The Air Force’s first-ever association between a Reserve and Air National Guard unit is no more. The Guard’s 107th Airlift Wing and the Reserve’s 914th Airlift Wing joined forces as a result of the 2005 BRAC decision, jointly flying and maintaining 12 aircraft at Niagara Falls ARS, N.Y. “We figured it out and went through all those battles; now we’re pulling it apart,” said Col. John Higgins, 107th AW commander. Though Higgins said “in a perfect world” he would have liked to have maintained the association for a few more years, he acknowledged he was excited for the wing to take on its new mission flying remotely piloted aircraft. “In the long term, this change will benefit the 107th [AW],” said Higgins. “We are moving into a newer mission. The 107th [AW] has converted missions every five years, it seems, and the RPA mission will stick with us for awhile.” Although the partnership officially dissolved on Dec. 31, the two organizations signed an agreement allowing the Guardsmen to continue assisting the 914th AW on a limited basis through Dec. 31, 2014, according to a Jan. 8 release. Eventually, though, the 107th AW will lose 221 personnel and be downgraded from a wing to a group, said Higgins.
Improving Guam’s Defenses is Top Priority for INDOPACOM
March 4, 2021
Protecting Guam is the top priority for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, as the island territory and its large military presence has grown in strategic importance and the command is calling on Congress for billions more to build up its infrastructure there and across the region. INDOPACOM boss Adm. Philip S. Davidson,…