The U.S. Air Force has inactivated the last A-10 units at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, closing nearly five decades of Thunderbolt II operations at the installation. The ceremony on 18 September also confirmed the base’s transition away from the attack aircraft and toward a broader rescue mission.
The inactivated units were the 355th Operations Group, 357th Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter Generation Squadron and 355th Training Squadron. Col. Jose Cabrera, commander of the 355th Wing, presided over the event. Davis-Monthan’s flying mission is now centred on search and rescue and personnel recovery through the 563rd Rescue Group, which operates HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopters and HC-130J Combat King II aircraft.
Historical documents and memorabilia from the A-10 units are being prepared for transfer to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. The move follows the end of A-10 flying at Davis-Monthan earlier this year and removes the last remaining A-10 organisational footprint from the base.