July 30, 2007
Moody Air Force Base - They're known as A-10's, Warthogs and the Flying Tigers.
These planes have protected US troops since 1975. The unit's history, including the famous sharks teeth painted on the planes, goes back much further than that. "You grow up hearing the stories and seeing all the movies about it, realizing when you see that flag go up, no kidding, you are a part of that history today," says Capt Aaron Redfern, an A-10 pilot.
Monday, Moody Air Force Base became home to that history, officially welcoming the A-10 Flying Tigers to the South Georgia skies.
The A-10's will now join the security forces and rescue forces already at Moody to create a wing unlike any other in the Air Force. "You look at the wings motto. Attack, rescue, protect. It brings a unique combination of forces that are all equally very much involved with the global war on terror," says Col Mike O'Down, 23rd Fighter Group Commander.
The A-10 offers protection from the air to search and rescue missions on the ground. Now for the first time, they'll be able to train together before they're deployed. "If something really happened, we would be flying together and it affords us the opportunity to practice daily rather than just trying to pick it up if it happens in real time in combat. Which makes it much easier to do when it really does happen," adds Capt. Redfern.
The Air Force hopes this new alliance will help save lives both in the air and on the ground.
About 100 pilots and 800 maintenance and support personnel with the A-10's will be make their way from Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina to Moody through December.
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