391st Fighter Squadron

391st Fighter Squadron

F-15E Strike Eagle from the 391st flying over Afghanistan
Active 1943–1946; 1953–1959; 1962–1971; 1971–1990; 1992–present
Country  United States
Branch  United States Air Force
Role Fighter
Part of Air Combat Command
Garrison/HQ Mountain Home Air Force Base
Nickname(s) Bold Tigers[1]
Engagements European Theater of Operations
Vietnam War
Global War on Terrorism[1]
Decorations Distinguished Unit Citation
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat "V" Device
Belgian Fourragère
Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm[1]
Commanders
Current
commander		 Lt Col Robert B. Olvis
Insignia
391st Fighter Squadron emblem (approved 8 June 1995)[1]
Patch with 391st Tactical Fighter Squadron emblem (approved 21 March 1978)[1]
391st Fighter-Bomber Squadron emblem (approved 24 September 1954)[2]

The 391st Fighter Squadron is part of the 366th Fighter Wing at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. It operates McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft conducting close air support missions.

Mission

Perform close air support, interdiction, strategic attack, suppression of enemy air defense, and defensive counterair missions, employing the full array of U.S. Air Force capabilities including precision-guided munitions, inertially-aided munitions, night vision goggles, fighter data link, and Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night (LANTIRN).[3]

History

World War II

The 391st flew combat missions in the European Theater of Operations from 14 March 1944 to 3 May 1945.[1]

Vietnam War

The squadron flew in combat in Southeast Asia from 2 February 1966 to 21 July 1968.[1]

Pacific air defense

It provided air defense in Korea and Japan from 22 July 1968 tp 14 February 1971.[1]

2013 Sequestration

Squadron F-111F[note 1]

Air Combat Command officials announced a stand down and reallocation of flying hours for the rest of the fiscal year 2013 due to mandatory budget cuts. The across-the board spending cuts, called sequestration, took effect 1 March when Congress failed to agree on a deficit-reduction plan.[4]

Squadrons either stood down on a rotating basis or kept combat ready or at a reduced readiness level called “basic mission capable” for part or all of the remaining months in fiscal 2013.[4] This affected the 391st Fighter Squadron with a stand-down grounding from 9 April-30 September 2013.[4]

Lineage

Activated on 1 June 1943
Redesignated 391st Fighter Squadron, Single-Engine on 20 August 1943
Inactivated on 20 August 1946
Activated on 1 January 1953
Redesignated 391st Tactical Fighter Squadron on 1 July 1958
Inactivated on 1 April 1959
Organized on 8 May 1962
Inactivated on 28 February 1971
Inactivated on 1 July 1990
Activated on 11 March 1992[1]

Assignments

Stations

Deployed to Aviano Air Base, Italy, 6 December 1956 – 11 June 1957
Deployed to:
Taegu Air Base, South Korea, 22 July–7 October 1968, 7 February–5 March 1969, 1 May–2 June 1969, 1–30 August 1969, 1–15 February 1970, 15–29 March 1970)
Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, 26 April–10 May 1970, 7–21 June 1970, 30 August–12 September 1970, 4–18 October 1970, 1–15 November 1970, 13–19 December 1970, 1–15 February 1971)

Aircraft

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Aircraft is General Dynamics F-111F Aardvark, serial 70-2394, taken on 16 September 1972.

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Dollman, TSG Davis (October 16, 2016). "Factsheet 391 Fighter Squadron (ACC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  2. ↑ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 480-481
  3. ↑ 366 OG Fact Sheet
  4. 1 2 3 Everstein, Brian; Weisgerber, Marcus (April 8, 2013). "Reduced flying hours forces grounding of 17 USAF combat air squadrons". Military Times. Retrieved October 4, 2016.

Bibliography

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

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