Air Force Reserve Command’s 917th Fighter Group at Barksdale AFB, La., is scheduled to start transferring its 24 A-10C ground-attack jets to other units on Monday as part of the reserve component’s force structure changes authorized by Congress in Fiscal 2013, according to a Barksdale release. Initially, one A-10 will enter retirement at the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., and two will transfer to Davis-Monthan’s 355th Fighter Wing, states the April 3 release. Over the coming months, one additional A-10C will go to the AMARG; five aircraft will shift to AFRC’s 442nd FW at Whiteman AFB, Mo., and the unit’s remaining 15 will transfer to the 355th FW, states the release. AFRC is set to inactivate the 917th FG by year’s end. (See also Air Force Reserve Command Outlines Force Structure Changes.)
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.