighters, fighter bombers, bombers, and tanker aircraft into a single integrated combat unit.
• It's the only combat wing with its own integrated command, control, and communications/intelligence (CI) element, capable of acting as a mini-JFACC and generating its own Air Tasking Orders (ATOs) for up to five hundred missions per day.
• It's the only combat wing which can plug detachments of other U.S. air units (USAF, USN, USMC, or U.S. Army), or even other countries' air units, into its CI capability.
The officer who commands this collection of units is a senior brigadier general with a minimum of one wing command tour before coming to the 366th. The officers and enlisted personnel have been handpicked — chosen for their previous achievements in the USAF. And the aircrews in the flying squadrons have a high proportion of combat veterans from Desert Storm and Just Cause. Many are graduates from senior military schools like the Weapons School at Nellis AFB, Nevada, and the Air Command and Staff College. Even the young members of the line and maintenance crews are picked for their skill at making more out of less; for that philosophy is at the core of what the 366th is trying to do.
First a quick note about personnel. A normal tour of duty in a USAF unit is anywhere from two to three years. Military units are always in transition, and the 366th is no exception. When I first visited Mountain Home in April 1994, I arrived just as the cycle of rotations and replacements was beginning en masse for the founding members of the new wing structure. What follows is a 'snapshot' of the 366th at that time, just as the wing was preparing for its trip to Nellis AFB for Green Flag 94-3. Where possible, I'll try to tell you what happened to people after that, and who might have replaced them. With that in mind, let's take a look at the 366th Wing.
366TH HEADQUARTERS SQUADRON
The top of the 366th Wing organization is the Headquarters Squadron at the base/wing headquarters building on Gunfighter Boulevard. On the second floor is the commander's office, and in the top spot is Brigadier General David J. 'Marshal' McCloud. The first time you meet him, you know why everyone calls him Marshal. Part of it is his build, well over six feet tall and lean as a rail. The other part is his reputation for leadership and action. Two previous wing command tours, quite unusual in the USAF, have given him ample experience to handle this job. He's flown just about every kind of tactical aircraft in the USAF inventory. He's flown everything from F-117A Night Hawks (from his time with the 37th TFW), to F-15Cs (from his command tour with the 1st TFW at Langley AFB, Virginia); and now he flies a new F-16C Block 52 (with the 389th FS) that bears his personal marking as the 366th's 'Wing King.' Flying skills are important for an air leader; they confer credibility in the eyes of the flight crews and establish a bond based on shared experience. And familiarity with a wide variety of aircraft is an asset not only because he may have to command the 366th Wing in combat, but also because he may have to act as a totally independent JFACC. In the early stages of a crisis, he could well find himself commanding attached units from the USAF or other U.S. armed services, or even from other coalition or host nations. And Dave McCloud would be flying combat missions, too. A commander, in his words, 'should lead from the front.'
Other functions in the headquarters squadron include the Public Affairs Office (PAO). Usually this is an office that sends press releases about the Airman of the Month to hometown newspapers, and shepherds visiting VIPs on tours of the base. But the 366th PAO is additionally responsible for managing a major new program designed to supplement and replace the existing Mountain Home bombing range at Saylor Creek, near the Snake River Gorge to the east of the base. Saylor Creek is adequate for training in basic weapons delivery, but it lacks the necessary area and target arrays for conducting composite-strike-force training — the 366th's specialty. The new range complex needs to be close enough to Mountain Home AFB to allow strike-force training any time it is needed. So far, the proposal has encountered environmental and culturally oriented opposition from federal and local bureaucrats. In
